Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Canada Geese In Georgia: Assessing A Golf Course Survey And A Nuisance Relocation Program, Larkin A. Powell, Michael J. Conroy, Kipling S. Balkcom, Joe Caudell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nuisance complaints about Canada geese (Branta canadensis), have risen in recent years. In Georgia, managers have responded by relocating some nuisance geese to rural areas. During 1993–1996, we used band recoveries of relocated geese to determine the efficacy of relocation as a management strategy. We also used data from a post-card survey of golf courses to monitor the urban subpopulation of Canada geese in Georgia during 1998–2001. Flocks considered by golf course superintendents to be a nuisance were larger (1998: 48.8 geese, 1999: 71.5, 2000: 73.2, 2001: 67.2) than nonnuisance flocks (1998: 13.1 geese, 1999: 16.7, 2000: 25.8, 2001: 18.1). …

Temporal Variations Of Extreme Precipitation Events In The United States: 1895–2000, Kenneth E. Kunkel, David R. Easterling, Kelly Redmond, Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A newly available data set of daily precipitation observations was used to study the temporal variability of the frequency of short-duration extreme precipitation events for 1895–2000 in the conterminous United States. Event durations of 1, 5, 10, and 30 day and return periods of 1, 5, and 20 year were analyzed. For all combinations of duration and return period, heavy precipitation frequencies were relatively high during the late 19th/early 20th Centuries, decreasing to a minimum in the 1920s and 30s, followed by a general increase into the 1990s. The frequencies at the beginning of the 20th Century were nearly as …

Conservation And Restoration Of Pine Forest Genetic Resources In México, C. Sáenz-Romero, Amy E. Snively, R. Lindig-Cisneros

Student Published Works

Deforestation rates in México are about 670,000 ha/year. This threatens the richness of forest genetic resources in México, causing the disappearance of locally adapted populations and rare and endangered pine species. México is one of the six megadiverse countries in the world, with half of the world’s Pinus species. Pinus is one of the most economically and ecologically important forest genera in México. We suggest that delineation of seed zones and the establishment of a network of Forest Genetic Resource Conservation Units (FGRCUs), linked with forest management and ecological restoration programs will protect this valuable resource. We estimate that FGRCUs …

Negotiating High Stakes Water Conflicts: Lessons Learned From Experienced Practitioners, Stephen E. Snyder, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Books, Reports, and Studies

36 p. ; 28 cm

Water Wise: Native Plants For Intermountain Landscapes, Wendy Mee, Jared Barnes, Roger Kjelgren, Richard Sutton

All USU Press Publications

This comprehensive volume provides specific information about shrubs, trees, grasses, forbs, and cacti that are native to most states in the Intermountain West, and that can be used in landscaping to conserve water, reflect and preserve the region's landscape character, and help protect its ecological integrity. The book is an invaluable guide for the professional landscaper, horticulturist, and others in the Intermountain nursery industry, as well as for the student, general reader, gardener, and homeowner. Water Wise is both convenient and comprehensive. The heart of the book presents hundreds of species, devoting a full page to each, with a description …

The Value Of Outdoor Education, Heriberto Garcia

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to explore the benefits of how students who are exposed to outdoor activities can enhance their attention span, learning, and understanding of the content subjects.

Natural Resource Management Issues In The Agricultural Zone Of Western Australia : South West Region, B Nicholas, Paul Galloway, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Heather M. Percy

Resource management technical reports

Provides and analysis of current pressures on agricultural resources of the South West region of Western Australia. Differing ranges of risks are shown for different degradation issues because of various impacts. Each natural resource management issues covers nature and extent of susceptibility, impacts on agriculture and the environment, management options and effectiveness of management options.

Land Health Assessment For The Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Land Management, Grand Junction Field Office, Grand Junction, Colorado

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

The Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area (CCNCA) is located about 7 miles west of Grand Junction, Colorado. The CCNCA includes rolling saltbush-covered hills, pinyon-junpier and sagebrush-covered mesas, a 24-mile corridor along the Colorado River through Horsethief and Ruby Canyons, and over 70,000 acres of sheer-sided, red-rock canyons, natural arches, caves and alcoves. The 75,550-acre Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness comprises the heart of the CCNCA, with another 5,200 acres stretching into Utah.

The CCNCA was given a high priority for land health assessment, a valuable tool in developing the CCNCA Resource Management Plan (RMP).

