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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
Employment Opportunity: Senior Water Resource Engineer/Specialist
Are you committed to an ecologically sustainable future? Biohabitats is seeking a senior Water Resource Engineer/Specialist to join our Chesapeake/Delaware Bays Bioregion office (located in Baltimore, MD). This individual will be responsible for managing water resources engineering and water quality projects, designing and conducting field studies, performing hydraulic and hydrologic flow calculations, and preparing watershed management plans.
http://www.jobtarget.com/c/job.cfm?site_id=578&jb=6203533
Employment Opportunity: Water Resource Engineer/Specialist
Are you committed to an ecologically sustainable future? Biohabitats is seeking a Water Resource Engineer/Specialists to join our Hudson River Bioregion office (located in Glen Ridge, NJ) and our Southeast Bioregion office (located in Raleigh, NC). These individuals will be responsible for working on water resources engineering and water quality projects, conducting field studies, performing hydraulic and hydrologic flow calculations, and preparing watershed management plans.
http://www.jobtarget.com/c/job.cfm?site_id=578&jb=6203536
Employment Opportunity: Senior Restoration Ecologist/Conservation Biologist
Are you committed to an ecologically sustainable future? Biohabitats is seeking a Senior Restoration Ecologist/Conservation Biologist to join our Chesapeake/Delaware Bays Bioregion office (located in Baltimore, MD). This individual will be responsible for managing ecological restoration and conservation planning projects, conducting natural resources field studies, analyzing data, preparing conservation and watershed management plans, performing design and construction administration services for restoration projects across a wide diversity of ecosystems and scales.
http://www.jobtarget.com/c/job.cfm?site_id=578&jb=6203537
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
Oregon: Students Help 'Heal' Forest
A slope scorched by the Siskiyou fire in September will have 300 new shrubs and trees by day's end, thanks to a group of hardworking students. Dodging snowflakes, sixth-grade students from St. Mary's School and high school students from The Job Council planted ponderosa pines, Douglas firs and other trees this morning in the Tolman Creek Watershed. The 12-acre replanting project is part of the Lomakatsi Restoration Project's Streamside Forest Recovery week, an effort to connect local students with the environment.
http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091112/NEWS02/911120314
Volunteer Procedures Accessible While Traveling In Malaysia
Volunteer tourism brings greater depth to one's holiday experience in a particular country as it allows one to explore a foreign land and its cultures while making a meaningful contribution to the local environment or community. There are a few volunteer programs in Malaysia that are well-organised and at the same time offer a unique cultural, social and environmental experience to its participants.
http://pledgeco.com/2009/volunteer-procedures-accessible-while-traveling-in-malaysia/
Washington: Developer Contributes to Ecological Restoration Project in Sammamish
These volunteers were taking part in the first ever native plant salvage sponsored by the City of Sammamish - a program which sees land developers, often the enemy of ecological management, allowing plants and trees be taken from their property prior to it being cleared and developed.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/iss-s/news/69617817.html
Conferences & Workshops
WILD9 Message from Merida
However, we are rapidly degrading our home. Runaway carbon emissions are driving the climate towards irreversible tipping points, we are contaminating our planet with pervasive toxicity, we are destroying the diversity of life on our planet, we are exhausting freshwater supplies and causing acidification in our oceans, and we are over-exploiting our oceans, causing fisheries to collapse. As a result, we are deepening poverty, weakening social structures and threatening global security. This situation is in stark contrast to the world we can have if wilderness and its contribution to natural life support systems are properly valued. Our essential choice - indeed, the imperative - has never been clearer:
http://www.wild.org/mensaje-de-merida/
Registration Opens for First Sustainable Agriculture Investment Conference in Silicon Valley
Co-hosts NewSeed Advisors, U.S. Venture Partners and SPIN-Farming will assemble hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts who are catalyzing and capitalizing the transition to a more sustainable agricultural system, for the second Agriculture 2.0 conference in Palo Alto.
http://www.pr-inside.com/registration-opens-for-first-sustainable-agricultu-r1585697.htm |
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People in the News
Australia: Biosphere Expert in Town
Dr. Natarajan Ishwaran, head of UNESCOs (United Nations Environmental Scientific and Cultural Organisation) Paris-based Man and the Biosphere program visited Gympie on Thursday, invited by the Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG). The Great Sandy Biosphere was officially accepted by UNESCO on May 26, 2009 at the meeting of their International Co-ordinating Council in Korea.
http://www.gympietimes.com.au/story/2009/11/14/biosphere-expert-in-town/
How to Achieve a Work/Wildlife Balance
Flora and fauna are thriving at the doorstep of the automotive industry thanks to the efforts of Ford Land and Ford Motor Company employees. Ford Land, which manages Ford Motor Company properties worldwide, has received 2009 Wildlife Habitat Certification for the Arjay Miller Michigan Arboretum at the Henry Ford II World Center campus and Research & Engineering Center campus, both in Dearborn.
