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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.
SER Opens Search for New Executive Director The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) International has opened its search to fill the position of Executive Director. The application deadline is Monday, September 15, 2008. For a complete set of duties and qualifications, please go to http://www.ser.org/pdf/edjobdesc.pdf |
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Get Involved / Community-Based Restoration
Cassette Recording made at the 1990 SER Conference held in Chicago
In 1990, SER made and distributed a cassette recording of a plenary speech made by Bob Betz. We would be eternally grateful if anyone out there was able to dig it up and send it to us. If you think you may be able to locate this recording, please email sasha@ser.org
First Announcement of Colombian Congress on Ecological Restoration
El comité organizador del I Congreso Colombiano de Restauración Ecológica y II Simposio Nacional de Experiencias en Restauración Ecológica, tienen el agrado de invitarlos a participar en este evento el cual se realizará en la ciudad de Bogotá del 27 al 31 de julio de 2009 en el Centro de Convenciones Alfonso López Pumarejo de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Este evento es una oportunidad única para realizar contactos e intercambio de conocimiento, experiencias y prácticas exitosas en restauración ecológica.
http://www.redcre.org
California: Seminar Series Focuses on Wetland Restoration
The Point Reyes National Seashore Association will co-host the first in a series of free seminars on the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project at 10 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Fifth and C streets in Point Reyes Station. The seminar, "Construction Methods and Challenges in Constructing Wetland Restoration Projects," will feature speaker Mark Cederborg, project manager for contractor Hanford ARC of Sonoma. Other seminars will take place on Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 22 and will include an update on the construction project.
http://www.marinij.com/westmarin/ci_10260053
You Can be a Wildfire Monitor!
We're excited here at FUSEE about the release of our new Fire Watch: A Citizen's Guide to Wildfire Monitoring. This publication is full of great information to help you learn to become an effective wildfire monitor. Wildfire management policies are changing dramatically. Appropriate Management Response (AMR), a new federal policy for wildfire management, is being tested this fire season. This policy allows fire managers to manage wildfires for both community protection and ecosystem restoration. Consequently, citizens need to become informed about these changes to assure wildfire will be managed effectively.
http://fusee.blogspot.com/2008/08/you-can-be-wildfire-monitor.html
California: Stone Canyon Creek Restoration
On Saturday, August 9th, 15 volunteers came out to help remove invasive vegetation at UCLA's Stone Canyon Creek. This is one of the only remaining sections of unburied creek on the UCLA campus. Restoring the native plant species in this riparian area will benefit native birds and other wildlife that live here. 1400 square feet of invasive plants including bougainvillea, annual grasses and woolly nightshade were removed from the banks of the creek. Santa Monica Baykeeper's next restoration will be held on Saturday, September 27th.
http://www.smbaykeeper.org/blog/?p=221
Brunei: SCB Plants Trees at Kampong Parit
More than 70 staff from Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) yesterday spent the whole afternoon dedicating their time to planting trees under the scorching sun at Taman Mini Peranginan Kampong Parit. The effort is part of the bank's initiative to support the Department of Agriculture's recently launched campaign to plant 100,000 indigenous fruit trees in a span of five years in Brunei.
http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/tue/aug26h36.htm |
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People in the News
Clemson Watershed Expert to Head Ecology Institute
A Clemson University professor well-known to Upstate water resource activists is the new head of Clemson's Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science. Gene W. Eidson, a nationally recognized environmental educator and restoration ecologist, replaces George Askew, who becomes associate director for agriculture and natural resources after serving as director of the Baruch Institute for 23 years, the university announced.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080825/NEWS01/808250310/1001/NEWS01
Environmental Organization Announces New Website
The Chuckie Goodnight Foundation For The Environment today launched an enhanced website, www.chuckiegoodnightfoundation.org. The new web content will provide users with an interactive experience to learn more about the non-profit environmental organization and ways to help spread environmental awareness. The foundation's mission is to educate children about Earth stewardship and social ethics. They work to preserve green spaces with the intent to create botanical sanctuaries and learning centers in the future. Each year, the foundation awards scholarships to students pursuing environmental studies and supports other land trust and environmental organizations on the local, county, state and national levels.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/08/prweb1228444.htm |
| New Books & Articles
Six Authors get Personal about Climate Change
Much has been written about the mechanics of climate change, about its physical manifestations, and about how we are-and are not-addressing it as a society. Recently Orion asked six authors to describe what the changing climate is doing to them personally-how it is affecting their hearts and souls.