The Utah Trails Initiative: Partnerships, Research, And Action, Steven W. Burr, Dale J. Blahna, Douglas K. Reiter, Michael Butkus

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

As a result of changing social values regarding the development and use of our natural resources, more and more emphasis is being placed on the vale of amenity resources, concerning scenery and aesthetics, opportunities for a diversity of recreation experiences, providing habitat for wildlife, and preserving biological diversity (Burr & Blahna, 2000; Siehl, 1990). Many people enjoy a variety of trail-based activities as a source of their recreation. With all their attributes and varieties of usage, trails and pathways are high priorities for many people, including the citizens of Utah. Trails provide access to Utah's outstanding public lands, opportunities for …

Abandoned Mine Waste Repositories: Site Selction, Design, And Cost, K. L. Ford, M. Walker

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is conducting priority cleanups of abandoned mine sites on public lands. Typically, these sites contain tailings piles, cyanide heaps, and rock dumps that historically were constructed in or near drainages and now are releasing pollutants into watersheds. In compliance with regulations, BLM selects the most environmentally suitable site for removing mining waste and placing it into repositories. Repositories have different design features, and the design selected should be based on site-specific conditions and the results of water balance models. A Geographic Information System (GIS) can be a useful tool for screening and selecting a …

Aerial Surveys Of Cliff-Nesting Raptors, Robert J. Ritche, Ann M. Wildman, David A. Yokel

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

In summer 1999, an extensive aerial survey of cliff-nesting raptors was conducted in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR–A) on Alaska’s North Slope. No similarly extensive survey had been conducted since 1977. In the interim, the regional population of the Arctic peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus tundrius) had increased, as shown by monitoring along the Colville River. The 1999 survey assessed the present abundance and distribution of the peregrine falcon, as well as the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus) in most of the NPR–A. Specifically excluded from …

Analyses Of Natural Gases, 1998–2001, B. D. Gage, D. L. Driskill

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

Technical Note 412 contains analyses and related source data for 311 natural gas samples from 13 States. Of the total samples, 309 were collected during calendar years 1998 through 2001. The analyses were made using mass spectroscopy and gas chromatography. None of the analyses have been published previously in other analyses reports. All samples were obtained and analyzed as part of the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management investigations of the occurrences of helium in natural gases of countries with free-market economies. The results of these investigations are published periodically to make the information available to …

Action Education In Land Use Decisions: Student Views On Urbanization And Farmland Loss, Mindi Schneider, Charles A. Francis, Dick Esseks

CARI Extension and Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture

Loss of prime farmland is a serious concern in the United States and around the globe. With rapid urban population increases, the activities and perceived needs of concentrated groups of people result in the swallowing of some of the most fertile lands in this country. Today we have just under 2 acres of productive farmland per person in the United States. Given the current population growth rate due to births and immigration, plus the present rate of farmland loss, World Watch Institute estimates that we will have about 0.6 acres or one-third as much farmland available per person by 2055--a …

Segregation Of Migration By Feeding Ground Origin In North Atlantic Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae), Peter T. Stevick, Judith Allen, Martine Berube, Phillip J. Clapham, Steven K. Katona, Finn Larsen, Jon Lien, David K. Mattila, Per J. Palsbøll, Jooke Robbins, Johann Sigurjonsson, Tim D. Smith, Nils Øien, Philip S. Hammond

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Results from a large-scale, capture–recapture study of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the North Atlantic show that migration timing is influenced by feeding ground origin. No significant differences were observed in the number of individuals from any feeding area that were re-sighted in the common breeding area in the West Indies. However, there was a relationship between the proportion (logit transformed) of West Indies sightings and longitude (r² = 0.97, F_1,3 = 98.27, P = 0.0022) suggesting that individuals feeding farther to the east are less likely to winter in the West Indies. A relationship was also detected …

Field Experiments Show That Acoustic Pingers Reduce Marine Mammal Bycatch In The California Drift Gill Net Fishery, Jay Barlow, Grant A. Cameron

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A controlled experiment was carried out in 19961997 to determine whether acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) reduce marine mammal bycatch in the California drift gill net fishery for swordfish and sharks. Using Fisher’s exact test, bycatch rates with pingers were significantly less for all cetacean species combined (P < 0.001) and for all pinniped species combined (P = 0.003). For species tested separately with this test, bycatch reduction was statistically significant for shortbeaked common dolphins (P = 0.001) and California sea lions (P = 0.02). Bycatch reduction is not statistically significant for the other species tested separately, but sample sizes and statistical power were low, and bycatch rates were lower in pingered nets for six of the eight other cetacean and pinniped species. A log-linear model relating the mean rate of entanglement to the number of pingers deployed was fit to the data for three groups: short-beaked common dolphins, other cetaceans, and pinnipeds. For a net with 40 pingers, the models predict approximately a 12- fold decrease in entanglement for short-beaked common dolphins, a 4-fold decrease for other cetaceans, and a 3-fold decrease for pinnipeds. No other variables were found that could explain this effect. The pinger experiment ended when regulations were enacted to make pingers mandatory in this fishery.

