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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
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
California: Big Meadow Restoration Proposal Seeks Public Comment - December 3, 2008
The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) is seeking comments on the proposed action for the Big Meadow Creek Watershed Fire Regime Restoration Project. The proposed project would restore the ecological connections and functions between riparian corridors, aspen stands, meadows and adjacent Forest. Goals of the project include stimulating the growth of desirable native vegetation to sustain desirable plant and animal communities; reduce conifer encroachment, and reduce fuel loading to reduce the potential for high severity wildfires within the project area.
http://yubanet.com/regional/Big-Meadow-Restoration-Proposal-Seeks-Public-Comment.php
Montana: Mount Sentinel to be Re-seeded
Conservation manager, Morgan Valliant, said this particular mountain is on a 20-year burn cycle, but hasn't burned on over 50 years. Valliant appreciates the community's interest in restoring the land. "Overall, throughout this project, there has just been a great outpouring of support. And, you know, we live in a great community, and it really has been Missoulians who have been pulling together to make this happen," Valliant said. Valient marked off 20-acre squares with different color flags for each group to seed on Friday. As far has he knows, this is the largest re-seeding project in the Missoula Valley, specifically aimed at restoration.
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=9317062
UK: Kilt-clad Volunteers Help Plant Trees in Nature Area
Tossing trees rather than planting them is more common among some of the burly and bearded Scottish Highland game participants who were wearing kilts and digging holes Saturday to plant saplings. "This time of year, I'm usually into my buffalo wings and Twinkie diet," said Joe Moore of Cahokia, Ill., as he was readying a hole for a river birch. Instead of tossing telephone-pole-sized tree trunks or "cabers," Moore, Scott Runnels and James Fisher of the Seven Rivers Highland Society were manning shovels at the Little Creek Nature Area, just off Dunn Road.
http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2008/11/11/north/life/1112flo-kilts20.txt
Montana Student Riparian/Wetland Project
To: Principal and Science Teacher(s) - Hello, my name is Eric Vincent. I am a middle school teacher at Holy Spirit School in Great Falls, and represent a group of students involved in an innovative project that seeks to repair and sustain threatened riparian and wetland areas across the beautiful state of Montana. Working in conjunction with agencies such as the Missouri River Conservation Districts Council, Assistant State Conservationist, Montana Wetlands Legacy Partnership, Dept. of Fish Wildlife and Parks, and others, the group is developing an effective, feasible method of involving students across the state in helping to protect the wetland and riparian areas of Montana.
http://cfwep.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-montana-student-riparianwetland.html
Conferences & Workshops
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
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 |
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People in the News
Biohabitats' Keith Bowers Appointed to Board of Wildlands Project
Keith Bowers, a recognized leader in green design, was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Wildlands Project. Bowers is the founder and president of Biohabitats, one of the nation's leading ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design firms. The Wildlands Project creates large scale, science-based conservation plans that include core wild areas, wildlife linkages and stewardship lands.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/11/prweb1576294.htm
New Zealand: Council Honours Battler for the Environment
Mrs Nicholson is an active member of the Forest and Bird Protection Society, the Tamaki Estuary Protection Society, the Native Forest Restoration Trust, the Auckland Volcanic Cones Protection Society, and the Tree Council, which aims to protect urban trees. She's done fundraising for the organisations she supports by selling books on environmental issues. "I still have books available on the history of Pigeon Mountain, the notable trees of Auckland, and how a nature reserve on the Tamaki Estuary was created out of a site that Auckland City Council wanted to turn into a rubbish tip." Mrs Nicholson has also worked at getting young people involved in conservation, giving talks at schools and taking school groups on educational trips. Mrs Nicholson says there have been many memorable projects she has been involved in over the years.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/4752016a22395.html
EPA Honors Ball
"This is the fourth award Ball Horticultural Co. has been presented with for the Ball Ecological Restoration Project," says Keith Guimon, who is the coordinator of the Restoration Project. Ball's Ecological Restoration area started in 2001 and has grown into 27 acres of native restoration. Invasive plants have been removed and replaced with native ones; wildlife habit has been restored and walking trials for employees have been created. This area is located in West Chicago, IL, where Ball's corporate headquarters reside. An audio tour of the restoration area is also available for visitors.
