INDEX:
---EDITOR'S NOTE---

---EDITOR'S CHOICE---
Appeals court rules Virginia can regulate some wetlands [Newdunn]
EPA Works Towards Raising Public Awareness on Water Efficiency
Corps Releases Draft Reorganization Plan
NRCS Proposed Reorganization Web Page Now Online

---NATIONAL UPDATES---
USDA Releases $55.7 Million To Restore And Protect Wetlands
NGA Meeting to Assist State Efforts to Redevelop Coastal Brownfields
NRCS Chief Tours Work to Save Coastal Marshes
GAO Releases Final Report on Invasive Species Management Challenges
Regional EPA Report Opposes Easing of Water Rules
Draft Watershed-Based NPDES Permitting Guidance is Available for Comment
EPA Won't Regulate Ships' Ballast Water
NOAA Awards Funds for Salmon, Wetlands

---LEGISLATIVE UPDATES---
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY04 Funding for EPA
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water hearing: Oversight of the Clean Water Act
APA Praises Vote Restoring Mandatory Funding for Transportation Enhancements

---STATES NEWS---
MD Officials To Appeal Ruling To Weaken Tidal Buffer Zones
Georgia’s Marsh Hammocks Rich In Plants, Birds
Agencies Plan To Reestablish Arizona Population Of Tarahumara Frogs
WRP the “Right Thing” for Indiana Landowner
OR: Tidal Marsh Restoration Project Begins at Siletz Bay NWR
MD: Judge Bars Mute Swan Shootings
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
VA: Wetlands Damage Corrected
GA: Critical Site in Okefenokee Swamp Permanently Protecting
FL: State To Save Cypress Gardens From Development
San Francisco Bay Area Restoration Receives Help from NASA
CA: City of Petaluma Buys 261-Acre Ranch For Wetlands Park

---PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES---
Playa Lakes Joint Venture Tracks Prairie Wetlands Using GIS
Protected Forests Crucial To Supplying The World's Biggest Cities With Cheaper Clean Water
New: Birds of the Salton Sea: Status, Biogeography, and Ecology
Federal Agencies Launching Grants.gov Web Site  

---POTPOURRI---
Job: Environmental Analyst II – Wetlands (9/21 deadline)
Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistantship to Study Wetlands, Waterfowl in Texas
Avian Ecologist Needed by S. Florida Water Management District
KY DFWR Seeks 6 Biologists for CREP, Farm Bill Programs

---MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES---
For a rolling calendar of meeting, conferences, and other events visit the ASWM calendar.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dear friends and colleagues,

For those of you who have never met me, I am fat.  Not “phat” – fat.  My doctor even confirmed it at my last check-up.  But apparently it’s not my fault.  It has nothing to do with sitting motionless at a desk all day and lying equally still on the sofa all evening.  Nor does it have anything to do with poor eating habits, where a vegetable serving consists of carrot cake and a fruit serving consists of an apple turnover.  Apparently – get ready for this - I am fat because I live in the SUBURBS!!!  So I mourn what might have been – my thin, perfect body lithely striding down a promenade in town, bounding energetically up the stairs to a third floor flat overlooking a downtown streetscape.  But alas, it’s not meant to be.  What the heck - pass the cherry cheesecake, and slide down that bag of potato chips – it’s completely out of my control! Read all about it in “Suburbia USA: Fat of the Land?” at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61384-2003Aug28.html

Special thanks to our contributors of this issue, including John Lowenthal; Suzanne Bolton of NOAA;  Debbie Slobe, Playa Lakes Joint Venture; Rebekah Lacey, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission [sorry I didn’t get this out sooner!]; Bruce P. Willman;  Earle Cummings, respected citizen of California; and to the thoughtful person from EPA who mailed me a copy of informational packet, “Achieving Environmental and Economic Benefits Using Less Water.”

