No species is well adapted anymore. We are already seeing plants and animals adapting to our changing climate regimes. Many are migrating into new territories that are better suited to their biologies. In light of this fast-changing world, we would be well advised to take the long view. Instead of indulging a nostalgic return to an imaginary past, we might consider how to repair ecosystems ravaged by the extractive logics of empire. A paradigm shift like this would yield a lot more than inoffensive language. It could have profound implications for policy and resource allocation. It would allow us, in theory and practice, to untangle and extract some of the deepest roots of our colonial pasts. Then, perhaps, something new could grow.