January 5, 2011 
Restoration Volunteers RESTORE header 

Society for Ecological Restoration International
In This Issue
Get Involved
People in the News
New Books & Articles
Forest Restoration
Wetland Restoration
River Restoration
Arid Land Restoration
Lake Restoration
Coastal Restoration
Invasive Species
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. 

Attention SER Members

 

Call for Nominations for SER Awards - Closes March 28, 2011

The Awards Committee of the Society for Ecological Restoration is now soliciting nominations from SER members for our society awards which will be presented at the biannual meeting of SER to be held in Merida, Mexico from August 21-25, 2011. We seek nominations for four awards: The Theodore M. Sperry Award, the Full Circle Award, the Communications Award, and the John Rieger Award. SER Awards are presented in recognition of meritorious achievement and service for advancing the craft, knowledge, and public awareness of ecological restoration. Recipients may include Society members and others. Please read the individual award criteria carefully, as nominations must meet the award criteria to be considered. Descriptions of the award criteria and a link to the on-line nomination form may be found at:  http://www.ser.org/content/ser_awards_program.asp

 

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

 

Get Involved/Community-based Restoration

 

The OTS NAPIRE Undergraduate Research Experience is searching for Research Mentors for summer 2011 (June 21 to August 1).  Mentors will receive airfare, station fees, and room and board at the OTS Las Cruces Biological Station, located near the Panamanian border ofCosta Rica. Thank you very much for considering this opportunity, and if you are interested, or know someone who is interested, please contact me as soon as possible at:

wendy.townsend@ots.ac.cr Or wendytownsend@gmail.com

http://www.ots.ac.cr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=320&Itemid=450

 

U.S. Forest Service Seeks Volunteers

The U.S. Forest Service is looking for ski and snowboard volunteers to lead guided interpretive tours at Heavenly Mountain Resort one day a week from January through April. The tours are intended to educate resort visitors about the natural and cultural history of the Lake Tahoe Basin, highlighting topics such as water quality, watershed restoration, habitat improvement, fire and fuels management and responsible recreation

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20101229/NEWS/101229783/1034&parentprofile=1063

 

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

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

 

California: Torres-Martinez & Wetlands Restoration Tour - January 22, 2011

http://theabf.org/event/archaeology_and_history/torres_martinez_wetlands_restoration_tour

 

Wisconsin Wetlands Association Annual Conference February 16-17, 2011

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

 

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

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

 

Washington: Maury Island Marine Park Restoration - March 12, 2011

http://pugetsound.org/connect/events/031211maury/?searchterm=None

 

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

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

 

Conferences & Workshops

 

Wetlands, Water Resources, and People - Abstracts due January 10, 2010

The South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Chapters of the Society of Wetland Scientists are accepting abstracts for a Joint Regional Meeting March 7-8, 2011 at the USGS Headquarters in Reston, Virginia.

http://www.sws.org/regional/SouthAtlantic/SAC_MAC_Call11.pdf

 

2011 Conference Listing NOW Available on the GRN

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

People in the News


Kentucky Team Receives U.S. Forestry Service Award

The participants of a large-scale stream and wetland restoration project in Rowan County recently received the U.S. Forest Service's 2010 Regional Forester's Award in natural resources. The team was recognized for developing low-cost and effective techniques for restoring streams and wetlands, which can be used to reduce erosion and improve fish and wildlife habitat across the nation.

http://www.lex18.com/news/kentucky-team-receives-u-s-forestry-service-award

 

"This Time There Will Be No Noah's Ark"

"The market is not going to resolve the environmental crisis," says theologian and environmentalist Leonardo Boff, professor at Brazil's State University of Rio de Janeiro. The solution, he says, lies in ethics and in changing our relationship with nature.

http://tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=3576

 

A Wilder Future

Caroline Fraser has travelled the world to learn about rewilding - an ambitious approach to conservation explored in her new book. Here, she tells Jared Green why species protection means thinking big.

http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4032

New Books & Articles

 

Missouri Botanical Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Announce the Plant List

As the 2010 United Nations International Year of Biodiversity comes to a close, the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) announce the completion of The Plant List. This landmark international resource is a working list of all land plant species, fundamental to understanding and documenting plant diversity and effective conservation of plants.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-12/mbg-mbg122910.php

 

Mangrove Restoration without Planting

Mangrove planting is the most common method of restoring these forests. However, this approach is not often successful, especially when the reasons for mangrove degradation were not removed prior to planting new seedlings or propagules. When the stressors are removed and suitable environmental conditions such as correct hydrology and calm area, particularly on exposed coasts, are provided, natural regeneration processes could recover mangroves from degradation. This paper describes an approach to mangrove restoration applied to an exposed shoreline on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Link

 

Assessing Plant Community Changes Over Sixteen Years of Restoration in a Remnant Michigan Tallgrass Prairie

Evaluating the progress of ecological restoration projects is critical to improving our understanding of degraded ecosystems and their rehabilitation. In a remnant tallgrass prairie in southeast Michigan that is being managed by periodic dormant-season burns to reduce exotic species and increase native diversity, we tracked plant community changes in seven management units over a period of 16 years to evaluate ecological trajectory in the context of restoration goals.

