Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

The Last Drought Frontier: Building A Drought Index For The State Of Alaska, Olivia Campbell

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

Drought is characterized by periods of below average precipitation. There are five major types of drought recognized in the literature: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, socioeconomic, and ecological. A relatively new concept in the drought literature is “snow drought.” A key part of the definition of drought is that it is not always accompanied by extreme heat. This means drought can occur even in cold climates, cold seasons, and higher latitudes and altitudes, like Alaska. Drought is a natural part of climate variability, but Alaska’s climate is changing faster than any other state in the United States. Alaska is no stranger to …

Integrating Authentic Scientific Research In A Conservation Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience, Amanda E. Sorensen, Lucia Corral, Jenny M. Dauer, Joseph J. Fontaine

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Heterogeneity Of Avian Breeding Habitat On Grazing Lands Of The Northern Great Plains, Maggi S. Sliwinski

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

Native rangelands in the Great Plains are largely privately owned and used for beef production. Vegetation heterogeneity is important for maintaining biodiversity, but private land may be more homogenous than desired. My research had two components: 1) to examine whether a variety of grazing strategies created vegetation heterogeneity in a large, intact rangeland, and 2) to understand beef producers’ attitudes about vegetation heterogeneity.

First, I sampled vegetation structure, composition, and bird abundance at multiple plots on eleven management units in Cherry County, Nebraska. Units were managed with commonly used grazing strategies (e.g., short-duration grazing and season-long continuous grazing). I examined …

Spatial And Temporal Participation In Recreational Fishing, Dustin R. Martin

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

Buffering inland fisheries against large-scale changes in ecosystem function, climate regimes, and societal valuations of natural resources requires progressive management approaches that incorporate fish and angler dynamics at large spatial and temporal scales. Current paradigms of inland fishery management generally utilize waterbody-specific, fish-centric frameworks designed to regulate fish populations directly, and anglers indirectly, through fish stock enhancement and harvest regulation. In reality, anglers are the most manageable component of a fishery but management of anglers requires explicit consideration of their behavior (e.g., spatial and temporal patterns of participant use), which, unlike fish populations, operates at a scale larger than a …

A Proposed Plan For Managing Eastern Nebraska's Saline Wetlands, Vandhana Rabadinanth

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Eastern Nebraska’s saline wetlands play a major role in Nebraska’s environmental place in the world. Besides the role of scientific changes being important, education also is essential in the conservation of these wetlands. Through the observation of Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana) and soil electroconductivity, I propose that we need to reform Nebraska’s education system to help schools play a bigger part in environmental issues such as this one. There is a drastic trend in the correlations between Salt Creek tiger beetle populations and wetland degradation. Since many Lincoln residents have a limited knowledge of what is …