Finally, It is with sorrow that we acknowledge the passing of Indiana Governor Frank O’Bannon last week.  One of his last actions was to form a state task force “intent on protecting Indiana wetlands while also allowing economic development progress.”  Governor Frank O’Bannon had directed the newly created Wetlands Task Force to recommend legislation that accomplishes these two seemingly conflicting goals prior to the 2004 General Assembly. To read more about this visionary effort, visit http://www.in.gov/wetlands/newsletters/hswetlands/index.html [For an obituary visit http://www.in.gov/serv/presscal?PF=gov&Clist=4&Elist=73477] 

Take care,

Jennifer Brady-Connor
Editor, Wetland Breaking News

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Appeals court rules Virginia can regulate some wetlands [Newdunn]

By SCOTT HARPER, The Virginian-Pilot, © September 11, 2003. “Environmentalists and state officials applauded a key federal court decision Wednesday, one they say clears the way for Virginia to regulate and require compensation for nontidal wetlands lost to development. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, in a widely watched case pitting property rights against environmental protection, rejected arguments that the state lacks authority to regulate certain kinds of nontidal wetlands, prevalent in Hampton Roads and coastal Virginia. The state enacted a law in 2000 attempting to better conserve these low-lying forests and fields, which scientists say are important wildlife habitat, pollution filters and protectors of groundwater supplies.

‘This is good news for Virginia's ability to preserve and protect our wetlands,' said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, the agency charged with regulating construction activities in these seasonally wet areas. ‘We no longer have the concerns, the questions, hanging over us,’ Hayden added. ‘We can get to work doing the job we were tasked to do.’

The appellate court reversed an earlier ruling in the case, centering on a 43-acre tract in Newport News known as Newdunn, delivered by U.S. District Judge Henry C. Morgan in Norfolk. Morgan said the Army Corps of Engineers, chief wetlands regulator at the federal level, could not require permits and compensation for development of sections of Newdunn because they were too far away from any navigable waterway. Morgan also sided with the Virginia Beach lawyer representing Newdunn in the dispute, Douglas Kahle, on another key point -- that because the federal government lacked authority to regulate such isolated wetlands, the state did too. That ruling sent shock waves through the state environmental department, which suddenly faced the prospect that its 2-year-old program for protecting nontidal wetlands might go away or be significantly reduced. The appellate court said Morgan misinterpreted the nexus between state and federal clean-water laws, and ordered the Newdunn case to a state court for consideration. In addition, the 4th Circuit ruled that federal attempts to penalize Newdunn's developers for ditching and draining nontidal wetlands on the site should be reviewed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.

Kahle said Wednesday night that he was ‘obviously disappointed’ by the ruling but said his clients are inclined to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court. ‘This sends a troubling message to landowners and their property rights,' said Kahle, who has at least nine cases pending in courts across Hampton Roads challenging state jurisdiction over nontidal wetlands.” http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=59547&ran=48404

Also, see: Wetlands effort upheld - Va., U.S. acted properly, court rules. By Rex Springston And Alan Cooper, Times-Dispatch Staff Writers, 9/11/03.  http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/vametro/MGBKMX04GKD.html Read the text of the ruling at http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/021480.P.pdf


EPA Works Towards Raising Public Awareness on Water Efficiency

EPA news release [with editorial comments].  EPA is planning a national program to promote water-efficient products to consumers. They’ve pulled together a terrific packet of informational materials and a website [thanks to the folks who sent me mine!] One of the tools under consideration is a water efficient product-labeling program that is based on EPA's highly successful Energy Star program, a government-backed program to protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. I for one am looking forward to upgrading to more energy- and water- efficient appliances once my ten-year-old stuff starts giving me trouble.  More information on this story and water efficiency can be found at http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency For other water efficiency tips go to: http://www.h2ouse.org or
http://www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater/month.html#aug

Corps Releases Draft Reorganization Plan

USACOE news release, 8/26/03. Washington - The US Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft reorganization plan that will improve operations throughout the organization. Most of the structural changes will occur at the Washington and regional offices. The Corps will take comments until Sep. 8. [sorry folks!] Lt. Gen. Robert B Flowers, Chief of Engineers, would like to begin implementing parts of the new organization in October of 2003.  The plan does not call for any closing of offices at the district, regional or Washington level. It is available at http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/stakeholders/ http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/NR0323.htm

NRCS Proposed Reorganization Web Page Now Online

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is proposing a reorganization to improve their operational, technology support, and resource assessment functions in order to strengthen our ability to help America’s farmers and ranchers reach their conservation goals and offer them the latest science-based technologies. The reorganization will involve employees currently assigned to Institutes, Regional Offices, Divisions in National Headquarters, and Cooperating Scientists’ positions. A Web site - http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/reorg/ - will provide employees with timely and accurate information, focus on the questions, concerns and needs of employees, and serve as a clearing house for information concerning reorganization. Questions can be sent to nrcs_reorganization@nrcsnhq.usda.gov.

