Rhizome | Biohabitats Blog

Your Thoughts on Eco-Voluntourism

2009-06-22T08:03:00.001-04:00

Share your thoughts on our Eco-Voluntourism issue of Leaf Litter or tell us about your own eco-voluntourism experience.

To see the issue of Leaf Litter, go to http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/2009summer/.

Leave your thoughts by clicking the "Comment" link below.

Thoughts on Eco-Voluntourism

2009-06-22T07:59:00.002-04:00

Biohabitats' Leaf Litter
Vol. 7 Number 2
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/2008summer/

Although folks are doing a lot of streamlining these days, the concept of combining travel, personal interest and volunteer service is not new. Hundreds of years ago, long before the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961, missionaries, sailors, and healers journeyed to far off lands for the purpose of helping others. Since then, what we now know as "voluntourism" has become one of the fastest growing forms of travel in the world. It's no surprise, then, that more and more people are combining their interest in service and travel with their passion for the environment. In fact, according to a recent survey of U.S. based volunteer travel providers, conservation is one of the most popular international volunteer travel activities, ranking just behind community development and teaching.

To begin our journey into the world of eco-voluntourism, we checked in with David Clemmons, founder of VolunTourism.org, an organization dedicated to serving all members of the volunteer travel community: travelers, members of the tourism industry, and non-profit organizations. According to David, "There are many different approaches to Eco-VolunTourism.* Some are expedition-based. Some expand capacity at a local level. Some incorporate local communities in the revenue-generation of travel and tourism through traditional building practices, which are inherently ecologically sustainable. Still others connect individuals to voluntary service through an ecologically friendly accommodation."

With David's comments in mind, we share three different perspectives on eco-voluntourism. We chat with Rich Tobin, a former U.S. park ranger who combined his 30 years of park management expertise with his passion for the world's great natural and cultural places to create Conservation Volunteers International Program (Conservation VIP). We also talk with Sarah Kennedy of the non-profit Sustainable Harvest International and Jeff Pzena from the eco-friendly Cotton Tree Lodge in Belize. Jeff and Sarah partner to offer incredible eco-voluntourism opportunities in Central America - including one trip that is a dream come true for any chocolate-loving do-gooder.

Lacking the time and funds to travel to far off places, Leaf Litter's editor, Amy Nelson, creates her own, low-budget, local eco-voluntourism experience.

It would be foolish to explore the topic of eco-voluntourism without shining our Non-Profit Spotlight on Earthwatch Institute, which bills itself "the world's largest environmental volunteer nonprofit organization."

If you are considering an eco-voluntourism trip for your next vacation, you'll want to check out our list of resources.

Finally, we offer a glimpse into the latest news at Biohabitats.

*David's organization prefers this spelling of the word. An interesting and brief history of the term "voluntourism" can be found on the VolunTourism.org web site.

“…a world of wounds”

2009-05-13T21:04:00.002-04:00

Kevin Heatley
Vice President, Biohabitats ISM

Went hiking the other day. Solo of course.

Moving solo within, as opposed to across, a landscape you see things; things like the giant wood frog orgy in the vernal pool two weeks ago (oh, to be young and a frog). And then this week – gelatinous masses of wood frog eggs in a dirt tire track. Damn, those are doomed the next time bubba comes four wheelin'. Thinking quickly, I scooped up a bunch into my water bottle. Thinking more slowly, I realized I was four miles from the car and had just contaminated my only potable water.

In the deep woods of northern PA, you also see other things on the landscape when going solo. Scars from the logging holocaust of the 19th century are evident - mountain streams with damaged morphology and uniform, even-aged forests. Scars of the 20th century are even more glaring - fragmentation, invasive species, and missing understory from mismanaged deer. And in your mind's eye you see the new 21st century scars from an industrialized landscape dominated by natural gas wells. As Leopold said, "One of the perils of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds."

Yet people need energy. They need cars, suburban homes, red meat, television, and virtual reality. Bread and circuses, without them you have anarchy. Me? I have a container of frog eggs and nothing to drink.

When Wetland Restoration Fails

2009-05-02T08:15:00.000-04:00

Keith Bowers
President, Biohabitats, Inc.

It is about time we begin speaking out on the failures of wetland restoration as it relates to mitigation. For the past 15 years I have been involved in the design and construction of tidal and non-tidal wetland mitigation projects throughout the east coast and mid-west and have seen firsthand the “pond” phenomenon that Joy Zelder affectionately refers to as the ecological equivalent of a cookie cutter suburb of the contemporary landscape.

Recently I was reviewing plans for a tidal wetland restoration project that completely missed the mark regarding tidal ranges. If the project were to move forward the result would be an expanse of mudflats with a sea of open water. More commonly I encounter non-tidal wetland mitigation projects that end up as ponds with, maybe, a vegetated fringe around the edge. While Zelder refers to these “wetlands” as the ecological equivalent of a fast food chain, I refer to them as a salad bowl without any salad. What is wrong here? I have three observations.

First, permit applicants required to restore wetlands as mitigation for unavoidable impacts often do so kicking and screaming, reluctant at best and completely unwilling at worst to spend the money required to do the job right. Site selection, collection of adequate reference data and monitoring are some of the elements that typically suffer from this lack of funding.

Second, regulatory agencies often do not enforce performance standards for successfully completing the mitigation requirements. This is typically due to underfunding, political pressures, lack of expertise or interest. In fact, rarely are performance standards even mandated. Once permit applicants (and consultants) become aware of this lack of attentiveness, design and implementation tend to take the least expensive and easiest route to compliance. For information on a prescribed standard, see the Society for Ecological Restoration International’s SER Primer (www.ser.org)

Third, the more you learn about the complexities of wetlands and ecological restoration the less you realize you know. It truly takes a collaborative team effort of individuals trained in myriad of scientific disciplines and engineering design. I could no sooner carry out a wetland restoration project by myself then could a civil engineer or PhD soil scientist acting alone. Why is it we require that only a licensed civil engineer be allowed to design a bridge yet anyone can design a wetland restoration project? Aren’t wetlands in fact much more complex and arguably much more important to our overall health, welfare and the biological diversity of our planet?

Earth Day Musings

2009-04-21T21:58:00.003-04:00

Jennifer Dowdell
Landscape Architect, Biohabitats, Inc.

In my work at Biohabitats, I spend many hours noting patterns. Whether they are forms and patterns in the landscape, textures and patterns of habitat or hydrology on a map, or patterns of numbers, they all inform my craft. I approach these tasks with the same sense of wonder and curiosity as when I first saw photos taken by the LandSat 7 satellites, amazing abstract images of development patterns, climatic anomalies, and natural features - each pattern providing part of the story, and the history, of place.

