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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. | |
Get Involved / Community-Based Restoration
Get Involved/Community-based Restoration
Florida: Oyster-mat project buoys environment Buckets of oyster shells awaited teenagers, but there was no feast at Creekside Middle School on Monday. Students were on a mission to restore habitat in the Indian River Lagoon -- the most biologically diverse estuary in North America. Specks of salt covered desks as seventh-graders threaded zip ties through holes in oyster shells and secured them to mats that will one day become the foundation for oyster reefs. http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/east-volusia/2010/05/11/oyster-mat-project-buoys-environment.html
Venezuela: Seeds to Restore Burned Forests A government program for tree seedbeds, with community participation, began last week in Mochima National Park and the coast and islets of northern Venezuela. The goal is to restore an extensive area devastated by fires during the dry season of late 2009 and first months of 2010. "Every Tuesday in May in the populated areas of the park, 10 or 12 communal councils, with some 500 young people, take part in workshops for creating the seedbeds, the use of organic fertilizer, family gardens, and planting autochthonous tree species, to recover the physical spaces and to raise environmental awareness," http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=eco&nro=474
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| New Books & Articles
Opportunities for Nonnative Ecological Replacements in Ecosystem Restoration
Translocations can take a variety of forms, and there is considerable debate as to what defines an acceptable translocation. This is particularly so if a proposal suggests moving a species beyond its natural range, which might be necessary for conservation purposes if habitat within the natural range is extensively modified. An extension of this approach is to use closely related ecological analogs to replace extinct species. This approach is controversial, and opportunities to do so will be rare, particularly for vertebrate species, but the use of ecological analogs is not without precedent, and ultimately will provide for more complete ecological restoration. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123399647/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
COOPLANTAR: A Brazilian Initiative to Integrate Forest Restoration with Job and Income Generation in Rural Areas
We describe the process leading to the creation of the Cooperative of Reforestation Workers of Far Southern Bahia (COOPLANTAR), a cooperative that specializes in restoration of the Atlantic Forest in the Monte Pascoal-Pau Brasil Ecological Corridor in southern Bahia, Brazil, and provides job and income for members of local impoverished communities. We discuss the achievements of the cooperative, difficulties it has faced, and its prospects for future sustainability and expansion. http://er.uwpress.org/cgi/content/abstract/28/2/199
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| Agro-Ecology
Small-scale, eco-friendly farms key to preserving tropical biodiversity However, a new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, presents a compelling counterargument that demonstrates the misconceptions that underlie this logic. Instead, scientists Ivette Perfecto and John Vandermeer propose an alternative model for conservation in the tropics based on a matrix of small-scale, ecologically friendly farms producing food while providing habitat that complements protected areas. http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/small-scale-eco-friendly-farms-key-to-preserving-tropical-bi.html
Oregon: Sheep Grazing May Help Restore Eugene Prairie Wetlands The Willamette Valley's wetlands are fading fast. Now a major effort is underway to restore vegetation, thanks to a federal grant. And it may seem a bit odd, but the restoration process starts with sheep. The wetland restoration team of Trevor Taylor and Cody Wood make their way through knee-high tufted hairgrass. It's miles of tall green Taylor says has overtaken the valley. http://kezi.com/news/local/173004 |
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Mali: Farmers Restore Forests Villagers in the interior delta of the Niger River, already experiencing the harsh impacts of climate change, have a good understanding of the need to restore forests decimated by drought. Where forest cover has been rehabilitated, it is already reshaping the surrounding environment - and economy. "It is important to set regulations to protect the restored forests against fresh destruction by drought," Yaya Bocoum, an elder from the Malian village of Youwarou, told IPS. http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/2010/05/07/mali-farmers-restore-forests/
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| Wetland Restoration
