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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
America's Wetland Announces Call for Student Artists
The "prize" for every participant is making a contribution to building a sustainable coast with healthy wetlands, which protect humans, their homes, and the hundreds of species that inhabit America's Wetland. The top entry in each category will receive $500 for a restoration event and recognition on the America's Wetland website.
http://blog.nola.com/staa/2008/02/americas_wetland_announces_cal.html
Canada: Science/Traditional Knowledge Presentation Upcoming
By weaving together traditional knowledge and western science, researchers Anne Salomon and Sugpiaq Elder Nick Tanape Sr. reveal the roles of natural factors and shoreline harvest leading to recent bidarki declines. Nick and Anne will tell this story in public presentations on Thurdsay evening, February 28 in Skidegate at the Haida Heritage Centre Performing House, and on Friday evening, February 29th in Masset at the Nature Centre at Delkatla.
http://www.qciobserver.com/Article.aspx?Id=3116
Seek Leads to Early Projects and Initiatives for History of Restoration
We are interested in documenting projects that represent early attempts at restoration, as defined by SER, or that are related to this form of land management in interesting ways. We are also interested in initiatives related to the development and application of restoration for environmental, educational or scientific purposes, or its use in landscaping, soil rehabilitation, hydrological management and the like. We are focusing on work in the United States and Canada, but are also interested in projects in other parts of the world that help place this work in broader perspective. We would very much appreciate hearing from SER members who know of projects that might play an important or interesting role in the story we are putting together. If you have suggestions, please contact me at newacademy@comcast.net, 815-337-6896; or George at George.Lubick@NAU.EDU; 928-523-6211.
Wetland Restoration and Wetland Delineation Short Courses
Professional wetland short courses for practicing engineers, planners, scientists, and resource managers at the Heffner Wetland Building at the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, Columbus, Ohio. July 9-11, 2008 (3 days) CREATION AND RESTORATION OF WETLANDS with William J. Mitsch and Roy R. "Robin" Lewis, and August 11-15, 2008 (5 days) WETLAND DELINEATION with Ralph W. Tiner, Mark D. DeBrock, Frank Gibbs, and William J. Mitsch.
http://swamp.osu.edu/ShortCourses/index.html
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. |
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People in the News
David Attenborough: Buying Land can Save the World's Wilderness Areas
John Vidal's article makes some very pertinent observations about people and organisations that buy land for conservation, but let us not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I am a patron of the World Land Trust (WLT) and, in essence, we agree with most of what Vidal is saying, but we are also convinced that publicly funded land purchase can play a major role in the conservation of the last remaining wilderness areas of the world.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/21/conservation
Waubonsee Recognized for Environmental Efforts
Waubonsee Community College was honored by the Conservation Foundation at the group's Winter Membership and Awards Luncheon today. The college was given a Sustainable Development Award in recognition of its environmentally friendly landscaping and building practices. Waubonsee Community College Board of Trustees Chair Richard "Shorty" Dickson, Vice-Chair Jim Pilmer, Board Member Jim Michels and Waubonsee President Dr. Christine J. Sobek accepted the award on behalf of the college.
http://www.waubonsee.edu/news_topic_summary.php?contentGroupDepartmentName=Public%20Relations&contentID=1477
Gunther Wins Flaherty Park Excellent Award
On Monday, February 18th Rob Gunther, Park Forest Superintendent of Parks received the Great Lakes Park Training Institute's Daniel Flaherty Park Excellent Award at their annual training conference at Pokagon State Park in Angola, Indiana. The award for "Outstanding Achievement in Parks and Recreation" was presented for the Central Park Wetland Restoration Project.
http://www.enewspf.com/latest/gunther-wins-flaherty-park-excellent-award.html
US: Bush Forest Official, Facing Jail
He overhauled U.S. government forest policy to cut down more trees and became a lightning rod for environmentalists who say he is intent on logging every tree in his reach. After nearly seven years in office, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey still has a long to-do list. Near the top: Persuade a federal judge to keep him out of jail.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Forest-Kingpin.php |
| New Books & Articles
Sumatran Deforestation Driving Climate Change and Species Extinction
The destruction of Sumatra's natural forests is accelerating global climate change and pushing endangered species closer to extinction, a new report warned today. A study from WWF claims that converting the forests and peat swamps of just one Sumatran province into plantations for pulpwood and palm oil is generating more annual greenhouse gas emissions than the Netherlands, and is endangering local elephant and tiger populations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/27/climatechange.forests
First Chapter of Book of Life Goes Live
The ambitious Encyclopedia of Life project published its first web pages on Earth's biological diversity on 26 February - one species per page. Born of a 2003 essay by biologist Edward O. Wilson and formally announced in May 2007, the website (http://eol.org) aims to create an extensive, expert-created page for each of Earth's 1.8 million named species.
