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| Winter 2003 Newsletter | Edited by Steve Windels | ||||||||||||||||||||||
In This Issue:
FROM THE CHAIR - Marcia H. Wolfe Almonds and flowering pears were beginning to bloom in mid-January here, indicative of a very warm winter as they usually don't bloom until mid-February-(but this week are having frosty nights- who can figure?) and here I am in the throes of initiating the planning efforts for our field trips for the workshop in Vermont in September! So, we are feeling a seasonal warp. We have made some interesting contacts with Liz Thomspon at the University of Vermont herbarium. We have put together a number of leads on potential site visits that sound very interesting. These include:
When a complete list of potential locations is pulled together, we can initiate the maps, timing and logistics. So, we are still working on developing a list and then we can prioritize and pare down the possibilities, probably in March. If any of you have leads or ideas, please pass them on to me, and volunteers can sign up with me at yakimapark@aol..com!!! Come get involved in the Restoration Group activities!!! Marcia Hamann Wolfe Chair, Restoration Working Group FEATURE ARTICLES: DATABASE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT: A NECESSITY FOR QUALITY LONG TERM HABITAT RESTORATION -Helen Whiffen, USGS National Wetlands Research Center, Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture, Vicksburg, MS -William Uihlein, III, USFWS, Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture,, Vicksburg, MS HABITAT DIMISE Over 20 million acres lay within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) along the lower half of the Mississippi River (Figure 1). Historically, this region provided nesting habitat for forest-interior birds like Bachman's Warbler (Vermivora bachmanii) and Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Xiphorhynchus flavigaster), as well as wintering habitat for migratory waterfowl like Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca).
Before the introduction of extensive, large-scale flood control within this region, hardwood forests covered more than 90 percent of the MAV. By 1992, approximately 100 years after the commencement of mechanized flood control, less than 25 percent of the MAV remained forested. This decrease in bottomland hardwood forest acreage negatively impacted the rich diversity of wildlife adapted to hardwood forest ecosystems, resulting in extensive population declines that have led to extripation (e.g., red wolf) and even extinction (e.g., ivory-billed woodpecker). While the losses of forested habitat and wildlife populations have been significant, opportunities to restore bottomland hardwood forest and recover sustainable populations of wildlife abound. THE JOINT VENTURE RESPONDS In 1986 the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP, 1986) recommended habitat restoration efforts be coordinated through regional partnerships. Private, state, and federal conservation organizations in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley responded through the creation of the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (LMVJV Management Board, 1990). The Joint Venture recognized that maintenance of waterfowl populations depended on the protection, restoration, and management of adequate habitat, including flooded bottomland hardwood forest. During the early 1990s, Partners in Fight sounded a carillon call for songbird conservation that reverberated within the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture. Responding to this call, the Joint Venture partnership expanded its vision to include conservation of all birds. Because habitat loss in the MAV has been most extensive within bottomland forests, a primary restoration emphasis has been placed on forest wetland by federal, state, and private entities. Currently, there are several avenues through which forest restoration occurs on both public and private lands. Specifically, Joint Venture partners are expanding national wildlife refuges and state wildlife management areas, purchasing property through land trusts, enrolling private lands in conservation programs (e.g., Wetland Reserve Program), and incorporating carbon sequestration into existing habitat delivery programs. In general, the program under which a parcel of land becomes a candidate for reforestation generally does not impact its' priority for reforestation. Rather, to determine a property's reforestation priority, Joint Venture partners focus on the specific ecological sensitivities of a property in combination with the juxtaposition of the property relative to other high quality forested habitat in the surrounding landscape. A reforestation priority model, developed by Twedt, et al. (2003, see article in this issue), is being used to spatially assign reforestation priorities to all land units within a geographic area of interest. A combination of the forest breeding bird priority model and a preliminary natural flood storage priority model has been used by Joint Venture partners to establish a conservation goal of reforesting 4 million acres over the next 50 years. Because reforestation priority models depend on knowledge of existing land cover conditions, each reforestation event affects subsequent reforestation priorities. Hence, Joint Venture partners need to track reforestation activities across organizations and Programs. THE CASE FOR A DATABASE Comprehensive planning has been a cornerstone of the LMV Joint Venture's effort to protect, restore, and manage the forested habitat in the MAV. Effective planning in support of wildlife prosperity over the long-term requires extensive quantities of high quality information on habitats and populations. To continue to meet future conservation planning needs, the LMV Joint Venture has sought to manage, protect, and sometimes even restore data that describe MAV habitats. A well-designed digital database is one of the tools the LMVJV is using to manage and protect forested habitat data. The upfront investment in database design and development was worth the time and effort required because of the rigorous demands that will be placed on the data over time. 1. Long-term data use. The habitat restoration objectives of the LMV Joint Venture require a long-term approach and, therefore, a long-term monitoring program (i.e., trees take a long time to mature!). 