Illinois: Wetland Restoration Project The Illinois Tollway is conducting a Wetland Restoration Project on a 160-acre site owned by the State of Illinois in North Chicago. The site is located just south of Buckley Road (IL Route 137) between IL Route 41 and IL Route 43 and east of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94). The location was chosen due to the presence of State protected species as well as high quality wetlands in need of restoration. http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,2621678&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Washington: Wetland Restoration at the Grace Cole Nature Park In August 2009, work began on a project to restore wetland flora and fauna in the meadow area at Grace Cole Nature Park. This project involved the excavation of two shallow depressions in the meadow which will fill with water in the wet season, creating natural seasonal ponds which will support wetland plants and animals. These ponds will occupy the area which is believed to be what was, in the Park's natural and undisurbed state, wetland. http://www.lfpsf.org/colenaturepark/restoration.html
In Defense of 'Conventional Politics': Resisting Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration in the Everglades This paper presents preliminary ethnographic research on the most advanced CERP project, the Picayune Strand Restoration. Against the optimistic predictions of the collaborative management literature, I find that project implementation has been delayed and costs increased due to political factors including local resistance fueled by property-rights discourse. In the current recessionary climate, these delays and added costs threaten the success of a project that should be one of CERP's lowest-hanging fruits. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1580364 |
River & Watershed Restoration
Communities Improving Public Safety through River Restoration
American Rivers today released the new film, "Restoring America's Rivers: Preparing for the Future," which tells the inspiring story of how community leaders around the country are improving public safety and solving problems like flooding by restoring rivers and working with nature, not against it. The film examines four communities in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington where dams are being removed and levees set back in an effort to restore floodplains and give rivers room to spread out, while making communities safer and more resilient to weather extremes, and restoring vital habitat for fish and wildlife. http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/05/05-4 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
The Johnny Appleseed of Florida's coral reefs A three-year, $3.3 million coral restoration project to grow threatened staghorn and elkhorn corals to replenish decimated reefs started with the pioneering efforts of a Keys resident who makes a living collecting tropical fish. Ken Nedimyer, 54, used his enthusiasm and successful results growing corals to win over government resource managers, environmentalists and scientists who were skeptical that mass coral restoration was possible. http://www.bradenton.com/2010/05/09/2270327/the-johnny-appleseed-of-floridas.html |
| Funding Opportunities
FishAmerica Foundation Community-Based Fish Habitat Restoration - Closes May 17, 2010 The American Sportfishing Association's FishAmerica Foundation invites proposals for citizen-driven habitat restoration projects under its partnership with the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program. The partnership requests proposals for local efforts to accomplish meaningful on-the-ground restoration of marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species (fish like salmon and striped bass that migrate to and from the sea). Emphasis is on using a hands-on, grassroots approach to restore fisheries habitat across coastal America, the Great Lakes region, and U.S. Territories of the Caribbean. https://researchfunding.duke.edu/detail.asp?OppID=8190
USDA NRCS Wetland Reserve Program - Closes May 24, 2010 Under WREP, NRCS enters into agreements with eligible partners to help enhance conservation outcomes on wetlands and adjacent lands. WREP targets and leverages resources to carry out high priority wetland protection, restoration, and enhancement activities and improve wildlife habitat through agreements with States (including a political subdivision or agency of a State), nongovernmental organizations, and Indian tribes. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/wrp/pdfs/2010-8143.pdf
Watershed Restoration Projects, Coos Bay, Oregon - Closes May 28, 2010 Specific watershed restoration and conservation efforts with non-BLM partners on federal and non-federal watershed lands in the Coos Bay District of Oregon shall include identifying, planning, and implementing culvert replacement, in-stream habitat improvement, road sediment abatement, and unwanted invasive species encroachment control projects. http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=53743
CIAP Protection and Restoration of Critical Forested Habitats - Closes July 31, 2010 Approximately $16M of the CIAP funds allocated to the state of Louisiana are being used to develop and implement a Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI) to conserve critical coastal forest habitat for storm damage reduction and the protection and restoration of rare, declining, or ecologically significant habitats. http://www.lacpra.org/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&nid=72&pnid=2&pid=61&fmid=0&catid=0&elid=0 |
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