Digital Commons Network^™

Municipal Musk Oxen, Gentry Hale

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

You’d be hard-pressed to find a town with more sled dogs and mushers per capita than Nome, the finish line of the 938-mile Iditarod sled dog race.

It is also home to a growing herd of musk oxen, massive ungulates that Congress reintroduced to the Seward Peninsula in 1970. These icons of the far north have changed little over their 1.8 million years of existence and more closely related to sheep and goats than actual oxen.

While musk oxen pose a risk to dogs and people, they are also a major tourist attraction that helps inject much needed outside cash …

Where Should Conservation Draw The Line And When Should It Push Forward, Jessica L. Mejia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Saving A Species: A Look Into Novel Techniques Being Used To Conserve Wildlife, Sierra R. Cistone

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildlife is held in public trust, and the public plays an important role in management and conservation as voters, advocates and beneficiaries of the many services and enjoyment that wildlife provides. But understanding wildlife issues, conservation and management decisions can be challenging given the often complex science around wildlife ecology and diverse public perspectives. That is why careful and accurate reporting around wildlife and environmental topics is imperative and a requirement of a well-informed electorate. This master’s portfolio is a collection of extensively reported stories around wildlife issues that are designed to be accessible to general readers to fulfill that …

Conserving And Sharing Freshwater In The West, Kelsea Harris-Capuano

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are infinite stories to be told about water in the West. As an essential and finite resource, countries, states, tribal nations and neighbors must figure out how to manage this shared resource, whether for ecosystem sustainability, agricultural, household, or recreational use.

The Flathead Lake Biological Station in Polson, MT is one of the oldest active biological research stations in the United States. One of its former faculty, Dr. Mark Lorang, has been working on Flathead Lake’s erosion problem for over 30 years. As a result of seasonal lake level fluctuations controlled by the dam, erosion over the years has …

Conservation And Conversation In The Anthropocene, Brittany Alyse Garner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The driving questions of this dissertation consider both the scientific and communicative understanding of conservation and extinction in the Anthropocene. Overall, this dissertation portfolio explores this topic via genetic and genomic data, international policy, big data analytics, human values, and the performing arts. Chapter 1 analyzes the use of genetics and genomics in conservation, finding multiple case studies within and outside of peer-reviewed journals. Chapters 2 and 3 quantify and describe the use of genetic principles and tools in a global species extinction risk assessment, the IUCN Red List, and finds low overall use but high potential for genetics to …

Collaborative Conservation: A Philosophical Analysis Of The Efficacy And Commensurability Of Tek And Western Science, Anne M. Belldina

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis seeks to explore the similarities and differences between traditional ecological knowledge and Western science as a way to address long-held misconceptions about the efficacy of traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK. The motivation for this project arose from a deep desire to investigate the historical injustices toward Indigenous peoples in the name of conservation. The goal of this analysis is to illustrate that effective collaboration between Indigenous knowledge holders and Western scientists is not only possible, but desirable. I outline three major barriers from which I draw out three minimum criteria which much be met if collaborative conservation efforts …

A Conservation Marketing Toolkit: Systematic Literature Mapping, Microtargeting Conservation Easements, And Conservation Corridor Prioritization, Hannah Josie Leonard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In a changing world with limited resources for conservation efforts, conservationists, wildlife managers, and land managers must look for creative ways to realize conservation goals. A new wave of conservationists is investigating how other disciplines, namely psychology and marketing, might improve our ability to understand and change conservation-related human behavior. In this thesis, I review existing applications of “conservation marketing” and apply a subset to advance two specific conservation challenges. In Chapter 1, I present a systematic mapping of the conservation marketing literature to understand the lay of the land in how conservationists have already applied marketing techniques to conservation, …

Native American Conservation Corps Programs: Cultural Heritage As An Approach To Community Well-Being, Michaelle Anne Machuca

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis features a case study and research survey to expand awareness of the ways in which Native American communities use and are impacted by culturally specific, relevant, and useful qualities of cultural heritage and cultural resource management (CRM). The case study and survey are framed by theoretical backdrops that include colonialism, post colonialism, and decolonization. Using the Southwest Conservation Corps Ancestral Lands (SCC AL) Program as the subject of this case study, this thesis addresses whether and how participants in the SCC AL Program observed the program’s potential to generate societal benefits that positively influence and/or contribute to individual …

