|
SER2013
October 6-11, 2013
Madison, Wisconsin |
Renew your SER membership today so you don't miss a single issue of RESTORE! |
|
|
|
RESTORE is a free bi-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. |
|
SER in the News
SER2013 Call for Proposals Extended to December 15, 2012
The Call for Proposals for Symposia, Workshops, and Training Courses for SER's 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration has been extended to December 15, 2012. We encourage you to review the call and submit a proposal before the deadline by clicking here.
Don't forget: SER Members receive a 25% off ALL Island Press book purchases. Contact leah@ser.org for details! |
|
People in the News
Angela Cropper, was the first Executive Secretary for the CBD, serving from 1993 to 1995. With a handful of colleagues, she was responsible for establishing the interim secretariat and the building blocks for the work of the Convention. During her tenure, the first two meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity were held. COP-1 set the CBD on the path towards the Program of Work it has now. COP-2 produced the Jakarta Mandate which remains the foundation and framework for protection of our oceans today.
For the past 20 years, David Hulse has researched how to preserve and restore the Willamette River Basin. Matthew Reddy of the International RiverFoundation, believes Hulse's work have made the river "a true American turn-around story and richly deserving of the world's most valuable environmental award." In 2002, after six years of research and community input, Hulse, together with Professor Stanley V. Gregory of Oregon State University, produced one of the foundational documents for restoration of the river basin - the "Willamette River Basin Planning Atlas."
Today, approximately 70 percent of the world's ecosystems have been altered to some degree, and the whole Earth may be approaching a tipping point toward an uncertain regime as a consequence of the accelerated global loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. David Moreno-Mateos believes ecosystem restoration and creation is necessary, now more than ever before, to slow and, where possible, reverse that loss. But devising successful restoration strategies can be tricky. |
|
New Books & Articles
Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems in the Nordic Countries
The ReNo network has consolidated knowledge on ecological restoration work in the Nordic region and facilitated exchange of this knowledge within and between the Nordic countries. Scientific papers, reports on the status of restoration, guidebooks on restoration, and analyses of ecological restoration in the area have been published as a result of the network. In order to counteract present and past ecological degradation, all the Nordic countries emphasize ecological restoration, but to various degrees.
Forgotten Grasslands of the South: Natural History and Conservation
In Forgotten Grasslands of the South: Natural History and Conservation, the latest title from eminent ecologist, Reed Noss, Noss explores the imperiled grasslands of the Southeast. The grasslands of the Southeast have some of the highest rates of endemic species and biodiversity in the country, but they have long gone unrecognized and undervalued. Noss argues that in order to save them, we must allow wildfires, floods, and large herbivores to shape ecosystems as they did for millennia before human interference. Noss outlines a path forward through prioritization, protection, restoration and management. Offering examples of ongoing restoration projects and a prognosis for the future, Noss unites the understanding of a place's long history with a deep knowledge of the species which now call that place home and face new and complex challenges.
SER members receive a 25% discount on all Island Press titles. Use your SER discount code at check out.
China: Finding Sustainability in Ecosystem Restoration
In 1995, as the Chinese government and people were beginning an ambitious effort to restore the cradle of Chinese civilization, John D. Liu was asked by the World Bank to document the "Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project". Originally the Loess Plateau had been fully vegetated with massive forests and grasslands. Since then a measure of ecological function has been returned to the region and the general direction of development is now positive and accumulative with the functionality continuing to improve. This article contains much of John's journey, the wonder and beauty he has seen along the way and the conclusions that he has come to. His experiences have made him realize that while we live in interesting times, we are not helpless in the face of the many challenges we are grappling with.
