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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
Canada: Bringing nature back to the land The half-dozen 20-somethings are toiling in a grassy field somewhere amid the 54 hectares of Gerry Oak forests in and around Fort Rodd Hill. After years of battle against Scotch broom, they're finally gaining a foothold -- each cut at the invasive weed is one step closer to restoring the ecosystem as it was 200 years ago. http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/101590973.html
Free Webinar: Bottomland Ecosystem Restoration Bridging Science and Management for Floodplain Reclamation and Stewardship On Thursday, September 16th join moderator Charles Deutsch, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Rivers Project, US Army Corps of Engineers, as he discusses Bottomland Ecosystem Restoration. He will convene experts: Dr. Lyle Guyon, Terrestrial Ecologist, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center; and Dr. Mickey Heitmeyer,Wildlife Ecologist, Greenbrier Wetland Services to link scientific expertise to specific restoration issues in an effort to direct participants toward practical management solutions. http://web.governmentcontractors.org/content/seminars/Bottomland_Ecosystem_Restoration.aspx
BC Canada: Grassland restoration course September 11-12, 2010 A hands-on grasslands restoration and reclamation course takes place at the Clear Sky Center in Bull River on the weekend of September 11 and 12. "Healthy grasslands benefit many livelihoods in our regions, such as tourism, timber/forestry, farming and ranching, hunting-related and environment-related businesses," notes course organizer Catherine Pawasarat, pointing out that healthy grasslands' ecosystems are also important for fire prevention, rangeland health, and the East Kootenay's priceless scenery. http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/kootenayadvertiser/community/100640914.html
Colorado: Riparian Restoration Training The Tamarisk Coalition, in partnership with NRCS, the Upper Colorado Environmental Plant Center & the Los Lunas Plant Material Center, Cordially invites YOU to our Riparian Restoration Training to be held on: Nov 30th & Dec 1st, 2010 SAME TRAINING EACH DAY Grand Junction, Colorado http://www.tamariskcoalition.org/PDF/longstem-ad%202010.pdf
Volunteers Needed: Marsh Restoration in Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, in partnership with the Gulf Response Involvement Team, invites you to participate in a 2-week long marsh restoration project in the open mud flats located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain within the USFWS Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Over 70,000 marsh plants will be planted to help restore and enhance the wetlands and we are looking for over 400 volunteers to help accomplish this project. http://williamwolff.org/composingspaces/bp-oilspill-cleanup-volunteers-needed/
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People in the News
Canada: Prof Turns Soybean Field into Research Lab
A University of Guelph professor has created a little research lab on the prairie. Andrew MacDougall has turned a former soybean field into a 18-hectare prairie that is doubling as his research lab. The integrative biology professor will watch what happens over the next decade as various tallgrass species root themselves in his outdoor research lab located in Cambridge near the meeting place of the Grand and Speed rivers. http://www.canadaviews.ca/2010/08/25/prof-turns-soybean-field-into-research-lab/
A
ustralia; A win for environmental restoration
Murdoch University's Environmental Restoration Group (MERG) has successfully obtained $26,000 of external funding to help support its biodiversity conservation efforts. MERG is a volunteer group made up of students, staff, alumni and community members. The group is actively involved in maintaining and re-planting remnant bushland and wetland vegetation at Murdoch's South Street campus. http://media.murdoch.edu.au/a-win-for-environmental-restoration |
| New Books & Articles
Wetland restoration: How should success be measured?
