Digital Commons Network^™

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Core Group Meeting: January 18, 2005, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions (5 min.)
2. Approval of Minutes from November 16, 2004 Meeting (5 minutes)
3. Presentation of Science Curriculum – Paul Buck (30 min.)
4. Line and Space Architects
   Presentation of Schematic Designs– Les Wallach/Henry Tom (1 hour)
   Update on Design Timeline (10 min.)
5. Standing Reports (10 minutes)
   A. UNLV/CESU – Nancy Flagg
   B. BLM – Michael Reiland
6. Committee Reports (5 min.)
7. Committee Meeting Schedule for 2005 (5 min.)
8. Open Discussion / New Business (5 min.)

Endangered And Threatened Wildlife And Plants; Regulation For Nonessential Experimental Populations Of The Western Distinct Population Segment Of The Gray Wolf

Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery: Annual Reports

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) establish a rule for the nonessential experimental populations (NEPs) of the Western Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), so that in States and on Tribal reservations with Service-approved wolf management plans, we can better address the concerns of affected landowners and the impacts of a biologically recovered wolf population. In addition, States and Tribes with Service accepted wolf management plans can petition the Service for lead management authority for experimental wolves consistent with this rule. Within the Yellowstone and central Idaho experimental population areas, only the …

Emerging Chemicals And Analytical Methods (2005), Matthew C. Morley, Daniel D. Snow, Vince Kuppig

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Emerging contaminants in the water environment continues to be a strong research focus, as evidenced by the abundance of material published during 2004. This review summarizes peer-reviewed literature pertinent to the field of environmental engineering and science and related to analysis, occurrence, and fate of emerging chemical contaminants in the water environment, focusing on the following broad categories of emerging organic contaminants: antibiotics and pharmaceuticals; personal care products ingredients (PCPIs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), halogenated compounds (particularly brominated and fluorinated compounds), and disinfection byproducts (DBPs). To maintain this focus, articles pertaining specifically to human and ecological toxicity, bioconcentration or bioaccumulation, …

Draft Pathogen Tmdl For The Taunton River Watershed, Massachusetts Department Of Environmental Protection, Usepa New England Region 1, Ensr International

Reference Documents

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Restoring Functioning Salt Marsh Ecosystem, John Callaway

Environmental Science

Substantial improvements have been made in the restoration of coastal salt marshes over the last decade; however, many challenges remain. Some opportunities for improving restoration efforts include: I. Increasing our understanding of the development of restored salt marsh ecosystems over time, especially in comparison to natural marsh development; and identifying the limiting factors that restrict the development of restored salt marshes. II Considering the role of plant species diversity in restored salt marshes. Recent research at Tijuana Estuary has demonstrated that there is a significant effect of plant species diversity on the development of ecosystem functions in a restored salt …

Effects Of Spring Supplementary Feeding On Population Density And Breeding Success Of Released Pheasants Phasianus Colchicus In Britain, Roger A. H. Draycott, Maureen I. A. Woodburn, John P. Carroll, Rufus B. Sage

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The release of hand-reared ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus in summer is a common practice in Britain to increase the number of birds available to hunters in winter. The breeding success of the birds which survive the shooting season is poor. Traditionally, birds are provided with supplementary wheat grain from release until the end of the shooting season (1 February) to maintain body condition and to help hold birds in areas for hunting. During 1997- 2000 we assessed the effect of continuing supplementary feeding into spring on pheasant density and breeding success on seven private shooting estates. On each estate we …

Effects Of Climate And Landcover Change On Stream Discharge In The Ozark Highlands, Usa, Q. Steven Hu, Gary D. Willson, Xi Chen, Adnan Adnan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Stream discharge of a watershed is affected and altered by climate and landcover changes. These effects vary depending on the magnitude and interaction of the changes, and need to be understood so that local water resource availability can be evaluated and socioeconomic development within a watershed be pursued and managed in a way sustainable with the local water resources. In this study, the landcover and climate change effects on stream discharge from the Jacks Fork River basin in the Ozark Highlands of the south-central United States were examined in three phases: site observation and data collection, model calibration and simulation, …

