| Membership |
RESTORE is distributed to current SER members. Make sure you don't miss a single issue!
|
| Quick Links |
|
| |
|
|
 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
Canada: BC Hydro seeks lake input
BC Hydro wants the Alberni Valley watershed interest groups to be riding the same current when it comes to restoration priorities for Elsie Lake Reservoir and the Ash River system. BC Hydro's Bridge Coastal Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program will be holding a planning session on Friday, June 18 that will be open to people interested in fish and wildlife restoration work in the watershed. http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/albernivalleynews/news/96073599.html
|
|
People in the News
Gulf Coast welcomes Obama's pledge to restore land
After 50 years of watching wetlands created by the fertile Mississippi River turn into open water, Louisiana residents finally got what they'd long awaited: A U.S. president saying he'll fight to save what little is left along their eroding coast. Though details were vague, President Barack Obama's pledge to restore the Gulf Coast's degraded coast line has multibillion-dollar implications for the region's culture and economy and could preserve wildlife endangered by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjntgUNgCemcikNQI59wsz6LXqPwD9GC9QCG0 |
| New Books & Articles
Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land
The first practical guidebook to give restorationists and would-be restorationists with little or no scientific training or background the "how to" information and knowledge they need to plan and implement ecological restoration activities. The book sets forth a step-by-step process for developing, implementing, monitoring, and refining on-the-ground restoration projects that is applicable to a wide range of landscapes and ecosystems. http://islandpress.org/bookstore/details6d13-2.html?prod_id=2015
Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development
Biodiversity and ecosystems deliver crucial services to humankind - from food security to keeping our waters clean, buffering against extreme weather, providing medicines to recreation and adding to the foundation of human culture. Together these services have been estimated to be worth over 21-72 trillion USD every year - comparable to the World Gross National Income of 58 trillion USD in 2008. http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/dead-planet/
Can Restoration Be Based on Local Seed Banks?
A crucial question in ecological restoration is whether target species that are missing from aboveground vegetation are represented in the seed bank. We evaluated the role of persistent seed banks in the restoration of species richness, and the relative value of managed and unmanaged grasslands, by studying closely located and floristically similar mown and abandoned stands of fen and dry-mesophilous meadows. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123492379/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
Prioritizing forest restoration and estimating biomass in young redwood forests using LiDAR
Old coast redwood forests contain the largest amount of biomass of any forest in the world. However, as at least 95 percent of the world's old-growth redwood forests have been logged at least once, most coast redwood forests today are very young in age. There is a huge potential for restoration to older forest conditions http://eco.confex.com/eco/2010/techprogram/P26958.HTM |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Gulf Escrow Must Invest in Restoring Coastal Habitats, Conservation Groups Say
Conservation groups sent a letter to President Obama today, calling for habitat restoration investments within the escrow account being established to compensate individuals and businesses harmed by the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. "As conservation leaders we write today to urge you to include wildlife among those harmed and to designate habitat restoration as the appropriate form of compensation. In addition to making whole the fishing, tourism, outdoor recreation, and other interests whose livelihoods have been decimated by the disaster, we must look to the eventual recovery of the coastal wetlands that support Louisiana's productive fisheries, abundant birdlife, and diverse wildlife communities." http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gulf-escrow-must-invest-in-restoring-coastal-habitats-conservation-groups-say-96392449.html
|
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Oslo Science Conference 2010 News: Traditional Knowledge Should Complement Science
Professor Magga, former President of the Sámediggi (Sami parliament) and chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, pointed out that the two understandings, the scientific and the indigenous one, go hand in hand. "Traditional knowledge is a partner to science," he said. He also stressed on the importance of mending the existing rift between science and traditional knowledge. http://theforeigner.no/pages/news/oslo-science-conference-2010-news-traditional-knowledge-should-complement-science/ |
| Biodiversity & Climate Change
