John C. Ogden Passes Away at 73
John Ogden, one of the great leaders of restoration in the Florida Everglades, passed away over the weekend at his Florida home. The restoration community will greatly miss John's dedication to ecological restoration and the restoration of the Everglades. If you would like to leave a tribute to John, please follow the link above.

Q. and A.: North Korea's Choked Environment
Margaret Palmer, executive director of the Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center at the University of Maryland, one of three delegates (another was SER's own Keith Bowers), who traveled to North Korea from the US to a restoration conference in Pyongyang, talks about her experiences.

Indian Man Single-Handedly Plants a 1,360 Acre Forest
A little over 30 years ago, a teenager named Jadav "Molai" Payeng began burying seeds along a barren sandbar near his birthplace in northern India's Assam region to grow a refuge for wildlife. Not long after, he decided to dedicate his life to this endeavor, so he moved to the site where he could work full-time creating a lush new forest ecosystem.

Restoration on the Edge
Brooklyn College recently played host to the Mid-Atlantic and New England chapters of the Society for Ecological Restoration, providing space for a conference entitled "Restoration on the Edge." The dialogue focused on the fragility, opportunity, and resiliency in changing ecosystems.

India: Breathing life back into the sholas
This article explores the idea of ecological restoration, what it means and why it is an idea whose time has come in the upper Palani Hills landscape. There is a pressing need to restore habitats in the Palani Hills before the ecology of the area changes irreversibly. Today the fragile ecosystems in the Palani Hills are under threat - from both anthropogenic and ecological actors - and there is a pressing need to restore habitats before there is an irreversible change to the area's ecology.

Planet Under Pressure Conference 2012-Final Statement
 Scientists have issued the first 'State of the Planet' declaration calling for change within and outside the science community to avoid environmental collapse. If it fails to do so, it is likely to witness a series of breakdowns in the systems that sustain people, such as oceans and soil, according to a major meeting on safeguarding the planet's future, the Planet Under Pressure conference (26-29 March).

Biomass should be tenth tipping point, researcher says
The nine original planetary boundaries are climate change, biodiversity loss, biogeochemical flow, ocean acidification, land-use change, freshwater use, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosols and chemical pollution. The concept of planetary boundaries was proposed in 2009 and is being pushed for inclusion in the Rio+20 negotiations.

Smoking gun for bee collapse? 
Commonly used pesticides may be a primary driver of the collapsing bee populations, finds two new studies in Science. The studies may have far-reaching repercussions for the regulation of agricultural chemicals, known as neonicotinoid insecticides that have been in use since the 1990s.

Achieving Food Security in the face of climate change
The new report, by the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, is a synthesis of 16 scientific reports on the issue released over the last few years. Its authors come from 13 countries and include natural and social scientists.

Kenya: Farmers blend traditional and science-based forecasts
Completing its first year, the Sustainable Agricultural Livelihoods Innovation Project (ALIP) based in eastern Kenya has helped farmers cope by teaching them to adapt their farming practices to work with weather under a scheme that blends traditional forecasting methods with science-based predictions.

Farm focus for saving trees
Round-table talks aim to slow climate warming by transforming agriculture. The principle is seductively simple: to reduce carbon emissions, leave tropical forests standing. But a widely heralded approach in which rich nations would pay poorer ones to keep their forests intact has proved trickier to deploy than many had hoped. Now a consortium of scientists, environmentalists and industries is expanding the focus from preserving forests to tackling the main driver of deforestation: agriculture.

UN: Global climate-change toll soars $20T yearly
Economic losses due to extreme weather conditions could amount to $20 trillion annually by 2100. A report released on Wednesday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), authored by 220 scientists from 62 countries, said economic losses from weather and climate-related disasters such as fiercer typhoons, heavier rainfall, flooding and droughts increased with an estimated annual losses since 1980 from a few billion dollars to above $200 billion in 2010.

Ten Asian cities leading the way in climate-proofing
Ten cities in South and South-East Asia will be the first in the world to use indicators to assess how resilient they are to climate change. The indicators are the work of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN), which was set up in 2008.

Fiji: Leaders pledge to fight climate change
The Melanesian Spearhead Group have taken a stand against climate change with the signing of the "MSG Leaders Declaration on Environment & Climate Change". In signing the declaration, the leaders acknowledged the critical importance of a healthy environment for the long term livelihoods of the people of Melanesia. Under the declaration, a "Framework for Growth" was also adopted.

Jamaica to Galvanise Public on Climate Adaptation
A yearlong public awareness & education campaign (PAE) aims to foster wider understanding among locals about the linkages between the global climate and their social and economic wellbeing is Jamaica's newest adaptation strategy.

Florida: Restoration Work Still to Be Completed After Alafia River Acid Spill
It's been nearly 15 years since 56 million gallons of acidic waste water from the now-defunct Mulberry Phosphates fertilizer plant turned the Alafia River into a killing zone. The $3.7 million settlement with Mulberry Phosphates' insurance company in 2002 included $2.4 million to pay for habitat improvement in the freshwater sections of the river to compensate for the damage.

India: We can help float hope for rivers
Activists say the rivers' restoration, which is key to protecting the ecosystem and mangroves, will not become a reality unless citizens get involved because, after all, it is the citizens who have to first feel pride in their natural assets and also use them to improve their quality of life.