2. Coordination. A well-designed database demands, and therefore ensures, an exact definition of each variable stored in the database. The a priori establishment of variable definitions insures that all project participants will understand the database even though different people collect and use the data over many years. 3. Easy record access. The dataset required to describe the reforestation effort on up to 10 million acres of land by many different agencies through many different funding programs over a time period measured in decades is extremely large; a robust database design allows quick and easy access to the data through established queries. 4. Shared results. Over a dozen different organizations participate in the LMV Joint Venture. Most project participants collect project data and reference project data. Through the use of a well-designed, fully described database and Internet technology, participants can access project data anytime from almost anywhere. DATABASE DESIGN There are many different database models, including hierarchical, network, and relational. The LMVJV chose to use the relational database format for reforestation data. In truth, the relational database model is based on a field of mathematics called set theory, but this is the only time we will mention it. In simplified terms, a relational database stores data in relations, which are perceived by the user as tables. Each relation or table is composed of records (rows) and attribute fields (columns). A primary advantage of the relational database (RDB) design, over the hierarchical or network designs is that the user is not required to know the physical location of a record in order to retrieve its data. As long as the user is familiar with the relationships among the tables in the database, she can access the data in an almost unlimited number of ways (Hernandez, 1997). Through the application of good design principles, data integrity is built into the RDB model on several levels. Through upfront planning and use of iterative design processes, by which input from the entire range of data providers and users is obtained and melded together, a RDB is constructed in which each piece of data need be entered only once, relationships between tables are valid, and a database that supports the data needs of every participant is assured. In general, each table in a RDB has a primary key that uniquely identifies a record within a table (Figure 2a). A foreign key is used to establish a connection between a pair of tables (Figure 2b). Tables in a RDB are "connectable" when they share an attribute field that contains matching values. There are three types of connections: one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many (Figure 2c). These connections allow a user to access any field in the database through the use of structured query language (SQL).
REFORESTATION TRACKING SYSTEM DATA ENTRY AND ACCESS The reforestation data collected by the LMV Joint Venture will be housed in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Vicksburg, MS. Individuals distributed over the entire region, each with varying degrees of expertise in and experience with databases, will be entering the data into the RDB. Therefore, it is important that the data entry system be distributed, secure, and specific. Distributed in the sense that individuals can enter the data from their own offices via the Internet; secure in the sense that unauthorized individuals are unable to enter or edit data; and specific meaning that the information and format for each data field are self-evident. The use of forms can ease data entry. Forms can be designed to walk an individual through the data entry process in the same order every time to insure that all attribute fields are complete. Pull down menus with lists of possible choices for some fields speed data entry and can be used to auto-populate related fields as necessary. Forms can also be used to standardize data format (e. g., the month and year: YYYYMM) and impose attribute domains, like the prohibition of letter values in a Month_Year field. Use of these "checking methods" helps reduce data entry errors, an "un-traceable" yet common source of data error. Data housed in the RDB will be available via the Internet to authorized individuals. In this manner the LMVJV will provide the most up-to-date version of the RDB to researchers, land managers, and administrators at their convenience. PROGRAMMATIC DIRECTION The data in the RDB are vital to prioritizing reforestation within the MAV. As stands of new hardwoods are planted and become established, the location and extent of core forest, and other forest metrics, will change. Over time these modifications to the landscape will alter the reforestation priority assignments of neighboring parcels. The LMVJV plans to use data in the RDB to periodically re-model reforestation priorities. This will keep reforestation priorities synchronized with current landscape conditions. In this manner, future decisions will be based on the most up-to-date information, and reforestation efforts will target those areas from which the largest gain in quality habitat can be achieved with the limited funds available. SUMMARY To monitor and direct the overall effectiveness of the LMVJV to improve bird habitat through reforestation efforts a robust data-keeping system is required. The data housed in the system must meet the data needs of all project participants. In addition, the data entry and data access systems must be easy to use, and the data structure must be easy to navigate. Few people enjoy keeping records; we suspect few conservation biologists chose their profession with a burning desire to design and populate databases. However, we can all agree that without comprehensive, consistent, accurate records, the biological impacts of long-term programs like reforestations in the MAV remain unknown and the lessons to be learned from historical efforts remain concealed. It is important to the LMVJV, both administratively and biologically, that we use tools like relational databases to document the extent of the reforestation efforts, calculate the habitat "return" on the investment of