Digital Commons Network^™

Informing Drought Mitigation Policy By Estimating The Value Of Water For Crop Production, Renata Rimsaite, Justin Gibson, Nicholas Brozovic

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Farmers use irrigation to mitigate drought risk and reduce yield uncertainty. A clear understanding of the monetary value of irrigation water and how it varies across time and space can help to inform farmers and policymakers about the potential impacts of water shortages and reduce uncertainty in decision making. Here, we introduce a framework for understanding the economic value of water used to produce corn in the central High Plains region during the period 2010–2017. Our analysis uses publicly available data for corn price and for irrigated and non-irrigated yields and incorporates irrigation requirement adjustments to account for the hydrologic …

Comprehensive And Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories For Nebraska And The Midwest As Baselines For Climate Change Mitigation, Eric R. Holley

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Climate change is the paramount challenge of today for a sustainable future. Mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is necessary to reduce the associated risks and impacts on society. Using the EPA’s SIT and literature review, comprehensive GHG-emissions inventories were developed for the state of Nebraska over 25 years (1990-2015) and agricultural GHG emissions inventories were developed for the Midwest U.S for one year (2016). Nebraska’s net emissions increased from 56.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMtCO₂e) in 1990 to 87.4 MMtCO₂e in 2016. Agriculture was found to be the sector with the most …

Survival And Competing Mortality Risks Of Mountain Lions In A Major Metropolitan Area, John F. Benson, Jeff A. Sikich, Seth P.D. Riley

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding natural and human-caused mortality for top predators persisting in human-dominated landscapes is critical for conserving their populations. We estimated survival and cause-specific mortality rates and investigated factors influencing mortality risk of mountain lions by radio-tracking 58 individuals (33 males, 25 females) across the highly fragmented landscape in greater Los Angeles, California from 2002 to 2019. Mortality risk did not differ strongly between subadults (annual survival [ŝ]=0.68, SE=0.08) and adults (ŝ=0.81, SE=0.04). However, the different age-classes were subjected to mortality risks from different sources as subadults were more likely to be killed by conspecifics, whereas adults were more likely to …

Multi-Dimensional Nature Of Drought In Abbay/Upper Blue Nile Basin And The Importance Of Regional Coordination Efforts For Mitigation, Y.A. Bayissa, S. Moges, A.M. Malesse, T. Tadesse, A.Z. Abiy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Conducting A Drought-Specific Thira (Threat And Hazard Identification And Risk Assessment): A Powerful Tool For Integrating All-Hazard Mitigation And Drought Planning Efforts To Increase Drought Mitigation Quality, Elliot Wickham, Deborah J. Bathke, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Tonya K. Bernadt, Denise Bulling, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Crystal J. Stiles, Nicole Wall

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Personnel Publications

In the United States, drought is the second costliest natural disaster, which leads to the need for increased drought mitigation efforts over time. However, drought planning has lagged behind other hazard mitigation efforts, which is likely due to the lack of a national drought planning policy. Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires all jurisdictions have a hazard mitigation plan (HMP) to receive pre-disaster mitigation funds, drought has only recently been a requirement in HMPs. In 2012, Nebraska witnessed its worse drought in recent history, which exposed the gaps in drought planning effectiveness at all jurisdictional levels. To address …

Fish And Macroinvertebrate Response To Restored Off Channel Habitats On The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Caleb Uerling

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Anthropogenic alterations to large rivers ranging from impoundments to levees have caused many rivers to no longer access the floodplain. The ecological integrity of floodplain rivers depends on the interaction between main-channel and floodplain habitats. Fish communities inhabiting floodplain habitats are often dictated by the type of habitat and conditions within that habitat. As restoration projects are undertaken it is imperative that managers understand how fish and macroinvertebrates respond to these events. We collected fish, macroinvertebrates, and habitat parameters on two restored floodplain habitats on the lower Platte River, Nebraska to answer questions about aquatic community response to floodplain restoration …

Slides: The São Francisco Water Basin - Brazil, Vanessa Empinotti

Coping with Water Scarcity in River Basins Worldwide: Lessons Learned from Shared Experiences (Martz Summer Conference, June 9-10)