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
The third Ad Hoc Intergovernmental and Multi-stakeholder Meeting on an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES III) met from 7-11 June 2010, in Busan, Republic of Korea. Over the five-day meeting, delegates discussed whether to establish an IPBES and negotiated text on considerations for its function, guiding principles and recommendations. Delegates adopted the Busan Outcome document (UNEP/IPBES/3/L.2) wherebythey agreed that an IPBES should, inter alia: be established; collaborate with existing initiatives on biodiversity and ecosystem services; and be scientifically independent. They also recommended that: the UN General Assembly be invited to consider the conclusions of the meeting and take appropriate action for the establishment of an IPBES; and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council invite UNEP, in cooperation with UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Development Programme (UNDP), to continue to facilitate any ensuing process of implementing the IPBES until such time that a secretariat is established. http://www.iisd.ca/ymb/biodiv/ipbes3/html/ymbvol158num11e.html
EPA: Climate bill costs less than postage stamp
A climate and energy bill being pushed in the Senate would cost American households 22 to 40 cents a day - less than the cost of a first-class postage stamp, the Obama administration said Tuesday. An analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the Senate bill, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., would cost households an average of $79 to $146 per year. A first-class postage stamp costs 44 cents. The bill, dubbed the American Power Act, aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020 and by more than 80 percent by 2050. Both goals are achievable under the legislation, the EPA said. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012123185_apusgulfoilspillclimatebill.html?syndication=rss |
| Wetland Restoration
Peatlands restoration wins support in effort to reduce carbon emissions
The body charged with establishing a framework for a global climate treaty will account for emissions from peatlands degradation, a source of roughly 6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The decision by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lays the groundwork for new measures to protect and restore wetlands, says Wetlands International. http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0610-peatlands.html
Workshop Report on Carbon Offsets through Wetlands Released
The workshop was organized under the "Danone Fund for Nature" (DFN) partnership between the Danone Group, IUCN and the Ramsar Convention. Participants reviewed and advised on the further development of the Danone/IUCN/Ramsar initiative in the context of other wetland-related carbon storage and offsets initiatives and projects, and with a particular focus on mangroves. http://climate-l.org/2010/06/09/workshop-report-on-carbon-offsets-through-wetlands-released/
Can restored wetlands make up for the loss of natural systems?
For the past twenty years, federal law has mandated that natural wetlands destroyed by land development be replaced in greater quantity by manmade wetlands. Do these restored wetlands make up for the loss of natural systems? Does wetland mitigation work? http://bulletin.kenyon.edu/x3369.xml |
River & Watershed Restoration
Audio: Watershed policy to end "killing fields" on the Sitkoh
A river near Sitka is scheduled for restoration work next year. The Sitkoh River valley was logged in the 1970s, when harvesters clear-cut trees right up to river banks, and sometimes used stream beds as roads. The Sitkoh has retained a limited fish run while the valley has regrown, but the salmon are now in danger: Recently, the river meandered onto an adjacent logging road, leaving many fish stranded when water levels drop. Restoration is an old practice on the Tongass that has a new priority in the Obama administration's Dept. of Agriculture. In the first of a two-part series, KCAW's Robert Woolsey looks at how work on the Sitkoh River may signal an important and growing role for watershed restoration in forest policy. http://kcaw.org/modules/local_news/index.php?op=centerBlock&ID=817
Limited Effects of Large-Scale Riparian Restoration on Seed Banks in Agriculture
I examined the effect of riparian forest restoration on plant abundance and diversity, including weed species, on agricultural lands along the Sacramento River in California (United States). Riparian forest restoration on the Sacramento River is occurring on a large-scale, with a goal of restoring approximately 80,000 ha over 160 km of the river. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123492372/abstract California: Klamath Restoration Begins
Today federal and state officials coordinating the environmental review of the pending Klamath Restoration Agreements announced the Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Report and notice of public scoping meetings. This signals the beginning of the scientific and legal reviews mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. http://mother-earth-journal.com/2010/06/klamath-restoration-begins/ |