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/3212
Nevada: Wildlife 'Diversity Biologists' Work to Keep Wildlife and their Habitats Healthy
This report highlights the significant progress NDOW is making to keep wildlife and their habitats healthy and to prevent species from becoming endangered. That includes installing bat-friendly closures to abandoned mines, enclosing marshy thickets to preserve habitat for southwestern willow flycatchers and gathering distribution information on Gila monsters.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/FERNLEY05/808200354/1307/FERNLEY
A Heideggerean Approach to Ecological Restoration
Ecological restoration has emerged in recent years as a powerful approach to conserving biodiversity. Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of restoration practice as a conservation strategy [does it achieve its stated conservation objectives?], about the policy consequences of endorsing this strategy [does the promise of restoration promote environmental irresponsible degradation?], and, perhaps more fruitful from a philosophical perspective, one can ask what gets revealed by ecological restoration regarding the relationship between people and both the entities of nature and ecological time.
http://dwellingexile.blogspot.com/2008/08/heideggerean-approach-to-ecological.html |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Talking about the Future of Mother Earth
Minnesota-based Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) held its 15th Protecting Mother Earth conference July 17-20. IEN, a national network of indigenous peoples, officially began its meeting at dawn by igniting the sacred fire with coals from its previous conference held in Leech Lake, Anishinaabe territory in Minnesota. The fire was maintained during the four days of the convening and was extinguished the last day at a ceremony where coals were rescued for the next conference in two years. The meeting was held outdoors under canopy tents and conferees slept in tents, which surrounded the conference grounds. Spiritual cleansing sweat lodges took place early mornings and evenings in which water was poured over burning rocks heated with firewood.
http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/article/2008/08/22/talking-about-future-mother-earth.html# |
| Agro-Ecology
U.S. Climate Exchange Farm Deals Raise Questions
The National Farmers Union said this month that some of its members had been paid a total of $8 million since 2006 by the Chicago Climate Exchange for taking voluntary actions such as no-till farming. The technique arguably cuts emissions by leaving crop waste undisturbed to decay under the soil. But many farmers began practicing no-till years before members signed agreements with the CCX, and that is where the problem lies.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7743007 |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
E.O. Wilson: The Future of Life
What are we most at risk of forever losing, most likely toward the end of the century? The answer, I think, is this: much of life, the rest of life, or the creation if you will, a lot of our environmental security, and just as important, part of what it means to be human. Our relations with the rest of life can be put in a nutshell: scientists have found the biosphere (and this has been due in good part to work just in the last few decades) to be richer in diversity than ever before conceived. And that biodiversity, which took over three billion years to evolve, is being eroded at an accelerating rate by human activity. The loss, to conclude this synopsis, will inflict a heavy price in wealth and security and spirit.
http://www.earthportal.org/?page_id=70
Canada: Climate Change puts Heat on Forests
Here in a 13,700-year-old peat bog, ecologist Ed Berg reaches into the moss and pulls out more evidence of the drastic changes afoot due to the Earth's warming climate. Rooting through a handful of mossy duff, Berg, an ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shows remains of shrubs and other plants taking hold over the last 30 years in a patch of ground that has long been too soggy for woody plants to grow.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=c8dd6862-ef42-4229-9cd5-6cb05ec76635 |
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UK: Caledonian Forest Bid is Boosted
A conservation charity has bought a 10,000-acre estate in the Highlands as part of its efforts to restore Scotland's Caledonian forests. Trees for Life paid £1.65million for Dundreggan Estate, Glen Moriston - one of the charity's most significant projects - following two years of negotiations. The charity will now plant 500,000 native trees to reconnect the forest between Glen Moriston and Glen Affric.
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/801289?UserKey=0
Uganda: NFA Plants Trees Amidst Protests From Encroachers
The National Forestry authority (NFA) has continued with the restoration of Wambabya forest despite resistance from the local people in Hoima district. In a recent clash outside the forest reserve, a group of local people armed with arrows and spears attacked policemen who were providing security to the NFA team. The Police is holding three suspects over the incident.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200808250428.html
Restoration Forestry is the Answer
Fire "exclusion" is all but impossible, nor is it particularly healthy for forests. Instead fires should be at the right times, in the right places, and done in the right way. Forests also need to be prepared to receive those properly timed, located, and administered fires. Need a useful phrase to describe all that? Try "restoration forestry." Restoration forestry is the ticket out of the mess we are in. Restoration forestry does NOT include Let It Burn megafires that ravage entire watersheds, landscapes, and regions. Restoration forestry is about responsible stewardship, not incineration.