Replicating Policy that Works: Payment for Environmental Services in Mexico
Since its emergence as a concept in 1997, there have been many efforts to internalize the idea of environmental services and transform theory into practice. From start to finish, it took less than 10 years to become a policy-making instrument. Mexico's story shows academic literature's potential to influence environmental issues and developing countries' need for the right tools to tackle those issues head on. Mexico and the resiliency of its more than 100 million inhabitants are at risk, living under a dark cloud of uncertainty in the form of climate change and deforestation. Federal and state policies in Mexico must respond firmly and aggressively with ecosystem restoration and conservation actions, as the very survival of such ecosystems and the whole society is at stake.
Nature Resilience - Organizing Ecological Restoration by Partners in Business for Next Generations
This concept paper, by Willem Ferwerda, tries to establish an international mechanism that actively creates collaborative Ecosystem Restoration Partnerships between businesses, investors, business schools, civil society organizations, farmers and local people, that international restoration targets will be reached, investments will be returned, and practical lessons are learned by working together. |
|
Agro-Ecology
Scientists have reported in Nature that the agroforestry approach of planting nutrient-fixing trees with food crops could help replenish Africa's poor quality soils, tackling one of the biggest threats to food security on the continent. Planting certain perennial trees together with food crops can more than double yields for maize and millet, which are among Sub-Saharan Africa's staple foods, scientists say. |
|
Biodiverity & Climate Change
A new report warns that losing just 5 percent of British peatland would equal UK's annual carbon emissions and risk climate targets. The report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has estimated that the UK's peatlands and peatbogs lock in about 3bn tonnes of CO2, and are a far more significant carbon store than the country's forests. However, they are being damaged so seriously that they are putting the UK's climate targets at risk. The IUCN described peatlands as the "Cinderella habitat: overlooked and undervalued".
The world's rapidly dwindling forests should be valued as more than just "carbon warehouses" to mitigate climate change, according to a new report released today from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), the world's largest network of forest scientists. The assessment stresses that accounting for those who live in or near forests when implementing REDD+ increases the likelihood of achieving carbon and biodiversity goals. The report coordinated by IUFRO notes that globally, some two billion hectares of land are potentially available for forest restoration. How forest restoration is accomplished will determine whether the restored forests will attain both carbon and biodiversity goals. |
|
Forest Restoration
Federal officials are proposing to plant hundreds of thousands of seedlings as part of an effort to reforest areas charred by one of the largest wildfires in New Mexico's recorded history. The fire, sparked by a falling power line on June 26, 2011, raced across the southern edge of the mountain range and burned 244 square miles of forest. The proposal calls for planting 425,000 ponderosa pine and Douglas fir seedlings on 1,800 to 2,510 acres within the burn scar to the west and southwest of Los Alamos.
Started in 2011, the Faidherbia program is a government initiative which will establish a hundred million Faidherbia albida trees on smallholder cereal croplands across the country within three years in order to improve the food production and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This program will run until 2014. The government plans to reforest fifteen million hectares of land, including the regeneration of tree cover on croplands. |
|
Wetland Restoration
Virginia: Wetland Restoration Plans Taking Shape after 18 Years of Planning
After 18 years of worrying, planning, meeting, debating, designing and redesigning, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) in Virginia will restore and stabilize Huntley Meadows Park's central wetland, Huntley Meadows Park manager Kevin Munroe said on a recent walk in the park. The "crown jewel" of the 1,500-acre park, according to many of its 200,000 annual visitors, is the 50-plus-acre, non-tidal wetland, the largest of its kind and a rarity in the Northern Virginia suburbs. Park managers want to return to and manage the wetland as a hemi-marsh, which Munroe contends "provides the highest level and quality of biodiversity." |
|
River & Watershed Restoration
US, Mexico, and Conservation Organizations Join Forces to Restore Flows to the Colorado
A historic agreement announced Nov 20, 2012 between the United States and Mexico will rejoin the Colorado River to the Sea of Cortez and define how the two countries will share the river's resources in the face of increasing demands for water. The agreement establishes new guidelines for river management during drought, while making key investments in water conservation and the environment to ensure that nature can thrive in times of shortage. Another key element of the agreement gives Mexico permission to store water in Lake Mead, a federal reservoir on the Colorado River, located in Arizona.