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080226/full/4511038b.html
Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual Series
Get practical, comprehensive information on watershed restoration techniques with the Center's Urban Subwatershed Restoration Manual series. Together, the USRM manuals introduce an integrated framework for urban watershed restoration, outline effective techniques for assessing urban watersheds, and provide a comprehensive review of watershed restoration techniques.
http://www.cwp.org/PublicationStore/USRM.htm
Conservation of Wildlife May Prevent Emerging Diseases
Deadly emerging diseases have roughly quadrupled over the past 50 years, according to new research by an international team of scientists who have mapped the outbreaks' main sources. New diseases originating from wild animals in poor countries are the greatest threat to humans, the scientists warn. These diseases spread to humans who move into shrinking pockets of biodiversity and have contacts with wildlife there.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-20-01.asp
Rainforest Fragmentation Affects Reptiles and Amphibians
Deforestation of tropical ecosystems is one of the major threats to biological diversity. Anthropogenic activities transform tropical environments into semi-natural landscapes generating a great amount of forest edge that limits with pastures and agricultural lands. Between-patch isolation and within-patch edge effects modify animal community structure and movements.
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0220-urbina.html
Rock Weirs as Tools for Stabilization in Restoration Projects
Rock weirs and root revetments were the main structural components in two San Francisco Bay Area creek restoration projects completed in the 1990's: Uvas Creek in the South Bay and Wildcat Creek in the East Bay. David Rosgen assisted in the design of both restoration projects and the similarities between the two designs are striking considering the differences in size, sediment load, setting and general circumstances of the projects. The two projects have reacted differently in the time that has passed since project completion.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/wrca/restoration/ball/
Limiting Catch to Largest Fish may Promote Weak Gene Pool
Rules that allow only the catching of larger fish may encourage their replacement with slower growing, more timid varieties. That, at least, is the concern of researchers who studied test populations in two artificial lakes and report their findings in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Peter Biro of the department of environmental science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, explained that it's the fast-growing, more aggressive fish that tend to get caught, removing them from the breeding pool.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004203435_fishy26.html |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Canada: B.C. Announces $10-million Plan to Revitalize Abandoned, Underutilized Lands
Agriculture Minister Pat Bell has announced a $10-million plan to revitalize abandoned and underutilized lands called brownfields. "These funds will allow (for) the redevelopment of both Crown and private sites," Bell said Monday at a Victoria housing development that is an example of brownfield revitalization. He said the plan will help promote environmental restoration and economic revitalization throughout B.C.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gHFCCk_ER17ijCrikkF9U-vxex3g |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
The Indigenous Knowledge Vs Scientific Knowledge
India has long history as a cradle of civilization. The journey from early civilization to present day have came up with various things. One such vital boon is our indigenous knowledge. The local practices which are being practiced by different communities in nooks and corners of our country is having immense importance, not only for the local people, but also for the local economy,environment,culture,and to our knowledge system.
http://ecovista.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/the-indigenous-knowledge-vs-scientific-knowledge/
Before The Wilderness: Environmental Management by Native Californians
A new appreciation for the diversity and potential complexity of nonagricultural economies, in conjunction with a better understanding of the often sophisticated systems of traditional knowledge upon which they are based, has led to a growing recognition that the rigid and rather monolithic conceptual dichotomy traditionally drawn between the seemingly passive `food procurement' lifestyle of 'hunter-gatherers' and the apparently more active `food production' adaptation of 'agriculturalists' is inadequate, overly simplistic, and dangerously misleading.
http://westinstenv.org/histwl/2008/02/24/before-the-wilderness-environmental-management-by-native-californians/ |
| Agro-Ecology
Using Organic Fertilizers could Protect against Climate Change
Studies show that soil fertilized with organic materials, such as compost, could increase the amount of stored carbon and potentially help slow down greenhouse emissions. Applying organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting, to agricultural land could increase the amount of carbon stored in these soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research published in a special issue of Waste Management & Research (Special issue published today by SAGE).
