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Full-Text Articles in Geography
Developing A Resilience Framework To Analyze Farmer Perspectives On Threat And Vulnerability To Catastrophic Events In Western Washington State, Bryant Hammond
Developing A Resilience Framework To Analyze Farmer Perspectives On Threat And Vulnerability To Catastrophic Events In Western Washington State, Bryant Hammond
WWU Graduate School Collection
Agriculture plays an important role in Western Washington's culture, economy, and environment. However, agriculture as it has been practiced over its 150-year history in the region is currently threatened by several changes differing in severity and onset speed. This thesis examines the adaptation of farmers to the changing system in which they are situated by exploring how they view vulnerability and threat; what strategies they suggest might aid in adaptation; and how farmers situate themselves and their operations within larger socio-ecological systems. I derive my data from disaster planning workshops in which farmers from each of three counties participated in …
Geographies Of Governance Across La Amistad International Park, Lauren F. Miller
Geographies Of Governance Across La Amistad International Park, Lauren F. Miller
WWU Graduate School Collection
This research focused on levels of trust, participation levels, and the emergence of polycentric governance among buffer zone community stakeholders in a case study of La Amistad International Park in Costa Rica and Panama. In this investigation, I combined a human geography of regions perspective with Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory to analyze the management structure of a bi-national park (a UNESCO Biosphere and World Heritage Site) and its progress toward the UNESCO Biosphere goals. These goals focus on socio-economic development for human well-being and educational and research opportunities addressing global to local issues related to integrated conservation and development. …
Assessing The Potential For Effective Collaborative Resource Management Of Costa Rica's Central Pacific Scarlet Macaw Population, Kathryn Mork
WWU Graduate School Collection
Establishing protected areas is one of the primary methods of protecting wildlife and preserving biodiversity and habitat worldwide. However, in recent years it has been recognized that not all protected areas are successful, for reasons ranging from a lack of resources to properly manage them, to the fact that areas are often too small to sustain animal populations, with many animals ranging beyond the borders of the protected areas. These issues have been addressed in a number of ways, including encouraging community involvement in management efforts and the development of conservation corridors and buffer zones to increase habitat availability. Collaborations …
Irregular Tessellated Surface Model Map Algebras To Define Flow Directions And Delineate Catchments Using Lidar Bare Earth Sample Points, Gerald B. Gabrisch
Irregular Tessellated Surface Model Map Algebras To Define Flow Directions And Delineate Catchments Using Lidar Bare Earth Sample Points, Gerald B. Gabrisch
WWU Graduate School Collection
Flow directions and catchment algorithms have historically utilized raster-based data models. A significant body of literature focuses on raster-based interpolation errors, and the subsequent surface reconditioning to compensate for those errors, that together degrade the accuracy of the derived flow directions and catchments. This research seeks to improve upon the raster-based approach by developing and evaluating a vector-based approach to generating flow directions and delineating catchments that preserves the accuracy of the input point data through the use of irregular tessellated surface models. Specifically, the Python computer programming language was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) to …
Wildlife Governance And The Politics Of Transborder Commons: The Gray Wolf Case, Jenni Pelc
Wildlife Governance And The Politics Of Transborder Commons: The Gray Wolf Case, Jenni Pelc
WWU Graduate School Collection
Wildlife management north and south of the Border is markedly different and is a direct reflection of the respective political systems. This variance in governance structures on either side of the border makes coordination, implementation, and management of transborder natural resources difficult. Transborder wildlife, particularly those shared across international borders, present many challenges to their successful management. Environmental governance scholars have indicated that a shift to more "fluid" polycentric governance, or multiple centers of governance among several smaller jurisdictions, may be more effective than governance through a single large structure. The following questions were used to guide (1) a sub-national …
Dendroclimatology Of Yellow Cedar (Callitropsis Nootkatensis) In The Pacific Northwest Of North America, Christopher S. Robertson
Dendroclimatology Of Yellow Cedar (Callitropsis Nootkatensis) In The Pacific Northwest Of North America, Christopher S. Robertson
WWU Graduate School Collection
As the oldest known conifer species in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), yellow cedar (Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) (Spach)) represent an underexploited paleoclimate resource of significant dendroclimatological value. This is the first dendroclimatological study of high elevation yellow cedar within the North Cascades of Washington. In addition, I explored the coherence of yellow-cedar chronologies at the regional scale. I established master tree-ring chronologies and radial-growth characteristics of 50 high-elevation yellow cedars from four sites along the west slope of the North Cascades. Significant (p≤0.05) mean inter-series (r̄=0.61) and inter-site (r̄=0.75) correlations in radial-growth pattern revealed a common limiting factor to yellow-cedar …