Zoning And Complementary Incentives To Protect Farmland: A Case For Missoula County, Kaitlin Mccafferty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Urban sprawl reflects an inefficient use of land that diminishes both rural landscapes and quality of life turning farms, ranches and open space into siloed suburban communities. This results in less walkable cities with more traffic and air pollution, among other negative consequences. Farmland constitutes a particularly important resource that often faces degradation or loss due to sprawl. Higher quality agricultural soils are particularly desirable for development because they are flat and well-drained. Farmland is also important for urban communities concerning food security, environmental health, and economic well being. As American cities continue to grow, farmland around urban areas has …

The Last Best Hope: Are Voluntary Conservation Agreements Effective Tools For Protecting Imperiled Species?, Sophie B. Tsairis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances, or CCAAs, are little known, voluntary conservation agreements that protect imperiled wildlife on private lands. These agreements have emerged over the past decade and have had mixed results in providing adequate protections for candidate species.

Landowners, private industries, state and federal agencies, and environmental nonprofits, are using CCAAs as tools to eliminate the need for an endangered species listing. An Endangered Species Act listing can lead to land-use uncertainty for private landowners and this threat is the main incentive to enroll in a CCAA. When landowners enroll in CCAAs they are agreeing to provide specific …

A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Chile's state designated protected areas are reported to show representation bias and to be unable to meet conservation goals. Private protected areas are considered an important tool to resolve these issues, which has led to support for increasing the role of private protected areas in Chile and creating an integrated public-private protected area network. But the validity of the capacity of private protected areas to fix Chile's state protected area network bias, and the advantage of creating an integrated protected area network, have not been assessed. This study uses the most recent data on Chile's state, private, and international protected …

Public-Private Water Conservation: An Assessment Of Attitudes In The Deer Lodge Valley, Montana, Elizabeth K. Rial

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Sea Blue Sea: The Creation And Performance Of Educational Children's Music, Kevin Cashman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The making of Sea Blue Sea began in August, 2013 with the creation of the album’s first song ‘Blue Whale’ and was completed in March, 2014. The project’s scope was broad, including a ten-track album about endangered marine wildlife. I researched endangered marine wildlife, including eleven endangered marine species were chosen as subjects for songs, I began the writing process. I wrote six songs with minimal outside assistance and collaborated with The Whizpops for the remainder of the ten tracks included on the album. We fundraised through a Kickstarter campaign. In order to do so, we created a short film …

Women’S Water, Women’S Work: Evaluating Decentralized Management Of Deep Borehole Wells For Improved Rural Water Access In Tawa Fall Village, Senegal, Tenly Elizabeth Snow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throughout the developing world, countries face a number of issues regarding the health and welfare of their populations. One issue that stands out with critical and growing importance is the availability-and accessibility-of water. Across the Sahel, access to potable water for domestic use, as well as contaminant-free water for agricultural and animal husbandry purposes is of growing concern. This study evaluates Government of Senegal efforts at improving rural water access through public-private operation contracts to manage deep groundwater resources. In West Africa, Senegal currently counts itself among the few Sahelian countries having sufficient freshwater supplies to support its population’s growing …

Striking A Balance: The New Generation Of Tiger Tourism In India, Apoorva Prasanna Joshi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In rural central India, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists flock to see wild Bengal tigers each year. An international debate about whether tourism is good or bad for tigers was heard by India’s Supreme Court in 2012. After new guidelines were implemented, tiger reserves across the country had to review and manage their tourism policies. Set 550 miles east of the city of Mumbai, the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve is on the cusp of ‘tiger tourism’. The reserve’s eco-tourism policy was recently extended by using it as precedence for other protected areas in the state of Maharashtra. A cap on …

An Inquiry Into Eco-Labeling: The Promise Of Predator Friendly Certification (Pfc), Melissa Ellen Katherine Early

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agricultural landscapes play key roles in preserving biodiversity through habitat protection while providing ecosystem services necessary for rural livelihoods. There is a small, but growing movement among agricultural producers to live with nature rather than to dominate nature. Within this larger agriculture movement are efforts to live with predators rather than eliminating them through lethal means. This is reflective of the changing conversation around predators in the New West. Means of co-existence include livestock guardian animals, electric fencing, fladry, range rider patrols, rotational grazing, and lights etc. One grassroots effort in this area is Predator Friendly Certification (PFC). PFC is …

