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SER2013
October 6-11, 2013
Madison, Wisconsin |
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Restoration Ecology
SER members recieve a drastically discounted rate to RE |
Renew your SER membership today so you don't miss a single issue of RESTORE! |
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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. |
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SER in the News
SER2013 Abstract Submission Deadline Extended to May 15, 2013!
This will be our final deadline. Please submit your abstracts as soon as possible. We welcome abstracts from restoration practitioners, researchers, and advocates addressing any aspect of ecological restoration, especially those that directly relate to the conference theme, "Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future".
SER and Island Press Student Video Contest- "Why Restore?"
In conjunction with SER2013, SER and Island Press are inviting students and early career professionals (members and non-members) to create short, 1-4 minute videos describing an ecological restoration project which shows how restoration impacts the community at large. Submissions are due September 1, 2013. The top five videos will be chosen by public vote and the winner will be selected by a panel of expert judges. The winner will be announced at SER2013, will receive a $500 travel scholarship to the conference, and the potential to work with an Island Press publishing team to author a short E-ssential on restoration. Click here to learn full details on how to submit your prize winning video. Spread the word and get filming!
SER Member Directory
The SER Member Directory gives members access to a number of exciting functions requested by the SER community. The Directory will help you stay up-to-date with your SER membership while connecting with other members in your region and around the world. Perform targeted searches, manage and edit your profile, and privately connect with other SER members. Click here to login and get started.
Don't forget! SER Members receive a 25% off ALL Island Press book purchases. Active SER members can enter promo code 2SER to receive the discount. |
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People in the News
Azzam Alwash says he remembers the reeds towering above his head, lining cool corridors in the Iraqi heat as he sat with his father, the district irrigation engineer, in a small boat plying the waters of the ancient wetlands between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. But in Mr. Alwash's lifetime, those waters nearly ceased to be. Now, , they are experiencing a rebirth, thanks in part to Mr. Alwash, who this week received the Goldman Environmental Prize, which honors grass-roots environmental activists.
Liam Heneghan discusses what he calls the Uncanny Landscape Hypothesis in relation to Chistopher Milne's story of Winnie-the-Pooh. The fact is, we are living in times of great transplantation. The landscapes of our adulthood, whether we have moved 300 miles or 3,000, tend to remain somewhat unfamiliar to us and, as a consequence, difficult to understand, much less to love. Does this make it difficult for us to care for the landscapes in which we find ourselves, whether pristine, managed, or restored? Perhaps more positively, do we need new tools - tools of initiation, imagination, and empathy - to fit into a landscape that is new to us? Viewed from this perspective, Winnie-the-Pooh and the biographical elements the book imports from Christopher Milne's life are an informative case study of the connections between a child and a landscape.
A brother and sister from Woodland Park are the proud recipients of Disney's Friends for Change grant. Logan and Carly Simpson recently entered the contest in the hopes of restoring burned areas near the Flying W Ranch following last year's devastating Waldo Canyon Fire. The 9-year-old twins were evacuated from their home during the blaze and wanted to take on this project in order to reforest the area surrounding their neighborhood. |
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New Books & Articles
RE Early View: Does Seeding After Wildfires in Rangelands Reduce Erosion or Invasive Species?
USGS scientists David Pyke and Troy Wirth review recent literature in the upcoming issue of Restoration Ecology to determine if seeding after wildfires in rangelands may protect against soil erosion and reduce establishment or abundance of invasive plants. Most studies found that seeding had little effect on preventing erosion in the first year after fire, and the ability for seeding to reduce invasive plant establishment depended on how fast seeded plants grew. The researchers concluded that more studies are needed to examine factors affecting establishment of seeded plants, long-term effects of seeding, and other treatments that could bolster seeding success.