Acoustic Identification Of Nine Delphinid Species In The Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, Julie N. Oswald, Jay Barlow, Thomas F. Norris

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Acoustic methods may improve the ability to identify cetacean species during shipboard surveys. Whistles were recorded from nine odontocete species in the eastern tropical Pacific to determine how reliably these vocalizations can be classified to species based on simple spectrographic measurements. Twelve variables were measured from each whistle (n = 908). Parametric multivariate discriminant function analysis (DFA) correctly classified 41 .l% of whistles to species. Non-parametric classification and regression tree (CART) analysis resulted in 5 1.4% correct classification. Striped dolphin whistles were most difficult to classify. Whistles of bottlenose dolphins, false killer whales, and pilot whales were most distinctive. …

Tws Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter: Spring 2003 – Volume 10(1)

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

Forward; Recent Working Group Activities; Note From The Treasurer; Note From The Editor; Announcements; Application For Membership / The Wildlife Society

Tws Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter: Vol. 10, Issue 2 Fall 2003

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

Forward ; Working Group Annual Meeting Minutes ; 2003 Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Board Member Ballot; News And Announcements; Executive Board Candidates; Application For Membership / The Wildlife Society

Fire Climate Interactions And Predicting Fire Season Severity In The Mediterranean Climate Areas Of California, Southern Oregon, And Western Nevada, Alan H. Taylor, Carl N. Skinner, Andrew M. Carleton, Scott L. Stephens, Valerie Trouet, Bernd Haupt, Andrew Pierce

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

• We identified annual area burned for 37 National Forests in Washington, Oregon, and California between 1929 and 2004 from annual fire reports. Variation in area burned each year on National Forest lands is strongly related (r2 = 0.87) to total area burned in California. This indicates area burned in National Forests is a good indicator of total area burned in a state. • Four large groups of National Forests were identified that had similar temporal patterns of fire extent. Three of these groups were spatially coherent and included mainly: 1) Washington and northern Oregon; 2) northern California and California …

Avhrr-Based Spectral Vegetation Index For Quantitative Assessment Of Vegetation State And Productivity: Calibration And Validation, Felix Kogan, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Edige Zakarin, Lev Spivak, Lubov Lebed

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The goal of the work was to estimate, quantitatively, vegetation state and productivity using AVHRR-based Vegetation Condition Index (VCI). The VCI algorithm includes application of post-launch calibration to visible channels, calculation of NDVI from channels’ reflectance, removal of high-frequency noise from NDVI’s annual time series, stratification of ecosystem resources, and separation of ecosystem and weather components in the NDVI value. The weather component was calculated by normalizing the NDVI to the difference of the extreme NDVI fluctuations (maximum and minimum), derived from multi-year data for each week and land pixel. The VCI was compared with wheat density measured in Kazakhstan. …

An Overview Of Current Blackbird Research In The Southern Rice Growing Region Of The United States, John L. Cummings, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), and brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) cause extensive damage to newly planted and ripening rice. The blackbird-rice problem has generated considerable public pressure in states such as Louisiana, Texas, California, Arkansas and Missouri, to find more effective methods of reducing damage caused by blackbirds. USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) works closely with various state rice growers associations and the USDA Wildlife Services (WS) state operational programs to address this high-priority issue. NWRC conducts a multi-faceted research program aimed at resolving blackbird-rice problems. Research focuses on determining …

2003 File Geodatabase Containing Aerial Photos, Pete Reehling, Richard Mckenzie, City Of Tampa Department Of Sanitary Sewers Bay Study Group

Images

The Bay Study Group was created by the City of Tampa in 1976 to monitor the effects of pollution abatement that occurred in Hillsborough Bay when the city’s wastewater treatment plant was upgraded from primary to advanced treatment in 1979. The Bay Study Group documented a remarkable restoration of water quality parameters and biological indicators in Hillsborough Bay from the mid 1980s until 2009, when it was disbanded. This zip Geodatabase file contains the aerial photos for the year 2003.