When Mark Lorang listens to rivers, he hears answers. The scientist from the University of Montana Flathead Biological Station has spent the last five years studying the sounds of rivers for clues about their physical and biological characteristics. A new phase of his research, made possible with the help of a local technology company, could provide a breakthrough on better understanding river restoration and potentially foretell problems with underwater oil pipelines.
Florida: 30-Year St. Johns Restoration Project Fails To Improve Water Quality
A $200 million, 30-year re-plumbing of the St. Johns River's headwaters west of Vero Beach has so far failed to improve water quality in the river's regional lakes, data show. Instead, it just kept the water from getting much worse, biologists say, as new homes and businesses sprang up nearby. Despite all the money spent to cleanse the river at its origins, nitrogen and phosphorus levels in local lakes in the St. Johns have mostly increased during the past decade. From 1996 to 2010, all seven upper basin lake sampling sites tested by the St. Johns River Water Management District showed increasing levels of nitrogen.
California: New Index Shows Federal Agencies Fail To Meet Salmon Restoration Goal
The Central Valley Chinook salmon fishery has suffered a dramatic collapse over the past decade, now standing at only 13 percent of the population goal required by federal law, according to a new salmon index released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Golden Gate Salmon Association. The NRDC and GGSA analysis, published in the Salmon Doubling Index, reveals a steady decline in Bay-Delta Chinook salmon from 2003 through 2010, at which point it reached a record low of 7 percent.
US: Cleanup Of Some Contaminated Groundwater Sites Unlikely For Decades
At least 126,000 sites across the U.S. have contaminated groundwater that requires remediation, and about 10 percent of these sites are considered "complex," meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations, says a new report from the National Research Council. The report adds that the estimated cost of complete cleanup at these sites ranges from $110 billion to $127 billion, but the figures for both the number of sites and costs are likely underestimates. |
|
Grassland Restoration
US: Birds, Bison and Lions: Grasslands News from October 2012
In an effort to increase awareness of grassland issues and encourage others to fall in love with the world prairies, American Prairie Reserve compiles a news roundup on grassland restoration and conservation activities each month. These stories will introduce you to the organizations working to restore this endangered ecosystem, demonstrate the diversity of the plains and showcase the many different approaches to grassland conservation - from Montana to Mongolia.
US: Climate Change Increases Stress, Need For Restoration On Grazed Public Lands
Eight researchers in a new report have suggested that climate change is causing additional stress to many western rangelands, and as a result land managers should consider a significant reduction, or in some places elimination of livestock and other large animals from public lands. A growing degradation of grazing lands could be mitigated if large areas of Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service lands became free of use by livestock and "feral ungulates" such as wild horses and burros, and high populations of deer and elk were reduced, the group of scientists said. Their findings were reported in Environmental Management. |
|
Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
US: Degraded Military Lands To Get Ecological Boost From CU-Led Effort
Some arid lands in the American West degraded by military exercises that date back to General George Patton's Word War II maneuvers in the Mojave Desert should get a boost from an innovative research project led by the University of Colorado Boulder. Headed up by CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Nichole Barger, the research team is focused on developing methods to restore biological soil crusts-microbial communities primarily concentrated on soil surfaces critical to decreasing erosion and increasing water retention and soil fertility. Such biological soil crusts, known as "biocrusts," can cover up to 70 percent of the ground in some arid ecosystems and are dominated by cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, fungi and bacteria, she said. |
Lake Restoration
China: Asian Development Bank Gives $250 mill to Rehabilitate Chao Lake
The Asian Development Bank is to provide China with a $250 million loan to rehabilitate its fifth-largest freshwater body, Chao lake. The project will also trial an eco-compensation program and a water emissions trading system that aim to control the many sources of rural water pollution. The eco-compensation scheme will target diffuse pollution, offering farmers incentives to replace chemical fertilizers with organic ones, and the water emissions trading system will be targeted at farmers and companies in the lake's watershed. |
|
Coastal & Marine Restoration
Coastal Erosion Reaches Alarming Levels in Vietnam
For the last decade, many families in this southwestern Vietnamese province have been uprooted at least once every two years - but this is not due to economic or political upheaval. In the last several years Vietnams typhoons have become even more intense and, accompanied by a rising sea level, have put coastal areas and communities in the Mekong Delta at great risk. Experts have cited the decimation of mangrove forests as a reason for increased damages. Still, some see hope in mangrove-restoration projects, including one that is currently being rolled out in Kien Giang. At Vam Ray hamlet in Kien Giang's Hon Dat District, a 400-metre mangrove forest, part of a pilot program by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), has been thriving.
