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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 or can be subscribed to for only $20/year by visiting: www.ser.org/content/restoration_network.asp. Please send your news stories and articles to the RESTORE editor at info@ser.org. |
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Get Involved / Community-Based Restoration
The U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation will hold a volunteer day in Sisters on Saturday, September 26th. The Whychus Creek Friends of the Forest Day will include trail building, planting vegetation and restoration projects along the creek and at other sites. It starts at 9:00 a.m. at Village Green Park in Sisters.
http://www.kbnd.com/354503.aspx
Nevada: Largest Volunteer Planting Event Las Vegas Wash October 17th
Saturday October 17th is the date of the 15th planting event at the Las Vegas Wash and it will be the largest seen along the Wash, possibly the largest volunteer planting event in Nevada history. We will be planting 7800 plants over 28 acres. The Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) was created to manage and protect the Las Vegas Wash, the critical final link in the Las Vegas Valley watershed. Its members include local, state and federal agencies, environmental groups and the business community. During the past 10 years, volunteers working with the LVWCC have added more than 40,000 plants and removed about 500,000 pounds of trash from the environmentally-sensitive area.
http://www.lvwash.org/html/
Conferences & Workshops
California Native Grasslands Association Upcoming Workshops
Oct 14-16 is a 3-day workshop, Developing a Sustainable Grazing Plan to Manage Native Grasslands, at the Hastings Reservation, Upper Carmel Valley. Oct 22-23 is a 2-day workshop, Using Grasses and Graminoids in Restoration and Revegetation, Davis & field sites.
http://www.cnga.org/
Cuba: HUMEDALES / Wetlands 2009 Symposium on Wetlands Protection and Management
November 01, 2009 - November 08, 2009 - The symposium will include Workshops on the following topics: Management and control of invasive species, Adaptation to climate change in wetlands, Protection and management of crocodiles and other endemic species, Environmental education in wetlands communities.
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/1008.html
RIACRE: Latin American Network for Ecological Restoration - November 9-13, 2009
La Red Iberoamericana y del Caribe de Restauración Ecológica (RIACRE) en conjunto con la Sociedad Brasilera de Recuperación de Áreas Degradadas (SOBRADE y la Fundación de Investigaciones Forestales de Paraná (FUPEF), con apoyo de la Universidad Federal de Paraná (UFPR) y la Empresa Brasilera de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (EMBRAPA), programaron para el período del 9 al 13 de Noviembre de 2009, en Curitiba, Estado de Paraná, Brasil, el Congreso Iberoamericano y del Caribe sobre Restauración Ecológica.
http://www.sobrade.com.br/riacre/
For a complete listing of conferences related to ecological restoration, please visit:
http://www.globalrestorationnetwork.org/conferences/ |
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People in the News
A Glass House to Reap Bounty for Restored Elwha River
This winter will be a productive one, a season when healing will begin on a grand scale. And out here off Old Olympic Highway, it will stay warm. That's the forecast from a pair of Olympic National Park botanists who are about to move into two houses at Robin Hill Farm County Park.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090914/news/309149993
$100,000 Awards for Green Efforts
A University of Washington researcher and environmental-magazine founder and the founder of a Seattle-based environmental Web site are recipients of $100,000 cash gifts from the Heinz Family Foundation for environmental achievement.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2009866710_heinzaward15m.html
Arizona: AWC Students Plant, Restore Native Trees
Arizona Western College's environmental science class aims to restore a native bird's natural habitat and is succeeding, thanks to a grant from a nonprofit group. Ted Martinez, professor of biology, received a $10,000 grant from Sonoran Joint Venture to grow native trees for habitat restoration after writing his own grant application.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/native-52679-trees-habitat.html |
| New Books & Articles
Study Finds Family Planning Cheapest Way to Prevent Climate Change
The Brits have been obsessed with overpopulation since at least Thomas Malthus. Now comes a new report(PDF) commissioned by the Optimum Population Trust and conducted by the London School of Economics, that says expanded access to family planning and contraceptives is five times cheaper than low-carbon technology in reducing greenhouse gases.