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/Green+Industry+News/EPA-honors-Ball/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/564329?contextCategoryId=465
The Nature Conservancy Hires Assistant Director to Help Restore the Upper Mississippi River
The Nature Conservancy announced the hiring of Gretchen Benjamin as assistant director of its Upper Mississippi River (UMR) Program today. Benjamin will help organize the Conservancy's efforts to develop a basin-wide strategy that recognizes the river's tremendous ecological and economic value. She will also serve as the primary liaison to key partners including the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/wisconsin/press/press3764.html |
| New Books & Articles
Climate Change and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Considerable scientific uncertainty exists concerning the direction and extent of climate-induced change on a local and regional basis. This presents significant challenges for restoration and ecosystem management. Despite these uncertainties, many agree that near-term responses should focus on increasing the resilience of communities in the face of environmental variability. The November-December issue of the National Wetlands Newsletter, funded by a generous grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is dedicated to climate change.
http://yubanet.com/enviro/Climate-Change-and-the-U-S-Fish-and-Wildlife-Service.php
Report Offers First Comprehensive Look at Creating Sustainable Landscapes
Today, the Sustainable Sites Initiative invites public comment on a new report that offers the most comprehensive set of voluntary, national guidelines ever developed for sustainable landscapes. Titled Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008, it provides more than 50 prerequisites and credit options that cover everything from initial site selection design to construction and maintenance.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Report-Offers-First-Comprehensive-Look/story.aspx?guid=%7BD5DC13E1-99BC-4ACC-A39A-379D70B7E5AD%7D
Dam Big Science
In preparation for the momentous removal of the two dams on the Elwha River, slated to begin within the next two years, scientists are finalizing their "before" snapshots of the river and its habitat. This baseline, recently published in a series of articles in the journal Northwest Science, is essential for monitoring the huge changes anticipated in landscape and wildlife once the Elwha dam, standing at 105 feet, and the Glines Canyon dam, at 210 feet, are removed. If the dams seem big, the restoration project orchestrated by the National Park Service is surely bigger, outsized only by a similar effort in the Florida Everglades.
http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/18651/ |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
UK: Farmers Should be Paid to Protect 'Carbon Banks'
Hill farmers should be rewarded for protecting wildlife, landscapes, water and carbon stores as well as rearing livestock, the National Trust said today. It warned that rising costs of food production and the global recession would make it even more difficult for livestock owners to make a living at a time when English and Welsh governments are seeking to replace existing subsidies paid to hill farmers. The trust, which has 2,000 tenant farmers, most of them in upland areas, is already involved in pilot schemes to improve water quality at source, so water companies do not face such high costs at treatment plants, and in providing wetland areas to reduce the risk of flash floods.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/12/carbonemissions-wildlife
Restoration, Economics & Education
In the Clark Fork Basin, environmental restoration is big business. At the headwaters, the ongoing restoration of Silver Bow Creek continues. Downstream, workers continue to excavate century-old mine tailings from the former Milltown Reservoir. And, with the filing of the Consent Decree for the mainstem Clark Fork River Superfund site in February 2008, local governments, state agencies and community groups are making preparations for the many new restoration projects that will result from the $104 million in new funding that will be administered by the State of Montana's Natural Resource Damages Program. Restoration projects have been recognized as an economic driver in southwest Montana for most of the last decade, and, at the state and national levels, others are beginning to quantify and explore the idea of a "restoration economy."
http://cfwep.blogspot.com/2008/11/restoration-economics-education.html |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
IP Consultation on REDD in Philippines
The CBD Secretariat, UN-REDD, Tebtebba and the UN University Traditional Knowledge Initiative are convening a meeting this week on "Global Indigenous Peoples Consultation on REDD," Nov. 12-14 in Baguio City, Philippines. The three-day event aims to bring together international indigenous leaders to inform them on the debate on REDD and strategize on how indigenous peoples can best engage in REDD schemes.
