Australia: Kings Park and Botanic Gardens seeking Restoration Ecologists:
 Kings Park is seeking qualified candidates for their Restoration Ecology Soil Scientist and Seed Enablement Technologist positions. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Call for Proposals: RAE 6^th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration
Restore American's Estuaries (RAE) is calling for dedicated sessions, presentations and posters to be submitted by February 1, 2012.

10th Annual Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration Course
March 1-2, 2012, Hollywood, Florida, USA. 

 The 8th Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration - Europe(SER) will be held in Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic from 9th - 14th September, 2012.

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

California: Scott Wilson dies at 89; horticulturist founded North East Trees
 Scott Wilson, an ardent horticulturist known for his pledge to plant five trees a day for the rest of his life and his commitment to helping at-risk teenagers find employment in environmental restoration programs, has died. He was 89.

Washington: Veterans on an Environmental Mission
 A new jobs program that connects military veterans to Puget Sound cleanup and recovery launched on the eve of Veterans Day at a Port of Tacoma wetlands restoration site called Gog-le-hi-te. The former soldiers planted native shrubs and trees Thursday on the perimeter of the 9.5-acre site that was once a Tacoma city dump by the banks of the Puyallup River.

US: Farmers Find Rewards in Helping Bog Turtles
The future of the bog turtle, North America's tiniest reptile and one of its rarest, is in the hands of private landowners who are being given incentives to help it recover. Farmers can now be compensated up to $23,000 by the federal Department of Agriculture for each acre they agree to restore and protect.

Australia to share farming lessons with Africa
 The Australian government will establish an international food security center to offer research and technical expertise to willing governments and institutions in Africa. Australian researchers will train African scientists in the technology the country uses to cope with many of the environmental challenges it shares with Africa, such as its extreme climate, soil infertility and climate change.

Statement by UN CBD Alliance on Ways and Means to Support Ecosystem Restoration
 UN CBD partners Econexus and the Global Forest Coalition statement reflecting their concerns regarding the approaches to supporting ecological restoration. "We should be supporting a completely different approach, working with Indigenous Peoples, who have been building sustainable livelihoods on the self-restoring capacity of ecosystems."

US: Using air pollution thresholds to protect and restore ecosystem health
 In "Setting Limits: Using Air Pollution Thresholds to Protect and Restore U.S. Ecosystems," lead author Mark Fenn (USDA Forest Service) and nine colleagues review current pollution evaluation criteria. The authors propose science-based strategies to set new limits and put the brakes on acid rain, algal blooms, and accumulation of toxic mercury in plants and animals. Click herefor a free download.

Monarch butterflies decline at wintering grounds in Mexico, Texas drought adds to stress to migration
 A study in Insect Conservation and Diversity shows a decrease in Mexico's overwintering monarch butterflies between 1994 and 2011. The butterflies face loss of wintering habitat in Mexico and breeding habitat in the United States. Extreme weather, like winter storms in Mexico and the ongoing drought in Texas, adds yet another challenge.

Louisiana: Restoring the Central Wetlands to repair an important storm shield
 The Central Wetlands contained thousands of acres of swamp, marsh and forest before the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was built, cutting through natural ridges and bringing in destructive saltwater. Those wetlands were a critical shield against storm surge, and local and state officials have launched a project to restore a 30,000-acre triangle of the Central Wetlands so that they can protect the New Orleans area from future storms.

Alabama: Calhoun Ranch to be restored to wetlands
 Sea-Dan Ranches in Calhoun County is now one of the largest conservation easements in the state under the Wetlands Reserve Program, potentially giving whooping cranes another place to spend the winters.The Wetlands Reserve Program is part of the National Resources Conservation Service, a part of the United States Department of Agriculture.

California: San Dieguito Wetland Restoration Complete!
 The 150-acre restoration of the San Dieguito Wetlands was deemed complete in a Nov. 7 dedication ceremony, bringing to an end 14 years of planning, permitting and construction to create one of the largest projects of its kind on the West Coast.

Louisiana: Cypress swamp near Lower 9th Ward will be restored as hurricane defense
 Local leaders announced Thursday the beginning of a project to restore a key area of cypress swampland near the Lower 9th Ward, an effort they called essential to protecting the metro area in the event of another major hurricane. The first phase, which will restore 2,300 acres, will cost $10 million and will be paid for by the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program.

Texas: Soil and Water Conservation District Forges Forward on Wetland Projects
 The Mower Soil and Water Conservation District will finish the year with three more completed wetland restorations under its belt after completing a project Monday. Justin Hanson, Mower SWCD resource specialist, along with contractors, completed a roughly 30-acre project that will act like a three-stage water filter on a farm just northwest of Austin.

VIDEO: World's Largest Dam Removal Set to Restore River Ecosystem
 The world's biggest dam removal project -- and the second-largest environmental restoration project in U.S. history -- is in progress on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

Texas: Nature's method could bring hope to Trinity River
The Seven J Stock Farm is an archetypal agribusiness in this part of the country. The family has seeded overgrazed pasture with native tree species to rebuild habitat critical to a healthy Trinity. The new bottomland forest will hold floodwaters and work as a natural filter before runoff reaches Lake Livingston, a key source of the city of Houston's water supply. The 517-acre restoration project is at the forefront of statewide efforts to "grow" water amid forecasts that show the existing supply is not enough to meet the demands of Texas' growing population over the next 50 years.

