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 RESTORE is a weekly e-bulletin, published by SER International, linking you to the latest, breaking news stories from around the world keeping you up-to-date on a wide variety of topics related to ecological restoration including the latest funding opportunities. RESTORE is free to SER International members and can be subscribed to for only $20/year by visiting: www.ser.org/content/restoration_network.asp. |
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Get Involved / Community-Based Restoration
Summer Field Course in Restoration Ecology
The University of Oregon is taking applications for its summer 2008 field course in restoration ecology. The course offers hands-on experience at ecological restoration projects in Central Oregon. A diverse faculty from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University instruct in restoration methods, invasive species, soils, geomorphology, and philosophy. The course is four quarter-credits, and runs from June 16-27, with final projects due via email on July 7. It is designed for upper-division students (juniors, seniors, and graduated seniors) and entry-level masters students from any academic institution. For more information, including photos, student comments, a sample syllabus, and how to apply, visit www.uoregon.edu/~ecolrest.
Special Webinar with Dean Apostol February 21, 2008
SER International is pleased to present a special webinar with Dean Apostol on Thursday, February 21, 2008, from 12-1pm PST. Relax in the comfort of your office or home for this interactive discussion about "Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art & Science of Ecological Restoration in Cascadia." The Cascadia Bioregion of North America is a global ecological "hotspot" because of its relatively healthy native ecosystems, a high degree of biodiversity, and the number and scope of restoration initiatives that have been undertaken there. From coastal estuaries to valley grasslands to montane forests, this area stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide.
http://www.ser.org/?RSS=132
Montana: Big Sky Coalition to Host Biomass Symposium
An upcoming symposium hosted by the Bitterroot Valley's Big Sky Coalition will offer people a chance to learn about new technologies coming on line to convert biomass into biofuels. The daylong symposium is set for March 1 at the Hamilton fairgrounds. Formed earlier this year, the Big Sky Coalition wants to see a change in the national forest management policies it believes are resulting in large wildfires each summer. The organization advocates large-scale thinning on national forest lands to reduce fuels. "If we do begin the large landscape forest restoration efforts that we believe need to happen, there is going to be huge amounts of this biomass," Lasalle said. "On average here on the Bitterroot forest, there will be about 18 tons per acre."
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/04/news/mtregional/news07.txt
Live! from the Green Carpet
For The Bay Institute, this year's Wild & Scenic Film Festival was particularly exciting because it included the first public screening of "Taking Root," a film-in-progress about our STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) Project. I recently talked to David Donnenfield, who is co-producing the film with Kevin White (Kevin also has two films in this year's Ocean Film Festival: Restoring Balance: Removing the Black Rat from Anacapa Island and Returning Home: Bringing the Common Murre back to Devil's Slide Rock.) I asked David how the two came to be making a movie about kids working to save an endangered freshwater shrimp.
http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2008/02/04/live-from-the-green-carpet/
The EcoHandprint Fund
Through the EcoPerks EcoHandprint Fund our community can balance its carbon footprint while supporting projects that identify and assist the global economy in achieving sustainability for future generations. The Fund has identified the following three-pronged action plan to guide it in achieving its goals. Through the EcoHandprint Fund, our community can participate in all facets of the action plan as projects are identified that fall within the scope of available resources that meet stated objectives. As the Fund grows, the hope is to not only neutralize the community footprint, but to serve as a leader in identifying strategic means for making a difference in the race to sustain, protect, and repair.
http://110ben.pascal.hostingrails.com/ecoperks/2008/02/01/the-ecohandprint-fund/
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People in the News
Spain: Putting Down Roots
With the restoration of the natural environment an urgent priority, I go to meet some inspirational people greening Spain. Spain, it is often claimed, was once covered in a thick mantle of forest. By the time the Romans arrived most of these trees had already been cut down by the native Iberians and they likened the parched yellow country they found to an old lion skin, pegged out to dry in the sun. Today, with an ever-rising awareness of the damage we have wrought on the environment, many individuals and organisations are working to restore the integrity of once-bountiful ecosystems. I went to meet a few of them.
