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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
Washington: Volunteers Needed at Nine Restoration Sites Along Duwamish River October 17
Volunteers are needed to help restore to health nine sites along Seattle's Duwamish River at the semi-annual Duwamish Alive! work day set for Saturday, October 17. Friends and families are encouraged to weed, mulch, plant and clean up these sites to make the river a healthier place.
http://www.pugetsoundmaritime.com/2009/10/volunteers-needed-at-nine-restoration-sites-along-duwamish-river-october-17/
2010 National Wetlands Awards Program
Nomination forms are now available at www.nationalwetlandsawards.org. For more than 20 years, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation, and excellence in wetlands conservation. Recipients provide critical examples of how individual citizens across the country can, and do, make a difference in wetlands protection and restoration efforts. The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2010 Awards Program is December 15, 2009.
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
US Economics Laureate Highlights Efforts at Conservation
Nobel economics co-laureate Elinor Ostrom said Monday her recognition highlights the need for more citizen involvement in efforts to protect natural resources. Ostrom, the first woman to win a Nobel prize in economics, shared the award with US economist Oliver Williamson of the University of California-Berkeley. The professor of political science and co-director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University said her work is focused on ways in which communities around the world can manage resources needed for their survival.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jUjMkFv9u80cl-aYinuKdu0TKwsw
Meet Your New National Parks Chief
I asked about his 33 years in the park service, starting with a volunteer stint when he was fresh out of college and culminating later this month with an office view of the National Mall when the 56-year-old moves to Washington to assume his new post. Jarvis has been a park ranger and superintendent in parks across the West-in Alaska, Idaho, Washington state, and California. He raised his family in parks and worked most recently as director of the service's Pacific West Region, based in Oakland.
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-10-09-new-national-parks-chief-jon-jarvis/
H. Exc. Mons. Lucius Iwejuru UGORJI, Bishop of Umuahia (NIGERIA)
The present ecological challenges are as a result of man's sins: selfishness, greed, insensitivity to environmental damage and failure to care for the earth. The Church in Africa is to stimulate 'ecological conversion' through intensive education. She is to educate people in Africa to be more sensitive to the increasing disaster caused by environmental damage and the need to minimise it. All are to be made ever conscious that future generations have a right to live in an environment that is intact and healthy and to enjoy its resources.
http://www.zenit.org/article-27093?l=english
Crossroads Environmental Consultants Gets Contract
Crossroads Environmental Consultants has landed a five-year deal with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Services to monitor conservation and environmental restoration projects under way on 71,000 acres in 14 Florida counties. Two large parcels - one 5,000 acres and the other 6,000 - lie in western Martin County, north and south of Martin Grade, said Toby Overdorf, president of the Palm City firm. Cattle pasture, pine forest and wetlands comprise the tracts, he said.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/oct/07/no-headline---mc_lands/
Arcadis Selected for $3 Billion Worldwide U.S. Air Force Environmental Restoration Initiative
ARCADIS, the international design, consulting, engineering and management services company, today announced that it has been selected by the U.S. Air Force as one of the prime contractors for the $3 billion Worldwide Environmental Restoration and Construction 2009 (WERC09) program. Under this program ARCADIS is allowed to compete for task orders with a select number of competitors.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS39533+12-Oct-2009+PRN20091012
Andy Hammer: A New Challenger
Republican Town Justice candidate Andy Hammer has an easy time remembering his first interaction with the East Hampton Town Justice Court. He was a young man, who'd just bought his first four-wheel-drive vehicle, and took it out for a test drive on the beach in Montauk without a permit. When he appeared in front of Town Justice James Ketchum, his punishment was to write a report on environmental restoration.
