Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 1 – December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 8% over last quarter. The database now contains 6,431 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 56,013 hits per month, an increase of 6% from last quarter, with an average of 5,211 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• Three National Public Land Day and National Family Events have been completed.
• Two hundred and five people attended the Volunteer Recognition Event.

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at four advisory team meetings attended this quarter.

Project 2: A formal report titled, Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, has been prepared; an accompanying poster presentation for the Lake Mead Science Symposium is in preparation.

Project 3: A draft document titled, “Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP): Quagga Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave” has been presented to an interagency core group to review and input. Six oral presentations related to quagga mussels are in preparation by this group for the Lake Mead …

Photosynthetic Response Of Soybean To Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychydae) Injury, Adeney De Freitas Bueno, Regiane Cristina Oliveira De Freitas Bueno, Paul David Nabity, Leon George Higley, Odair Aparecido Fernandes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is a common pest on soybean plants. To clarify plantarthropod interaction on mite-soybean system, leaf fluorescence, photosynthetic responses to variable carbon dioxide levels, and chlorophyll content were evaluated. Significant photosynthetic rate reduction was observed due to stomatal limitation. Stomatal closure was the major plant physiological response. As a consequence, there was reduction in photosynthetic rates. Surprisingly, plants did not show chlorophyll content reduction associated with photosynthetic impairment. No differences in fluorescence data indicate that T. urticae injury did not impair the function of light harvesting and photoelectron transport. These results showed that T. …

Agenda: Managing Oil And Gas Development In Colorado: The New Cogcc Rules, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Managing Oil and Gas Development in Colorado: The New COGCC Rules (December 16)

NRLC Hot Topic held on December 16, 2008 from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. at the offices of Hogan and Hartson, Denver, Colorado.

Panelists from COGCC, the oil & gas industry, and environmental community, will present their perspectives on the soon-to-be-issued rules on oil and development in Colorado. Discussion and questions from attendees will follow.

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 …

Slides: Pvid/Mwd Land Management, Crop Rotation And Water Supply Program, Ed Smith

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

Presenter: Ed Smith, General Manager, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Southern California

25 slides

Slides: Lower Arkansas Valley Super Ditch Company, Inc.: Water Leasing Program, Peter Nichols

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

Presenter: Peter Nichols, General Counsel of the Lower Arkansas Valley “Super Ditch” Company, Trout, Raley, Montano, Witwer & Freeman PC, Colorado

33 slides

Slides: Idaho Rental Pool: Rules And Procedures, Idaho Water Resource Board, Jerry R. Rigby

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

Presenter: Jerry Rigby, Counsel for Fremont‐Madison Irrigation District, Rigby, Thatcher, Andrus, Rigby & Moeller, Idaho

25 slides

Transforming Water: Water Efficiency As Stimulus And Long‐Term Investment, David Mitchell, Janice Beecher, Thomas Chesnutt, David Pekelney

Publications (WR)

Water Efficiency programs have an established track record as cost‐effective long‐term public resource investments. Less well understood are the short‐term economic impacts of these rapidly scalable and adaptable programs, and the ability of these programs to quickly deliver economic benefit as well as sustainable solutions. This paper quantitatively examines the short‐term economic growth impacts of water/energy efficiency investments, specifically in terms of job creation, income, GDP, national output, water savings, and other benefits.

Our consultant team modeled a wide range of water/energy efficiency program possibilities, across all water‐using sectors and involving indoor, outdoor, and water system efficiencies. This modeling clearly …

Hydrochemistry Of Wetlands Along The Platte River Near Ashland, Nebraska, Carrie L. Wiese

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

No abstract provided.

Environmental Evaluation Of A Quaternary Wastewater Treatment Wetland, Olivia Demeo, '09

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment have become a sustainable alternative to environmentally harmful traditional wastewater treatment methods. This case study evaluated the Schroeder Wildlife Sanctuary, a wetland area constructed for removal of nutrients from wastewater. An environmental evaluation of the wetland was completed that addressed three parameters: the water quality of wetland effluent, the avian biodiversity within the sanctuary, and an assessment of community outreach and education initiatives. Water quality testing was conducted using rudimentary LaMotte and Hach testing kits. The data was contrary to the literature and showed no nutrient removal occurring. However, the results were inconclusive because the …

Measuring And Modeling Co2 And H2O Fluxes In Complex Terrain, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Brian L. Mcglynn