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NATIONAL UPDATE

USDA Releases $55.7 Million To Restore And Protect Wetlands

USDA news release, 9/12/03. WASHINGTON - USDA announced the availability of $55.7 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), to help protect wildlife, habitats and ecosystem health. “The Bush Administration is committed to helping farmers and ranchers protect the environment,” said Veneman. “These funds will help farmers and ranchers voluntarily protect and restore our country’s valuable wetland ecosystems.” NRCS is utilizing an additional $42 million of WRP financial assistance funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation for the FY 2003 enrollment. These funds supplement the initial allocation of $240 million for WRP and provide additional financial resources needed to meet the Administration’s enrollment goal of 200,000 acres this fiscal year. The remaining $13.7 million are funds being reallocated to states with the highest WRP need or are needed to ensure that prior year enrollment levels are maintained. http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/09/0315.htm

NGA Meeting to Assist State Efforts to Redevelop Coastal Brownfields

NGA news release, 9/11/03. BOSTON - Using the redevelopment of former contaminated industrial sites around Boston Harbor as a backdrop, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices today convened officials from across the Northeast and Midwest to share ideas, trade "best practices," and identify policy initiatives to revitalize so-called coastal brownfields. http://www.nga.org/nga/newsRoom/1,1169,C_PRESS_RELEASE^D_5863,00.html

NRCS Chief Tours Work to Save Coastal Marshes

NRCS This Week – 9/5/03. “NRCS Chief Bruce Knight recently toured marshland restoration sites along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, where staff from the NRCS Golden Meadows Plant Materials Center (PMC) in Galliano, Louisiana, have been working with agency conservationists to restore disappearing coastal marshlands. The Chief and Louisiana State Conservationist Don Gohmert toured the PMC as part of a two-day look at NRCS coastal restoration efforts . . . The PMC has tested and made available six native plant varieties for use in marsh restoration. NRCS, along with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, has used these releases to help construct 23 ponds and protect almost one million linear feet of shoreline . . . “ http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/thisweek/2003/030905.html#Coastal

GAO Releases Final Report on Invasive Species Management Challenges

9/5/03. The US General Accounting Office sent a letter to members of the US Senate discussing their final report, “Invasive Species: State and Other Nonfederal Perspectives on Challenges to Managing the Problem.”  Their report “provides the final results of [their] survey and focuses on state perspectives on (1) gaps in, or problems with, federal legislation addressing invasive species, (2) barriers to managing invasive species, (3) effective leadership structures for addressing invasive species, and (4) integrating federal aquatic and terrestrial invasive species legislation and the potential gains and drawbacks of such legislation.”  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d031089r.pdf Final report GAO-03-1089R, September 5 http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-1089R

Regional EPA Report Opposes Easing of Water Rules

By Anita Huslin, Washington Post Staff Writer, 9/5/03. “More than half the streams and one-third of all the wetlands in the mid-Atlantic region could lose federal Clean Water Act protection under a regulatory change being considered by the Bush administration, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency analysis. The changes could leave drinking water supplies for more than 3 million people in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware with no regulatory protection from pollution and leave small streams within the District and some states with no regulation at all, a report by the EPA's Philadelphia office says. It could also thwart efforts to clean up the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, environmental advocates say . . . “ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28492-2003Sep4.html

Draft Watershed-Based NPDES Permitting Guidance is Available for Comment

EPA WaterNews for 9/2/03. The purpose of this draft guidance is to describe EPA's ideas on how watershed-based permitting could be implemented under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program.  Using a watershed approach, permit limits for dischargers within a given geographic area (i.e., watershed) would be developed as a group to better consider the unique characteristics of that area.  EPA believes this approach would be both more cost-effective for permitting authorities and regulated entities and would result in greater protection of the nation's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.  The draft guidance is available for public comment until Sept. 24, 2003.  For more information, please visit
www.epa.gov/npdes/watersheds

