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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
Get Involved/Community-based Restoration
Join the Tamarisk Coalition
and O.A.R.S. on the river trip of a lifetime through Utah's stunning Cataract Canyon, May 16-21, 2010! This trip features exhilarating whitewater rafting, a unique opportunity to learn from experts on ecosystem health as well as participate in scientific monitoring of the tamarisk leaf beetle. The trip benefits the Tamarisk Coalition's Education Program. For more information contact Sarahlee Lawrence, Tamarisk Coalition Education Intern sarahlee.lawrence@gmail.com. To register for the trip visit: http://www.oars.com/utah/coloradorivercataractcanyon.html
11 Amazing Volunteer Vacations for the Green Traveler
Ready to take 'adventure travel' to a whole new level? Want to support the environment while still having an amazing vacation? Sick and tired of having no exciting travel stories to tell your friends when you get back home? If so, you should consider taking one of these ridiculously cool volunteer vacations for your next adventure. Not only will you have a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but you can feel good about giving back to the environment and learning about the world all at the same time http://www.nileguide.com/blog/2010/03/12/11-amazing-volunteer-vacations-for-the-green-traveler/
Washington: "Free the Trees" Ecological Restoration in the Urban Forest - March 20, 2010
Ecological Restoration in the Urban Forest March 20th, 10am In this two-hour indoor/outdoor workshop, you'll learn how your neighborhood park fits into the big picture of ecological restoration in the urban forest, and how you can get involved. Topics include setting restoration goals, identifying and removing invasive plants, re-establishing native plant communities, and long term stewardship. Additionally, you'll learn how to find and manage volunteers to help out. Each participant will receive a copy of "Tall Trees: A Guide to Community Stewardship of the Urban Forest." After this hands-on workshop, you'll be ready to lead a work party of your own! http://olyblog.net/quotfree-treesquot-ecological-restoration-urban-forest
Minnesota: Seminar to cover managing land for wildlife - March 20, 2010
A seminar on managing your land for wildlife will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 20 at Carleton College in Northfield. Topics include getting technical or financial assistance, drafting a management plan, wetland, woodland, lakeshore, grassland and oak savanna restoration, and the control of invasive species. http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=441895
San Francisco Wetland Restoration Monitoring Techniques - May 21, 2010
A one day course focusing on field based tools and techniques to properly monitor wetland restorations. This course will provide resources and methods for monitoring and assessing restoration success. In addition we will address restoration management all with an emphasis on salt marshes in the SF bay area. http://www.sws.org/training/details.mgi?Session=2107
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People in the News
Winners of 2010 Tyler Environmental Prize Announced
Laurie Marker of the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Stuart Pimm of Duke University recognized for scientific and management contributions to the understanding and restoration of ecosystems. Two conservationists whose careers have centered on understanding ecosystem functions as the essential foundation for ecosystem restoration will share the 2010 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. The award, consisting of a $200,000 cash prize and gold medals, will go to Dr. Laurie Marker, the co-founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, and Professor Stuart Pimm, the Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. http://www.wild.org/blog/winners-of-2010-tyler-environmental-prize-announced/
It's possible to reverse climate change in Africa
Undaunted by neighbours who were burning his crop and calling him a madman, this man "single-handedly has had more impact on conservation than all the national and international researchers put together," claims geographer and natural resource management specialist, Dr Chris Reij of the Netherlands, who has followed Sawadogo's agricultural innovation for over 25 years. Building on a soil nurturing technique known as Zaï handed down from his ancestors, Sawadogo has enabled his village to reclaim the biological and economic productivity of their land, and in the semi-arid Sahel region. http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/878488/-/puh8fuz/-/
Interview with a native plant pioneer: revegetating levees in the Delta
Since the early 1990s, Jeff Hart has been challenging that conventional wisdom, combining research, botanical knowledge, and an array of GIS and other technical Broken levee along the Sacromento River being repaired.skills to revegetate levees with native plants in ways that actually make them stronger. After having received a master's in ethnobotany from the University of Montana and a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from Harvard, Jeff returned to his native California and eventually opened Hartland Nursery, run in partnership with his wife Toni Toban-Hart. His nursery and innovative planting methods have been used in over 20 sites throughout the delta, including a $1.8-million project funded by the California Bay-Delta Authority to restore several miles of levees in 2003 - 2006. http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/interview-with-a-native-plant-pioneer-revegetating-levees-in.html |
| New Books & Articles
Saving Forests, Cultures and Carbon Dioxide
'Win-win' conservation should start with indigenous lands and other protected areas. Creating and strengthening protected areas and indigenous lands is one of the most effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, according to a new paper. http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100315/full/news.2010.123.html
Valuing ecosystem services from wetlands restoration in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
This study assesses the value of restoring forested wetlands via the U.S. government's Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley by quantifying and monetizing ecosystem services. The three focal services are greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, nitrogen mitigation, and waterfowl recreation. Site- and region-level measurements of these ecosystem services are combined with process models to quantify their production on agricultural land, which serves as the baseline, and on restored wetlands. http://www.envirovaluation.org/index.php/2010/03/16/valuing-ecosystem-services-from-wetlands-restoration-in-the-mississippi-alluvial-valley |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Installing Meters at the Beach
In addition to providing the obvious recreational opportunities to sunbathe, swim and fly kites, beaches buffer the coastline from erosion and provide habitat for marine creatures. These benefits are referred to as ecosystem services, and they have long been recognized in inland environments, not just theoretically but economically. Through payment for ecosystem services, also known as PES, forested land can bring its owners money for everything from timber to aesthetic value to the trees' removal of atmospheric carbon. http://www.miller-mccune.com/science-environment/installing-meters-at-the-beach-10758/ |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Reviewing Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas in Malaysia The Global Diversity Foundation (GDF) is managing a project in Sabah entitled: Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Sabah, a Consolidation of Issues and Experiences in Relation to Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Resource Use. Component 2 of the project aims to compile a state-wide review of indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs) in Sabah, emphasising the identification of existing and potential ICCAs, and documenting communities' experiences in establishing and managing ICCAs. http://natural-justice.blogspot.com/2010/03/reviewing-indigenous-and-community.html |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Ecosystem-based climate adaptation at... the World Bank?
