Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effects Of Early‑Life Experience On Innovation And Problem‑Solving In Captive Coyotes, Andrew C. Garcia, Mitchell A. Parsons, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Early-life experience often shapes behaviors like innovation and exploration. These behaviors are important to animals encountering novel food resources in diverse habitats, such as mesocarnivores in urban areas. To understand if early-life experiences impact later-life behavior, we examined how coyotes (Canis latrans) responded to a multi-access puzzle box at two life stages: pup (~ 7 weeks) and dispersal (~ 10 months). We first exposed pups, still living with their parents and littermates, to a baited puzzle box. At dispersal age, we again tested both these pups and an age-matched control group that was not exposed to the puzzle …

Climate Impacts On North American Quail, Shelby M. Perry, Erin Moser, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

North America’s quail population trends are often linked to regional climate. Extreme climate events such as severe drought, hard freezes, or excessive winter precipitation can reduce quail populations by as much as 84%. Above-average spring and summer temperatures coincident with drought can reduce the laying season for quail by ≤60 days. Exposure of quail eggs to high temperatures during preincubation can initiate and alter embryonic development. Here, we review the impacts of extreme climate events and a changing climate on the survival, reproduction, and population trends of 6 North American quail species: California quail (Callipepla californica), Gambel’s quail …

Cultural Politics Of Community-Based Conservation In The Buffer Zone Of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Yogesh Dongol

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation research examines the socio-economic and political effects of community-based conservation initiatives within the Bagmara buffer zone community forests of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. In particular, the study investigates the role of buffer zones creation in structuring the way rural property rights have been defined, negotiated, and contested, in reinforcing or reducing patterns of ethnic dominance and exclusion, and in influencing how cultural identities are constituted and renegotiated. Using a political ecology framework with a specific focus on theoretical concepts of environmentality and territorialization, I conducted 12 months ethnographic and quantitative survey field research in the buffer zone communities …

Intensive Land Use And Conservation Planning At The University Of Central Florida, Chelsea R. Piner

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Conservation strategies are necessary for cities to meet regional goals of sustainability, but commitments and collaborative efforts among influential stakeholders for economic and developmental growth frequently hinder conservation efforts. This study analyzes how planning documents influence conservation at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I use an inductive method of analysis to explore the stated conservation goals and commitments of UCF's Campus Master Plan. I then compare these objectives with the behaviors of the institution. This research indicates that the absence of collaborative efforts among agencies has resulted in UCF undermining its academic mission. Intensive land-use has sparked global environmental …

Spawning Site Selection And Fry Development Of Invasive Lake Trout In Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Lee Simard

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Since their discovery in Yellowstone Lake in 1994, Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) have been the object of an intensive gillnet suppression program due to their predation on native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri). Managers are also interested in targeting early life stages to augment suppression. A benthic sled was used to sample for Lake Trout eggs at 24 locations, hypothesized to be spawning sites, that encompassed a range of depths, slopes, and substrate composition to determine the location and characteristics of spawning sites in Yellowstone Lake. Lake Trout eggs were collected at seven sites, five of which had not …

Slides: Synthesis Session: Indigenous Water Symposium, Jason Anthony Robison

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Jason Robison, University of Wyoming

15 slides

Fact Sheet: Water Licences, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Presenter: Phil Duncan, Gomeroi Nation, New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

4 pages

Contains references

A Multidimensional Analysis Of The Great Green Wall: The Environmental And Social Effects Of Reafforestation In Senegal, Anna Eugenia Alsobrook

Masters Theses

The north-central region of Senegal is home to the Great Green Wall (GGW)—a reafforestation project aimed at restoring decades–old, degraded land conditions by establishing tree belts and community gardens. Its presence on the ground has changed the local landscape and altered the social institutions governing the daily lives of the people it aims to protect.

