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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
The Institute for Applied Ecology is collaborating with the USDI Bureau of Land Management to evaluate the extent to which exotic species are impacting rare, threatened and endangered plants. We have developed a brief online survey to document 1) the nature of impacts of exotic species on listed plant species, 2) the methods that are currently being used to control exotic species in habitat occupied by listed species, and 3) additional information and/or tools that are needed for land managers to address this potential threat to listed species. Our deadline for survey responses is November 21.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GterPE_2bpl9h0J66SQB5UUQ_3d_3d
California: Aspen Regeneration Meadow Restoration Volunteer Work Day - November 8, 2008
The Calaveras County Ranger District is organizing an Aspen Regeneration/ Meadow Restoration Volunteer Work Day on the Calaveras Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest. This will be a great opportunity to not only build upon the partnership between the USFS and Calaveras County residents, but to also give back to the forest.
http://thepinetree.net/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=9057
California: Volunteers Sought for Plant Restoration Days - November 9, 2008
Audubon Canyon Ranch will host the first of three native plant restoration work days at its 1,000-acre Bolinas Lagoon Preserve at 9 a.m. Nov. 9 at 4900 Highway 1 in Stinson Beach. The nonprofit conservation agency is seeking volunteers to plant 2,000 native plants, helping to restore the area to its original habitat. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, water and lunch.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_10862415
Florida: Conservation Forestry Field Days for Family Forest Owners - November 15, 2008
The American Forest Foundation's Center for Conservation Solutions and project partners have organized a landowner field days in Florida. The field day will highlight and recognize the longleaf pine habitat restoration and conservation accomplishments at the host property and discuss the forest management strategies used to ensure long-term economic and ecological benefits.
http://www.fosterfollynews.com/news/2008Oct30ConservationForestryFieldDaysforFamilyForestOwners.php
Virginia: Restoration Project Set in Waterford - November 15, 2008
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Waterford Foundation invite volunteers to plant trees and shrubs on the Phillips Farm, Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9 am to noon. This is the second habitat restoration project to take place on the farm, a 144-acre parcel on the western edge of Waterford village. The project is funded through grants from the Dulles Greenway's Annual Drive for Charity and Kimley-Horn & Associates.
http://greenerloudoun.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/restoration-project-set-for-nov-15-in-waterford/
Texas: Conservationists worry about fence at Rio Bosque - November 15, 2008
Villaverde said the tour, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 15 at the wetlands park, will highlight problems the fence creates to habitat restoration that has taken place at the park for the past decade. Organizers will offer a variety of activities, including guided walks through the park to the border fence site. Several local organizations also will have exhibits focusing on area flora and fauna.
http://www.newsok.com/conservationists-worry-about-fence-at-rio-bosque/article/feed/5456
Washington: Kids Plant Trees in Fight Against Invasive Grass
Tanwax Creek property owner James Tucker tried three years ago to tackle a six-acre infestation of reed canary grass to improve the stream habitat for salmon through a cost-sharing program with the federal government's Natural Resources Conservation Service. "I started to work on it myself, but it was a daunting task," Tucker recalled the other day. What a difference three years make. Since his initial, failed effort, he has added the Nisqually tribe, community volunteers and school groups to his cause to oust the invasive grass and replace it with native trees and shrubs.
http://www.theolympian.com/127/story/646195.html
Australia: Karuah Aboriginal Lands Council to Carry Out Conservation Projects
The local council is coordinating the project, which also involves Conservation Volunteers Australia and the local catchment management authority. The council's Andrew Staniland says the project provides jobs for local Indigenous people and also helps the environment. "Great Lakes Council has been having a push to employ local Aboriginal people for some time, we couldn't do it by ourselves, very fortunate to get grant funding from the Hunter Rivers Catchment Management Authority, as well as partner up with the Myall Lakes DEC [Department of Environment and Climate Change], the national parks down there, and also the Conservation Volunteers Australia, everyone really came on board to run this program and push it through," he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/05/2410560.htm?site=newcastle
Conferences & Workshops
Bioneering Effective Activism
Bioneers by the Bay, presented by the Marion Institute, is an annual gathering of "biological pioneers" who use cutting edge approaches to environmental restoration. Their work encompasses technological innovation, economic strategies, social justice, and a spiritual connection to the natural world. For these innovators, scientists, and grassroots leaders-as well as 2,000 regular folks-it's an opportunity to share experiences and strategies for dealing with the challenges facing our world. For author Dave Pollard, "the most valuable session was a 'kitchen table' discussion with Bioneers founders Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons"-a point-by-point roadmap of the most effective ways to bring about the change we need, if you will.