"An essential component of adaptation is the protection and restoration of ecosystems and the habitats, natural resources, and services they provide." You're probably assuming this quote was lifted from American Rivers' latest report on climate adaptation, right? If you've been paying attention to our work for the past few years, this is a common refrain: restoration and protection of ecosystems is the most cost effective and flexible way to prepare for the impacts of climate change. We can't take credit for this quote, though, because it comes from, of all places, the World Bank. http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/ecosystem-based-climate-adaption-world-bank-3-15-2010-1.html
Economical carbon capture by restoring degraded soils
Improved farming methods could quickly rebuild degraded land and store enough carbon to offset the emissions caused by burning fossil fuels. Thomas Blakeslee, President, The Clearlight Foundation, outlines some approaches to capturing CO2 in soils. http://www.carboncapturejournal.com/displaynews.php?NewsID=536 |
| Wetland Restoration
New Zealand: Waikanae River Wetland Restoration
Viewed from this angle, with the bush-covered Waikanae hills in the background, it is possible to get some sense of how this part of Kapiti would have looked before it was cleared for farms and settlements in the late 19th century. This regeneration project is in large part due to the efforts and vision of local man John Topliff, who, 8 years ago, seized the opportunity to transform what had become a "wasteland", completely overtaken by introduced pest species, into the lowland swamp environment it had once been. http://envirohistorynz.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/views-of-kapiti-2-waikanae-river-wetland-restoration/
Oklahoma: Drummond wetlands are an economic boon for area
The Drummond Flats wetlands restoration project is under way, with some 4,500 acres of land already acquired. The plan is to restore the area to how it existed more than 100 years ago. Drummond Flats Wildlife Management area is located 15 miles southwest of Enid, just west of Drummond. The area is a large wetland basin that historically has flooded and also has a high water table. http://enidnews.com/opinion/x1745494543/Drummond-wetlands-are-an-economic-boon-for-area |
River & Watershed Restoration
Pakistan: Experts demand restoration of Indus ecosystem
Expressing grave concern over the reduced water flow in River Indus, water experts, environmentalists, fishermen and civil society activists have strictly opposed the proposed dams, link canals and cut in water releases in Indus and have demanded to release at least six percent of total water flow into the Indus River system for restoration of its ecosystem. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C03%5C13%5Cstory_13-3-2010_pg12_3 |
| Lake Restoration
Illinois: Trinski's Island Wetland Restoration Project
Trinski's Island will be created using a unique, bioengineered approach. The core element to the perimeter berm is the HESCO Bastion Concertainer®, a wire mesh and non-woven fabric modular containment system (See Appendix A). The containment system will be filled with mechanically excavated sediments. The exterior (lake side) of the containment system will be protected by gradation 4 rip-rap at a 3:1 slope, while the interior will be stabilized with mechanically excavated sediment and sand. Non-woven geotextile fabric will be used as an underlayment along the entire system. Once the entire perimeter berm has been installed, sediments will be placed within the interior of the island using hydraulically and/or mechanically dredged sediment. The interior height of the sediment is proposed to match the normal summer pool elevation 737.3 MSL. Wetland plantings will be installed once the interior sediment fill placed within the island reaches a stable condition that generally conforms to the normal summer pool elevation. http://www.foxwaterway.org/pdfattachments/Trinski.pdf |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
California: Land war heating up over Cargill salt ponds
One of the most heated Bay Area land-use battles of the century is shaping up as different interests take sides in a plan to partly develop and partly restore a 1,436-acre salt harvesting site in Redwood City. Diversified international company Cargill sold most of its Peninsula salt ponds in 2003 for $100 million to government agencies that plan to restore the shoreline habitats to create a sweeping federal wildlife reserve. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Land-war-heating-up-over-Cargill-salt-ponds-87597357.html |
Wildlife Restoration
Wild Oasis: Group hopes to establish wildlife refuge near Illinois border
An important function of such a refuge would be to help connect existing preserves, said Sarah Schuster, a resident of Lake Geneva, and one of the Wisconsin residents working on the refuge idea. It would create an oasis of wilderness within an easy driving distance of major urban areas, would provide a stopping point for migrating birds such as whooping cranes and would help preserve an ecosystem which is almost gone, advocates say. http://www.journaltimes.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/article_b7cf38be-2d69-11df-8646-001cc4c002e0.html
Ohio: Conservation program promotes habitat restoration for wildlife