What should you measure when trying to determine if a wetland restoration project has been successful? This poster, presented at the Ecological Society of America meeting this year, shows some of our latest findings on that topic (click on the poster to see a larger version). If we only look at emergent plant characteristics, then restoration seems to be successful. If we incorporate water, soil, and aquatic plant and animal characteristics, then the restoration sites appear to be very different from the reference area. http://marshdispatch.blogspot.com/2010/08/wetland-restoration-how-should-success.html |
| Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Restoring the Environment - Making Dollars and Sense in the Face of Climate Change
Well planned, appropriate restoration, compared to loss of ecosystem services, may provide benefit/cost ratios of 3-75 in return of investments and an internal rate of return of 7-79%, depending on the ecosystem restored and its economic context, thus providing in many cases some of the most profitable public investments including generation of jobs directly and indirectly related to an improved environment and health. Ecological restoration can further act as an engine of economy and a source of green employment. Let's pass this info along so we make sure it gets into the right circles on Capitol Hill! http://wilderness.org/content/restoring-environment-making-dollars-and-sense-face-climate-change |
| Agro-Ecology
Wisconsin: Casper Farm recognized for habitat restoration
In an effort to help keep the water in the creek on their farm as clean as possible and the creek banks from eroding, the Casper family of Knapp has worked in the past with the Fish & Game Association and U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a wildlife refuge on a stretch of Wilson Creek approximately one mile in length through fencing and a buffer strip. http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/2010/08/27/agriculture/doc4c7865a1eab70232062453.txt |
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Washington: Repairing aging roads to aid forest restorationA coalition of 18 groups is pushing to restore national forest lands in Washington through the removal and repair of forest roads left behind from decades of timber harvesting. State and federal officials say mud and runoff from abandoned roads pose a problem for water quality, salmon and the ailing Puget Sound. They say the roads can also block fish passage and wildlife migration. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012712663_roads25.html?syndication=rss |
| Wetland Restoration
California: Wetlands restoration on Napa River in final phase
Work has begun on the final phase of a massive, $25 million wetlands restoration project along the Napa River. An excavator on Wednesday ripped through a barrier between the river and a 1,400-acre swath of former salt ponds on an island near the Napa County Airport. It's the final phase of the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area restoration project. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15900943?nclick_check=1
Vermont: State Restores Lost Wetlands to Protect Lake Champlain
Farmer Bob Forrest used heavy equipment in the 1970s to gouge a network of 5-foot-deep drainage ditches through swampy, low-lying land on the banks of Otter Creek. Muscling Mother Nature did not work very well. Last year, the retired dairyman conceded defeat. He stopped growing crops on 130 acres of wet fields and joined an effort aimed at nothing less than reversing 100 years of wetland conversion in the Champlain Valley. Forrest pocketed $253,780 for selling the federal government a conservation easement. His drained acres are being transformed back into wetlands. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100827/NEWS02/100826026/State-restores-lost-wetlands-to-protect-Lake-Champlain |
River & Watershed Restoration
Watershed Restoration Film Contest Recognizes Seven Northwest Films
Regional filmmakers receive $4,100 in prize money from the Stories From Our Watersheds film contest sponsored by Ecotrust, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the PNW Region of the USDA Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20100831006795/en
California: Matilija Dam Removal Sees New Light
It's a classic environmental battle. All groups involved agree that tearing down the Matilija Dam is vital to restoring the endangered Ventura River, as well as restoring the natural ecosystem. But the issue of where to dispose of the 2 million cubic yards of fine sediment trapped behind the dam has continued to delay a decade-long project. http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/matilija_dam_removal_sees_new_light/8179/
Teaming up for watershed protection in Colorado
The work will focus in thinning, fuel reduction, creating fire breaks, erosion control decommissioning roads, and, eventually, reforestation. The partnership could serve as a model for similar agreements across the West and with other industries, Sherman added, singling out the ski industry and power companies with infrastructure on forested lands. http://summitcountyvoice.com/2010/08/28/forest-service-denver-water-team-up-to-protect-watersheds/
California: Tracking the Lower Owens River Revival
The revival of the 62-mile Lower Owens River is the largest river restoration project in the history of the American west. It's been a long time coming for residents of the Eastern Sierra. Ninety-five years ago the river vanished from the Owens Valley and was diverted to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, supplying water to the city of Los Angeles. But in December 2006-under court order-snowmelt from the Sierra was redirected into the Lower Owens, breathing life back into the river. Now its waters support schools of brown trout, western king birds perched on tule reeds and majestic great blue herons. http://www.emagazine.com/view/?5222 |
| Coastal & Marine Restoration
California: Congressman Thompson, DU celebrate historic restoration project
Ducks Unlimited hosted a media event and site tour of the Napa Sonoma Marshes Restoration Project near American Canyon. DU and its partners assisted the California Department of Fish and Game in restoring the area, which is being transformed from a large expanse of salt evaporation ponds into 1,400 acres of natural tidal wetlands that support populations of migratory waterfowl, endangered fish species, shorebirds and other wildlife. These acres join 5,000 acres previously restored by DU on the Napa Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. http://www.ducks.org/news/2265/CongressmanThompsonD.html