On Earth Day, we seem to be bombarded with these types of grand images: open space, earth rising over the moon, natural wonders from 10,000 feet or more, etc. They reminded us to appreciate, preserve, conserve, restore, and live in harmony with Earth’s natural resources.

But this Earth Day, I plan to seek out patterns and natural wonders at a finer scale, in hopes of connecting in a new way to my own habitat: my home, yard, street, neighborhood, and region. I want to be better attuned to those subtleties that I may take for granted on a daily basis. I’ll take in the fragrances of the soil in my patio container gardens. I’ll go for a walk in my neighborhood early enough to hear the bird song or catch a glimpse of that red-tailed fox I’ve seen outside my house on occasion. I’ll also try to learn about local areas of natural significance. On the top of my list are the serpentine barrens at Bare Hills, just up the road from us here at Biohabitats.

Serpentine barrens are rare, unique ecosystems known for their seemingly bleak conditions – toxicity for many plants and low nutrient concentrations- but which have provided habitat for a unique plant community containing rare and endemic plant species. There are only a few such places in Maryland, and one of them is right here, practically under my nose. And yet I have never sought it out.

And so I pose this challenge to you: seek out the small wonders, the ones we often ignore but that provide us connections to place. This Earth Day, consider becoming an eco-tourist in your own town.

Unintended consequences?

2009-02-24T16:48:00.002-05:00

Kevin Heatley
Vice President, Biohabitats ISM

Good example of the law of unintended consequences and invasive suppression. Perhaps it should be more aptly named the law of reductionist thinking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/science/17isla.html?_r=3&ref=science

Green Roofs

2009-02-07T11:30:00.007-05:00

Keith Bowers
President, Biohabitats, Inc.

I visited the green roof at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park in January and was pleasantly surprised! Surprised to see that medium to contain the plants on the steep slopes of the roof are coconut husk trays and surprised to see a wide variety of plant species native to the San Francisco Bay region. Rana Creek Living Architecture, the consultant and installation contractor for the living roof did a fantastic job collaborating with the architect Renzo Piano and the challenges of the roof to come up with a planting medium a plant pallet that supports the native biodiversity of the region. While I am all for green roofs, I get discouraged and frustrated by many of the products being marketed and plant material being used in the name of being ‘green’. Instant green roofs consisting of plastic trays filled with 3” of soil and planted with three varieties of non-native sedum – come on! Is that truly being sustainable? If we are going to create living roofs, let’s do it right! I know cost is an issue, it always will be; but what about the costs of losing biodiversity, or the costs of manufacturing more and more plastic, or the costs of not providing enough soil to at least begin to resemble a sufficient soil profile for soil microorganisms (and ground dwelling insects) to start colonizing and supporting native plants. Let’s push to make green roofs truly ‘green’ and truly ‘living’!! What do you think?

What do you think? Click on the comment link below to see what others are saying and to add your voice to the discussion.

The give and take of living walls

2009-02-07T11:29:00.004-05:00

Nicole Stern
Ecological Designer, Biohabitats, Inc.

“Living Walls,” “Green Walls,” “Vine Walls,” and “Vertical Gardens” are all terms used to describe growing plants on a vertical structure. In nature, many plant species grow on tree trunks or on steep, rocky slopes without much soil. Through using adaptations of these and other plant species tolerant of vertical conditions, designing living walls in a variety of settings is all the rage – but hardly a new idea. Examples range from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the “ivy” in Ivy League Universities. Recent innovations in the structure of living walls allow much more control and variety of plant palette. Wire trellis encouraging vines up walls are one of the more simple structures, while artists such as Patrick Blanc in France use a thin structure of plastic lining, metal, and thin textiles to support dense swaths of colorful plant species, creating botanical paintings. Other companies offer plastic and metal trays which hold pockets of soil at an angle in a modular wall system. Whether indoor, outdoor, vine, textile/hydroponic, or soil based, living walls offer many benefits including air filtration, cooling, improved aesthetics, water filtration, food growing, and more. The indoor living wall at Biohabitats, for example, pulls air through the structural fabric and rootzone of the plants into the air circulation system for the office to filter office air.

Touted as a “green” technology, these vegetated walls have great potential. They have already been shown to improve indoor air quality. Vertical gardening in dense, urban landscapes offers a potential solution for food production. However, some living walls may be taking more than they give. While visiting a recently installed “green wall” in a store within a shopping mall, I wondered how sustainable some of these walls are if they require artificial lighting, a supply of potable water, constantly circulated by an electric pump through their rootzone, and are separated from any food chains or natural cycles. Does the air purification service and ornament of a living wall balance out energy and water resource demand? Should living walls only be considered a “sustainable” feature if they provide more service than they demand?

What do you think? Click on the comment link below to see what others are saying and to add your voice to the discussion.

Thoughts on the San Francisco Bay Bioregion

2008-12-29T20:49:00.003-05:00

Biohabitats' Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 5
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/2008winter/

The San Francisco Bay Bioregion, which encompasses the entire San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, is known throughout the world as a region of beauty, culture and geographic diversity. Its glorious coastlines, wine producing vineyards, majestic redwoods, and iconic Golden Gate Bridge are legendary.

Despite - and perhaps because of - its popularity, the San Francisco Bay Bioregion has a long list of ecological enemies. Industrial pollution, sea level rise, habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, water diversions and loss of wetlands are just some of the region’s mounting threats.

Are the region's ecosystems as valued as its recreational sites, agricultural products and cultural icons? What is being done to help the San Francisco Bay Bioregion combat these threats? Join us as we head west and try to find out.

We'll begin by interviewing two experts on the Bioregion. First we chat with Dr. Matt Kondolf, a professor of environmental planning at UC Berkeley and a world-renowned fluvial geomorphologist. Dr. Kondolf shares some insight - and alarming facts - about the dynamics of the Bioregion's river systems. We also talk with Mr. Rick Rayburn, chief of natural resources for California State Parks. Mr. Rayburn tells us about the San Francisco Bay Bioregion's rich biodiversity, and efforts to sustain that biodiversity in the face of climate change.

In your responses to our reader survey, 90% of you agree on what you consider to be the number one threat to biodiversity in the San Francisco Bay Bioregion. Find out what that is, and take a look at some of your other thoughts and questions about the San Francisco Bay Bioregion.

In her article What's In A Leaf, landscape architect Allegra Bukojemsky, officially unveils – and draws a personal connection to - the leaf that will adorn the logo of the Biohabitats San Francisco Bay Bioregion office she leads.