http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/40476
World Bank Report Slams 'Inertia' in the Face of Climate Change
The biennial global economic assessment, which this year focuses exclusively on the threat of climate change, estimates that nations will need nearly $500 billion annually by 2030 to both develop clean energy technologies across the world and cope with natural disasters. Beyond the need for money, the "World Development Report 2010" calls on governments, research institutions and individuals to overcome a worldwide "inertia" that the authors argue has kept nations dependent on fossil fuel and too slow to muster the resources necessary to solve a problem many still see as distant.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/09/15/15climatewire-world-bank-report-slams-inertia-in-the-face-18561.html
Young Conservationist Launches Book
The book, "Wild West" focuses on the diverse, yet fragile ecosystems of the Solomon Islands Western Province. Pikacha says the book reflects 20 years of study, as well as traditional knowledge. Pikacha says that if people fail to do something about the loss of biodiversity in Solomon Islands, "it will not be long before this tremendous natural asset - the rain forests, estuaries and lagoons disappear or become permanently damaged."
http://www.solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=4437 |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Aboriginal Fire Management Cuts CO2 in Australia
As a Bininj man from Nangark of the Gurrguni clan, I hold much knowledge regarding my people's traditional use of fire and have a great responsibility to ensure that this knowledge is passed down to younger generations, and more importantly, that this knowledge is still used and practised into the future to keep our country alive and healthy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/11/aboriginal-fire-co2-australia
Who Needs Science When the Gods Are Managing Your Forests?
How could such ancient ideas reemerge on the threshold of the 21st century? How could the Park Service adopt such ancient ideas when some of its own managers are active participants in a new and rapidly growing professional organization called the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) - an organization committed to using scientific management to restore and maintain biotic communities? The answer is simple: zealots within the agencies, encouraged by some preservation groups and ideologues in universities, have taken over our national park and wilderness areas and converted them into their own quasi-religious temples. Thus national parks no longer serve their original purpose of providing for "the enjoyment of the people," as stated in the inscription on the stone gate to Yellowstone National Park, instead they satisfy the spiritual needs of a small but influential subculture. ...
http://westinstenv.org/sosf/2009/09/13/who-needs-science-when-the-gods-are-managing-your-forests/ |
| Agro-Ecology
Buying Local Isn't Always Best
More greenhouse gas emissions are released from producing red meat than any other form of food. Red meat is responsible for about 150% more emissions than chicken or fish. That's according to researchers Christopher L. Weber and H. Scott Matthews of Carnegie Mellon University, who found in a 2007 study that if you're trying to limit your food's carbon footprint, it is better to eat lower on the food chain than to eat local. http://www.freep.com/article/20090913/FEATURES02/909130321/1320/Buying-local-isn-t-always-best |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
The World Needs a Marshall Plan for Climate Change
Thalif Deen interviews RICHARD KOZUL-WRIGHT, chief of the U.N.'s Development Strategy and Policy Analysis Unit. When world leaders meet for a mega talk-fest on climate change at the United Nations in late September, the focus will be more on politics and less on finance. "No new financial commitments to support the efforts of developing countries were expected during the summit," says Janos Pasztor, director of the U.N.'s Climate Change Support Team. "But it is hoped there would be a new framework (for funding arrangements)," he adds cautiously.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48382
India: Help to Mitigate Dangers of Climate Change, Delhi CM asks Youths
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday called upon young generation to render their positive contribution in mitigating the danger of climate change. Dikshit was speaking after inauguration of a plantation drive for eco-restoration of central ridge near the Sardar Patel Marg. She along with large number of schoolchildren planted saplings at the area.
http://www.zeenews.com/news562076.html
Time to Tap Climate Change-Combating Potential of the World's Ecosystems Inaction
Investing in restoration and maintenance of the Earth's multi-trillion dollar ecosystems - from forests and mangroves to wetlands and river basins - can have a key role in countering climate change and climate-proofing vulnerable economies. This is among the central findings of a new climate issues update by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a project launched by Germany and the European Commission in response to a proposal by the G8+5 Environment Ministers (Potsdam, Germany 2007) to develop a global study on the economics of biodiversity loss.
