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Book Review: The Allen Site: A Paleoindian Camp In Southwestern Nebraska Edited By Douglas B. Bamforth, Daniel S. Amick

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Douglas Bamforth and his colleagues demonstrate in this edited volume the valuable role in modern archaeology for thoughtful reinvestigation of previously studied site locations and archaeological collections. Containing 14 chapters by 11 contributors, The Allen Site includes comprehensive paleoenvironmental research and detailed reanalysis of cultural materials recovered from renowned excavations conducted in the Medicine Creek Basin between 1947 and 1949, deposits that hold a series of human occupations ranging from 10,550 to 8,000 radiocarbon years in age. These new studies provide valuable improvements to our understanding of environmental change and early human adaptations during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene …

Regional Assessment On Influence Of Landscape Configuration And Connectivity On Range Size Of White-Tailed Deer, W. David Walter, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Henry Campa Iii, William R. Clark, Justin W. Fischer, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Nancy E. Mathews, Clayton K. Nielsen, Eric M. Schauber, Timothy R. Van Deelen, Scott R. Winterstein

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Variation in the size of home range of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing populations, agricultural damage, and disease spread and transmission. Size of home range of deer also varies seasonally because plant phenology dictates the vegetation types that are used as foraging or resting sites. Knowledge of the landscape configuration and connectivity that contributes to variation in size of home range of deer for the region is needed to fully understand differences and similarities of deer ecology throughout the Midwest. We developed a research team from four Midwestern states to investigate how size of …

A Review Of Mitigation Measures For Reducing Wildlife Mortality On Roadways, David J. Glista, Travis L. Devault, J. Andrew Dewoody

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A growing literature in the field of road ecology suggests that vehicle/wildlife collisions are important to biologists and transportation officials alike. Roads can affect the quality and quantity of available wildlife habitat, most notably through fragmentation. Likewise, vehicular traffic on roads can be direct sources of wildlife mortality and in some instances, can be catastrophic to populations. Thus, connectivity of habitat and permeability of road systems are important factors to consider when developing road mortality mitigation systems. There are a variety of approaches that can be used to reduce the effects of roads and road mortality on wildlife populations. Here, …

Farming Systems Education: Case Study Of Swedish Test Pilots, Lennart Salomonsson, Anna Nilsson, Sofia Palmer, Adam Roigart, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

We describe and analyze a pedagogical experiment that introduced a broad and holistic perspective on complete farming systems, systemic learning tools, and a participatory learning strategy at an early stage in agronomy education. The paper describes the adventure of three students, who came from a conventional agronomy program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who were frustrated with the lack of integrated approaches to the study of agricultural systems and a strong focus on molecular-level processes in their first year of education. They encountered a narrow focus in most courses and the overall curricula of agricultural education that …

Northwest Area Water Supply Project Final Environmental Impact Statement On Water Treatment

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

For many years, residents of northwestern North Dakota have experienced water supply problems. Existing ground water sources are of poor quality and the Souris River is a marginal source from both a quality and quantity standpoint. To resolve these problems, the Northwest Area Water Supply project (Project) is being constructed. This Project is a bulk water supply system that will serve the municipal and rural water needs of the Project area (Figure 1). The planning, design and construction of the Project is a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the State of North Dakota. Reclamation provides technical …

Comparison Of The Fuel Needed To Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables From Yellowstone National Park, Melissa Dejonge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which …

Mcnair News, Volume 3, Number 1, Fall 2008

McNair News: Newsletter of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln McNair Scholars Program

New Scholars Retreat: Welcome Junior Scholars
Meet the New McNair Scholars
McNair - Facts & History
McNair Summer Research Experience
UNL McNair Research Colloquium
Senior Scholar Research Projects
California McNair Scholars Symposium
Reflections on the California McNair Symposium by Kyle Jackson
Mentor Spotlight – Miguel Carranza
Working Effectively with Your Research Mentor by Rebecca Beals
Scholar Spotlight – Mo Wax
McNair Graduate Student Mentors
Dr. Terri Norton “Joins” McNair Community of Scholars
Kudos to McNair Scholars
Conference Presentations
2008 Summer Internships
Alumni News: Degree Watch
McNair Scholars: Now Graduate Students at UNL
UNL Scholars: Now Grad Students Across the Country …

Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The goal of this study was to look at variations in stomatal traits of tree species on soils with different moisture contents and fertility at Lambir Hills National Park. Stomates are important structures on the surface of leaves that mediate conduction of moisture and gassesin and out of the leaf. If stomatalt raits are important for regulation, then there should be variation in stomatal traits in regards to their soil specialization. The 14 Borneant ree speciess ampledi ncluded6 sandyl oam specialists6, clay specialistsa nd 2 generalistsfo und growing with equald istributionso n both sandyl oam and clay. Confocal microscopy was …

