Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nadaka 2023 Management Plan, Andrea Hurzeler

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Nadaka 2023 is a management plan written for Nadaka Nature Park that aims to assess current conditions, define desired future conditions, and make recommendations to achieve those desired future conditions. Nadaka Nature Park is a publically owned nature area and park space located in the Wilkes East Neighborhood and bordering the Rockwood Neighborhood of Gresham, Oregon. Originally owned by the Camp Fire Organization, Nadaka was purchased in 1995 by the City of Gresham and opened to the public in 2001. Making up Nadaka is a 10 acre nature area and a 2 acre park space. The nature area consists of …

Waste Stream And Green Purchasing Analysis At Bonneville Lock And Dam, Alexander Bienko

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Portland District, has jurisdiction on three locks and four dams in the Columbia River basin. These sites "contribute to a water resource management system that provides flood risk management, power generation, water quality improvement, fish and wildlife habitat and recreation on the Columbia River and some of its tributaries". The Bonneville Lock and Dam (Bonneville Project) site lies on the Columbia River approximately 40 miles east from Portland, Oregon. Portions of the site have been declared a National Historic Landmark, from its origins in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program from …

Effects Of Beaver Dams On Urban Stream Hydraulic Response During Storm Events, Erin Poor

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Urbanization of landscapes alters watershed hydrology, leading to changes in the natural flow regime of local streams. Runoff from impervious surfaces and routing of stormwater can cause a rapid increase in the volume and velocity of streamflow. This is observed in the hydrograph as a steep rising limb, followed by a high peak, and a rapid falling limb. This rapidly varying streamflow, often referred to as flashiness, can increase erosive forces on the channel bed and banks, leading to channel incision and bank erosion. In areas where the hydrologic regime is less impacted by humans, beaver dams and ponds attenuate …

Long-Term Managed Flooding To Control Invasive Phalaris Arundinacea L. And Help Restore Native Vegetation In An Urban Palustrine Wetlands Ecosystem, Robert P. Lascheck

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

We sought to determine the effects of 13 years of hydrologic management on the wetland plant community in Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area (SBW), an 809 ha palustrine wetland complex in north Portland, Oregon. Previous management efforts resulted in an altered hydrologic regime; historically high water levels in spring and low water levels in fall were replaced by persistent water levels with minimal annual variations. A water control structure was installed in 2003 to better approximate historic seasonal hydrologic changes to reduce invasive Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass) cover and promote native wetland vegetation growth. Vegetation monitoring has been carried …

Monitoring And Evaluating Malawi Youth Conservation Engagement After Community-Based Environmental Education Workshops, Stefanie Kramer

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

This project addressed Peace Corps Malawi’s need to redevelop and implement environmental education workshops using a community-based approach, monitored project outcomes from these workshops, and provided an evaluation of strengths and areas for improvement of the environmental education workshop program.

Assessing Effort Shifts And Familial Succession In Oregon’S Nearshore Fisheries, Bryn Ellen Hudson

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Since the industrial revolution, natural resource systems have rapidly modernized and globalized. Commercial fishing industries have expanded and optimized resource extraction but have often times exceeded sustainable levels of harvest. In the Pacific Northwestern United States, the commercial fishing industry is one of particular economic and cultural importance. Due to reduced yield of many native fish stocks, marine reserves have been implemented in Oregon’s nearshore waters in an effort to conserve biodiversity. While spatial closures of marine reserves seek to preserve and stabilize Oregon’s ocean ecosystems, adverse socioeconomic implications are inevitably created when profitable waters are set aside. A main …

Effects Of Variable Density Thinning On Spatial Patterns Of Overstory Trees In Mt. Hood National Forest, Emma Huston

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Variable density thinning (VDT) is a method of restoration thinning that attempts to increase ecosystem resilience and spatial heterogeneity in forest stands to more closely resemble mosaic-like patterns characteristic of late-successional forests, which consist of clusters of multiple trees, individual trees, and gaps. This study examines the spatial patterning of overstory trees resulting from VDT of conifer forests in Mt. Hood National Forest in the western Cascade Mountains and compares these patterns with reference conditions. Stem maps were created from field surveys of study plots within one mature stand and six thinned stands designated as Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) with varying …

Development Of An Effective Shade Model For Water Quality Management In Oregon, Erin Costello

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Warming stream temperatures degrade water quality by stressing cold-water species, promoting harmful algal blooms, lowering dissolved oxygen, and increasing the toxicity of some compounds. The influence of stream temperature on the survival of native salmon is of particular concern in the Pacific Northwest. Effective shade, the fraction of solar radiation blocked from reaching a stream, is directly related to in-stream temperature and can be manipulated by riparian management actions. Mechanistic models of effective shade are prohibitively data and cost intensive. The objective of this research was to develop an empirical model (Simple Shade) for evaluating effective shade across the state …

Existing Ecological Conditions And Management Recommendations For A Portion Of The Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, Oregon, Amanda Pole

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Effective land management and habitat restoration work rely on the collection of baseline information regarding the existing conditions of the planning area. Existing conditions assessments can include such information as hydrologic conditions, botanical species assessment, land use issues, wildlife surveys, habitat distribution/quality assessments, etc. This project provides Oregon Metro’s Parks and Nature department with updated information regarding the existing conditions of a portion of the Chehalem Ridge Nature Park (CRNP) as well as recommendations and supplemental maps to aid in future management planning.

Within the ~61-acre project area exist several habitat types: a developing seasonal wetland, riparian forest, Douglas-fir forest, …