My study is an in-progress assessment of the GGW towards its two major goals: 1) improving the lives of the people of the Sahel and increasing their capacity to adapt to climate change and drought, and 2) improving the state of the ecosystem and increasing …

Phylogeny And Population Genetics Of The Endangered Dwarf Bear-Poppy, Arctomecon Humilis Coville (Papaveraceae) Using Microsatellite Markers, Joshua Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The genus Arctomecon (Papaveraceae) is comprised of three narrowly endemic rare species that are largely restricted to gypsum soils of the eastern Mojave Desert. The small, remaining populations of these species have become increasingly isolated by urban development and habitat fragmentation. Arctomecon humilis is federally listed as endangered due to its limited distribution within a ~15 km radius of an actively expanding city. Organizations involved with land management and conservation have called for greater insight into the genetic variation and population structure of the remaining subpopulations as they make important decisions regarding where to focus their efforts and resources.

The …

Slides: Master Development Plans (Mdps): Oil And Gas Projects, Mary Bloomstran

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Mary Bloomstran, Edge Environmental

19 slides

Slides: Collaborative Planning And Lessons Learned, Matt Sura

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Matt Sura, University of Colorado Law School

48 slides

Slides: Planning Tools: Wildlife Mitigation Plan (Wmp), Comprehensive Drilling Plan (Cdp), Geographic Area Plan (Gap), Ginny Brannon

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Ginny Brannon, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

7 slides

Evaluating How New York Natural Heritage Program Information Affects Development Projects In New York State, Tara Salerno

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Is New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) information used to affect land-use decisions in New York State? A seemingly simple question, yet it had no answer. The NYNHP maintains a comprehensive database on the status and location of rare species and significant natural communities throughout New York State. The NYNHP uses this database to provide information to consulting firms, project applicants, developers, local governments, state and federal agencies, private organizations, non-profits, the environmental conservation community, and the general public (together referred to as requestors) with the intent that such information will be used to aid in land-use decisions that will …

Slides: Engaging Stakeholders, Duane Zavadil

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Duane Zavadil, Bill Barrett Corporation

5 slides

Slides: Assessing Opportunities And Barriers To Reducing The Environmental Footprint Of Oil And Gas Development In Utah, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Lorien Belton, Brian Gentry, Gene Theodori

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Dr. Douglas Jackson-Smith, Utah State University--Logan Campus

37 slides

The Planet Of The Thinking Animal: Surviving The 21st Century, Tor Hundloe

Tor Hundloe

"Tor Hundloe presents us with two options: change the way we live, or find two more planets to support the world's burgeoning population. With the powerful energy of clever optimism he points the way for this Earth-only option to succeed" (Senator Bob Brown). "We humans are capable of brilliant ideas and inventions, but we have yet to learn the lessons that will prove that we deserve our place on the planet as the thinking animal." (Backcover). The Planet of the Thinking Animal looks to particular countries and groups of countries and examines their economic and environmental policies and activities. It …

Slides: Chapter 7 Of The Commission Report, David L. Bernhardt

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: David L. Bernhardt, Partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (Washington, DC) and former Solicitor for U.S. Department of the Interior

14 slides

Estuarine Blue Infrastructure: Priority Conservation Areas For The Seaside Of Virginia’S Eastern Shore, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

This project is an extension of earlier efforts within the coastal zone of Virginia to build a platform for enhanced Blue and Green Infrastructure planning. This project is motivated by an interest in extending statewide conservation efforts into estuarine systems and recognition that land use decisions on the upland effect water quality and habitat health in the receiving waters. The project in its entirety has been accomplished in distinct parts. Part one develops a Cumulative Resource Assessment to evaluate the distribution of aquatic natural resources within waters of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay waters, Back Bay of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the …

Caretakers Of The Garden Of Delight And Discontent: Adirondack Narrative, Conflict, And Environmental Virtue, Eric Richard Holmlund

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation concerns a widely recognized natural area, New York's Adirondack Park, that serves both as an international model for conservation and as a context for persistent conflict over natural resources, space, wealth and esthetics. It employs narrative inquiry as a method to examine the sources and the function of narratives or stories explaining the history and the present status of social groups in the Park. Narrative theorists maintain that we borrow from such socially circulating narratives to craft our own identities, and then repeat them until we believe them, almost without regard for the factual basis in history or …

Land Conservation And Land Use In New England: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, Amanda Loomis, Tom Devine, Andrea Small, Brittany Howard, Brett Richardson, Stephanie Dulac