Non-Blackbird Avian Occurrence And Abundance In North Dakota Sunflower Fields, Dionn A. Schaaf, George M. Linz, Curt Doetkott, Mark W. Lutman, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

Sunflower fields are well-documented as foraging habitat for fallmigrating blackbirds (Family Icteridae). There is, however, a paucity of information on the use of sunflower fields by non-blackbirds. We assessed non-blackbird use of 12 ripening sunflower fields in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North Dakota. From mid-August to mid-October 2000, we counted 4,129 individual birds, consisting of 22 families and 61 species, in the sample fields and within 5 m of the field edges. We saw the largest number of birds from 18 September to 27 September. The Family Emberizidae (sparrows) accounted for 26% of the species and 20% of …

Results Of A Twenty-Two Year Old Progeny Test Of A Pinus Sylvestris Plantation In Eastern Nebraska, Adam D. Rupe, Tala Awada

RURALS: Review of Undergraduate Research in Agricultural and Life Sciences

The goal of this study was to examine the performance and adaptability of a 22-year-old Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) full-sibling progeny plantation representing genetic material from seven European countries (Spain, France, Russia, Ex-Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, and Germany), to the Great Plains environment. The study site was located at the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, NE. A total of 92 individuals originating from 23 crosses were studied for the following growth parameters: specific leaf area (SLA, cm²g^-1), needle length (cm), canopy width (m), and tree height (m). Analysis of variance and …

Indiana Wildlife Disease News, Volume 3, Issue 3 - August 2008

Indiana Wildlife Disease News

Inside this issue:
Cautionary tale about rabies
USGS Disease Manual
Newcastle disease in MN
69th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference
CWD in captive deer in Michigan
Midwest Wildlife Disease Update

Special points of interest:
• Newcastle disease
• Botulism
• Michigan Wildlife Disease Manual
• 69th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference
• Newcastle disease in Minnesota cormorants
• First case of CWD in a captive Michigan deer herd

A Defense Of Jiang Rong’S Wolf Totem, Timothy Weston

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I have a confession to make: I was moved by Jiang Rong’s Wolf Totem, think it’s an important novel and that it’s well worth reading. The reason I say I feel a need to “confess” as opposed to just being able to state this is because recent postingson The China Beat, as well as some of the reviews referenced in those postings, attack the book with a sharpness and thoroughgoingness that initially made me question my own taste and to think that I was politically incorrect for liking and being impressed by the novel as I read it. But after …

Droughtscape, Summer 2008, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

VegDRI Expands West

Spring Rains Ease Drought But CA Still Dry

Scholar Donates Books

NDMC Welcomes Employees Bathke, Nothwehr

Latest Workshop Info Up

State Lawmakers to Focus on Drought Planning

Decadal Variation -- Clues to Droughts and Floods?

An Assessment Of Local People’S Opinions Of Community Conservation Initiatives In Relation To Livelihood Strategies In Kenya, Jill Mechtenberg

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract This paper analyzed the changing livelihood strategies in Kenya, and their cultural impacts via a literature review. I then combined this understanding with the data I collected while in Kenya to examine the opinions local people have of community conservation initiatives, based on their changing livelihood strategies. I expected to find that the following factors would have an affect on the opinions local community members have of community conservation initiatives: livelihood strategy, gender, ethnicity, whether or not they believe the distribution of benefits coming from wildlife conservation is equitable, what issues they would like to see improved within community …

Gamma Sigma Delta Newsletter - Nebraska Chapter, Issue #35, May 2008

Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Chapter: Newsletters

President’s Message: Team Commitment
The Gamma Sigma Delta Fall 2008 Seminar, October 1: Sustainable Agriculture and Using Local Foods by Dr. Catherine H. Strohbehn, HRIM Extension Specialist, Iowa State University.
GAMMA SIGMA DELTA 2008 COMMITTEES
Award of Merit for Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture: Don C. Adams, Director West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte
Excellence in Teaching Award: Darrell R. Mark, Assistant Professor Agricultural Economics
Excellence in Extension Award: • James W. Goeke, Professor, Survey Division School of Natural Resources, North Platte
Excellence in Research Award: Janos Zempleni, Associate Professor Nutrition and Health Sciences
2007 Gamma Sigma Delta New …

The Fall 2008 Unl Bike Survey: Examining The Status Of Bicycle Transportation At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brent Schmoker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study evaluates the state of bicycle use by University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) students during the fall semester of 2008. An online survey was administered to a random sample of graduate and undergraduate students to determine the factors that encourage and inhibit students from using bikes for transportation to campus. The results suggest that a significant portion of the student population uses bikes for transportation to campus but several factors combine to keep the overall number of bicycle commuters low. The paper concludes with suggestions for increasing bike commuting to UNL and predictions about the future of transportation in the …

An Affordable, Practical Eco-House, Dave Fitzpatrick

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

An eco-house or zero-energy house is not a new concept- houses with extremely low impact on their surroundings and good use of local resources have been around for centuries. This particular eco-house is designed to offer full modern services and comforts while consuming very low energy and few expensive building materials. Ideally, someone would be able to use this thesis as a blueprint for actual construction.