http://collisionconcierge.com/auto-body-collision-repair-shop/how-to-achieve-a-workwildlife-balance/ |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
TEEB report released on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
According to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TREEB) study hosted by the UN Environment Programme issued on November 13, 2009 Policy-makers who factor the planet's multi-trillion dollar ecosystem services into their national and international investment strategies are likely to see far higher rates of return and stronger economies in the 21st century
http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/policy_library/data/01555
New research provides insights into potential ecological costs and cobenefits of REDD
A new paper just published in Global Change Biology examines the potential of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism to provoke ecological damage and/or promote ecological cobenefits. Such analysis is key as negotiations and discussions continue between now and early December when the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change holds its 15th Conference of the Parties, where an agreement on REDD may emerge. Scientists and research staff from the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC), the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM ), and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) authored the paper.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/whrc-nrp111609.php
Cautious conservation: How to ensure that slowing global warming will protect biodiversity
While it is clear that massive destruction of tropical rainforests poses a serious threat to the incredibly rich biodiversity found on Earth, other hazards are not so explicit. An international group of prominent scientists argue in the November 17th issue of the journal Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, that the most promising new strategy to protect our planet may not live up to its full potential. The group calls for global implementation of careful and sensible protective policies.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/cp-cch111009.php |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Leadership Award Recognizes Alan Parker for Uniting Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Scientific Disciplines
Noted Chippewa Cree attorney and scholar Alan Parker received the Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction's first Leadership Award at an honoring dinner hosted by CMOP Oct. 28. "He transcends traditional disciplines to bring people together around river-to-ocean ecosystems, indigenous knowledge systems, and encourages others to do the same," CMOP announced in recognizing Parker.
http://mother-earth-journal.com/2009/11/alan-parker-receives-leadership-award/ |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Ocean Carbon Central to Climate Challenge
World leaders should recognize the immense potential of the ocean to reduce global warming by capturing carbon, if we are to avoid a serious climate crisis. That's the advice of a ground-breaking IUCN partnership report, The Management of Natural Coastal Carbon Sinks, launched today at the climate change and protected area summit in Granada, Spain. The first in-depth study revealing the latest science of marine ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, mangroves and salt marshes, shows that they have a much greater capacity to progressively trap carbon than land carbon sinks, such as forests.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20091116081332zzzz.nb/topstory.html
A Hunt for Seeds to Save Species, Perhaps by Helping Them Move
Pitcher's thistle, whose fuzzy leaves and creamy pink puffs once thrived in the sand dunes along several of the Great Lakes, was driven by development, drought and weevils into virtual extinction from the shores of Lake Michigan decades ago. But in the 1990s, seeds collected from different parts of the thistle's range were grown at the Chicago Botanic Garden and planted with the help of the Morton Arboretum along the lake, in Illinois State Beach Park, north of Chicago near the Wisconsin state line. The plants from Indiana's dunes to the south are doing well; the plants that had come from the north are failing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/earth/10plant.html?_r=1
Saving Wildlife in a Warmer World
"The business-as-usual approach to managing wildlife populations and resources is no longer likely to work very well," says John Wiens, chief conservation science officer for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory in Petaluma, Calif. "We can't say anymore, 'Hey, we'll do some management to control this threat, and everything will be hunky-dory,' or 'Preserve some habitat and some organisms, and everything will be fine.' " There are signs of positive action, however. After years of what many saw as foot-dragging, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is leading states and other organizations in taking the first steps toward what could become a radical departure from today's species-recovery model.
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/11/17/saving-wildlife-in-a-warmer-world/ |
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Audio Interview: Restoration can Re-purpose Forest Service
Some restoration has long been part of the program in the Tongass - but it's never been the mandate. Unlike other lower 48 forests, much of the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's vision for economic opportunity in the Tongass remains just that: vision. As a result, a restoration project for Ocean Boulevard near Sitka has been criticized for its high cost ($677-thousand dollars), its small size (238 acres), and the fact that there is no market for the young trees and slash it will produce.
http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=centerBlock&ID=611 |
River & Watershed Restoration
Nevada: Truckee River Gets Its Bends Back
Along the Truckee River east of Sparks, experts are laboring to correct well-intended mistakes of the past. The $7.8 million restoration of the river at Mustang Ranch, the former site of Nevada's first legal bordello, is the latest project in an ambitious effort to restore much of the lower part of a river that runs 116 miles from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. Among the changes planned will be a return of the natural, meandering twists that historically characterized the river channel.