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1674/0003-0031-164.2.322

 

The Restoration of Biodiversity: Where Has Research Been and Where Does It Need To Go?

The practice of ecological restoration is a primary option for increasing levels of biodiversity by modifying human-alteredecosystems. The scientific discipline of restoration ecologyprovides conceptual guidance and tests of restoration strategies,with the ultimate goal of predictive landscape restoration.I construct a conceptual model for restoration of biodiversity,based on site-level (e.g., biotic and abiotic) conditions, landscape(e.g, interpatch connectivity and patch geometry), and historicalfactors (e.g., species arrival order and land-use legacies).I then ask how well restoration ecology has addressed the variouscomponents of this model.

http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajb.1000285v2


Converting Palm Oil Companies from Forest Destroyers into Forest Protectors

Under the billion dollar Indonesia-Norway partnership to reduce deforestation, some money has been allocated for degraded lands mapping. But even before the pact was signed this past May, the World Resources Institute (WRI) had launched a project to identify degraded lands in the country. Working with local partners, WRI is focusing on ways to address one of Indonesia's most important drivers of deforestation: palm oil production. In a December 2010 interview with mongabay.com, WRI's Craig Hanson and Moray McLeish discussed how the initiative could turn palm oil companies from drivers of deforestation into forest protectors.

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0103-wri_interview_hance_butler.html

Wetland Restoration

 

California: Envisioning Ballona: Is Big Change Coming to L.A.'s Biggest Wetland?

If the Ballona Wetlands had ears, they were burning earlier this month, and for good reason. More than 150 environmentalists, academics, researchers and activists came to Loyola Marymount University to discuss the 600-acre Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve. While the meeting was supposed to be all about science, there was an underlying tension: The coastal wetland is due for a remodeling and people do not agree about how extensive the remake should be.

http://newsroom.lmu.edu/newsroompressreleases/ballona.htm

 

Florida: CEMEX, Lake Wales Students Help Wetlands

Sometimes, you have to get a little wet to restore wetlands habitat. That was the lesson for about 100 Polk Avenue and Janie Howard Wilson Elementary students who took part in a CEMEX field trip as part of the Great American Teach-In. Students worked with science teachers and CEMEX staff members to plant 1,000 native Florida plants along a one-acre shoreline in a wetlands restoration area. The new planting will help enhance the wildlife area.

http://www.newschief.com/article/20101227/NEWS/12275006/1021/news01?Title=CEMEX-Lake-Wales-students-help-wetlands 

River & Watershed Restoration


The Ecosystem Engineer: Research Looks at Beavers' Role in River Restoration

When engineers restore rivers, one Kansas State University professor hopes they'll keep a smaller engineer in mind: the North American beaver. "Our argument is that the restoration target for streams with forested riparian zones has got to acknowledge the diversity brought to river systems by active beaver populations," Daniels said.

http://scienceblog.com/41437/the-ecosystem-engineer-research-looks-at-beavers-role-in-river-restoration/

 

Canada: Resurrecting the Cheakamus

Herculean efforts to repair the damage done by a 2005 sodium hydroxide spill on the Cheakamus River in Squamish are having a positive impact on a variety of aquatic species devastated by the disaster.

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_News&content=Cheakamus+restoration+1752

 

Colorado: The Man Who Brought Trout to a Valley of Gravel

"When I first visited El Rancho Pinoso in 1987, it seemed like the valley was one big gravel bar," Rosgen said. "The Blanco was anywhere from 350 to 500 feet wide and just inches deep, when the river bed should be 50 or 60 feet wide. You had a system that had no hope to be anything but a very poor fishery; with a little help, the stream could provide great fish habitat, and give visitors a chance to feel good."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/sports/24trout.html?_r=1

 

Canada: American Project Gives Hope to N.B. Rivers

A restoration project in Maine gives hope for southern New Brunswick rivers, Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) president Bill Taylor believes. The project will improve access to more than 1,600 kilometres of the Penobscot River and tributaries for Atlantic salmon and 10 other sea-run, or anadromous, fish including shortnose sturgeon and alewives. He described it as "the biggest and best thing that's happened for the salmon in the U.S."

