Ecosystem health is a metaphor used to describe the condition of an ecosystem.[1] Ecosystem condition can vary as a result of fire, flooding, drought, extinctions, invasive species, climate change, mining, overexploitation in fishing, farming or logging, chemical spills, and a host of other reasons. There is no universally accepted benchmark for a healthy ecosystem,[2] rather the apparent health status of an ecosystem can vary depending upon which health metrics are employed in judging it [3] and which societal aspirations are driving the assessment. Advocates of the health metaphor argue for its simplicity as a communication tool. “Policy-makers and the public need simple, understandable concepts like health.”[4] Critics worry that ecosystem health, a “value-laden construct,” is often “passed off as science to unsuspecting policy makers and the public.”[5]