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, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 12% over last quarter. The database now contains 4,937 records.
• Website activity decreased, recording an average of 82,859 hits per month, a decrease of 31% from last quarter, with an average of 8,191 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• Three National Public Land Day Events have been completed.
• Two hundred and ten people attended the Volunteer Recognition Event.

Sustainability Of Western Kentucky University: An Examination Of Campus Environmental Policies, Performance And Potential For Change, Christian Ryan-Downing

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Institutions of higher learning are in a pivotal position to address the environmental problems that global society faces now, but response to this challenge requires transformation in priorities and practices. Recognizing the impacts that universities have on the environment and the social and economic costs associated with these impacts, institutions of higher learning are changing policies and management to become more sustainable. Sustainability is defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (1987). To evaluate the environmental impacts …

Refuge Update – November/December 2007, Volume 4, Number 6

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Celebrating 20 Years of Science on the M/ V Tiglax, page 5 Kevin Bell is honored as Captain of the largest ship operated by the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Focus on…A River Runs Through It, pages 8-15 Rivers on refuges are managed for recreation, habitat restoration, water rights and sheer beauty.

The Fight Against Giant Salvinia, page 18 Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Texas is fighting a weed that can travel three-quarters of a mile in 24 hours.

Awards, page 21 From protecting the land to going “green,” awards recognize excellence.

Fecal Microbe Distribution And Abundance Used As A Possible Proxy For Nutrient Source Identification In Eutrophic Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Theresa A. Aguiar, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake is a eutrophic lake that has been listed on the EPA’s 303d list as nutrient impaired. Potential sources of this impairment are from humans, cattle manure and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources. As a possible proxy for nutrient input, we test our hypothesis by examining fecal microbe distribution and abundance in the lake.

We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions. Sampling spanned 26 June to 15 August with the last 3 sampling events occurring at roughly two-week intervals. These samples were then processed using IDEXX methods, which …

Ocena Wpływu Planowanego Zakładu Termicznego Przekształcania Odpadów Komunalnych Na Jakość Powietrza W Krakowie, Robert Oleniacz, Maria Pilch

Robert Oleniacz

The work presents air quality impact assessment for the planned Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) plant in Krakow with a established capacity of 255000 tons per year. The evaluation is based on assumption that air pollutant emissions from the incinerator will be at the highest allowed level resulting from emission limit values for waste incineration plants with operation time each of two planned lines 7500 hours per year. Calculation results for the one of the considered localization of the MSWI plant in Krakow (district of Nowa Huta) support the thesis that building the incineration plant of this size will not …

An Update On Groundwater Conditions At The Site Of The York College Cuny Campus In Southeastern Queens County, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Zarine Ali, Edward A. Molteni

Publications and Research

The wells operated by the Jamaica Water Supply Company in Queens represent the only large scale utilization of groundwater for public water supply in New York City in recent years. These wells were shut down, for the most part, beginning in 1996. Since that time, water table elevations in the area, which had been drawn down by the withdrawal activity of the Jamaica Water Supply Company, have risen significantly causing some high groundwater problems, including flooding of basements. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has held public hearings on a contemplated resumption of ground water withdrawal in …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 6 – Oct. 5, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• Don’t Trash Nevada website traffic remains strong despite no separate marketing.

• Project Manager Douglas Joslin has been assisting the IVP team due to the resignation of Donna Grady.

• A new ad created in cooperation with Republic Services of Southern Nevada appeared in five different View newspapers in July.

• The messaging campaign year two plan is in development and will be ready in November.

• Forty-three people took the anti-litter pledge this quarter, bringing the total number of pledges to 431.

• Planning for the Don’t Trash Nevada exhibit at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum continued …

Desarrollo Turístico Y Sustentabilidad: Caso Villa Pehuenia Y La Comunidad Mapuche Puel, Sasha Shahidi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With limited resources and overpopulation on a global level, sustainable development is the only way that human beings will be able to survive on this earth. The problem is that the dominant model of development stresses the importance of economic profits in the short term and far too often exploits natural resources and less powerful cultural groups. This creates dangerous long-term affects as natural resources and indigenous cultures that depend on them continue to disappear with no plan, or possibility, to replace them. Sustainability seeks the least negative impacts possible on the natural environment and indigenous cultures in order to …

The Price Of Gold: The Environmental Impacts Of Toxic Chemicals In Gold Mining, Adam Goetz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The role of mercury and cyanide in gold mining has become a hot topic in Mongolia in the past few years. In the past few months, the government has launched a crackdown on the illegal use of these chemicals in response to the contamination of Khongor soum’s drinking water which resulted from an illegal mining operation. However, there are many more sites throughout the country that are in need of cleaning as a result of the illegal use of these chemicals by small companies as well as individual miners.