Louisiana: Obama administration asks Senate to restore funds for coastal ecosystem
 The Obama administration is asking the Senate to restore funding for the first phase of a federal program designed to reverse decades of damage to Louisiana's ecosystem.

Oregon: Trickle-down effect
 Launched by the Meyer Memorial Trust in 2009, the Willamette Model Watershed Program is a 10-year initiative that aims to quicken the pace, expand the scope and increase the effectiveness of stream restoration efforts throughout the basin. The model watershed approach was pioneered by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, frustrated by the lackluster results of "shotgun-style" funding of scattered individual projects. The programs long-rang approach gives a sense of common goal that comes from working with property owners for a decade on a stream restoration project.

BP to end cleanup operations in Gulf oil spill
 BP will officially be off the hook for any deposits of oil that wash up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico - unless they can be traced directly to the Macondo well, it has emerged. Under a plan approved by the Coast Guard on 2 November, the oil company will end active cleanup operations and focus on restoring the areas damaged by last year's oil disaster.

Tanzania: WWF Fears Backlash On Rufiji Delta Mangrove Forest Initiative
 Torching of paddy rice farm huts and felling of coconut trees in the Rufiji Delta mangrove forest reserve, carried out recently by Mangrove Management Project, may affect future prospects for community forestry management targeting the global carbon trading market. WWF Marine and Climate Change Advisor, Mr. Rubens, expressed concern that the recent government evictions may add additional challenges to future work in the Rufiji Delta as communities may regard any future mangrove management initiative as part of a strategy to evict them from the delta.

Delaware: Small areas provide big benefits for wildlife
 In all, the state, working with the Kent Conservation District, restored five small forested wetlands in state wildlife areas at a cost of $15,500, including two areas at Blackiston Wildlife Area near Kenton, projects at the Little Creek Wildlife Area east of Dover, the Fortney-Urban Tracts between Hartly and Marydel and the Norman G. Wilder Wildlife Area near Viola.

Texas: Exotic tree species disruptive to native wildlife across U.S.
 A non-native plant has disturbed wildlife on St. Edward's University campus property and in a nearby nature preserve. Several groups have taken action to eradicate the plant for safety and conservation reasons. Known as Chinese privet, or ligustrum, hundreds of ligustrum trees thrive at Blunn Creek Nature Preserve and on the undeveloped university property located. 

Montana: $116 million restoration plan for upper Clark Fork set for approval
 The plan for $116 million in restoration money for the upper Clark Fork River won approval from its advisory committee and now awaits Gov. Brian Schweitzer's signature. The state of Montana settled with Arco in 1999 for damages stemming from mining activity in Butte and Anaconda. Toxic tailings polluted much of those cities' water supplies and poisoned streams and rivers from Butte to Missoula.

Indonesia: Government tells mining firms to invest in reforestation while operating
 The Forestry Ministry has called on mining companies to see forest reclamation in areas where they operate as an investment rather than just an obligation. Data from the ministry showed that in 2006, there were 77.8 million hectares of land in a critical condition, a three times increase compared to the 23.2 million hectares recorded in 2000.

Wales: Compost Makes A Big Difference In Landscape Restoration

The hidden cost of trade: Invasive species as a trade "externality"
 A new article examines the importation of invasive species as an intrinsic risk of international trade. As trade volumes rise, so do introductions. Preventing introductions is widely recognized as preferable to responding after they occur. Prevention measures require exporters and importers, as well as national governments and trade-promoting and managing entities such as the World Trade Organization, to implement steps aimed at ensuring that the exchange of goods is not accompanied by the dispersal of damaging organisms.

Personality Predicts Success of Invasive Species
 For invasive species, personality matters, according to new research that explores the question why some animals travel to, survive and take over in foreign habitats. A team of three Australian scientists observed two related lizards, one of which has successfully established itself as an invasive overseas, and found the invader had traits, such as a willingness to explore, that seemed to explain its success abroad.

VIDEO: South American Little Fire Ant found in Guam could cause Ecological Disaster
 Guam - There is a new invasive species on the island and while it may be no larger than the head of a pin, entomologists are saying the South American Little Fire Ant could create an ecological disaster.

Preventing Bangkok from sinking biggest challenge
 A study by multinational agencies says land subsidence caused by ground water losses tops the list of problems that must be solved in Bangkok. The report recommended a comprehensive set of measures ranging from regulatory and database improvement, to new urban planning and the mixed use of hard infrastructure such as dykes with ecosystem-based solutions such as restoration of mangrove forests. Coastal erosion protection is necessary, including the rehabilitation of mangrove forests in Bang Khun Thian.

New Jersey: Morris County to spend $11.6 million to save open space in 11 towns
 Morris County will spend $11.6 million from the county's Preservation Trust Fund to help preserve 1,286 acres of open space in 11 towns. $1.2 million will go to 44 acres that are part of a shale pit preservation and restoration project submitted by the Schiff Natural Lands Trust. Schiff will conduct a large scale ecological restoration project on a portion of the property that was previously mined, with the goal of converting approximately 9 acres of the mined area to functioning emergent and wetland habitats.