| Membership |
RESTORE is distributed to current SER members. Make sure you don't miss a single issue!
|
| Quick Links |
|
| |
|
|
 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. |
|
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
Arizona: Forest Service Seeks New Committee Members
Twelve counties in Arizona elected to receive Title II funds for more than $2.8 million in 2009 and continued amounts for the next three years to be used on a variety of projects on national forests. Projects can include road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance; restoration, maintenance and improvement of wildlife and fish habitat; or control of noxious and exotic weeds. The legislation requires the Forest Service, working with the counties, to establish RACs made up of defined, diverse, 15-member committees with a formal charter. New RACs will be formed for Southern Arizona, Yavapai County, and Coconino County. (An Eastern Arizona committee already exists.)
http://azdailysun.com/articles/2009/10/28/news/local/20091028_local_206424.txt
Plant Trees at Annual Green Seattle Day
The Green Seattle Partnership is hosting the 4th Annual Green Seattle Day on Saturday Nov. 7th. They hope to recruit 1,000 volunteers for Seattle's largest day of tree planting (last year they had 800 volunteers).
http://www.phinneywood.com/2009/11/03/plant-trees-at-annual-green-seattle-day/
UK: Enthusiasts Go Green Despite the Grey Weather
Volunteers braved the rain yesterday to take part in a tree-planting event organised by a Moray conservation charity. Dozens of people headed to Dundreggan Estate, at Glen Moriston, west of Loch Ness, to mark the 20th anniversary of Trees For Life. The event was held as part of a long-term project to plant thousands of birch, hazel and aspen trees on the site.
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1463838?UserKey=
Conferences & Workshops
18th Commonwealth Forestry Conference, Edinburgh. 28 June - 2 July 2010.
I am happy to announce that the UK is hosting the 18th Commonwealth Forestry Conference, in 2010, on the theme of Restoring the Commonwealth's Forests: Tackling Climate Change. Forestry plays a fundamental part in the lives and economies of the Commonwealth's citizens and countries, and there are significant forest resources and forestry expertise throughout the Commonwealth. We are very keen to focus the event on exploring how countries can use forest restoration to help the Commonwealth's citizens adapt to and mitigate against a changing climate.
http://www.cfc2010.org/ |
| New Books & Articles
Safety Primer for Environmental Restoration Professionals
The immediate causes of accidents are often identified as human error or technical failure. However, the investigation and analysis of the circumstances surrounding accidents often reveal issues beyond those immediate causes. These causes, or contributing factors, typically relate to wider considerations of the organization as a whole. Although organizations with even moderate accident rates typically believe they have an effective safety program in place, their systems are generally inadequate. From the top to the bottom, most organizations are accepting of commonplace accidents occurring.
http://spotgeo.blogspot.com/2009/11/safety-primer-for-environmental.html
Methane Impact on Global Warming 'Much Greater than Thought'
A new study by the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies has found methane is 33 times more damaging if the effects of interaction with other airborne pollutants is included. The report, published in Science, found that the warming effects of methane are increased through its interaction with aerosols like sulphate molecules. The finding has implications for any climate change deal decided by the UN in Copenhagen in December.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6466890/Methane-impact-on-global-warming-much-greater-than-thought.html |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
India: Climate Change - Tribals Want Free-hand to Heal Nature
To tackle the devastating impact of climate change, tribals in the country say if given a free hand they can correct and heal nature using traditional knowledge and expertise, they are privy to. Recently tribals across the country cutting across groups such as farming, forestry, pastoral and fishing released a charter detailing solutions to tackle the aftereffect of the climate change, based on their traditional knowledge and close relationship with the ecosystem.
http://www.ptinews.com/news/354429_Climate-change--Tribals-want-free-hand-to-heal-nature |
| Agro-Ecology
US: Simplot Wants to Help Farmers Capture Gases
J. R. Simplot Co. said Thursday that it is forming a strategic alliance with an emissions reduction project developer and offset marketer, Blue Source LLC. The companies will help farmers find ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable farming practices such as reduced tillage, preservation and restoration of grassland, and nutrient management, Simplot said. Farmers want to sell carbon offsets for profit, said Blue Source, which has offices in several U.S. and Canadian cities.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/954828.html |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Hitting the Target and Missing the Point
Lots of decisions in life are based on targets, and conservation is no exception. When we want to decide how to invest in saving biodiversity, we set targets like how many populations of each species should be protected in a reserve system; or how many hectares of each vegetation type we should protect from cattle grazing? These targets help to control how we divide our efforts amongst all the features of biodiversity that we care about, and provide us with a benchmark for measuring our achievements.
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20092810-20106.html
Canada Sets Aside Its Boreal Forest as Giant Carbon Vault
In the far north latitudes, buried within a seemingly endless expanse of evergreen forests, the authorities in Canada are building up one of the world's best natural defences against global warming. In a series of initiatives, Canadian provincial governments and aboriginal leaders have set aside vast tracts of coniferous woods, wetlands, and peat. The conservation drive bans logging, mining, and oil drilling on some 250m acres - an area more than twice the size of California.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/29/canada-boreal-forest-carbon-vault
Mitigation and Adaptation in Agriculture - World Bank summary note
The World Bank have recently published an agriculture and rural development note on 'Reduced Emissions and enhanced adaptation in Agricultural landscapes' which reports key messages from a Bank conference in January. It includes some succinct messages about the potentiality and issues related to integrating adaptation and mitigation in agriculture, including in the context of the post-2012 framework. With the meetings in Barcelona and Copenhagen, the timing of the release of the note is clearly opportune.