http://www.jasonhep.com/?p=15
The Rachel Carson of Brazil
"Lutz", as he is called by his many friends, is essentially playing the same role in Brazil today as was played by Rachel Carson of the U.S. in the early 1960's. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that he's functioning as a combination Rachel Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Amory Lovins, and David Brower. . . because Lutzenberger has been dedicating his efforts to fighting not just one threat to the ecology, but four: pesticides, overpopulation, energy waste, and nuclear power. In addition, he founded Brazil's most effective environmental protection association, AGAPAN.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/1981-07-01/The-Rachel-Carson-of-Brazil.aspx
President-elect Receives Time Magazine Environment Award
Time magazine selected Lee in May 2006 for the restoration of Cheonggyecheon stream in downtown Seoul, which had been covered over during the 1960s, in order to make the city green and more environmentally-friendly during his term as Seoul's mayor from 2002 to 2006. Lee's reform of the city's transportation system also received global praise. Cheonggyecheon is a 5.8 km creek flowing through downtown Seoul, which used to be covered over with concrete for roads and, in 1968 an elevated highway was built over it. In July 2003, then Seoul mayor Lee Myung-bak initiated a project to restore the once polluted stream and successfully transformed it into an clean urban watershed which has become one of Seoul's most popular tourist attractions since the opening in October 2005.
http://www.kois.go.kr/news/news/newsView.asp?serial_no=20080201007&part=102&SearchDay=&page=1
IP5280 Launches Tree Replanting Initiative
IP5280 Communications, Colorado's business VoIP leader, announced today that for each new business that becomes a customer in 2008, the company will plant indigenous trees in non-harvest locations throughout Colorado as a method of replenishing forests devastated by the mountain pine beetle. Within five years, it is estimated that all of Colorado's mature lodgepole forests will be destroyed.
http://newsblaze.com/story/2008013007385700007.mwir/newsblaze/ENVIRONM/Environment.html
Once Upon a Wetland
Sara Benjamin is the Project Director for "Once Upon a Wetland" - a watershed education and wetland restoration project of Oak Grove School in Ojai, California. In partnership with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Meiners Oaks Elementary School and Nordoff High School, the project engages students and the community in restoring the Ojai Meadows Preserve and the Ventura River Watershed.
http://www.cleanestline.com/2008/02/once-upon-a-wet.html
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| New Books & Articles
Carnegie Mellon Visiting Scholar Identifies Vulnerable Areas
A new international study released today warns that ecosystems and societies are at risk from the ongoing warming of our planet. The study, to be published in the Feb. 4-8 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Online Early Edition, outlines the most vulnerable areas of earth at risk for abrupt climate change, according to Elmar Kriegler, a visiting research scholar in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/cmu-cmv020508.php
Climate Change could Wreck Havoc on Crops
Some of the world's poorest regions will be hit hard by climate change as crop losses will become the norm in years to come unless urgent action is taken to address global warming, according to new study by researchers at the Program on Food Security and the Environment (FSE) in Stanford University. The researchers used data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to identify 12 of the most malnourished regions in the world. Furthermore they also analyzed the impact of climate change on temperature and rainfall in these areas.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/181646,climate-change-could-wreck-havoc-on-crops-study.html
US Drought 'Man-Made'
The water shortages gripping the western US are the result of global warming, not natural variations in climate, according to a bleak study by hydrologists. The results suggest that water disputes will plague the region in the future and damage economic growth unless action is taken now, warn researchers. About 60% of the changes seen in river flow in the western US are due to warming caused by humans, their study suggests.
http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn13262-us-drought-manmade-says-study.html
River Plants May Play Major Role in Health of Ocean Coastal Waters
Recent research at MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering suggests how aquatic plants in rivers and streams may play a major role in the health of large areas of ocean coastal waters. This work, which appeared in the Dec. 25 issue of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics (JFM), describes the physics of water flow around aquatic plants and demonstrates the importance of basic research to environmental engineering.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200801302241.htm
The Big Thaw Reaches Mongolia's Pristine North
As warmer temperatures affect plants, animals, and human society, researchers ask whether ecological changes can be reversed.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/319/5863/567
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| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Maine: Cash Key to Defending Wetlands
Developers who want permission to fill or destroy wetlands in Maine routinely have to preserve or restore similar wildlife habitat nearby. But it can be a daunting process, especially for small development projects. And the restoration efforts are sometimes haphazard and not part of any long-term or coordinated plan. Now, state and federal agencies are teaming up with The Nature Conservancy on a program that could help benefit both developers and wildlife habitat, officials said.
