After earning a PhD in botany at UW, Zedler in 1969 moved to San Diego, California, as her husband took a job at San Diego State University (SDSU).[3] She became an SDSU faculty member and joined activist Mike McCoy in preventing the Tijuana River Estuary from being developed into a marina.[3][4] She formed SDSU's Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory.[3]
In 1998, Zedler became the Aldo Leopold Professor of Restoration Ecology at UW.[5] Zedler credited Leopold, who also worked at UW, with pioneering restoration ecology.[6]
She also in 1998 became director of research for the UW Arboretum.[5] She served in this capacity for 18 years, launching studies into invasive species, including how native plants can defend their ecosystems.[7] She was the co-author of a 2010s plan to restore the Mesopotamian Marshes.[8]
Zedler has said that the most immediate impact of wetland destruction—in which "most losses are due to drainage for agriculture"—is a lower denitrification rate, which may raise the level of nitrates in water over the amount safe for children and pregnant women.[2] She has noted that even after wetland restoration efforts, much of the abundance and biodiversity cannot fully recover from damage.[9]
Palmer, Margaret A.; Zedler, Joy B.; Falk, Donald A., eds. (2016). Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press. ISBN9781610916981.
Zedler, Joy B. (2016). The Ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California: A National Estuarine Research Reserve (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited. ISBN9781334311000.