For those of you who want to explore the San Francisco Bay Bioregion in more detail, we've provided lots of helpful links in the resources section of Leaf Litter. Finally, catch up on the latest at Biohabitats.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter by contacting our editor

Thoughts on Agroecology

2008-09-21T15:55:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats' Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 4
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.28/

Long ago, in the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia, human beings began harvesting and domesticating wild seeds, plants and animals for the purpose of yielding food. Thus began agriculture.

Fast forward 10,000 years. Agricultural lands now comprise over 30 percent of the earth's land surface. Agriculture now employs more people and uses more land and water than any other human activity. In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations refers to farmers as "the largest group of natural resource managers on Earth." Perhaps the greatest challenge these managers face today is how to meet the world's increasing demand for produce without harming its remaining ecosystems.

Can agroecology - the scientific discipline that uses ecological theory to study, design, manage and evaluate agricultural systems that are productive and resource conserving - be the answer? What better time to explore this question than fall, a time known in our hemisphere as harvest season.

We'll begin by talking with Dr. Wes Jackson, a man widely regarded as the father of sustainable agriculture. Dr. Jackson founded The Land Institute back in the 1970s and has been furthering the science of agroecology ever since. He shares with us some history, wisdom, ideas and a palpable passion for our land.

Your responses to our reader survey reveal your concerns about industrial agriculture as well as your commitment to and interest in developing solutions.

In her article A Growing Movement In The Concrete Jungle, Biohabitats Ecological Designer, Nicole Stern, describes one of the hottest new trends to hit our cities - urban agriculture.

We recognize that a discussion of agroecology would be incomplete without mentioning permaculture. The Permaculture Institute defines 'permaculture' as "an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor." Because permaculture extends beyond how food is grown to address how homes are constructed, diminished landscapes restored, rainwater harvested, communities built, etc., we see it as a topic deserving of its own issue of Leaf Litter. So look for that in the future!

For those of you who want to dig deeper into the topic of agroecology, we provide loads of resources. Be sure to check them out. Finally, catch up on the latest at Biohabitats.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter by contacting our editor.

Thoughts on Ocean Health

2008-06-23T07:04:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 3
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.27/

With the onset of summer, our thoughts often turn to vacation. For many of us, this means a journey to the ocean. The mere act of burying one’s toes in the sand and gazing at the surf can be more rejuvenating than a full body massage. But despite their restorative power, the world’s oceans are sick. Sixteen percent of the world’s coral reefs are disappearing within a single year and populations of various ocean wildlife are declining.

Can something so vast, so powerful and so plentiful really be in peril? How important is marine biodiversity, anyway? Is anyone doing anything about it? How are our oceans governed?

In this issue of Leaf Litter, we’ll plunge into the topic of ocean health as it pertains to the fields of ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design.

We’ll begin by talking with Tom McCann, the Director of Strategic Communications for Ocean Conservancy, an organization dedicated to promoting healthy and diverse ocean ecosystems on through research, education, and science-based advocacy. Based on what you told us in your responses to our reader survey on ocean health. Public education about this issue is critical, so Tom has his work cut out for him.

All is not doom and gloom when it comes to our oceans. In fact, when it comes to oceans, we encourage you to Go Ahead And Play. The number of ways to enjoy the world’s oceans is as expansive as the oceans themselves.Many of you will likely want to dive further into this fascinating topic. We encourage you to do so, and hope that the links we’ve provided are helpful.

Thoughts On Earth Day

2008-04-21T21:28:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 2
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.26/

While every day is Earth Day at Biohabitats, the arrival of April 22 evokes very personal sentiments among many of our team members. Senior ecologist Laura Backus shares memories of the very first Earth Day. Accounting assistant Tiffany Koerner steps away from her spreadsheets for a minute to reflect on the significance of the day. And senior ecologist (and humorist) Bill Young tells how he plans to barrel into his annual Earth Day celebration in his home town.
Earth Day – A Beginning
By Laura Backus
Senior Ecologist, Southern Rocky Mountain Bioregion Office

As my spring schedule fills with a stream bank planting project on the Southern Ute Reservation, figuring out the best native species to plant in Idaho as well as Wildlands Restoration Volunteers commitments to explore cloud forest restoration in Latin America, help train our new crop of crew leaders, and arrange a Russian-olive pull, I think back to the first Earth Day in 1970.

I was a psychology student at Ohio State University, as yet untouched by the passionate anti-war protests soon to erupt on Ohio campuses. I had never heard the word "ecology" or considered that how we live makes a difference to the green forests covering the Hocking Hills to the south. Despite my childhood delight in hiking up shallow streams looking for crayfish, my biology courses were simply prerequisites to graduation. Suddenly on April 24th, Earth Day activities filled the campus Oval with eager people handing out information on the seriousness of human impacts to the planet. Taken with this new idea that the earth needs human care, I went to rallies, attended workshops, and wore an Earth Day pin.

Although I was to spend the next two decades working office jobs, racing bikes, and raising a family, before making the transition to ecologist, I can see in retrospect how the fresh ideas of the first Earth Day opened my awareness to our responsibility to care for our beautiful and complex earth, the foundation of life forms in vast numbers and astonishing complexity.My earth day pin, now missing from my box of 70s memorabilia such as "Surely" (for Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to make a serious run for the presidency) is still cherished in my memory.

What Earth Day Means To Me
By Bill Young

I love my wife; I really do. But sometimes I have to work double hard to make up for her environmental unconsciousness. You would think, married to a card-carrying tree hugger, she would fall in line and recycle, wash clothes with earth friendly products, and buy organic. Most of the time, I guess, she does, but way too many times I have fished though the garbage bin in our kitchen to remove plastic bottles and even paper, and put them in the recycling bins.

To her credit, she keeps the thermostat down pretty low in winter. My two kids and I have adapted to wearing sweatshirts around the house, and we use plenty of blankets. I, alone, am the “leftovers king” thereby closing that loop.

We bought a Toyota Prius in 2003, and when she saw that car she thought I had gone off the deep end (“It looks like a moon beam!”). She almost refused to get in. But, to my delight, she did, and playing on the radio was our song! She just looked at me and said, “You win; we will buy this car.” Now, she steals the Prius whenever she can. Our town, Point Pleasant, NJ, is a little seaside town on the Jersey shore. It gets invaded every weekend in the summer with tourists. We try to spend the entire summer weekend on our bikes, riding to the beach with baskets loaded. We have gotten close, but have not gone car-less for an entire weekend.

Earth Day is truly one of my favorite days. One day is not enough, but the festive atmosphere makes it such a positive message for the general public. It is a day when the environment is cool. And the public will turn out in droves for Earth Day events. I always try to give a lecture, or man a table for the Native Plant Society of New Jersey. I like to give away seedlings, even if half of them will not survive a month, because it is symbolic to plant and tree. It raises consciousness, and makes people feel they are doing something helpful.