public dollars, and learn, by relating current habitat quality to historical planting methods, stock, and site selection, how to optimize habitat restoration efforts through adaptive management. Contrary to what you might have heard, good database design and development is not "rocket science." It does require a commitment by the program director, on the front end, to providing the time and expertise required for the detail-oriented, methodical application of database theory that is necessary to design and build a robust RDB. In addition, project partners must be willing to participate in the iterative design process and "sign off" on the mutually agreed list of attribute fields and table relationships even before data collection begins. In the long run, good database design and a robust system for data entry make long-term biological restoration programs more efficient, more accountable, and, most importantly, more effective for wildlife. LITERATURE CITED Hernandez, M. J. 1997. Database design for mere mortals: a hands-on guide to relational database design. Addition-Wesley Developers Press. Reading, Massachusetts. 440 pp. Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture Management Board. 1990. Conserving waterfowl and wetlands: the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture. North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Vicksburg, Mississippi 32 pp. North American Waterfowl Management Plan. 1986. North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Twedt, D., J., W. B. Uihlein, III, and A. B. Elliott. 2003. Planning habitat restoration for forest bird conservation. Unpublished manuscript in review. PLANNING HABITAT RESTORATION FOR FOREST BIRD CONSERVATION -Daniel J. Twedt, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Vicksburg, MS Forested wetlands historically occurred on >10 million ha within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). However, flood control projects have drastically altered the hydrology within this floodplain and contributed to conversion of most of these bottomland hardwood forests to agriculture. As a result, only 24% (2.6 million ha) of the original forested habitat remains (Twedt and Loesch 1999). From earliest settlement, well-drained forests on ridges and benches within this floodplain were cleared first. Semi-permanently flooded forests on flats and in swales were subsequently cleared, but always to a lesser extent than less flood-prone forests. In addition to altering the floristic composition of these forests, conversion to agriculture has left the remaining forest highly fragmented. Small forest fragments are more likely to be impacted by livestock and human activities and have less interior area (i.e., forest core) than larger fragments (Rudis 1995)
Alterations in the forest landscape of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley have negatively impacted avian populations. Within forests subject extensive flooding, birds that nest or forage on the ground find little suitable habitat. In smaller forest patches, birds are subject to: (1) greater competition with other species, (2) increased parasitism from Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), (3) increased predation, (4) greater disturbance from human activities, and (5) increased isolation and inhibition of dispersal. To mitigate the detrimental effects associated with small forest patches and more hydric conditions, biologists within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley have recommended reforestation that (1) increases patch size by buffering existing forest patches, (2) increases the proportion of forest within local landscapes, but (3) concurrently emphasizes the need for restoration of less flood-prone sites. The Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (http://www.blm.gov/wildlife/pl_05sum.htm) recommended 101 bottomland hardwood forest patches of at least 4000 ha (10,000 acres). If these forest patches are relatively compact (i.e., not long and narrow), they should harbor about 2000 ha of forest core that is >1 km from "hostile" habitats. However, this Conservation Plan also recommended that half of these forest patches should be >8000 ha, harboring ~ 5000 ha of forest core. Currently, there are only 17 forest patches >4000 ha within the MAV, although 14 of these have >5000 ha of forest core. To attain the habitat objectives set forth in the PIF Bird Conservation Plan requires 83 additional forest patches with >2000 ha of forest core, 35 of which would have >5000 ha of forest core MODEL DEVELOPMENT A landscape planning model was developed that prioritized the location of forest restoration within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley to achieve avian habitat objectives. The objective was to defragment the existing forest by increasing the number of forest core areas that are either >2000 ha or >5000 ha, and create local landscapes (10 km radius) that are >60% forested. Within the above criteria, restoration of bottomland forest on higher sites was emphasized. Existing forest cover was determined from USGS National Land Cover Data (Vogelmann et al. 2001) and restoration was targeted near existing forest cores with a restoration limit of £10 km. Greatest emphasis was placed on increasing the number of forest patches that contain >2000 ha of forest core. Moderate emphasis was placed on building forest cores of >5000 ha. Because all increases in forest core benefit forest bird conservation, forest restoration proximate to forest cores that were already >5000 ha was also targeted. However, because these areas had already met the >5000 ha forest core criterion, they received reduced emphasis. Increasing the proportion of forested habitat and increased continuity of forested habitat in local landscapes was also targeted by focusing reforestation proximate to contiguous forest, regardless of core area. However, because additions to these habitats are less likely to result in attainment of >2000 ha forest cores, and because a forested landscape objective was not identified as a priority within the PIF Bird Conservation Plan, these restoration areas received reduced emphasis. Within the areas that tended to defragment the forest, increased restoration priority was given to "high-sites" that are less prone to flooding.