EPA Won't Regulate Ships' Ballast Water

Great Lakes United Habitat Watch # 283, August 31-September 6, 2003. “After a snail’s pace political process addressing a highly time-sensitive environmental crisis, the Bush administration announced on September 2^nd that [EPA] will not regulate ballast water discharges from ships under the federal Clean Water Act. Ballast water discharge from ocean-going ships is the source of 72% of recent invasions into the Great Lakes, and is a main source of new invasions across North America and the world. U.S. regulations require ocean-going ships to exchange their ballast water in the deep open ocean, but apply to less than 20% of ocean-going ships entering the Great Lakes each year. The remaining 80% ships accessing in the Great Lakes, and all ocean-going ships accessing U.S. coastal waters, do not have to comply with this regulation . . . It is likely a lawsuit against EPA will follow. For background see Habitat Watch #242: http://www.glu.org/bhptf/Habitat%20Watch/207-250/HW242.htm “

NOAA Awards Funds for Salmon, Wetlands

NOAA news releases (various dates). NOAA awarded $96,948 for the Drakes Island Salt Marsh Restoration Project located at the Wells Estuarine Research Reserve in Wells, Maine. The project, funded by the Community-based Restoration Program within the National Marine Fisheries Service, will improve and restore approximately 77 acres of salt marsh by enhancing tidal inundation and circulation. Also awarded was a grant of more than $1.3 million to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources for coastal habitat conservation.  The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation of northeast Washington received $574,000 to support the Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund Program.  For all of the various awards visit http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2003

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY04 Funding for EPA

By Jeanne Christie, ASWM.  At the beginning of September, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY '04 appropriation bill for VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies.  The Environmental Protection Agency was provided $8.18 billion, which is $552 million above the President's request.  Most of the increase is dedicated to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which received $1.35 billion with substantial reductions in other areas.  The Committee level-funded Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 106 grants at $200.4 million and Coastal Beach Monitoring at $10 million.  CWA Section 319 funds were decreased by $42.5 million from FY '03 levels.  The Committee also funded the Targeted Watershed Program below the President's request of $21 million due to the uncertainties regarding the basis for selecting watersheds for funding and the impact of the program.  In addition the Senate eliminated the 5 million increase in the State Wetland Grant Program proposed in the President's budget and authorized in the House appropriations bill.  This 5 million was targeted by EPA to provide funding for the first time for implementation of State Wetland Programs.  The existing grant program funds program development but not implementation.  The Senate version funded the State Wetland Grant program at just under $15 million.

The VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies bill is not expected to be brought before the full Senate until late September or early October, possibly extending the timeline for completion of the appropriations process into late in the first quarter or perhaps the second quarter of FY04.

Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water hearing: Oversight of the Clean Water Act.

On Tuesday September 16, 2003, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Water held a hearing on oversight of the Clean Water Act.  Testimony and statements at the hearing focused on: total maximum daily loads, pollution trading, stormwater management, spill containment and negligence standards. Written testimony and statements can be found at http://epw.senate.gov/stm1_108.htm#09-16-03.  An audio recording of the hearing is available at http://epw.senate.gov/audio-visual_media_108.htm 

APA Praises Vote Restoring Mandatory Funding for Transportation Enhancements

APA news release, 9/4/03.  Washington, DC - The American Planning Association (APA) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing, by a strong bipartisan majority, an amendment to H.R. 2989 that restores mandatory funding to the extremely beneficial Transportation Enhancements program. The program provides funding for pedestrian, bicycle and trail facilities, as well as for protecting historic, scenic and natural resources and beautifying transportation corridors. The final vote was 327 to 90 to preserve the Enhancements program. http://www.planning.org/newsreleases/2003/ftp090403.htm

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STATES NEWS

MD Officials To Appeal Ruling To Weaken Tidal Buffer Zones

September 2003 Edition of the Bay Journal, “The Chesapeake Bay Newspaper.” By The Associated Press. “Maryland officials expect to ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider a split decision in August that would weaken the regulation of the buffer zone around tidal waters, a key to efforts to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The 4-3 ruling by the state’s highest court “has the potential to be the legal equivalent of Tropical Storm Agnes hitting the Chesapeake Bay,” said Martin Madden, chairman of the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays. That storm caused major pollution problems throughout the Bay watershed in the summer of 1972 . . . “ http://www.bayjournal.com/03-09/buffer.htm 