Audio: Shelling Out For A Chesapeake Bay Oyster Comeback
Chesapeake oysters are a succulent treat that for centuries have been loved almost to extinction. But some scientists and business people are making headway in bringing back the bivalve, for the sake of oyster lovers and the bay. A successful restoration project, a report showing that fewer oysters are dying from disease, and the growth of oyster farming all give cause for optimism. Still, experts caution that Chesapeake oysters have a long way to go. President Obama has pledged to make good on decades-old promises to restore the Chesapeake, the nation's largest estuary, and scientists and environmental activists say he needs oysters to help him do that. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129452345
British Virgin Islands: To Rescue a Reef
Snorkel through the middle of Guana Island's White Bay, and you'll see a common sight: a dead elkhorn coral reef. Even in the region's most pristine waters, much of the species has been killed off in recent decades by disease, bleaching and climate change. But a closer look at the Guana reef is more encouraging: Dozens of pieces of live elkhorn coral have been attached to it. The fragments are part of a project led by Dr. Graham Forrester, a longtime participant in Guana's Marine Research Programme, in partnership with the Association of Reef Keepers and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. http://bvibeacon.com/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2765&Itemid=26
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| Extractive Industries
Mozambique approves environment regulation for petroleum operations
Mozambique's Council of Ministers has adopted a law to protect the environment by fining companies that cause environmental damage resulting from petroleum exploration and production operations, a press statement from the cabinet said in Maputo on Thursday. The statement said the government passed the regulation on the Environmental impact of oil activities that includes prevention, control, mitigation and environmental restoration in cases of oil spills. http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/2010/08/26/mozambique-approves-environment-regulation-for-petroleum-operations/
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| Urban Restoration
Utah: Ogden River Restoration Reshapes Downtown
Most anglers think they have to drive 25 miles before even thinking about finding a good trout stream. But folks living in downtown Ogden might be in luck. Thanks to a sometimes-controversial $5 million river restoration program on the Ogden River within sight of the middle of the city, they can catch wild brown trout in a place once littered with wrecked auto bodies, concrete and industrial junk.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50161619-76/river-ogden-project-restoration.html.csp |
| Funding Opportunities
World: Call for wet carbon proposals Danone would like to invest in projects which deliver certified carbon credits and local community benefits through restoring mangrove ecosystems. They are interested in large-scale projects which can be implemented quickly and efficiently. Working in partnership with IUCN and Ramsar, Danone is seeking to invest in wet carbon projects that have the potential to deliver between 10,000 and 300,000 tons per annum of carbon offsets, certifiable by the Clean Development Mechanism or the Voluntary Carbon Standard. http://wetcarbon.com/
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
Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership - Closes September 1, 2010 The Gulf of Mexico Community-based Restoration Partnership (GCRP) invites proposals for its tenth round of citizen-driven habitat restoration projects. The partnership is seeking to fund on-the-ground projects to restore marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats to benefit living marine resources and to provide educational and social benefits by significantly involving the community. http://www.gulfmex.org/documents/y10/gcrp_rfp.pdf
New Hampshire: Grants available to protect, clean water - Closes September 3, 2010 New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is now accepting pre-proposals for the 2011 Watershed Restoration Grants for Impaired Waters and Watershed Assistance Grants for High Quality Waters. These grants are intended for cleaning polluted waters and protecting waters that are still clean but threatened by potential pollutants. The Restoration Grants are available to help restore polluted water bodies (impaired waters) with water quality problems caused by pollution related to land use. http://www.eagletribune.com/newhampshire/x315773898/Grants-available-to-protect-clean-water
Minnesota: Funding Available for Shoreland Vegetation Projects - Closes October 1, 2010 The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites grant proposals for projects that would restore native shoreline vegetation across Minnesota. More than $300,000 is available for projects, which are limited to $50,000 to $100,000 per individual request. http://outdoornewsdaily.com/index.php/archives/13599
NOAA: Marine Debris - Closes November 1, 2010 This funding opportunity is now open. See below for information on how to apply. Through NOAA's Marine Debris Program, the NOAA Restoration Center administers the Community-based Marine Debris Prevention and Removal Grants Program. This funding supports locally driven, community-based marine debris prevention and removal projects that benefit coastal habitat, waterways, and wildlife including migratory fish. http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/funding/marinedebris.html
NOAA: Open Rivers Initiative - Closes November 17, 2010 Through its Open Rivers Initiative, NOAA's Restoration Center provides technical expertise and financial assistance to remove dams and barriers and restore habitat for the many species that migrate between the ocean and the nation's freshwater rivers and streams. This initiative contributes to sustainability of U.S. fisheries, provides an economic boost for communities, and improves public safety. http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/funding/ori.html |
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