http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/index.php?p=1575
10th International Congress of Ecology
The Congress, bringing together the knowledge and resources of the Ecological Society of Australia, New Zealand Ecological Society and INTECOL, will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia from 16 to 21 August 2009. Be sure to register now to take advantage of the special early-bird registration rate! Register online via
http://www.intecol10.org
2010 IUFRO World Congress
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) will hold its 23rd World Congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea from August 23-28, 2010. The title of the Congress is "Forests for the Future: Sustaining Society and the Environment". The Congress Scientific Committee invites submission of technical session proposals until 15 January 2009. Session proposals are welcome from all organizations and individuals with an interest in the future of forests from all forest-related scientific disciplines.
http://www.iufro2010.com |
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People in the News
'The Restoration of American Environmental Leadership'
The following is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, President, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: "With the election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden should come the restoration of American environmental leadership. For the first time in nearly a decade, we can look to the future with a sense of hope that the enormous environmental challenges we face will begin to be addressed and that our air, land, water, and wildlife - and the overall health of our planet - will not be sacrificed to appease polluting industries and campaign contributors.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/The-Restoration-American-Environmental-Leadership/story.aspx?guid=%7B3BA638B4-1C26-47EE-87ED-89777C64E4B2%7D
Recognizing the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
The Kootenai People have survived more than a century of adversity and have prospered tremendously, and in that endeavor, they have channeled some of that prosperity back into Boundary County in ways that have not only benefited the school district, but in job creation in a community where employment is scarce, as well as to their holistic watershed approach to the Kootenai River ecosystem. Yet in all of their efforts - from working to restore the Kootenai River White Sturgeon and a conservation strategy to recover the dwindling burbot population - they have never sought praise or recognition, even though their endeavors addressing water quality issues have contributed to the broader goal of ecosystem restoration.
http://www.ruralnorthwest.com/artman/publish/article_9138.shtml
Pulitzer Prize Winner Visits Sandestin
Pulitzer Prize winner and world renowned biologist Dr. Edward Wilson returned to Walton County today to encourage the local efforts to preserve our southern forest. Wilson spoke at the Long Leaf Alliance and Forest Guild Conference in Sandestin and praised the groups for their efforts in conserving what remains of the Southeast Long Leaf Pine. She tells us Wilson wants all of us to help preserve our area's wildlife. Standing room only, hundreds of people gathered to hear two times Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Edward Wilson present his ideas on forest restoration.
http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/33531224.html
New Zealand: Canterbury Resource Management Award Winners 2008
Joint winners of the Individual category are Colin Burrows for his involvement with the restoration of Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour and Tom and Jen McElrea for Washpen Falls at Windwhistle. Dr Burrows has played a major role in initiating, planning, designing and implementing the ecological work on Quail Island. After ten years, close to 25 hectares of the island has been planted in indigenous vegetation by volunteers. Tom and Jen McElrea have preserved and enhanced 90 ha of native forest and area of unique geological interest on their farm at Windwhistle. The bush includes a significant area of southern rata, with extensive ongoing work to protect this stand from pests, wilding pines and other weeds. The McElreas charge a small visitor fee to cover the cost of track enhancements, ablution and recreation facilities. More than 10,000 people have visited this area.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0810/S00321.htm |
| New Books & Articles
Tropical Farms 'Aid Biodiversity'
Certain farming methods can help sustain the biodiversity of tropical forests, a study has shown.
