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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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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
California: Give a Gift that Will Last for Centuries
Sweaters fade, electronic gadgets become obsolete, but redwood trees last for centuries. This holiday season, Save the Redwoods League and California State Parks make it possible for shoppers to give a gift that gives back to the environment for years to come.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-living-headlines/ci_13961836?nclick_check=1
Cayman Islands: Marvellous Mangroves from the Brac to China
Cayman's Marvellous Mangroves teachers' guide will be going to China, says Brac educator and author Martin Keeley. First developed for Cayman 11 years ago under Mr Keeley's direction, and now incorporated into the primary school curriculum, this science-based teachers' guide has been developed for more than six countries worldwide, and now the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been added to that list.
http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-19609--7-7---.html
Conferences & Workshops
2010 Conference Listing Now Available on the GRN
http://www.globalrestorationnetwork.org/conferences/ |
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People in the News
Willie Smits: Hanging around with Orangutans
Indonesia, the elongated archipelago in South Asia, has become a second home to the Dutchman Willie Smits. But there, too, the animals are being chased away in ever-greater numbers due to illegal deforestation. In recent years, he has seen it happen in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, where he has lived and worked as a forester, microbiologist and conservationist for three decades. He adds, however, that illegal deforestation and animal smuggling aren't the only reasons for the accelerated deterioration. Climate change plays a major role. "The forest is confused. There is no longer any common flowering rhythm, and if we don't do anything about it, the forests will slowly die out." Smits has a plan to prevent that: Build his own rainforest, and in the process provide a home for his favorite primate, Borneo's endangered orangutan.
http://cempaka-belanda.blogspot.com/2009/12/willie-smits-hanging-around-with.html
Illinois: Morocco Man Proud of Nature Conservancy Work
Democrats from Morocco are about as rare as prairie chickens, but I managed to flush one out in Rob Littiken. Littiken is project coordinator for The Nature Conservancy's Kankakee Sands Illinois project. Kankakee Sands has planted more than 4,000 acres of prairie. And, no, you won't see a prairie chicken in Morocco. But you still can enjoy the song of a Henslow's sparrow coming from a patch of little bluestem, thanks to people like Rob Littiken.
http://www.post-trib.com/news/manes/1930877,jmanes1210.article |
| New Books & Articles
EcoEngineering's Jim Halley Pens Article for Land and Water Magazine
The current issue of Land and Water magazine features an article written by Jim Halley, a senior project manager with EcoEngineering, a division of The John R. McAdams Company. The article titled, North Carolina's First Headwater Stream Restoration Project, describes how EcoEngineering was selected by the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Ecosystem Enhancement Program to develop a comprehensive restoration plan involving wetland and stream mitigation for an unnamed tributary flowing into Pembroke Creek in Chowan County. This project is the first headwater stream and wetland restoration project developed and constructed in North Carolina.
http://triangle.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=196929&type_news=latest
India: Rejuvenation of Mangroves for Disaster Management
Before 2006 the mud flat at the Sartha Estuary was just a pasture. A total of about 20 trees belonging to the species Avicennia offcinalis 10 trees of Avicennia alba, one tree of Sonneratia alba one tree of Sonneratia apetala made up the total mangroves which existed in the Sartha Estuary at the time of implementation of the project. Today there exist a substantial concentration of true mangrove diversity comprising of a total of about 2 lakh plants of 22 species in an area about 50 hectares of coastal mud flats at the Sartha Estuary on Balasore Coast. The site also creates the perspectives of a future research, education and ecotourism site. Besides, the plants do have known commercial and medicinal usages and that way it will benefit the local community in more ways.
http://www.worlddisaster.info/rejuvenation-of-mangroves-for-disaster-management
Landscape Modeling for Forest Restoration Planning and Assessment: Lessons from the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Restoration planning, evaluation, and implementation are important in areas where abiotic disturbances (e.g., wildfires, hurricanes, and ice storms), biotic disturbances (e.g., outbreaks of native and exotic invasive pests and diseases), and anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., harvesting, planting, and fire exclusion) have altered forest landscapes. However, the effects of restoration practices are difficult to measure, and restoration goals often are unclear. Landscape modeling provides a tool for evaluating outcomes of various management scenarios and restoration strategies. In this article, we provide a framework for using landscape models for forest restoration.