This paper examines the role of a variety of different views …

Scwds Briefs: Volume 23, Number 3 (October 2007), Gary L. Doster , Editor, Scwds Briefs, Michael J. Yabsley

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

Table of Contents:

Hemorrhagic Disease in 2007

Gone with the Pigs? VS on Ossabaw Island

Theileriosis in Alabama Reindeer

Cryptosporidium in Wildlife

TWS Addresses Baiting and Feeding of Wildlife

SCWDS Awards at WDA Meeting

SCWDS Anniversary Honored

AFWA Resolution 2007-1

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 1 - September 30, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 11% over last quarter. The database now contains 4,343 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 121,313 hits per month, an increase of 31% from last quarter, with an average of 11,475 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been scheduled, developed and publicized.
• Three National Public Land Day Events are planned.
• Volunteer recognition banquet event is being planned and developed.
• Transition in the program manager position took place. The position is currently filled with an interim volunteer program associate.

Laser Dispersal Of Gulls From Reservoirs Near Airports, Andy Baxter

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Gull numbers roosting at two waterbodies close to a military airfield in central England were monitored at dusk and dawn for four weeks during November 2006. Approximately 25,000 and 8,000 gulls were present at each site respectively. Two LEM 50 laser torches mounted on tripods were then deployed to disperse the roost at one of the sites. No effect was observed before dusk or after dawn. Beams were scanned approximately 0.5 to 1metre above the surface of the water across an arc of approximately 200o during a three minute period. The process was repeated continuously for one hour from dusk. …

Airport Bird Hazard Risk Assessment Process, Richard Sowden, Terry Kelly, Stewart Dudley

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

This paper presents an overview of Transport Canada’s airport bird hazard risk assessment process (ABRAP), which will be published in 2007.1 ABRAP examines and categorizes the relationship between airport-area land uses and bird species to predict risks to aircraft in various phases of flight. The result is the creation of customized bird hazard zones that accommodate the unique features and challenges at each airport, and that differ dramatically from the circular zoning patterns traditionally drawn from an airport’s geographic centre.

The paper briefly describes ABRAP, lists the diverse ways in which it can be applied, and illustrates how the process …

Bald Eagle Nest Removal: Making A Case And Building Consensus Among Various Agencies And Organizations For Amicable Removal, Johnny C. Metcalf

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

The bald eagle is an iconic symbol representing strength and freedom throughout the Americas and evokes strong public emotion and sentiment. Despite tremendous population recovery in the United States resulting in its removal from the U.S. Department of Interiors Endangered Species list, state and federal agencies are hesitant to approve activity that could be interpreted as detrimental to eagles. Florida accounts for more than 85% of the entire southern bald eagle population and has between 1000 to 1200 mated pairs. Habitat loss and expanding populations are forcing eagles to adopt alternative nesting sites including the airport environment. Eagle / aviation …

An Overview Of Avian Radar Developments – Past, Present And Future, Tim J. Nohara, B. Eng, M. Eng, Peter Weber, Andrew Ukrainec, Al Premji, Graeme Jones

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

The objective of this paper is to stand back and take an organized look at these developments in avian radar technology, with a view towards improving our understanding of this complex tool set. By reviewing the past, a context will be provided within which one can better appreciate what has been accomplished in the present, and where technology and products still need to go in the future. It is hoped that a better understanding will assist stakeholders in making the best use of these tools, today and tomorrow.