This year, I am manning a table at my hometown Earth Day celebration. CAPTION: Bill’s rain garden display It is an all day event, taking up the entire community park. There will be music and prizes, and the town shows up en masse. Over 43 vendors and tables will be there. I intend to bring a rain barrel, and illustrate to kids how, if they hook it up to the downspout, they can improve life for fish and reducing flooding and erosion. I am trying to get my hands on old waste barrels, and have the kids paint them, so their parents will have to use them at home (how do you turn down your kid’s artwork?). I will have a photo display of native plants, and answer questions to get homeowners to replace non-natives with natives. I try not to preach, but instead to gently inform, knowing in their hearts, people want to do the right thing. I will hit up my friend Don Knezick (of Pinelands Nursery) for free plants to give away. I also want to build a raingarden exhibit, because that is fun and easy to do. The idea is to give regular people simple steps to improve their impact on this beautiful, yet fragile, planet.

Earth Day is every day, my brothers and sisters. We in the environmental field have a gift, and it is called knowledge, and Earth Day is one day to share it with those less knowledgeable.

Still Feeling The Ripples Of The First Earth Day
By Tiffany Koerner
Accounting Assistant

For years, Earth Day has been a renowned celebration to promote awareness about environmental concerns and to share appreciation for our environment. Since the environmental movement in the 1970s, Earth Day has united individuals of varying demographics for a common goal — conserving and sustaining our environment.

From a financial perspective, I view Earth Day as both an integral part of environmental citizenship and an essential aspect of intelligent financial decisions in today's turbulent economy. If our society, as a whole, acted preemptively in preserving our environment rather than reacting to the deterioration of our environment, citizens could save money while catering to their environmental conscience. American citizens, in particular, must strive to preserve the world's dwindling natural resources; after all, America is home to only five percent of the world's population but consumes twenty-five percent of its natural resources. If we are diligent in conserving our environment and its natural resources, we will subsequently reduce our cost of living and increase our quality of life.

Although Earth Day is a one-day celebration, it represents far more than just twenty-four hours of environmental citizenship. It encourages us, as the world's inhabitants, to continually preserve, respect, and appreciate our environment through our everyday decisions. It invokes a sense of pride in our environment. Most importantly, it conveys an urgency to maintain a healthy environment for future generations.

Thoughts on GIS

2008-03-21T21:26:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 6 Number 1
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.25/

From retail to routing to restaurants, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are impacting almost every industry. But what about ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design?

While some practitioners shy away from GIS, intimidated by what they perceive as cumbersome and complex technology, others see it as a gift from the techno gods -- a vehicle that can bring information from numerous sources and provide an otherwise unattainably holistic understanding of a site.

How are GIS science, technology and tools affecting the fields of ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design? Can GIS facilitate interdisciplinary approaches and lead to new solutions? Can it allow us to do and depict things we never thought possible? Or does it just further complicate everything? Join us as we explore these questions and more.

For starters, we’ll talk with Patrick J. Crist, a man who spent most of his professional career applying GIS technology and tools toward the protection and conservation of natural resources. In his current role as Director of Conservation Planning and Ecosystem Management for NatureServe, he has a lot of wisdom – and resources - to share.

What do your peers have to say about GIS and its application to our work? Find out by reading the results of our reader survey.

In her article When Bad Data Happens To Good Models, Biohabitats' own GIS guru, Christine Mielnicki reminds us of four fundamental principles we should keep in mind when using GIS.

In addition to its many applications to conservation planning, ecological restoration and regenerative design, GIS can be downright entertaining. You need not be a geek to enjoy some of the fun things we found.

Check out the links we’ve provided in the resources section of this issue. Whether you’re looking for data sources, new toolkits, educational resources, or general information, you’ll find something to help you better understand and use GIS.

Finally, catch up on the latest at Biohabitats and learn how we are applying GIS as we help towns and universities plan for growth and development while maximizing the value of their natural resources.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your comments by contacting our editor.

Thoughts on the Ohio River Bioregion

2007-12-21T21:22:00.001-05:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 5 Number 5
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.24/

Few can debate the historical and cultural significance of the Ohio River and its surrounding landscape. The land along the 981 mile river served as home to numerous Native American tribes. The river itself was a primary route for westward traveling pioneers and later became a major corridor for the transport of goods. It is now one of the most populated and industrialized regions of the U.S. ... but how significant is the Ohio River watershed ecologically?

We define the Ohio River bioregion as the area that drains into the Ohio River, from the convergence of the Allegheny & Monongahela rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Cairo, Illinois, where the Ohio River flows into Mississippi River. The Ohio River bioregion happens to include some of the world's richest assemblages of freshwater mussels, as well as some of the best examples of eastern deciduous forests around. An area that includes two climate zones and follows the course of the glacial ice margin, the Ohio River Basin is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Join us as we examine the ecology of the Ohio River Bioregion.

We'll talk with Dr. William H. Martin, who once served as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources and worked to pass the 1998 Kentucky Forest Conservation Act. A 30-year veteran professor of Biology at Eastern Kentucky University, and former co-chair of the Kentucky Biodiversity Task Force, Dr. Martin tell us about the rich biodiversity of the region's forests, waterways and caves.

Take a look at what Leaf Litter readers have to say about this bioregion. You shared some thoughtful opinions, as well as lots of links and references.

Peek inside the doors of our Ohio River Bioregional (ORB) office and get to know Mike Lighthiser and Suzanne Hoehne. Read Mike's article "Lost and Found River" as he looks within and outside of the Ohio River Bioregion for inspiration on keeping the River and its Basin on everyone's radar screen.

The resources section of this issue is loaded with links and material to explore for more information on the Ohio River Bioregion.

Check out some of the exciting work we're doing the Ohio River Bioregion, meet some new team members, and catch up on the latest Biohabitats happenings.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter by contacting our editor.

Thoughts on Ecological Restoration and Climate Change

2007-09-21T21:18:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 5 Number 4
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.23/

European Heat Wave“Have Doubled”Early 2007 Saw Record-Breaking Extreme WeatherArtic Sea Ice is Expected to Retreat to a Record LowGreenhouse Gases Hit New High, Rise Accelerates

You’d have to be on a solo trip to the most remote regions of Antarctica to miss the hundreds of global warming headlines that appear weekly in our news outlets. Then again, with the ice melting beneath your feet, perhaps you’d still have a notion that the topic of climate change is heating up - fast.

Whether you credit the UN, Al Gore or the growing legions of global warming organizations, climate change is top of mind worldwide. To some, it connotes a dreadful, apocalyptic future. To others, it presents an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically change the way we operate on our planet. But what does it mean to those of us involved in ecological restoration?

