November 17, 2010 
Restoration Volunteers RESTORE header 

Society for Ecological Restoration International
In This Issue
Get Involved
People in the News
New Books & Articles
Restoring Natural Capital
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Biodiversity & Climate
Wetland Restoration
River Restoration
Wildlife Restoration
Funding Opportunities
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serlogoRESTORE 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

 

SER Members receive 25% off Island Press purchases. Contact Caroline Bronaugh at caroline@ser.org for details!

 

California: Help needed to plant seedlings

The Big Chico Creek Watershed Alliance will hold a seedling planting with native plants from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 20, rain or shine. Volunteers should meet at the fire ring in lower Bidwell Park, next to Caper Acres. The Native Plant Project is an opportunity to get involved in habitat restoration and contribute much-needed plants to creek-side restoration projects.

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_16608750

 

Freshkills Park Talks: Dr. Steven Handel - Nov 22, 2010

Dr. Steven Handel is a pioneer in the field of urban ecology who has been involved in a number of investigations and design projects for land reclamation sites - including numerous studies of the Freshkills Park site. Dr. Handel is the director of the Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE), a joint venture between Rutgers and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He will be discussing current projects in urban restoration ecology and lessons learned from the completed research.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/events/2010/11/22/freshkills-park-talks-dr-steven-handel

 

Restoration fundamentals

The following is a modified version of discussions on the ECOLOG-L discussion list (with contributions by Wayne Tyson and Eric Branton). It summarizes the fundamentals of a successful restoration programme.

http://blog.ecosystem-services.org/2010/10/28/restoration-fundamentals/

 

Get Involved/Community-based Restoration

 

Colorado: Riparian Restoration Training - November 30, 2010

http://www.tamariskcoalition.org/PDF/longstem-ad%202010.pdf

 

"Mangrove Ecology, Management and Restoration Training Course" - January 18-21, 2011

Contact Robin Lewis to apply: LESRRL3@AOL.COM OR LESRRL3@GMAIL.COM

 

Wisconsin Wetlands Association Annual Conference February 16-17, 2011

http://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/2011conference.htm

 

Portland: Watershed Wide Volunteer Restoration Event - March 5, 2011

http://www.katu.com/outdoors/events/105366513.html

 

Florida: Service at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge - April 3-9, 2011

http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/brochure/11076a.aspx

 

Wildlands Restoration Volunteers - Upcoming Projects

http://wlrv.net/colorado/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.events&type=792&i=2010

 

Conferences & Workshops

 

Ecological Restoration Principles and Application with Dr. Andre Clewell - November 30-December 3, 2010

http://www.gulfalliancetraining.org/detail.aspx?Id=34

 

Ecological Society of Australia 2010 Annual Conference - December 5-10, 2010

http://www.esa2010.org.au/

 

The 2011 Florida Experience: Using Ecosystem Restoration to Enhance Water Resources - Jan 10-Jan 14, 2011

http://events.linkedin.com/2011-Florida-Experience-Using-Ecosystem/pub/485469

 

2011 Conference Listing NOW Available on the GRN

http://www.globalrestorationnetwork.org/conferences/

 

People in the News


Audio: A Conversation With The New NSF Director

Subra Suresh, former dean of engineering at MIT, was sworn in last month as director of the National Science Foundation, which doles out billions of dollars for basic research each year. Suresh talks about his priorities and how the NSF's budget is likely to fare with the new Congress.

http://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131274167/a-conversation-with-the-new-nsf-director?ft=1&f=1025

 

Ohio honors work of wildlife biologist

In a productive 40-year career as a wildlife biologist and administrator with the Ohio Division of Wildlife and later Ducks Unlimited, Donald Thompson was instrumental developing a model wetlands restoration project.

http://toledoblade.com/article/20101112/COLUMNIST22/101119856/-1/SPORTS18 

New Books & Articles

 

The Use and Management of Mangrove Ecosystems in Pakistan

We undertook an economic valuation of mangrove forests in Balochistan province of Pakistan drawing on primary data from a survey of 80 households depending on mangrove forests. It was found that the direct value of mangroves was USD 1,287 per hectare, while the total value for the village was calculated to be USD 4,419,935. We found that rich households made more absolute use of the mangrove products and services and the poor made more relative use. Any decrease in the quality of this ecosystem would expose the poor to the worst effects of poverty. We argue that investments in mangrove conservation under comanagement regime in this region of Pakistan make ecological and economic sense.

http://jed.sagepub.com/content/19/4/446.abstract

 

Scientific Grand Challenges identified to address global sustainability

The international scientific community has identified five Grand Challenges that, if addressed in the next decade, will deliver knowledge to enable sustainable development, poverty eradication, and environmental protection in the face of global change. The Grand Challenges for Earth system science, published today, are the result of broad consultation as part of a visioning process spearheaded by the International Council for Science (ICSU) in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/icfs-sgc111110.php

 

PhD Dissertation: Water conservation, wetland restoration and agriculture in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/61208136/Water-conservation-wetland-restoration-and-agriculture-in-the-Colorado-River-Delta-Mexico

Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)

 

How Wonks and Bean-Counters are Helping to Save the Environment

The front lines of environmental defense are many, and most of them aren't manned by protesters and khaki-clad revolutionaries.  Today, the battle is being waged by an interdisciplinary phalanx of foresters, botanists, lawyers and economists who aim to make sure the laws of man recognize both the laws of nature and the laws of supply and demand.  They do, however, wear khaki.

http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7837§ion=news_articles&eod=1

