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Design Principles For High School Engineering Design Challenges: Experiences From High School Science Classrooms, Christian Schunn

Publications

At the University of Pittsburgh, we have been exploring a range of approaches to design challenges for implementation in high school science classrooms (Apedoe, Reynolds, Ellefson, & Schunn, 2008; Ellefson, Brinker, Vernacchio, & Schunn, 2008; Schunn, Silk, & Apedoe, in press). In general, our approach has always involved students working during class time over the course of many weeks. So, our understanding of what works must be contextualized to that situation (i.e., without significant home support, by students enrolled in traditional classrooms, involving content that is connected to traditional science classrooms). However, our approach has been implemented with thousands of …

Engineering Design Challenges In High School Stem Courses A Compilation Of Invited Position Papers, Daniel L. Householder

Publications

Since its initial funding by the National Science Foundation in 2004, the National Center for Engineering and Technology Education (NCETE) has worked to understand the infusion of engineering design experiences into the high school setting. Over the years, an increasing number of educators and professional groups have participated in the expanding initiative seeking to acquaint all students with engineering design. While there is strong support for providing students with engineering design experiences in their high school STEM courses, the lack of consensus on purposes and strategies has become increasingly apparent as the work continues. Among the unsettled issues are the …

Guide For Quantifying Post-Treatment Fuels In The Sagebrush Steppe And Juniper Woodlands Of The Great Basin, Andrea Bourne, Stephen C. Bunting

Reports

Invasive species and woodland encroachment have caused extensive changes in the fire regimes of sagebrush steppe over the past 150 years. Land managers and resource specialists of the Great Basin are increasingly required to implement vegetation treatments to maintain habitat, reduce fire risk and restore landscapes to a more desirable state. Often it is difficult to measure treatment effectiveness because gathering pre- and post-treatment data is time-consuming and costly. In two years of post-treatment sampling across six Great Basin states, researchers from the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment and Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) measured the vegetation response to prescribed fire, tree mastication and …

Catch, Treat And Release With Limited Removal Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Herd Management Areas (Lost Creek, Stewart Creek, Green Mountain, Crooks Mountain, Antelope Hills), United States Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Land Management

Environmental Assessments (WY)

This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared to disclose and analyze the environmental consequences of a "Catch, Treat and Release (CTR)" of wild horses in the Red Desert Wild Horse Herd Management Area (HMA) Complex. In addition to the proposed action of a CTR gather, removal of wild horses outside identified HMAs within the project area will also be conducted. The HMAs included in this complex are Lost Creek, Stewart Creek, Green Mountain, Crooks Mountain and Antelope Hills (See Area Map, Appendix 2). The EA is a site-specific analysis of potential impacts that could result with the implementation of a …

A Study Of Grade Level And Gender Differences In Divergent Thinking Among 8th And 11th Graders In A Mid-Western School District., Leah Christine Roue

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Comparability Of Bioassessments: A Review Of Conceptual And Methodological Issues, Y. Cao, Charles P. Hawkins

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Differences in the raw data used in bioassessments and choices regarding how those data are analyzed and summarized can affect inferences regarding the status of ecological resources and, thus, the degree to which we can trust individual ecological assessments, compare assessments across different programs and regions, or share data when developing or refining new endpoint indices. Progress in addressing these issues has been hindered by lack of consensus regarding what a general definition of comparability should be in the context of bioassessments and what measures of comparability are appropriate for ecological data. In this paper, we review the state of …

Broom Snakeweed Increase And Dominance In Big Sagebrush Communities, Michael H. Ralphs

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh) Britt. & Rusby) is a native sub-shrub that is widely distributed on rangelands of western North America. It often increases to near monocultures following disturbance from overgrazing, fire or drought. Propagation is usually pulse driven in wet years, allowing large expanses of even-aged stands to establish and dominate plant communities. It can maintain dominance following fire, or can co-dominate with cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) on degraded sagebrush rangelands. State-and-transition models show that competitive grasses in the respective plant communities can prevent snakeweed dominance.