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/31734
Minimum Tillage Means Maximum Output
Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, has become loquacious about carbon emissions and the need for farming, Labour's pet hate industry, to do something about them. But he doesn't seem to know about the solution being discussed all over the farming, energy and environment press: minimum tillage.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/22/eawigan122.xml
Eco-Experts Call for Clear Climate Concepts for Organic Farming
All consumers and experts would agree that, whenever a person eats organic products, they are also doing something for the environment. But does an organic apple from Argentina protect the climate more or better than a conventional apple from a nearby orchard? This seems to be an area, in which the organic sector still has some catching up to do, if one is to believe the experts that came together last Thursday to discuss issues affecting the organic sector.
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=220287
Washington: Farm Program Helps Environment
Starting March 1 farmers will turn over something they've grown for the community and not for profit. This is the eighth year of the Farmers Growing Trees for Salmon program, and this year they plan on passing out 4,000 trees for people to plant near freshwater areas, including streams and rivers. The goal is to add native trees such as red cedar, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir to create shade, which provides a variety of benefits for fish.
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/business/story/328593.html |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Transboundary Protected Areas
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) defines the term peace park as an area "formally dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and to the promotion of peace and co-operation." Peace Parks constitute but one type of transboundary protected area (TBPA), which in turn is defined as: "An area of land and/or sea that straddles one or more boundaries between states, sub-national units such as provinces and regions, autonomous areas and/or areas beyond the limits of national sovereignty or jurisdiction, whose constituent parts are especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed co-operatively through legal or other effective means."
http://www.earthportal.org/?page_id=70
Harper Mired in the Sands in Climate-Change Debate
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is becoming increasingly isolated on the critical issue of climate change -- splashing around in a toxic backwater with charisma-challenged Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach. By following the lead of B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell instead, he could ride the issue to his much-coveted majority.
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=8d19c38e-2458-49e5-9238-3207732ac1be
Natural Factors Disturb Forest Carbon Cycles
Managed forests could become a net source of greenhouse gases in the near future. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers in Canada who say that the net greenhouse gas balance of their country's managed forests is strongly affected by natural variations and trends that occur from one year to the next. These trends include forest fires and insects and can transform these ecosystems from carbon sinks to sources in a relatively short period.
http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/research/33008;jsessionid=CB88A4091551298E9CF49B2911DE93D8
Australia: Building a Second Ark
For nearly 10 years Tammie Matson, a zoologist, worked in Africa to preserve endangered species, such as the black-faced impala, but it was Australia's appalling record at protecting its own mammals that drew her back home. For Dr Matson, one statistic summed it up: of all the mammal species that became extinct in the past 200 years, nearly half were Australian.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/building-a-second-ark/2008/02/22/1203467390101.html
Florida: Critter Conservation Clashes with Finances
Scoot over, homebuyers. The biggest beneficiaries of the housing slump might be the state's furry and feathered residents. Biologists say the depressed real estate market has opened a rare window of opportunity for state and county conservation programs to snatch up large, connected land parcels at lower costs, creating "green" wildlife corridors to save endangered species.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NEWS01/802250327&template=palmbay |
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The Erosion of Malta's Only Natural Forest
Malta's natural forest and one of the most unique environmental gems on the island, Buskett Forest, is in peril and needs urgent restoration if it is to survive, veteran ecologist Alfred Baldacchino explained to Alfred Sant who was visiting Buskett on Saturday. Mr Baldacchino said that a management plan, drawn up by ecologists who recognise Buskett as a forest, not just gardens like San Anton, is needed for the rehabilitation of the area.