China: Qinghai to invest in grassland recovery
A pasturing province in Northwest China has earmarked 1.95 billion yuan ($309 million) for the restoration of degraded grasslands this year, local authorities said. The bulk of the fund will be spent on subsidizing herders who have observed pastoral bans on degraded grasslands, said Zhang Huangyuan, head of the Qinghai Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Mapping the Nebraska Grasslands for Biofuel Potential
Naturally growing plants like switchgrass also have great potential as a biofuel crop. To date, it has been difficult to find the ideal location for harvesting the right grasslands to make it economically feasible. To help in this effort, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a new method for mapping grasslands.

Delaware: NRCS announces wildlife conservation effort to protect bog turtle habitat
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently announced a new partnership in Delaware to help farmers and forest landowners restore and protect the habitats of bog turtles.

Montana: 62 Yellowstone Bison Freed on Indian Reservation
After five years in quarantine captivity, 62 Yellowstone bison, one of the most important biological and cultural species in North America, will live on the tribal lands of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. The animals had just completed a 500-mile journey from fenced pens near a highway outside Yellowstone National Park where some of them were held for up to five years to ensure they are free of brucellosis.

US: Senate Republicans Agree to End Big Oil Subsidies after Watching Polar Bear Film
In a stunning reversal, Senate Republicans accepted President Obama's call to end tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, reversing a procedural vote on Thursday. In a rare turn of events, the measure was swiftly rejuvenated & passed after 9 Republicans had a change of heart after watching a sneak preview of To the Arctic, a documentary that follows the life of a mother polar bear caring for her two seven-month-old cubs in the Arctic.

US: Goddard Forum to Examine Oil, Gas Development Impacts on Forests
Penn State's 2012 Goddard Forum, "Oil and Gas Development Impacts on Forested Ecosystems: Research and Management Challenges," will bring together scientists, managers, conservation organizations and industry representatives working with oil and gas development to share research results and management strategies.

Illinois: From Meat Packing Plant to 93,500 sq.ft Off-Grid Vertical Farm and Brewery
The Plant, an old meat packing facility in the heart of Chicago's industrial landscape, might be one of the most ambitious-as a conversion is underway to turn it into an entirely off grid food production and processing facility incorporating aquaponics and underground farming; a brewery; a local food business incubator and outdoor growing spaces too.

US: Minnesota State Funding Available for Environmental Project-Closes April 6, 2012
 The Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) has issued its 2012-2013 Request for Proposal (RFP) for funding from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund beginning July 1, 2013. Approximately $31 million is expected to be available for projects being sought in environment and natural resource areas that will provide multiple ecological and other public benefits. Proposals responding to the 2012-2013 RFP are due Friday, April 6, 2012.

US: Long Island Sound Futures Fund Support for Restoration Projects-Closes April 9, 2012
This year, the fund will emphasize implementation projects focused on protecting and restoring Long Island Sound, particularly projects that restore and protect important fish and wildlife habitats, and community-based projects that improve water quality and protect water resources. To be eligible, habitat restoration or stewardship projects must fall within the coastal area boundary established by the Long Island Sound Study (the Long Island Sound and its coastal watersheds). Applications are due April 9, 2012.

US: USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program- Closes April 23, 2012
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is now accepting applications from private landowners and tribes for another round of funding for easement and restoration programs offered by the federal agency. Applications for the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP) will now run through April 23, 2012.

NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife Imitative- 2012 Applications due April 30,2012
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Florida is currently taking applications for technical and financial assistance on a new partnership approach to restore and protect the habitat targeted threatened and endangered species. Florida landowners can sign-up for assistance to help manage and restore habitat for the gopher tortoise. Applications are accepted year-round but eligible applications received by the application cutoff date of April 30, 2012 will be assigned a priority and ranked as needed. Applications within the priority habitat areas will receive highest consideration.

FishAmerica Foundation Community Habitat Restoration Grants-Due April 30, 2012
FishAmerica, in partnership with the NOAA Restoration Center, awards grants to local communities and government agencies to restore habitat for marine and anadromous fish species. Successful proposals have community-based restoration efforts with outreach to the local communities. 2012 FAF-NOAA Proposals Deadline: April 30, 2012

New Hampshire: Grant Funding for Wetlands Restoration and Drinking Water Protection
The Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund grants are available for eligible wetland restoration, land protection or habitat improvement projects; and drinking water supply protection grants are available for lands in the southern I-93 corridor and Lake Massabesic Watershed. Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund payments are collected according to nine service areas.

US: Emergency Forest Restoration Program
USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) provides payments to eligible owners of nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) land in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.

Earth Island Institute: Supporting community-based wetland restoration initiatives
Through the Small Grants Program, Earth Island Institute has been able to support locally based restoration efforts to do just that. Small grassroots efforts to restore the coastal habitats of Southern California, which have been depleted by an astounding 98%, have been slowly working to bring our wetlands back from the brink of extinction. By supporting and empowering the new restoration leaders, we ensure our collective success in restoring some of the earth's most fragile ecosystems.

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership has reached a milestone by providing grants for now more than 80 different projects in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Restoring a total of more than 15,000 acres over the past decade, these CRP projects have improved a wide variety of habitat types, including coastal dunes, coral reefs, oyster reefs, marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and artificial reefs. Funding from NOAA and EPA help make it possible for the GMF to provide more than $3 million to projects, leveraging an additional $5.5 million in non-federal support from project partners. The GMF will be offering a new round of CRP funding for 2012. Visit our website for more information on the upcoming funding opportunity.

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

 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.

 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.