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EcoSummit
Sept 30-Oct 5, 2012
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RESTORE is a free weekly e-bulletin provided to current members of SER. RESTORE links you to the latest breaking news stories keeping you up-to-date on a wide variety of topics related to ecological restoration. To contact the editors, please email info@ser.org.
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SER in the News
SER & Partner Organizations Urge the DOJ to Apply Wildlife Law to Gulf Oil Spill Region
The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), The Wildlife Society, the Ornithological Council and the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) came together on the 2nd anniversary of the Gulf Oil Spill to urge the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to apply U.S. wildlife laws to restore ecosystems damaged by the Gulf Oil Spill.
Taking Ecosystem Restoration to the Next Level: SER & NCER
In September 2010, NCER representatives were invited to meet with SER's Board. The two entities agreed to prepare a white paper, for consideration by both memberships, detailing the pros and cons of the organizations' joining.
Montana: Cleanups take to Missoula trails and parks
Wildland Restoration Program and the Society for Ecological Restoration University of Montana Student Guild sponsored an Earth Day event on the Clark Fork River on the 9th annual cleanup in Missoula. |
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Get Involved
SER-Australasia: Inaugural Conference- Call for Workshop & Symposium Submissions-Due April 27
The SERA Inaugural Conference will be held November 28-30 in Perth, Western Australia.
Nova Scotia: Urban Wetland Restoration Course- April 30-May 2
Arizona: SmallWood 2012 Conference: Forest Restoration for a New Economy- May 1-3
SER-Midwest-Great Lakes: 4th Annual Meeting-May 4-6
Colorado: Boulder County Native Plant Monitors Needed- Due May 10
Boulder County is looking for native plant monitors to visit scenic properties and collect ongoing scientific data in the field. Applications are due by May 10, 2012.
Restoration 2012: Beyond Borders-May 15-18
Four of the Northwest's premiere ecological restoration and fisheries organizations are coming together to present Restoration 2012 : Beyond Borders, May 15-18 in Victoria BC.
New York: Urban Ecology Lecture Series-First Lecture May 23!
A new series of lectures on ecological issues relevant to NYC and the Gowanus Canal Watershed.
Massachusetts: Hands-On Wetlands Creation Workshop for Professionals - May 22-24
Missouri: Ozark Summit 2012: Restoration in the 21st Century - June 12-14
SER-Great Basin: Post-Fire Land Restoration Workshop & Field Trip - July 12-13
The workshop will be held July 12-13, 2012 at the Best Western Airport Plaza in Reno, Nevada.
SER-Texas: 2012 Annual TxSER Conference- Call for Papers - Due Aug 31
TxSER will hold their annual conference from Nov. 2-4, 2012 in Weslaco, Texas.
Sustainability- Special Issue Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration-Call for Papers- Due Aug 31
Open access journal, Sustainability, is calling for papers to be submitted to a special issue entitled Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration, due August 31, 2012.
SER-Europe: The 8th European Conference on Ecological Restoration-Sept 9-14
Cascais World Forum 2012: Soilbioengineering & Land Management -Call for Papers- Sept 19-22
EcoSummit 2012-Ecological Sustainability- Sept. 30- Oct. 5
6th Annual Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration- Oct. 20-24
Florida: Creation and Restoration or Wetlands Workshop- November 8-10
2012 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN)
Check out our 2012 conference listing for a full year view of upcoming conferences and events
SER Members receive 25% off Island Press book purchases. Contact caroline@ser.org for details! |
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People in the News
For Earth Day, Artist Maya Lin's Multimedia Memorial to the Planet Debuts Conservation Stories
For Earth Day 2012, Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Civil Rights Memorial, is asking people the world over to share a memory about environmental loss - and, at the same time, learn about what's being done to stop it. Ms. Lin's Earth Day appeal is being made in collaboration with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and World Wildlife Fund to draw attention to Conservation in Action, the newest installment of What is Missing?, a global, multimedia artwork that serves as a memorial to our living planet. What is Missing?
Dalai Lama: Take Care of Our Home
This week the Dalai Lama joined two distinguished scientists in highlighting how global warming threatens the one planet we all call home. "Each individual's future depends on the rest of humanity," His Holiness told the crowd at the University of California, San Diego. "This is a question of our life, our survival," he said.
US: Two Years Later: New Partnership for People and Nature in the Gulf
Mark Tercek announces The Nature Conservancy's new partnership with Oxfam America in the Gulf of Mexico. Together we aim to show that environmental restoration is the foundation for lasting economic security for Gulf Coast communities. The partnership seeks to mobilize local communities and businesses to support habitat restoration and increase the resilience of coastal communities. |
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New Books & Articles
As Threats to Biodiversity Grow, Can We Save World's Species?