Georgia’s Marsh Hammocks Rich In Plants, Birds

Southern Environmental Law Center, 9/15/03. Atlanta – In the first biological survey of plant and bird species on Georgia’s marsh hammocks, scientists have found that hammocks as small as five acres play as important a role in the fragile ecology of the salt marsh as hammocks 100 acres or larger, according to a report released today by the Southern Environmental Law Center. The findings suggest that public policies regarding hammock conservation must include these smaller upland areas to be fully effective in protecting Georgia’s coastal habitat. http://www.southernenvironment.org/Newsroom/2003/09-15_bioblast.htm

Agencies Plan To Reestablish Arizona Population Of Tarahumara Frogs   

USFWS news release, 9/15/03. After a 20-year absence, Arizona’s native Tarahumara frog may be returning to isolated bedrock plunge pools deep within canyons in a couple of remote mountain ranges near the U.S.–Mexico border. A team of federal, state, Mexican, University of Arizona, and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum biologists have identified two possible sites to reestablish Tarahumara frogs – Big Casa Blanca Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains and Sycamore Canyon in the Pajarito Mountains, both in the Coronado National Forest in Santa Cruz County. http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases/ For lots of information about the Tarahumara frog visit http://www.clutyk.freeservers.com/page04.htm 

WRP the “Right Thing” for Indiana Landowner

NRCS This Week – 9/12/03. “Mike Valentine is dedicating his land to Mother Nature. By placing 61 acres of his 85-acre farm in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Valentine is restoring the land to its gentle origins: the lush wetlands of the upper Tippecanoe River Basin, the home of deer, wild turkeys, blue sky and a flowing river. ‘It was just the right thing to do for this ground,’ Valentine said . . . “ http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/thisweek/2003/030912pages/indianawrp.html

OR: Tidal Marsh Restoration Project Begins at Siletz Bay NWR 

USFWS news release, 9/9/03. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the start of restoration activities to restore and enhance 100 acres of diked lands within the Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Lincoln County, Oregon.  The project will fully restore estuarine tidal functions to historic former tidal marsh along the south side of Millport Slough at the south end of Siletz Bay, east of Highway 101. On-site work will begin during the week of September 8 and is expected to continue throughout the month of September. The restoration project involves breaching 220 feet of dike at four locations, removing two dikes totaling 9,300 feet, and filling 1,200 feet of artificial drainage ditches. http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases

MD: Judge Bars Mute Swan Shootings

By Greg Garland, 9/9/03. “A federal judge Tuesday prohibited Maryland wildlife officials from killing hundreds of mute swans until a suit filed by an animal protection group is resolved. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued an injunction preventing the state Department of Natural Resources from killing 525 mute swans by the end of the year. The ruling extended an injunction Sullivan issued Aug. 19 to give him more time to consider the case . . . “ http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-swans0909,0,1509504.story?coll=bal-local-headlines 

Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan for Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge   

USFWS news release, 9/4/03.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public input on a draft plan that will help guide management of the Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge Complex in west central Illinois. The draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) and draft Environmental Assessment for the Refuge Complex are available for public review, and comments will be accepted through October 20, 2003. In addition, the Service will host a series of public open houses in September to further encourage public involvement in the planning process for the Illinois River Refuge Complex. Full copies of the plan are available at area libraries and on the Service’s web site for the planning project, which is http://midwest.fws.gov/planning/ilrivtop.htm http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases

VA: Wetlands Damage Corrected

By RUSTY DENNEN, 8/30/03. “An Ashland logger has corrected damage to wetlands along the Ni River in Spotsylvania County. The Army Corps of Engineers outlined the finding in a letter to William B. Gilman, owner of Gilman Logging Co . . . The corps was notified by nearby landowners in December that wetlands along the Ni had been disturbed . . . On the west side of I-95, Gilman dug a 700-foot-long ditch through the marsh and deposited the fill material in adjacent wetlands. Clearing was done on the east side of the highway. Gilman was cited for violations of the Clean Water Act. At the time, he claimed that beavers had dammed a creek, causing water to back up onto his property. Gilman told investigators he dug the ditch to correct the problem and that he was not aware the tract was considered wetlands, which are governed by state and federal laws . . . “ http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2003/082003/08302003/1087283