Dead Bird Effigies: A Nightmare For Gulls?, Thomas W. Seamans, Craig R. Hicks, Kenneth J. Preusser

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Bird control at and around airfields is critical to safe airfield operation. Numerous bird-control products and strategies are available, all of which have limitations because of rapid habituation, ineffectiveness, expense or other factors. There is a need for new methods to manage birds at airports and other locations. In recent years, realistic effigies of dead turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) have proven effective as a species-specific means to disperse roosting vultures. To determine if this concept can be expanded to deter other birds that are a problem at airfields, we conducted trials using prepared ring-billed (Larus delawarensis) …

Airport Wildlife Strike Summary And Risk Analysis Report: A New Addition To The Faa’S Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Website, Richard A. Dolbeer, Heather Marriot, Allen Newman

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Aircraft collisions with birds and other wildlife are an increasing concern for the aviation industry. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), through agreements with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, developed a National Wildlife Strike Database to better define the wildlife strike problem. Annual reports that summarize the data (about 72,500 strike records for civil aircraft in USA, 1990-2006) provide a foundation for FAA national policies and guidance regarding research and management efforts to reduce wildlife strikes. However, these national analyses do not provide specific information regarding strikes at individual airports or for other specific …

Bird Strike Risk Assessment At A Proposed U.S. Navy Outlying Landing Field In Northeastern North Carolina, Greg Netti, Christine M. Sousa, Michael J. Begier, Robert C. Beason, J. Dan Cecchini

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

In September 2003, U.S. Department of the Navy (the Navy) decided to homebase its carrier-based squadrons of Super Hornet aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, in Virginia, and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, in North Carolina. Prior to that decision, the Navy had determined that these squadrons would need an additional practice landing field, known as an outlying landing field (OLF), to support the number of Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) operations that are part of the pre-deployment training cycle. The FLCP operations are low-level, “touch-and-go” flight patterns to train pilots for landing on aircraft carriers.

The …

Facing Bird Attracting Factors Outside Airports: The Italian Approach (*), Valter Battistoni

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

When in 1994 an important CAA executive and former boss of mine, just appointed Chairperson of Bird Strike Committee Italy, telephoned me and in a “friendly” manner “ordered” me to prepare a paper and a presentation for a bird strike meeting which was going to be held soon in Palermo, three things immediately appeared clear to me: 1) Palermo was a beautiful town that I hadn’t visited since I was a teenager, therefore a Government paid week-end was not so bad. 2) I had no idea what to say at the meeting as my ignorance about bird strikes was almost …

Integration And Validation Of Networked Avian Radar (Ivar), Marissa Brand

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

A team of scientists and engineers from the federal government, industry, and academia is evaluating the ability of digital radar systems to identify and track biological targets and then validating these systems under realistic operational conditions. The Integration and Validation of Avian Radars (IVAR) project is funded by the Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program. The eBirdRad radar unit utilizes off the shelf X-band marine radar coupled with advanced digital signal processing and tracking algorithms to process target information. The overall objectives of the IVAR project include: 1) the use of independent visual, thermal and other observations to …

Www Integration Of Faa And Swa Birdstrike Reporting Systems, Stanley D. Clark

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Birdstrike Reporting System has historically been a manual, “pen and paper” system since its inception. Because it has been so labor-intensive, birdstrike reporting by Southwest Airline Pilots could best be described as “sporadic” as long as the FAA system operated outside the internal airline system. By using web-based reporting systems, with imbedded checks and balances, Southwest Airlines has achieved a dramatic increase in birdstrikes reported to the FAA.

A Successful Case Study: The Bird Control Program Of Waste Management Outer Loop Recycling And Disposal Facility, Louisville, Kentucky, Usa, Russell P. Defusco

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Landfills and airports have a long history of incompatibility. Birds are attracted to landfills for various reasons including food sources, habitat, and orographic lift. Since landfills can be avian attractants, they are required to be sited at least 10,000 feet away from commercial airports in the United States. Waste Management of Kentucky (WMK) operates a municipal landfill and recycling facility -- the Outer Loop Recycling and Disposal Facility (OLRDF) located less than 1.5 miles south of the Louisville Standiford airport which, as the hub airport for United Parcel Service, is the fourth largest cargo airport in the U.S. As part …

The Birdstrike Identification Program At The Smithsonian Institution And New Recommendations For Dna Sampling, Carla J. Dove, Marcy Heacker, Nancy Rotzel

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been supporting a free-of-charge birdstrike identification program at the Smithsonian Institution for many years. Approximately 50% of the birdstrike cases received are identified to species level using whole feathers, or feather fragments in comparison with museum specimens. The remaining cases are identified using microscopic analysis and/or DNA “barcoding”. DNA barcoding is the newest tool in the birdstrike identification toolbox and involves extracting mtDNA (cytochrome c oxides subunit 1, COI, cox1, “barcode gene”) from birdstrike samples that consist of blood and tissue and then matching the …

