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Investigation Of Growth Phases For Bottlenose Dolphins Using A Bayesian Modeling Approach, Wayne Mcfee, John Schwacke, Megan Stolen, Keith Mullin, Lori Schwacke

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The Gompertz function is the most commonly used growth function for cetacean studies. However, this function cannot represent multiple phases of growth. In this study, we present a Bayesian framework fitting parameters of a triple-logistic growth function to describe multiple phases of growth for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), simultaneously fitting and comparing all growth parameters between South Carolina (SC), Mississippi Sound (MSS), and Indian River Lagoon (IRL) cohorts. The fitted functions indicated a preliminary early, rapid growth phase, followed by a second phase of slower growth, and then a moderate growth spurt later in life. Growth parameters between …

Blubber Testosterone: A Potential Marker Of Male Reproductive Status In Short-Beaked Common Dolphins, Nicholas Kellar, Marisa Trego, Corina Marks, Susan Chivers, Kerri Danil, Frederick Archer

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A novel molecular technique was used to measure blubber testosterone (BT) in 114 male short-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus delphis, collected from incidental fishery bycatch and strandings. When these concentrations were compared across maturity states, the mean (± SEM) BT levels of mature D. delphis (14.3 ± 3.0 ng/g) were significantly higher than those of pubertal (2.5 ± 0.5 ng/g, P = 0.006) and immature animals (2.2 ± 0.3 ng/g, P < 0.0001). BT concentrations in mature males were significantly higher in summer months (53.9 ± 2.0 ng/g) than during the rest of the year (7.9 ± 0.69 ng/g, P < 0.0001), indicating reproductive seasonality. An analysis of BT in different anatomical locations showed that hormone concentrations were not homogenous throughout the body; the levels in the dorsal fin were significantly lower than in most other areas (F = 5.39, P = 0.043). Conversely, we found no significant differences in BT concentration with respect to subepidermal depth (F = 2.09, P = 0.146). Finally, testosterone levels in biopsies from 138 free-swimming male D. delphis, of unknown maturity state, sampled off California were found to be of concentrations similar to those from the fishery bycatch and stranding samples and revealed an …

Population Structure Of Island-Associated Dolphins: Evidence From Photo-Identification Of Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncates) In The Main Hawaiian Islands, Robin Baird, Antoinette Gorgone, Daniel Mcsweeney, Allan Ligon, Mark Deakos, Daniel Webster, Gregory Schorr, Karen Martien, Dan Salden, Sabre Mahaffy

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Management agencies often use geopolitical boundaries as proxies for biological boundaries. In Hawaiian waters a single stock is recognized of common bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, a species that is found both in open water and nearshore among the main Hawaiian Islands. To assess population structure, we photo-identified 336 distinctive individuals from the main Hawaiian Islands, from 2000 to 2006. Their generally shallow-water distribution, and numerous within-year and between-year resightings within island areas suggest that individuals are resident to the islands, rather than part of an offshore population moving through the area. Comparisons of identifications obtained from Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau, O‘ahu, the …

Harvesting Young-Of-The-Year From Large Mammal Populations: An Application Of Systemic Management, C. W. Fowler, T. E. Jewell, M.V. Lee

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We evaluate the current commercial harvest of harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and proposed subsistence harvests of northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus ) pups based on intra-specific comparisons. These comparisons utilize a pattern derived from 167 cases of estimated consumption rates by large mammals. In all cases, the predation rates involve large mammal prey less than 1 year of age. Recent harvests of harp seal pups are exceeded by 20 (about 12%) of the estimated consumption rates among the nonhuman species. Although this is not statistically significant, further analysis may find this harvest to be unsustainable when we …

Movements And Diving Behavior Of Pelagic Spotted Dolphins, Michael Scott, Susan Chivers

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We radio tracked 20 pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuate) in the pelagic waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean during three research cruises in 1992, 1993, and 2001. Dolphins were tracked for up to 6 d from 20 to 1,000 km offshore. Seventeen of these dolphins also carried time–depth recorders, nine of which were recovered with a combined total of 477 h of dive data. The movement data suggested that the dolphins associate with areas of relatively high biological productivity. Dolphins close to shore moved along the continental slope, while some dolphins traveled farther offshore along thermocline “ridges.” …

Behavior Of Melon-Headed Whales, Peponocephala Electra, Near Oceanic Islands, Robert L. Brownell Jr., Katherine Ralls, Simone Baumann-Pickering, M. Michael Poole