http://rightsandclimate.org/2008/11/10/ip-consultation-on-redd-in-philippines/
Japanese and Local Filmmakers Visit Sinkyone Land
Two documentary films featuring the cultural land conservation work of the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council have involved recent visits to southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties where filmmakers interviewed Tribal community members and filmed restoration and stewardship projects on the 3,900-acre InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness land and the adjacent 7,250-acre Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.
http://www.redwoodtimes.com/local/ci_10906116 |
| Agro-Ecology
Philippines: GEF Approves Conservation Project for Ifugao Rice Terraces
A global initiative which aims to conserve "remarkable land use systems and landscapes which are rich in globally significant biological diversity" including that of the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT) has been approved for implementation by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GEF initiated a wide program on conservation and adaptive management. Called the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS), it involves the use of biological resources that harmonize with traditional cultural practices and sustainable use requirements in agricultural systems.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/09/08/gef-approves-conservation-project-ifugao-rice-terraces |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Al Gore: The Climate for Change
The inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he - and we - must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Paradise Almost Lost: Maldives Seek to Buy a New Homeland
The Maldives will begin to divert a portion of the country's billion-dollar annual tourist revenue into buying a new homeland - as an insurance policy against climate change that threatens to turn the 300,000 islanders into environmental refugees, the country's first democratically elected president has told the Guardian. Mohamed Nasheed, who takes power officially tomorrow in the island's capital, Male, said the chain of 1,200 island and coral atolls dotted 500 miles from the tip of India is likely to disappear under the waves if the current pace of climate change continues to raise sea levels.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/10/maldives-climate-change
Indigenous Australians in Unique Position to Help Climate Fight
Annual savanna fires across northern Australia produce upwards of 3 per cent of our national greenhouse gas emissions, a figure that has risen significantly since the removal of Indigenous people from their traditional estates. Now, without proper management, a high proportion of fires occur late in the dry season which means more combustible fuel gets burnt, releasing more emissions into the atmosphere. The northern savanna environment can be better managed by employing Indigenous people to use their knowledge, skill and abilities to reduce the amount of land that gets burnt, and also to reduce the frequency and intensity of the sorts of intense fires that produce large quantities of very potent and polluting greenhouse gases.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/07/2412974.htm |
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UK: Funding for Glasgow-sized Forest
A project to create the largest native broadleaf woodland in the Trossachs has secured almost £1m from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Great Trossachs Forest scheme aims to transform an area of patchwork woodland at loch Katrine into a forest the size of Glasgow - 16,650 hectares.
The plan involves planting 580 hectares of native woodland and enabling natural regeneration of a further 220 hectares. The Forestry Commission Scotland secured £965,500 for the project.
The bid - made in partnership with Woodland Trust Scotland - will part-fund the delivery of a programme of natural regeneration and woodland planting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_and_central/7710733.stm
Maryland: Chesapeake Bay Program Partners Launch 'Forestry for the Bay' Efforts
To show how their well-managed woodlands can lead to cleaner streams and rivers, and the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is encouraging private landowners to join the "Forestry for the Bay" program. "With nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvania draining into the Chesapeake, woodland owners from Lancaster to Bedford, and Potter to Susquehanna counties must realize their actions directly affect a national treasure hundreds of miles away," said DCNR State Forester Daniel Devlin. "We welcome the chance to promote sound conservation practices and foster healthier waterways by participating in 'Forestry for the Bay' efforts."