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/msrv/msfullart.asp?an=19097
Madagascar Hopes Saving Forests can Spur Development
Now, there's hope not only for bringing the indri back, but improving farming techniques on the island and earning it lucrative carbon credits, combining conservation with development. The AndasibeMantadia Corridor Restoration and Conservation Project is a collaboration between the Malagasy government and other major partners, including Conservation International and the World Bank. Joana Coutinho, a consultant working on the project, said the goal is to link the patches that are what's left of eastern Madagascar's rain forest with new plantings until an unbroken stretch of green is restored.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/2/22/apworld/20080222082004&sec=apworld
AfDB Gives $814 Mln for Central Africa Forests
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide $814 million over the next two years to help safeguard Central African forests threatened by war, poverty and poor governance, the bank said on Thursday. Bank President Donald Kaberuka told reporters the money would go to 13 projects aimed at improving the management of natural resources in 2008-2010 in the Congo Basin, home to 37 percent of the world's remaining tropical forests.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/31548
UN Delegation's Visit Highlights Inadequate Studies of Dams' Effects
Over the past week, conservation groups from Panama, Costa Rica, and the United States met with a delegation from the United Nations World Heritage Centre and World Conservation Union, or IUCN, in Panama and Costa Rica to discuss threats to La Amistad International Park. La Amistad is a World Heritage site shared by Panama and Costa Rica that protects the largest, most diverse virgin rainforest remaining in Central America. It is one of the last refuges for such endangered species as the jaguar, ocelot, Central American tapir, resplendent quetzal, and harpy eagle. According to the IUCN, the floral diversity of La Amistad is "perhaps unequaled in any other reserve of equivalent size in the world."
http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0225-10.htm |
| Wetland Restoration
Iowa: Wetland Project Moves Ahead
A long-planned wetland restoration project in northeastern Webster County is scheduled for completion in July. When finished, the more than 215-acre Miller Marsh will serve as a means to both improve water quality and increase the habitat available for water fowl and plants in the area. One major component of the project will be to replace an 18-inch main through the area, said Matt Cosgrove, Webster County Conservation director.
http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/503631.html?nav=5010
California: Part of Salton Sea's Desolate Shore made into a Lush Oasis
One woman created a wetlands Eden with more than 135 bird species. Officials hope it's a microcosm of what will happen when state's restoration plan gets off the drawing board. A few careless words, the snap of a branch and a scene of bucolic splendor became utter chaos. Clouds of great blue herons exploded from trees and swaying cattails. Egrets erupted from watery redoubts. Ducks quacked furiously overhead.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wetlands24feb24,0,4031070.story |
River & Watershed Restoration
New York: In City Waters, Beds (and a Job) for Oysters
Hendrix Creek, flowing for just over a mile in Brooklyn through East New York, passes under the Belt Parkway and between two dormant landfills before it empties into Jamaica Bay. The creek, once fed by a natural stream, now starts at the output pipe of a wastewater treatment plant. It is the perfect kind of place, said John K. McLaughlin, an ecologist for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, for an experimental project that would establish oyster beds, not for harvest, but as living water filters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/nyregion/24oysters.html?ref=science
California: Ventura River Restoration Input Sought
One hundred years ago the Ventura River, cascading down the Ojai mountains to the Pacific Ocean, sustained a burgeoning industrial city. But as businesses and homes sprang up next to the riverbanks like the wild grasses, the waterway fell into neglect and environmental disrepair; it was forced to bear the brunt of human error and ecological-missteps. In 1947 the Matilija Dam put a stranglehold on the river, choking out steelhead trout and removing much-needed soil from the tributary. Now, a group of California Polytechnic University, Pomona Landscape Architecture graduate students are stepping up to help preserve the river on behalf of the environment - and the local community.
http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/ventura_river_restoration_input_sought/5730/
Montana: Researchers Unsure How Dam Removal will Affect River's Ecosystem
Researchers have known for years that a significant number of fish will die in the short term when Milltown Dam is removed, abruptly forcing the Clark Fork River to start reverting to its natural state for the first time in a century. But with the dam to be breached next month, researchers remain uncertain of how many fish, insects and other aquatic organisms will perish, how long that impact will last and how far downstream it will reach.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/20/news/local/news05.txt
Illinois: River Conservation Group Happy with Decree
A river conservation group is pleased that more ideas will be considered in restoration of area rivers as a result of a final consent decree involving an ammonia spill six years ago that killed tens of thousands of fish. U.S. Chief District Judge Michael McCuskey on Feb. 7 approved a consent decree that settles a federal lawsuit filed against the University of Illinois, the Champaign-Urbana Sanitary District and CEDA Inc., the university's cleaning contractor.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008/02/20/river_conservation_group_happy_with
Utah: Tree Planting Project Meets Goal
TreeUtah volunteers planted seedlings along the Jordan River, near 10600 South. Since 1990, TreeUtah has planted 300,000 trees. The goal for the project was to plant 9,000 seedlings. 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.