Presenter: Vanessa Empinotti, Federal University of ABC – UFABC, Brazil

20 slides

Avian Interactions With Renewable Energy Infrastructure: An Update, Jennifer A. Smith, James F. Dwyer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Energy infrastructure is widespread worldwide. Renewable energy technologies, which are expanding their footprint on the landscape and their contribution to energy availability, represent a different kind of infrastructure from extractive energy technologies. Although renewable energy sources may offer a ‘greener alternative’ to traditional extractive energy sources, mounting evidence suggests that renewable energy infrastructure, and the transmission lines needed to convey energy from renewable energy facilities to users, may impact birds. Peer-reviewed literature historically has focused on the direct effects of electrocution and, to a lesser extent, collisions with overhead power systems, and on avian collisions at wind energy facilities, with …

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Adapting To A Changing Climate: Local Drivers For Policy Response, Andrew J. Bilich

Honors Scholar Theses

Responding to the present and looming effects of global climate change presents a challenging task for policymakers at all levels of governance. The outcomes of climate change do present serious adaptation problems for global policy makers, but the implications of climate change are more immediately experienced by local communities and policy makers. Historical policymaking models suggest that economic well-being is an influential driver in local policy adoption. This particular analysis explores the relationship between economic variables and the development of climate adaptation policies by Connecticut municipalities. To test the degree of interaction present, adaptation policy data in the form of …

Drought Planning Research In The United States: An Overview And Outlook, Xinyu Fu, Zhenghong Tang, Jianjun Wu, Kevin Mcmillan

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

Drought is widely known as an insidious hazard due to its complex and unique characteristics. Drought disasters have brought tremendous economic losses and significant social and environmental impacts to communities across the globe. To further understand the hazard drought poses and provide insights into planning for drought preparedness, this article conducts a thorough literature review of drought hazard and drought planning frameworks within the United States. Two main approaches and three major forms of drought planning are discussed and summarized. Based on this review, a preliminary overview of drought planning status in the United States is presented. This study provides …

Slides: The Role Of Groundwater Sampling/Monitoring: Cogcc Proposed Rule 609, Gene Florentino

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Gene Florentino, PG, Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers

14 slides

Documenting Change At Upper Hamburg Bend: Nebraska's First Side-Channel Restoration, Brandon L. Eder, Gerald Mestl

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

In 1996 a side channel was excavated on 629 hectares of former agricultural land at Upper Hamburg Bend on the Missouri River in Otoe County, NE. This was the first side channel constructed on the Missouri River in an attempt to restore lost aquatic habitat. The initial design was for an approximately 4,200 m long side channel to be constructed with a 3 m bottom width. Development ofthe site was to be dependent on flows diverted from the main channel of the river with a final projected top width of 61 m. The side channel was completed in the spring, …

Collaboration And Climate Action At The Local Scale, Linda Lyshall

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation encompasses a case study and a Participatory Action Research project. The case study focuses on climate change mitigation activities within King County, Washington and its 39 cities and towns and discusses progress and challenges related to transportation issues, efficiency measures, and sustainability planning. The findings indicate there is a high level of activity in waste reduction, environmental outreach and education, bicycle and pedestrian promotion, tree canopy protection, sustainability policies, and green building. Other categories, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emission inventories and goal setting are on the rise. Twelve of the cities were …

Slides: Climate Change Adaptation And The Federal Lands, Robert L. Glicksman

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Robert L. Glicksman, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School (Washington, D.C.)