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=239389&town=East%20Hampton&n=Andy%20Hammer%3A%20A%20new%20challenger |
| New Books & Articles
Queen of the Marsh
Lev documented her 2001 effort by sharing stories of the rural landowners in a photo-filled, 75-page book, "Heroic Tales of Wetlands Restoration." It's a lively, user-friendly resource for farmers and others who are considering preserving wetlands on their lands. She considers it her proudest professional accomplishment. The book had originally been conceived as a dry, technical document, funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.But Lev preferred the storytelling route since she's passionate about wetlands, and wants others to be, too.
http://www.sherwoodgazette.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=125477770743001900 |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Integrating Ethno-Ecological and Scientific Knowledge of Termites for Sustainable Termite Management and Human Welfare in Africa
In this paper, we undertook a comprehensive review of studies on human-termite interactions and farmers' indigenous knowledge across Sub-Saharan Africa in an effort to build coherent principles for termite management. The review revealed that local communities have comprehensive indigenous knowledge of termite ecology and taxonomy, and apply various indigenous control practices. Many communities also have elaborate knowledge of the nutritional and medicinal value of termites and mushrooms associated with termite nests.
http://en.scientificcommons.org/51444787 |
| Agro-Ecology
India: Women Chart Way Out of Ecological Crisis
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| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Biodiversity Loss Accelerating, UN Target Will Be Missed
The world will not achieve its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, the International Year of Biodiversity, say experts in Cape Town for a science conference on the variety, abundance and conservation of plants and animals. The target was agreed at a conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in April 2003. Some 123 world ministers committed to "achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the local, national and regional levels, as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth."
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2009/2009-10-13-01.asp
Global Warming: A Confederacy of Dunces
One example is the fact that these organizations opposed the inclusion of carbon dioxide sinks, such as tropical forests, and reforestation to the Kyoto Protocol as a form of carbon offset. They justify their opposition by the fact that, for them, decreasing emissions is the primary target. It was only in the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali last year that controlling deforestation and increasing forest restoration were accepted as means of controlling climate change, mainly thanks to developing countries." http://www.examiner.com/x-9111-SF-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m10d7-Global-warming-a-confederacy-of-dunces |
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WWF Proposes "Zero Net Deforestation" by 2020
WWF will highlight the urgency of global leaders committing to a zero net deforestation by 2020 target at the XIIIth World Forestry Congress, being held October 18th - 23rd 2009. This includes a complementary climate change target of reducing gross forest-based greenhouse gas emissions by at least 75 per cent by 2020. Together these targets set a global benchmark for success in tackling the problem of deforestation at the scale and pace needed to prevent runaway climate change and avoid a catastrophic decline in biodiversity.
http://www.treebanker.com/?p=410 |
| Wetland Restoration
Restored Wetlands Considered for Carbon Offsets
As landowners increasingly market forest lands for their carbon offsets, other sources are being considered. Enter wetland restoration projects, which are known for helping absorb carbon dioxide. Some data suggests that wetlands could store six times more carbon per acre than forests, according to Ron Sass, a professor at Rice University, reports the Houston Chronicle. Marsh plants help absorb CO2. As the plants die, they fall below the water level and are buried, trapping the carbon.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/10/13/restored-wetlands-considered-for-carbon-offsets/
New Zealand: Wellington Benefits from Conservation Fund
A grant of more than $34,000 to the Friends of Queen Elizabeth Regional Park (Kapiti) Trust will assist with the restoration of an 18.5 hectare dune swamp podocarp forest. 30,000 native plants will provide buffering and protection of the forest and wetland remnants and will improve the long-term viability of rare species present. $600,000 has been invested in native planting projects throughout the country as a result of the second round of the allocations.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=13509
UK: Cumbrian Peat Bog Restoration Gets £500,000 Boost
Another £500,000 award has been made to restore historic peat bogs across parts of north Cumbria - which it is claimed will secure many jobs in rural areas hit by the recession. http://www.cumberland-news.co.uk/news/m_for_peat_bog_restoration_1_621666?referrerPath=news/ |
River & Watershed Restoration
US: River Project Funds at a Glance
http://www.pjstar.com/archive/x621682599/River-project-funds-at-a-glance
Canada: Cobourg Creek Restoration a Cooperative Success Story
The program features a four-pronged restoration strategy over a 15-to 20-year time frame: fish production and stocking; habitat restoration and water quality enhancement; research and monitoring; and education and outreach, said Mr. Quinney. Now entering the five-year mark, the program has stocked 1.6 million fish within the three targeted tributaries. On the local front, students at Cobourg District Collegiate Institutes East and West, and other area classrooms, have worked hand-in-hand with the initiative, hosting hatching aquariums and successfully raising eggs to the fry stage before releasing them into the local creek.