PLANNING MODEL Over 8,800,000 ha are available for reforestation out of the 11,450,000 ha within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Region (as defined by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative; http://www.nabci-us.org/aboutnabci/map.pdf). Approximately 100 priority focus areas were identified where additional reforestation would result in creation of >2000 ha forest cores (Fig. 1) and about 50 areas appear suitable for creation of >5000 ha forest cores (Fig. 2). Areas where additional reforestation would increase forest cover within local landscapes were not discretely located but were distributed along the bluffs that surround the Mississippi Valley floodplain and along forested river corridors (Fig. 3). On all figures, warmer colors (reds, yellows) are high priority whereas cool colors (blue, green) are low priority.
Because high sites were targeted for restoration only within priority areas that tended to defragment existing forests, they did not alter the regional distribution of reforestation priorities but modified local priorities (Fig. 4). This model focuses restoration priorities on the southern MAV. Because reforestation priorities are weighted towards more southern portions of the MAV, a simple extraction of the highest priority lands for reforestation results in most restoration emphasis in Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and along the White River in Arkansas (Fig. 5). However, as implementation of reforestation projects is often influenced by management actions within state boundaries, an alternative prioritization approach is to focus restoration on the top reforestation priorities within each state.
These reforestation priorities are intended for forest bird restoration and use at regional and landscape scales. Regional planners should weigh these priorities against other priorities (e.g., black bear habitat or fish spawning areas) and direct restoration accordingly. When formulating reforestation strategies at local scales, local managers should use more refined habitat models, consider local land uses, and consult local authorities regarding placement of reforestation. LITERATURE CITED Rudis, V. A. 1995. Regional forest fragmentation effects on bottomland hardwood community types and resource values. Landscape Ecology 10:291-307. Twedt, D. J. and C. R. Loesch. 1999. Forest Area and Distribution in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Implications for Breeding Bird Conservation. Journal of Biogeography 26:1215-1224. Vogelmann, J.E., S.M. Howard, L. Yang, C.R. Larson, B.K. Wylie, N. Van Driel, 2001. Completion of the 1990s National Land Cover Data Set for the Conterminous United States from Landsat Thematic Mapper Data and Ancillary Data Sources, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 67:650-652. OTHER ARTICLES RESTORATION OF THE LOUISIANA BLACK BEAR - Michael J. Chamberlain, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA The Louisiana black bear was once distributed throughout the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, occurring in eastern Texas, southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and southern Mississippi. However, by the early 1900s black bear populations in this region were severely reduced from excessive harvest, and habitat loss and degradation. Presently the Louisiana black bear is restricted to the Tensas River and Atchafalaya River Basins, within isolated sections along the Mississippi River corridor. Additional bears are located in the lower East Pearl River basin and the lower Pascagoula River basin of southern Mississippi.  Concern about the future of the black bear resulted in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas listing the Louisiana black bear as protected. Further protection was achieved when it was listed as federally threatened under auspices of the Endangered Species Act in 1992. Through the cooperative efforts of state and federal agencies, research has been conducted on the Louisiana black bear for over a decade, with most of the research occurring in Louisiana. Using this database, a Black Bear Restoration Plan and a Black Bear Recovery Plan were developed in cooperation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Black Bear Conservation Committee (www.bbcc.org). The ultimate goal of conducting preliminary research and developing restoration and recovery plans was to remove the Louisiana Black Bear from threatened status. Within Louisiana, there are 3 subpopulations of black bears. The northernmost population is found within the Tensas River basin and the southernmost population is found within the lower Atchafalaya River basin. A third population is situated between these 2 populations in the Morganza floodway system. To remove the Louisiana black bear from threatened status an additional population must be established to provide the opportunity for movement of bears between existing populations. To accomplish that goal, the USFWS, in cooperation with Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, chose the Red River Wildlife Management Area (RRWMA) and surrounding lands as the site for a bear restoration effort (Figure 1).