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)


Canada: Trove of Inuit hunters' wisdom retrieved amid Lancaster Sound debate

Nearly 40 years after researchers captured the memories of aging Inuit hunters from Baffin Island about lives spent in pursuit of the polar bear, whale and walrus, that priceless trove of traditional knowledge has been recovered from the vaults of Library and Archives Canada to be used in defining the boundaries of a proposed - and controversial - national marine conservation area in Lancaster Sound.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/canada/Trove+Inuit+hunters+wisdom+retrieved+amid+Lancaster+Sound+debate/3821125/story.html
Biodiversity & Climate Change

 

We, the consumers

Some ways usually adopted for conservation are nature reserves, biodiversity registers, pollution control measures, carbon-trading to check climate change and technologies to clean water and air. But they fail to strike at the root of modern conservation crisis: the insatiable appetite of a consumer. This appetite that defines our day-to-day lives has taken away the ozone layer, forests, rivers and minerals. Our culture, language, nationality and even religion legitimise consumption.

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2203

 

Unilever's trailblazing environmental plan

For the last two years, Unilever has been carrying out a comprehensive 'audit' of the impact on the environment from the use of its products, in terms of water, waste and emissions of greenhouse gases. It already had all the data relating to the manufacture, processing and transport of its products, and has been making good progress in reducing all those direct impacts over the last 10 years or more. But those direct impacts turned out to be relatively insignificant when compared with what happens when customers actually use these products.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/blog/unilever-sustainable-agriculture-plan

Wetland Restoration

 

Unprecedented enrollment in wetland restoration

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the nation's farmers, ranchers and Indian Tribes enrolled over 272,000 acres in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) in fiscal year (FY) 2010. The FY 2010 enrollment is the highest single-year enrollment in the program's history and is a 52 percent increase over FY 2009 when 179,000 acres were enrolled. There are now more than 2.3 million acres enrolled in WRP nationwide.

http://westernfarmpress.com/management/unprecedented-enrollment-wetland-restoration

River & Watershed Restoration


Canada: Riparian restoration project underway across the city

The Manitoba Floodway Authority will spend $2 million to plant nearly 14,000 trees and shrubs along the Red River and two other creeks in an effort to strengthen shorelines and protect fish habitats. The planting is part of the Floodway Authority's riparian habitat compensation program, a requirement of its environmental license.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Riparian-restoration-project-underway-across-the-city-106987228.html

Wildlife Restoration

 

Malaysia: Hope for Borneo's Threatened Biodiversity

To tackle species loss representatives of the Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF) and of the Forestry Department of Sabah / Malaysia launched a long-term reforestation project to restore forest in Borneo. Borneo's unique biodiversity is threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. To save endangered species like the Sabah rhino, the clouded leopard, or the orangutan, it is necessary to restore and reconnect degraded and fragmented forest land.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101110073458.htm

Funding Opportunities

Terra Viva Grants develops and manages information about grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the world's developing countries. 

http://www.terravivagrants.org/Home/view-grant-makers

 

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

 

Tamarisk Related Grant Opportunities

The Tamarisk Coalition has developed a list of available Grant Opportunities to address tamarisk issues and riparian restoration. This list was revised as part of the Colorado River Basin Tamarisk and Russian Olive Assessment.

http://www.tamariskcoalition.org/FundingResources.html

 

Rhode Island Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Trust Fund - Closes November 24, 2010

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is currently seeking pre-proposals for habitat restoration project funding through its R.I. Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration Program and Trust Fund. Municipalities, committees, boards or commissions chartered by a municipality, nonprofit organizations, civic groups, educational institutions and state agencies are eligible to submit a project pre-proposal.

http://www.crmc.ri.gov/news/2010_1022_cehrtf.html

 

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens Botany in Action Fellowship Program - Closes November 30, 2010

Phipps is currently accepting proposals for its 2011 BIA Fellows program. Funding is limited to doctoral students focused on plant-based science and enrolled at US institutions; however, students' field research sites may be in the US or abroad.

http://phipps.conservatory.org/project-green-heart/botany-in-action/index.aspx

 

California: Funding for National Forest Projects Available in Butte County - Closes December 3, 2010

National Forest project proposals within Butte County are being sought for financial support under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Projects must have broad based support with objectives that include: road, trail, and infrastructure maintenance or obliteration; soil productivity improvements; improvements in forest ecosystem health; watershed restoration and maintenance; wildlife and fish habitat improvements; control of noxious and exotic weeds; reintroduction of native species, and hazardous fuels reduction. Projects can be implemented on private land if the project clearly benefits public land resources.

http://yubanet.com/regional/Funding-for-National-Forest-Projects-Available-in-Butte-County.php

 

Pennsylvania: WPC and Dominion Resources Seek Proposals for Watershed Mini Grants - Closes December 15, 2010

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accepting proposals for the 2010-2011 Watershed Mini Grant program, which provides assistance to the region's grassroots watershed groups. Funding for the program is provided by Dominion. The mini-grants program supports operating costs, organizational promotion and outreach, and/or watershed restoration projects. Grants of up to $1,000 may be awarded for operating expenses. Up to $2,500 is available for promotion and outreach or restoration projects.

http://www.paconserve.org/news/view/128
 

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This issue of RESTORE is sponsored by:

 
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Biohabitats, Inc., a company that provides ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design services to clients throughout the world. Biohabitats' mission is to "Restore the Earth and Inspire Ecological Stewardship." Visit them at www.biohabitats.com.