With soaring human populations and rapid climate change putting unprecedented pressure on species, conservationists must look to innovative strategies - from creating migratory corridors to preserving biodiversity hotspots - if we are to prevent countless animals and plants from heading to extinction.
Restore America's Estuaries Releases Climate/Coastal Habitat Restoration Report
The report, "Restore-Adapt-Mitigate: Responding to Climate Change through Coastal Habitat Restoration," demonstrates that coastal wetland restoration-everything from restoring salt marshes, to protecting mangroves, and creating new coastal wetland habitats-can be an integral part of public and private initiatives to combat climate change.
Study urges integrated approach to protecting the Coral Triangle
Objectives on biodiversity, fisheries and climate change outcomes should be integrated when designating Marine Protected Areas (MPA) for the so-called Coral Triangle, according to a report by a consortium studying methods to protect the region. The Coral Triangle refers to the tropical waters around Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
Most detailed maps yet of Africa's groundwater
Researchers estimate the total volume of groundwater to be around 0.66 million km3 - more than 100 times the available surface freshwater on the continent - and hope that the assessment can inform plans to improve access to water in Africa, where 300 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. |
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Restoring Natural Capital (RNC)
Climate change doubles cost of conserving nature
Climate change will make conservation of biodiversity, and all the associated human benefits such as clean water and clean air, more challenging and expensive, with costs increasing by more than 100 percent in some cases, according to three new studies by a group of international researchers convened by Conservation International. Researchers called the studies a "wake-up call" for cost-efficient biodiversity conservation and climate stabilization.
UN Biodiversity Boss Dias Sees More Engagement With Cities, Private Sector
When Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias was appointed Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in January, he took responsibility for implementing the CBD's new ten-year strategic plan. In a wide-ranging interview with Ecosystem Marketplace, he discusses the plan, the future of biodiversity, and the role of offsetting.
Analysis raises atmospheric, economic doubts about forest bioenergy
A large, global move to produce more energy from forest biomass may be possible and already is beginning in some places, but scientists say in a new analysis that such large-scale bioenergy production from forest biomass is unsustainable and will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
US: Deepwater Horizon aftermath: How much is a dolphin worth?
Two years after the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, BP and US authorities wrangle over how much should be paid in damages. The dolphins, among more than 700 that have washed up on Gulf shores since the last two years, are a crucial component of the investigation now underway to decide the cost to BP of restoring the wildlife and environment damaged by the biggest offshore spill in US history. |
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Agro-Ecology
South Africa's Smallholders Lose Battle for Seed Security
Sixty-five-year-old Mncwango grows seeds that have been handed down from generation to generation, over decades. But the traditional farming methods of smallholder farmers - which, researchers say, also help to fight soil depletion, reduce irrigation needs and adapt to climate change - may soon disappear. They are being wiped out by governments focused on promoting commercial monocultures that they hope will bring fast, high yields in order to boost national agricultural sales on global markets.
Greening Africa`s Farming key to Food Security
Farming practices that incorporate natural resources conservation will provide sustainable solution to food insecurity in Africa in the face of climate change, declining soil fertility and shrinking size of arable land. |
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Biodiversity & Climate Change
IPBES established: "Today, biodiversity won"
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) was established by more than 90 Governments in Panama City on Saturday 21 April, after several years of international negotiations. "Today, biodiversity won", said the chair of the meeting, Sir Robert Watson. The German city of Bonn won the bid to host the secretariat of the new independent body.
Mexico Passes Climate Change Law
A law recently passed by the Mexican legislature will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 30 percent below business-as-usual levels by 2020, and by 50 percent below 2000 levels by 2050, reported Nature. By 2024, Mexico will also derive 35 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, according to the new law.
Indonesia: (VIDEO) Not for Sale: The fantasy of carbon offsetting
Produced by WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia), the video starts with a villager in Aceh, Indonesia, explaining carbon trading. "I don't really understand," he says, "but I think it's 'cold air' that may be sold to other countries." The film shows a range of aspects of REDD in Indonesia including protests outside the 2010 meeting of the Governors' Climate and Forest Taskforce in Aceh.