Researchers found that an areca nut plantation in south-west India supported 90% of the bird species found in surrounding native forests. The low-impact agriculture system has been used for more than 2,000 years and should be considered as a new option for conservation efforts, they added. The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7708506.stm
The Inequities of Climate Change and the Small Island Experience
The survival of island people, species, cultures and languages depends on the United States taking bold action to reduce its contributions to climate change. The United States must commit to and go beyond the reductions in carbon emissions in the Kyoto Protocols, and invest in alternative energies (including subsidies or tax incentives for ethanol and biofuels as well as wind, solar and geothermal energy) that will quench our thirst for fossil fuels.
http://www.counterpunch.org/barker11042008.html |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
UNEP Launches Green Economy Initiative as Green New Deal
United Nations program warns against retreat from sustainability and proposes global economy based on environment and natural infrastructure. Rejecting notions that the current economic crisis mandates a retreat from the embrace of sustainable business practices, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) introduced its Green Economy Initiative with a call for reinvestment in natural infrastructure. According to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, the benefits of combating climate change include "new green jobs in clean tech and clean energy businesses up to ones in sustainable agriculture and conservation-based enterprises."
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2572.html |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Conservation Hurts Natives
Due to the efforts of good-intentioned environmentalists, thousands of people around the world are now "conservation" refugees, said Mark Dowie, journalist and guest lecturer who spoke at the UM School of Journalism Wednesday night. Land conservation has become the number one threat to indigenous people, said Dowie, a professor at the University of California Graduate School of Journalism. He told of attending a meeting where a man from the Maasai tribe in Kenya rose to say, "We are the original conservationists, and you have made us enemies of conservation."
http://www.montanakaimin.com/index.php/news/news_article/conservation_hurts_natives/3136
Indigenous Knowledge in Modern Polar Science
In conjunction with the surge of social science projects in this year's IPY, SCAR hosted a novel session on "The role of Indigenous Knowledge in Modern Polar Science." The presenters stressed giving traditional knowledge and indigenous people a voice in managing their own land, resources and fate in the future of climate change. One IPY-sponsored project that is especially exciting for bringing indigenous knowledge into polar science is Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (SIKU) project: The ice we want our children to know.
http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/?p=780 |
| Agro-Ecology
Costa Rica: La Gran Vista Agroecological Farm
La Gran Vista Agroecological Farm, a center for training and development of sustainable environmental projects, is located in El Peje de Repunta de San Isidro de El General, in southern Costa Rica. La Gran Vista offers opportunities to volunteers and foreign students who wish to carry out internships or learn about sustainable production techniques through practical experience.
http://www.lagranvista.com/
Obama Gives Thoughts on Michael Pollan's Times Magazine Letter
In an interview with Joe Klein of Time Magazine today, Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged the brilliant letter to the next president by Michael Pollan and said that agriculture is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, is a national security risk, and is built on cheap oil.
http://sustainableaggies.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-gives-thoughts-on-michael-pollans.html
USDA Offers Additional Incentives for Bottomland Hardwood, Wetlands
USDA has announced that additional payment incentives are being provided through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to agricultural producers to encourage enhanced wetland and bottomland hardwood conservation. Included are practice, signing and soil rental rate incentives. The 2008 Farm Bill provides $25 billion to help states, communities, farmers and ranchers practice conservation. Those USDA conservation programs help reduce nutrient runoff, control erosion and sedimentation, protect and restore wetlands, enhance wildlife habitat, sequester carbon, improve air quality, manage livestock waste, and preserve farm and ranch land.
http://www.lincolnjournalonline.com/news/2008/1030/news/024.html
Reinvigoration of Local Economy through Species Restoration around Rice Paddies
Modern agricultural practices to satisfy the increasing demands of crops have destroyed the ecosystem and reduced the biodiversity since 1960. Executive Director, Mr. Kwon pointed out that much attentions should be given to 'Traditional and Natural Cycle Farming' for the restoration and rehabilitation of biodiversity in wetland ecosystem of rice paddy basin during the side event of 'Reinvigoration of Local Economy through Species Restoration around Rice Paddies' in Grand Conference Room, CECO on November 3rd, one day before the closing of 2008 Ramsar Convention, COP10.
