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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
Attention SER Members
Get Involved/Community-based Restoration
Vail Resorts launches forest restoration More than 80 Vail Resorts employees rolled up their sleeves Monday to plant willows and reseed native vegetation in an area devastated by the 2002 Hayman fire. The reforestation work was the first of several volunteer days the company is contributing toward the $4 million Hayman Restoration Project, aimed at undoing the damage created by Colorado's largest-ever wildfire. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20100525/NEWS/100529800/1078&ParentProfile=1062
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People in the News
Burien's Seahurst Park wins best restored beach award
This work involved removing a 1,400-foot seawall, restoring the beach to its natural state and restoring the marine habitat for federally listed threatened species such as Puget Sound Chinook salmon. In 2008, the city completed $1 million more in habitat and recreation improvements to complete the south shoreline project including rebuilding trails, adding picnic areas, replacing the restroom, and revegetating the shoreline with native plants. http://www.highlinetimes.com/2010/05/24/news/buriens-seahurst-park-wins-best-restored-beach-award
Montana ranching family receives national honor for wetland protection
The Andrew and Anne Laszlo family, of Ennis, Mont., has received the 2010 National Wetland Award for Landowner Stewardship. The Laszlo's, who own Granger Ranches in Madison County, were selected for their exceptional and innovative contributions to wetlands conservation. The Laszlos have permanently protected more than half of their 14,000-acre ranch and restored or enhanced 510 acres of wetlands and 35,000 feet of stream channel and riparian habitats. This is the largest wetland and stream restoration project of its kind in the state of Montana. http://www.theprairiestar.com/articles/2010/05/18/ag_news/people_and_industry/people32.txt
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| New Books & Articles
Experts give tricks of the trade on tallgrass prairie restoration
"A common problem in conservation is that the wealth of experience and knowledge that practitioners gain over time is not well aggregated and shared." This is the sentiment that motivated Helen Rowe from Purdue University to interview 38 experienced tallgrass prairie managers about what they have learned from conducting ecosystem restoration on their preserves. She published her findings in a new article in the journal Restoration Ecology. http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/experts-give-tricks-of-the-trade-on-tallgrass-prairie-restor.html
Using a habitat affinity approach to assess restoration success
Scientists have presented an interesting method for measuring the success of ecological restoration. Eszter Deri and fellow researchers used a habitat affinity index to assess the progress of grassland restoration in Hortobagy National Park, the oldest and largest protected area in Hungary. The basic concept of the habitat affinity approach is that it assesses the degree to which the species composition at a restoration site reflects that of the target habitat community. http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/using-a-habitat-affinity-approach-to-assess-restoration-succ.html |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Feds to put price on Canada's nature
A unique research project at Environment Canada could soon offer a new perspective for Canadians on conservation and its economic value, says a director in the federal department. Following a fall report released by the United Nations Environment Programme that concluded natural ecosystems around the world were worth trillions of dollars in the global economy, the Harper government is following up with the development of its own framework to evaluate the economic value of nature in Canada. http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Feds+price+Canada+nature/3065309/story.html
Nature Conservancy to turn over projects
For the past 15 years, The Nature Conservancy has been a major player in efforts to preserve and restore the South Sound prairie ecosystem and the plants and animals that live there. Not much longer. The national conservation group with a strong state presence has announced plans to transfer its South Sound prairie conservation program to a new, yet-to-be-determined entity. http://www.theolympian.com/2010/05/25/1249567/nature-conservancy-to-turn-over.html
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| Agro-Ecology
Agrobiodiversity Key to Adaptation
"The world is headed for an anticlimax. Climate change is already frustrating agricultural productivity all over," said Dr Frank Attere, at a side-event at a Nairobi conference on biodiversity. "And if this continues, the world will be left without indigenous seed that can survive all weather conditions, and this would lead to serious food insecurity and loss of biodiversity in the coming generations." http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=51536 |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Many Species, One Planet, One Future
Addressing a national seminar on International Biodiversity Day in New Delhi -- on biodiversity, development and poverty alleviation in the context of climate change - minister of state for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh said: "We need to bring about convergence between biodiversity and climate change as each affects the other; it's a two-way relationship." At meetings both at Nagoya, Japan, in October this year and in Cancun, Mexico next year, India would push for a 31-article negotiating text that would help converge talks on biodiversity and climate change. The minister hopes that the said text would become fully negotiated before the Cop-11 meeting in 2012. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Environment/Global-Warming/Many-Species-One-Planet-One-Future/articleshow/5964645.cms |
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Oregon: Work begins on Ashland Forest Resiliency Project
Work will soon begin thinning trees and brush in the Ashland Watershed. The work is part of the Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project. Funded in part with American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dollars, the collaborative project between Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the City of Ashland, Lomakatsi Restoration Project and The Nature Conservancy hopes to clear approximately 40 acres before the summer fire season. http://www.examiner.com/x-48203-Medford-City-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m5d19-Work-begins-on-Ashland-Forest-Resiliency-Project