http://westinstenv.org/sosf/2008/08/20/restoration-forestry-is-the-answer/ |
| Wetland Restoration
Trinidad & Tobago: Nariva to be Restored
More than a decade after thousands of hectares of land within the Nariva Swamp were deforested by illegal farmers, a project has been launched to restore those wetlands. The Nariva Restoration Project (NRP) is one of several activities being undertaken to protect Trinidad and Tobago's "living natural resources", said Housing, Planning and Environment Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde when she spoke at a "Show and Tell" on the project at Plum Mitan, Nariva.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,84794.html |
River & Watershed Restoration
California: Future Cleanup Day to Highlight Marsh Creek
The California River Parkways Program has provided more than $1 million to improve the creek near Creekside Park, which is under construction in Oakley at Laurel Road and Creekside Way. The funding will bring shade trees, native plants and 1,000 feet of creek restoration.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10279521?nclick_check=1
Oregon: Recycling for Habitat Restoration
On Tuesday, workers with the nonprofit Columbia Land Trust stood in the muck surrounding a recently restored tidal channel as 52 donated logs leftover from the December storms were airlifted into the waterway. After each delivery via chopper, workers on the ground secured the logs with pre-anchored cables to make sure the valuable wood doesn't float away. Long before the logs arrived, the crew anchored the cables by driving metal stakes 10 feet underground with a jackhammer.
http://www.dailyastorian.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&ArticleID=53668 |
| Lake Restoration
India: City Lakes will get a Fresh Lease of Life
Jathar said the garbage, debris and the drainage water were polluting the lakes. "We do not want to beautify the lakes by constructing a wall around them and creating picnic spots. Our objective is to revive the entire ecosystem," said Girish Dhoke, chairman of MOB. He explained that to restore the natural state of the water bodies, they would need to carry out desilting. "Measures have to be taken to stop dumping of garbage. The drains releasing waste in the lakes have to be cut off. After this, filtration process would be undertaken to increase the oxygen levels in the water."
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1186000 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
New Jersey: Bids to be Sought to Shore Up Island
Southwest Mordecai Ecosystem Restoration Project Phase I used biologs, 20-foot tubes made from organic material like coconut fiber, but did not help to shore up the island. The trust will begin to seek bids next week for the second phase, which will heed lessons learned from the ineffective first phase. However, members of the trust find success in the failure.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080826/NEWS02/808260382/1070 |
Wildlife Restoration
Australia: Derwent Penguin Numbers on the Increase
The Derwent Estuary Penguin Project started in 2004 with the development of a baseline survey of penguin habitat and threats in the Derwent Estuary. It identified 11 active sites, which at that time supported 98 breeding pairs along the estuary foreshore. Stage two in 2005 focused on targeted habitat restoration. Community volunteers revegetated the foreshore, installed artificial burrows and upgraded existing burrows. Stage three has seen ongoing monitoring and steps to protect penguin habitats, including the installation of fences and gates as improved protection from predators and signs to help educate pet owners and the wider community.
http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=24591
Maine: Conservationists to Purchase and Destroy Two Maine Dams
Through a combination of federal grants and private donations, a coalition of seven conservation groups called the Penobscot River Restoration Trust have gathered enough money to purchase and demolish two dams and install a fish bypass on another. By doing so, they hope to replenish the thinning Atlantic salmon, river herring, and many other migratory fish populations.
While the move is unprecedented, it is not without some flaws.
http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/25/conservationists-to-purchase-and-destroy-two-maine-dams/ |
| Extractive Industries
Utah's Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort Restores Second Mine
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| Invasive Species
Missouri: Volunteer Efforts Pay Off for Aquatic Restoration Project
Less conspicuous were the 16 volunteers working around the lake. They were there with the Columbia Aquatic Restoration Project and were pulling invasive plant species from the shoreline. Strong volunteer participation has helped Columbia Aquatic Restoration Project flourish since its inception last year. This success, in turn, has helped to save the city money and foster hands-on community education, Gibbins said.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/08/23/volunteer-efforts-pay-aquatic-restoration-project/
Colorado: Groups Band Together, Reach Out for Watson Island Restoration
The Tamarisk Coalition wants to restore the area further and is asking for ideas from various groups in devising a restoration and design plan for the island. The goal of the nonprofit Tamarisk Coalition is to provide education and technical assistance in restoring western rivers, said Executive Director Tim Carlson. The Coalition is comprised of four staff members and a core of about 70 volunteers. The Watson Island complex is comprised of five Colorado River islands covering 69.4 acres. The West Main Island is 15.5 acres and is located near the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens.
http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/20080826/COMMUNITY_NEWS/86477/-1/OBITUARIES |
| Urban Restoration
California: Crissy Field - Urban Restoration Ten Years Later
Situated in the North East corner of the San Francisco peninsula, Crissy field is like a platform placed before one of the world's most beautiful settings; on the rugged and sparsely populated northern California coast, the coastal mountains part to reveal one of the greatest of natural harbors, the San Francisco bay. In looking at this park today it is hard to imagine that this is a restored urban landscape.
http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/08/19/crissy-field-urban-restoration-ten-years-later/
Washington: Tolt River Restoration Project nears Halfway Mark
Construction crews have reached a milestone in the project to restore the lower Tolt River to a more natural condition - work that will protect the popular campground in King County's Tolt-MacDonald Park and help the future river reshape itself from its present condition as an unnaturally straight and shallow stream to a more natural and complex waterway.