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4731486.html
Survey Asks Missourians to Place Dollar Value on Wetlands
The state of Missouri is asking for help from the public in placing a dollar value on any given acre of wetland by asking people to respond to an online questionnaire. Information from the anonymous survey will help the Department of Natural Resources develop economic tools to evaluate wetland compensation and the costs the public is willing to bear for wetland management and restoration.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-02-091.asp
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Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
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| Agro-Ecology
EPA Nixes Pumping Mississsippi Wetlands Dry for Agriculture
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is threatening to veto a $220 million Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project in the Mississippi Delta known as Yazoo Pump that environmentalists have long opposed for its adverse impact on wildlife and wetlands. The world's largest hydraulic pumping plant would be used to drain wetlands to open the land up to agriculture.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-04-093.asp
Audio: Farming the Amazon with a Machete and Mulch
On jungle land at the mouth of the Amazon River, one resourceful female farmer has become a master of adaptation in a landscape of constant change. Her story offers an example of how individuals might face the challenges of climate change.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18656632&ft=1&f=1025
Sub-Saharan Africa: Bad Farming Practices Blamed for Infertile Soils
The urgency to restore soil fertility in Africa stems from the fact that more than three-quarters of the farmland in sub-Saharan Africa has been so depleted of the basic nutrients that crops need for survive, leading to reduced crop yields. The soils are also low in organic matter and have poor water holding capacity. Experts warn that until these conditions are reversed, food production in Africa will remain depressed. They also say that unsustainable land practices are contributing to massive erosion and deforestation.
http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news0402082.htm
Officials can Help Solve Dead-zone Issue
A battle could be brewing between fishermen and farmers over dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. More than six years after a special task force pledged to reduce the zone to a quarter of its size by 2015, it is still growing. Last year's dead zone was the third largest on record. Runoff from farms along the Mississippi River and its tributaries is a large part of the problem, but not the only part. A dead zone is also created by soil erosion, urban runoff and dumping of sewage into the river.
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080202/OPINION/80201022/1014
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| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Unnatural Preservation
As the planet grows hotter, and the consensus mounts that the temperature is not turning back down, there may be a lot less meaning in the idea of preserving "naturalness" than has been the case. After all, in the not-too-distant future, the state of nature will in many cases be something nobody's ever seen.
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17481
New Zealand: Green is the New Black
In a first for public conservation land, DOC helps businesses gain their green credentials through a "win-win" investment in biodiversity. The recent announcement by Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick on the tender for investment in forest carbon sink projects on public conservation land opens up some exciting opportunities for companies keen to compensate for their carbon footprints. Ms Chadwick says "It is potentially a classic win-win."
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0802/S00023.htm
Conservation, Restoration Strategies Must Shift With Global Environmental Change
Sustaining and enhancing altered ecosystems has become the new mantra for conservation and restoration managers as ecosystems continue to change in response to global warming and other environmental changes, says a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. Professor Timothy Seastedt of CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department said atmospheric pollution, climate change, exotic species invasions, extinctions and land fragmentation have altered virtually every ecosystem on the planet. Managers and biologists should be nurturing so-called "novel ecosystems" -- thriving combinations of plants, animals and habitat that have never occurred together before -- and developing new conservation strategies for them, he said.
http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2008/32.html
Restoring Australian Biodiversity
This project is an attempt to restore the ecology of a more than 25-million hectare swathe of land in Western Australia running from the arid red interior of the continent to the wet forests of the southwest coast, by converting the farmland that fragments it back to bush.
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2008/01/restoring-australias-biodiversity.html
UK: Peat Bogs Pelted with Heather to Slow CO2 Emissions
Bales of heather fell from the sky onto a peat plateau in the Peak District yesterday, in the latest attempt to halt what scientists believe is a dangerous emitter of carbon dioxide. Instead of acting as a natural store, or sink, for CO2, peat bogs such as the district's Bleaklow are leaking the gas, a process which experts put down to exposure to 200 years of pollution, overgrazing and fire. The gas is thought to be a big contributor to climate change.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/31/endangeredhabitats.carbonemissions
Should We be Taxed for Eating Animals?