RE Early View: Establishment and Management of Native Functional Groups in Restoration
In restoration, planting natives with a diversity of traits may result in competition between natives of different functional groups and may influence the efficacy of different seeding and maintenance methods, potentially impacting native establishment. In the upcoming Restoration Ecology issue, authors Sarah Kimball, Megan Lulow, Kailen Mooney, and Quinn Sorenson compare initial establishment and first-year performance of natives and the effectiveness of maintenance techniques in uniform versus mixed functional group plantings. Their results point to the importance of considering competition among native functional groups as well as between natives and invasives in restoration.
RE Early View: The Chilean Espinal: Restoration for a Sustainable Silvopastoral System
The mediterranean habitats of central Chile are rich in endemic species, but are threatened by land-use changes. Within this context, authors Meredith Root-Bernstein and Fabián Jaksic suggest that restoration of the traditional espinal silvopastoral system could improve its sustainability and conservation. While past research has recommended the abandonment of the silvopastoral system, the authors believe that this recommendation is premature and ignores the value of the espinal as a classical Chilean cultural landscape. Drawing on lessons from silvopastoral systems in Latin America and the Mediterranean, Root-Bernstein and Jaksic suggest several management interventions and incentives that could be developed to restore the espinal.
Restoration Ecology and the Shame Thing: "The Sunflower Forest," 10 Years On
A 10 year review of William Jordan III's 2004 "The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature". |
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Forest Restoration
Scientists have proposed a practical way to tackle the urgent need to restore huge areas of badly-degraded forest and grassland worldwide, based on Australian environmental experience. In the latest issue of the journal Decision Point, Professor Richard Hobbs of the National Environmental Research Program's Environmental Decisions Hub and University of Western Australia (UWA), says that large-scale environmental restoration - like that set as a goal by the recent Earth Summit - often faces high costs and major setbacks. Not only do costs grow with the area to be restored, but complex factors like water flows and impact on industries and communities also need to be factored in.
In order to fight the devastating trend of wild pollinators and bee population decline, a U.S. based nonprofit, Restoring Our Watershed (ROW), is helping low-income families in Costa Rica become beekeepers, through "Bees for Trees." By using entrepreneurship and crowd-sourced fundraising to restore forests in and improve the economy of an important wild pollinator habitat: the Nandamojo River Valley in Costa Rica, the program is hoping to expand.
Chile's government is partnering with the Jacques Cousteau Society in an effort to combat deforestation in the most remote inhabited island on Earth. The program seeks to recover 1,400 hectares of eroded Easter Island and encourage the harvesting of vegetables by the local Rapa Nui people.Although more than 50,000 people visit the volcanic island a year, more than 95 percent of its surface suffers from erosion and the remaining 5 percent is treeless. The famed explorer, filmmaker and environmentalist lived in Easter Island for six months in 1976 to document its land and oceans wonders.
The U.S. Forest Service has published an environmental analysis for the first phase of the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) project, and is now seeking public comment about the document. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) will now undergo a 60-day public comment period. The DEIS is available online at www.fs.usda.gov/main/4fri/planning.
Work to restore ancient woodlands has begun at three locations across Yorkshire. Under the scheme, non-native trees planted in the 18th and 19th centuries will be replaced with native species.The Ł1m scheme is being carried out by the Forestry Commission, Natural England and Yorkshire Water alongside local experts. |
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Desertification & Arid Land Restoration
African Nations Strive to Stem Desertification With a 'Great Green Wall'
Stretching from Dakar to Djibouti, a United Nations-backed program dubbed the 'Great Green Wall' brings together 11 countries to plant trees across Africa to literally hold back the Sahara desert with a swathe of greenery. The Wall will stretch about 7,000 kilometers from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east and will be about 15 kilometers wide as it traverses the continent, passing through Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. The program aims to support the efforts of local communities in the sustainable management and use of forests - a key theme of the tenth session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10), currently taking place in Istanbul - as well as other natural resources in drylands.