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/1367251

 

The Coca-Cola Foundation Awards The Nature Conservancy Funds for Water Conservation

"The Nature Conservancy is proud to partner with The Coca-Cola Company toward the conservation of our most precious natural resource - our fresh water," said Shelly Lakly, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia. This grant supports the Flint and Etowah rivers in Georgia, the Paw Paw River in Michigan and the North Texas Watershed, all projects that are part of The Coca-Cola Company's Conserving Fresh Water Across North America replenishment program. These sites represent a suite of best conservation practices including innovative techniques to restore streams, capture stormwater, work directly with communities to reduce water use, and a host of other tactics that allow these watersheds to better function and to be more resilient to environmental stress.

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/georgia/press/press4826.html

Desertification & Arid Land Restoration

Texas: Agencies Partner to Help Conserve Big Bend Region

Building on successful collaborative conservation projects in the Big Bend Region of the Chihuahuan Desert, three agencies within the Department of the Interior - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service - along with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department signed a memorandum of understanding this fall to establish the Big Bend Conservation Cooperative. Working together for several years, the parties joined other conservation partners on several projects in the Big Bend region that have resulted in demonstrable conservation. These projects include the control of exotic species such as salt cedar and giant river cane along the Rio Grande, reintroduction of the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow and the restoration of grassland areas.

http://www.alpineavalanche.com/news/article_99d62e4e-1427-11e0-9384-001cc4c03286.html

Lake Restoration  

 

$300M Earmarked for Great Lakes Restoration

The tax cut bill and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" garnered much of the publicity in the waning days of Congress, but environmentalists walked off with a victory just before Christmas, too. In its final days, the Congress approved $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, money that will be used to help clean up Lake Erie and restore habitat.

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/sandusky/2010/dec/27/300m-earmarked-great-lakes-restoration

Coastal & Marine Restoration

 

Canada: B.C. Plan Aims to Bring Back the Salmon by Driving away the Geese

The British Columbia Conservation Foundation wants to make two important estuaries on Vancouver Island more attractive to salmon - and less appealing to flocks of hungry Canada geese. The restoration project, which has been planned in detail but which is still awaiting some funding, hopes to restore the Englishman and Little Qualicum River estuaries "to full productivity" for coho and Chinook salmon. But to restore a balance to nature they have to drive out the geese, an introduced species that has done extensive damage.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/mark-hume/bc-plan-aims-to-bring-back-the-salmon-by-driving-away-the-geese/article1856423/

 

Louisiana: Restoring the Marsh, One Hated Tree at a Time

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns that coastal Louisiana could lose one-third of its land by 2050 -- a mind-quivering prediction for a nation dependent on the state's oil, natural gas, and seafood. There are numerous proposals for restoring the wetlands, but all the proposed solutions require significant trade-offs, from expensive price tags to the flooding of human communities. As a result, while scientists agree the system is in collapse, they disagree vehemently over which proposals will restore the coast most efficiently and with the least collateral damage. But in the case of the project I'm about to witness -- which uses heavy machinery to refill environmentally destructive manmade canals -- the only objector is a tree that shouldn't be here in the first place.

http://www.onearth.org/article/in-with-swamps-out-with-tallow-trees

 

US Fish and Wildlife Service Announces $5 Million in Grants to Protect Coastal Wetlands in California

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today the award of more than $19 million to support conservation projects benefiting fish and wildlife on coastal habitats in 12 states in the U.S. through the 2011 National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Five of these projects are located in California and total $5 million in grant funding. The grants will be used to acquire, restore or enhance coastal wetlands and adjacent uplands to provide long-term conservation benefits to fish, wildlife and their habitat.

http://yubanet.com/california/US-Fish-and-Wildlife-Service-Announces-5-Million-in-Grants-to-Protect-Coastal-Wetlands-in-California.php

Invasive Species

 

Eagle Owl Spreads across British Isles and Divides Conservationists

A potential cull of the largest owl in Europe has placed the government at the centre of an increasingly bitter row between conservation groups. There are fears that the eagle owl, a non-native species seen in growing numbers in the British Isles, poses a serious threat to established wildlife. Some groups say the formidable predator must be protected. Others claim it could disturb the UK's existing wildlife balance and, as a non-native species, should not be afforded protection.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/26/eagle-owl-cull-rspb

 

Small Beetles Massacre The Rockies' Whitebark Pines

The Whitebark pine trees in the high-elevation areas of America's Northern Rockies have stood for centuries. But these formerly lush evergreen forests are disappearing at an alarmingly fast rate; what remains are eerie stands of red and gray snags. Warmer climates have sparked an outbreak of a voracious mountain pine beetle that is having devastating consequences for whitebarks and the wildlife that depend on them.