Composition, Distribution, And Conservation Of The Herpetofauna Of Santa Barbara Mountain, Honduras, Alicia Marie Ward

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Santa Barbara Mountain is an important and unique ecosystem in Honduras because of its topography and high proportion of endemic species. Despite its prospects for valuable discoveries and the profusion of threats to its biodiversity, there is almost no scientific information about Santa Barbara Mountain. This study is the first systematic investigation of hepetofauna species on the mountain. Research objectives included inventorying of the reptile and amphibian species present on Santa Barbara Mountain, identifying locations and microhabitat types where each species can be found, and determining if the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis is present and in which locations. A community education …

Assessing The Short- And Long-Term Effectiveness Of Forest Planning Workshops For Family Forests, Cynthia Ann Bertek

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Family Forest landowners, also known as Non-Industrial Private Forests (NIPF) are subject to much scrutiny by public agencies because they own the majority of forested lands across the United States and because it is difficult to quantify what they are doing with their lands. Significant federal money is allocated for family forest assistance in the form of educational grants and cost-share for specific conservation objectives. Montana State University Extension Forestry’s Montana Forest Stewardship program is a federally funded educational program that has helped forest landowners learn about and develop both short-term action plans and long-term management plans for their properties …

Trading Off The Benefits And Burdens: Coal Development In The Transboundary Flathead River Valley, Nadia E. Soucek

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The potential for coal development in the transboundary Flathead River Valley threatened the ecological integrity of the Crown of the Continent for more than thirty years. Economic benefits from coal mining in British Columbia were pitted against the environmental concerns of poor water quality, endangered species protection, and connectivity issues were of particular interest in Montana. This paper examines the course of coal development proposals in the transboundary valley through government statements, reports, and news sources to track changes in policies or actions that led to a resolution. Tensions between the benefits and burdens of coal development were resolved in …

Collaborative Conservation Of Taimen (Hucho Taimen)Through Education And Awareness Khovsgol Aimag Mongolia, Daneil H. Bailey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bailey, Daniel, M.S., December 2012 Resource Conservation COLLABORATIVE CONSERVATION OF TAIMEN THROUGH EDUCATION AND AWARENESS KHOVSGOL AIMAG MONGOLIA Chair: Dr. Keith Bosak ABSTRACT: Siberian taimen (Hucho taimen) populations in northern Mongolia (the state of Khovsgol aimag) are threatened by illegal poaching, habitat loss, mining and recreational fishing. Taimen are the world’s largest salmonid, historically reaching lengths of 6.5 ft. and weighing as much as 200 lbs This unique species of fish is incredibly slow-growing, long-lived (up to 40 years) and late to reach sexual maturity (5-7 years). These characteristics -- coupled with overuse and habitat loss -- have resulted in …

Paraffin: An Economic And Ecological Alternative For Bone Conservation, Victoria E. Luksha

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fragile bone materials are ubiquitous in archaeological museum and forensic settings. Although there are many chemical and industrial options for conservation, these may adversely affect the bone objects undergoing preservative treatment. Here, paraffin is explored as a biologically friendly alternative to bone material conservation. Modern domestic pig ribs were subjected to paraffin treatment and then to isotopic analysis to quantify and investigate the chemical effects of paraffin. Although the results showed that paraffin had a limited impact, the sample size proved too small to display the definitive parameters of paraffin’s effects. The results were nevertheless compelling enough to warrant more …

Fuelwood Consumption And Production In Alpine Bhutan: A Case Study Of Resource Use And Implications For Conservation And Management In Wangchuk Centennial Park, Wangchuk Sangay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

WOOD HAS BEEN USED SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES FOR COOKING AND HEATING, AND REMAINS THE PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE FOR BILLIONS OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IN BHUTAN, FUELWOOD ACCOUNTS FOR 78% OF TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND IS THE PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE FOR MOST RURAL AND URBAN RESIDENTS. DESPITE THE IMPORTANCE OF FUELWOOD IN BHUTAN, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOUSEHOLD FUELWOOD CONSUMPTION, AVAILABLE BIOMASS, OR GROWTH AND YIELD.