For those attending any of the presidential candidates' major events last month, it was hard to miss the pigs. Outside of nearly every rally and campaign stop across the state, you could find members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) dressed in bright pink pig costumes, handing out buttons and literature emblazoned with the slogan "Stop Global Warming: Tax Meat."
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A40029
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Research on Large Wildfires Spotlighted at AFE Conference
University's Department of Natural Resources Management was prominently featured at the Association for Fire Ecology's regional conference, which was held Jan. 28-31 in Tucson. Officials said the conference, technically called "Fire in the Southwest: Integrating Fire into Management of Changing Ecosystems," provided a forum for exchange of scientific information on the ecology and management of fire adapted and affected ecosystems in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico in a time of changing climate.
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/agriculturalsciences/news/?p=377
Peru: "For Sale" Signs in Amazon Jungle
The Peruvian Congress plans this week to debate a draft law pushed by the government that would authorise the sale of vast tracts of deforested, uncultivated land in the Amazon jungle to private companies that invest in "reforestation" efforts. But critics say there is no land registry showing which natural areas could be sold off without hurting the region's rich biodiversity or affecting local residents who do not hold formal title to their land.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41079
Texas: Dell, Travelocity and Universal Lend Critical Support to Restore Native Forests
Representatives from Dell and Travelocity joined The Conservation Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Environmental Synergy, Inc. (ESI) today to announce the restoration of 158 acres of forestland that will address climate change, restore sensitive wildlife habitat and enhance public recreation areas at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in East Texas. Private support for the initiative was made possible via a mix of customer and corporate donations from Dell, Travelocity, Universal Studios, NBC Universal and individual donors to The Conservation Fund's Go Zero(SM) program. Over their lifetime, the newly planted bald cypress, oak and pecan trees will trap more than 63,000 tons of carbon dioxide -- a potent greenhouse gas. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYTU15329012008-1.htm
Argentina: Impenetrable Neglect
The "El Impenetrable" forest, which covers nearly four million hectares in northern Argentina, could finally be protected thanks to a new forestry law, after decades of deforestation which have plunged impoverished indigenous people in the area into a grave humanitarian crisis. After a campaign that managed to collect 1.5 million signatures, the forestry law finished winding its way slowly through Congress and was passed late last year.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41042
Montana: Officials Release Land-use Proposal
After six years and 11,000 comments, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has released its latest proposal for a land-use management plan for the 3.38 million-acre national forest in southwest Montana. The 503-page plan proposes to restore watersheds, manage timber harvest, recommend additional wilderness and establish where motorized and non-motorized recreation will occur.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/06/news/mtregional/news10.txt
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| Wetland Restoration
Congo: Wetlands Reserve to be World's Second Largest
WWF has welcomed the World Wetlands Day declaration of the world's second largest internationally recognized and protected significant wetlands reserve in the Congo as a clear sign of the world's increasing interest in the green heart of Africa. The nearly 6 million hectares of inundated forest making up the Grand Affluents wetland in the middle reaches of the Congo River was one of five wetlands in the Congo and the Cameroon to be notified under the RAMSAR Convention on internationally significant wetlands today.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/30518
Malaysia: Lost Wetlands being Recovered
Malaysia has lost almost half of its mangroves over the past four decades and this alarming trend will continue if we do not recognise the grave implications. Malaysian wetlands shrunk to 564,970 hectares four years ago from the estimated 1.1 million hectares of mangroves in 1966, said Sarala Aikanathan, Wetlands International Malaysia director.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Focus/20080203092539/Article/index_html
Kansas: Sand Creek Restoration Nears
After more than a decade of all talk and little noticeable action, the Sand Creek Restoration Project is set to get under way. The construction is scheduled to begin early this spring. In December the project was bid out by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Utility Contractors of Wichita was the low bidder at $10. 3 million.