http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/34205 |
| Agro-Ecology
Audio: In One Brazilian Farm Town, Reviving The Forest
For years, environmentalists have accused Brazil of putting development ahead of the environment. Unrestrained deforestation, they say, made Brazil a major producer of greenhouse gases. But in one town, farmers are now replanting native vegetation in a new initiative that could become a model for the rest of the country.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121095308&ft=1&f=1025
UK: Arable Stewardship Pays Off in Hertfordshire
Being part of a larger estate has allowed Woodhall Farming Company to take an all-encompassing approach to the introduction of agri-environment schemes, admits farm manager Nigel Watchorn. Taking land out of production on the estate, at Watton-at Stone, near Stevenage, has saved money on the use of contractors, enhanced the historic landscape, provided greater diversity of habitats, benefited the estate's shoot and provided additional income streams, he says.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/12/15/119128/Arable-stewardship-pays-off-in-Hertfordshire.htm |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Longleaf Pines: New Weapon in Battle against Climate Change
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Ghana: Lets' Encourage the Planting of Indigenous Tree Species
A group of research scientists at the Forest Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) have appealed for the inclusion of indigenous tree species in the national reforestation programme. The nation should consider planting at least 30 per cent of the total forest area earmarked for reforestation using the mixed indigenous tree species approach. This, they said, would not only help to restore species, which are getting depleted but also replace planted exotic trees that are becoming prone to tropical diseases and pests.
http://news.peacefmonline.com/science/200912/34143.php
New Hope for Restoring Forest Landscapes
Stopping deforestation is a critical part of global efforts to fight climate change. In Copenhagen, most discussions about forests focus on policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (known as REDD). Much of the conversation is focused on countries where forests are disappearing at a rapid rate, such as Brazil and Indonesia. But recent research suggests huge opportunities for restoration of forest landscapes as well.
http://www.wri.org/stories/2009/12/new-hope-restoring-forest-landscapes |
| Wetland Restoration
Australia: Big Swamp Report
A project that aims to address one of the region's biggest acid sulfate soil hotspots has received enthusiastic support from Greater Taree City Council. The councillors at a meeting this month unanimously endorsed the preparation of a feasibility report for the Big Swamp rehabilitation program. It will progress investigations into the remediation of severe acid sulfate soil impacts at 'Big Swamp,' now more commonly called Coralville, situated between Crowdy Bay National Park and Coopernook State Forest and sharing a common boundary with the Cattai Wetland project.
http://www.manningrivertimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/big-swamp-report/1706245.aspx
California: Salt Ponds Could Be Clue to Life on Mars
A scientist who searches for extraterrestrial life will use a zeppelin airship to watch red salt ponds turn green while the environment is changed from near-Martian conditions into wetlands. Work will begin next year on a decades-long project to restore thousands of acres of industrial salt-harvesting ponds in the South Bay into native wetland habitat. The ponds are colored red because of the color of microbes that flourish in the extremely salty conditions. Green microbes will replace red ones as the wetlands are restored.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Salt-ponds-could-be-clue-to-life-on-Mars-79280337.html |
River & Watershed Restoration
Nevada: Onetime Nevada Brothel Could Become Conservationists' Oasis
Watching bulldozers pour crushed rocks to force the Truckee River into a more natural serpentine pattern, Mickey Hazelwood, project director for the Nature Conservancy, mused that like many acts of salvation, this one has its roots deep in sin. For decades, this high-desert site eight miles east of Reno was best known as the home of the Mustang Ranch, the first licensed brothel in the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/science/earth/15ranch.html
Maine: Chinese Delegation from Yangtze River Visits Penobscot River Restoration Project
On an overcast day in Orrington, Maine, six engineers from the Yangtze Water Resources Commission studied the new rock and pool fishway along Sedgeunkedunk Stream. The structure is one of the methods being used to improve passage in the Penobscot River watershed for species like alewife, a migratory fish that serves as a key link in a healthy river's food chain. The delegation was here for a two-day tour of the Penobscot River Restoration Project, an innovative plan to open up more than 1,000 miles of river habitat to American shad, river herring, Atlantic salmon and seven other species of sea-run fish in the Penobscot watershed.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maine/press/press4319.html
Colorado: Restoration Project Improves Health of Dolores River
Some big equipment last week in the Dolores River channel across from Joe Rowell Park may precede big improvements to the river's health. Bill Coughlin, owner of Western Stream Works based in Ridgway, and Danny Bankston contracted with the U.S. Forest Service out of the Dolores Public Lands Office to complete a stream restoration project, part of a comprehensive plan that started with a Colorado Department of Transportation and forest service project to plant willows and improve parking at the Dolores River-Lost Canyon Creek confluence in 2006.
http://www.cortezjournal.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=9017 |
| Grassland Restoration
New York: Grasslands Restoration: New Butterflies Appear at Artpark's Restored Grasslands Area
A recent walk through the restoration project with Cooper and Baxter is a mini-lesson in local wildlife and a lot more exciting than it might sound. Even those who are unmoved by the sight of lots of wild flowers like morning glory and alfalfa, it's hard not to share some of the excitement of the two nature lovers as they point out life in the grasslands.
