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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbus, Ohio » Soil Drainage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #267773
Title: Promoting ecological restoration within the midwestern United States

Author
item Smiley, Peter - Rocky
item LYNDALL, JENNIFER - Environ International Corporation
item CHEN, HUA - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Society for Ecological Restoration Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/26/2011
Publication Date: 8/21/2011
Citation: Smiley, P.C., Lyndall, J., Chen, H. 2011. Promoting ecological restoration within the midwestern United States. Society for Ecological Restoration Abstracts. p. 293.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Midwestern United States includes the north-central states ranging from the eastern border of Ohio to the western border of Iowa and encompasses a diverse range of ecosystems, such as the Great Lakes, wetlands, rivers, prairies, and forests. This diverse geographic region has been heavily impacted by agriculture, industry, urbanization, and invasive species. As result there are a wide range of challenges facing ecological restoration projects within the Midwestern United States. The promotion of ecological restoration is critical for facilitating coordination and supporting grassroots efforts in restoring degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within this region. The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) recognized the Midwest-Great Lakes (MWGL) SER chapter as a regional chapter in March 2008. This SER chapter was formed to serve a six state region consisting of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The chapter's primary mission is to promote the science and practice of ecological restoration to assist with the recovery and management of degraded ecosystems within this region. The objective of this presentation is to summarize the MWGL SER Chapter’s activities in the past three years and report on what we feel were the most effective approaches for promoting ecological restoration. In the past three years we have established a chapter webpage, moderated an electronic listserve, developed a Facebook page, regularly published chapter newsletters, and held annual chapter meetings. Our experiences suggest that a combination of face-to-face and indirect electronic activities will be most effective in promoting ecological restoration to interested individuals and organizations.