http://br.sys-con.com/node/742124 |
| Wetland Restoration
Florida's Everglades Land Buy Revised
Florida and U.S. Sugar have scaled back a proposed $1.75 billion land deal meant to boost Everglades restoration, significantly lowering the price tag and allowing the company to keep its sugar mill, two sources familiar with a tentative agreement between the company and the state told The Associated Press on Monday. The revisions to the tentative deal for a territory about the size of the city of Chicago would mean the state will not buy the company's high-tech mill, railroad lines and citrus processing plant, said the sources. However, the overall acreage the state plans to buy wouldn't be greatly reduced.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hwwsvNZPeVERE_DtCJ5Y4x5xfiYQD94CECCO0
USDA Sweetens The Pot For Wetlands Restorations
In the last several months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made restoring wetlands more attractive for private landowners under several initiatives and programs. In October, USDA announced additional payment incentives to be provided through several Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) wetlands and bottomland hardwood conservation practices. Under an ongoing (continuous) signup, participants can apply for 10 to 15 year contracts on eligible lands for the CP23 Wetlands Restoration-Floodplain, CP23A Wetlands Restoration-Nonfloodplain, and CP31 Bottomland Timber Restoration on Wetlands practices. In addition to the standard 50 percent cost-share for habitat restoration costs, they can now also receive a 40 percent Practice Incentive Payment on eligible restoration costs, a $100 per acre up-front Signing Incentive Payment, and an extra 20 percent added to the annual rental payment they receive each year of their CRP contract.
http://outdoornewsdaily.com/index.php/archives/5514
Australia: Wetland Care a Local Focus
The workshop is aimed at all land managers including landholders, community groups, local Aboriginal land councils, non-government agencies, local and state government, schools and universities and is based on the recently produced wetland assessment technique manual, compiled by WetlandCare Australia. This comprehensive manual provides a means of standardised wetland assessment, paving the way towards a more rationalised and focused investment in wetland protection and restoration.
http://nowra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/wetland-care-a-local-focus/1354711.aspx
Florida: Wetland Bank Primed To Open
It's environment for the sake of development. Entrepreneur Bill Casey is creating a 161-acre wetland mitigation bank in which developers can buy credits in repentance for destroying swampland elsewhere. After eight years of wrangling and permitting, the first phase of the project is expected to be for sale within weeks. The Tampa Bay Mitigation Bank is the only mitigation bank in the county and one of only two in the Southwest Florida Water Management District's 16-county area. It is permitted by the state and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2776942.html |
River & Watershed Restoration
Going with the Flow - Does Stream Restoration Work?
Streams and rivers are important for humans, and not just for kids. They provide what are known as "ecosystem services," such as supplying drinking water and rendering nutrients and toxins less harmful. But the capacity of aquatic resources to provide these services is being overwhelmed in many places. To address these issues, billions of dollars are currently being spent on "stream restoration." Nevertheless, the science connecting restoration practice to ecological recovery and ecosystem services is often weak, and many restoration projects fail to achieve their stated goals. I'm trying to fill scientific gaps between restoration design and ecological response so restoration projects can have a more positive impact on stream ecosystems, a goal shared by EPA scientists.
http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/11/05/sw-stream-restoration/ |
| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
'Arid Aquaculture' Among Livelihoods Promoted
"Arid aquaculture" using ponds filled with salty, undrinkable water for fish production is one of several options experts have proven to be an effective potential alternative livelihood for people living in desertified parts of the world's expanding drylands. In a report released today, researchers with the United Nations University, the International Centre on Agricultural Research in Dryland Areas (ICARDA), and UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program say alternatives to traditional crop farming and livestock rearing will need to be put in place in drylands in order to mitigate human causes of desertification.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/unu-aa110308.php |
| Lake Restoration
Indiana: Red Mill Pond Dam Project Now in Works
The Red Mill Pond Great Lakes Fisheries and Ecosystem Restoration Project includes removing a section of the dam at the emergency spillway, creating a new channel from the pond to the Little Calumet River and other features. The project will stabilize the failing dam structure and provide a more natural flow to the area while preserving wetlands. "The Army Corps of Engineers is looking forward to working with La Porte County Parks to help preserve the near 160 acres of high-quality wetlands at Red Mill Pond Mill," said Frank Veraldi, project planner. http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=18782&TM=39797.91 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Southern California Edison Completes Artificial Kelp Reef
Southern California Edison announced today the completion of a 175-acre artificial giant kelp reef just north of San Diego County, which the utility calls the largest environmental restoration project of its kind in the U.S. As the nation's largest artificial kelp reef, it is expected to serve as a model for similar projects, according to Edison. The project was designed to compensate for environmental damage caused by the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. "This reef project is a blueprint for how regulators and utilities nationwide could successfully balance essential energy and environmental needs," said Cecil House, a senior vice president with Edison.