We’ll talk with Richard J. Hobbs, an Australian environmental science professor who co-authored an article on the topic of ecological restoration and global climate change for the journal Restoration Ecology. Take a look at your responses to our reader survey.

Ever wondered how ecological succession and infrastructure deterioration would progress if we humans suddenly disappeared?Kevin Heatley of Biohabitats Invasive Species Management reviews Alan Weisman’s “The World Without Us,” a book which does just that.

The resources section of this issue is loaded with links to explore for more information on global warming and ecological restoration. You'll definitely want to take a look at one of the most sizzling topics of our time and examine how it affects our work in ecological restoration. Finally, catch up on the latest at Biohabitats.

As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter by contacting our editor.

Thoughts on Ecologically Sustainable Travel and Vacation

2007-06-21T21:10:00.001-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 5 Number 3
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.21/

For many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this is vacation season – a time to take a break, go on holiday, have some fun or just relax. But can we escape to the sea, dessert, mountains or even neighboring towns without leaving a trail of waste and carbon emissions? Is there such a thing as ecologically sustainable leisure travel? The signs for such a possibility are encouraging: options and resources for these getaways are expanding faster than ever.

Travel-related businesses are beginning to realize that shortsighted tourism development can result in pollution, loss of natural resources and irreparably damaged ecosystems. All of these ultimately affect tourism. Travelers are catching on as well: in a recent survey conducted by TripAdvisor, a company that provides on-line travel recommendations, nearly 40% of travelers said that environmentally-friendly tourism is a consideration when traveling. The same survey revealed that 34% of travelers are willing to pay more to stay in an environmentally-friendly.
Join us as we explore the topic of ecologically sustainable travel and vacation. We begin by chatting with Brian Mullis, president and co-founder of Sustainable Travel International (STI). Brian provides information and a hearty heaping of hope for the future of eco-friendly, sustainable travel.

Next, we’ll take a look at what you and other Leaf Litter readers said in response to our reader survey on ecologically sustainable travel and vacation.

Biohabitats team members Arjun Dongre, Stephanie Klein and Joey Weidle contributed to this issue by sharing travel stories involving sustainability and discovery.

Are you curious about how deep a carbon footprint your summer vacation will leave? Figure it out in advance with a carbon calculator. Traveling with the kids? Turn off the portable DVD player for a while and let them broaden their minds with some eco-friendly games.

The resources section of this issue is loaded with links to help you plan an ecologically sustainable vacation and find environmentally responsible lodging, transportation and travel services.

Finally, learn how we incorporated ecological restoration in an eco-tourism plan for Delaware City, Delaware and catch up on the latest at Biohabitats.As always, we want to know what you think. Share your thoughts on Leaf Litter (or life in general) by contacting our editor.

Ecological Restoration: In the year...

2007-06-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

Thursday June 7, 2006

Where are you going to be in 2050? How will you Restore the Future?

Society for Ecological Restoration International
http://www.ser.org/

I just returned from visiting my grandchild Anya in South Carolina. She just received her Masters of Restoration Ecology from Clemson University and is contemplating her next move. I was hoping that she would go to school up north but instead Anya decided that the Southern Atlantic Coastal Plain bioregion was where she wanted to study and work. I took the HSHP (High Speed Hydrogen Powered) express train to Charlotte then transferred on to the intermoldal Solbus. You know those new solar powered buses. It is amazing how far they have come with harnessing the power of the sun. Heck, I remember when I used to make this same trip with my wife and young children. We would hop into our gasoline engine car (remember those?), travel more than 400 miles over a series of highways, fight the traffic gridlock around Washington, D.C., and arrive at our destination 9 hours later. Now the trip takes less than four hours, traffic gridlock is a thing of the past, and I can relax and catch-up on my reading or stare out the window at the diversity of landscapes that passes me by.

You see, it was only about 15 years ago that most of the major highways were dismantled and replaced with forested green corridors under the Ecological Corridors and Working Landscape Act passed by the Green Party administration in the White House. What was most impressive in along the east coast of the US is that these corridors are permanently linked through a network of auxiliary green corridors to large patches of forest habitat along the Allegheny Mountains and Atlantic seaboard. In fact, my oldest daughter Caroline was in charge of one of the design teams that oversaw the ecological restoration program for these areas. She modestly declares that she really wasn’t in charge; she just facilitated a community by community process of engaging people all along the planned greenway corridors in a collaborative and integrative design process. She keeps reminding me that they were the ones that developed the ecological restoration framework using the 7 th edition of the SER Primer, made the strategic decisions on the restoration process, and helped set up the institutional and governance structures that gave them life.

This process also galvanized efforts by towns to establish an interwoven network of working landscapes that surrounds and weaves through the urban heart of these communities. Now these working landscapes, set aside for local organic food production, wastewater treatment, urban habitat, and recreation, are ecologically connected to the larger corridor links as part of the overall ecological restoration program.

What was the most rewarding part, she says, is the amount of jobs that the project created and how it helped revitalize many smaller communities that were feeling the effects of both the collapse of fossil fuels and climate change, not to mention all of the side effects that went along with urban sprawl. From what I hear, many people that were instrumental in the design process are now employed to manage these greenways to ensure their long term resiliency. Hopefully their jobs will get easier now that greenhouse gas emissions have essentially been eliminated throughout the world and climate change is predicted to level off to background rates in about 50 years.

I have to remember to send Caroline the front page article in the newspaper, right net to the W/H (Wellness and Happiness) and the Biodiversity Indices, about the recent sighting of a male wolf using the Patuxent CL (Corridor Link) greenway in Maryland. This is great news! The restoration process of reintroducing wolves to the Allegheny Mountain corridor has proven wildly successful while the reintroduction process along the Atlantic Coast corridor has been adequate. But up until now there hasn’t been much evidence that the two populations were commingling. Maybe this sighting will be one of many in the future. This issue of wolf reintroduction was extremely controversial in the beginning, but using the resources from the GRN, the Bioregional Department of Ecology and Community came to the conclusion that in order to facilitate whole-scale ecological restoration of the landscape, that all of the trophic levels needed to be represented. It took a lot of hard work and persistence to make this happen, but once communities began to realize the social, economic, and health benefits of an ecologically healthy, in-tact, whole landscape, the decision to move forward with the reintroductions became much easier.

I need to go. I still take a daily walk out to visit the community volunteer restoration corps. They like to ask me questions about how Anya is doing and what restoration was like back in the ‘stone ages’ of 2007. Those were the years!