http://www.idomin.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=270184 |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
President Obama's Big Climate Challenge
As he assumes the presidency, Barack Obama must make climate-change legislation and investment in green energy top priorities. And he must be ready to take bold - and politically unpopular - action to address global warming. And so our eight-year interlude from reality draws to a close, and the job of cleaning up begins. The trouble is, we're not just cleaning up after a failed presidency. We're cleaning up after a two-century binge. Barack Obama won an historic victory yesterday, and with it the right to take office under the most difficult circumstances since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Maybe more difficult, because while both FDR and Obama had financial meltdowns to deal with, Obama also faces the meltdown meltdown - the rapid disintegration of the planet's climate system that threatens to challenge the very foundations of our civilization.
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2082
UK: Funds Could Aid Green Projects
Ancient woodlands, grasslands, heathland and wetlands in the Bucks area could receive grant money following the launch of a biodiversity scheme. Waste Recycling Environmental (WREN) has introduced its new £10million Biodiversity Action Fund (BAF) which could see £10million being donated to projects over the next five years. The fund will support the expansion, recovery and conservation of important habitats.
http://www.buckinghamtoday.co.uk/buckingham-news/Funds-could-aid-green-projects.4655651.jp
Indonesia´s Rapid Forest Destruction and Rising Carbon Emission
Greenpeace this morning launched its Forests for Climate initiative, the pioneering solution to reduce deforestation, tackle climate change, preserve global biodiversity and protect the livelihoods of millions of forest people. Forests for Climate (FFC) is Greenpeace´s landmark proposal for an international mechanism to fund sustainable and lasting reductions of emissions from tropical deforestation in participating countries in order to meet commitments for the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol (post 2012).
http://www.losangeleschronicle.com/articles/79615
State Awards Grants for Conserving Oregon Species
The state has awarded 16 grants for the conservation of symbolic Oregon species to mark the upcoming sesquicentennial. The Western meadowlark, chinook salmon, Oregon swallowtail butterfly and the American beaver have become symbols of Oregon since it became a state in 1859. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will receive one of the grants. Funding will aid the western meadowlark through a native grasslands restoration project at The Wanaket Wildlife Area in Pendleton.
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1225652969325880.xml&storylist=orlocal |
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Florida: Prescribed Burns Beneficial
Those traveling along Stringfellow Road in recent months have been witness to blazing pine trees and undergrowth at the Pine Island Flatwoods Preserve in St. James City. These fires were set intentionally as a means of forest management at the preserve and were of no threat to the neighboring community. Utilizing controlled or prescribed burns has been a useful tool for forest management, restoration and for fire control as it is a safe means of removing unwanted vegetation, the removal of branch and leaf debris. It also encourages some seeds to germinate and is an affective way to restore grassland, thus aiding in the renewing of a forest.
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=22434
Indonesia: Forest of Hope Graced by Royal Visit
HRH The Prince of Wales will this Sunday (November 2) visit one of the world's most innovative rainforest conservation projects as part of his Far East tour. The Prince will see how logged rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is being protected and restored by conservation groups BirdLife International, Burung Indonesia (BirdLife in Indonesia), and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK). The three organisations are working to regenerate this area of rainforest, a 101,170 hectare site on an island on which most forests have been lost to oil palm or timber plantations. They decided to name this forest, Harapan, which is Indonesian for "hope".
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/10/harapan_visit.html
Oregon: Environmentalists Claim Logging Plan a Clear-cut
The Forest Service calls Low Meadow a restoration project. The Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center says it's a clear-cut. Either way, trees, some four feet in diameter, are coming down as part of a 3.5 million board foot cut in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The cut is in an inventoried roadless area, a key watershed for salmon, said George Sexton of Ashland-based environmental group KSWC. "So it's always disappointing to us when the Forest Service says, 'We're going to clear-cut it.'