Multi-Platform Comparisons Of Modis And Avhrr Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Data, Kevin P. Gallo, Lei Ji, Brad Reed, Jeffrey Eidenshink, John Dwyer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The relationship between AVHRR-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values and those of future sensors is critical to continued long-term monitoring of land surface properties. The follow-on operational sensor to the AVHRR, the Visible/Infrared Imager/ Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), will be very similar to the NASA Earth Observing System’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. NDVI data derived from visible and near-infrared data acquired by the MODIS (Terra and Aqua platforms) and AVHRR (NOAA-16 and NOAA-17) sensors were compared over the same time periods and a variety of land cover classes within the conterminous United States. The results indicate that the …

Optimizing Allocation Of Monitoring Effort Under Economic And Observational Constraints, Scott A. Field, Andrew J. Tyre, Hugh P. Possingham

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Efforts to design monitoring regimes capable of detecting population trends can be thwarted by observational and economic constraints inherent to most biological surveys. Ensuring that limited resources are allocated efficiently requires evaluation of statistical power for alternative survey designs. We simulated the process of data collection on a landscape, where we initiated declines over 3 sample periods in species of varying prevalence and detectability. Changing occupancy levels were estimated using a technique that accounted for effects of false-negative errors on survey data. Declines were identified within a frequentist statistical framework, but the significance level was set at an optimal level …

Objective Threshold Determination For Nighttime Eddy Flux Filtering, Lianhong Gu, Eva M. Falge, Tom Boden, Dennis D. Baldocchi, T.A. Black, Scott R. Saleska, Tanja Suni, Shashi Verma, Timo Vesala, Steve C. Wofsy, Liukang Xu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We recommend an automated statistical method (Moving Point Test, or MPT) to determine the friction velocity (u*) thresholds in nighttime eddy flux filtering. Our intention is to make the determination of the u* thresholds objective and reproducible and to keep flux treatment consistent over time and across sites. In developing the MPT method, we recognize that both ecosystem respiration and u* exhibit diurnal and seasonal cycles and there are potential correlative changes between them, which must be removed before u* can be used as a filter criterion. MPTuses an iterative approach to simultaneously determine a valid temperature response function, which …

Information For U.S. Scientists About Participation In The Inaugural Projects Of The International Andrill Program Including An Overview Of The Andrill U.S. Science Support Program, Andrill-U.S. Steering Committee, Andrill Science Management Office

ANDRILL Project Information

This document provides guidance for potential U.S. participants in the two inaugural projects of the ANDRILL Program. It includes information on eligibility, application procedures, proposal review criteria, expected numbers and positions of on-ice and off-ice personnel, staffing decisions, science support levels, participant responsibilities, and project timelines. Information provided in this document (Version 3_23_05) may be modified after the U.S. ANDRILL Workshop (April 1-2, 2005). The final version will be posted no later than 4-15-05.

The reader should refer to the Appendices of this document for more detailed information on U.S. and international management of the ANDRILL Program, and for a …

The 19th Century Excavation Of Kent's Cavern, England, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Between 1858 and 1880, William Pengelly developed revolutionary new techniques for the archeological and paleontological excavation of cave deposits. His work at Brixham Cave and Kent’s Cavern, England, yielded tens of thousands of specimens from the mid-Pleistocene to the Holocene, settled the intellectual debate over the co-existence of humans and extinct mammals, and accumulated an unparalleled resource for continued study. Although the Brixham Cave work was thoroughly summarized in print, Pengelly never published the plans of his much more thorough and extensive excavations at Kent’s Cavern. Here we present a reconstructed plan of the Pengelly excavations that we hope will …

Quantification Of Call Variations Between Sub-Regional Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma Coerulescens) Populations, Kory C. Russel