Estimation Of Fishing Tournament Mortality And Its Sampling Variance, Gene R. Wilde, Kevin L. Pope, Richard E. Strauss

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The mortality of fish captured in fishing tournaments has commonly been estimated incorrectly and, thus far, only one account has presented an estimate of the standard error or confidence interval for tournament-associated mortality. In this article we describe methods for estimating the initial, delayed, and total mortality of tournament-caught fish and provide formulae for estimating the sampling variances of these estimates. The absence of such estimates from previous studies may explain an observed lack of change in tournament-associated mortality between the 1980s and the 1990s. Our methods provide insight into the design of studies of tournament-associated mortality and suggest, for …

Letter To The Editor: Comment On ‘‘Hydrocarbon Composition And Toxicity Of Sediments Following The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill In Prince William Sound, Alaska, Usa’’, Stanley D. Rice, Mark G. Carls, Ron A. Heintz, Jeffrey W. Short

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

In their recent paper, Page et al. concluded that spilled oil lost toxicity due to weathering and that it dispersed from beaches so rapidly that the potential for toxicity is now, 13 years after the spill, negligible. Their conclusions, however, are based on insensitive toxicity tests, a statistical design with low power, and invalid assumptions regarding the extent and location of remaining oil.

Although Page et al. make a convincing case that the narcotic toxicity of Exxon Valdez oil declined rapidly after the spill, the claim that all oil toxicity has similarly declined requires a higher standard of evidence. They …

The Nadca Probe, Issue 226

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Beaver Management - Nevada 1942-1943
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Has there ever been a documented case of rats attacking and killing a human?
Humane Education Has Agenda
The "Birdcast" Brought to You By ...
NADCA on the WEB

Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Reproduction-Monitoring And Predator-Removal Variables Associated With Protection Of The Endangered California Least Tern, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Ray T. Sterner, John W. Turman, Brian D. Foster

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The California least tern (Sterna antillarium brownii) is an endangered, small (cm), ground-nesting shorebird that winters along the Pacific Coast of Central America and nests in colonies on coastal dunes and beaches from southern Baja to San Francisco, California. It was one of the originally listed species contained in the Endangered Species Act in 1970. Major nest sites remain at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. During the past 15 years, adult tern counts have increased from about 300 to over 600 breeding pairs at the site. This poster provides results of an empirical analysis of annual fixed-cost agreements …

Avoiding The “Fat” Of The Land: Case Studies Of Agricultural Nutrient Balance, David Weaver, Simon Neville

Journal articles

Let’s start with a simple analogy: if a person eats more than they need, they gain weight. That is: if our feed inputs (kilojoules in) are greater than our outputs (exercise — kilojoules out) then we will gain weight (kilojoules in storage).That’s our fat. If, on the other hand, our feed inputs are less than our outputs, then we will lose weight.And if our inputs are the same as our outputs, our weight will remain constant. In general, the further away you are from an ‘ideal’weight, the greater the health risks. And yes, other aspects of your body management — …

Channel Geomorphology And Restoration Guidelines For Springfield Plateau Streams, South Dry Sac Watershed, Southwest Missouri, John M. Horton

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Land-use change, both historical and present, has been a source of channel degradation within Ozark streams. This study examines the influence of land use on channel morphology within the South Dry Sac Watershed which drains 78.5 km2. The main objectives of this study are to: (1) perform a geomorphic assessment of stream channel and sediment characteristics; (2) evaluate the effects of watershed factors on channel morphology and dynamics; (3) quantify the geomorphic relationships for use in stream restoration projects in the Springfield Plateau area. Thirty-six reaches were surveyed and evaluated in the field for channel cross-sectional geometry, longitudinal profile, and …

2003 File Geodatabase Containing Photo Point Locations, Aerial Photos, And Flight Maps, City Of Tampa Department Of Sanitary Sewers Bay Study Group, Pete Reehling, Richard Mckenzie

Data Sets

The Bay Study Group was created by the City of Tampa in 1976 to monitor the effects of pollution abatement that occurred in Hillsborough Bay when the city’s wastewater treatment plant was upgraded from primary to advanced treatment in 1979. The Bay Study Group documented a remarkable restoration of water quality parameters and biological indicators in Hillsborough Bay from the mid 1980s until 2009, when it was disbanded. This zip Geodatabase file contains the photo point locations, aerial photos, and flight maps for the year 2003.

Aspects Of Swift Fox Ecology In Southeastern Colorado, David E. Andersen, Thomas R. Laurion, John R. Cary, Robert S. Sikes, Mary A. Mcleod, Eric . M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We studied the ecology of swift fox on the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) in southeastern Colorado from March 1986 to September 1987. Forty-two foxes were captured 162 times; 23 were radio-collared. Mean minimum convex polygon home range size of 5 adult swift fox was 29.0 km² (range = 12.8 to 34.3 km²) and although home ranges of adjacent social groups overlapped, core areas described by 50% harmonic means were almost entirely exclusive. Swift fox diet (as determined from scats) consisted primarily of small and medium-sized mammals (monthly mean % volume = 64%), arthropods (Χ̅ = 19%), …