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/1667322-35/story.csp
Audio: Habitat Restoration Begins On Portland's Ross Island
Workers for the city of Portland began this week restoring Ross Island to a more natural state. The goal is to put native habitat back onto 45 acres of the Willamette River island. http://news.opb.org/article/3415-habitat-restoration-begins-portlands-ross-island/ |
| Wetland Restoration
Texas: Restoring a Legacy at Red River Refuge
According to scientists from Environmental Synergy Inc. (ESI), a restoration and carbon sequestration firm in Atlanta, decades of conversion from forest to marginal farmland, and the myriad flood control measures that followed, resulted in a land mass that today supports less than five million acres of bottomland hardwood forest. "No other wetland system in North America has suffered such a tremendous reduction in area," said Carol Jordan, ESI's president. "Much of the remaining forest exists in fragments that are too small to support the fish, birds and other wildlife resources that were once abundant." Restoring these lands - a task that has called for a mix of public and private financing - is now one of The Conservation Fund's highest priorities.
http://www.regeneration.org/2008/11/04/restoring-a-legacy-at-red-river-refuge/
Uganda: Kampala Wetlands Are No More - What is the Way Forward?
It is a sad story, but true - Kampala city has almost lost all its wetlands to the construction sector. Encroachers invade the wetlands and before the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) gets to know of it, they have already put up structures. Some of the encroachers dodge NEMA by building on weekends and at night, while others hire private security guards to oversee the wetland destruction, this reporter established.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811010014.html |
River & Watershed Restoration
Michigan: $900K Grant Paves Way for Chesaning Dam Removal
The Chesaning dam is on its way out after a $900,000 grant through the Clean Michigan Initiative will help push funding for the Shiawassee River Restoration and removal of the dam. Total cost of the restoration - including planning, engineering and construction - is about $1.7 million. In addition to the grant, funding also will come from private citizens, businesses, the township and village.The dam has declined to the point where maintenance and repair is not a practical option.Tom Meder, coordinator for the Shiawassee River Restoration Committee, said they have been working on this project for seven years.
http://shiawassee-river.blogspot.com/2008/10/chesaning-dam.html
Australia: Grants to Improve Swan and Canning River Foreshores
Environment Minister Donna Faragher today announced more than $1million for 14 local projects to improve the Swan and Canning river foreshores. Mrs Faragher said the Riverbank Grants Scheme, run by the Swan River Trust, provided vital support to local and State Government land managers for priority river restoration works. "Riverbank funding goes to a wide range of foreshore restoration and protection activities that address priority areas and issues along the Swan and Canning foreshores," she said. "This funding will boost the capacity of land managers to improve degraded areas, mitigate erosion, enhance habitat and native vegetation, and address public amenity values and safety.
http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=45367
Wisconsin: Dane County to Purchase, Restore Land along Wisconsin River
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said Wednesday the county is purchasing and restoring over 1,000 acres in the town of Mazomanie. Falk made the announcement overlooking the property that's along Highway Y a couple of miles north of the Village of Mazomanie. In addition to its natural beauty that includes rolling bluffs in the background, the property includes significant frontage along the Wisconsin River that offer great opportunity for public access and use. It's common to see dozens of cranes together in the open areas and the property also features great woods along with areas for prairie and wetlands restoration.
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9260415&nav=menu1362_2
Washington: New Exhibit Delivers Views Inside the Trout World
Adopt-A-Stream-Foundation, an environmental education and restoration group, is nearing completion of its new Trout Exhibit, which is expected to become a key attraction at the organization's environmental learning center near Everett, WA. Visitors to the Northwest Stream Center will soon have a close-up view inside the world of Cutthroat Trout. The unique exhibit will show how the fish progress from fresh spawn in the gravel bed, to hatched fingerlings, and eventually into 8-inch to 10-inch-long mature fish within a carefully created artificial stream.
http://www.acppubs.com/article/CA6606735.html?industryid=48551
Utah: Hobble Creek in Springville is Being Returned Home
In the 1950s, the creek was removed from its historic bed for agricultural reasons. Water was channeled into a new streambed created mechanically. The created stream was so steep and straight it made it difficult if not impossible for native fish to use as a spawning ground as they had for millennia. All that is about to change. In an effort to help save the June sucker, one of the most endangered fish in the world, the state has purchased 21 acres either on or near the historic route of the creek where it terminated into Utah Lake. A couple million dollars has been spent to turn that land, which was cattle pasture, into a meandering streambed where June sucker might find shelter for their spawn.
