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| Society for Ecological Restoration Texas Chapter  |
| Restoration Field Notes June, 2016 |
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| TXSER Board of Directors President Charlotte Reemts Vice President Kelly Lyons Secretary Leslie Dietz Treasurer Colin Shackelford North Texas Rep. Michelle Villafranca East Texas Rep. William Forbes South Texas Rep. Eric Grahmann West Texas Rep. Katherine Crosthwaite Central Texas Rep. Ingrid Karklins Coastal Texas Rep. Alejandro Fierro Cabo Coastal Texas Rep. Bradley Hoge Chapter Director Gwen Thomas TXSER info@txser.org (972) 768-8067 |
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2016 Conference
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November 11-13, 2016
Camp Cho-Yeh
Livingston, TX
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Save the Date!
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Employment Opportunities
& More
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For up-to-date announcements of positions open in ecological restoration and environmental science,
visit our website at:
Job Postings
We also post a wide range of articles on ecological restoration issues as well as job and volunteer opportunities on our Facebook page at:
TXSER Facebook Page
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TXSER Newsflash
Save the Date!!
TXSER 2016 Annual Conference:
Linking Science & Practice
November 11-13, 2016
Camp Cho-Yeh,
Livingston, Texas
(1 hour North of Houston)
The TXSER Conference Website is up and running and continually being updated
. Click the link below to check it out.
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Conference Update
We need Your Input - EER Award!
Excellence in Ecological Restoration Award:
Each year at our conference, TXSER honors someone who has made substantial contributions to restoration ecology in Texas with the Excellence in Ecological Restoration Award.
These contributions can include ground-breaking research, amazing on-the-ground restoration implementation, or outstanding facilitation of others' restoration efforts. Their contribution to the field must be innovative, sustained, and/or exceptional
. If you know of someone who should be considered for this award, please send a short paragraph about their efforts and qualifications to Charlotte Reemts or Gwen Thomas. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, July 29th.
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Sandylands Sanctuary. Photo credit: TNC Staff.
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Conference Events & Activities
Some of the exciting events/activities planned for the 2016 conference include:
* Keynote Speaker - Wendy Ledbetter, TNC Forest Program Manager
* Field trip to TNC's Roy E. Larsen Sandyland Sanctuary
* Centennial Forest/Big Thicket Tour & Tree Planting
* Field trip to the Pineywoods Mitigation Bank
* Young Professional and Student Happy Hour
* Excellence in Ecological Restoration Award
* Campfire and S'mores in the woods
* Volleyball & ping-pong matches, treehouse explorations
* Land-based "blob" (upside-down trampoline)
* Many opportunities for informal networking
* And, of course, lots of great presentations by experts in the field
Check out our conference website for details:
TXSER-2016.
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Pineywoods Mitigation Bank. Photo credit: PMB Staff.
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Member Spotlight
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Leslie & Daniel Dietz
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Name:
Leslie & Daniel Dietz
City: Eugene, Oregon (formerly Austin, TX)
Affiliation:
Leslie - Biologist, Job Seeker
This month we are taking a break from our formal Member Spotlight to say farewell and best of luck to two of Texas's energetic and enthusiastic conservation/restorationists who will be dearly missed by many of us across the State.
Leslie served on the TXSER Board of Directors from 2010 through May, 2016. Her commitment to the Board; participation in the organization and management of our annual conferences; knowledge of, and contacts in, the field of ecological restoration; and enthusiasm for TXSER will be greatly missed. Leslie is looking for work in Eugene. Any thoughts or contacts for Leslie, send our way and we will be sure that she receives them.
Daniel, a TXSER Member, served as the Stewardship Director of the Texas Land Conservancy based in Austin. He is known for his work with local landowners and protecting land areas across the State. Daniel undertook a new position as Associate Director of Conservation at the McKenzie River Trust in Eugene where he will continue his efforts to protect rural and urban lands.
We wish Leslie and Daniel, and the entire Dietz family, much success and happiness on their new adventure. They will all be missed.
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A Visit with SER Nepal
By: William Forbes
Associate Professor of Geography, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
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SER Nepal. Photo credit: William Forbes
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In March, TXSER board member William Forbes visited SER Nepal as part of a trip to plan a May 2017 service-learning study abroad course at Stephen F. Austin State University. SER Nepal was started by a young scientist/researcher with Dr. Dhananjay Regmi becoming chapter president in 2011. Dr. Regmi studied at the University of Arizona under restorationist Don Falk and received his Ph.D. in geography from Japan. Like many Nepalis, his considerable energy extends beyond his business ownership to other endeavors, including initiating activities of SER Nepal.