http://www.niagara-gazette.com/features/local_story_194165949.html?keyword=secondarystory |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
Florida: Island to Get Mangrove Restoration
Now a quiet, wooded place where rare Least terns stop to rest and boaters stop to picnic, the 45-acre island is about to undergo transformation again -- this time to correct another modification wrought by the human race. Australian pine trees, Brazilian pepper shrubs and other exotic vegetation overtaking a segment of the island will be replaced with mangrove seedlings and other wetland plants in a restoration project directed by the county Department of Environmental Resources Management.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-11-18/news/9102170423_1_pelican-island-mangrove-restoration-project
U.S.: Murray Gets Funds to Restore Northwest Straits and Marine Ecosystems
In December 2009, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that the $1.6 million she secured in a 2010 spending bill for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative has been included in the fiscal year 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The funding will help protect and restore marine waters, habitats and species at priority sites along the Northwest Straits, which run through Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties.
http://www.examiner.com/x-5266-Seattle-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m12d11-Murray-gets-funds-to-restore-Northwest-Straits-and-marine-ecosystems
Texas: Galveston Bay Oyster Reef Restoration Project Gets $50,000 SARP/NOAA Grant
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has received a $50,000 grant from the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to continue and expand oyster reef restoration in Galveston Bay.
http://www.fishingrssfeeds.com/node/8096 |
Wildlife Restoration
New York: Fisher's Return Marks Forest Restoration
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| Extractive Industries
Idaho: Settlement Means Millions of Dollars for Coeur d'Alene Basin Cleanup
Millions of dollars will go toward correcting more than a century of mining pollution in Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Basin under the terms of an environmental damage settlement announced Thursday by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The settlement, the largest bankruptcy settlement for natural resource restoration in U.S. history, awards approximately $79.4 million to partially restore natural resources in Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Basin damaged by the mining operations that gave the basin the name "Silver Valley."
http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/79018257.html |
| Invasive Species
California: European Beach Grass Targeted to Improve Point Reyes Habitat
Normally, the cold southerly wind blowing over the dunes near Abbott's Lagoon in far West Marin this week would shape and contour the landscape, creating habitat for flora and fauna. But that has not happened in decades: The dune has been frozen in time by an invasive grass that has overtaken native plants and limited animal habitat. Now the Point Reyes National Seashore is embracing a plan to attack the European beach grass by digging it up, then burying it.
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_13979786 |
| Urban Restoration
Texas: San Antonio's Riverwalk Improvements Add Beauty, Create Jobs
Just as construction of the city's Riverwalk in the 1930s put many people to work, the San Antonio River Improvements Project (SARIP) is expected to create 10,000 permanent jobs and generate $1 billion in revenue annually when it is completed in 2013. The project is a $384.5 million investment by the city, Bexar County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other partners in flood control, ecosystem restoration, recreational improvements and other amenities.
http://www.nlc.org/articles/articleItems/NCW121409/riverwalk.aspx
Alaska: Restoration Project Makes Creek More Friendly for Fish
City officials and the Juneau Watershed Partnership hope a recently completed project will alleviate flooding and improve fish spawning habitat in Jordan Creek near Jennifer Drive. The three-mile creek supports coho, pink and chum salmon, Dolly Varden char and cutthroat trout.
http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/1055703.html |
| Funding Opportunities
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
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Accepting Proposals for Great Lakes Restoration Funding - Closes January 22, 2010
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is requesting project pre-proposals that focus on the restoration of fish and/or wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. Supported in part by President Obama's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a total of $8 million will be available to support projects this fiscal year. This represents the largest amount appropriated for this effort since the grants program began in 1998.
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Fisheries/glfwra-grants.html
New Hampshire: Coastal Program Announces Grant Funding Opportunity - Closes February 1, 2010
The New Hampshire Coastal Program (NHCP) at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is currently accepting applications for its 2010 competitive grant round. The deadline is February 1, 2010 by 4 p.m. Through federal funding, NHCP enables projects that address coastal resources, like water quality protection, habitat restoration and climate change adaptation. Grants are offered on a competitive basis to eligible applicants, and at least a one to one match is required.
http://savegreatbay.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/coastal-program-announces-grant-funding-opportunity/
The Five Star Restoration Program - Closes February 11, 2010
A new funding opportunity exists for the Five Star/NRT Restoration Program. Applications are due via Easygrants (www.nfwf.org/easygrants) by Thursday, February 11, 2010. The Five Star Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), National Association of Counties (NACo), Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA), Southern Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), are pleased to solicit applications for the 2010 Five Star Restoration Pro-gram and Nature Restoration Trust (www.nfwf.org/nrt). The 2010 RFP and proposal narrative are available for viewing on our website at http://www.nfwf.org/fivestar | |
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