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Southall et al. (2006) concluded that a near mass stranding (MS) of melon-headed whales (MHWs), Peponocephala electra, in Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii, on 3–4 July 2004, was likely related to the operation of mid-frequency sonars (MFS). However, subsequent authors argued that the nearly simultaneous entry of MHWs into Sasanhaya Bay, Rota (∼5,740 km away) made this conclusion untenable. They suggested that both sightings, and other MSs of MHWs, could be related to lunar cycles. To resolve this question, we reviewed information on the biology and behavior of MHWs and compared the two sightings to observations of MHWs around Palmyra …

Paedomorphic Ossification In Porpoises With An Emphasis On The Vaquita (Phocoena Sinus), Liliana Mellor, Lisa Noelle Cooper, Jorge Torre, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Heterochrony, the change in timing of developmental processes, is thought to be a key process shaping the numerous limb morphologies of tetrapods. Through a delayed offset in digit development, all cetaceans (i.e., whales, dolphins, and porpoises) have evolved supernumary phalanges (hyperphalangy). Moreover, some toothed cetaceans further alter digital morphologies by delayed endochondral and perichondral ossification of individual elements. In the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), these paedomorphic patterns have created poorly ossified phalangeal elements. However, no studies have addressed this morphology in other porpoise taxa. This study documents the timing of carpal and digital epiphyseal ossification in the poorly …

Catches Of Humpback Whales, Megaptera Novaeangliae, By The Soviet Union And Other Nations In The Southern Ocean, 1947–1973, Phil Clapham, Yuri Mikhalev, Wally Franklin, David Paton, C. Scott Baker, Yulia V. Ivashchenko, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The great whales of the Southern Ocean were extensively exploited by modern whaling methods, with the first catches made in the Falkland Islands Dependencies region of IWC Management Area II in 1904 (Tønnesson and Johnsen, 1982; Hart, 2006). Exploitation went through several phases. Populations of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, and blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus, around South Georgia crashed around the time of World War I, and further exploitation occurred in other regions into the 1930’s. There was a hiatus in whaling during World War II, but large-scale catches resumed in Antarctic waters after 1945.

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Assessment Workshop Report, R.R. Reeves, R. L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A workshop on the assessment of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), with the Solomon Islands as a case study, took place from 21-23 August 2008 in Apia, Samoa. It was planned and organized under the auspices of the Cetacean Specialist Group and attended by 19 invited participants from eight countries. Financial support was provided by WWF (International), The Ocean Conservancy, Animal Welfare Institute, Humane Society of the United States, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, U.S. Marine Mammal Commission and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The workshop was hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program …

Spatial Modelling And Prediction On River Networks: Up Model, Down Model Or Hybrid?, Vincent Garreta, Pascal Monestiez, Jay M. Ver Hoef

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Preservation of rivers and water resources is crucial in most environmental policies and many efforts are made to assess water quality. Environmental monitoring of large river networks are based on measurement stations. Compared to the total length of river networks, their number is often limited and there is a need to extend environmental variables that are measured locally to the whole river network. The objective of this paper is to propose several relevant geostatistical models for river modeling. These models use river distance and are based on two contrasting assumptions about dependency along a river network. Inference using maximum likelihood, …

Demography And Population Viability Of Polar Bears In The Gulf Of Boothia, Nunavut, Mitchell Taylor, Jeff Laake, Philip Mcloughlin, H. Dean Cluff, Francois Messier

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We estimated demographic parameters and harvest risks for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) inhabiting the Gulf of Boothia, Nunavut, from 1976 to 2000. We computed survival and abundance from capture–recapture and recovery data (630 marks) using a Burnham joint live–dead model implemented in program MARK. Annual mean total survival (including harvest) was 0.889 ± 0.179 ( x ± 1 SE) for cubs, 0.883 ± 0.087 for subadults (ages 1–4), 0.919 ± 0.044 for adult females, and 0.917 ± 0.041 for adult males. Abundance in the last 3 yr of study was 1,592 ± 361 bears. Mean size of newborn …

Health Assessment Of Weddell Seals, Leptonychotes Weddellii, In Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica, P.K. Yochem, B.S. Stewart, T.S. Gelatt, D.B. Siniff

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The demography of Weddell seals in eastern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, has been well studied during the past three decades (e.g. Stirling 1971; Siniff et al. 1977; Testa and Siniff 1987; Hastings and Testa 1998; Gelatt et al. 2001). Detailed life-history data are available on thousands of seals tagged as pups in McMurdo Sound, making this population a rich resource for wildlife health studies because health parameters can be evaluated in the light of reproductive histories and genetic relationships of several generations of tagged seals.