Relationship Of Wyoming Big Sagebrush Cover To Herbaceous Vegetation, Bok F. Sowell, Carl L. Wambolt, Jennifer K. Woodward, Vanessa R. Lane

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

We measured 328 sites in northern, central, and southern Montana and northern Wyoming during 2003 to test the relationship of herbaceous cover to Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis) cover. Long term annual precipitation at all sites was approximately 31 cm. Sagebrush and total herbaceous cover varied from 5 to 45 percent and 3.5 to 55 percent, respectively. Simple linear regression was the best fit model for predicting herbaceous cover from sagebrush cover using the highest Ra2 values as the model selection criteria. In northern Montana, herbaceous vegetation was predicted by sagebrush cover with the following model: Y = 37.4 …

Process-Based Management Approaches For Salt Desert Shrublands Dominated By Downy Brome, Merilynn C. Hirsch, Thomas Monaco

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Downy brome grass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasion has severely altered key ecological processes such as disturbance regimes, soil nutrient cycling, community assembly, and successional pathways in semi- arid Great Basin salt desert shrublands. Restoring the structure and function of these severely altered ecosystems is extremely challenging; however new strategies are emerging that target and attempt to repair ecological processes associated with vegetation change. In this paper, we review the essential processes required to reduce downy brome abundance and assist with creating suitable conditions for revegetation of Great Basin salt desert shrublands.

Reinterpreting Historical Data For Evidence-Based Shrubland Management, Jeb C. Williamson, Laura M. Burkett, B T. Bestelmeyer, Rhonda Skaggs, K M. Havstad

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Long-term vegetation dynamics in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico have been intensively studied for over a century, and interpretations of the broad scale drivers of these dynamics are numerous. We now understand that interpretation of spatially heterogeneous change requires a more nuanced, contextualized, and detailed understanding of edaphic features and landscape characteristics. Recently, state and transition models (STMs) have been employed to represent landscape-specific dynamics for each ecological site within a Major Land Resource Area (MLRA). We re-examined data characterizing vegetation across the public lands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert at two points in time, the 1930s and …

Moderating Livestock Grazing Effects On Plant Productivity, Nitrogen And Carbon Storage, John Carter, Julie Chard, Brandon Chard

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Multi-year studies of plant communities and soils in the Bear River Range in southeastern Idaho and northeastern Utah found reduced ground cover and herbaceous production in areas grazed by livestock when compared to reference values or long-term rested areas. Reductions in these ecosystem components have lead to accelerated erosion and losses in stored carbon and nitrogen. Restoration of these ecosystem components, with their associated carbon and nitrogen storage, is possible by application of science-based grazing management.

Immediate Effects Of Controlled Livestock Treatment On Reclaimed Natural Gas Well Pads, Cally Driessen, Amber Mason, Jay Norton, Calvin Strom

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Wyoming shrublands have undergone extensive energy development in recent years. Much of this development occurs on public land designated for multiple uses. Reclamation of these areas has proven difficult due to the harsh climate and alteration of the thin, nutrient poor topsoil during development activities. Energy development and reclamation activities often lead to topsoil dilution, rapid mineralization of nutrients and soil organic matter (SOM), and loss of soil structure. These changes have the potential to degrade the suitability of the soil as a medium to sustain a desirable plant community. Reclamation of land disturbed for energy development in this area …

Getting The Biggest Bang For Your Buck: Wildlife Monitoring On Shrublands Of The Nevada Test Site, Derek B. Hall, Paul D. Greger

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) covers 3,561 km2 and extends over portions of both the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts. The resulting diverse and complex flora and fauna exhibit elements of both deserts. There are 20 vegetation associations, composed primarily of shrubs, nested within 10 vegetation alliances. Of the more than 1,200 invertebrate and 339 vertebrate species found in these shrubland habitats, 267 are considered sensitive or protected/regulated by federal or state laws. Wildlife and wildlife habitat monitoring ensures NTS activities comply with all federal and state laws enacted for the protection of these valuable biological resources and provides ecological …

Is Climate Change Mitigation The Best Use Of Desert Shrublands?, Susan E. Meyer

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

In a world where the metrics of the carbon economy have become a major issue, it may come as a surprise that intact cold desert shrublands can sequester significant amounts of carbon, both as biomass and in the form of SOC (soil organic carbon). Xerophytic shrubs invest heavily in belowground biomass, placing fixed carbon in an environment where it turns over only very slowly. In order for humans to gain this important ecosystem service, desert shrublands must be kept intact and prevented from frequent burning. The biggest threat to shrubland integrity is the invasion of exotic annual grasses that increase …

Land Use And Habitat Conditions Across The Southwestern Wyoming Sagebrush Steppe: Development Impacts, Management Effectiveness And The Distribution Of Invasive Plants, Daniel J. Manier, Cameron Aldridge, Patrick Anderson, Geneva Chong, Collin Homer, Michael O'Donnell, Spencer Schell

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

For the past several years, USGS has taken a multi-faceted approach to investigating the condition and trends in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This recent effort builds upon decades of work in semi-arid ecosystems providing a specific, applied focus on the cumulative impacts of expanding human activities across these landscapes. Here, we discuss several on-going projects contributing to these efforts: (1) mapping and monitoring the distribution and condition of shrub steppe communities with local detail at a regional scale, (2) assessing the relationships between specific, land-use features (for example, roads, transmission lines, industrial pads) and invasive plants, including their potential (environmentally defined) …

Evidence That Invasion By Cheatgrass Alters Soil Nitrogen Availability, Robert R. Blank, Tye Morgan

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

No abstract provided.

