Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of "The Future Of Life," By Edward O. Wilson, Bryan Erickson

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "It is refreshing to read an environmental diatribe where the writer has both the authority of a world expert and a willingness to compromise to pursue realistic solutions. Wilson is a Harvard biology professor, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, and a director of the Nature Conservancy. In The Future of Life, he presents a succinct evaluation of the great ecological issues of our day, focusing on the rapid pace of species extinctions, and on the promise of finding a balance between conservation and human activity that will bring the extinctions to a halt."

Jock Darling: The Notorious “Outlaw” Of The Maine Woods, James B. Vickery Iii

Maine History

Jim Vickery began work on this article shortly before he died in 1997. He had been researching Jock Darling for several years, and at my urging he set down his thoughts on the “old outlaw” under an arrangement by which he would compose the article on one of his infamous "yellow pads,” and I would transcribe the results on my computer and return a clean copy to him for editing and proofreading. He would also fill in the blanks where I could not decipher his handwriting. Before we could complete this project, Jim was hospitalized with the condition that finally …

Preserving Monumental Landscapes Under The Antiquities Act, Christine A. Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article examines the Antiquities Act, a 1906 statute that delegates authority to the President to establish national monuments on federal lands for the protection of prehistoric structures and relics. This modest statute, originally a scant one page in length, has set off a century of intermittent controversy that its drafters could not have anticipated. Although Congress probably intended that the statute merely protect archaeological ruins from looting by treasure hunters, presidents quickly began to utilize the statute to preserve large natural landscapes -- ranging from President Theodore Roosevelt's establishment of the 800,000-acre Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908 to …

Designing A Low Water Use Landscape, Teresa Cerny, Kelly L. Kopp, Maggie Wolf, Debbie Amundsen

All Current Publications

A landscape design should meet the needs of the people who will use and maintain the area while incorporating the site’s existing environmental conditions into the design. Water is a limiting resource in Utah, so designing the landscape to efficiently use water is important. Conserving water in the landscape can be accomplished by selecting low water use plants, designing and scheduling irrigation systems efficiently, grouping plants according to their water requirements, and using hardscaping materials (patios, stone paths, decks, etc.) appropriately to reduce the area requiring irrigation.

The Socioeconomic Importance Of Eco-Resort Management Practices, Christine Lim

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In recent years, ecotourism has become an increasingly important alternative form of sustainable tourism. Couran Cove Island Resort, which is located on South Stradbroke Island off the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, is an eco-resort on one of the world's few naturally occurring sand islands. As an ecotourism-based resort, Couran Cove is active in implementing a range of initiatives for sustainable management of its environment, which is particularly important as it is home to a wide variety of plant communities. Consequently, the resort has a niche market of ecotourists. This paper examines how Couran Cove Island Resort applies the principles …

Implementing Soil And Water Conservation Production Systems At The Farm Level, Ted L. Napier, Silvana M. Napier

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Factors influencing adoption of soil and water conservation production systems at the farm level arediscussed in the context of their influence for motivating land owner-operators to adopt and to use conservationtechnologies and practices. Research focused on United States (US) farmers are examined to assess how social,economic, farm structure, and conservation program-participation factors affect adoption behaviors at the farmlevel. Research findings suggest that contemporary conservation programs that place emphasis on the provision ofinformation, education, technical assistance, and economic subsidies probably will not be successful in achievingsocietal conservation goals. Study findings basically demonstrated that factors commonly argued to influenceadoption of conservation production …

Strategic Management Plan For Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse 2002, State Of Utah, Department Of Natural Resoures, Division Of Wildlife Resources

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) is one of seven subspecies of Sharp-tailed Grouse. Historically, Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse occurred within sagebrush-native bunch grass habitat throughout the intermountain region, extending from British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Montana south through portions of Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Sharp-tailed Grouse populations range-wide began declining during 1880-1920 (Bart 2000). By 1936, the range of distribution had been reduced by two-thirds (Hart et al. 1950). Currently, Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse occur in only 5 % of their historic range-wide distribution and 4% of their distribution in Utah (Bart 2000). Within the …

The Legal Response To International Water Scarcity And Water Conflicts: The Un Watercourses Convention And Beyond, Patricia Wouters

Allocating and Managing Water for a Sustainable Future: Lessons from Around the World (Summer Conference, June 11-14)

46 pages.

