Online Registration Deadline is September 27^th
Sign up online before September 27^th to avoid on-site registration costs. Members get $75 off the cost of regular registration.

Book Your Hotel Today! Deadline is This Week 
SER has secured discounted rooms at a number of hotels in the Madison area, but space is first come, first serve. Rooms are going fast, so secure your room as soon as possible.

Sign Up for one of our Six Pre-Conference Training Courses!
These courses cover topics ranging from restoration of pollinator habitat, invasive species, restoration project planning, introduction to statistical analysis, ecological site descriptions, and application of quality control methods.

Stick around for our Post Conference Field Trips
 Stick around on the Friday after the conference and participate in one of several post-conference field trips. We will be visiting restoration sites and natural areas throughout southern Wisconsin and would love to have you along.

Participate in the Make a Difference Day Event (MADDE)
There are still a few spots remaining at our pre-conference volunteer event on Sunday, October 6. Spend some time outdoors with your colleagues and friends and contribute to restoration efforts at one of two local sites: the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum or the University of Wisconsin-Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve.

Already Registered and Want to Add an Activity? Follow These Easy Steps:

If you have already registered for the conference and would like to add one of the above activities, you can follow these easy steps to do so:

1. Go to: www.iplanevents.com/SER2013          
2. Click the link to "Access My Registration" under "Already Registered?"           
3. Enter your email address and password         
4. Click the "Quickly Jump to Edit" menu and select the relevant activity              
5. If updates to your record include items that require payment, please click the "Fees "& Payments" tab and select "Make a Payment"       

Restoration Ecology Volume 21, Issue 5 is out! Here are some highlights:

• Opinion Article -  Habitat Restoration and Climate Change: Dealing with Climate Variability, Incomplete Data, and Management Decisions with Tree Translocations
• Review Article -  Evaluating Ecological Restoration Success: A Review of the Literature
• Set-Backs & Surprises -  The Challenges of Alleviating Poverty through Ecological Restoration: Insights from South Africa's "Working for Water" Program

To read the full issue: Click Here

On a Remote Island, Lessons In How Ecosystems Function
Transformed by British sailors in the 19th century, Ascension Island in the South Atlantic has a unique tropical forest consisting almost entirely of alien species. Scientists say that what has happened there challenges some basic assumptions about ecosystems and evolution.

Peru: A Silver Lining in the Cloud Forest
Around 150,000 square kilometers of tropical rainforest-equivalent to the combined size of England and Wales-is destroyed each year. An August 2012 report jointly commissioned by the UK and Norwegian governments found that agriculture causes around 80 percent of deforestation around the world. Layer farming, on the other hand, enables people to grow their crops under the tree canopy, restores and enriches the soil, and ensures that the rainforest will be there for generations of future farmers.

Africa: Desert Plantations Could Help Capture Carbon
 Planting trees in coastal deserts could capture carbon dioxide, reduce harsh desert temperatures, boost rainfall, revitalize soils and produce cheap biofuels, say scientists. Large-scale plantations of the hardy jatropha tree, Jatropha curcas, could help sequester carbon dioxide through a process known as 'carbon farming', according to a study based on data gathered in Mexico and Oman that was published in Earth System Dynamics last month (31 July).

UN REDD Program Failing to Build Capacity for Indigenous People in Panama
The U.N.'s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (UN-REDD) program may be faltering in Panama due to its failure to build capacity for indigenous people who should play a central role in the initiative, argue researchers writing in the journal Nature.

REDD+ Finance: Private Lessons For The Public Sphere
Governments have pledged billions of dollars to programs designed to slow climate change by saving endangered rainforests, but the real results to date have come from the private sector and civil society. Here's a brief look at what policymakers designing tomorrow's public-sector programs can learn from today's private-sector projects.

California: As Rim Fire Scorches Yosemite, Forest Service Cuts Restoration Funding
The fire started small enough, on Aug. 17 as a 200-acre blaze. By the 19th, local news sites were reporting 2,500 acres burned with evacuations advised for some neighboring communities. By the 22nd, the fire had exploded to more than 53,000 acres, then it doubled in size the following day as it roared into Yosemite itself, making national headlines. The news of the blaze comes as the U.S. Forest Service grapples with paying for firefighting and forest restoration efforts across the nation in a tight budget year.

New Mexico: Satellite Images of Fire Help Guide Restoration Projects
The U.S. Forest Service is using NASA satellite images of fires in the American West to help rapidly restore burned areas before the upcoming rainy season causes floods and washouts that could threaten lives and property.