Recently, evidence of exposure to diseases generally associated with domestic animals and feral wildlife has been …

Development And Application Of Dna Techniques For Validating And Improving Pinniped Diet Estimates, Dominic J. Tollit, Angela D. Schulze, Andrew W. Trites, Peter F. Olesiuk, Susan J. Crockford, Thomas S. Gelatt, Rolf R. Ream, Kristina M. Miller

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Polymerase chain reaction techniques were developed and applied to identify DNA from .40 species of prey contained in fecal (scat) soft-part matrix collected at terrestrial sites used by Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in British Columbia and the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Sixty percent more fish and cephalopod prey were identified by morphological analyses of hard parts compared with DNA analysis of soft parts (hard parts identified higher relative proportions of Ammodytes sp., Cottidae, and certain Gadidae). DNA identified 213 prey occurrences, of which 75 (35%) were undetected by hard parts (mainly Salmonidae, Pleuronectidae, Elasmobranchii, and Cephalopoda), and …

A Fish Of Many Scales: Extrapolating Sublethal Pesticide Exposures To The Productivity Of Wild Salmon Populations, David H. Baldwin, Julann A. Spromberg, Tracy K. Collier, Nathaniel L. Scholz

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

For more than a decade, numerous pesticides have been detected in river systems of the western United States that support anadromous species of Pacific salmon and steelhead. Over the same interval, several declining wild salmon populations have been listed as either threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Because pesticides occur in surface waters that provide critical habitat for ESA-listed stocks, they are an ongoing concern for salmon conservation and recovery throughout California and the Pacific Northwest. Because pesticide exposures are typically sublethal, a key question is whether toxicological effects at (or below) the scale of the …

Movements Of Satellite-Tagged Cuvier’S And Blainville’S Beaked Whales In Hawai‘I: Evidence For An Offshore Population Of Blainville’S Beaked Whales, Robin W. Baird, Gregory S. Schorr, Daniel L. Webster, Sabre D. Mahaffy, Daniel J. Mcsweeney, M. Bradley Hanson, Russel D. Andrews

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The impacts of mid-frequency active sonar on the behavior of individual cetaceans may vary depending on their history of prior exposure. Evidence from habitat use, repeated sightings of identified individuals, and satellite tagging all indicate the existence of resident populations of Cuvier’s and Blainville’s beaked whales off the island of Hawai‘i, within the Navy’s Hawai‘i Range Complex. The number of individuals that have been satellite tagged is small however, and we are combining additional satellite tagging with individual photo-identification studies to assess movements and residency of both species. Field efforts were undertaken off the island of Hawai‘i in December 2008 …

Insights Into The Population Structure Of Blue Whales In The Eastern North Pacific From Recent Sightings And Photographic Identification, John Calambokidis, Jay Barlow, John K. B. Ford, Todd E. Chandler, Annie B. Douglas

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Blue whales were widely distributed in the North Pacific prior to the primary period of modern commercial whaling in the early 1900s. Despite concentrations of blue whale catches off British Columbia and in the Gulf of Alaska, there had been few documented sightings in these areas since whaling for blue whales ended in 1965. In contrast, large concentrations of blue whales have been documented off California and Baja California and in the eastern tropical Pacific since the 1970s, but it was not known if these animals were part of the same population that previously ranged into Alaskan waters. We document …

Feedback Between Zebra Mussel Selective Feeding And Algal Composition Affects Mussel Condition: Did The Regime Changer Pay A Price For Its Success?, Henry A. Vanderploeg, Thomas H. Johengen, James R. Liebig

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. We investigated the role of algal composition on pumping, clearance, assimilation, pseudofaeces and faeces production, feeding time budgets, and condition of zebra mussels from spring to autumn at two sites in Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) and one site in western Lake Erie. Size-fractioned chlorophyll was used to distinguish between feeding on small (<53 >µm) and large (>53 µm) size fractions, and mussel feeding behaviour was quantified by video observations.

2. Mussel pumping, clearance and assimilation rates varied among sites, particularly during summer, when phytoplankton composition varied considerably among sites. Lowest values were seen at the inner-bay site of …

Transformation Of The Offshore Benthic Community In Lake Michigan: Recent Shift From The Native Amphipod Diporeia Spp. To The Invasive Mussel Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis, Thomas F. Nalepa, David L. Fanslow, Gregory A. Lang

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. The native amphipod Diporeia spp. was once the dominant benthic organism in Lake Michigan and served as an important pathway of energy flow from lower to upper trophic levels. Lake-wide surveys were conducted in 1994 ⁄1995, 2000 and 2005, and abundances of Diporeia and the invasive bivalves Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis (quagga mussel) were assessed. In addition, more frequent surveys were conducted in the southern region of the lake between 1980 and 2007 to augment trend interpretation.

