Environmental Health and Protection Commons^™

New Book Chapter Reviewing Mojave Desert Revegetation Practices Is Forthcoming, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

I was invited to write a chapter for a forthcoming book on Arid Environments to be published by Nova Science Publishers. This book is anticipated to appear in late 2008 or early 2009, and we will be able to provide additional details about the entire book at that time. I co-authored our chapter on revegetation with Alice Newton, Vegetation Manager at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We systematically reviewed 23 published studies of planting or seeding native species in the Mojave Desert.

Alien Invaders! Pre-Visit Lesson: Introduced And Invasive Species (Grade 6), Discover Mojave: Forever Earth

Curriculum materials (FE)

In the “Alien Invaders!” program, students use the Forever Earth vessel to investigate how quagga mussels might affect Lake Mead. Students collect water quality data such as clarity, pH, and temperature to determine whether current habitat conditions would allow quagga mussels to survive and thrive. Students learn about the consequences the quagga mussels could have on the lake and its living and non-living resources. Using the knowledge they’ve gained, students create their own management plans to prevent the spread of quagga mussels to other waterways.

This activity involves students in the concepts of introduced and invasive species

Grassland Songbird Survival And Recruitment In Agricultural Landscapes: Implications For Source-Sink Demography, Noah G. Perlut, Allan M. Strong, Therese M. Donovan, Neil J. Buckley

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Population growth and decline are particularly sensitive to changes in three key life-history parameters: annual productivity, juvenile survival, and adult survival. However, for many species these parameters remain unknown. For example, although grassland songbirds are imperiled throughout North America, for this guild, only a small number of studies have assessed these parameters. From 2002 to 2006, in the agricultural landscape of the Champlain Valley of Vermont and New York, USA, we studied Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) demography on four grassland treatments: (1) early-hayed fields cut before 11 June and again in early- …

Annual Summary Quality Assessment Report For The Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Network, Ruth Justiniano, Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Brunswick Me: De-Militarizing The Bnas, Anne Holland, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2011 will have profound economic impacts on the entire mid-coast Maine region of Maine, with an estimated loss of 6,500 jobs and $330 million annual income. Throughout the Base Realignment and Closure process, Brunswick, the region, and the State of Maine followed federal rules and developed the federally-funded Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) to plan for reuse of the 3300 acre base. In its planning process, the BLRA adhered to a number of well thought-out Guiding Principles, including the use of extensive public participation and the consideration of “smart growth” principles and …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending: April 1, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Hiring: A decision is anticipated in the upcoming weeks regarding the hiring of a limnologist. Two candidates were selected from among three qualified applicants for telephone interviews; they were subsequently interviewed in-person.

Project 1: Review of the draft Boulder Basin Adaptive Management Plan is on-going. Meetings of the Systems Conveyance and Operations Program (SCOP) Technical Advisory Teams were attended.

Project 2: Development of a white paper expressing the joint needs of the entities involved in Water 2025 projects is on-going; scientific review of data and reports related to bacteria in high-use areas of Lake Mead is underway.

Project 3: Discussions …

Sustainable Portland: Implementation Series 1, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

When the Sustainable Portland Task Force Report was released in November 2007, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Cohen, Portland Councilor Kevin Donoghue had the idea that students at the Muskie School of Public Service might be able to help implement recommendations from the report. It may have helped that Kevin was himself a graduate of the Community Planning and Development Master’s program at the Muskie School, but it was a good idea nevertheless. He approached Professor Sam Merrill in the CPD program, who spoke with the new Mayor Ed Suslovic about a possible partnership between the City and the …

Using E. Coli And Bacteroides Distribution And Abundance In A Eutrophic Lake As A Tracer For Nutrient Inputs, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Theresa A. Aguiar, Walter S. Borowski, Alice C. Layton, Larry Mckay

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 likely from humans, cattle manure, and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources, namely from septic tank effluent emanating from key housing developments ringing the lakeshore. We test our hypothesis with conventional microbial assays (Escherichia coli) and RT-PCR techniques (Bacteroides).

We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions, and measured the abundance of Escherichia coli using IDEXX methods. Corresponding sub-samples slated for potential PCR …

From Debate To Design: Issues In Clean Energy And Climate Change Law And Policy, Leslie Parker, Jennifer Ronk, Rachel Maxwell, Bradford Gentry, Marijn Wilder, James Cameron

Yale School of the Environment Publications Series

A report on the work of the REIL Network 2007-2008

Finicky Fish Finish... Last! Post-Visit -- Getting The Word Out: Visually Getting The Word Out: Interviews And Podcasts Lessons (Grade 5), Discover Mojave: Forever Earth

Curriculum materials (FE)

In “Finicky Fish Finish…Last!” students use the Forever Earth vessel to explore what has happened to the Colorado River and the reasons why it is so difficult for the razorback sucker to thrive in a changed environment. Working as ichthyologists (fish biologists) at Lake Mead, students collect water quality data such as temperature, pH, and clarity -- to determine whether current habitat conditions are sufficient for survival of young razorback suckers. Students observe and identify non-native fish in Lake Mead as they learn how the razorback sucker interacts with these neighbors. Students assess whether Lake Mead is still a good …

Technology-Aided Participative Methods In Environmental Assessment: An International Perspective, Ainhoa Gonzalez, Alan Gilmer, Ronan Foley, John Sweeney, John Fry

Articles

Provisions for citizen involvement in the assessment of potential environmental effects of certain plans, programmes and projects are present in current legislation. An international survey revealed that public participation is common practice in European and some other countries worldwide. However, a number of issues are observed to affect public involvement in EIA/SEA processes and expert opinion differs when evaluating the effectiveness of existing participative methods. Results suggest that technology-aided methods can improve traditional participation processes. In particular, GIS has the potential to increase community knowledge and enhance involvement by communicating information more effectively. Variable accessibility to technology and data quality …

An Environmental Justice Analysis: Superfund Sites And Surrounding Communities In Illinois, Angela Maranville, Tih-Fen Ting, Yang Zhang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Is there an association between Superfund sites and the socioeconomic makeup of the surrounding communities? This research analyzes the current economic and racial demographics of Illinois counties that contain Superfund sites. Specifically, variables that are indicators of environmental injustice are analyzed; e.g. race, median household income, and home ownership. Since the inception of the environmental justice movement in the late 1980s, studies have been conducted nationally and at state levels in Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida, Texas, and South Carolina (i.e. Cutter 2006; Mohai & Saha 2006; Pastor et al. 2004; Anderton et al. 1997; Bevc et al. 2007; Bowen et …