http://www.sltrib.com/midvalley/ci_8325719 |
| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
Climate Change 'Poses Drought Risk for Africa'
Climate change could pose a new threat to food-insecure Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the USAID Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET). Christopher Funk, a geographer-climatologist from the University of California Santa Barbara and member of FEWS NET, presented their draft Climate Change Impact Report at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston, United States, last week (15 February).
http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=4249&language=1
ADB Helps China Control Spreading Deserts
The Asian Development Bank is working a western China anti-desertification project, estimated to cost up to US$150 million. Manila-based Asian Development Bank [ADB] partnered with the State Forestry Administration of China [SFA] on the Silk Road Ecosystem Restoration project, designed to prevent degradation and desertification in Tibet and the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. "The project was basically formulated last year, as one of the long term customized projects of ADB in China," Christopher Edmonds, ADB's rural development economist and project team leader, told Emerging China. Edmonds estimates that the total cost of the project will be between US$ 100 million (718 million yuan) and US$ 150 million (1.1 billion yuan).
http://desertification.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/adb-helps-china-control-spreading-deserts-google-emerging-china/ |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
California: Major Progress in Wetland Restoration Project
Workers on a 150-acre wetlands restoration project in Del Mar connected the San Dieguito Lagoon to the Pacific Ocean Wednesday, allowing fish to once again return to a long cut-off hatchery. The $86 million San Dieguito Wetlands Restoration Project is being undertaken by Southern California Edison to offset impacts on the marine environment caused by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
http://www.fox6.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=503cb27a-c454-43e7-ae3e-f7be98a61855
Coastal Restoration Effort Aided by Computer Model
Large scale coastal restoration projects like massive diversions of Mississippi River water into neighboring wetland areas are widely seen as the solution to Louisiana's disappearing coast. However, these large scale projects - which are included in several plans for the coast - carry with them a lot of uncertainty about how well they'll work. To answer some of that question, researchers at LSU and several other universities developed a computer model that was recently presented during the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference in Boston.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/suburban/15929892.html |
Wildlife Restoration
India: Asiatic Black Bears Readied for Return to the Wild
Five orphaned endangered Asiatic black bears are being prepared for their return to the wild after having been confiscated from locals who kept them as pets. The bear cubs were hand raised at the Center for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation located in northeast India's Arunachal Pradesh state, which directs orphaned bears through an assisted release program.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-24-03.asp
Arizona to Reintroduce Black-tailed Prairie Dogs
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is poised to reintroduce the black-tailed prairie dog to a portion of its historic range in the southern part of the state. This small burrowing mammal was once common across the grasslands of southeastern Arizona but is now extirpated there due to an extensive poisoning campaign based on the belief that prairie dogs competed with cattle.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-24-092.asp
New York: State DOT, DEC Announce Installation of Fish Ladder on Carmans River
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today unveiled a project to install a specially-designed fish ladder on the Carmans River near State Route 27, Sunrise Highway, in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County. The $200,000 initiative will allow native fish to move upstream beyond a previously impassable barrier to spawn in Hards Lake in Southhaven County Park. http://readme.readmedia.com/news/show/State-DOT-DEC-Announce-Installation-of-Fish-Ladder-on-Carmans-River/65099 |
| Extractive Industries
Montana: Environmental Restoration is Big Business
While mining's legacy has left Montana with more than its share of environmental messes, the state's residents have found ways to live with them, to make handsome profits cleaning them up, and even to promote them as tourist attractions. Across Montana, arsenic-laden creek banks, toxic pits and abandoned mines are providing economic opportunities. The "restoration economy" is creating thousands of jobs - and some of the same kind of get-rich-quick dreams that existed in mining's heyday.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/25/news/local/news04.txt |
| Invasive Species
World's Coastal Waters Riddled with Invasive Species
Eighty-four percent of the world's coasts are being colonized by foreign aquatic species, according to a Nature Conservancy study published this week. San Francisco Bay is the most invaded aquatic region on Earth, the study finds, with 85 invasive species in its waters, 66 percent of them considered harmful. More than half of San Francisco Bay fish and most of its bottom-dwelling organisms are not native to the Bay, and new invaders are constantly being introduced.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-24-01.asp
Florida: Environmentalists Tackle Invasive Plants at Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge
All might appear picturesque and perfect along the miles of remote sandy shore that frames the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. But there's something insidious hiding here with the potential to destroy the dunes that keep the Atlantic Ocean from spilling into the Intracoastal Waterway and threaten the lives of baby sea turtles. A crew of Treasure Coast biologists and land managers set out Monday - with chainsaws, machetes and herbicide - to fight the invasive foreigners known as Australian Pine, Brazilian Pepper and scaevola, better recognized as the Hawaiian half-flower.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/feb/25/environmentalists-tackle-invasive-plants-hobe-soun/
California: Students Restore York Creek
A stretch of York Creek running past Beringer Vineyards was the recipient Tuesday of some much-needed environmental restoration work courtesy of approximately 250 green thumbs. About 125 students from Napa's Blue Oak School removed invasive vegetation along the creek and planted native plants. The project was part of Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW), organized by The Bay Institute, which is devoted to the environmental restoration of the San Francisco Bay watershed.