Opposition And Barriers To Conservation Easements: Insights From Montana Landowners, Alayna S. Dupont

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A conservation easement (CE) is a voluntary agreement that perpetually limits development on private land in order to protect open space, agricultural land, and scenic amenities, as well as ecological or historic resources. Due to the fact that CEs are voluntary, an understanding of the landowner’s decision about whether or not to participate in conservation easement programs is imperative if CE use is to continue and expand. Moreover, understanding how non-participating landowners view CEs, how they regard the incentives, and how CEs fit or do not fit with their ideas regarding private property and conservation is of critical importance for …

Escaping The Extinction Vortex: Identifying Factors Affecting Population Performance And Recovery In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Heather Elizabeth Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An extinction vortex is one of the greatest threats to endangered species; when demographic, environmental, and genetic stochasticity interact with each other and with deterministic factors, such as habitat quality, to reinforce the demise of a small population. To successfully escape an extinction vortex and enable species recovery, all processes that affect endangered populations should be comprehensively assessed and incorporated into conservation plans. For my dissertation, I worked in conjunction with California Department of Fish and Game to develop a comprehensive research program to guide recovery efforts for federally endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, the rarest subspecies of mountain sheep …

Forever Wild: Journeys Through The North Fork, Gregory Merrill Deschaine Peters

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The North Fork of the Flathead River runs for eighty-five miles, starting in southeastern British Columbia and ending in Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. The river flows through a rugged valley that plays a vital role in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. In the United States, the North Fork is Glacier National Park’s western boundary. It is a National Wild and Scenic River and a critical migratory route for an amazing array of wild animals. There is no electricity on either side of the border except for the southernmost fifteen miles in the U.S., and the only access from …

Causes And Consequences Of Displacement Decision-Making In Banhine National Park, Mozambique, Chad Edward Dear

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Decision-making is looming regarding the displacement of people resident in and reliant on resources in strict protected areas around the world. This research investigated the causes and consequences of displacement decision-making in Banhine National Park (BNP), Mozambique. I investigated causes using political-economic, actor-centered, and post-structural perspectives on power. I investigated consequences using the Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction (IRR) framework. Methods included interviews, focus groups, and observations involving BNP-area residents; park staff; district, provincial, and national-level government employees from various sectors; NGO and World Bank staff; and private consultants. I also analyzed numerous government and donor policies, plans, reports, and legal …

The Methane Range: Coalbed Methane Development, Sage-Grouse Protection, And The Ranching Way Of Life, Jonathan George Hayes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Coalbed methane development has proliferated across much of the western United States. Campbell County, Wyoming, in the Powder River Basin is one area that has seem some of the highest amounts of this development, most of it occurring on land where the surface use is livestock grazing, resulting in conflicts over resource use. This thesis takes a grounded theory approach to understanding the meaning that the ranchers that operate on this land have attached to this development. In doing so, this paper argues that these ranchers form opinions and attitudes based on how CBM has affected “the ranching way of …

Conservation Of Leopards In Ayubia National Park, Pakistan, Asad Lodhi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Lodhi, Asad M.S. May 2007 Wildlife Biology Conservation of leopard in Ayubia National Park, Pakistan Committee Chair: Dr. Daniel H. Pletscher Large carnivores are important for biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet are very difficult to conserve because of their large home ranges and conflicts with humans. I examined human-leopard conflicts in and near Ayubia National Park, Pakistan, to provide management recommendations for the conservation of leopards. Persecution of leopards by humans has been on the rise primarily due to depredation on livestock and risk to human lives. Since 1989, 16 humans have either been killed or injured in and around …

Legitimacy And The Use Of Natural Resources In Kruger National Park, South Africa, Randy Tanner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Around the globe, protected area managers confront an increasingly complex web of interests and demands, expressed by a variety parties, that often compete or conflict. When an action concerning the governance and management of a protected area is infused with such complexity, decision-making requires an evaluation of that action's legitimacy. Most often, this evaluation is implicitly made rather than expressly articulated. The purpose of this dissertation was both to illustrate the importance and utility of explicitly evaluating legitimacy and to provide a conceptual framework for understanding how the legitimacy of protected area governance and management may be understood. To better …