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2008/august/0820Tolt-Update.aspx
California: Dedication Set for Restored Central Arroyo Stream
The completion of the Central Arroyo Stream Restoration Program, a model for cleaning up urban waterways, will be marked with a dedication ceremony Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m. in the outdoor area west of Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, invite the public to join them for this milestone event.
http://www.pasadenanow.com/_News/publish/article_2492.html |
| Recreation & Tourism
New York: Bronx River Forest
The Bronx River Forest used to be a hotbed for prostitutes, junkies and glory-hole seekers; nowadays you're more likely to see a praying mantis than any illicit activities (at least in the daytime). "People were afraid to go there," says Anne-Marie Runfola, deputy director of the Bronx River Alliance. "When they hear Bronx River, they don't associate it with an area that's green and quiet. "But thanks to a $3 million restoration project, completed in 2005, the park's a whole new woman. An old cricket pitch was connected to the river, and visitors can navigate the floodplain via paths and boardwalks. The space is also home to more than 250 species of native flora and fauna, including the elusive red-tailed hawk.
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/own-this-city/51401/bronx-river-forest
Ohio: Where the Wild Things Are
The Wilds is a unique animal preserve 20 miles south of Interstate 70, roughly halfway between Wheeling, W.Va., and Columbus, Ohio. Opened to the public in 1994, the facility sprawls across more than 9,100 acres reclaimed from surface mining operations and donated by American Electric Power Co. to The International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals. Described as part Noah's Ark for rare and endangered species, part scientific facility, part animal breeding farm, part ecological restoration center and part drive-through zoo and tourist attraction, the Wilds is now operated in association with the Columbus Zoo and is the largest project of its kind in North America, in terms of acreage and the number of animals.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08237/906094-37.stm |
| Funding Opportunities
FishAmerica Announces Funding Available for Habitat Restoration
The FishAmerica Foundation has grant monies available for marine and anadromous sportfish habitat restoration projects across the coastal United States and the Great Lakes basin. These grants will be awarded to community-based, on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, mangrove forests and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species such as salmon and striped bass that spawn in freshwater and migrate to the sea.
http://www.fishandfly.com/articles/20080822
US: New Forest-Health Grant Cycle Begins - Closes October 10, 2008
With $1 million federal funding boost, the Colorado State Forest Service has up to $2 million available for forest restoration proposals that protect critical water supplies and address related forest health challenges such as wildfire risk reduction, community protection, ecological restoration and woody biomass utilization. Grant applications are due by 4 p.m., Oct. 10 and awards will be announced in early November.
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080810/NEWS/372732661/1078&ParentProfile=1055
Seed Grants from the Organization for Tropical Studies - Closes October 15, 2008
To promote further research at LCBS and surrounding areas, there is a post-workshop call for seed grants (for graduate students at US and Costa Rican institutions) to conduct interdisciplinary pilot studies on themes related to the workshop. Preference will be given to graduate students who attended the workshop and research proposals are restricted to projects that would be undertaken at LCBS and the surrounding vicinity. The application deadline is October 15, 2008. For further information on LCBS or the call for seed grants visit the OTS website (www.ots.ac.cr) and click on the link for Las Cruces.
New Zealand: Apply Now for an Environment Enhancement Grant
Landowners or groups working to protect and enhance native biodiversity in Canterbury have until the end of August to apply for contestable grants of up to $5,000 through Environment Canterbury's Environment Enhancement Fund. Financial assistance can be granted for any project that contributes to the region's indigenous biodiversity and usually involves the protection or enhancement of waterways, wetlands, coastal dunes and native vegetation. Applicants may apply more than once.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0806/S00102.htm
Fulbright Awards in Agriculture or Fisheries
Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program for academic year 2009-10 offers various awards for American academics and professionals in the fields of agricultural economy. The Philippines ( http://www.cies.org/award_book/award2009/award/Agr9161.htm)offers a six-months Lecturing/Research combination grant to help the development of young scholars and practitioners as well as to consult the country's Department of Agriculture. Kazakhstan ( http://www.cies.org/award_book/award2009/award/Env9494.htm ) offers awards for 4 to 10 months in environmental sciences or environmental law to lecture or lecturing/research combination. Turkmenistan ( http://www.cies.org/award_book/award2009/award/All9513.htm ) seeks for applicants in agricultural studies and water resources management; and so does Uzbekistan ( http://www.cies.org/award_book/award2009/award/All9515.htm ) Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Program Officer Mamiko Hada (mhada@cies.iie.org) with most up-to-date CV. | |
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