http://www.thekansan.com/stories/020208/topstories_0202080006.shtml
UK: Restoring Wetlands 'Reduces Flood Risk'
Recreating wetlands and restoring peat bogs and free-flowing rivers could dramatically reduce the risk of flooding, according to Natural England. The conservation agency said England's national parks and farm landscapes could hold the key to sustainable and cost-effective flood prevention through increasing the natural capacity of the countryside to absorb and hold excess water.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/30/eaflood130.xml
Lecture Explores Iraqi Marsh Reconstruction
The Savage Lecture Series, hosted by the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, continues to enlighten students, faculty and community members on the subject of reconstructing cities after war or disaster. The series, "Cities in War, Struggle, and Peace: The Architecture of Memory and Life - Rebuilding Cities after War and Disaster," held its fourth of six lectures Tuesday night. Dr. Azzam Alwash is the CEO of Nature Iraq, a non-governmental organization "focused on the protection and restoration of the environment and rich cultural heritage of Iraq". http://media.www.dailyemerald.com/media/storage/paper859/news/2008/01/31/News/Lecture.Explores.Iraqi.Marsh.Reconstruction-3179945.shtml
Developer Fined for Despoiling Hawaii's Largest Wetland
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday fined Frank Coluccio Construction Co. and Castle Family LLC a total of $68,000 for filling sensitive wetlands without federal permits.
The fill, adjacent to Hamakua Stream near Kailua on the island of Oahu, affected the largest wetland in the Hawaiian islands, the Kawainui Marsh. "We will protect the Kailua wetlands from illegal filling and ensure it is restored to provide water bird habitat, flood storage, and protect the island's coastal water quality," said Alexis Strauss, water division director for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-02-092.asp
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River & Watershed Restoration
Oregon: A River Restored - Pulling the Plug
A puff of white smoke and a cheering throng marked the official demise of Marmot Dam last summer. Portland General Electric's decision to breach the 94-year-old dam on the Sandy River fit into a recent pattern of utilities choosing to ditch relatively small energy-producing dams to help salmon. But what happens after the dignitaries go home, and a century's worth of mud, rocks and debris tumbles down the river?
http://columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01312008_A-River-Restored-Pulling-the-Plug.cfm
Rhode Island: Shannock Fish Restoration gets Boost
The Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association will receive $35,000 from the state Coastal Resources Management Council toward a planned fish restoration at the Lower Shannock Falls Dam. The group plans to remove the dam and abandon the adjacent mill channel to restore fish passage in the upper Pawcatuck River, opening the river system to nearly 1,300 acres of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for migrating fish.
http://www.projo.com/news/environment/SC_SHANNOCK_FISH01_02-01-08_R68RFVB_v11.39a5458.html
Utah: Tree Planting Project Finishes Goal of 9,000
No one takes the words of Joyce Kilmer, who penned the words "I think that I shall never see a poem more lovely than a tree," more seriously than TreeUtah, a nonprofit organization that seeks to replant the state of Utah one tree at a time. Dedicated to planting trees, stewardship and education, TreeUtah set a goal to plant nearly 9,000 seedlings along the Jordan River restoration site in South Jordan.
http://www.sltrib.com/southvalley/ci_8130605
Virginia: Reston Will Repair 14 Miles of Eroded Streams
Reston will embark on a watershed restoration project next month intended to repair 14 miles of severely eroded streams, lure back long-missing organisms and send cleaner runoff into nearby lakes, rivers and bays. Runoff systems built in the 1960s and '70s long channeled the town's storm water directly into streams, causing them to deepen over time, surge with each rain and eventually deteriorate to an "unacceptable ecological condition," said officials with the Reston Association, which owns and maintains the planned community's lake and stream system.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/30/AR2008013001425.html
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| Grassland Restoration
Michigan: Deweeding the Wild
One of the exciting aspects of habitat restoration (and I mean exciting!) is the use of fire to reclaim those prairies. Controlled burns have been used now at least for 20 years to help the prairies that are left, keeping them healthier by burning out the aliens, shrubs and trees that cannot survive the fire and reclaiming their lost edges.
http://www.blogsmonroe.com/gardening/?p=125
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| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
Israel: Clearing the Pine Tree's Name
The argument over the pine forests becomes even more intense regarding the northern Negev. "The ecological argument intensifies here," Osem says, "since the desert afforestation is based largely on imported species, and this creates an extreme environmental change. This is a confrontation between the classic ecological viewpoint of preserving the natural desert environment and an act of afforestation that is considered to be against nature. At the same time, some consider this an important act in terms of settlement, encouraging tourism and lowering local temperatures."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/951553.html
California: BLM Drops Desert Road Plan for Furnace Creek the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced that it is withdrawing its environmental assessment on a proposal to allow the construction of a new road through Furnace Creek. This rare perennial desert stream in the eastern Sierra Nevada winds its way through California's largest unprotected wilderness, including the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0130-03.htm
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| Lake Restoration
Great Lakes Restoration Program Gets Funding
Wetlands in the Great Lakes region will receive a helping hand from a government and private-sector collaboration established to restore and protect the freshwater ecosystem. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, vice chair of the Great Lakes Commission, and other Chicago officials introduced the Great Lakes Watershed Restoration Program at the Shedd Aquarium last week. The program, designed to protect and restore the habitat and ecosystem of the Great Lakes, will be funded by a combined $5.1 million grant from a new partnership between the ArcelorMittal USA Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as well as other federal agency partners.