Ecosystem Services Front & Center as Lawsuit Seeks Restitution for Destroying Louisiana Wetlands
One of the agencies responsible for flood control in the US state of Louisiana is suing more than 100 oil and gas companies for damages caused by degraded coastal lands. Even if the suit fails, it could push the concept of ecosystem services into the mainstream.

Why There Is No Cookbook for Restoring and Managing Prairies?
 In this post on Chris Helzer's Blog "The Prairie Ecologist" Hubbard Fellow Anne Stine and Chris Hezler bounce back and forth as Anne asks why a sort of 'Prairie Restoration Cookbook' isn't possible, and Chris explains why.

China: 'Deserts Can Save Forests'
 It may take development of the deserts to save forests, say experts, who stress that desert ecology needs to be preserved and enhanced. Dryland scientists the world over are concerned about desertification, which refers mostly to water-related loss of biological productivity in arid and semi-arid lands. China's efforts to stop desertification in its northern region of Inner Mongolia have concentrated on reforestation and dryland farming. The Elion Resources Group, China's largest desert ecology enterprise, intends to carve out a 200-km-long and 20-km-wide oasis in the heartland of the 13,000-sq-km Kubuqi desert close to Beijing, in a showcase effort.

US: Building A More Resilient Gulf
Tierra Resources' new carbon methodology could help close the financing gap for wetlands restorations projects on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, offering an extra push for private landowners. Entergy, the major utility in the region, sees more than one reason to be involved.

US: Researchers Find Gray Wolf-Grizzly Bear Link In Yellowstone
Reintroduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park has boosted an important food source for the threatened grizzly bear, researchers have found in an example of how the return of a top predator

Arizona: Cross-Watershed Network Riparian Restoration Workshop - September 10-12, 2013

Colorado: SER-Central Rockies High Park Fire Field Tour - September 28, 2013
 FREE! The Central Rockies chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration will be hosting a field tour of the High Park Fire area on Saturday, September 28, 2013.

Germany: Open Landscapes 2013 - Ecology, Management & Nature Conservation Sept. 29- Oct 3
International conference in cooperation with SER Europe and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) Lower Saxony.

SER2013: 5^th World Conference on Ecological Restoration- October 6-11, 2013
SER will hold its 5^th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, on October 6-11, 2013. This event marks the 25^th Anniversary of SER and will celebrate the conference theme of "Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future."

Utah: Restoring the West Conference - October 16-17, 2013

Washington: Soil Bioengineering Workshop with Dave Polster - October 18-20, 2013

SER-Texas Annual Conference- November 1-3
SER Texas will hold its annual chapter meeting November 1-3, 2013 in Junction, Texas.

Colorado: Tamarisk Coalition 12^th Annual Conference- Feb 2014

New Orleans: Conference on Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration (CEER) - July 28- Aug 1, 2014
CEER is a Collaborative Effort between the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) and the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER). It will bring together ecological and ecosystem restoration scientists and practitioners to address challenges and share information about restoration projects, programs, and research from across North America.

SER-Australasia 2014 Conference- New Caledonia - November 2014

SER-Europe: European Conference on Ecological Restoration - August 3-8, 2014
9th European Conference on Ecological Restoration, Oulu (Finland). The conference aims at creating a close link between restoration and land use policies. Ecological, economic and socio-cultural values of restoration will be discussed.

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.

Chesapeake Bay: Reforestation Grants Available- Application Due September 13, 2013
Charles County Government is partnering with the Chesapeake Bay Trust to provide funds for forestry planting projects. The Charles County Forestry Grant Program is available for reforestation and afforestation projects one-half acre or larger in size on individual private, commercial private, community-owned, school sites, and nonprofit property. Projects on federal and state land, and projects to protect already forested land, cannot be considered under this funding source. Land must be currently protected under a long-term agreement or other protection vehicle. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

US Mid-Pacific Region: Central Valley Project Conservation & Restoration Program - October 4, 2013
 The Bureau of Reclamation intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), R13AF20026, for grants/cooperative agreements for the following program: The Central Valley Project Conservation Program (CVPCP) and Central Valley Project Improvement Act Habitat Restoration Program (HRP). These programs will improve conditions for species and habitats impacted by the Central Valley Project (CVP), excluding fish. Prospective recipients must be registered on the SAM database or offeror is ineligible for an award.

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: 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 (CRP)
 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 Grants Directory 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.