Where are you going to be in 2050? How will you Restore the Future? Send in your 2050 Restore the Future stories (www.info@ser.org) and we will post them on the GRN (http://www.globalrestorationnetwork.org/). Keith Bowers, Chair Society for Ecological Restoration International

As always, let us know what you think.

posted by Biohabitats, Inc. at 3:46 PM

Thoughts On Earth Day

2007-04-21T21:33:00.002-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 5 Number 2
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.20/

Earth Day Blues
By Joseph Wiedle

I come from a region in Pennsylvania where the environment is a rather poignant issue. A few miles down the road, through mountains ravaged by the anthracite coal companies that took the precious, hard, and black fuel from under my ancestors, there is Centralia, PA. It is burning. On the side of the road, on colder autumn or winter days you can literally see steam and smoke rising and curling out of cracks in the ground. A fire started in one of the mineshafts, and raged out of control before the miners could quell it. So they left it. The fire found one of the largest veins of coal, and started in on it. It has been burning ever since. This is just the start of it.

I grew up in row homes that the mining companies threw up quickly to house the immigrants arriving from Staten Island, who were then sent sliding down dark, freezing holes underneath the mountains with little more than a canary and a lantern to help them see to their work. The steel factories in Allentown and Bethlehem needed heat. The workers and the environment paid pretty dearly supplying that heat.

Nowadays, all that is left of the dirty industry that berthed the first labor unions are the rusted, hollow, and ominous breakers dotting the landscape. There are huge mounds of slag, a mixture of coal particles and dirt, sitting next to the road just a half of a mile from my high school football field. Recently, a new burning method was devised, and the buzzard of industry landed on the mountain above my town in the form of a Coal Generation Plant. It can burn the slag at higher heats, and can squeeze what little energy there is left out of the slag, leaving behind a useless, ultra fine, red dust, which very large trucks place where the large piles of slag used to sit. Then, they level it off and plant sod over it. Virgin Pennsylvania forest replaced with bland, unnaturally flat, green fields, under which may or may not be a new environmental hazard. The townsfolk were complaining about having to wash the red dust off of their siding, while I was finishing up high school.

I had a Huck Finn-esque childhood. I was always in the woods with a pocket knife, fishing rod, and then later a shotgun. I love the outdoors. I camped. Just not near my house. We had to drive to places where Pennsylvania wasn't so scarred. So we did. My family would discuss the landscape, but in a shrugging way. "The coal companies came, and when the coal ran out, they left," my father would tell me. "Didn't anyone fight against the pollution?" I used to ask. "No," my father would say, "Things were different back then."

After leaving Pennsylvania, I was fortunate enough to travel quite a bit. I lived in Massachusetts, where it is very progressive, yet there still were not recycle bins on every block. Then I lived in France, where I saw that there were recycle bins everywhere. I saw lots of solar paneled stoplights, and intense pubic transportation. After France, I moved to California, and have eventually settled in Baltimore. This is funny, because the steel that was made in Allentown and Bethlehem was trucked down to Baltimore's harbor to leave the country on boats. The industry destroyed the bay. I have stood on Federal Hill and at Fort McHenry, and looked at the beautiful bay. I just won't dare swim in it.

Earth Day just passed. I recently read that John McConnell, founder of Earth Day, and his cohorts decided on March 21st, because it is the Spring Equinox, the day when night and day are equal. The earth's cycles are in balance. The first Earth Day was in 1970! That is less than 40 years ago. Has the earth only been important since then? Congress needed 5 more years to deliberate before they decided the earth was important enough to have its own holiday. Scary. I can see how naïve I was when asking my father about why no one punished the coal companies for polluting.

I am older now. I find myself with an environmental job, making schematic drawings that aid in the restoration and conservation of the environment. I am answering that question from my coal dusty childhood. I recycle. I compost. I recently (and only partially willingly) went carless. Still, however, I work with people at our firm who constantly are challenging me regarding what I eat, where it comes from, what I buy, where it comes from. I am learning to question these things myself. I must admit I have fallen into the humdrum of consuming without consequences at points in my life. I welcome the constructive criticism of my coworkers. I can always do more.

Earth Day passing reminded me of my torn up stomping grounds in Pennsylvania. No one does much about it. They just drive past it. That kind of gets to me, and it has since I was a boy. Perhaps in the future I can learn more about restoration efforts, and eventually make a difference back there. It is a goal of mine. Earth Day passing encourages me to be part of the solution, instead of the problem. It reinforces my decisions to work for the environment. It is an idealist's holiday, and I am an idealist with coal dirt under the skin of my knees and elbows.

(Click here for more information about the Centralia Mine Fire)

Is Earth Day Just Another One Of Those "Days?"
By Suzanne Hoehne

Googling Earth Day" now results in about 1.98 million hits. According to the U.S. government, "Earth Day is a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress. Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day and every day is a time to act to protect our planet." www.earthday.gov.

When Earth Day approaches, people plant trees, pick up trash, and do activities that "help" the earth. However, if most people were asked, on any other day, what they have done the past year to help the earth, they'd probably say, "I went to that event on Earth Day. . ." Is Earth Day becoming like other "days?" Is Earth Day becoming like Thanksgiving, where people only go serve dinner at a homeless shelter on that day? Is it now the norm to only do things to help the earth on one day?

Let's not forget that - matter how busy our lives get - to take the time and practice all that we preach on Earth Day everyday. For as the U.S. Government Says, "Every Day is a time to act to protect our planet." It will take all of us working together everyday to protect and restore the third rock from the sun, Earth.

Thoughts On Ecological Restoration Construction, Planting & Management

2007-03-20T15:46:00.001-04:00

Thoughts On the Great Lakes Bioregion

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 5 Number 1
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.19/

With the arrival of spring, our thoughts instinctively turn to the breaking of ground, and the installation of many ecological restoration projects. The construction, planting and management of ecological restoration plans forge critical links that can transform outstanding design on paper to long-term, ecological sustainability in the ground.

What does it take to successfully construct, plant and manage ecological restoration projects? Are construction contractors and plant vendors too often blamed for poor designs? What do they need from design professionals to be better prepared? What method of procurement most benefits ecological restoration projects? How can we avoid implementation disasters by anticipating potential pitfalls? Join us as we explore the world of ecological restoration construction, planting and management.

Top contractors from various regions of the U.S. really dug into this topic during Leaf Litter's first ever expert panel discussion. Check out the lively discussion among panelists Randy Mandel of the Rocky Mountain Native Plants Company, Robin Ernst of Meadville Land Services, Griff Evans of Ecological Restoration and Management, and Steve Windhager of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Those of you interested in building on your knowledge of tree protection during construction (as well as random cultural references) won't want to miss Kevin Heatley of Biohabitats ISM's "Working In The Shade". Check out the results of our reader survey on ecological restoration construction, planting and management. Explore recommended resources and check out the latest on Biohabitats.

As always, let us know what you think.