California Drought, An Update April 2008, Baryohay Davidoff, Fawzi Karajeh, Dean Reynolds, Eric Senter, John Woodling

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. RECENT HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS AND IMPACTS

Introduction....................................................... 1

Water Year 2007 .................................................. 1

Drought in the Colorado River Basin ..................................................... 5

Drought and Dry Conditions in the Early 2000s .................................... 7

The 2001 Klamath Basin Drought Emergency ............................... 11

CHAPTER 2. PROGRAMMATIC AND INSTITUTIONAL UPDATES

The San Francisco Bay-Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta.................................................................. 15

The Colorado River .................................................................... 16

State Financial Assistance to Local Agencies.................................... 17

Urban Water Management Planning ................................................... 20

Water Transfers .............................................................................. 20

Small Water Systems and Drought Preparedness ................................. 21

Just Green Iguanas? The Associated Costs And Policy Implications Of Exotic Invasive Wildlife In South Florida, Arthur Sementelli, Henry T. Smith, Walter E. Meshaka Jr., Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive exotic species have begun to emerge as a policy issue at the federal, state, and local levels. Although invasive species are often understood as a function of the damage they cause to localized ecosystems, this study diverges by discussing the infrastructural damage caused by an invasive exotic species, the green iguana (Iguana iguana). Specifically, the authors discuss the magnitude and scope of damage caused by iguana burrows on canals in southern Florida and offer policy recommendations to move discussions of this potentially disastrous public works issue forward.

Water Current ,Volume 40, No. 1, Winter 2008

Water Current Newsletter

Water Quality Subject of Fifth Water Law, Policy and Science Conference By Steve Ress
Water Center History nears Completion By Steve Ress
A Wake-up Call on Climate Change
Meet the Faculty
Planning Begins for June Tour of Republican River Basin By Steve Ress
LB 701: Is it an Answer to Nebraska’s Republican River Problems? By Katherine Kalisek-Vogel
Griffin Named Groundwater Foundation President
Jackson Joins Water Center as Intern
Spring Seminars Continue Through April 16
Nebraska DNR Sponsors Modeling Group Meetings By Steve Ress
Nebraska’s Current Top 10 Water Challenges
ENWRA: Accessing Groundwater Resources in Eastern Nebraska By Julie Wragge
Ethanol …

Casnr Salute To Graduates, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

We appreciate your being with us this afternoon as we celebrate the accomplishments of tomorrow's graduates from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. These students truly are a reason for celebration. Thank you for attending and congratulations to the class of 2008! This Salute to the Graduates ceremony has become a wonderful tradition in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Linkage Of The Us National Health Interview Survey To Air Monitoring Data: An Evaluation Of Different Strategies, Jennifer D. Parker, Tracey Woodruff, Lara J. Akinbami, Natalyia Kravets

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The goal of this study is to describe linkages between the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air monitoring data, specifically how the linkage method affects characteristics and exposure estimates of study samples and estimated associations between exposure and health. In the USA, nationally representative health data are collected in the NHIS and annual air quality data are collected by the EPA. The linkage of these data for research is not straightforward and the choices made may introduce bias into results. The 2000–2003 NHIS and air quality data for six air pollutants were linked by residential …

Formal Scenario Development For Environmental Impact Assessment Studies., Y. Liu, M. Mahmoud, H. Hartmann, S. Stewart, T. Wagener, D. Semmens, R. Stewart, H. Gupta, D. Dominguez, D. Hulse, R. Letcher, B. Rashleigh, C. Smith, R. Street, J. Ticehurst, M. Twer, H. Van Delden, D. White

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Scenario analysis is the process of evaluating possible future events through the consideration of alternative plausible, though not equally likely, states (scenarios). The definition by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) best represents scenarios considered in the natural sciences:

"A scenario is a coherent) internally consistent and plausible description of a possible future state of the world. It is not a forecast; rather, each scenario is one alternative image ~fhow the future can unfold."(http://ipcc-ddc.cru. uea.ac.uk/ ddc_definitions. htnll)

Temporal And Spatial Variation In Solar Radiation And Photo-Enhanced Toxicity Risks Of Spilled Oil In Prince William Sound, Alaska, Usa, Mace G. Barron, Deborah Vivian, Susan H. Yee, Steve A. Diamond