Desertification Crisis Affecting 168 Countries Worldwide, Study Shows
Severe land degradation is now affecting 168 countries across the world, according to new research released by the UN Desertification Convention (UNCCD). The figure, based on submissions from countries to the UN, is a marked increase on the last analysis in the mid-1990s, which estimated 110 countries were at risk. In an economic analysis published last week, the Convention also warns that land degradation is now costing US$490 billion per year and wiping out an area three times the size of Switzerland on an annual basis. |
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Wildlife Restoration
Costa Rica: Pollinator Restoration Program Uses Crowd Sourcing to Halt Decline of Pollinators
In order to fight the devastating trend of wild pollinators and bee population decline, a U.S. based nonprofit, Restoring Our Watershed (ROW), is helping low-income families in Costa Rica become beekeepers, through "Bees for Trees." By using entrepreneurship and crowd-sourced fundraising to restore forests in and improve the economy of an important wild pollinator habitat: the Nandamojo River Valley in Costa Rica, the program is hoping to expand. |
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Extractive Industries
Exxon Starts Restoration Work After Arkansas Oil Spill
Exxon Mobil Corp said last week that it would begin remediation and restoration activities after the crude oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, last month. The company's Pegasus pipeline, which can transport more than 90,000 barrels of Canadian crude oil per day to Texas from Illinois, ruptured on March 29 and spilled 5,000 barrels of oil in a subdivision in Mayflower, about 20 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Scotland: Concerns Over the Restoration of Opencast Mine Scares
The giant wounds on the landscape left by dozens of opencast coal mines across Scotland may never be healed under plans being considered by Scottish ministers. Campaign group Coal Action Scotland (CAS) has evidence that the restoration of at least a dozen old opencast mines in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Midlothian has already been delayed or abandoned. The restoration of the Chalmerston mine in East Ayrshire, where production ended in 1998, is now 14 years overdue, ccording to the group. |
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Get Involved
Diplomado Online: "Restauración Ecológica de Bosque de Niebla"
El Diplomado Online "Restauración Ecológica de Bosque de Niebla", edición 2013, aporta herramientas y conocimientos de excelencia académica, desde las bases de la restauración para este tipo de bosque hasta las valiosas experiencias de expertos de todo el continente americano. Más información en http://pronaturaveracruz.org/ecoforestal/drestauracionbmm.php
Massachusetts: Ecological Restoration for Coastal Habitats with Dr. Andre Clewell- May 7-9
This three day workshop will go deep into the principles and practices of ecological restoration starting with an examination of why we restore impaired ecosystems and the ecological, personal, cultural and socioeconomic values that restoration fulfills.
SER-Europe: Summer School On- "Restoration of Mediterranean Ecosystems" - May 13-17
SER summer school 2013 is a 5-day program on the restoration of Mediterranean ecosystems held by the University of Avignon and Aix-Marseille University in France under the auspices of the Society of Ecological Restoration Europe (SER Europe). This course is primarily intended for PhD students who work in restoration ecology and related fields.
Minnesota: 2013 Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting- June 2-3
Oregon: 19th International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment- June 14-17
Missouri: The Annual Grassland Restoration Network Workshop- July 16-18
Int. River Symposium: River Management Young Achievers Award - Applications Due July 5
2013 International Congress for Conservation Biology- July 21-25
5Th National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER) - July 9- August 2
Vienna: 5th European River Restoration Conference - September 11-13
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."
SER-Texas Annual Conference- November 1-3
SER Texas will hold its annual chapter meeting November 1-3, 2013 in Junction, Texas.