http://www.northumberlandnews.com/news/article/137332 |
| Grassland Restoration
Illinois: Organizers Pleased with Progress at Orland Grassland
The first year of a five-year project to restore 960 acres of land in Orland Township to its original prairie state is coming to a successful end, project organizers said last week. The Orland Grassland restoration project began this past April and already more than 200 acres of non-native trees and thousands of invasive plants have been removed, according to Brook Herman, a restoration expert with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
http://www.opprairie.com/Articles-c-2009-10-12-200654.112113_Organizers_pleased_with_progress_at_Orland_Grassland.html
Kansas: Arboretum Receives Grant to Preserve Prairies
The Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston has received a $19,847 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to expand a project aimed at preserving native prairies. The grant will expand the arboretum's Prairie Window Project, which seeks to preserve prairie remnants within 60 miles of the arboretum. The project already has eight core landowners in the area who have agreed to allow arboretum volunteers to collect native seeds for prairie restoration projects, allow bird and butterfly surveys, participated in controlled burns and request assessments of native plants and wildflowers.
http://www.thekansan.com/news/x576548443/Arboretum-receives-grant-to-preserve-prairies |
| Lake Restoration
Ecosystem Advocates Plot Push for Restoration Cash
Leaders of more than 30 advocacy groups are working on creating what is being called "America's Great Waters Coalition." Among the players: the Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Ducks Unlimited and regional groups from the Chesapeake Bay to the Everglades to Puget Sound. "We feel like this is a huge opportunity to be able to capitalize on the climate bill, to tell the story of why restoration is so important as we start adapting to a changing climate," said Malia Hale, director of restoration and water campaigns for the National Wildlife Federation, which is spearheading the effort.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/10/12/12greenwire-ecosystem-advocates-plot-push-for-restoration-13407.html
Illinois: H-H Lakes - '1,500-acre mud puddle'
Once a testament to the power of wetland restoration, Hennepin-Hopper now bears witness to the destructive abilities of carp. Instead of a diversity of aquatic plants and critters, biologists estimate the lakes just south of Hennepin are home to more than 600 pounds of carp per acre. That's not what The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) envisioned when they started returning croplands to their original lakebeds in March of 2001. And that's not what the federal government envisioned in pledging millions of Wetland Reserve Program dollars to the project.
http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x366051447/Lampe-H-H-lakes-1-500-acre-mud-puddle |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
FOSJ Restores Shorelines on San Juan and Lopez Islands
Through the implementation of two shoreline restoration projects on San Juan and Lopez Islands, marine habitats that support forage fish, salmon and orca will improve. The two projects were initially identified through habitat restoration surveys completed in 2006 and are part of Friends of the San Juans ongoing efforts to work with landowners to remove unnecessary shoreline modifications. "After three years of project identification, landowner outreach, funding requests, project engineering and design, and permitting...it is very rewarding to finally achieve on-the-ground habitat improvements at these two sites." said Tina Whitman, Friends of the San Juans Science Director and Restoration Project Manager.
http://www.sanjuanislander.com/groups/friends_san_juans/restoration.shtml
A Blueprint for Restoring the World's Oceans to Health
In her long career as an oceanographer, Sylvia Earle has witnessed the damage that humanity has done to the Earth's oceans. But in an interview with Yale Environment 360, she says there's still time to pull the seas back from the brink.