http://chicagojournal.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&ArticleID=3914
Florida: Agencies Agree to Fund DeBary Bayou Restoration Study
Two state agencies agreed Wednesday to bypass a federal logjam and fund a study on cleaning out and restoring water flows in the DeBary Bayou. "I think we can take the lead on this," said Noranne Downs, head of the Florida Department of Transportation's Central Florida office. "We have the staff and resources." At a meeting of state and city officials and residents, the St. Johns River Water Management District agreed with the department to share the $100,000 cost of a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD05013108.htm
Illinois: What Happened to Horseshoe Lake?
"Our project has been delayed because of a lack of funds," Atchley tells me. "Basically, we're dead in the water until we get additional funding." But, Atchley stresses, the project itself is not dead and public opposition four years ago did not take it off the table. "That's not the case, no. This is an ecosystem restoration project and the lake has been degraded over the last number of years." So, it's money, not local concern, that put the draining of Horseshoe Lake on hold. And because the goal is to restore the lake's ecosystem, worries about fishing and tourism do not top the list. Tamara Atchley feels the funding could shake lose in the next couple of years. An IDNR spokesman tells me state money will be available when the Corps is ready to go.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=7805696&nav=menu51_2
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| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Florida: Miami Looks to Mexico, Panama for Sand Refill
Grain by grain, Miami Beach is losing the fine, bone-white sand that helps draw tourists. More than 5 million visitors a year pump $8 billion into the economy, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. With domestic sources playing out, the city is asking for federal help to lift a 21- year-old ban on importing sand. ``We're the first county in Florida that's run out of sand,'' said Brian Flynn, who heads the beach restoration project for Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management. ``People are starting to realize sand is a finite resource.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a.Q3uSSAsRUc&refer=latin_america
Maryland: Lack of Fossilized Oysters puts Crimp on Bay Restoration
For decades, the state hired contractors to drop dredges deep into the muddy floor of the Chesapeake Bay, to haul up oyster shells that were thousands of years old. The shells were used in a program called "repletion," which gave a boost to struggling watermen by increasing the oyster population in harvest areas. The shells also were used to rebuild long-vanished oyster reefs that could be planted with baby oysters for environmental restoration.
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/02_02-12/ENV
Report Reveals 'Alarming' Rate of Mangrove Habitat Loss
Mangrove ecosystems should be better protected, the UN's food agency has warned as it published new figures showing that 20% of the world's mangrove area has been destroyed since 1980. A study by the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that the environmental and economic damages caused by the "alarming" loss of mangroves in many countries should be urgently addressed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/01/endangeredhabitats.conservation
Working Together to Prevent Decline of Coastal Ecosystems
Recent scientific studies have documented the alarming decline in coastal ecosystems and habitats worldwide. For example, global coastal population densities are nearly three times that of inland areas, and they are rising rapidly. The long-term sustainability of these populations is dependent on coastal ecosystems and the services they provide, such as storm buffering, fisheries production, and enhanced water quality.
http://www.scitizen.com/screens/blogPage/viewBlog/sw_viewBlog.php?idTheme=13&idContribution=1412&PHPSESSID=23d7983ec8f9ae4dd164a67bb8a12768
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Wildlife Restoration
US/Mexico: Border Wall Condemns Jaguars to Extinction
Jaguars have no place in the United States, although a handful still roam the southwest. Environmentalists suspect the real reason U.S. officials are allowing the jaguar to become extinct is the "security" wall being built along the Mexican border. Ecologists have long warned that the border wall -- actually a series of walls -- will have big impacts on wildlife and the region's fragile and unique ecology.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41046
Virginia: Merrimac Farm to be State Wildlife Area
A long battle to save Merrimac Farm near Nokesville as an important natural habitat has come to a successful conclusion. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has purchased the 300-acre plus property and added it to its statewide network of wildlife management areas. The property was recently acquired by the department with support from the Prince William Conservation Alliance, Quantico Marine Corps base and the McDowell family, who owned the property.