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The feedbacks between the water and the carbon cycles are of critical importance to global carbon balances. Forests and forest soils in northern latitudes are important carbon pools because of their potential as sinks for atmospheric carbon. However there are significant unknowns related to the effects of hydrologic variability, mountainous terrain, and landscape heterogeneity in controlling soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux. Mountainous terrain imposes large spatial heterogeneity in the biophysical controls of soil CO₂ production and efflux, including soil temperature, soil water content, vegetation, substrate, and soil physical properties. Further complications are introduced by the superimposed temporal …

Isotopic Evidence Of Methane Oxidation Across The Surface Water–Ground Water Interface, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Jennifer Y. King

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Biogenic methane (CH₄) from wetlands plays a crucial role in the carbon cycle, but the dynamics of dissolved methane flux across the surface water-ground water interface remain poorly understood. This study focused on the effects of spatial transformation of dissolved methane and the role of ground-water recharge in the distribution of dissolved methane across the surface water-ground water interface. Here we present carbon isotopic measurements of biogenic methane and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the Sarita Wetland, on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, and also in six monitoring wells located down gradient from the …

Optimization Of Check Dams Through The Application Of Advanced Technologies, Praveen Jha Dr

Praveen Jha Dr

Scientific planning for conserving water and while minimizing the financial resources requirement for its implementation could be done through application of advanced technological programs developed by the author. Three state-of-art geo-spatial programs - Multi-Algorithm Automation Program (MAAP), Water Analysis Program (WAP) and Check Dam Optimization Program (CDOP) - would be used. MAAP produces land use land cover (lulc) map primarily by undertaking Digital Image Processing (DIP) of satellite data in an automated fashion using Artificial Intelligence (AI). WAP, a hydrology modeling program, would be used to generate information related to watershed, water flow, water accumulation etc. CDOP, coupled with MAAP …

Increasing The Recycling Rate In Clark County, Nevada, Emerald Laija

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate policies that could increase the amount of municipal solid waste recycled in Clark County, Nevada. Clark County has not met the Nevada State goal of a 25% recycling rate since it was established by the Nevada Legislature in 1991. Using the system dynamics problem solving approach, a model for Clark County was adapted from a model developed by Stave (2008) to test policy options. There was no feedback in the model due to the long lifespan of the landfill servicing Clark County and the relatively shorter time horizon of the …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Mamie Peers, Shane Bevell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Olfactory And Visual Predators On Nest Success And Nest-Site Selection Of Waterfowl In North Dakota, Jennifer Borgo

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Atrazine Contamination And Suspended Sediment Transport Within Logsdon River, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, Julie Eileen Schenck Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Understanding the potential for karst aquifer contamination by sediment-sorbed pesticides is important for cave conservation efforts in agricultural landscapes. Flow rate, water quality parameters and suspended sediment concentrations were measured in Logsdon River, a ~10km karst conduit within the Turnhole Spring Groundwater Basin of Mammoth Cave National Park to determine characteristics of storm-period transport of sediment-sorbed atrazine through a conduit-flow karst aquifer.

Analysis of two independent precipitation events occurring in the Spring of 2008 from May 2-4 and May 27-29 demonstrated the rapid response of the Logsdon River to precipitation events with detections of atrazine increasing during the initial turbidity …

Watershed Condition Assessment For Little River Canyon National Preserve, Alabama, Nathan Demille Rinehart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

No abstract provided.

Phylotyping And Functional Analysis Of Two Ancient Human Microbiomes, Raúl Y. Tito, Simone Macmil, Graham Wiley, Fares Najar, Lauren Cleeland, Chunmei Qu, Ping Wang, Frederic Romagne, Sylvain Leonard, Agustín Jiménez Ruiz, Karl Reinhard, Bruce A. Roe, Cecil M. Lewis, Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. Primary interests of the HMP include the distinctiveness of different gut microbiomes, the factors influencing microbiome diversity, and the functional redundancies of the members of human microbiotas. In this present work, we contribute to these interests by characterizing two extinct human microbiotas.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We examine two paleofecal samples originating from cave deposits in Durango Mexico and dating to approximately 1300 years ago. Contamination control is a serious issue in ancient DNA research; we use a novel approach to control contamination. …

Inside Unlv, Shane Bevell, Tony Allen, Karen Sharp, Mamie Peers, Cate Weeks

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 1. Introduction, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Watershed Database, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 8. Phase Ii Scope Of Services, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 7. Conclusions And Additional Comments, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Appendix A. Water Balance Analysis Assumptions, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 3. Public Outreach, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 6. Smart Growth Case Study – Easton, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Section 2. Data Collection, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.

Final Report: Cover, Acknowledgement, Table Of Contents, List Of Figures And List Of Tables, Horsley Witten Group, Inc.

Phase I Final Report

No abstract provided.