US: Gulf Coast States at Odds on Penalties for Oil Spill
With BP's agreement on Thursday to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges and pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments in connection with its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast politicians are now eyeing a much bigger potential windfall from the company: $20 billion or more in civil pollution penalties for the spill. Under the criminal settlement, $2.4 billion paid by BP will go to environmental restoration, overseen by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Projects in Louisiana will get half the money, and the rest will be split among the other Gulf States - Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. |
|
Recreation & Tourism
Bulgaria to Restore Wildlife on Vitosha Mountain
EU funds will help Bulgaria restoring some lost or nearly lost species from the original flora and fauna of Vitosha Mountain. Visible from many parts of Sofia and considered by many its jewel, the mountain has been a nature park since 1934. Now a new phase of ongoing environmental projects will secure quiet habitat for the population of bears and wolfs by restoring six tourist routes and streaming the mountain trackers away from their breeding areas. |
|
|
Get Involved
SER-Australasia: Inaugural Conference -Nov 28-30
Florida: ACES and Ecosystem Markets 2012- December 10-14
SER-Ontario: SERO 2013 Scholarship Opportunity- Due December 14, 2012
SERO is offering students involved in ecological restoration who are enrolled in local Ontario colleges, or undergraduate programs, a $2,000 scholarship opportunity. To apply send in a paper application and letters of reference by December 14, 2012. Applications are available here.
Northern California Botanists 2013 Symposium- January 14-15
SER-MA: Pieces of the Puzzle- From Backyard Habitat to Landscape Scale- Mar 28-30, 2013
SER Mid-Atlantic is planning their 2013 Conference to be held March 28-30, 2013 in College Park, Maryland. SER-MA is currently seeking papers and posters. Abstracts are due January 23, 2013.
SER-BC: Bio-Engineering Workshop- Nov 22-23
SER-BC: Restoration in the Fraser Valley- November 22-25
SER-BC: Annual General Meeting- November 24
SER-BC: Field trip of Fraser Valley Restoration Sites- November 25
Webinar: Watershed Restoration Analysis and Integration with Urban Planning- December 6
California: 2nd Annual Rangeland Science Symposium- January 24-25, 2013
Special Issue of Forests: "Forest Restoration and Regeneration"-Deadline February 2013
Colorado: River Crossings: Linking River Communities - March 11-15, 2013
This is a is an interagency river management workshop and research conference where presentations, panels, and field trips will highlight recent advances and emerging issues in riparian restoration and river management practices.
New Mexico: National Native Seed Conference- April 9-12, 2013
International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET) 2013- June 23-27, 2013
Rwanda: Ramsar Forum - Wetlands and Livelihoods- July 8-12, 2013
Nevada: Resilient Landscapes: Planning for Floor, Drought & Fire- July 21-24, 2013
2013 International Congress for Conservation Biology- July 21-25, 2013
SER2013: 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration- October 6-11, 2013
SER will hold its 5th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, on October 6-11, 2013. This event marks the 25th Anniversary of SER and will celebrate the conference theme of "Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future."