Putting plants online: 4 leading botanical gardens to create first online catalog of all plants
The New York Botanical Garden; the Missouri Botanical Garden; The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have announced plans to develop the World Flora-the first modern, online catalog of the world's plants-by the year 2020. It will also achieve a primary target of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, an ambitious effort first adopted by the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002, to halt the continuing loss of plant biodiversity worldwide. |
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Forest Restoration
Oregon: Future of ecological forestry is here
When Jerry Franklin and Norm Johnson look past the Pilot Joe restoration project, they see forests with a future. The two nationally known forestry professors, along with environmental groups and timber industry representatives, persuaded Salazar in 2010 to try a restoration forestry approach on three pilot projects in southwestern Oregon as a way to end gridlock in public forests.
Indonesia: Towards an agro-forestry policy
Indonesia, the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, most of which come from deforestation, is setting out to reverse the trend. One of the ways it plans to do so is to create a national strategy to put more trees on farms, a practice known as agroforestry. The importance of collaboration among all research partners in agroforestry was recently emphasized at a historic workshop to develop a national strategy on agroforestry research in Indonesia.
Myanmar/Burma: Forests in Crisis as EU Lifts Sanctions
European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg today agreed to suspend sanctions against Myanmar/Burma for one year, based on wide-ranging democratic reforms over the past year and democratic elections April 1. In London, the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency welcomed the suspension of sanctions as a step towards greater democracy but warned against a continuation of illegal logging and timber trading.
US: Bark Beetle Management in Southern Pine Forests
According to T. D. Schowalter, author of a new open-access article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management called "Ecology and Management of Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Southern Pine Forests," preventative measures are most effective in minimizing losses to these beetles, and several factors should be considered in planning bark beetle management in southern pine forests. |
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Wetland Restoration
California: Restoration of huge bay wetland near Redwood City nearing completion
Bair Island to environmental groups and biologists, it is a crowning symbol of the ongoing restoration of San Francisco Bay, 2,635 acres that prove not everything has been diked, filled and paved. Now a six-year effort to restore Bair Island in Redwood City to tidal wetlands -- bringing back conditions not seen since the late 1800s, along with a wide range of ducks, herons, egrets, salmon, even harbor seals to the heart of Silicon Valley -- is reaching its apex. |
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River & Watershed Restoration
Washington: (VIDEO) Undamming the Elwha
Undamming the Elwha follows the journey of the Elwha River from the day it was dammed to the day it was set free once again. This is a new half-hour documentary by filmmakers Katie Campbell and Michael Werner
Amazon: 151 Planned Dams Threatens Balance of Andean Amazon
A new study warns that 151 hydroelectric dams planned along six major rivers in the Amazon basin over the next two decades, including dozens of so-called mega-dams, could significantly disrupt the region's ecological connectivity. Researchers say 60% of the dams currently being planned would cause the first major break in river connectivity between the Andean headwaters and the lowland Amazon, possibly threatening the free flow of several Andean-Amazon rivers.
Australia: Buybacks 'best way' to return water
Water buybacks from willing sellers are the most cost-effective and efficient way of returning water to the Murray-Darling Basin system, say experts. The Australian Conservation Foundation has called for the buyback program to be expanded and accelerated to ensure more environmental flows to the Murray, while also saying a minimum of 3200 billion litres needs to be restored to the river.
US: Rivers names as part of America's Great Waters
The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin has been designated one of America's Great Waters, joining natural resources such as the Everglades, Great Lakes and the Mississippi River in holding that distinction. The announcement of the ACF Basin, along with the St. Johns River in Florida and the Hudson River in New York, was made Wednesday. |
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Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
UN: We must correct image of desertification and promote practical solutions
Desertification means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas, commonly referred to as drylands. In no other ecosystem are the interactions between the challenges of climate change and the conservation of biodiversity so closely linked to food security and poverty reduction. Rio+20 provides an important opportunity to increase the political momentum. This target can be achieved by sustaining healthy soil and restoring degraded land. |
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Coastal & Marine Restoration
Philippines: Reef restoration set in Southern Leyte
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Southern Leyte State University (SLSU) will push through a one-year pilot technology demonstration on coral reef restoration in Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte. The coastal area situated within the Sogod Bay will get a P5-million budget out of the recently approved P35.35 million funding for nine coral reef rehabilitation projects nationwide.
Florida: (VIDEO) Cockroach Bay restored, ready for public debut
With the cooperation of 26 state and local government entities and non-profit organizations, plus the help of over 25 hundred volunteers, Cockroach Bay is once again an oasis for coastal birds and wildlife. |
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Wildlife Restoration
Rare UK butterflies 'bounce back'
Record-breaking temperatures and dry weather in spring last year led to an increase in the numbers of many species of rare butterfly, a study suggests. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and charity Butterfly Conservation said the weather had provided perfect conditions for "spring specialists".
