This Week In The News

SER Opens Search for New Executive Director
The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) International has opened its search to fill the position of Executive Director. The application deadline is Monday, September 15, 2008. For a complete set of duties and qualifications, please go to http://www.ser.org/pdf/edjobdesc.pdf

August 27, 2008

First Announcement of Colombian Congress on Ecological Restoration
El comité organizador del I Congreso Colombiano de Restauración Ecológica y II Simposio Nacional de Experiencias en Restauración Ecológica, tienen el agrado de invitarlos a participar en este evento el cual se realizará en la ciudad de Bogotá del 27 al 31 de julio de 2009 en el Centro de Convenciones Alfonso López Pumarejo de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Este evento es una oportunidad única para realizar contactos e intercambio de conocimiento, experiencias y prácticas exitosas en restauración ecológica.

UK: Caledonian Forest Bid is Boosted
A conservation charity has bought a 10,000-acre estate in the Highlands as part of its efforts to restore Scotland’s Caledonian forests. Trees for Life paid £1.65million for Dundreggan Estate, Glen Moriston – one of the charity’s most significant projects – following two years of negotiations. The charity will now plant 500,000 native trees to reconnect the forest between Glen Moriston and Glen Affric.

Trinidad & Tobago: Nariva to be Restored
More than a decade after thousands of hectares of land within the Nariva Swamp were deforested by illegal farmers, a project has been launched to restore those wetlands. The Nariva Restoration Project (NRP) is one of several activities being undertaken to protect Trinidad and Tobago’s “living natural resources”, said Housing, Planning and Environment Minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde when she spoke at a “Show and Tell” on the project at Plum Mitan, Nariva.

Canada: Climate Change puts Heat on Forests
Here in a 13,700-year-old peat bog, ecologist Ed Berg reaches into the moss and pulls out more evidence of the drastic changes afoot due to the Earth’s warming climate. Rooting through a handful of mossy duff, Berg, an ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shows remains of shrubs and other plants taking hold over the last 30 years in a patch of ground that has long been too soggy for woody plants to grow.

Colorado: Groups Band Together, Reach Out for Watson Island Restoration
The Tamarisk Coalition wants to restore the area further and is asking for ideas from various groups in devising a restoration and design plan for the island. The goal of the nonprofit Tamarisk Coalition is to provide education and technical assistance in restoring western rivers, said Executive Director Tim Carlson. The Coalition is comprised of four staff members and a core of about 70 volunteers. The Watson Island complex is comprised of five Colorado River islands covering 69.4 acres. The West Main Island is 15.5 acres and is located near the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens.

Uganda: NFA Plants Trees Amidst Protests From Encroachers
The National Forestry authority (NFA) has continued with the restoration of Wambabya forest despite resistance from the local people in Hoima district. In a recent clash outside the forest reserve, a group of local people armed with arrows and spears attacked policemen who were providing security to the NFA team. The Police is holding three suspects over the incident.

Clemson Watershed Expert to Head Ecology Institute
A Clemson University professor well-known to Upstate water resource activists is the new head of Clemson’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science. Gene W. Eidson, a nationally recognized environmental educator and restoration ecologist, replaces George Askew, who becomes associate director for agriculture and natural resources after serving as director of the Baruch Institute for 23 years, the university announced.

California: Seminar Series Focuses on Wetland Restoration
The Point Reyes National Seashore Association will co-host the first in a series of free seminars on the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project at 10 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Fifth and C streets in Point Reyes Station. The seminar, “Construction Methods and Challenges in Constructing Wetland Restoration Projects,” will feature speaker Mark Cederborg, project manager for contractor Hanford ARC of Sonoma. Other seminars will take place on Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 22 and will include an update on the construction project.

Australia: Derwent Penguin Numbers on the Increase
The Derwent Estuary Penguin Project started in 2004 with the development of a baseline survey of penguin habitat and threats in the Derwent Estuary. It identified 11 active sites, which at that time supported 98 breeding pairs along the estuary foreshore. Stage two in 2005 focused on targeted habitat restoration. Community volunteers revegetated the foreshore, installed artificial burrows and upgraded existing burrows. Stage three has seen ongoing monitoring and steps to protect penguin habitats, including the installation of fences and gates as improved protection from predators and signs to help educate pet owners and the wider community.