http://www.envirodesk.com/node/49893 |
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India: Two Tribal Villages Get 2,349 Hectares
Two villages in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra have become the first in the country to win community rights over forests under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. On August 15, Ramesh Bang, the state food and civil supplies minister, said the claims of Mendha Lekha and Marda villages over their village forests were accepted by the state government.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20090915&filename=news&sec_id=4&sid=5
Kenya Launches Multimillion Dollar Appeal to Restore Vital Mau Forest
A multimillion dollar appeal to save the Mau Forests Complex has been launched by the Government of Kenya at a Partners Forum hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The appeal aims to mobilize resources for the rehabilitation of the Mau, the largest closed-canopy forest ecosystem in Kenya covering over 400,000 hectares - the size of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares combined. The strategic importance of the Mau Forest lies in the ecosystem services it provides to Kenya and the region, including river flow regulation, flood mitigation, water storage, reduced soil erosion, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, carbon reservoir and microclimate regulation.
http://kenvironews.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/kenya-launches-multimillion-dollar-appeal-to-restore-vital-mau-forest/ |
River & Watershed Restoration
Alabama: Corps Of Engineers Land Purchase To Benefit Missouri River Restoration
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers recently purchased a tract of land near Vermillion, with an eye toward benefitting the Missouri River. The property, located about 2.5 miles southwest of Vermillion, borders the Missouri River and has more than 8,000 feet of shoreline along the river. This 546-acre tract, known as North Alabama Bend, is a mixture of trees and grasslands typical of natural riparian habitat found along an undeveloped river. The property has lowland areas that could lend themselves to backwater restoration and cottonwood forest regeneration.
http://www.yankton.net/articles/2009/09/14/community/doc4aadbb14f08d5316438218.txt
Utah: River Project Not Flowing Smoothly
The Ogden River Restoration Project consists of various habitat features designed to restore aquatic and geological functions. If Ward, Berrett and other landowners refuse to provide easements, the river restoration project can be reconfigured around those properties, said Justin Anderson, the city's engineer. "One way or another, we will be able to work something out," he said. "I don't see this stopping the project." The city wants about 30 riparian easements for the replanting of native vegetation along the banks of the project area, Anderson said.
http://www.standard.net/topics/news/2009/09/09/river-project-not-flowing-smoothly
Arizona: Aquatic Restoration Project for West Fork of Oak Creek
Coconino National Forest, in cooperation with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service propose an aquatic restoration project in the West Fork of Oak Creek. West Fork is a perennial tributary to Oak Creek about 11 miles north of Sedona. It has been identified for re-introduction of the Gila trout, a federally endangered native species historic to the Verde River drainage.
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=32700 |
| Lake Restoration
Indiana: Sylvan Lake Restoration a Success Story
On Sept. 19, 1984, fisheries biologists with the DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife began applying 4,000 gallons of rotenone, a chemical fish toxicant, to Sylvan Lake, its inlet ditches, and several lakes upstream, including Barr, Beck, Hall and Wible. The purpose of the project was to remove an excessive population of carp, a non-native invasive fish species that had roiled the lake bed, muddied the water, destroyed fish habitat, and displaced sport fish. Ironically, carp were first brought to Indiana 100 years earlier in 1884 to stock in ponds in hopes of boosting meat production.
http://awregionalnews.blogspot.com/2009/09/sylvan-lake-restoration-success-story.html |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Obama Administration Releases Chesapeake Bay Restoration Plans
The federal government is getting serious about solving the stubborn problem of cleaning up the polluted Chesapeake Bay and restoring the nation's largest estuary to health. In 2008, after 20 years of restoration efforts, Chesapeake Bay water quality was rated "very poor," with only 21 percent of the established goals met. Proposing a mix of carrots and sticks, federal agencies today complied with President Barack Obama's May 12 Executive Order on the Chesapeake Bay by issuing seven draft reports on ways to reduce polluted runoff by increasing government accountability and public involvement.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2009/2009-09-10-01.asp
Rhode Island: Gooseneck Cove Restoration Project Heralded by Environmental Advocates
The project, which was identified by Save The Bay in 1996, replaced culverts on Ocean Avenue and Hazard Road, and removed a defunct dam in the center of the wetland system. By removing these barriers, the restoration is expected to improve water quality and growing conditions for native marsh plants and improve habitat of the marsh and tidal creeks for fish such as striped bass and bluefish, shellfish, waterfowl and shorebirds. It is also expected to reduce flooding and make the marsh more resilient to storm damage.