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Solar irradiance (W/m²) and downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficients (K_d; 1/m) were determined in several locations in Prince William Sound (AK, USA) between April 2003 and December 2005 to assess temporal and spatial variation in solar radiation and the risks of photo-enhanced toxicity from spilled oil.Weekly irradiance measurements of surface visible light, ultraviolet B (UVB), and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation in Valdez (AK, USA) followed expected trends of maximum solar irradiance at each summer solstice and minimum values at each winter solstice. Variation from weekly maximum expected surface irradiances was attributed to large variations in environmental conditions …

Eutrophication And Harmful Algal Blooms: A Scientific Consensus, J. Heisler, P. M. Glibert, J. M. Burkholder, D. M. Anderson, W. Cochlan, W. C. Dennison, Q. Dortch, C. J. Gobler, C. A. Heil, E. Humphries, A. Lewitus, R. Magnien, H. G. Marshall, K. Sellner, D. A. Stockwell, D. K. Stoecker, M. Suddleson

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

In January 2003, the US Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a ‘‘roundtable discussion’’ to develop a consensus on the relationship between eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting those relationships for which management actions may be appropriate. Academic, federal, and state agency representatives were in attendance. The following seven statements were unanimously adopted by attendees based on review and analysis of current as well as pertinent previous data:

(1) Degraded water quality from increased nutrient pollution promotes the development and persistence of many HABs and is one of the reasons for their expansion in the U.S. and other nations;

(2) …

Points Without Limits: Individual Inquiry, Collaborative Investigation, And Collective Scholarship, Richard A. Gale

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This chapter proposes that a scholarship of teaching and learning focused on collaborative and collective inquiry can be more effective and have greater impact on student learning and the advancement of knowledge than investigations accomplished by individual faculty and students working in isolation. This conclusion is arrived at as a result of examining the work of Carnegie Scholars and the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Campus Program participants since 1998.

Sedimentology And Stratigraphy Of The And-2a Core, Andrill Southern Mcmurdo Sound Project, Antarctica, Christopher R. Fielding, C. B. Atkins, K. N. Bassett, G. H. Browne, G. B. Dunbar, B. D. Field, Tracy D. Frank, L. A. Krissek, K. S. Panter, S. Passchier, S. F. Pekar, S. Sandroni, F. Talarico, Andrill-Sms Science Team

ANDRILL Research and Publications

During the 2007 – 2008 austral spring season, the ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound Project recovered a core 1138 metres long (AND-2A) from a location in the southern McMurdo Sound near the Dailey Islands. This core contains a range of lithologies, including various types of terrigenous clastic diamictite, conglomerate and breccia, sandstone and mudrocks, volcanic lava, pyroclastic and reworked volcanic sedimentary rocks, and diatomite. The succession is divided into fourteen lithostratigraphic units (LSUs), two of which (LSUs 1 and 8) are further subdivided into three and four sub-units, respectively, based on changes in abundance of lithologies. Thirteen lithofacies are recognized, ranging …

Managing To Give Nature A Chance, Jerry M. Mitchell

United States National Park Service: Publications

My task is to speak to managing to give nature a chance. The debate: to manage resources, or to leave nature alone. Philosophical debate? Maybe. For my agency (the National Park Service) this debate may strike at our deepest beliefs, our corporate creed, our organizational religion, per se.

If you see Jerry Frielich’s position as saying, “Don’t mess with Mother Nature,” or, as a puritan cleric might say, “Thou shalt not sin,” then I will take the posture of the fire-andbrimstone preacher. “But you have sinned. The earth is a mess, humans, and you are responsible. Look at all that …

Collective Memory Of The Prehistoric Past And The Archaeological Landscape, Cynthia J. Wiley

Nebraska Anthropologist

The crossroads of archaeological investigation and indigenous oral tradition are ripe with potential for increased interaction between archaeologists and Native Americans. This interaction may become increasingly mandated in the future as NAGPRA affects excavations and material culture collections. Currently this body of information is not being fully utilized. However, as examples of chronologically lengthy prehistoric memory develop, including myths and traditions related to Pleistocene mammals, archaeologists must be prepared to incorporate this information into research designs and interpretations. Strong (1934) and Echo-Hawk (2000) provide a way to critique and organize oral tradition for analysis. Archaeologists must build on this foundation …

Why Resilience May Not Always Be A Good Thing: Lessons In Ecosystem Restoration From Glen Canyon And The Everglades, Sandi Zellmer, Lance Gunderson

Nebraska Law Review

In this Article, we focus on three elemental ingredients. The first is the emerging system property of resilience, a concept that describes a more complex model of change and restoration than typical resource management goals related to maximizing social uses and achieving optimum yields of resource outputs. Resilience is a characteristic of both social and ecological systems. Resilience theory suggests that complex systems can exist in fundamentally different regimes, and resilience is the property that mediates transitions among those regimes. Hence resilience must be overcome when undertaking objectives that involve regime changes, such as an ecological restoration or a social …