Master of Environmental Science (MES) Theses

The Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) has seen significant and accelerating declines in its overall population numbers in the past 100 years. This is primarily the result of habitat loss and population fragmentation, which has isolated the extremely territorial Florida Scrub Jay into smaller sub-regional populations. In many ways this is a catalyst for social evolution and divergence of the species. An early indicator of divergent evolution can be witnessed in the development of distinct call dialects. By recording the female hiccup calls of the three largest distinct sub-regional populations (Atlantic Coast sub-region, Ocala sub-region and the Lake …

Microclimate Effects From Closing Abandoned Mines With Culvert Bat Gates, Robert H. King

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

Numerous bat species, including some threatened species, inhabit thousands of abandoned mines across the United States. Some of their bat habitat has been lost as mines are closed to reduce hazards to the public. Bat gates have been used to close some mines because they restrict public access while still allowing the bats to fly in and out. However, they are not appropriate for mines with trench portals. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed using culverts in the trenches and closing the culverts with bat gates. BLM worked with the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) to study the effects …

Gila Box Area: Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, And The Fishhooks And Needle's Eye Wilderness Areas, Douglas S. Kenney, Doug Cannon, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Books, Reports, and Studies

23 p. : ill., map

Pesticides, People, And The Environment: A Complex Relationship, Roxanne Greitz Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The writer provides information on pesticides, the controversies surrounding their use, and pesticide safety.

Assessing Big Sagebrush At Multiple Spatial Sites, Mike Karl, Jon Sadowski

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

This technical note describes how big sagebrush habitats (Artemisia tridentata, including Wyoming, basin, and mountain subspecies) are being assessed and managed at multiple spatial scales within a Bureau of Land Management resource area in southeast Oregon. It shows how the assessment results can be used to make determinations pertaining to standards and guidelines for greater sage-grouse and other animals that use sagebrush habitats. In this example, the assessment included information at the broad-scale (Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project; 145 million acres), mid-scale (Southeast Oregon Resource Management Plan-Final Environmental Impact Statement; 4.6 million acres, and Louse Canyon Geographic …

The Moral Dilemma Of Genetically Modified Foods (Gmos), Anamarie Beluch

Student Theses 2001-2013

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A Student-Centered Project For Earth System History, Rebecca Teed

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

This project is intended to replace some of the lectures that would ordinarily be necessary in a survey of Earth history over geologic time. The students will be taking the lecturer's place in front of the class, presenting some of the material to their colleagues. Students will work in groups on a single era or period. Each student role-plays an expert (such as an oceanographer) and works with teammates playing other sorts of experts (a biologist, a geologist, an atmospheric scientist). Their presentation will require them to do research. They will be constructing resource lists to keep track of how …

Salinity Investment Framework : Agricultural Land And Infrastructure, Richard J. George Dr, Ross Kingwell, J Hill-Tonkin, R A. Nulsen

Resource management technical reports

Greater awareness of the potential impact of salinity has led to increased public and private expenditure. The Salinity Investment Framework was developed to insert rigour and accountability into decision-making processes and guide future development. This report focusses on the economic impact of salinity on private and public land and the infrastructure of areas in Western Australia, including towns, railway systems, roads and the like.

Positive Feedback Between Tree Establishment And Patterns Of Subalpine Forest Advancement, Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A., Matthew F. Bekker

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

The development and maintenance of several types of visually striking vegetation patterns are controlled by positive feedback between pattern and process. These patterns are particularly common at ecotones, where the influence of positive feedback may affect the position and dynamics of the boundary between the adjacent biotic communities. In this study, I use dendrochronology to examine the role of feedback between existing trees and the establishment and survival of seedlings in the advancement of linear, finger-like strips of subalpine forest in Glacier National Park, Montana. A general upslope, windward to leeward pattern of older trees followed by progressively younger trees …

Steroid Hormone Levels Are Related To Choice Of Colony Size In Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, John C. Wingfield