http://blogs.pe.com/news/digest/2008/11/southern-california-edison-com-1.html
New Zealand: Boost to Environment Expected Following Fund Announcement
The Bay of Plenty's environment will be boosted by the efforts of 22 groups next year, as recipients of Environment Bay of Plenty's Environmental Enhancement Fund are announced.
The fund, which has an aim of supporting projects that protect or enhance the region's environment, has been providing advice and financial support to groups since 2001.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0811/S00066.htm
California: Fish Wrap - Big Bay Dig a Pig in a Poke?
The bureaucrats call it an "aquatic transfer facility," but it's really a plan to dig a huge hole in the middle of San Pablo Bay and dump dredge spoils there, then pump the material to Hamilton Field where a 2,500-acre wetland restoration project is under way. For the past year, barges have been shuttling dredge spoils from Oakland to a transfer station off Hamilton, where the sediment is pumped to the wetland project. The job will take 18 years - unless officials switch gears, dig a 33-acre hole in the bay and allow barges to dump the dredge spoils there without waiting to offload at the transfer station as they now do. The muck that collects in the big bay hole would then be pumped to Hamilton. The hole would be 1,500 feet long, 1,000 feet wide and up to 40 feet deep.
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_10919494 |
Wildlife Restoration
Video: Trees for Trout
A YouTube video from one of our partners, the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, and their Trees for Trout program. They take dead trees from the devastated Hayman fire area in central Colorado, and build trout habitat. The video is CUSP's entry in the Tom's of Maine River Stories video contest
http://ctunewsblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/trees-for-trout/
Montana: Westslope Trout Found in Restored Silver Bow Creek
In the restoration of Silver Bow Creek, the word "progress" can be essentially defined with the recent capture of two native Westslope cutthroat trout in its flows this October. While barely enough to fill one fisherman's stomach (if keeping westslopes were legal, of course), the presence of these two fish speaks volumes to the likelihood that a stream long-revered as one of the West's most contaminated waterways has hope in establishing a future fishery, if things continue down the same, right path.
http://cfwep.blogspot.com/2008/11/westslope-trout-found-in-restored.html |
| Extractive Industries
Malaysia: Ex-mines Turning Wastelands into Wonders
Kuala Lumpur, a former tin mining site for more than a hundred years, is one of Malaysia's testaments that it could turn wastelands to world class wonders. Once the world's biggest player in tin mining, Malaysia has successfully rehabilitated sites where mining companies have stopped operating into booming regions or hosts of income generating projects. "The success of mines rehabilitation in Malaysia is through joint efforts from the government, research and higher learning institutions, and the private sector," Mohd Suhaili Ismail, principal geologist of Malaysia's Department of Mineral and Geosciences, said when he visited Manila for a mining conference in October.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/11/08/08/malaysias-ex-mines-turning-wastelands-wonders
The Five Oldest Acts of Environmental Destruction
One thing which sets us aside from other species is our tendency to leave visible scars and remains after we have pillaged the Earth's resources. Even satellite pictures of the Amazon reveal the damage that the industrial exploitation of natural resources can inflict. How far back do such scars date? Here are some of the oldest visible examples of the human exploitation of natural resources.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn15102
Costa Rica at a Crossroads
The Crucitas open-pit gold mining project in northern Costa Rica could become an environmental cross to bear for the government of Óscar Arias. For more than two decades Costa Rica has cast itself as a pioneer when it comes to environmental matters. But the concession for a gold mine granted to the Industrias Infinito company, a subsidiary of the Canada-based Infinito Gold, has stirred things up between environmentalists, who are opposed to the project, and the government they accuse of double dealing.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44626 |
| Invasive Species
Illinois: Wild Ones to Prepare Residents for 'Invasives'
Debbie Maurer, a restoration ecologist for the Lake County Forest Preserves, will present the program "The New Invasives Watch List." Many residents are aware of the Emerald Ash Borer, Garlic Mustard, Kudzu, Asian Honeysuckles and Buckthorn, but a program has been created to train volunteers in identification of new species so that they can be stopped before they have a chance to become fully established. Maurer will provide identification cards to help in the learning process. Wild Ones promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization. Visitors are welcome at no charge.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1270139,6_1_NA10_WILDONES_S1.article |
| Urban Restoration
North Carolina: Tensions Stir over Troubled Waters
The Northgate facelift is just the currently visible portion of stream-restoration projects, involving the city, the county, the state and a handful of conservation-minded organizations, working the length of Ellerbe Creek. "It's a major hot spot for water-quality problems," said Diana Tetens, director of the nonprofit Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association. "It does not meet water-quality standards." But there are some concerns. "We understand that we need to clean up the stream," said Page McCullough, who lives in the park neighborhood. "But ... we love our park just as it is."