Contains footnotes.

Aerosolized Essential Oils And Individual Natural Product Compounds As Brown Treesnake Repellents , Larry Clark, John Shivik

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chemical irritants useful as repellents for brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) were identified. Exposure to various compounds produced a range of intensities for locomotory behavior in snakes. Essential oils comprised of 10 g liter ^-1 solutions of cedarwood, cinnamon, sage, juniper berry, lavender and rosemary each were potent snake irritants. Brown treesnakes exposed to a 2-s burst of aerosol of these oils exhibited prolonged, violent undirected locomotory behavior. In contrast, exposure to a 10 g liter^-1 concentration of ginger oil aerosol caused snakes to locomote, but in a deliberate, directed manner. We also tested specific compounds, all derivative …

Roundtable Series On Innovative Approaches To Land Conservation And Smart Growth, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

A series of six roundtable discussions was conducted by the New England Environmental Finance Center (NE/EFC) from January through May 2002, one in each New England state. The objectives of the series were to consolidate expertise in financing and coordinating projects that combine conservation and development on the landscape, and to identify key areas of unmet need that could be addressed by the NE/EFC. Each discussion entailed several case study presentations and facilitated discussion about what works, what doesn’t work, and what might work in financing and coordinating efforts that combine conservation and development. Key areas of opportunity that emerged …

Water-Wise Landscaping, Kelly L. Kopp, Teresa Cerny, Rick Heflebower

Gardening

No abstract provided.

The Ecology Of Lianas And Their Role In Forests, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Frans Bongers

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Recent studies have demonstrated the increasingly important role of lianas (woody vines) in forest regeneration, species diversity and ecosystem-level processes, particularly in the tropics. Mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of liana species diversity could yield new insights into the maintenance of overall species diversity. Lianas contribute to forest regeneration and competition, not only by competing directly with trees, but also by differentially affecting tree species and thus changing how trees compete among themselves. In addition, they contribute considerably to ecosystem-level processes, such as whole-forest transpiration and carbon sequestration. As the rate of tropical forest disturbance increases, they are likely to …

A Methodology For Evaluating The Role And Impact Of Planning Support System Technologies And Scientific Information In A Planning And/Or Decision-Making Process, David Craig Brashier

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on the application of scientific information and planning support system (PSS) technologies to community planning and decision-making processes. Years of scientific research and recent technologicaladvances have produced a wealth of information and increased accessibility to this information. Technological advances have also enhanced the types of analysis that can be done to support planning and decision-making processes. However, having the capability to access this wealth of information and perform advanced analyses does not necessarily mean it results in incorporation of the data and analysis into. the planning or decision-making process.

The main objective of this research is to …

Collaborating On Environmental Conservation, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Development law, local laws and policy that influence private land developers to appropriately develop land, affect the concerns of several groups including, private developers, municipalities, and environmentalists. By promoting environmental principles and revoking local regulatory obstacles, local governments can help encourage cooperation among these groups. This article highlights the success many New York communities have experienced in accommodating population growth while still reducing taxes and providing protection for the natural environment.

Concluding Comments, Peter Dea

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

3 pages.

Smart Growth And Land Acquisition Priorities, New England Environmental Finance Center

Land Conservation

It is well-known and generally accepted that all undeveloped land in New England cannot forever be protected from development; nor would this be a desirable goal, as continued economic development and population growth are near certainties. For these and other reasons, private land trusts and government agencies generally use explicit criteria to prioritize their land acquisition activities and prospects.

