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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Managing Forest Disturbances: Effects On Mule Deer And Plant Communities In Montana's Northern Forests, Teagan Ann Hayes
Managing Forest Disturbances: Effects On Mule Deer And Plant Communities In Montana's Northern Forests, Teagan Ann Hayes
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are frequently the focus of population and habitat management in the western United States. Land and wildlife managers use disturbance to reset forests to earlier successional stages and improve the quality and quantity of forage available to mule deer. However, the effects of management practices on nutrition and selection vary widely, so the implementation of management practices raises ecological as well as management-related concerns. This work investigated how disturbance from wildfire, prescribed fire, and timber harvest influences the spatial and temporal distribution of nutritional resources in mule deer summer range, and therefore, how the …
Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn
Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) promulgated new forest planning regulations that significantly altered national forest management. One of the most controversial and important advancements was the inclusion of what were meant to be stronger biodiversity protections. An analysis of USFS’s rationale in revising the biodiversity regulations provides insights into how to interpret the substantively and procedurally new ecosystem and species protections. Examining this regulatory history reveals three key changes to the manner in which national forests are required to manage and monitor biodiversity: 1) a greater reliance on science to inform planning, 2) a new emphasis on ecological …