New York: Bronx River Forest
The Bronx River Forest used to be a hotbed for prostitutes, junkies and glory-hole seekers; nowadays you’re more likely to see a praying mantis than any illicit activities (at least in the daytime). “People were afraid to go there,” says Anne-Marie Runfola, deputy director of the Bronx River Alliance. “When they hear Bronx River, they don’t associate it with an area that’s green and quiet.” But thanks to a $3 million restoration project, completed in 2005, the park’s a whole new woman. An old cricket pitch was connected to the river, and visitors can navigate the floodplain via paths and boardwalks. The space is also home to more than 250 species of native flora and fauna, including the elusive red-tailed hawk.

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Welcome to the GRN

The Global Restoration Network (GRN) offers the field of ecological restoration a new database and web-based portal to trustworthy and hard-to-find information on all aspects of restoration, from historic ecosystems and recent causes of degradation to in-depth case studies and proven restoration techniques. The overriding mission of the GRN is to link restoration projects, research, and practitioners in order to foster the creative exchange of experience, vision and expertise.

The GRN is fast becoming the central hub for ecological restoration - a vital resource for policymakers, professionals and community stakeholders alike: whether researching options for ecosystem restoration, writing a project proposal, or looking for educational programs and funding. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the GRN is the innovative Database where you can make a specific query and find restoration case studies and annotated links to a wide variety of relevant resources including experts, organizations and literature. Here is a sample of the links you will find in the GRN website and database.

CASE STUDIES

Alexander River Restoration Project, Israel
The Alexander River Restoration Project is Israel’s leading river restoration and was awarded the Thiess International Riverprize in 2003. Implemented by Israeli agencies, with cooperation and support from local Palestinian officials in an unprecedented show of solidarity, the project aims to restore a river severely degraded by untreated sewage and pollution from more than 70 sources–in both Palestinian and Israeli territory.
 
Restoration of the Mata Atlantica, Brazil
Instituto Terra is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 by Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and the renowned photographer Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado. It is located at the Bulcão Farm in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, and it covers an area of 676 hectares. Since its inception, the institute has dedicated itself to the restoration of degraded stands of Atlantic Forest both on the farm and in the surrounding region.
 
Restoration of Dune Habitats, Denmark
Through a grant from the European Union’s LIFE program, this project sought to restore more than 8,000 hectares of dunes and dune heaths on the western coast of Denmark, fully 65% of the country’s dune area. Under pressure from several invasive species, principally Pinus mugo and Pinus contorta, the dunes were cleared using a variety of techniques and approaches. 
 
METSO Forest Conservation and Restoration, Finland
In October 2002, the Government of Finland approved the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (METSO). METSO was designed as a land management strategy that would bring important tracts of privately held forest into a national conservation framework. METSO centers around close cooperation with forest owners and allows programme managers to tailor a conservation strategy that suits the particular circumstances of a given owner, while simultaneously contributing to larger programme goals.
 
Potomac River Eelgrass Restoration, USA
As part of a larger effort to restore vital submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat in Chesapeake Bay–primarily eelgrass (Zostera marina)–three sites in the Potomac River were chosen for replanting. After initial attempts to manually gather reproductive shoots from donor beds, project practitioners decided to employ a mechanical harvesting boat in order to improve efficiency and viable seed yields. 
 
Mangroves Restoration in Andhra Pradesh, India
This project was launched in Andhra Pradesh with the aim of inducing concerted action towards conservation and sustainable management of the mangrove wetlands on the east coast of India. The restoration employed canal techniques, instead of simple plantation of seedlings, and a fish bone pattern of canals was utilized. This fishbone design was shown to be a more efficient method of facilitating tidal flushing than the rectangular pattern used by the Forest Department.

ORGANIZATIONS

Earth Restoration Service takes a proactive approach to ecosystem restoration worldwide, forming partnerships with community groups, charities, NGOs, governments and businesses in support of a broad range of environmental restoration projects.

Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration is a network of governments, organizations, communities and individuals who recognize the importance of forest landscape restoration and want to be part of a coordinated global effort.

European Centre for River Restoration supports the development of river restoration as an integral part of sustainable water management throughout Europe ensuring that projects will be more cost effective, more likely to succeed, and will encompass multifunctional objectives.

LITERATURE

Restoring Natural Capital: Science, Business, and Practice, edited by Aronson, Milton, and Blignaut, considers the costs and benefits of repairing ecosystem goods and services in natural and socio-ecological systems.