Michigan: 2014 Science, Practice & Art of Restoring Ecosystems Conference- January 2014
Quebec - Responsible Management of Peatlands: Implications of the Industrial Sector- Feb 2014
SER 2013 Conference Listing on the Global Restoration Network (GRN)
For more listings, visit SER's Calendar of Events. Posting to the Calendar is a member benefit. |
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Funding Opportunities
Ontario: Funding for Community Clean-Up Projects- Due April 26, 2013
The Ontario government is accepting grant applications from community groups trying to carry out projects organized to clean up or protect local beaches, shorelines or wetlands. The fund provides grants to community groups for grassroots activities, such as cleaning up a beach or shoreline, or restoring a wetland to help protect and restore the ecological health of the Great Lakes. Applications for funding are being accepted until April 26. The Great Lakes Guardian Community Fund, launched in 2012, provides up to $25,000 per project to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the streams that flow into them. In 2012, 80 applicants worked on projects to improve coastal areas of the Great Lakes. Interested groups can get more details during one of the Webinars and teleconference sessions scheduled March 14 and 26 and April 10 and 18. To reserve a spot at the information sessions, interested groups should phone 416-325-4000 or email GreatLakesFund@ontario.ca.
WWF's Russell E. Train Forest Landscape Restoration Grants- Due May 1, 2013
WWF has an ambitious goal to restore 20 landscapes of outstanding importance within priority ecoregions by 2020. In order to help accomplish this goal, WWF's Russell E. Train Education for Nature (EFN) program, with generous funding from the UPS Foundation, has launched a special grant opportunity focused on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). Local organizations from select WWF-US priority ecoregions must meet all of the following eligibility criteria to be considered for a grant. WWF-US Priority ecoregions include: Mesoamerican Reef, Amazon, Congo Basin, Coastal East Africa, Madagascar, Eastern Himalayas, Greater Mekong, Borneo and Sumatra, Coral Triangle (www.worldwildlife.org/places). All project activities must be completed before September 1, 2013.
Pennsylvania: CFA Offering Abandoned Mine, Watershed, & Greenways Grants - Due July 31, 2013
The Commonwealth Financing Authority is now accepting applications for grants under the Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund. Program cove abandoned mine drainage abatement and treatment, watershed restoration and protection, water quality data, greenways, trails and recreation and orphan and abandoned well plugging programs. Applications are due July 31 and will be considered at the CFA's November 13 meeting. For more information, contact Brian Eckert or Matthew Karnell at 717-787-6245 to discuss potential projects before commencing the application process.
US: Sustain Our Great Lakes Offers Funding for On-the-Ground Habitat Restoration & Enhancement
Sustain Our Great Lakes is a public-private partnership that works to sustain, restore, and protect fish, wildlife, and habitat in the Great Lakes basin by leveraging funding, building conservation capacity, and directing partners and resources toward key ecological issues. Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the program is accepting applications for competitive funding to be awarded through the 2013 funding cycle. In 2013, grant funding will be awarded in three categories - habitat restoration, delisting of beneficial use impairments within Great Lakes areas of concern, and private landowner technical assistance. Approximately $5 million to $9 million is expected to be available in grants ranging from $25,000 to $1.5 million.
US: Wildlife Restoration Program- Region 5 Grants- Applications Due August 31, 2014
WR provides Federal grant funding to the 50 States, Commonwealths, and territories for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation, and improvement of wildlife habitat; wildlife management research; wildlife population surveys and inventories; land acquisition; hunter education and safety programs; coordination; development of facilities; facilities and services for conducting a hunter education and safety programs; and provisions for public use of wildlife resources.
WWF-US: EFN Reforestation Grants- Applications Due September 1, 2013
EFN, with generous funding from the UPS Foundation, has launched a special grant opportunity focused on Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). FLR is defined as a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human wellbeing in deforested or degraded forest landscapes. (WWF and IUCN 2000.) Local organizations from select WWF-US priority ecoregions must meet all of the eligibility criteria to be considered for a grant. Applications must be completed online and submitted to the EFN Conservation Workshop Grants by September 1, 2013.
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.
USDA Conservation Reserve Program
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
The 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 are ensuring the collective success of 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. By 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 GrantsDirectory 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
Tamarisk Coalition, a non-profit advancing the restoration of riparian lands throughout the American west, posts current funding and training opportunities applicable to riparian restoration on the Riparian Restoration Connection. |
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