SER2013: 5^th World Conference on Ecological Restoration
 Visit our Flickr page to view photos from the conference. Click here. More photos to come. Your submissions are welcome.

2014 Conference on Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration (CEER)
Find out more about our July 2014 Conference on Ecosystem and Ecological Restoration (CEER) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. The Call for Abstracts is now open. Abstract submissions are due by Friday, January 10 2014.

SER2015 6^th World Conference on Ecological Restoration
 We are pleased to announce that SER2015 will be held in Manchester, England, in August 2015. We hope that you will all be able to join us there. More information to come.

Manchester Ecological Congress Win to Bring £3.9m Economic Boost
Manchester is set to benefit from a £3.9m boost to the local economy after the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) picked the city as the destination for its next global conference.

Why and How: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for Ecological Restoration
 In this blog post the winner of the Island Press - SER Student Video Contest "Why Restore?", Teresa Pereira from Temple University, provides her reflections and takeaways from the SER2013 5^th World Conference on Ecological Restoration.

The winners of the "Why Restore?" contest were Teresa Pereira and Taylor Keegan for their video: Lessons Learned by Budding Landscape Architects. Visit the entries website to watch their winning video: http://islandpress.org/entries. Teresa and Taylor will have the opportunity to work with Island Press editors to produce a short online E-ssential on restoration. Both students are members of SER's Temple University Student Association. Keep an eye out for future video contests!

Restoration Ecology Volume 21 - Issue 6 (December)

Volume 21, Issue 6, has been published and is available online. Here are a few highlights:

• Opinion Article: Urban Grassland Restoration: A Neglected Opportunity for Biodiversity Conservation
• Review Article: Stimulating Natural Regeneration of Tropical Forest on Degraded Land: Approaches, Outcomes, and Information Gaps
• Set-back & Surprises: Effects of Connectivity and Regional Dynamics on Restoration of Small Mammal Communities in Midwestern Grasslands
• Research Article (Open Access): Artificial Spawning Habitats Improve Egg Production of a Declining Diadromous Fish, Galaxias maculatus
• Research Article: Examining the Use of Mass Transplantation of Brooding and Spawning Corals to Support Natural Coral Recruitment in Sulawesi/Indonesia
• Read the full current article online: Click here

Can't access these articles? Subscribe to Restoration Ecology at the discounted membership rate: Online Only -$85 USD for 1 year. Print & Online - $110 USD for 1 year; $350 for a Group subscription (5 online, 1 print).  Sign up when you renew your membership, or email leah@ser.org to add this subscription to your existing membership.

Restoring Tropical Forest
Is it possible to restore highly diverse rain forests? Rain forest restoration holds much promise in helping to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services, but is not a substitute for preserving intact forest.

North Korea, South Korea, and China to Cooperate to form Green Asia Organization 
Climate organizations of the two Koreas and China have agreed to cooperate for the forestation of North Korea and other parts of Asia. The Climate Change Center of Korea signed a pact with Korea University and the Northeast Asia Foundation for Education & Culture and North Korea`s Pyongyang University of Science and Technology to set up the Green Asia Organization (GAO). Three South Korean non-governmental organizations for forestation also participated in the pact.

China's Great Dam Boom: A Major Assault on Its Rivers
 China is engaged in a push to build hydroelectric dams on a scale unprecedented in human history. While being touted for producing lower-emission electricity, these massive dam projects are wreaking havoc on river systems across China and Southeast Asia.

A Stronger UNCCD for a Land-Degradation Neutral World
This issue brief (2013) from the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) addresses the scope of desertification, land degradation and drought challenge, including the benefits of a land-degradation neutral world. It also proposes a target-setting approach with clear pathways of action.

Major Oyster Reef Rebuilding Begins on Texas Coast
Mark Dumesnil, an associate director of restoration for the Nature Conservancy in Texas, has sought to restore what was once a nearly 500-acre oyster reef and is now no more than hard sand and shell remains. Seven years later 36 barges carrying 93,000 tons of Missouri limestone traveled for 12 days down the Mississippi River. Scientists, engineers, researchers and laborers will spend some eight weeks dropping the boulders into an  eight foot deep 54-acre plot. The project is part of a $5.4 million, two-phase project designed to revitalize a damaged ecosystem.

A Year After Sandy, The Wrong Policy on Rebuilding the Coast
One year after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of the U.S. East Coast, the government is spending billions to replenish beaches that will only be swallowed again by rising seas and future storms. It's time to develop coastal policies that take into account new climate realities.

SER & SER Chapter Conference and Events

SER-Mid Atlantic 2014 Regional Conference - Call for Posters & Papers - Due Jan. 10, 2014
SER Mid Atlantic will hold their 2014 Regional Conference in Ambler, PA at Temple University from March 20-22, 2014.

SER-Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter Conference - Mar. 28-30, 2014
The SER MWGL Chapter meeting will be held at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minnesota. The theme of the meeting will be "Building on the Midwest Legacy of Restoration: Linking Theory and Practice".

SER-New England Chapter Conference - April 25-26, 2013
SER New England will hold their first Chapter conference in partnership with the Conway School Master of Science Program in Ecological Design April 25 & 26, 2014, at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts. The conference theme is Designing for Success: Ecological Restoration in Times of Change. Click here to be added to the SER NE conference mailing list and to receive the conference brochure and other updates.

SER Northwest & Great Basin Joint Chapter Conference - Oct. 6-10, 2014
 The SER Northwest and SER Great Basin chapters are joining forces to hold a joint conference at the Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, Oregon from October 6-10, 2014. The conference theme is Collaborative Restoration: From Community Efforts to Landscape Scales.

SER-Australasia 2014 Conference- New Caledonia - Nov. 2014
 The SERA conference will bring together land managers, scientists and practitioners who work in biodiversity restoration during a time of significance for the region's species, ecosystems and landscapes.

SER-Europe Conference on Ecological Restoration - Session Proposals Due Dec. 20, 2013
9th European Conference on Ecological Restoration, Oulu (Finland), from August 3-8, 2014. The theme is Restoration, Ecosystem Services and Land Use Policy. Ecological, economic and socio-cultural values of restoration will be discussed.

New Orleans: Conference on Ecological & Ecosystem Restoration (CEER) - Jul. 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.

Other Conference & Events of Interest

Land Reclamation International Graduate School - Now Recruiting Post Doctorate Fellows

20th ISTF Annual Conference - Call for Presentations - Jan. 30 -Feb. 1, 2014

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

North Carolina: The 2014 Global American South Conference - Feb. 21-22, 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.

US: FireScience.Gov Funding Announcements
FireScience.Gov is a funding website where funding opportunities which are tailored to wildland fire research in response to the emerging needs of policymakers and fire managers. An annual cycle of proposal solicitation, review, and funding ensures timely response to evolving conditions. Research projects complement and build on other federal research programs, such as those in the Forest Service Forest and Rangeland Research Stations, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Fire Plan. Synthesis of research findings and targeted delivery to managers are essential components of the Program.

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 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.