2. Between 1994 ⁄1995 and 2005, lake-wide density of Diporeia declined from 5365 to 329 m^-2, …

Structured Decision Making As A Conceptual Framework To Identify Thresholds For Conservation And Management, Julien Martin, Michael C. Runge, James D. Nichols, Bruce C. Lubow, William L. Kendall2

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Threshold and their relevance to conservation have become a major topic of discussion in the ecological literature. Unfortunately, in many cases the lack of a clear conceptual framework for thinking about thresholds in terms of a structured decision making process. The purpose of this framework is to promote a logical and transparent process for making informed decisions for conservation.

Specification of such a framework leads naturally to consideration of definitions and roles of different kinds of thresholds in the process. We distinguish among three categories of thresholds. Ecological thresholds are values of system state variables at which small changes bring …

Interactions: Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group, Interactions: Volume 15 Issue 4 Fall 2009

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

Letters From Gary Get Involved With The Standing Committees Of The Wdmwg; Take Action To Influence Wildlife Policy; Conference Announcement 2010 Wild Pig Conference; Conference Announcement 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference; Human-Wildlife Conflicts Journal To Become Human wildlife Interactions; Notes From The Field Catching The Skunk Is The Easy Part….; New Video Netted Cage Traps For Deer: Tips And Techniques; The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; Upcoming Meetings, Conferences, And Events; Congratulations To New Board Members

Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Interactions: Volume 15 Issue 3 Summer 2009

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

And Now…A Word From The Editor Letters from Joe; Conference Announcement 2010 Wild Pig Conference; Conference Announcement 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference; Latest and Next Issue Of Human Wildlife Conflicts; Conference Announcement Bird Strike North American Conference; Candidate for Board Member David Drake, Mike Mengak, Scott C. Barras, Jay Boulanger, Jason Sukow; How Do I Vote?!?; WDM Working Group Meeting; Conference Announcement TWS Conference Preliminary Program; The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; Upcoming Meetings, Conferences, And Events;

Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Interactions: Volume 15 Issue 1 Winter 2009

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

See You In Saratoga! Letters from Gary; A Brief Report from The WDMWG Meeting and the 2008 TWS Annual Conference; New Product Announcement Backyard Wildlife: Vole Control And Ground Squirrel Management Dvd; Publication Announcement Latest Issue of Human Wildlife Conflicts Is Now Available; Conference Announcement Bird Strike North American Conference; Conference Announcement TWS Conference Preliminary Program; New Publication Available 23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings; Calls from the Field (Or A House, Or A Farm, or A…); 2009 Wildlife Damage Management Conference Preliminary Schedule; 2009 Wildlife Damage Management Conference Registration Information; The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; Upcoming Meetings, …

Behavior And Reproductive Success Of Rock Sandpipers Breeding On The Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta, Alaska, Matthew Johnson, Jesse R. Conklin, Branden L. Johnson, Brian J. Mccaffery, Susan M. Haig, Jeffrey R. Walters

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We studied Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis) breeding behavior and monitored reproductive success from 1998 to 2005 on the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta, Alaska, USA. We banded 24 adults and monitored 45 nests. Annual return rate of adults ranged between 67 and 100%. Six pairs of Rock Sandpipers bred at our study site for ≥ 2 years, and among these we did not observe mate change (i.e., when both members of a pair returned and each mated with a new individual). Nests were typically initiated by mid-May and 53% of females laid second clutches if first clutches were lost through …

Experimental Infection Of Richardson’S Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus Richardsonii ) With Attenuated And Virulent Strains Pf Brucella Abortus, Pauline Nol, Steven C. Olsen, Jack C. Rhyan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A previous investigation of the safety of Brucella abortus strain RB51 (sRB51) in various nontarget species suggested that Richardson’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) may develop persistent infections when orally inoculated with the vaccine. In the present study, sRB51, B. abortus strain 19 (s19), and virulent B. abortus strain 9941 (s9941) were administered orally to Richardson’s ground squirrels to further characterize B. abortus infection in this species. Six groups of nongravid ground squirrels were orally inoculated with 6x10⁸ colony forming units (cfu) sRB51 (n=10), 2.5x10⁴ cfu s19 (n=10), 2.5x10⁷ cfu s19 (n=6), 1.3x10⁶ cfu s9941 …