GA: Critical Site in Okefenokee Swamp Permanently Protecting

The Conservation Fund news release, 8/27/03. Atlanta, GA – Continuing its long-standing commitment to sustainable growth and environmental stewardship, DuPont announced today that it is donating nearly 16,000 acres of company-owned land in and immediately adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to The Conservation Fund. The result of years of complex negotiations, this gift represents one of the most environmentally significant corporate land donations in the history of the United States – and largest ever made in Georgia.  http://www.conservationfund.org/?article=2819&back=true

FL: State To Save Cypress Gardens From Development

By JULIE HAUSERMAN, Times Staff Writer, © St. Petersburg Times, 8/27/03. TALLAHASSEE –“Fans of one of Florida's oldest tourist attractions, the now-closed Cypress Gardens, bombarded Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet Tuesday with a crowd of Southern belles in hoop skirts singing God Bless America. And that was only the beginning. Trying to get the state to revive the 67-year-old park, fans organized appearances by water skiing champions, the 1967 Miss Universe, a couple who named their children after the park ("Cypress" and "Lily"), and a Florida flight attendant who said she heard U.S. soldiers talk fondly of Cypress Gardens on trips to and from the Middle East. They buttered up the governor with "Thank You Bush" T-shirts and kind words for his wife and father. It worked . . . “ http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/27/State/State_to_save_Cypress.shtml

San Francisco Bay Area Restoration Receives Help from NASA

By April Lynch, staff writer, San Jose Mercury News - 8/26/03. “As work gets under way to return the shores of southern San Francisco Bay from salt to seascape, the recovery effort is getting high-tech help from the skies. NASA has joined the massive state and federal project to restore thousands of acres of bayside salt ponds, transforming them into tidal marsh. Using sky- and land-based sensors that measure light wavelengths, a small team of scientists from NASA/Ames Research Center in Mountain View is tracking water conditions in the ponds . . . “ To learn more about the salt pond restoration effort, including information about public meetings and how to get involved, to go www.southbayrestoration.org ; To find out more about NASA's salt ponds project online, go to http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge/wetlands/ ; To see more NASA images of the ponds and scientific research, go to http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03images/saltpond/saltpond.html

CA: City of Petaluma Buys 261-Acre Ranch For Wetlands Park

By Tobias Young, The Press Democrat. “Petaluma is buying 261 acres to create a new wetlands park that would attract bird-watching tourists and help clean the city's wastewater . . . The decision was met with cheers of celebration from supporters who have worked for 20 months to help secure state and county money to help pay for the $4 million purchase . . . The land would ultimately become Petaluma's largest public park, with 3.5 miles of new trails leading to wetlands, restored marshes and the banks of the Petaluma River. . . It also is the planned site of the city's new plant to recycle treated wastewater. Building the new treatment plant on the Gray Ranch property would cost about $5 million less than on existing city property, trimming the cost of the new plant to $68 million . . . “ Contact Jennifer @ Jennifer@aswm.org for complete article.

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NEW PUBLICATIONS and RESOURCES

Playa Lakes Joint Venture Tracks Prairie Wetlands Using GIS

The Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is creating a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify playa lakes, other wetlands and habitats in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. PLJV partners will be able to use the GIS to identify, categorize and prioritize areas of special significance to the Joint Venture's conservation mission, and track projects on a spatially-explicit level. To learn more visit http://www.pljv.org/conservation01.html or sign up for the Science Circular, a new quarterly newsletter intended for bird biologists, wetland managers, and other conservation professionals interested or involved in PLJV science issues. Send an email to sciencecircular@pljv.org to subscribe.