Restoring Our Future

2006-12-22T09:48:00.000-05:00

During the past 20 plus years, we have had the privilege of working on some very interesting and rewarding ecological restoration projects, like the times we have worked with inner-city kids in restoring freshwater tidal wetlands along the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., and the summer we spent hiking the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia to assess stream morphology and trout habitat. I also fondly recall the many times we have worked up and down the mid-Atlantic coast restoring barrier island sand dunes while catching glimpses of humpback whales during their winter migration. Currently we are fortunate enough to be working with towns across North America crafting watershed management plans that will help galvanize support for natural resource protection and set in action initiatives to push ecological restoration to the forefront of the public agenda for years to come. A hundred acres of freshwater tidal wetlands restored here, five miles of coastal dune restored there, and more than 400 square miles of watersheds protected. All good stuff, right? You bet, but is it enough?

According to the United Nations, current world population stands at about 6.5 billion people, and will peak at about 9 billion people in 45 years. It is projected that more than 60 percent of these people will be living in cities. By itself, a 40-percent increase in population size may or may not be cause for alarm with regards to our ecological well-being. But consider this: since 1950, the average house in the United States has doubled in size even though the average family size has steadily decreased. China, where household size has shrunk from 4.5 people per house in 1985 to a projected 2.7 people per house by 2015, is in a similar demographic situation. Nevertheless, China plans to develop more than 80 million more houses than it would otherwise had. Given this level of change, meeting the needs of the world’s population growth and its rising affluence will require an unprecedented consumption of more and more resources. In fact, almost every day I witness firsthand a relentless charge to develop more and more land and to sequester more and more resources to support this surge . I now finding myself thinking about the role ecological restoration should play, in fact will play, as our population continues to grow, our natural capital continues to shrink, and our connection to the land slowly disappears. Here’s how.

First, ecological restoration will continue to play the pivotal role in our efforts to restore large-scale ecosystems, like the Florida Everglades or the West Africa Forest Ecosystem. In doing so, however, ecological restoration needs to continue to recognize traditional ecological knowledge and engage on-going cultural practices to be successful.

Second, ecological restoration will play a critical role in restoring natural systems that provide the world with clean water, clean air, fertile soils, and other essential ecosystem services. This inherently requires that the approaches restorationists employ, and their subsequent outcomes, embrace human-dominated landscapes.

Third, ecological restoration has a major role to play in our quest to live more sustainably and to reconnect people to the landscape. If the essence of sustainability is sustaining the conditions that enable all life forms to flourish and reach their evolutionary potential, then ecological restoration will be an essential ingredient in future land development activities.

While this won’t come easy, there are already major shifts beginning to happen around the world in how we think about, use, and care for our planet. I am certain that ecological restoration will play a meaningful role in restoring our future!

Keith Bowers, President
Biohabitats, Inc.

Thoughts On the Great Lakes Bioregion

2006-12-21T08:25:00.000-05:00

Thoughts On the Great Lakes Bioregion

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 4 Number 5
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.18/

Less than 20,000 years ago, as the earth’s climate warmed and the last glacial continental ice sheet retreated, a system of interconnecting bodies of water began to form – a system we now know as the Laurentian Great Lakes. The Great Lakes, comprised of five large lakes, one small lake, four connecting channels and a seaway, span over 95,000 square miles (245,759 square km), and are now one of the world’s most important natural resources.

Sadly, neither its size nor its power has protected the Great Lakes region from threats such as toxic contamination, invasive aquatic species and loss of wetlands, to name a few. While some progress has been made in addressing these threats, their impact remains, easily seen in the form of closed beaches, fish consumption advisories, lost shoreline, etc.

In this issue of Leaf Litter, we will begin to examine the ecological health of this critical resource. With its six quadrillion gallons of fresh water, 30,000+ islands, vast fishery, broad range of ecosystems and tremendous variety of plants and animals, the Laurentian Great Lakes bioregion is certainly worth exploring.

When discussing a system so vast, it only makes sense that we gain the perspectives of several Great Lakes experts. In this issue, we were fortunate enough to chat with: Karen Rodriguez, an Environmental Protection Specialist with the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office; John Andersen, Great Lakes Director for The Nature Conservancy; Steve Timmermans, an aquatic surveys scientist for Bird Studies Canada; and Karen Vigmostad, Director of the Great Lakes Islands Project and the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Regional Office.

For those of you who haven’t met our Great Lakes bioregional leader, Ivette Bolender, her article on the islands of the Great Lakes provides a nice introduction. We’ll share the insights and information you provided in our reader survey and we’ll take a look at the burning issue of invasive species in Great Lakes region with Kevin Heatley of Biohabitats ISM.

So join us as we step into this grand, natural system and discover its beauty, its treasures and its vulnerabilities. As always, we welcome - heck, invite – your feedback.

Thoughts on Natural Capital

2006-09-18T16:49:00.000-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 4 Number 4
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.17/

Thoughts on Natural Capital

The idea that a produced good has commercial worth is relatively easy for us to understand. A pair of jeans, a bottle of wine, a piece of equipment…each is a tangible item with an assigned and accepted value. But what about the goods and services provided by natural systems? What is the monetary value of services like carbon cycling and water filtration? Can price tags be applied to fresh air, clean water and green spaces?

According to renowned ecological economist, Dr. Robert Costanza, the answer is yes. In his commonly cited paper, The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital (Costanza, R., et al. 1997. Nature 387:253-260), Costanza and his colleagues concluded that the world’s ecosystems were worth $33 trillion – and that was in 1997. This study and its applications, along with the growing body of research and projects attempting to link ecology and economics (including Dr. Costanza’s current work at the Gund Institute) suggest that natural capital could be the key to conserving and restoring Earth’s biodiversity.

Yet as you’ll see in the results of our reader survey on natural capital, some of you do not believe it is possible, practical or philosophically appropriate to assign monetary value to the goods and services produced by nature.

Whether you see natural capital as a catalyst for economic transformation, a guiding light on the pathway to better land use decisions, or an elusive, idealistic concept, one thing is certain – it is a topic worth exploring.

Join us as we talk with Dr. David Tilley, an ecological engineer at the University of Maryland’s Environmental Science and Technology department. Dave is deeply involved in exploring the use of “emergy,” or embodied energy, as a tool in ecosystem valuation.

Kevin Heatley of Biohabitats ISM applies the concept of natural capital to tree conservation in his article The Money Tree.

See how your colleagues are applying natural capital to their work in their survey answers. Read about how we are working with others to preserve natural capital on two university campus sites.

We hope this issue of Leaf Litter generates thought, discussion and hey, maybe even some new research on natural capital. For further exploration, we encourage you to explore our recommended resources.

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have comments you’d like to share with us about this or any other issue of Leaf Litter, please contact our editor.