http://www.newport-now.com/2009/09/14/gooseneck-cove-restoration-project-heralded-by-environmental-advocates-and-government-officials/
Connecticut: Save the Sound Launches Habitat Restoration Project
More than 20 acres of dune habitat were replanted with native vegetation at the Bride Brook in Rocky Neck State Park recently, as Save the Sound launched the first part of two habitat restoration projects. Made possible by a $1.5 million federal stimulus grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the project, held on the morning of Sept. 11, included the restoration of a salt marsh system at Bride Brook and spawning grounds for alewives and herring with the replacement of a blocked off culvert with an open channel and large box culvert.
http://www.courant.com/community/lyme/hc-east-lyme-planting-0915.artsep14,0,3736971.story |
Wildlife Restoration
New Zealand: Rare Kokako Settle Back in the Waitakere Rain Forest after 50 Years
The haunting melody of the once endangered kokako, or blue wattled crow, has returned to the Waitakere ranges skirting Auckland. Under the guidance of the Ark in the Park project, these rare birds were united back to the forest after an absence of 50 years. Several hundred people gathered at dawn, under cold clear skies, at Cascade Kauri in Te Wao nui a Tirowa - Waitakere ranges - to witness the event.
http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2009/09/rare-kokako-back-in-the-waitakere-rain-forest-after-50-years/
UK: RSPB Accused of Damaging British Environment in Bid to Save Birds
In a controversial move, the RSPB has set its sights on England's non-native woodlands, which it wants to demolish to find space to restore a different type of English habitat, the open and rugged heathland immortalised in the novels of Thomas Hardy. Dominated by heather and scrubby plants, such heathland is an increasingly rare sight in England, and so is the wildlife that relies upon it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/13/rspb-uk-charity-deforestation-birds |
| Funding Opportunities
Dolores River Watershed (Colorado) Tamarisk Control Funding Available
http://targetednews.com/disp_story.php?s_id=999436
Lake Tahoe Restoration Funding Available
http://targetednews.com/disp_story.php?s_id=998976
EPA Grants Available for Research on Soils and Plant Ecology
http://targetednews.com/disp_story.php?s_id=997814
Neotropical Migratory Bird Protection and Habitat Restoration Grants Available
http://targetednews.com/disp_story.php?s_id=997925
NOAA Partnership Grants - Closes September 30, 2009
The NOAA Restoration Center is currently soliciting applications for new three-year national and regional Partnerships to invest funding in the restoration of coastal and marine habitat nationwide, from 2010-2012. Through this solicitation, the NOAA Restoration Center seeks to openly compete funding available for multi-year national and regional habitat restoration Partnerships that will result in implementation of a wide-range of habitat restoration projects -- from locally-driven, hands-on projects that emphasize stewardship, to mid-scale, watershed-scale projects that yield significant ecological and socioeconomic benefits.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/projects_programs/crp/partners_funding/natregpart.html
2010 St. Andrews Prize for the Environment - Closes October 31, 2009
Applications are invited from individuals, multi-disciplinary teams or community groups for the 2010 annual prize, consisting of an award of $75,000 USD for the winner and $25,000 USD for each of the two runners-up. Aimed at helping ordinary people find solutions to environmental problems, the Prize was launched 11 years ago and is recognized as a prestigious international initiative by the University of St Andrews, Scotland and ConocoPhillips, one of the world's leading energy companies, attracting entries from around the world. The focus is on environmental initiatives, but of course the most innovative and important usually come with gains to people in their locality.
http://www.thestandrewsprize.com/ | |
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