Land Conservation

Sprawling development patterns accelerated across the New England landscape in the last three decades and consumed the region‘s forests, farms, and open spaces at an unprecedented rate. New England‘ers in all six states formed land trusts, supported statewide conservation organizations, and collaborated with state and federal partners to protect some of their most-prized recreation lands, wildlife habitats, and working lands. The current economic recession has slowed development pressures across the region and offers an opportunity to build on recent successes. The time is right to plan a coordinated New England conservation strategy that protects and links the region‘s natural assets. …

Slides: Integrated Policy, Planning, And Management Of Water Resources, Robert Wilkinson

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

Presenter: Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D., Director of the Water Policy Program, Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-- Santa Barbara

60 slides

Slides: Agricultural Resilience And Urban Growth: A Closer Look, William R. Travis

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

Presenter: William R. Travis, Department of Geography, Center for Science & Technology Policy Research, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder

30 slides

South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer

Planning

The 220 acre master plan for South Village, the largest project in the City of South Burlington’s history, encompasses multiple housing types and innovative provisions for affordable housing. It integrates housing with open space and natural resource conservation, including a major Community Supported Agriculture project developed by a nonprofit partner, the Intervale Foundation. While not a mixed-use project (that is, commercial as well as residential development), South Village nonetheless represents a qualitative change in approach for South Burlington by incorporating large-scale open space preservation as part of development and multiple housing-types in one project. The case study recounts events leading …

Slides: The Urbanizing West: Limits To Water, Limits To Growth, Lora A. Lucero

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Lora A. Lucero, AICP, American Planning Association

18 slides

Portland Me: Affordable Housing V. Open Space, Patrick Wright, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Amid an acknowledged “affordable housing crisis”, a first-time developer approaches the City to release part of a tax-acquired property, promising a smart-growth development that would provide sorely needed starter homes for working families. The case highlights the complications of balancing competing interests in Portland ME. It shows where rational planning fails in the presence of strong neighborhood opposition, a disjointed city staff structure, and the absence of political will among City Councilors. It highlights the need for champions within local government when a project evokes competing interests. It demonstrates the extent to which “words matter” to policy outcomes, and who …

Currents In Water Resources Law And Policy: How Is “Prior” Coping With New Stresses? [Outline], A. Dan Tarlock, David H. Getches

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

3 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law and Director, Program in Environmental and Energy Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law"

"David H. Getches, Dean and Raphael J. Moses Professor of Natural Resources Law, University of Colorado Law School"

Saving Special Places: Trends And Challenges With Protecting Public Lands [Outline], Robert B. Keiter

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

7 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"Robert B. Keiter, Wallace Stegner Professor of Law, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law"

The Growing Together Guide: A Companion Resource To The New England Environmental Finance Center/Melissa Paly Film, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

What local leader or public official wants to be faced with an SOS the “same old story” of public discord and confrontation over growth and development in one’s community? That situation has become a problem for efforts to promote smart growth. Investments are needed in the walkable, compact, traditional‐streetscape and mixed use neighborhoods and developments that are more sustainable and healthy than sprawl, for both people and the landscape. Yet attempts at such change all too often end up mired in costly public controversy and stalemate.

South Kingstown Ri: New Zoning For An Historic Mill, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer

Planning

The village of Peace Dale in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, developed around several mills that commenced operations in the 1800s. One mill, known as the Palisades, is still partially active and in excellent condition, but much of its square footage is unutilized. A citizens’ group of artists and business people joined with the mill owners and the town of South Kingstown to develop new zoning regulations to make more flexible the permitted uses for the mill site. The proposed zoning will allow the mill complex to feature a mix of retail, residential, and manufacturing uses, while preserving …

Trust, Collaboration, And Financial Return In Conservation/Development Partnerships, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

In early 2002 the New England Environmental Finance Center hosted a series of roundtable discussions among municipal officials, residential developers, land trust representatives, and others about "Innovative Approaches to Land Conservation and Smart Growth". Among our observations was that for many of the over 20 conservation/development partnerships we discussed in the series, creation and maintenance of trust was central to success or failure of various stages of the partnership. This suggested a link between creation of trust and financial return for traditionally opposed project partners.

To further examine this matter, we interviewed 11 round table participants and asked questions about …