Humans are altering our environment. Climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels is documented beyond argument. Landscape modification through grazing, logging, mining and other activities is omnipresent. But what are the actual ecological implications? Can systems recover? Conservation paleobiology is a newly named field for an application of paleoecology. Conservation paleobiology can take a near-time, 2 million years, or deep-time approach but both provide information on ecological responses to climatic variability. The near- time approach presented here more specifically uses paleoecological data to generate pre-and post-disturbance ecological baselines and natural ranges of variability, describes ecosystem response to disturbances - natural and anthropogenic- and helps develop realistic restoration goals. We will examine “lessons learned” from records spanning woody plant encroachment and desiccation in desert wetlands to high elevation forest sites impacted by beetles and forest fires and discuss how conservation paleobiologists can better work with land managers to use these important data.