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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
Attention SER Members
Discount on Wiley-Blackwell Products: Code is SDP18
http://www.wiley.com
Discount on Island Press/SER Book Series: Code is 2SER
http://www.islandpress.org/ser/index.html
Get Involved/Community-based Restoration
California: Volunteers Help Revitalize Bolsa Chica Wetlands
Volunteers met at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Warner Avenue at 9 a.m. on Saturday to assist in restoration efforts at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Children and adults alike put their strength into digging temporary trails and planting native vegetation in the first bi-monthly workday the Bolsa Chica Stewards will organize every year between October and April.
http://www.dailytitan.com/2009/10/volunteers-help-revitalize-the-bolsa-chica-wetlands/
Texas: Prairie Plant-A-Thon November 14, 2009
If you're a gardener, or just looking for a volunteer opportunity, then put November 14th on your calendar, and take part in the Sheldon Lake State Park Prairie Plant-a-thon. And, we hope to get a hundred, a hundred and twenty-five people out here to spend the morning, and see if we can get three thousand or so plants planted in the ground. We got 26-hundred in, in a four hour period last November.
http://passporttotexas.org/prairie-plant-a-thon/
California: Restoring the Environment
More than 65 local volunteers were covered in dirt, weeds and mud from planting vegetation for a campus watershed project Saturday. The Urban Creeks Council, a Berkeley-based organization, helped Contra Costa College and Middle College High School students work with community members to show their support for the Rheem Creek restoration project.
http://www.accentadvocate.com/campus-beat/restoring-the-environment-1.1931093
Conferences & Workshops
Wetland Conference, November 12th & 13th, 2009 · Wright State University
http://www.sws.org/regional/northcentral/Conferences.htm
Texas: Land Stewardship Workshop for Women October 30, 2009
Women of the Land is a land stewardship training program designed specifically for women landowners, land managers, and wildlife enthusiasts. The program combines information on land management and skill-based outdoor recreation in a venue that encourages women to ask questions, improve outdoor skills, and network with women of similar interests. The Texas Wildlife Association, in partnership with Texas Parks & Wildlife and with support from the San Antonio Livestock Exposition, will host this event.
http://www.masoncountynews.com/news/article/21244
Texas Society for Ecological Restoration (TXSER) 2009 Annual Conference on November 6-8
Hosted by the San Antonio Natural Areas division of Parks & Recreation, City of San Antonio, this year's conference is organized around the theme "Water - Agua es Vida". Participants will learn of the surrounding area's restoration of hydrological ecosystems through Field Trips to Selah (Bamberger Ranch), Canyon Lake Gorge & Honey Creek State Natural Area, the San Antonio River & San Antonio Missions, and the San Marcos River and springs.
http://www.sanaturalareas.org/ser/
Society for Ecological Restoration, BC (SER-BC) Chapter Conference:
Shared Responsibility for a Sustainable Landscape, Nov. 5-7 2009, Naramata, British Columbia
Registration is now open for the SER-BC's annual restoration conference. Major themes of this conference include: Enhancing biological diversity and protecting species at risk through ecological restoration; public involvement in restoration; restoration of aquatic and wetland habitats; managing the threats of invasive exotic species; and First Nations eco-cultural restoration initiatives.
http://www.ser.org/serbc/events.asp
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/
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
Behind the Greens: Ken Burns, Documentarian
Before there was the History Channel, there was Ken Burns. The veteran filmmaker's exhaustive PBS documentaries on all-American subjects like baseball, jazz and the Civil War have given Americans a deep, visual connection to their unique history. Beginning September 27, 2009, PBS will air his latest, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, a 12-hour epic 10 years in the making that tackles the history and significance of America's crown jewels.
http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4797
Mayor Bloomberg and Bette Midler Plant 250,000th Tree
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York Restoration Project ( NYRP ) Founder Bette Midler today celebrated the two-year anniversary of MillionTreesNYC by planting Tree Number 250,000, a Southern Magnolia ( Magnolia gradiflora ) at the home of Sharon and Thomas Stoney in St. Albans, Queens. The Mayor and Ms. Midler also announced the new "Put Down Roots" pilot program encouraging New York City homeowners to plant trees in their front and backyards.
http://media-newswire.com/release_1101439.html# |
| New Books & Articles
Decline in Big Predators Wreaking Havoc on Ecosystems
The decline of top predators such as North American wolves and African lions is driving increases in smaller predators such as coyotes and baboons, disrupting ecosystems and economies worldwide, a study concludes.
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/10/decline_in_big_predators_wreak.html
Climate Change Endangering National Parks
Twenty-five national parks are threatened by climate change, including Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, say the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization say 25 national parks are threatened by climate change, including Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outdoors/2010005187_webnationalparks05.html?syndication=rss
How Indigenous wisdom can save the Murray Darling Basin
What Weir attempts is to convince the reader that the different values we set on a river need not be opposed - that the view of the traditional owners for a healthy river can potentially bring the economics and the ecology into alignment. Her sources include the bureaucrats and engineers of the Murray Darling Basin Commission on the one side, and on the other the traditional owners who have formed an alliance, the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN) to assert their role in decisions concerning water management.