It promotes wildlife management practices to establish and restore habitats for declining populations of wildlife and ecosystems. These include shallow water areas for wildlife, rare and declining habitat, tall grass prairie and more. http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20100311/NEWS01/3110312 |
| Urban Restoration
Urban Biofilter Project Plants Bamboo Forests to Clean up Brownfields
Bamboo forests are beautiful things - especially when they are cleaning urban air, soil, and water AND shielding communities from industry and heavily trafficked areas. Urban Biofilter creates bamboo forests on brownfields that are fed with wastewater. The harvested Bamboo then creates income in areas that are otherwise neglected through sustainable bamboo harvesting and timber production. http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/03/15/urban-biofilter-project-plants-bamboo-forests-to-clean-up-brownfields/ |
| Recreation & Tourism
Mexico: Volunteering with the Permaculture Team at Playa Viva
Unlike a typical resort, the goals of Playa Viva are beyond just the business endeavor. Playa Viva aims to be regenerative, not just to make less damage (building green) or net neutral (Sustainable), but to make a significant impact in creating a better local economy and restoring the local ecosystem. As I was explained to by Odin, head of Permaculture, the land is divided for three purposes - boutique hotel, mangrove [and coastal forest] restoration, and a small crop production. http://playaviva.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/volunteering-with-the-permaculture-team-at-playa-viva/ |
| Funding Opportunities
Almost $2 Million Available to Help Endangered, Threatened Species in Great Lakes Region - Closes March 22, 2010 Michigan is home to about 17 threatened or endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those bats, beetles, bugs, birds, snakes and wolves could be helped by up to $1.85 million in federal grants. The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a request for project proposals to protect, restore and enhance Great Lakes endangered species under the Endangered Species Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Up to $1.85 million in grants is available for projects that benefit federally endangered, threatened, candidate or at-risk species. http://www.mlive.com/mudpuppy/index.ssf/2010/02/almost_2_million_available_to.html
Montana: Funding for Conservation and Restoration projects - Closes April 2, 2010 After a one-year funding hiatus, nearly $1 million is available once again for restoration and conservation projects through the Montana Fish and Wildlife Conservation Trust. Of that amount, $515,500 must be spent on projects between the Upper Missouri River basin and Holter Dam, according to the legislation that created the trust. http://www.helenair.com/news/local/article_1982c29a-193a-11df-b214-001cc4c002e0.html
California: Watershed Restoration Grant Proposals Now Being Accepted - Closes April 8, 2010 The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is accepting proposals for fisheries restoration projects in California's coastal watersheds through April 8, 2010. Approved projects will propose measures consistent with DFG's Steelhead Restoration and Management Plan for California and the Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon, and NOAA's Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan Public Review; Draft Version. http://yubanet.com/california/Watershed-Restoration-Grant-Proposals-Now-Being-Accepted.php
Montana: Applications Available for Clark Fork Restoration Grants - Closes April 9, 2010 Applications for grant proposals to restore the Upper Clark Fork River Basin are now available. We are starting the eleventh year of the grant program aimed at returning the Basin to a healthy ecosystem. This year, $7.5 million is available to fund grant projects approved by the governor. Grant applications for over $25,000 must be received by Friday, April 9, 2010. Grant applications for $25,000 or less may be submitted on a continuous basis throughout the year. Applicants requesting more than $25,000 must use a long-form application, and there is a short-form application for applicants requesting $25,000 or less. http://www.clarkforkchronicle.com/article.php/20100212214329156
New Zealand: Environmental Enhancement Fund - Closes April 12, 2010 Local community groups looking for funding for an environmental project still have time to apply to Environment Bay of Plenty's Environmental Enhancement Fund. This year the fund, with $300,000 available for community groups, opened early to fit in better with planting seasons, and closes on Monday 12 April 2010. Decisions will be made in July so that projects can get underway during the winter and spring planting seasons. http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/still-time-apply-environmental-enhancement-fund/5/41676
Australia: River Prize - Closes May 14, 2010 Nominations are sought from individuals and organisations engaged in best practice river and catchment management and restoration from across Australia. (Australian river and catchment management groups may enter both the national and international Riverprize awards). Previous entrants are encouraged to apply again. http://www.riverfoundation.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=47 | |
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