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/286812/17/ |
| Grassland Restoration
Tallgrass Prairie Seed Collecting at Homestead National Monument of America
Homestead National Monument of America contains 100 acres of this special prairie land, but not without effort. The monument was created in 1936. The prairie had already been transformed from its original state and needed restoration. The goal was to not only restore the prairie, but to recreate the view of what Daniel and Agnes Freeman saw when they made their homestead claim. The tallgrass prairie at Homestead National Monument of America is the oldest restored tallgrass prairie in the National Park Service and the second oldest in the nation. The restoration, although spanning over 60 years, is still ongoing. The management needed to keep the prairie healthy is the work of its stewards. Hands-on stewardship aids in the appreciation and respect for ecosystems that are disappearing. From controlled burns, thicket and exotic plant removal, to native seed harvest, it is with this help the prairie will survive.
http://homesteadcongress.blogspot.com/2008/11/tallgrass-prairie-seed-collecting-at.html |
| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
The Chinese Dust Bowl
Lulled by the rhythmic clang of metal wheels on rails, for two days passengers can watch a dreamscape of steppes and deserts go by. But the view also reveals one of the greatest environmental disasters of our time: the Chinese Dust Bowl, probably the largest conversion of productive land into sand anywhere in the world. To date, Chinese farmers and herders have transformed about 400,000 square kilometres of cropland and verdant prairie into new deserts. The shepherds have overgrazed the steppes, allowing their sheep and goats to chew the grass all the way down to its roots. The farmers, for their part, have over-exploited the arable land by opening fragile grasslands to cultivation and over-pumping rivers and aquifers in the oases bordering the ancient deserts. The area of desert thus created is equivalent to more than half the farmland in Canada.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2007.10-china-desert?ref=2008.10-chinese-dust-bowl-aquin-prix-pictet&page= |
| Lake Restoration
India: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Lake restoration works on the principles of desilting and deweeding, coupled with diversion of sewage drains that enter the lakes. In Bangalore, even as basic issues like dumping of garbage are left unaddressed, plans have been lined up for "beautiful islands'' for birds and possibilities of water connectivity through lakes. Working on an international partnership, the Lake Development Authority (LDA) has taken up projects, the results partly reflected in lakes in Madiwala and Hebbal. The move to hand over the maintenance of the lakes in the BBMP jurisdiction to the palike itself is something the environmentalists are keenly watching. A reversal of fortunes for the lakes may still be a long shot.
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com/2008/10/lakes-good-bad-and-ugly.html |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Video: Save The Bay's Salt Marsh Restoration Demonstration
After four growing seasons Save The Bay's salt marsh restoration demonstration at Fields Point is taking hold. First planted by volunteers and staff in 2004, the marsh has withstood pounding waves, relentless winds and more than a few destructive geese and swans.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=31921189206
Effective Conservation Tied to Resiliency of Community
As our communities and public officials have faced the challenges of response and recovery to Hurricane Ike, lessons learned must be, and are, on the table. One lesson that demands attention is how to achieve "community resilience" to coastal hazards. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies defines resilience for communities as "the capacity to survive, adapt and recover from a natural disaster." The more we learn from experience, the fewer risks we incur, and the faster we can recover, with less cost. One of the pillars for achieving community resilience in coastal areas is through the active management and protection of natural resources that buffer communities from weather-related disasters. In other words, our human resources can be better protected through the preservation and restoration of our coastal natural resources.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6094663.html
Florida: Oyster Restoration Helps the Environment
Barges have been seen around different parts of St. Andrews Bay for years and many have been working for the Florida Department of Agriculture. The sites are creating and restoring habitats for oyster growth. Environmental Administrator, Joe Shields, says the sites not only provide a home for oysters but also attract other wildlife. He states, "On a larger scale, once an oyster reef is created, obviously the oysters grow on it and then you get all of the other species associated with oyster bars."
http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/oyster_restoration_helps_the_environment/mbb7711428/
Massachusetts: Oysters Turn Man-made Reefs into Living Ledges
Now, the first Massachusetts effort to rebuild an oyster reef is underway in Wellfleet Harbor, a project of the Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and the Town of Wellfleet. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is picking up much of the $78,000 tab.