The chapter has conducted the following activities:
1) planted over a thousand trees along the sacred Bagmati River within the city of Kathmandu, involving numerous community organizations and volunteers;
2) planted landscaping trees at Kalkani, a key western entry/exit point of the city that receives more air pollution than other parts of the city;
3) established a tree nursery on the southern outskirts of Kathmandu (at Chalnakhel) to support future tree planting initiatives of SER and other organizations;
4) built over 500 bamboo houses, specially designed to withstand future tremors, for villagers displaced by the April 25, 2015 earthquake.
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L-R - William Forbes, Ram R. Rijal & Ramchandra Lama
Photo credit: SER Nepal Staff
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SER Nepal is operated by Dr. Regmi's assistant Ram R. Rijal, who also completed his graduate studies (masters' degree) in Nepal and Japan, in Ecological Anthropology. Ram is pictured here in the middle with Dr. Forbes on the left and nursery manager/retired forester Ramchandra Lama on the right. The nursery uses many containerized seedlings to achieve better survival. The typical planting season is June, at the beginning of the monsoon rains that run through September. Nepal is a northern hemisphere nation at subtropical latitude, with some tree dormancy November to February. The extended dry season from October to May affects seedling survival. Higher elevations (4,000 feet near Kathmandu to 7,000 feet at the valley rim) support native temperate tree species such as beech, oak, pine, and willow along with lapsi (Choerospondias axillaris), chilaune (Schima wallichii) and
kattus (
Castanopsis indica
), dominant in mid-elevation forests, and the lowland, flood tolerant simal tree (
Bombax ceiba
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As with many restoration projects around the world, natural and human-caused challenges occur, such as plant survival and competing land use. Many of the riverside tree plantings were removed by a government flood control project, despite prior coordination. SER Nepal's recent priority has been helping villagers recover from the earthquake. Future activities may include: 1) more tree plantings to reduce erosion, flooding and pollution; 2) research on what trees are best at air pollution mitigation; 3) construction of "rain gardens" around village wells, to assist infiltration and storage of groundwater; 4) and possibly a tree planting including Texas students in May 2017!
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SER Nepal Seedlings. Photo credit: William Forbes.
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News You Can Use
1. Guide for Incorporating Ecosystem Service Valuation into Coastal Restoration Projects
NOAA framework for incorporating ecosystem service valuation at the beginning of a restoration progject rather than at the end.
Click to obtain
NOAA Guide
2. USGS Research Shows Economic Impacts of Ecological Restoration Projects
Over 21 case studies available on this topic from links on this site.
For more information, click
Economic Impacts of ER
3. Rewilding Needs An Enabling Policy Environment
More thoughts to add to the rewilding discussions. Click here -
Rewilding
4. Aligning Restoration Science & the Law to Sustain Ecological Infrastructure for the Future
Article by Margaret Palmer, published by the Ecological Society of America. Click here for downloadable version -
Palmer Article
5. The Wilderness Society - Map Shows the Wildest Land Linking Protected Areas of the U.S.
6. Prairie Restoration (Reconstruction) as a Landscape-Scale Prairie Conservation Tool
This is an article from the Prairie Ecologist Blog from 2011 that has resurfaced. There are many interesting links in this article. Click here -
Prairie Ecologist
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1. USFWS Restoration Webinar Series
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A Heartfelt Thanks to the Following Organizations & Individuals for their Generous Support
of our
2015 20th Anniversary Conference!!
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Charlotte Reemts Suzanne Tuttle
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
Please Take a Moment to Click on the Above Logos
& Check Out Our Sponsors' Websites.
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The Society for Ecological Restoration, Texas Chapter promotes ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and
re-establishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture. |
| Become a member today! Click Here to Join Us! Join the Texas Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration. Chapter members receive valuable benefits including:
- the opportunity to network with restoration practitioners and enthusiasts;
- discounts to our Annual Conference, an opportunity to share and learn;
- invitations to attend talks, ER Discussion Groups, and volunteer workdays around the state; and,
- monthly updates and quarterly newsletters with articles and notices about regional events that allow you to connect to the local restoration community.
Chapter membership fees of $15 support chapter administration. The TXSER Board of Directors consists of volunteers who share a passion for furthering ecological restoration in Texas. Joining SER links you with a global restoration network. SER member benefits include:
- SERNews bi-monthly newsletter;
- discounts on journal publications;
- discounts to SER World Conferences;
- discounts on SER Career Center;
- access to a searchable, online member directory;
- access to SER's Global Restoration Network; and,
- promotional opportunities through the SER Calendar of Events and Restoration Project Showcase.
To become a member visit: www.ser.org/membership Be sure to click the Texas Chapter as your Chapter Affiliate. We look forward to having you join us! |
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