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One hypothesis to explain the extensive variation in colony size seen in most
taxa is that individuals sort themselves among groups based on phenotypic characteristics
that correlate with their performance in groups of different sizes. We investigated how
baseline levels of the steroid hormones, corticosterone and testosterone, were associated
with choice of colony size and the likelihood of moving to a different site in later years
in colonially nesting Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska,
USA, in 2000–2004. We sampled hormone levels of birds caught at colonies and, using
mark–recapture, monitored their movement and choice of colony size …

Monitoring Temporal Change In Riparian Vegetation Of Great Basin National Park, E. A. Beever, D. A. Pyke, J. C. Chambers, F. Landau, S. D. Smith, K. Murray

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Disturbance in riparian areas of semiarid ecosystems involves complex interactions of pulsed hydrologic flows, herbivory, fire, climatic effects, and anthropogenic influences. We resampled riparian vegetation within ten 10-m × 100-m plots that were initially sampled in 1992 in 4 watersheds of the Snake Range, east central Nevada. Our finding of significantly lower coverage of grasses, forbs, and shrubs within plots in 2001 compared with 1992 was not consistent with the management decision to remove livestock grazing from the watersheds in 1999. Change over time in cover of life-forms or bare ground was not predicted by scat counts within plots in …

Auditory Brainstem Responses In The Eastern Screech Owl: An Estimate Of Auditory Thresholds, Elizabeth F. Brittan-Powell, Bernard Lohr, Dana L. Hahn, Robert J. Dooling

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The auditory brainstem response (ABR), a measure of neural synchrony, was used to estimate auditory sensitivity in the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). The typical screech owl ABR waveform showed two to three prominent peaks occurring within 5 ms of stimulus onset. As sound pressure levels increased, the ABR peak amplitude increased and latency decreased. With an increasing stimulus presentation rate, ABR peak amplitude decreased and latency increased. Generally, changes in the ABR waveform to stimulus intensity and repetition rate are consistent with the pattern found in several avian families. The ABR audiogram shows that screech owls hear best between …

The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project, Rick Schneider, Mark Humpert, Kristal Stoner, Gerry Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

When the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission began work on a comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy (Nebraska Natural Legacy Project) two and a half years ago, we had to decide on an approach that would ensure we developed the best plan possible. The agency could have drawn only from the expertise of professional biologists, or alternatively sought input from a wide diversity of stakeholders. We decided to utilize both and what resulted was one of the largest collaborative efforts ever undertaken on behalf of wildlife in the state’s history. Sixteen public input meetings, a conservation practitioners workshop, and dozens of meetings …

Ethan's Land Use Photos, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: China Lake (2005, 1989)

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Genetically Modified Organisms In Foodstuffs, Anamarie Beluch

Student Theses 2001-2013

In this lab we identified GMOs, through the method of PCR, in all of our food samples, in our organic samples, and in corn versus soy samples. We accepted are alternative hypothesis that there were GMOs in our food samples. We also accepted our alternative hypothesis that there were GMOs in our organic samples. We then compared GMOs in our corn versus soy samples, and rejected are null hypothesis that there were the same percentage of GMOs in corn and soy. The chi square test was performed for conventional corn and soy, and organic corn and soy. We calculated the …

Five-Year Review Of Executive Order 13112 On Invasive Species, The National Invasive Species Council (Nisc)

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Cache County, Utah Resource Assessment, Utah Association Of Conservation Districts, Utah Department Of Agriculture And Foods, Natural Resources Conservation Service

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This resource assessment is designed to gather and display information specific to Cache County, Utah. This report will highlight the natural and social resources present in the county, detail specific concerns, and be used to aid in resource planning and target conservation assistance needs. This document is dynamic and will be updated as additional information is available through a multi-agency partnership effort. The general observations and summaries are listed first, followed by the specific resource inventories.

Copies Of Unique Comment Letters, Mark Belles, Bureau Of Reclamation

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

Unique letters and messages regarding the "Notice to solicit comments and hold public meetings on the development of management strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, including Lower Basin shortage guidelines, under low reservoir conditions."