http://www.thedurhamnews.com/front/story/171413.html |
| Funding Opportunities
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/
Australia: Funding for Areas of High Conservation Value - Closes November 14, 2008
The Western Catchment Management Authority (CMA) has $400,000 available for people willing to manage areas of high conservation value for 15 years. They include culturally significant sites, uncommon vegetation types or landscapes, including artesian mound springs, native animal habitat, wetlands and riverine corridors. The deadline for applications is November 14 and works funded through the program need to be completed by the end of May 2009.
http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/funding-for-areas-of-high-conservation-value/1333259.aspx
Wisconsin: Beautification/Restoration Projects Alert in Oshkosh? - Closes January 15, 2009
The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin is accepting applications for the 2009 C.D. Besadny Conservation Grant Cycle. Named after former Department of Natural Resources Secretary, "Buzz" Besadny, this grant program provides matching grants of up to $1,500 to private and public organizations and government agencies in support of small scale conservation projects that promote the responsible stewardwhip of Wisconsin's natural resources at the local level. Since the program's inception, the Natural Resources Foundation has contributed over $290,000 to 390 projects throughout every county in Wisconsin.
http://www.mainstreetoshkosh.com/2008/11/beautificationrestoration-projects.html
New York: Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Ecosystem Restoration - Closes February 1, 2009
The State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) encourages recent graduates of undergraduate or masters programs to apply to its new doctoral degree concentration in Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange (ERIE). The ERIE program provides Ph.D. students with the technical, professional and personal skills needed to become leaders in the emerging field of ecosystem restoration through its focus on innovative and interdisciplinary research in environmental science, engineering, and policy. The research at UB's ERIE program is rooted in a number of nationally-recognized Great Lakes watershed and stream restoration efforts occurring in western New York State.
http://www.erie.buffalo.edu/
Collaborative Forest Restoration Program - Request for Proposals - Closes March 2, 2009
The Community Forest Restoration Act of 2000 (Title VI, Public Law 106-393) established a cooperative forest restoration program in New Mexico to provide cost-share grants to stakeholders for forest restoration projects on public land to be designed through a collaborative process (the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program). Projects must include a diversity of stakeholders in their design and implementation, and address specified objectives, including: wildfire threat reduction; ecosystem restoration, including non-native tree species reduction; reestablishment of historic fire regimes; reforestation; preservation of old and large trees; increased utilization of small diameter trees; and the creation of forest- related local employment.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/spf/cfrp/rfp/index.shtml
Ph.D. Opportunities in Plant Community Ecology, Grassland / Savanna Restoration at the University of Kansas
Graduate Research Assistantships in Plant Ecology (Ph.D. level) are available in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. We are seeking highly motivated students interested in plant community ecology, grassland/savanna biodiversity, experimental ecology and restoration. Research opportunities exist within the context of NSF- and Forest Service-funded projects evaluating alternative models of community assembly and restoration in Tall-grass Prairie and Pine-savanna Ecosystems.
http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/admission/opportunities.shtml | |
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