Protected Forests Crucial To Supplying The World's Biggest Cities With Cheaper Clean Water

WWF news release, 9/1/03. Gland, Switzerland — A new study by World Bank-WWF Alliance for Forest Conservation and Sustainable Use shows that protecting forest areas provides a cost-effective means of supplying many of the world’s biggest cities with high quality drinking water, providing significant health and economic benefits to urban populations. The new report, Running Pure, shows that more than a third of the world’s 105 biggest cities — including New York, Jakarta, Tokyo, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Nairobi, and Melbourne — rely on fully or partly protected forests in catchment areas for much of their drinking water. http://panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/press_releases/news.cfm?uNewsID=8547

New: Birds of the Salton Sea: Status, Biogeography, and Ecology

The University of California Press is pleased to announce the publication of:
Birds of the Salton Sea: Status, Biogeography, and Ecology
by Michael A. Patten, Guy McCaskie, and Philip Unitt.
http://go.ucpress.edu/saltonbirds

This book is the first thoroughly detailed book to describe the birds of Salton Sea, more than 450 species and subspecies in all. A major contribution to our knowledge about the birds of western North America, it will also be an important tool in the struggle to save this highly endangered area. Full information about the book, including the table of contents, is available online: http://go.ucpress.edu/saltonbirds

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POTPOURRI

Federal Agencies Launching Grants.gov Web Site

OMB announcement, 8/25/03. OMB Watch has been monitoring implementation of the federal government’s grants streamlining project, which is required by the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999. The federal government has developed a web site for all agencies to post grant opportunities, and is also piloting a site for electronic submission of grant applications. You can view these at Grants.gov. By Oct. 1, all federal agencies will be required to post their grant announcements on Grants.gov, which has a standard format for all announcements. This type of streamlining effort will allow applicants to quickly and easily find the information they need to decide whether or not a particular funding opportunity is of interest. In addition, all federal agencies must provide one or more ways (e.g., Internet site, telephone, or postal mail) to receive the full grant announcement. http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/1760/1/186/

Job: Environmental Analyst II – Wetlands (9/21 deadline)

Opportunity for bright self-starter with sharp communication skills to work full-time in a small nonprofit agency. Main duties will be to research and develop a plan for biological monitoring of freshwater wetlands in Rhode Island.  Position will be located in Providence, RI. Wetland science background and ability to work independently a must. MS in Wetland Ecology, Environmental Science, or related field desired, with a minimum of three years professional experience. Job description available at www.neiwpcc.org or by calling 978-323-7929. Apply by September 21, 2003. Send resume and short writing sample to NEIWPCC, Boott Mills South, 100 Foot of John Street, Lowell, MA 01852 or email to jobs@neiwpcc.org. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Avian Ecologist Needed by S. Florida Water Management District

E-mail from Ecology list serve. The Everglades Division of the South Florida Water Management District seeks an avian ecologist to conduct research and supervise the management of the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment, a 60-acre replication of the Everglades landscape. For details contact Charmae Hillman, chillman@SFWMD.GOV

Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistantship to Study Wetlands, Waterfowl in Texas

E-mail from Ecology list serve. The Richland Creek Wildlife Management Area is being managed to simultaneously provide high quality water to Richland Chambers Reservoir and quality wetland wildlife habitat.  Through the use of moist soil management techniques in constructed wetlands of varying ages, this project will focus on two primary objectives:  (1) evaluate the success of this cooperative effort by examining wintering waterfowl and migrant shorebird use of, and (2) quantify and monitor vegetative and invertebrate community development in, moist soil managed constructed wetlands.  Within this general framework, several other research avenues may be pursued. Application Deadline:  15 November 2003.  Start Date:  1 January 2004. Contact Dr. Warren C. Conway, wconway@sfasu.edu. Phone:  936-468-2090

KY DFWR Seeks 6 Biologists for CREP, Farm Bill Programs

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, in cooperation with KY NRCS, currently has six (6) Farm Bill related positions available. Please see the following sites for job descriptions: http://www.tws-west.org/ (announce 10 September 2003) http://www.forestry.uga.edu/warnell/ugrad/jobsapp/php/detail.php?id=1957 Needed are 3 Farm Bill Biologists to assist with the Farm Bill program planning, implementation, etc. and 3 CREP Biologists to focus on implementation of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in 8 south-central Kentucky counties. Contact brianw.smith@mail.state.ky.us

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