http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2008/02/21/news/local/doc47bd360d38354536739672.txt |
| Urban Restoration
California: Creek Restoration Unveiled to the Public this Saturday
After more than seven months of restoration and construction, the city of Calabasas is ready to officially celebrate the reopening of the Las Virgenes Creek. The project included the removal of more than 1,500 tons of concrete and other non-native material from the creek between Highway 101 and the Agoura Road bridge. Native vegetation has been planted where concrete and litter used to gather, and a walkway and gazebo along the creek has been built.
http://www.theacorn.com/news/2008/0221/Community/020.html
New York: Restoring Greenways
The promise of restoring the Greenways to their original state had a few constraints. After years of erosion, settlement, shifting of soil and overuse the Greenways had become, in vast swaths, either hardened and impermeable or depressed and flooded. Pine mounds designed by Zion & Breen in some instances had become a visual impediment, making it difficult to see residents entering and leaving building lobbies and the grounds crew had introduced trees, shrubs and annuals with little long term planning.
http://the-landscape.blogspot.com/2008/02/restoration.html |
| Recreation & Tourism
Nevada Conservation Projects Receive $78 Million
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne Wednesday approved $78.6 million for conservation, restoration and recreation projects in Nevada. During the ground breaking for a new visitor center at Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area, Kempthorne announced the funding initiatives, including $25 million for park improvements and $14.6 million to reduce the threat of wildfires around the state.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-21-093.asp
Idaho: River Restoration Group Dips Toes Back in the Water
In its first attempt to organize construction of a community recreation asset on the Big Wood River in Hailey, the Wood River Whitewater Park Committee encountered difficult-to-navigate rapids. Now, a year and a half later, members of the committee are reinvigorated, have hired a new design consultant and are touting the project's potential to improve fish habitat. But that doesn't mean there aren't more rapids ahead.
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005119420 |
| Funding Opportunities
Wyoming's Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust
Returning a river to its natural channel, for example. Redesigning irrigation systems to make them more efficient, or burning prescribed areas to help revive sagebrush, grassland and aspen habitats. The mission of Wyoming's Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust is to help fund projects like these, intended to maintain or improve wildlife habitat and conserve natural resources throughout the state.
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2008/02/17/news/wyoming/dcb45593d28b4bf5872573f20000b205.txt
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
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
IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands: Ecosystems Grant Programme (EGP) Closes March 15, 2008
The IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands Ecosystems Grant Programme (EGP) offers grants of up to €85,000 to fund projects of local organizations in the South that link ecosystem conservation and poverty issues. The programme funds proposals from NGOs and focuses on the following regions - West Africa, Central Africa, Southeast Asia (including Papua New Guinea), Mekong Region, Parana-Paraguay River Basin, Guiana Shield Region - but remains open to low-risk, high potential proposals from outside the focal regions.
http://tkbulletin.wordpress.com/2008/02/11/funding-opportunity-ecosystems-grant-programme-iucn-netherlands/
Great Lakes Fish And Wildlife Restoration Act Closes March 28, 2008
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is seeking pre-proposals for projects to restore Great Lakes fish and wildlife resources through its Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Grants Program. The program provides Federal grants on a competitive basis to states, tribes and other interested entities to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration and management of fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes basin. Projects are funded under authority of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006.
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Fisheries/glfwra-grants.html
American Rivers Seeks Proposals for River Restoration Projects Closes April 1, 2008
American Rivers is seeking proposals for projects that aim for restoration of diadromous fish through dam removal projects. Projects in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest and California are eligible to apply for this funding made possible through the NOAA's Open Rivers Initiative.
http://www.hydroreform.org/news/2008/02/25/american-rivers-seeks-proposals-for-river-restoration-projects | |
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