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13787755?nclick_check=1 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
California: South Coast Marine Protected Areas
Experts unanimously recommend a network of marine protected areas off California's South Coast. Conservationists were disappointed with important missed opportunities for ecosystem restoration, but the network protects habitat FOR humanity, not habitat OVER humanity.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/11/12/18628488.php
California: Cargill Salt Awarded Most of Tax Break It Sought in 2003 Salt Ponds Deal
In a victory for Cargill Salt, the Internal Revenue Service has awarded the company most of the tax break it had been seeking in connection with its sale six years ago of 16,500 acres of industrial salt ponds in the South Bay for wetlands restoration. The value of the property has been sharply debated since the 2003 purchase. The IRS concluded that the lands that Cargill - an agribusiness giant based in Minneapolis - sold to the state and federal government for $100 million are worth $200 million, Lori Johnson, a Cargill spokeswoman, said late Friday.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13784392?source=most_emailed |
Wildlife Restoration
California: The Primitive Science of Restoration
In the northern Channel Islands off California, a cat-sized native fox is making a dramatic comeback, thanks to a 10-year, $22 million multifaceted program to save it from extinction. The last of the resident golden eagles, a nonnative species that was snacking on foxes like kids in a candy store, was removed in 2006 and transported to the far-off northern Sierra Nevada. Also, fish-eating bald eagles, a territorial sort that was once native to the islands, were reintroduced to help chase off its red-meat-eating cousins.
http://miller-mccune.com/science_environment/the-primitive-science-of-restoration-1610
Wind Cave National Park Bison Arrive in Mexico
Twenty-three bison from Wind Cave National Park recently arrived at their new home in northern Mexico. El Uno Ecological Reserve, a 46,000 acre reserve managed by The Nature Conservancy - Mexico, is the herd's new home. The reserve is in the northern Janos Valley in the State of Chihuahua.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_6f09c994-d3a7-11de-aee3-001cc4c002e0.html
Louisiana: Brown Pelican's 40-Year Recovery Victory for Supporters of Environmental Protections
National conservation groups focusing on the restoration of coastal Louisiana are hailing today's announcement by federal officials that the state bird of Louisiana, the Brown Pelican, is being removed from the Endangered Species List. Audubon, the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Wildlife Federation view the recovering pelican as powerful proof that a healthy coast and strong environmental protections can benefit people and nature alike.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brown-pelicans-40-year-recovery-victory-for-supporters-of-environmental-protections-69786397.html |
| Invasive Species
Sri Lanka: Yet Another Environmental Menace
Ask any Sri Lankan, and he or she will cringe at the mention of 'water hyacinth', infamous in the country, where it is called by its more common local name 'Japan Jabbara'. The weed-like water plant has spread across the island, and everyone knows its potential to take over any watery home in double quick time.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49297
UK: Mouse and Rabbits Among 'Non Native' Species
Christopher Lever, a naturalist who has studied naturalized animals in Britain for 50 years, said the first species to be introduced to Britain was probably the house mouse that came over with Neolithic man. During the Bronze Age domestic species such as cattle, sheep and horses were brought in. As more men arrived rabbits, hares and fallow deer were also introduced, as well as rats that came in on ships. The dates of introductions are worked out from fossils and historical records such as Samuel Pepys writing on goldfish.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6574709/Mouse-and-rabbits-among-non-native-species.html |
| Urban Restoration
Ohio: Seven Franklin County Projects Designed to Restore, Repopulate Streams, Wetlands
With the help of bulldozers and about $1.5 million, a crew of environmental engineers is transforming a 1-mile section of the ditch south of Hilliard into a wetlands-flanked, sinuous stream populated with fish, frogs and insects. "A lot of these restoration projects have been done in the past 10 to 12 years in the more rural areas of Ohio," said Brad Westall, greenways planner for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. "Creating habitat is important for the urban areas as well."
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/15/Darbyrestore.ART_ART_11-15-09_B1_MBFM6AE.html?sid=101 |
| Funding Opportunities
PhD Position(s) for a conservation biologist/restoration ecologist - Closes Dec 5, 2009
The successful candidate(s) will work either in Swiss lowland farmland (high intensity, but revitalized cultivated matrices) or in Alpine grassland (rapidly intensifying, but biodiversity rich meadowland). The goal of the project is to deliver evidence-based grassland management policies that can provide optimal conditions for wildlife in agro-ecosystems while maintaining acceptable levels of productivity.
http://www.scholar-guide.com/phd/1-2-phd-positions-3-years-for-a-conservation-biologistrestoration-ecologist/
Delaware: Landowner Incentive Program Taking 2010 Applications - Closes December 14, 2009
The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife's Delaware Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) announced a request Wednesday for proposals from private landowners seeking to protect, enhance and/or restore habitat to benefit the First State's species of greatest conservation need. Projects may range from restoring or enhancing coastal plain ponds for tiger salamanders and controlling invasive species in bog turtle habitats to planting trees for Delmarva fox squirrels.
http://www.sussexcountian.com/news/x1158535811/Landowner-incentive-program-taking-2010-applications
India: Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund - Closes December 17, 2009
CEPF and the Western Ghats Regional Implementation Team (RIT) based in ATREE, Bangalore, invite Letters of Inquiry (LoIs) from civil society organizations such as non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, academic institutions and private enterprises for biodiversity conservation projects in the Western Ghats. Applicants are expected to have adequate experience in implementing biodiversity conservation projects in the Western Ghats region of India.
http://www.atree.org/CEPF_WGhats/WGCall/
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 | |
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