Much land protection in New England and elsewhere, however, has occurred without substantial attention to such land use needs as fostering the best locations for where people will live, businesses will locate, and infrastructure will be built to avoid degrading resources. …

Neotropical Frogs In Hawaii: Status And Management Options For An Unusual Introduced Pest, Earl W. Campbell Iii, Fred Kraus

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Two species of Neotropical frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui and E. planiroshir, have been introduced into the state of Hawaii via the horticulture trade. Since 1997 frog colonies within the state have rapidly spread from accidental and intentional causes, and frog abundance within colonies has grown rapidly. Colonies of these frogs are currently known from 262+ locations on the island of Hawaii, 45+ on Maui, 35+ on Oahu, and 2+ on Kauai Although these frogs were originally restricted to horticulture sites, they are now found in residential areas, resorts and hotels, and public lands. Within their native range, they may reach …

Middlefield Open Space And Recreation Project, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

Over one thousand acres of farmland, open space, and wetlands are converted to residential or commercial development each week in New England. In Massachusetts, nearly two acres of open space land is lost to development every hour. Current development trends suggest that this building pattern, referred to as sprawl, is likely to continue into the near future. Because the negative consequences of sprawl development are highly visible, residents of Massachusetts are becoming increasingly concerned about its impact on their communities. Residents see the unique character of their communities being transformed by uncontrolled residential and commercial development. Green fields and open …

In Vitro Propagation Of Conradina Etonia, Cheryl L. Peterson, Russell C. Weigel

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Conservation institutions worldwide such as the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew (U.K.) have frequently used in vitro propagation (micropropagation) as a valuable tool to support the conservation of some threatened and endangered species. Although many of the endemic species of Florida 's scrub ecosystem are extremely rare, they have not been widely researched using tissue culture techniques. In this paper, the amenability of Conradina etonia, an endangered scrub mint species, to in vitro growth and propagation was investigated using shoot tips. Callus formed and grew rapidly in the presence of both cytokinins and auxins. Rhizogenesis from callus occurred in both …

Water Conservation In The Home, Nancy Mesner

All Archived Publications

No abstract provided.

The National Wildlife Refuge System And The Hallmarks Of Modern Organic Legislation, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article explores the origins and precise meaning of the term "organic act," which is widely used in public land law. The evolution in the meaning of the term reflects larger shifts in the role of legislation in public resource management. The article illustrates this with an analysis of the 1997 Refuge Improvement Act, a substantial revision of the charter for the Refuge System and the first major statute governing public land management enacted since the 1970s.

The Refuge System's "dominant use" regime is an important model for sustainable resource management. The article describes this regime in the context of …

Wilderness And Energy: The Battle Against Domination, David Johns

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This opinion piece discusses the problems associated with human energy extraction and the political ramifications.

Monitoring Herpetofauna In A Managed Forest Landscape: Effects Of Habitat Types And Census Techniques, Travis J. Ryan, Thomas Philippi, Yale A. Leiden, Michael E. Dorcas, T. Bently Wigley, J. Whitfield Gibbons

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

We surveyed the herpetofaunal (amphibian and reptile) communities inhabiting five types of habitat on a managed landscape. We conducted monthly surveys during 1997 in four replicate plots of each habitat type using several different methods of collection. Communities of the two wetland habitats (bottomland wetlands and isolated upland wetlands) were clearly dissimilar from the three terrestrial communities (recent clearcut, pine plantation, and mixed pine–hardwood forest). Among the three terrestrial habitats, the total herpetofaunal communities were dissimilar (P<0.10), although neither faunal constituent group alone (amphibians and squamate reptiles) varied significantly with regard to habitat. Three survey techniques used in the terrestrial habitats were not equally effective in that they resulted in the collection of different subsets of the total herpetofauna. The drift fence technique revealed the presence of more species and individuals in every habitat and was the only one to detect species dissimilarity among habitats. Nonetheless, coverboards contributed to measures of abundance and revealed species not detected by other techniques. We suggest that a combination of census techniques be used when surveying and monitoring herpetofaunal communities in order to maximize the detection of species.

Effects Of Fire Frequency And The Red Imported Fire Ant On Native Insects In A Louisiana Longleaf Pine Savanna, Deanna M. Colby

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Ants and ground beetles were collected in pitfall traps from a longleaf pine savanna in the early stages of restoration. Insect abundance and species richness were compared among four treatment combinations of two fire frequencies and presence and absence of an exotic ant, Solenopsis invicta, the red imported fire ant. Amdro® was used to suppress S. invicta. Fire treatments consisted of a single fire in a two year period or two fires in a two year period, one applied each year. Fires were applied late in the growing season both years. Ten of the 28 ground beetle species …