- Keith Bowers, Principal
Biohabitats, Inc.

The Ethics of Restoration

2006-09-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

The Ethics of Restoration

Several years ago while we were working on a wetland restoration project, we were instructed by our client to minimize costs by reducing the number of groundwater monitoring wells that we determined were needed to adequately assess wetland hydrology, reduce the size and quantity of plant material that we believed was needed to establish the appropriate vegetation community, and to eliminate post installation invasive species management, recognizing that this would surely compromise the long term success of the project. On another occasions, we have be requested to remove stakeholder participation from restoration projects, asked to be an expert witness to justify land development projects that our restoration work has been associated with, and to convince regulatory agencies that restoration sites should be approved contrary to what the monitoring data suggests. And I can’t count the number of times we have seen our restoration construction details used on other consultant’s drawings without our permission (or even a reference).

As a member of a number of professional societies as well as being licensed to practice landscape architecture in the United States, I am bound to about a half-dozen code of ethics that serve to define acceptable behaviors, promote high standards of practice, and establish a framework for professional responsibility within the various disciplines that I practice. However, to the best of my knowledge, the specific work that I practice as a restoration ecologist, or an ecological restorationist, is not covered by a code of ethics for ecological restoration. In the latest issue of Ecological Restoration (Vol. 24, No. 2), Dr. Rebecca Vidra and her undergraduate students at Duke University report on an online survey of roughly 1,000 SER International members on their views regarding a code of ethics for ecological restoration.

According to Dr. Vidra, more than half of the respondents have faced ethical issues with regard to ecological restoration and that, “something should be done to help practitioners successfully meet these challenges”. The survey went on to ask SER International members if a code of ethics should be developed for restoration ecologists, and if so, what should the code address. According to the survey, an overwhelming majority of SER International members believe that a code is needed and would be willing to sign a pledge to uphold it has a member.
Dr. Vidra and her students have presented a compelling case for SER to develop a code of ethics. With the advent of a possible practitioner certification program for ecological restorationists, it appears to be time to fully explore a code of ethics for SER International. I believe a code of ethics for SER International is long overdue. I also believe that the process to undertake this effort needs to be inclusive, transparent and purposeful; otherwise the code of ethics will loose its creditability.

The Cost of Restoration

2006-09-18T12:31:00.000-04:00

Ecological Restoration
Vol. 24 Number 3
http://ecologicalrestoration.info/

The Cost of Restoration

How many times have you heard, “It’s too costly to do ecological restoration”? Or, “it’s best to invest the money in conservation rather then restoration initiatives”. I know I have run across these sentiments more than enough times. Typically my first reaction is to say, ‘more costly than what’? More costly than doing nothing, I suppose. More costly than using conventional means to supplement the functions and values supported by the ecosystem that I am attempting to restore? Sometimes, I guess. But is it more costly when I begin to consider all of the intrinsic values (natural, social and economic capital) that a restoration project yields. Or the true lifecycle costs (resource extraction, climate change, health care, pollution abatement, etc.) associated with substituting an artificial system for a restored ecosystem. Or the hidden costs of missed opportunities and the temporally invisible decay of natural areas by well intentioned conservation initiatives. Now that ecological restoration is becoming a critical, if not absolutely necessary component in our quest to rescue degraded ecosystems and save the world’s biodiversity, it is also garnering ever increasing scrutiny from the public, including economists, administrators and politicians, among others. This welcomed attention brings along with it the need to provide these decision makers with accurate information about the true benefits and costs of restoration.

Just think, a storehouse of information pertaining to the costs and benefits of ecological restoration could serve many uses. It would allow proponents (and opponents) to research both the direct and indirect costs of a proposed restoration project. It would allow someone to benchmark a proposed restoration action with other similar actions to evaluate the efficacy of a restoration program. It would also provide politicians with the justification to support ecological restoration initiatives as an alternative to more conventional projects. Most of all, it will help convince a weary public accustomed to instant gratification that the intrinsic benefits of ecological restoration are well worth it.

Of course there are some hurdles to overcome. Ecological restoration projects tend to be very site specific, embedded in local site conditions, social customs and cultural norms. This may make it difficult to compare and generalize about the costs of ecological restoration over a larger geographic or cultural expanse. It is also somewhat problematic, though certainly not impossible to develop a life cycle analysis of what it takes to perform and implement an ecological restoration project versus a conventional project, or better yet, a do nothing approach. Likewise, it is also challenging but not unattainable to assign economic values to natural capital, like clean air, clean water, and healthy soil.

So where do we start. Well for one, the Society for Ecological Restoration International’s new web based portal – the Global Restoration Network, could become the perfect repository for such information. Imagine a place where practitioners, researchers and government agencies could both submit and acquire information on the economic costs of various ecological restoration projects in different geographic regions. Where life cycle cost analysis methodologies and results could be housed. Or where information from leading ecological economists could be found on the values of natural capital.

How much does it cost to restore a hectare of prairie, a kilometer of river, or a community of rare plants? Do these costs outweigh the intrinsic benefits? Will this information aid in more informed choices concerning our future land use decisions. Hopefully all of these answers are right around the corner.

Keith Bowers, Chair
Society for Ecological Restoration International
http://www.ser.org/

Thoughts On Adaptive Management

2006-06-21T08:25:00.000-04:00

Biohabitats’ Leaf Litter
Vol. 4 Number 3
http://www.biohabitats.com/ndg_newsite/newsletter/number.16/

Thoughts On Adaptive Management

It is described by some as the most successful approach to complex natural resource challenges. Yet many of us are still struggling just to get our arms around the term “adaptive management.” Heralded by a growing following of practitioners as a flexible, science-based and stakeholder-driven approach to natural resource conservation, restoration and protection, adaptive management is generating quite a buzz. Evidence of this buzz is everywhere – from the Everglades of Florida, to the Maya Forest of Guatemala, to the tussock grasslands of New Zealand.

Should we really begin our work with a hypothesis rather than a proposed solution? Will clients and colleagues buy this idea of learning from experimentation and adapting management strategies as we go? Can science and management truly come together to successfully protect and restore ecosystems well into the ever-changing future?

In this issue of Leaf Litter, we begin to address some of these questions. We talk with Dr. Barry Gold, former Chief of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, who put adaptive management theory to practice with the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program. We also share the results of our survey on adaptive management. If you are one of many readers confused about the difference between active and passive adaptive management, take a look at our simple clarification. For recommended reading material and web sites containing links to programs using adaptive management, check out our list of resources.

We hope this issue of Leaf Litter begins to shed some light on what is emerging as one of the most exciting approaches to ecological restoration, conservation planning and regenerative design. As always, we welcome your feedback.

- Keith Bowers, Principal
Biohabitats, Inc.