| Lake Restoration
Michigan: $2.16 million awarded for White Lake restoration The Muskegon Conservation District was recently informed that their White Lake Shoreline Habitat Restoration project was selected to receive full funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In partnership with the White Lake Public Advisory Council, the $2,160,765 project will restore shoreline, wetland and habitat corridors at seven sites on or surrounding White Lake. http://www.whitelakebeacon.com/news/21754-216-million-awarded-for-white-lake-restoration |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
5 Years of Habitat Restoration
Efforts in the Caribbean!The Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership (CRP) is a regional multi-year partnership that was established in October 2001. The partnership brings together state and federal governmental entities, non-profit organizations, citizens and business in a collaborative effort to provide funding and support for coastal habitat restoration projects. The partnership funds citizen-driven, on-the-ground projects which restore aquatic marine habitats, benefit living marine resources, and foster local stewardship of sites throughout the Gulf of Mexico region and the adjacent Caribbean. http://www.gulfmex.org/attachments/caribbean/5_years_in_caribbean.pdf
Rhode Island: Last Harvest for Save The Bay's Habitat Restoring Eelgrass Program
After 10 years of bringing life back to some of Narragansett Bay's most fragile habitats, Save The Bay's widely acclaimed eelgrass restoration project is coming to a close. With the support of hundreds of volunteers, over the years, the restoration program has successfully established new beds in the mid-Bay, and has refined harvest and transplant techniques with minimal impact to the donor beds. http://www.newport-now.com/2010/06/14/last-harvest-for-save-the-bays-habitat-restoring-eelgrass-program/ |
Wildlife Restoration
California: Taylor-Tallac restoration project
The Taylor-Tallac restoration project is in the second year of pre-restoration monitoring. A complete suite of wildlife monitoring was collected in 2004 and 2006. Please see the 2004 and 2006 reports for detailed results. An additional year of pre-restoration monitoring data is needed to assist in the development of desired conditions and monitoring objectives for wildlife. We briefly summarize the surveys that have been completed at Taylor-Tallac as well as outline preliminary project goals. http://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5150412.pdf |
| Extractive Industries
The Price and Process of Wildlife Rehabilitation
Rehabilitators often point to the importance of oiled wildlife in the big-picture of the cleanup, and argue that their work can serve to increase knowledge of wildlife and its response to oil and strengthen the efforts for recovery and restoration after a spill. Most of the information available about the effects of oil on wildlife, and indeed about physiology, toxicology, and behavior of environmentally-stressed animals, comes from the experience gained in rehabilitating oiled animals. http://joomla.wildlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=700&Itemid=321 |
| Recreation & Tourism
India: Of Kodai's quicksilver
Although the forest department is hesitant, the Vattakanal Conservation Trust has started a shola-grassland restoration programme in a 30-hectare plot with their help. Strangely the Palni hills do not have any earmarked protected areas for forests and wildlife despite being part of the Western Ghats Global Biodiversity Hotspot. "The tourists here are ruining everything," she says. The Palni Hills recorded deficit rainfall this year, an additional worry. Already residents are facing water shortages. "It's not just the noise and pollution, tourism is a real environmental disaster here," says Ulrike. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/75308/of-kodais-quicksilver.html
Nebraska: $200K Effort Under Way To Restore Spring Lake Park
A $200,000 plan is under way in south Omaha to help restore Spring Lake Park to a more natural habitat. The park was originally the site of several natural springs, but was drained in the 1930s and mostly forgotten. http://www.ketv.com/news/23848302/detail.html |
| 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
Ohio: Funds made available for landowners - Closes July 1, 2010 The funds will be made available to agricultural producers and landowners through the Environmental Quality Incentives; Wildlife Habitat Incentives; the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection; and the Emergency Watershed Protection Floodplain Easement programs. More than $34 million will be offered in the eight Great Lakes states. Ohio's share is $6.4 million. Applications will be ranked according to impact, wildlife habitat restoration and protection and prime farmland preservation. Ohio watersheds affect Lake Erie more than those in any other state. http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20100604/NEWS01/6040310
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 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