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuel Management Practices For Dry Mixed Conifer Forests In The Northwestern United States, Theresa B. Jain, Michael Battaglia, Han-Sup Han, Russell T. Graham, Jeremy S. Fried, Christopher R. Keyes, Jonathan Sandquist

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This guide describes the benefits, opportunities, and trade-offs concerning fuel treatments in the dry mixed conifer forests of northern California and the Klamath Mountains, Pacific Northwest Interior, northern and central Rocky Mountains, and Utah. Multiple interacting disturbances and diverse physical settings have created a forest mosaic with historically low- to mixed-severity fire regimes. Analysis of forest inventory data found nearly 80 percent of these forests rate hazardous by at least one measure and 20 to 30 percent rate hazardous by multiple measures. Modeled mechanical treatments designed to mimic what is typically implemented, such as thinning, are effective on less than …

A Comparison Of Fire Severity Patterns In The Late 19th And Early 21st Century In A Mixed Conifer Forest Landscape In The Southern Cascades, Alan H. Taylor, Carl N. Skinner, Becky Estes

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The extent and severity of fires in the United States during the last decade has been remarkable. Since 2002, there has been seven years (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012) when over 2.8 million ha have burned, more than twice the previous decade. The extent of recent fire activity has increased risks to lives and property (Cohen 2008; , biodiversity and species-at-risk (Spies et al. 2006), the timber value of forests (Butry et al. 2001) and forests as a carbon sink (Hurteau et al. 2008, 2011). Although one driver of the increase in fire extent, at least in western …

Validation Of Smoke Transport Models With Airborne And Lidar Experiments, Shawn P. Urbanski, Wei Min Hao, Vladimir Kovalev

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This document reports our success in achieving the objectives and accomplishing the deliverables proposed in the project “Validation of Smoke Transport Models with Airborne and Lidar Experiments”. This final report is divided into four sections. Section 1, the Background, describes the purpose of the project and summarizes the project objectives and how accomplishment of these objectives addresses the original research solicitation JFSP AFP-2008-1, Task 6. The Background section also provides relates the project purpose material on smoke dispersion and air quality forecasting systems. The goal of Section 2 is to illustrate how the accomplished tasks contribute towards the project objective …

A Synthesis Of Post-Fire Road Treatments For Baer Teams: Methods, Treatment Effectiveness, And Decisionmaking Tools For Rehabilitation, Randy B. Foltz, Peter R. Robiochaud, Hakjun Rhee

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We synthesized post-fire road treatment information to assist BAER specialists in making road rehabilitation decisions. We developed a questionnaire; conducted 30 interviews of BAER team engineers and hydrologists; acquired and analyzed gray literature and other relevant publications; and reviewed road rehabilitation procedures and analysis tools. Post-fire road treatments are implemented if the values at risk warrant the treatment and based on regional characteristics, including the timing of first damaging storm and window of implementation. Post-fire peak flow estimation is important when selecting road treatments. Interview results indicate that USGS methods are used for larger watersheds (>5 mi2) and NRCS …

Creating Stand-Level Prescriptions That Integrate Ecological And Fuel Management Objectives Across The Eastern Cascades – A Workshop, John F. Lehmkuhl, Sue Livingston, Karl Halupka, Eric Knapp, John Bailey, Bill Gaines

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The primary goal of this workshop was to develop a range of fuel reduction prescriptions that integrate fuel and ecological objectives specifically related to northern spotted owl (NSO) conservation in dry forests of the Cascade Range in eastern Washington and Oregon and northern California. The workshop was held at the Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, Oregon, from October 13-15, 2009. Over 200 managers and scientists attended from California, Oregon, and Washington. Most (82%) of the 194 people who formally registered for the workshop worked for federal land management, research, or regulatory agencies. The rest were a mix of university faculty and …

Characterizing Lessons Learned From Federal Biomass Removal Projects, Dennia R. Becker, Dalia Abbas, Kathleen E. Halvorsen, Pamela J. Jakes, Sarah M. Mccaffrey, Cassandra Moseley

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The idea of offsetting the costs of wildfire hazardous fuels reduction treatments by selling the biomass removed is appealing. There are however challenges to biomass utilization that impedes progress. For instance, the lack of biomass processing capacity may impede progress in some regions, while in other regions an inconsistent supply of biomass available for wood products markets limits private investment. Despite efforts to increase biomass utilization, uncertainty exists of regarding the characteristics necessary to stimulate biomass utilization, effectiveness of agency and local efforts, and the role of partnerships in building the types of capacity necessary to expedite biomass removal. The …