Restoration of rare species has recently become an important conservation technique, particularly for large mammals such as black bears. Black bears are capable of long-range movements and dispersal is often related to sex, age, population density, and/or habitat quality. Subadult male bears are often forced to disperse due to competition with older males, whereas young females frequently establish home ranges within areas maintained by their mothers. Because of this life history strategy, natural expansion of bear populations is slower for females. Furthermore, natural expansion of black bears throughout Louisiana is hampered by habitat fragmentation and lack of suitable travel corridors, particularly within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Because of limited numbers of dispersing females, and lack of corridors coupled with habitat fragmentation within the Mississippi River floodplain, establishment of reproductively active bear populations in isolated bottomland hardwood habitats is uncertain without human intervention. Black bears have a strong homing tendency, which in the past has reduced the effectiveness of relocation projects designed to bolster black bear populations. In fact, most previous translocation projects have failed because bears simply leave the area chosen for relocation immediately following the release. However, some recent relocations have been successful because adult females with cubs were translocated. The technique is termed a "soft release" and likely works because movements of the female are restricted by maternal instincts that mandate she care for her cubs. As females remain on the release site, they become familiar with their surroundings and eventually establish a home range on the release site. Although this method has been used with other bear populations, it had not been applied to the Louisiana black bear. With an abundance of preliminary research findings produced from earlier research at Louisiana State University, and a cooperative framework established for bear restoration in Louisiana, the development of this soft release technique offered promise for restoration of the Louisiana black bear by establishing an additional breeding population in central Louisiana.
During March 2001 and 2002, 5 female black bears and their cubs were removed from their winter dens and relocated to RRWMA. Three females were taken from the Tensas River basin population and 2 were taken from the lower Atchafalaya River basin. Each female was fitted with a radio-transmitter and placed within a den constructed by USFWS personnel. Following the release, each female was monitored intensively using radio-telemetry. To date, the relocation effort has been a remarkable success, and a considerable amount of information important to future releases and restoration of bear populations has been gathered. Four of the 5 females remained on the release site. Therefore, a 5 year research/restoration program has been initiated with the ultimate goal of establishing a sustainable black bear population on RRWMA. This program has been developed with the cooperation of the USFWS, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Louisiana State University. Future releases will occur on the Three Rivers and Grassy Lake Wildlife Management Areas, as well as the Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge.
Establishing a breeding subpopulation of black bears on RRWMA and surrounding areas will immediately improve gene flow among bear populations across Louisiana, by improving connectivity of the current bear populations in the Tensas and Atchafalaya River Basins. Furthermore, the research program will improve collective knowledge within the scientific and biological community regarding processes affecting the Louisiana black bear, and the ecology of the species. To date, information collected during the initial release has provided insight into use of land corridors by bears, as well as dynamics of bear movements following release. For instance, each female has traversed about 4,000 acres of the released site during her movements, and has used a variety of habitats to fulfill her daily requirements. Finally, the black bear restoration program is provided a rare opportunity to assess the feasibility of using soft-release relocation techniques to ensure the persistence of the Louisiana black bear. WORKING GROUP NEWS - Steve Windels Tentative plans for 2003 TWS meeting in Burlington, Vermont During the annual business meeting of the Restoration Working Group, there was a consensus that our working group is lacking in "face time" with other TWS members doing restoration work. As a result, we are planning on organizing an afternoon/evening social event during the conference with an informal poster session during which current RWG members and potential new members can gather and talk about restoration. No further details have been planned at this point but we will keep you abreast of things as they develop. Please feel free to send along comments or suggestions about such an event to your nearest RWG officer. We also plan to maintain the practice of organizing half-day field trips to tour local restoration projects. As in Reno, 2 half-day trips will be planned to different locations so that folks can have the option of attending either the morning or afternoon trips or both. Again, more details are to follow. Request for newsletter/website submissions The restoration working group is an organization formed to facilitate communication amongst its members. Therefore, it is only as valuable as its members are willing to make it! Please consider submitting an article, project update, book review, links to restoration related websites, newspaper articles, etc. To future issues of the newsletter. Send submissions (or questions) to Steve Windels, newsletter editor, skwindel@mtu.edu; (906)249-4593; 243 Kawbawgam Rd., Marquette, MI 49855. RESTORATION RELATED PUBLICATIONS  Friederici, P. 2003. Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests. Island Press, NY.Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests brings together practitioners and thinkers from a variety of fields-including forestry, biology, philosophy, ecology, political science, archaeology, botany, and geography-to synthesize what is known about ecological restoration in ponderosa pine forests and to consider the factors involved in developing and implementing a successful restoration effort. The book examines: Each section is introduced with a case study that demonstrates some of the promise and pitfalls of restoration projects. Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests is the second book in the series The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration from the Society for Ecological Restoration International and Island Press. RESTORATION IN THE NEWS Conservationists Seek Lamprey Protection By Jeff Barnard Associated Press Writer Wednesday, January 29, 2003 GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Environmentalists opened a new front in the battle to protect the habitat of West Coast salmon, seeking Endangered Species Act protection for lampreys, jawless fish that swim in much the same waters. A coalition of 11 conservation groups from California, Oregon and Washington petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday to list four species of lamprey as threatened or endangered. Protecting lamprey would lead to broader restoration of the ecosystems they share with salmon - and overcome a legal vulnerability exploited by property rights groups that have targeted threatened species listings for salmon, said Wendell Wood of the Oregon Natural Resources Council. Oregon coho salmon were taken off the threatened species list after property rights advocates successfully argued the federal government improperly protected wild fish without granting the same protection to salmon bred in hatcheries. The fish were put back on the protected list pending appeal. Lampreys, however, are not raised in hatcheries. A similar case has been filed over chinook salmon. The Bush administration also dropped "critical habitat" protection for salmon throughout the West Coast after property rights advocates argued no valid economic impact analysis was done. The designation can limit or prevent development. Russell Brooks, attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property rights public interest law firm, denounced the lamprey petition. "What they were unable to achieve through salmon listings they are now seeking to attempt through a lamprey listing, which has apparently become their poster species of the month," Brooks said. Listings could also complicate efforts to restore Columbia Basin salmon, because fish screens designed to keep young salmon out of turbines are often fatal to young lamprey, noted Charles Hudson, spokesman for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. Hudson added that Indian tribes would object to a listing if it meant tribes could no longer harvest healthy populations for food and medicine. _____________________________________________________________________ Judge Won't Block Buyout of Damaged Land The Associated Press Friday, January 24, 2003 FRESNO, Calif. -- A judge Thursday refused to block a federal buyout of salt-damaged farmland as requested by environmentalists who fear habitat restoration funds would be plundered to pay for the deal. But U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger gave the environmentalists five days to research whether he could attach conditions that would allow him to intervene if such funds were illegally spent. Wanger must decide whether to approve a settlement reached last month in which the federal government would pay $107 million to San Joaquin Valley farmers for thousands of acres farmers say has been poisoned by salt. The Natural Resources Defense Fund and other environmental groups claim the settlement contains language that allows the government to raid funds set aside for saving salmon and promoting wildlife conservation. Government lawyers said there was no evidence those funds would be used. While Wanger was willing to consider imposing conditions to the settlement, he said his only criteria for approving or rejecting the deal was whether it was fair and served the public's interest. Under the settlement, the farmers would retire 34,000 acres, ending a long-running lawsuit between 100 landowners, the federal government and Westlands Water District, which provides water to the farmers. The deal calls for Westlands, the nation's largest agricultural irrigation district at 600,000 acres, to pay $32 million to landowners. The lawsuit arose from a court order requiring the federal government to drain the water it provides for irrigation, as it promised to do so in the 1950s. Farmers who sued said the government didn't provide irrigation drainage, and as a result, some of their land became fallow when salt built up or certain areas had a high water table. The farmers claimed $400 million in damages. ________________________________________________________________________ Norton: Bush Budget Would Boost Fisheries The Associated Press Wednesday, January 22, 2003 WASHINGTON -- President Bush will propose a 16 percent increase in spending to restore and improve the nation's fisheries, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Wednesday. In a speech to employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Norton said the budget Bush will propose next month includes $58 