http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=MJM/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354429177&path=
Mongolia: Snow Leopard Conservationists to Launch Major Study
A snow leopard conservation group on Monday said it planned to launch a major study in Mongolia that is designed to contribute to future strategies for protecting the endangered animal. The Snow Leopard Trust has agreed to cooperate with the Mongolian government and several other conservation groups in the initial 10-year study, using advanced technology such as remote cameras and genetic monitoring.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/182415,snow-leopard-conservationists-to-launch-major-study-in-mongolia.html
Oregon: $4-Million to Help Return Salmon, Steelhead to Upper Deschutes
Lottery funds will provide economic benefits and improve water quality while bringing salmon and steelhead to their home waters. "Upper Deschutes" refers to the area above the Pelton-Round Butte Project which consists of three different dams that have been a barrier to fish since 1968. This crucial habitat, upstream of the dams, is the target of OWEB's Upper Deschutes investment of $4 million. The SIP is a large-scale commitment to restore water quality and habitat for these returning fish as well as resident native fish.
http://www.bendweekly.com/Statewide-News/12639.html
Pakistan: Habitat Fragmentation - Birds on the Verge of Extinction
An enormous increase in tree felling and pollution across the city has brought many species of birds on the verge of extinction. Ornithologists said the loss of natural habitat was one of the major reasons that had affected the bird population. They said a number of bird species had vanished from Lahore and adjacent areas because of tree cutting, pollution and dust.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C02%5C05%5Cstory_5-2-2008_pg13_1
California: Funds to Help Restore Sage Grouse Habitat
The Sierra Nevada Conservancy has awarded $98,500 to the federal Bureau of Land Management for on-the-ground projects to restore sage grouse habitat in the high desert areas of northeastern California. An additional $48,400 will help fund a coordinator for the Buffalo-Skedaddle Landscape Management Restoration Initiative, said Jeff Fontana, a BLM spokesman.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/687645.html
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| Extractive Industries
US Blocks Scientific Report on Arctic Environment
The United States has prevented the full release of a major new assessment of the impact of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic region. The report had taken six years to compile and was produced by scientists working for the Arctic Council, an international body of which the US is a member. At the release of the report, on January 21 in Tromso, Norway, scientists expressed "huge frustration" that US representatives had blocked the full disclosure of an objective, science-based attempt to manage the future exploitation of Arctic energy reserves. One of the report's authors, speaking off the record, stated that the US government had prevented the publication of the document's executive summary and had censored any "plain language conclusions."
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/feb2008/arct-f05.shtml
UK: Fears over Mine Restoration Plans
Residents in a Gwendraeth Valley village are afraid plans to remove coal from a former colliery will result in opencast mining in the area.A planning application to remove coal from the former Ponthenri colliery has been submitted to Carmarthenshire Council. The proposals would see the removal of coal spoils and the restoration of 26 hectares of derelict land at Ponthenri and Pentremawr Colliery.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=161366&command=displayContent&sourceNode=162951&contentPK=19731556&folderPk=88498&pNodeId=162956
Florida: Impacts to Wildlife, Wetlands Too Damaging
Mosaic Fertilizer LLC is offering to build a new fire station and a 70- acre park in Duette as part of the deal to phosphate mine approximately 2,028 acres of Parcel 4 of the Altman Tract. The Manatee County Commission has scheduled a public hearing Tuesday on the plan.