Northern Ireland: Wildlife gem at the hub of Northern Ireland, yet it doesn't belong to us
Lough Neagh could be facing irreversible environmental damage unless it is urgently brought into public ownership. Northern Ireland appears to 'own' the water - but not Lough Neagh itself. Northern Ireland may own the water... but deeds for lake bed and shoreline held in Dorset. Estimates several years ago valued the lough at £6m but that figure is expected to have increased.
UK: Haweswater farm scheme to improve water quality
A land management scheme has been set up in Cumbria to improve drinking water quality and wildlife habitats. The project aims to combine hill farming with restoring habitats and will involve tackling erosion which affects water quality.
Study: Australia can save birds
Researchers have found that many native birds which were feared headed for extinction have shown remarkable rates of recovery on farms where regrowth and plantings of native trees are flourishing. In a huge field science effort, the team monitored no fewer than 193 sites on 46 farms across southern NSW over ten years, to study the effect on native birds of different ways of managing native vegetation. |
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Invasive Species
Illinois: Extent of Illinois' Asian Carp Problem Detailed
Asian carp, that large, invasive fish known for leaping out of a river into boats when startled, now make up more than 60 percent of the total fish biomass in one of Illinois' major river systems, a research team led by Southern Illinois University Carbondale has found. "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em."
Minnesota: Sticker shock: boaters need invasive species sticker before hitting water this year
Minnesota anglers and boaters will have one more item on their checklists this year when they head to the lakes. A law passed last year requires that all watercraft have a sticker on board (seen above) listing the state's rules about aquatic invasive species.
Arizona: (AUDIO) Earth Notes- Restoring a Watershed, One Russian Olive at a Time
Those who have bloodied hands or arms on the inch-long thorns of a Russian olive, or dulled a chainsaw on its dense wood, know that it takes determination and brute force to clear away these tough nonnative trees. Since 2000, this formidable task has been underway along the Escalante River in southern Utah.
Florida Must Join in the Fight Again Invasive Animals
When state regulators discovered a few years ago that the purity of Florida's native largemouth bass was threatened by crossbreeding with a northern species, they went after the problem with all the eagerness of a hungry fish going after a worm. If only Florida had been as quick over the years to jump on threats from other invasive species. The Sunshine State is overrun with non-native animals and plants - from monitor lizards to the Old World climbing fern. They're wreaking environmental havoc and costing state taxpayers millions to control. |
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Urban Restoration
US: Live fast, die young
New study shows that plant species living in urban backyards are closer related to each other and live shorter than plant species in the countryside. Cities are growing around the world, and understanding how urbanization and urban gardening impact biodiversity and ecosystem services is increasingly important.
New York: Do urban 'heat islands' hint at trees of future?
City streets can be mean, but somewhere near Brooklyn, a tree grows far better than its country cousins, due to chronically elevated city heat levels, says a new study. The study just published in the journal Tree Physiology, shows that common native red oak seedlings grow as much as eight times faster in New York's Central Park than in more rural, cooler settings in the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains.
Kenya: Aga Khan Trust for Culture to give Nairobi's historic City Park a new lease of life
One of Kenya's oldest urban gardens, Nairobi's City Park, is to undergo a major restoration after decades of misuse and neglect. the Trust will collaborate in the rehabilitation and restoration of the Nairobi City Park to international standards in terms of architecture, landscape and horticulture. |
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Funding Opportunities
Texas: Emergency Forest Restoration Program- Closes April 29, 2012
The Farm Service Agency will begin accepting applications until April 29 from landowners seeking funding assistance to restore wildfire-damaged lands. Owners of nonindustrial private forestland in 16 Texas counties may be eligible for assistance if their property was damaged by wildfire last year. Landowners may receive up to a 75 percent cost-share for implementing approved Emergency Forest Restoration Program conservation practices.
NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative- 2012 Applications due April 30,2012
The Natural Resources Conservatioin 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
Florida: Longleaf Legacy Private Landowner Incentive Program- Due May 11, 2012
The primary objective of the Longleaf Legacy Private Landowner Incentives Program is to increase the acreage of healthy Longleaf pine ecosystems in the panhandle of Florida by helping non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners to make the long term investment required to establish and maintain this valuable ecosystem. Toward this end, the program offers NIPF landowners technical guidance and incentive payments for conducting certain approved forest management practices that help establish or improve longleaf pine stands.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: 20 Million Available from EPA- Due May 24, 2012
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it is requesting applications from states, municipalities, tribes, universities and nonprofit organizations for new projects to restore and protect the Great Lakes. EPA will distribute approximately $20 million through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant program during Fiscal Year 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. |
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