million for the National Fish Hatchery System - up from $50 million in the current budget year. The president also will seek increased spending to combat invasive species such as the voracious northern snakehead found last year and later eradicated from a suburban Maryland pond, Norton said. She said the proposed increase was a direct result of improvements made in the fisheries program, which has been plagued for years by lawsuits, excessive paperwork and poor coordination with other agencies and outside groups, such as sportsmen and Indian tribes. "Help is on the way," Norton told about 500 Fish and Wildlife workers at a national conference. "You have labored to come up with a strategic plan that has convinced Washington that it is time to increase your funding. Now it is going to be up to you to ... follow through." Norton was referring to a plan developed by the agency to emphasize greater coordination with state and federal agencies, as well as tribes, conservation groups and the fishing industry. The new "Strategic Vision" states that successful fishery management is achieved best through partnerships. It includes a set of criteria for agency programs, including the likelihood of measurable results and significant economic or social benefits. Daniel Diggs, assistant fisheries director for the agency's Pacific Northwest office, called the initiative a "jumping-off point" to reconnect with the agency's traditional partners, including some it has been at odds with for years. "Everything we do requires working with others," Diggs said. "We can't get anything done by ourselves, so this is very exciting." As outlined by Norton, the proposed spending increase includes $2.5 million for hatchery restoration projects, such as the juvenile spring chinook in Oregon. Another $3 million would improve aging pumps, pipelines and electrical systems, while $1.5 million would increase hatchery production for threatened species, such as pallid sturgeon and greenback cutthroat trout. The proposed budget would spend $5.5 million to fight invasive species - up from $4.5 million this year. UPCOMING MEETINGS 2003 February 24-28. 34th Annual Conference and Expo of the International Erosion Control Association will be held in Los Vegas, Nevada. Contact Kate Nowak at 970/879-3010 ext. 15, kate@ieca.org, or check out details on the conference Web site at http://www.ieca.org/public/articles/details.cfm?id=452. March 24-28. Northwest Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration Conference in Portland, Oregon. March 26-30. The 68th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference will meet at Adam's Mark Winston Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For information, contact James Woehr or Richard McCabe, 202/371-1808 or visit http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/. April 7-9. Symposium on Landscape Ecology and Wildlife Habitat Evaluation, sponsored by ASTM International, will meet in Kansas City, Missouri. For information, see http://www.astm.org/COMMIT/CUSTOM5/E47.htm. April 8-10. 4th National Integrated Pest Management Symposium will meet in Indianapolis, Indiana. For information, contact Elaine Wolff, 217/333-2881, ipmsymposium@ad.uiuc.edu or check out the Conference Web site at http://nautilus.outreach.uiuc.edu/conted/conference.asp?ID=244. April 13-16. Inaugural National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration, hosted by Restore America's Estuaries, will meet at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. Information is available at http://www.estuaries.org/ and from Heather Bradley at 703/524-0248, hbradley@estuaries.org. April 28-30. Second International Conference on River Basin Management, organized by the Wessex Institute of Technology, will be held in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Information is available at http://www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2003/riverbasin03/netscape6.html or by contacting wit@wessex.ac.uk. May 11-16. 27th Annual Conference of the Association of State Floodplain Managers will be held in St. Louis, Missouri. For details, contact Trisha Hoskins at 608/274-0123, asfpm@floods.org. June 8-13. 24th Annual Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists will meet at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information, see the conference Web site at http://www.sws.org/regional/southcentral/2003.htm. June 28-July 2. 17th Annual Meeting for the Society of Conservation Biology will meet in Duluth, Minnesota. For details, visit http://www.d.umn.edu/ce/conferences/scb2003/ or contact Teri Williams at 218/726-8835, twillia1@d.umn.edu. Nov. 12-15. 15th Annual Conference of Society for Ecological Restoration in Austin, Texas. 2004 SER 16th Annual Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, 2004 2005 SER 17th Annual Conference in Zaragoza, Spain, 2005 RESTORATION RESOURCES Join Society for Ecological Restoration's Restoration Network In the next month SER will begin sending out messages of interest to the restoration community regarding upcoming events, opportunities, SER news, etc. If you would like to join this listserv, send a message from the email you wish to subscribe to Majordomo@ser.org with the following command in the body of your email message: subscribe restoration-network The Wildlife Society's Restoration Working Group Newsletter is edited by Steve Windels. Send submissions, corrections, or comments to: skwindel@mtu.edu; ph: (906)249-4593; fax (906) 487-2915. PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AGAIN TO CHECK OUT THE NEXT EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER (SPRING 2003) DUE OUT APRIL 2003!!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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