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"       

Counterpoint: Scientists Offer A Dissenting View on Ascension Island
This essay responding to science writer Fred Pearce, written by the very experienced and distinguished ecologists Dan Simberloff and Don Strong, is part of a growing (and long overdue) tide of replies and rebuttals to a publishing trend among many science writers and some ecologists, promoting the vacuous term "novel ecosystems". Members of the Society for Ecological Restoration and restoration and conservation scientists and practitioners are urged to take note that not all restoration ecologists embrace "novel ecosystems thinking" (NET). Indeed, a growing number of restoration and conservation professionals, consider NET a counterproductive, indeed dangerous rhetoric. Why? Faced with NET, most scientists and professional practitioners will eventually sort through the evidence and come to the right decision on this topic. However, policymakers and managers in public and private sectors usually don't have the background or time to do a rigorous assessment, and the general public certainly doesn't. That's why rebuttal is necessary when some scientists and science writers get carried away by ill-founded fads.   -James Aronson, Representative at Large, SER

How important is the "Re" in Restoration Ecology?
This is the first in a series of short posts on the value of history for restoration by SER member, Liam Heneghan. They are written preparatory to a session at the World Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration in Madison, 6 -10 Oct at which I will present a condensed version. (Wed Oct 9th: 8am - 10am: Session 1.06 Discussion - The historically-based reference system, chaired by Paddy Woodworth.)

Calcareous Mires of Slovakia Landscape Setting, Management and Restoration Prospects
Slovakia is blessed with an abundance of natural beauties, and some of them are quite unique within Europe. The interdisciplinary approach used in these studies include covers historical development, ecology, geology and hydrology. We believe it will be great inspiration for colleagues in other countries to study and understand the hydrological systems, including threatened wetland types and to propose efficient restoration measures. Through Calcareous Mires of Slovakia, the authors wish to make a contribution to peatland preservation and more effective conservation.

US: National Estuaries Week: Find an Event Near You - September 23-29, 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.

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.