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/26/126107761/small-beetles-massacre-the-rockies-whitebark-pines?ft=1&f=1025

Funding Opportunities

 

2011 Funds Available to Restore Wetlands - First Ranking Period Closes January 14, 2011

Are you interested in restoring or enhancing wetlands? If so, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) may be able to help. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has over $1.1 million available to help landowners protect, restore and enhance wetlands.

http://www.rockbridgeweekly.com/rw_article.php?ndx=19370

 

Colorado: Grant Funds Available for Forest Restoration, Watershed Protection Projects - Closes January 26, 2011

Colorado landowners and communities that want to protect forested watersheds may be eligible for grant funding from the Colorado State Forest Service. The CSFS will accept proposals for the Colorado Forest Restoration Pilot Grant Program, which helps fund projects that demonstrate a community-based approach to forest restoration. Proposals are due to the CSFS by Jan. 26.

http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/main-features.html#funding

 

Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative - Closes January 28, 2011

To improve the health of the Mississippi River Basin, including water quality, wetland restoration, and wildlife habitat, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has established the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). Through this Initiative, NRCS and its partners will help producers in targeted watersheds within the Mississippi River Basin voluntarily implement conservation practices that avoid, control, and trap nutrient runoff; improve wildlife habitat; and maintain agricultural productivity.

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-29958.pdf

 

USDA Seeks Bay Partnership Proposals - Closes January 31, 2011

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is making available up to $3.5 million in financial assistance in fiscal year (FY) 2011 for single state- and multi-state partnership projects that address natural resource concerns within six Chesapeake Bay Watershed states - Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The financial assistance is available through NRCS' Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI).

http://southeastfarmpress.com/government/usda-seeks-bay-partnership-proposals

 

Charles Bullard Fellowship in Forest Research - Closes February 1, 2011

The Charles Bullard fellowship program is to support advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution, either as scholars or administrators, to forestry and forest-related subjects from biology to earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosphy, humanities, the arts or law.

http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/education/bullard.html

 

NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program Project Grants - Closes February 2, 2011

NOAA delivers funding and technical expertise to restore Great Lakes coastal habitats. Projects funded through NOAA have strong on-the-ground habitat restoration components that provide social and economic benefits for people and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat improvements.

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=61674

 

Five Star Restoration Grant Program - Closes February 14, 2011

The Five Star Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration. The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Southern Company, and FedEx, are pleased to solicit applications for Five Star.

http://www.nfwf.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Charter_Programs_List&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=60&ContentID=17901

 

Nebraska: Producers Urged to Sign Up for Conservation Programs - Closes February 18, 2011

Farmers and ranchers interested in soil, water and wildlife conservation or wetland restoration funds are encouraged to sign up now for conservation programs available from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The first application deadline is Dec. 31, with a second application deadline set for Feb. 18.

http://www.gothenburgtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2064:producers-urged-to-sign-up-for-conservation-programs&catid=5:agribusiness&Itemid=7

 

New Mexico: Forest Service Seeks Grant Applications - Closes February 28, 2011

The U.S. Forest Service plans to award $4 million in grants for forest restoration projects on public and tribal lands in New Mexico. The agency is accepting applications for grants of up to $360,000 for projects to reduce the threat of wildfires and improve forest and watershed conditions.

http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=13635613

 

Estuary Habitat Restoration Program Project Solicitation - Closes March 10, 2011

On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council (Council), NOAA Fisheries Service is soliciting proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects.

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=61934

 

2011 Riverprize Applications Now Open

International RiverFoundation is pleased to announce the 2011 Riverprize applications are now open! All organisations, big and small, engaged in all aspects of river management are eligible to apply for either the Thiess International Riverprize or Australian National Riverprize (funded by the Australian Government).  Nominations close 30 March 2011. Winners will be announced at the 2011 Riverprize Gala Dinner, held during the 14th International Riversymposium, 26 -29 September in Brisbane, Australia. Further information may be found at www.riverfoundation.org.au, or email questions to riverprize@riverfoundation.org.au

 

USDA Announces Support for Restoration of Nonindustrial Private Forest Land Damaged by Natural Disasters

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today said that $18 million will be made available to assist nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners restore lands damaged by natural disasters. The funds are provided through USDA's Emergency Forest Restoration Program.

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os_gAC9-wMJ8QY0MDpxBDA09nXw9DFxcXQ-cAA_2CbEdFAEUOjoE!/?contentidonly=true&contentid=2010%2F11%2F0614.xml

 

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
 

 

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