Hawaii: Restoration of Native Hawaiian Dryland Forest at Auwahi, MauiIn 1997, a partnership among visionary landowners, governmental resource managers and scientists was formed to explore methods for restoring this unique ecosystem before it was lost. Scientists from the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center serve as scientific advisors and technical consultants to resource managers on the most efficient ways to achieve these goals. http://biology.usgs.gov/pierc/Pollution_%26_Ecological_Restoration/Dryland_restoration.pdf |
| Wetland Restoration
Wetland Restoration Research Could Benefit Economy
Scientists say wetland restoration research could contribute to increased economic productivity for the nation. The Society of Wetland Scientists held a discussion on Capitol Hill Wednesday to highlight the importance of restoring and conserving the nation's wetlands, not only to safeguard them as an ecological necessity but also to use them as essential economic resources. http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/41256/ |
River & Watershed Restoration
Virginia: The Scuffletown Creek Wetland Restoration Project, Chesapeake
The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Chesapeake, Va., are partnering up to restore 30,000 square feet of wetlands along Scuffletown Creek. This project is authorized under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-303) as amended. This area was formerly wetlands that have been covered with three to seven feet of fill material containing primarily construction debris. The project will take place on city-owned property adjacent to property owned by an antenna tower company. http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Library/Factsheets/ScuffletownCrkWtlnd_Restoration/
Idaho: Plans for river restoration making progress
The purpose of the habitat restoration is to restore habitat for the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon and other aquatic species, such as bull trout and kokanee. The river ecosystem changed with Libby Dam and the dikes and has benefited humans with hydropower and flood control but hasn't benefited the fish. http://www.bonnersferryherald.com/articles/2010/05/20/local/doc4bf5822aec7ee572195124.txt
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| Grassland Restoration
Nature reserve recovers after multiple fires
Heidi Newsome, with United States Fish and Wildlife, said she was pleased with the continued restoration efforts at a nature reserve near the Tri-cities. That's what she told attendees, representing the Nature Conservancy, local weed control boards and seed companies, during a private tour of the Arid Lands Ecology Reserve (ALE) May 12. http://othellooutlook.com/?p=11207 |
Wildlife Restoration
India: Restoration of Kolleru Lake Wildlife Sanctuary
The works relating to restoration of water channels for free flow of flood waters into sea and ecological restoration and afforestation of Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary are on progress. The State Government has informed that so far, no funds have been released under CAMPA scheme for restoration of Kolleru Lake Wildlife Sanctuary. However, restoration of water channels for free flow of flood water into sea is being taken up by Irrigation Department with their departmental funds. Partially demolished bunds are being removed to form mounds over which planting of suitable species is being taken up to provide perches for the Kolleru birds. http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=55813
Galápagos: Giant endangered tortoises released on Pinta Island
How to Re-tortoise an Island. A graduate student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry has embarked on a trip to a remote island in the Galapagos Archipelago, where she and three field assistants will spend 10 weeks monitoring the behavior of 39 giant tortoises that will be released into the wild in an effort to restore the island's damaged ecosystem. Elizabeth Hunter, a master's student in conservation biology, and her colleagues will depend on an array of high-tech instrumentation and some old-fashioned techniques, like sitting and watching, to determine what effect the tortoises have on Pinta Island. http://goodnews.ws/2010/05/19/galapagos-giant-endangered-tortoises-released-on-pinta-island/ |
| Urban Restoration
Recreating Wildlife Habitat in Cities
During the Dumbarton Oaks symposium on "Designing Wildlife Habitats," ecologists and landscape architects also explored challenges and opportunities with wildlife habitat restoration in urban areas, and the impact of climate change. Speakers offered more variations on the idea of ecological infrastructure, arguing that interdisciplinary design teams are needed to create these multi-use systems. Speakers also concluded that designers and scientists must work harder to tell stories that spark the imagination of the broader public. Otherwise, the value of biodiversity won't be understood. http://dirt.asla.org/2010/05/20/restoring-habitat-in-cities-faced-with-climate-change/ |
| Funding Opportunities
California: Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands (ERAL) Grant funding applications are accepted on a year-round basis. The WCB meets four times each year, normally in February, May, August, and November to consider approval of funding for projects. http://www.wcb.ca.gov/ERAL/grants.html
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
FishAmerica Foundation Grants for Marine Restoration - Closes June 7, 2010 The FishAmerica Foundation, through its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Restoration Center, has $1 million available for marine and anadromous sportfish habitat restoration projects in the coastal United States, the Great Lakes region and the U.S. Caribbean territories. These grants will be awarded to community-based, on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine and riparian habitats including salt marshes, mangrove forests and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species such as salmon and striped bass that spawn in freshwater and migrate to the sea. http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/504358-1m-in-grants-offered-for-marine-restoration
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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