Using Zena™ Prototypes As Perching Deterrents On Airfield Signage, Noel K. Jinings

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Airfields often provide very attractive habitat for many avian species, including a variety of raptor species. Avian wildlife at the Portland International Airport (PDX) poses the greatest wildlife strike risk to aircraft. More specifically, raptors at PDX are designated as “very high” for both the probability of a strike occurrence and the potential for extreme damage [Ref. 2004 PDX WHMP risk assessment based on model by Dr. J R Allan of the United Kingdom]. As such, raptors are the focus of much of the management efforts on this airfield. One of the biggest concerns for wildlife managers on the PDX …

An Advanced Avian Radar Display For Automated Bird Strike Risk Determination For Airports And Airfields, T. Adam Kelly, Ron Merritt, Gary W. Andrews

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Over the past ten years, development of bird detection radars for use as real time aircraft birdstrike avoidance systems has moved beyond research and development into active deployment of the technology as an operational tool in a BASH program (Kelly 2006). A key challenge in use of avian radars at both military and commercial airfields however has been integration of the greatly expanded level of risk information provided by avian radar technology into the current procedures and methods for setting bird strike risk conditions at airports and airfields. Over the past two years, much of the effort at DeTect, Inc. …

Further Discussion Of Bird Strike Design Issues For Engines With Obscured Fans, Julian M. Reed

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

A previous conference presentation (Baltimore, 2004) introduced the subject of obscured turbo-fans and discussed it in the context of bird strikes. In such a case, the bird will have significant interaction with the internal structure of the aircraft intake during its passage from intake lip to fan and damage to the bird may well occur causing it to pose a significantly different threat to the integrity of the engine. This paper explores the possible interactions that take place in such an installation prior to the bird reaching the fan face and makes use of engine and bird structural test data …

Bald Eagles: A Threatened Species Becomes A Threat To Aviation, Sandra E. Wright

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) population in the United States has made a tremendous recovery from fewer than 500 nesting pairs in 1970, to over 10,000 pairs in 2007. It is likely that the population will continue to grow. Every state, except Hawaii, now has nesting bald eagles. Because of the widespread recovery, the U. S. Department of the Interior removed the bald eagle from the Endangered Species List in August 2007. Bald eagles are still protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act as well as by state laws. At …

Managing Bird Populations At An Incompatible Land Use Near An Airport: Dike 10b Confined Disposal Facility, Craig R. Hicks, Randy J. Outward, Jonathon D. Cepek, Thomas W. Seamans

2007 Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada, 9th Annual Meeting, Kingston, Ontario

Many airports throughout the world have been built on or adjacent to bodies of water. Due to their location, they are often negatively impacted by wildlife attracted to surrounding areas such as harbors, arenas, beaches, and parks. These same lakes and rivers often serve as shipping channels that support the city to which the airport services. Such is the case at Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL) in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1998, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed Dike 10B, a 64-acre confined disposal facility (CDF) adjacent to BKL to manage contaminated dredge materials removed from the shipping channels of …

Alien Crustacean Decapods From The Aegean Coast Of Turkey, M. Baki Yokes, S. Ünsal Karhan, Erdogan Okus, Ahsen Yüksek, Asli Aslan, I. Noyan Yilmaz, Nazli Demirel, Volkan Demir, Bella S. Galil

Asli Aslan

Thirty of the 33 alien decapod crustacean species that have been reported off the Turkish Mediterranean coast are believed to have invaded the region via the Suez Canal, but only three of the species have been recorded along the Turkish Aegean coast. The marine biota of Gökova Bay, Datça Peninsula and Gulf of Fethiye, on the southern Aegean coast of Turkey, was studied by diving between 2002 and 2006. Of the eight Erythrean alien decapod species collected there, five constitute new records for the Aegean Sea and three are newly recorded from the Turkish coast of the Aegean Sea.

Refuge Update – September/October 2007, Volume 4, Number 5

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Searching for Japanese MIAs in Alaska – page 3 Japanese and Americans look for burial sites on Attu Island in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

The Job of a Lifetime – pages 6-7 Meet a 90-year old volunteer and a 31-year old tractor driver.

Crocs Come Back – page 27 American crocodiles are threatened but no longer endangered.