This paper examines the role that social conflict is likely to play in forest restoration projects. A definition of conflict as “perceived goalinterference among interdependent parties” serves as a point of departure for the discussion, and the nature of forest restoration conflict issystematically examined by focusing on each aspect of the definition: perceptions, goal interference, the parties, and their interdependence.Agencies undertaking restoration projects are encouraged to adopt a discourse orientation, wherein they recognize that 1) their publicinvolvement efforts are creating a discourse that can incorporate a wide array of values and voices and 2) groups may create competingdiscourses if they feel that the agency’s process disenfranchises them.