2012 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN) |
|
Funding Opportunities
Restoring Rivers: Stream Barrier Removal Grants- Due December 7, 2012
Since 2001, American Rivers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program have provided financial and technical assistance for river restoration projects benefiting diadromous fish species in the Northeast and California. Applications are being evaluated based upon the following priority criteria: (1) ecological merits of the project, (2) technical feasibility of the project, (3) timeliness in completion of funded phase; (4) benefits provided to the local community, and (5) financial clarity and strength of the application. Grants are provided for three distinct project phases: Construction, Engineering Design and Feasibility Analysis. The maximum award request is $150,000.
The state of Vermont is taking applications for grants to help protect and restore the state's watersheds. This year, $120,000 is available for grants of up to $15,000. The money is available to municipalities, government agencies and nonprofit and citizen groups for work such as protecting or restoring water quality, shorelines or fish and wildlife habitats. The deadline to apply is Dec. 7. An application guide and forms are available on the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources web site.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) requests interested entities to submit restoration, research and Regional Project proposals for the restoration of the Great Lakes Basin fish and wildlife resources, as authorized under the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (16 USC 941c). The purpose of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act (GLFWRA) is to provide assistance to States, Indian Tribes, and other interested entities to encourage cooperative conservation, restoration and management of the fish and wildlife resources and their habitats in the Great Lakes Basin. Pre-proposals and Regional Project proposals are due on Monday, December 17, 2012 by 9:00 PM EST.
US: Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (for OR, WAS & ID)- Due December 17, 2012
The Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative is a public-private competitive grant program that focuses on salmon habitat restoration efforts in areas of high ecological importance in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Started in 2007, the Whole Watershed Restoration Initiative (WWRI) is a partnership between Ecotrust, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, USDA Forest Service, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center, the Bureau of Land Management and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. Each of the state and federal agency partners contributes restoration dollars to the Initiative. Ecotrust then makes this pooled fund available as grants to local groups for on-the-ground restoration work. Proposals for 2013 funding are now being accepted. Applications are due by December 17, 2012 at 5:00 pm PST.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is providing assistance to local governments starting in Clark, King, and Pierce counties that want to improve the health of their urban forests. Other cities or counties may apply for the same type of projects. The Urban Forestry Restoration Project is an exciting opportunity to increase the health of urban forests in the Puget Sound Basin and southwest Washington areas. The project will help to enhance effectiveness of urban forests in managing stormwater and improving water quality. DNR's Urban and Community Forestry Program will provide crews from Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) and Puget SoundCorps to assist city and county governments with urban forestry activities that help restore urban forests. Projects may be submitted for assistance through December 31, 2012. All projects must completed by June 30, 2013.
US DOD Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)- Due January 8, 2013
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking to fund environmental research and development proposals. SERDP is DoD's environmental science and technology program, planned and executed in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with participation by numerous other Federal and non-Federal organizations. The Program invests across the broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced development. Proposals responding to focused Statements of Need (SON) are requested in the following areas: environmental restoration and Resource Conservation and Climate Change among others.
US: DEP Grants to Restore & Protect Coastal Zones in Pennsylvania- 2013 Applications Open
The Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $900,000 in annual coastal zone management grants to organizations dedicated to protecting and preserving Pennsylvania's coastal zones along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The agency is now accepting applications for 2013. Coastal zone management grants support programs that measure the impact of various pollution sources; improve public access; preserve habitats; and educate the public about the benefits of the state's coastal zones.
US: Conservation Reserve Program Initiative to Restore Grasslands, Wetlands and Wildlife
USDA's CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully protecting the nation's natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States. Rather than wait for a general sign-up (the process under which most CRP acres are enrolled), producers whose land meet eligibility criteria can enroll directly in this "continuous" category at any time.
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 Funding for the 2012 cycle of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation's Community-based Restoration Partnership (CRP) is now available. The CRP has reached a milestone by providing grants for now more than 75 different projects in coastal areas throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Restoring a total of about 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.
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. |
|
|