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=16796# |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Conservation Biology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Conservation biology and environmental anthropology are disciplines that are both concerned with the identification and preservation of diversity, in one case biological and in the other cultural. Both conservation biology and the study of traditional ecological knowledge function at the nexus of the social and natural worlds, yet historically there have been major impediments to integrating the two. Here we identify linguistic, cultural, and epistemological barriers between the two disciplines. We argue that the two disciplines are uniquely positioned to inform each other and to provide critical insights and new perspectives on the way these sciences are practiced.
http://en.scientificcommons.org/51379053
Call for Papers: Critical Perspectives on Ecological and Environmental Knowledge(s)
We invite scholars engaging with any aspect of ecological and/or environmental knowledge(s) to share their research and reflections in this session. We seek to spotlight papers adopting critical theoretical and/or methodological approaches to the study of ecological/environmental knowledge(s), broadly defined.
http://hdnrm.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/call-for-papers-critical-perspectives-on-ecological-and-environmental-knowledges-aaag-washington-dc/ |
| Agro-Ecology
The Other Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis in Global Land Use
As the international community focuses on climate change as the great challenge of our era, it is ignoring another looming problem - the global crisis in land use. With agricultural practices already causing massive ecological impact, the world must now find new ways to feed its burgeoning population and launch a "Greener" Revolution.
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2196 |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Audio: Could Climate Change Topple Modern Civilization?
Lester Brown, president and founder of the Earth Policy Institute, argues for an aggressive increase in renewable energy production, better energy-efficiency standards and a return to human-centered urban design in his latest book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113435511&ft=1&f=1025
Uganda: Trees First in Africa to Count as CO2 Emissions Reductions
Pines and a mix of native African trees will soon cover what is now grassland within Uganda's Rwoho Central Forest Reserve, an upper watershed of Lake Victoria. The growing trees will absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2, from the atmosphere, and with these plantings, Uganda becomes the first country in Africa to undertake a reforestation project that will count towards emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. Called the Nile Basin Reforestation Project, the tree planting is being implemented by Uganda's National Forestry Authority in association with local community organizations, using funds provided by the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2009/2009-10-06-01.asp |
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Video: Major Forestry Restoration Effort Underway in Worcester, MA
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/10/02/Major-forestry-restoration/1254521873.html
Philippines: Restore the Forests, One Native Tree at a Time
"ELTI in general supports the conservation of tropical forest ecosystems, their key ecological functions and the ecosystem services they render, as well as the improvement of local livelihoods that depend on these resources. Our efforts are directed towards protecting standing forests, reducing major threats and impacts to their integrity, and restoring/rehabilitating degraded areas. In particular, we are currently promoting forest restoration/rehabilitation using native species (ie. Rainforestation), Avoided Deforestation or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), Sustainable Forest Management, and environmentally and socially equitable financing mechanisms for conservation efforts through the carbon market and payment for ecosystem services schemes." http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sunday-times/3223-restore-the-forests-one-native-tree-at-a-time# |
| Wetland Restoration
Danone: Market for Wet Carbon
The partnership between IUCN, Ramsar and the Danone Group is underway. The aim: to leverage carbon markets for the benefit of wetland ecosystems and communities
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/business/?3931#
Louisiana: Over 500 Acres of Restored Wetlands Added to Black Bayou Mitigation Bank
Second Louisiana Resource, LLC (SLR) a subsidiary of Resource Environmental Solutions LLC (RES) today announced the approval of Phase III of the Black Bayou Mitigation Bank in northeast Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. With this phase, an additional 521 acres of bottomland hardwood restoration, over 40 acres of hardwood enhancement and over 22 acres of bottomland hardwood preservation increase the Bank size to offer over 1,000 acres of wetland mitigation credits and over 100 stream restoration credits. Future wetland restoration activities are planned for this 2,132 acre site.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091002005537&newsLang=en |
River & Watershed Restoration
More Projects Return America's Rivers to their Natural State
The $7.8 million restoration of the Truckee River at Mustang Ranch - the former site of Nevada's first legal bordello - is one of several projects ongoing nationwide in which millions are being spent to restore rivers to their natural state. Projects are also underway in Florida, Utah and Texas to return natural bends and wetlands to places where the government took them away decades ago in efforts to avoid flooding. Other river restoration projects in Oregon, California and Maine are designed to repair ecosystems affected by hydroelectric projects or to accommodate agriculture.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-10-05-river-restore-work_N.htm
Nebraska: Republican, Platte Rivers Take Center Stage at National Conference
The conference brought together over 250 people from 22 states and Canada. Taking center stage were riparian restoration efforts on the Republican and Platte Rivers in Nebraska. Senator Tom Carlson of Holdrege, District 38, kicked off the conference with a discussion of the Nebraska Legislature's efforts in the battle against riparian invasive species, and the benefits of clearing these plants from the river channels. "We must finish the work on the Republican and Platte Rivers. Water is the lifeblood of the Nebraska economy," Carlson stated. "We need to insure that it is available now, and for future generations." A new documentary based on work done in the Republican Basin made its debut at the conference.