Old Fields, edited by Cramer and Hobbs, brings together leading experts from around the world to synthesize past and current work on old fields, providing an up-to-date perspective on the ecological dynamics of abandoned land.

Ecological Restoration, by Clewell and Aronson, offers for the first time a unified vision of ecological restoration as a field of study, one that clearly states the discipline’s precepts and emphasizes issues of importance to those involved at all levels.

A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration, by Bainbridge, outlines the processes and procedures needed to evaluate, plan, implement, and monitor desert restoration projects.

Foundations of Restoration Ecology, edited by Falk, Palmer, and Zedler, advances the science behind the practice of restoring ecosystems while exploring ways in which restoration ecology can inform basic ecological questions.

VIDEO

Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed
The story of STRAW - Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed - demonstrates the multi-tiered benefits of community-based restoration. Not only is an endangered species given a new lease on life, but kids, teachers and farmers discover how working together to recover habitat knits a community while making learning fun.

Raccoon Island Restoration
Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act is celebrating the progress of six coastal restoration projects, including the coastal restoration of Raccoon Island.

A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek
The inspiring rebirth of a biologically critical river in Arizona is recounted in A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek. The one-hour documentary examines the ecological effects of a dam and hydroelectric facility on the waterway and chronicles the 15-year effort that led to decommissioning.

Reweaving Shiva’s Robes
Project Arunachala has been supported by RIC since the late 1980’s. The afforestation and environmental regeneration project was initiated in 1988 by Apeetha Arunagiri and the Annamalai Reforestation Society, established to regenerate the mountain to its former forested condition.

Mending Australia’s Ancient Forest
David Yetman gets a first hand look at this ambitious project called Gondwana Link. The evolutionary process moves quickly in this environment, and new hybrids and species are discovered almost every week. Here, ecological restoration works hand-in-hand with the cultural restoration of the original owners of the land.

Jim Harris, SER's Science and Policy Working Group Chair, talks about recent efforts at Wicken Fen - a wetland nature reserve in the UK.

Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration

River Futures: An Integrative Scientific Approach to River Repair | Edited by Gary J. Brierley and Kirstie A. Fryirs

Large Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case Studies from the United States | Edited by Mary Doyle and Cynthia A. Drew

Old Fields: Dynamics and Restoration of Abandoned Farmland | Edited by Viki A. Cramer, Richard J. Hobbs

Ecological Restoration: Principles, Values, and Structure of an Emerging Profession | By Andre F. Clewell, James Aronson

Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art and Science of Ecological Restoration in Cascadia | Edited by Dean Apostol and Marcia Sinclair

Foundations of Restoration Ecology: The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration | Edited by Don Falk, Margaret Palmer, and Joy B. Zedler

The Historical Ecology Handbook: A Restorationist's Guide to Reference Ecosystems | Edited by Dave Egan and Evelyn Howell

Restoring Natural Capital: Science, Business, and Practice | Edited by James Aronson, Suzanne Milton, and James Blignaut

The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands | Edited by Stephen Packard and Cornelia Mutel

A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration: New Hope for Arid Lands | By David Bainbridge

Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology: Bridging The Gap Between Theory And Practice | Edited by Vicky M. Temperton, Richard J. Hobbs, Tim Nuttle, and Stefan Halle

Wildlife Restoration: Techniques for Habitat Analysis and Animal Monitoring | By Michael L. Morrison

Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems: Ecology, Management, and Restoration | Edited by Jeanne C. Chambers and Jerry Miller

Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests | Edited by Peter Friederici

Ex Situ Plant Conservation: Supporting Species Survival In The Wild | Edited by Edward Guerrant Jr., Kayri Havens, and Mike Maunder

Restoration Ecology fosters the exchange of ideas among the many disciplines involved in the process of ecological restoration.

Ecological Restoration is a quarterly publication that provides a forum for people interested in all aspects of ecological restoration.

Ecological Management and Restoration aims to bridge the gap between the ecologist's perspective and field manager's experience.

Conservation is a sophisticated, readable, and utterly practical magazine for people who are serious about conservation.

Ecological Applications contains ecological research and discussion papers that develop the basic scientific principles on which environmental decision-making should rest.

Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the study and management of "nature's household" (ecology) and "humankind's household" (economics).