Parcel 4 contains a significant percentage of wetlands and listed plant and animal species. Many of the wetlands are high quality in condition. Of the 2,028 acres, 732 acres are wetlands. Overall, Mosaic is proposing to impact 397 acres (54 percent) of the 732 acres of wetlands.
http://www.bradenton.com/opinion/story/374165.html
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| Invasive Species
India: Weeds Threaten Manas Biodiversity
Invasive weeds have posed a serious threat to the grassland of Manas National Park, a biodiversity hotspot that shelters the country's highest number of endangered animals (21 species). A long-term study on the biodiversity status of Manas Biosphere Reserve by a team led by Prof CK Baruah of the Dept of Botany, Gauhati University, with support of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, has confirmed the weed invasion as serious.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb0508/at09
Maryland: Exotic Hydrilla Linked to Restoration of Waterfowl Habitat
Once deemed a harmful nuisance, aquatic plant has been linked to an increase in wildlife, native grass species. Invasive species are often considered a bane for ecosystems, but recent research shows that some exotic species of underwater grass provide needed habitat for wildlife in the Bay. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey who have studied underwater grass beds in the Potomac River found that exotic species, especially hydrilla, which was once considered a harmful nuisance, have helped to restore key ecosystem functions such as habitat for waterfowl.
http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=3264
Top Invasive Species Fingered by European List
Deadly fish, exotic ladybirds and huge jellyfish are just some of the invasive species which that threaten the environment and economy in Europe. So warn researchers who have compiled the first comprehensive database of Europe's invaders and alien species. The database for the "DAISIE" project is the first of its kind, as it not only logs all current invaders, but also possible invaders of the future. It was launched at a meeting in Portoroz, Slovenia on 23 January.
http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn13284-top-invasive-species-fingered-by-european-list.html
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| Urban Restoration
Philippines: 1.8 Million Trees Planted in Central Luzon
About 1.8 million indigenous forest trees were planted in 1,515 hectares of protected watersheds, agroforestry, mangrove and urban areas, and along 274-kilometer stretch of coastal areas in Central Luzon, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2008/02/06/news/1.8.million.trees.planted.in.central.luzon.html
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| Recreation & Tourism
Argentina: Tourism Growth Threatens Glacier Lake
The ice front of the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina is five kilometres wide and up to 70 metres high, as it moves majestically across the Lago Argentino, oblivious to the environmental threat posed by the rapid growth of the nearby tourist centre which hosts thousands of visitors. The Perito Moreno is the biggest attraction among the 365 glaciers in Los Glaciares National Park, in the southern province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia. Over the last seven years, the number of tourists visiting from all over the world has risen from 5,000 a year to over 500,000, Park authorities say.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41087
Australia: $1M Restoration of Wetlands Under Way
The $1 million-plus rehabilitation works at the Heathdale Glen Orden Wetlands, are expected to be completed by the middle of the year. The wetlands will then have an observation shelter for viewing wildlife, playgrounds, fitness circuit and a new boardwalk.
http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/54398
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| Funding Opportunities
US: Program to Help Ohio Watersheds
If you are an agricultural producer interested in wetland restoration within the Tiffin or Blanchard River watersheds, you may be eligible for technical assistance and funding. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a voluntary land retirement program within the Farm Bill title that helps agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land, decrease erosion, restore wildlife habitat and safeguard ground and surface water. Landowners enrolled in CREP receive monetary compensation for helping improve the condition of Ohio's land and water resources.
http://ohiofarmer.com/index.aspx?ascxid=fpStory&fpsid=31993&fpstid=2
US: FishAmerica Foundation/NOAA Restoration Center Closes February 11, 2008
The FishAmerica Foundation/NOAA Restoration Center partnership requests proposals for local efforts to accomplish meaningful on-the-ground restoration of marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species (fish like salmon and striped bass that migrate to and from the sea). Emphasis is on using a hands-on, grassroots approach to restore fisheries habitat across coastal America and U.S. Territories of the Caribbean.
http://www.charitychannel.com/publish/templates/?a=15219&z=26
US: Five Star Restoration Matching Grants Program Closes February 15, 2008
The Five Star Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration. The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Wildlife Habitat Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Southern Company, and our newest partner Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), are pleased to solicit applications for the Five Star Restoration Program.
http://www.naco.org/MOTemplate.cfm?Section=Grants_Clearinghouse&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25748
UK: £120k Woodland Grants on Offer Closes February 29, 2008
People in Cumbria are being offered another chance to apply for grants totalling £120,000 to help make the region even greener, thanks to a Forestry Commission grant scheme boost. The Woodland Improvement Grant Scheme (WIG) aims to provide landowners with support for improving public access and biodiversity. Projects include work that benefits the environment and the creation of new places for people to enjoy healthy exercise. http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/viewarticle.aspx?id=576639
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