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2194
UK: RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh Opens to Public Following Saltmarsh Restoration
A host of VIPs will gather on the Ribble Estuary today to mark the opening of a new nature reserve. RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh will offer valuable new habitat for thousands of breeding, wintering and migratory birds. The marsh, made up of over 150 hectares or restored saltmarsh which floods at the highest tides, will also play an important role in flood protection. Originally part of the saltmarsh of the Ribble Estuary, it was transformed into agricultural land nearly 30 years ago after it was enclosed by a private outer sea embankment.
http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2009/10/09/rspb-hesketh-out-marsh-opens-to-public-following-saltmarsh-restoration-101022-24886702/ |
| Extractive Industries
Hopi Tribe Bans Environmental Groups
The Hopi Tribal Council passed a unanimous resolution on Sept. 28, arguing that environmental groups were depriving the tribe of coal revenues it needs to secure the survival of the Hopi culture. They declared that the Sierra Club and several other groups were no longer welcome on Hopi land. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., announced that he stood with the Hopi Nation, and called environmental activists "among the greatest threat to tribal sovereignty."
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=f760c738128cbc8c312f9e5b204b73c2
Oregon: Lummi Nation Accounts for All Tideland Species
The Lummi Nation is surveying every species living in more than 7,000 acres of tidelands on the tribe's reservation. The Lummi Intertidal Baseline Inventory, funded by the energy company BP, will be crucial in the event of a catastrophic oil spill from activities associated with four nearby oil refineries: BP and ConocoPhillips in Ferndale, and Tesoro and Shell at Anacortes. "We want to know what's living here now, so if there is a spill, we will know the extent of the damage," said Merle Jefferson, Lummi Natural Resources director. "After the Exxon-Valdez spill, they had no pre-disaster data to compare it to."
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/63855882.html |
| Urban Restoration
New Jersey: South Mountain Reservation Project Adds 46K New Plants
Once a lush forest with a vibrant biodiversity, the 2,047-acre Essex County park has steadily decayed as more grazing deer appeared and invasive Asian plant species took hold. Hoping to reverse the decades-long trend, hundreds of volunteers placed more than 46,000 plants in 25 newly fenced acres in a $800,000 project that environmentalists claim will serve as a template for restoration projects across the Northeast.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/south_mountain_reservation_pro.html
NZ Cities to Benefit from Waikato University Project
A major project at Waikato University which rebuilds native ecosystems in urban areas will now be spread to three New Zealand cities. The university's urban restoration project has had four years of funding from the government's Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, and has just been granted another three years of funding at nearly $300,000 a year.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0910/S00031.htm
How Cities Drive Plants Extinct
How towns and cities cause the extinction of local plants has been revealed for the first time. An international team of botanists has compared extinction rates of plants within 22 cities around the world. Both Singapore and New York City in the US now contain less than one-tenth of their original vegetation, reveals the analysis published in Ecology Letters. However, San Diego, US and Durban, South Africa still retain over two-thirds of their original flora.
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-cities-drive-plants-extinct-in.html |
| Recreation & Tourism
UK: A Partner in Conservation
When Mr Blackwell took up his appointment in January 1991, as Oxfordshire's first ecologist, one of his specific tasks was to look at the restoration and after-use of mineral workings. "One of the key things I was looking at was restoration to nature conservation, to include public access so that people could enjoy the areas that were being restored," he said.
http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/4671099.A_partner_in_conservation/ |
| 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/
American River/NOAA Community-Based Restoration - Closes December 18, 2009
American Rivers seeks proposals for river restoration project grants as part of its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program. Program funding is provided through NOAA's Open Rivers Initiative, which seeks to enable environmental and economic renewal in local communities through the removal of stream barriers. This Partnership funds stream barrier removal projects that help restore riverine ecosystems, enhance public safety and community resilience, and have clear and identifiable benefits to diadromous fish populations. Projects in the Northeast (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI), Mid-Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA, MD, DC), Northwest (WA, OR, ID), and California are eligible to apply. Projects located within the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes Basin are not eligible for funding at this time.
http://www.americanrivers.org/NOAAGrants
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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