If successful, the artificial structure will allow oysters to flourish as nature intended, at least on the 2-acre project site. The goal is not to boost the numbers of oysters for eaters - plenty are cultivated on tidal farms - but to help restore labyrinths of shellfish capable of filtering and purifying huge amounts of water, broadening biodiversity, and forming natural breakwaters against shore erosion.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2008/11/03/oysters_turn_man_made_reefs_into_living_ledges/ |
| Extractive Industries
Biodiversity will be Future Mining Industry Issue - Rio Tinto CEO
Biodiversity was poised to become the future emerging issue of the global mining industry, Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese said on Monday. Albanese told journalists on a visit to Rio Tinto's new QMM mineral sands project in Madagascar that mining companies were encountering a new elevated set of expectations each time they attempted to attract mine capital or elicit opinion on how to access land for mining. "That will be the case even more so in the future, so get used to it. It's coming for the industry," he said. This was why, in Madagascar, Rio Tinto was preserving species, preserving local knowledge, replicating disturbed areas "breathing new science in to these areas". http://www.miningweekly.com/article.php?a_id=146692
Oklahoma: OERB Restoration Efforts Reach Two Landmark Accomplishments
The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board will round out its 14th year by reaching two landmarks in environmental restoration. Through voluntary contributions paid by Oklahoma's oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners, the OERB has provided a practical and economical remedy for more than 9,000 abandoned well sites - at no cost to the landowner. "Many Oklahomans stake their legacy on these lands," said Dewey Bartlett Jr., chairman of the OERB. "We are honored to take those abandoned sites that onlookers may regard as eyesores, restore them, and make the land a center of a family's pride and joy once again." http://www.adaeveningnews.com/local/local_story_305133115.html |
| Recreation & Tourism
UK: Dune and Out - The Sands that have been Sacrificed to Golf
Until Donald Trump bought this gale-battered stretch of coast north of Aberdeen, the Foveran Links were loved only by a small number of locals and a select group, tinier still, of ecologists. Yet this wild rampart of dunes on the North Sea coast can be magnificent. Rating it as a superlative example of its type in Europe, environmentalists believe the dunes will be irreversibly damaged now that the billionaire property developer has won his two-year planning battle to create the "world's greatest golf course". http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/nov/05/ruralaffairs-scotland |
| Funding Opportunities
Washington: Nisqually Community Salmon Fund - Closes November 12, 2008
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and state Salmon Recovery Funding Board have created the Nisqually Community Salmon Fund to stimulate small-scale, voluntary salmon recovery actions on private property in the Nisqually River watershed. Grants up to $75,000 will be awarded for habitat restoration project within and along salmon-bearing rivers, streams and marine nearshore areas. The deadline for grant applications is Nov. 12. For more information, contact Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley with Evergreen Funding Consultants at 206-691-0700. Australian Rivers Institute: Research Training and Scholarships
The Institute offers the following opportunities for students considering a Research Higher Degree commencing in 2009. The Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University is actively leading research in sustainable water resource management with Australia's largest group of university-based scientists specialising in river, catchment and coastal research and education. The Institute focuses on six strategic themes: catchment and river processes; water allocation and environmental flows; coastal and estuarine processes; aquatic biodiversity and conservation; restoration science; and monitoring and assessment. http://www.scholarshipsworld.org/australian-rivers-institute-research-training-scholarships-2009/
Grantees will conduct collaborative research on issues related to polar studies in conjunction with the International Polar Year. A Ph.D. and U.S. citizenship are required, and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has recently adopted new eligibility requirements. For details of eligibility requirements and an online application, visit our website: www.cies.org. For further information, contact Jean McPeek, jmcpeek@cies.iie.org or 202.686.6246. | |
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