http://www.imperialrepublican.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1204:republican-platte-rivers-take-center-stage-at-national-conference&catid=41:agbusiness&Itemid=53
Nigeria: Uduaghan Makes Case for Restoration of Ecosystem
Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday canvassed a restoration of the eco-system in polluted and environmentally devastated oil-producing communities occasioned by the activities of multinational oil companies operating in the creeks and riverine communities of the Niger Delta.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/10/01/uduaghan-makes-case-for-restoration-of-ecosystem/
South Carolina: Seize Chance to Restore Watershed
The public has the extraordinary opportunity to remove all of the dams on Twelve Mile River and restore the natural, free-flowing character of more than 100 miles of this beautiful river system. We must seize this opportunity.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20091007/OPINION/910070334/1004/NEWS01/Seize-chance-to-restore-watershed |
| Grassland Restoration
Wisconsin: Effort to Boost Wisconsin's Prairie Chicken Population Now Complete
Minnesota and Wisconsin may be rivals on the football field but the two states have been working together for years to save an iconic species of America's grasslands. An effort to relocate prairie chickens from Minnesota to Wisconsin - where the birds are at risk - is now complete, The Nature Conservancy announced today.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/wisconsin/press/press4223.html |
Wildlife Restoration
Canada: WWF Helps Masked Bandit Return to Prairies
After a 70-year absence from Canada, black-footed ferrets will once again prowl the prairies, following today's release of more than 30 captive-bred animals into Canada's Grasslands National Park. Leading the reintroduction were staff from a dozen different conservation organizations, governments and zoos, including species experts from WWF-US and WWF-Canada.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/black-footed_ferrets/Grasslands_National_Park/prweb2981044.htm |
| Invasive Species
Arizona: Giant Reed Choking Sabino
Giant reeds with no natural enemies are sucking the water and driving out native vegetation along Sabino Creek. A posse of volunteers is needed, starting this Sunday, to eradicate the beasts. Naturalists have set a goal of eradicating Arundo donax (giant reed) from the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area within three years and notching the first local success story in the multipronged attack on invasive species, said Mark Hengesbaugh, volunteer coordinator.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/311360.php |
| Urban Restoration
UK: 'Urban Greening' Projects to Tackle London Climate Change
A series of 'urban greening' schemes featuring river restoration, green roofs and walls, street tree planting and sustainable flood risk management are needed if London is to adapt to climate change. Research published today by the London Climate Change Partnership warns the increased risk of flooding in the winter and drought in the summer will pose threats to the capital's habitats....
http://www.planningresource.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/Environment/login/943136/
California: Recycling the Urban Spaces
In San Francisco, the Recreation and Park Department has joined the effort to reconnect inhabitants with the landscape via a robust effort to preserve natural areas around the city. Groups such as Nature in the City, the Mission Greenbelt Project, California Native Plant Society, the Audubon Society Golden Gate chapter and many others have contributed to an important ecology of activism.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/04/INA719UCU4.DTL |
| Recreation & Tourism
New York: Buffalo Parks with a Prestigious Plan
UDP's plan won the 2009 Comprehensive Planning Award, which will be presented on Oct. 1 at the New York Upstate Chapter of the American Planning Association's annual meeting in Albany. "[The plan consisted of] an argument of why we should restore the parks," said Jajean Rose-Burney, an associate planner for the UDP. "The parks have an economic, social and environmental impact [on the area]. The sub-issues are [that] health and property values would be improved, and because the parks are historic, it would draw cultural tourism."
http://www.ubspectrum.com/article/40405 |
| Funding Opportunities
$5,000 Grants for Indigenous Peoples' Videos on Climate Change until October 31, 2009 First Peoples Worldwide is awarding three $5,000 grants for videos documenting Indigenous communities using traditional knowledge to adapt to, or mitigate the impacts of climate change on their lands and waterways. Indigenous Peoples must submit their entry in video format in order to be considered for this grant. Successful videos will show the impacts of climate change through the eyes of the community and present the ways Indigenous Peoples are adapting to these changes or working to lessen their impacts. Upload the video to YouTube and send the link to Jessica Friswell (jfriswell@firstpeoplesworldwide.org and jessica_friswell@yahoo.com)
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/
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
Redwood Forest and Watershed Restoration Funding to be Awarded in California
http://targetednews.com/disp_story.php?s_id=1000291 | |
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