http://climatecommercial.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/mitigation-and-adaptation-in-agriculture-world-bank-summary-note/ |
|
Thailand: Forest Restoration
Forest ecosystem restoration on this scale has never been done before so will require the development of new techniques and approaches. The first rule of forest restoration is to prevent further degradation and our initial efforts have been focused around this. Whilst this remains an ongoing battle, our progress to date allows us to now turn our attention to practical restoration. In developing our forest restoration strategy for Harapan Rainforest we are very fortunate in having help and guidance from one of our project partners, the Forest Restoration and Research Unit (FORRU) at Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
http://healty-dog.blogspot.com/2009/10/forest-restoration.html
Disney Spends $7 Million to Conserve Forests in Peru, Congo, USA
The Walt Disney Company, which for 60 years has portrayed the glories of nature in film, today announced a $7 million investment to protect forests in the United States, in the Peruvian Amazon and in the Congo Basin. The company said the projects it will support "safeguard ecosystems that benefit climate and quality of life on the planet" by avoiding deforestation, reforesting logged and burned-over areas and improving forest management.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2009/2009-11-02-092.asp |
| Wetland Restoration
Maryland: Project Shows New Tactics in Managing Wetlands
The habitat restoration enhances an already productive riparian corridor, while maintaining critical flood control functions. The project showcases some of the techniques in restoring streams and wetlands in the landscape, and was funded by the Maryland Department of Environment and the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20091103/OPI02/911030359 |
River & Watershed Restoration
New Hampshire: Largest River Restoration Project Reaches Completion
The largest river restoration of its kind in New Hampshire is just being completed, with 2,900 feet of the Pemigewasset River restored to its original course and banks restored to their previous condition. Most of the project was on an 80-acre lot belonging to Errol and Kelly Chase, both of whom were thrilled to support the project, according to Kelly.
http://www.record-enterprise.com/Articles-c-2009-10-28-149818.113119_Largest_river_restoration_project_reaches_completion.html
Pennslyvania: Potomac Watershed Partnership Goes Nuts for Seeds
A tree seed collection scheduled for Nov. 7 in Michaux State Forest will add to the growing number of hardwood seedlings being planted along streams in a project called Growing Native, which is managed by the Potomac Conservancy. Growing Native is a volunteer environmental seed collection project throughout the Potomac River watershed that aims to restore the health and beauty of the watershed area.
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/living/ci_13657357
Massachusetts: Work Begins to Restore Plymouth's Eel River and Watershed
Work has begun to restore the Eel River and Plymouth Harbor watershed to its former status as a home to plants and aquatic creatures. The 15-square-mile area was home to cranberry bogs for more than 100 years, starting in the 1890s. "The idea was to restore an ecosystem that had been under agricultural use for about 100 years," said Jeremy Bell, a wetlands ecologist for the division of ecological restoration within the state Department of Fish and Game. "This is the first project in Massachusetts of this type as far as the complexity of it." http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/regional/x880802276/Work-begins-to-restore-Plymouths-Eel-River-and-watershed |
| Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
Peru's Nasca Tribe 'Responsible for Deforestation'
|
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Senegal: Roll-up for the World's Largest Mangrove Planting Project
"Become a superhero, plant your mangrove today," declared the poster. Eager to enter the pantheon of mangrove superheroes, we headed to the Saloum Delta in Senegal where the world's largest mangrove planting project is underway. Organized by local NGO, Oceanium, almost 30 million mangroves have been planted since June.
http://www.grist.org/article/roll-up-for-the-worlds-largest-mangrove-planting-project/
Washington: A Restoration Celebration
The project, 12 years and $12 million in the making, has reconnected 762 acres of formerly diked-off refuge property with the South Sound tides. The ceremony coincides with a high tide and includes opening of a one-half mile portion of the new Nisqually Estuary Trail that provides public viewing of the tidally influenced lands.
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1023377.html
Singapore: Move to Restore Selangor Mangrove Forests
In efforts to restore the mangroves, GEC together with the Selangor Forestry Department have started replanting activities in the area. The first activity was launched on Saturday with about 1,500 bakau kurap (Rhizophora mucronata) saplings planted in the eastern tip of the island. About 300 people, including the local community and students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Ampuan Jemaah, Sekolah Menengah Datuk Hamzah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pandamaran Jaya and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Raja Zarina, took part in the exercise.
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/11/move-to-restore-selangor-mangrove.html |
Wildlife Restoration
Degraded Borneo Habitat Being Restored for Orangutan Habitat
Almost 1000 hectares of degraded land in the area designated Heart of Borneo is to be restored as orangutan habitat, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between WWF-Malaysia and the State of Sabah yesterday. The five year memorandum for the project - made possible with RM4.35 million ($US 1.27 million) grant from the ITOCHU Corporation of Japan - was signed during a regional forum on 'Enhancing forest eco-systems and corridors within the Heart of Borneo.
http://dnapes.blogspot.com/2009/10/degraded-borneo-land-to-be-restored-to.html |
| Invasive Species
Cabbage Palms Threaten Panthers at Florida Panther
The dense, nearly impenetrable stands drive out forage plants for deer, adversely impacting the deer population, and an abundant deer population is necessary for maintaining the refuge's panther population. So the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has hired Wildland Services, Inc., of Moore Haven to cut down the invasive cabbage palms on more than 1,700 acres inside the refuge, part of the overall land management program at the refuge. The $171,094 contract will use funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, sometimes known popularly as stimulus funds.
http://www.care2.com/news/member/100041282/1288550 |
| Funding Opportunities
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 | |
|
|
|
|
|