12 slides

Slides: The Logistics And Energy Needs Of Oil Shale Extraction, Alan K. Burnham

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Dr. Alan K. Burnham, Chief Technology Officer, American Shale Oil, LLC

10 slides

Slides: Bmp Project, Kent Kuster

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Kent Kuster, Consultation Coordinator, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)

17 slides

Slides: Best Management Practices: Planning, Leasing, Permitting, Jamie Connell

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Jamie Connell, Northwest Colorado District Manager, U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado

23 slides

Slides: Modifying Prior Appropriation: The Spectrum Of Experiences, Adam Schempp

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Adam Schempp, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC

12 slides

Slides: Regional Energy-Water Resilience Under Climate Change, Bonnie G. Colby

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Dr. Bonnie G. Colby, Professor of Resource Economics & Hydrology, University of Arizona

24 slides

Slides: Market-Based Stream Flow Restoration And Mitigation, Amanda Cronin

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Amanda Cronin, Washington Water Trust, Seattle, WA

23 slides

Slides: Transboundary Solutions: A Water Trust, Policy, And Environmental Flows For The Colorado River Delta, Jennifer Pitt

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Jennifer Pitt, Environmental Defense Fund, Boulder, CO

26 slides

Agenda: Evolving Regional Frameworks For Ag-To-Urban Water Transfers, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Western Water Policy Program, Western Water Assessment (Program), Red Lodge Clearinghouse

Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11)

The permanent transfer of water from agricultural users to municipalities has become a common feature of water management in several western states. In many cases, these voluntary market‐based transfers provide significant benefits to both the buyers and sellers, but many third parties—including remaining irrigators, rural businesses and communities dependent upon agricultural economies—have been negatively impacted. While some impacts of these so‐called “buy and dry” transfers are largely unavoidable, many can be lessened by temporary arrangements that only shift water to cities in years when municipal supplies are inadequate, such as drought and post‐drought storage recovery, and by consolidating individual farm‐to‐city …

Justice Delayed: A Tribal Attorney’S Perspective On Elwha River Dam Removal And Ecosystem Restoration, Russell W. Busch

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Russell W. Busch, Attorney for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

10 pages.

Slides: Taking The Long View: Doing Something About Climate Change, David Getches, Susan Avery, Maggie Fox, Roger Pielke

Climate Change and the Future of the American West: Exploring the Legal and Policy Dimensions (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

Presenter: Maggie Fox, President, America Votes, Boulder, CO.

Presenter: Susan Avery, Interim Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Colorado.

Presenter: Roger Pielke, Jr., Professor, Environmental Studies, Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado.

4 slides.

Slides: Beyond Kyoto: Climate Change And International Law, Fabio Feldmann

Climate Change and the Future of the American West: Exploring the Legal and Policy Dimensions (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

Presenter: Fabio Feldmann, Executive Secretary, São Paulo Forum on Global Climate Changes and Biodiversity, Brazil.

55 slides.

Contains references.

Slides: Present And Future Status Of Climate Change Computer Models, Warren M. Washington

Climate Change and the Future of the American West: Exploring the Legal and Policy Dimensions (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

Presenter: Warren M. Washington, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research.

1 page and 25 slides.

Abstract: A presentation will be given on the present and future status of climate change models. The evolution from simple climate models to fully complex Earth system models has led to an improved understanding of the causes of climate change and the impacts on the environment.

Slides: Response Of The System To Various Hydrological And Operational Assumptions: Reclamation Modeling Results, Terry Fulp

Hard Times on the Colorado River: Drought, Growth and the Future of the Compact (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Presenter: Terry Fulp, US Bureau of Reclamation.

43 slides.

Agenda: Best Management Practices And Adaptive Management In Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Best Management Practices and Adaptive Management in Oil and Gas Development (May 12-13)

Agenda includes summaries of speakers' presentations

Workshop held May 12-13, 2004 at the University of Colorado School of Law and sponsored by the Natural Resources Law Center with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, BP America and Calpine Corporation

Government agencies, industry and others are beginning to apply the concepts of best management practices and adaptive management to oil and gas development. This free workshop will examine what is going on in the Rocky Mountain Region with these innovative management approaches. This timely workshop will be kicked off with a presentation on the Western Governors' Association Coalbed Methane …

Improved Drought Planning For Arizona, Katharine Jacobs, Barbara Morehouse

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Barbara Morehouse

7 pages and 22 slides

Includes bibliographical references

"Katharine Jacobs is currently the Special Assistant for Policy and Planning, Arizona Department of Water Resources."

"Barbara Morehouse is Associate Research Scientist at the University of Arizona’s Institute for the Study of Planet Earth. She manages the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) project, which is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Global Programs."