Predicting The Impact Of Climate Change On Cheat Grass (Bromus Tectorum) Invasibility For Northern Utah: A Gis And Remote Sensing Approach, Samuel Rivera, Neil E. West, Alexander J. Hernandez, R. Doug Ramsey

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Cheat grass (Bromus tectorum) invasibility represents a serious threat to natural ecosystems dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Ecosystem susceptibility to annual grass invasion seems to be driven by specific biophysical conditions. The study was conducted in Rich County, Utah, where cheat grass invasion is not yet an apparent problem, but an imminent invasion might be just a matter of time (temporal scale) to meet spatial variations in environmental conditions (spatial scale). Literature review and expert knowledge were used to define biophysical variables and their respective suitability ranges of where cheat grass takeover might occur. GIS, remote sensing and logistic regression-statistical …

Associations Of Near-Surface Soil Moisture And Annual Plant Community Dynamics, Lauren P. Ducas, Scott B. Jones, A. Joshua Leffler, Ronald J. Ryel

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Invasive species have become an increasingly large concern, particularly in already degraded ecosystems, such as sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)-steppe of the Intermountain West. Much of this ecosystem is already infested with large cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) stands and is potentially at risk for future invasions depending on biotic and abiotic conditions. In these ecosystems, the existing vegetation, whether native or non-native, may not effectively utilize the soil moisture resources in the upper portion of the soil, termed the growth pool. If the existing vegetation does not effectively utilize moisture in the growth pool, an open resource is left for the establishment of …

Morphological And Physiological Traits Account For Similar Nitrate Uptake By Crested Wheatgrass And Cheatgrass, A. Joshua Leffler, Thomas A. Monaco, Jeremy J. James

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Millions of hectares throughout the Intermountain West are either dominated or threatened by the invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass). This invasion is largely linked to disturbance and few regions appear immune. Disturbance liberates resources in a community and cheatgrass appears exceptionally able to capitalize on these resources. One species, however, is consistently competitive with cheatgrass. Agropyron cristatum (crested wheatgrass), an improved plant material developed from several populations in central Asia, is drought resistant, grazing tolerant, and largely excludes cheatgrass in stands established within the Great Basin. While previous studies document high resource uptake ability by crested wheatgrass, it remains …

Strategic Use Of Forage Kochia (Kochia Prostrata) To Revegetate Wildlife Habitat, Blair L. Waldron

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

No abstract provided.

Potential Impacts Of Energy Development On Shrublands In Western North America, Amy Pocewicz, Holly Copeland, Joseph Kiesecker

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Impending rapid development of the abundant energy resources found in western North America may have dramatic consequences for its terrestrial ecosystems. We used lease and license data to provide an approximate estimate of direct and indirect potential impacts from renewable and non-renewable energy development on each of five major terrestrial ecosystems and completed more detailed analyses for shrubland ecosystems. We found that energy development could impact up to 21 percent (96 million ha) of the five major ecosystems in western North America. The highest overall predicted impacts as a percent of the ecosystem type are to boreal forest (23-32 percent), …

Estimating Historical Sage-Grouse Habitat Abundance Using A State-And-Transition Model, Louisa Evers, Richard F. Miller, Miles Hemstrom, James Merzenich, Ronald Neilson, Paul Doescher

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Use of reference conditions to compare current conditions what managers believed represented healthy and functioning systems has become a common approach to evaluate vegetation and habitat conditions and aid development of land management plans. Often reference conditions attempt to describe landscapes as they existed and functioned prior to about 1850, and often largely rely on expert opinion. We developed reference conditions for sagebrush (Artemisia spp. L.) ecosystems in eastern Oregon based on ecological site descriptions, soil surveys, climate data, wildfire records, expert opinion, and literature using a state-and-transition (STM) modeling framework. Using ecological site descriptions for the Malheur High Plateau …

Impacts Of Fire On Sage-Grouse Habitat And Diet Resources, Jon D. Bates, Edward C. Rhodes, Kirk Davies

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

No abstract provided.

Native Annual Plant Response To Fire: An Examination Of Invaded, 3 To 29 Year Old Burned Creosote Bush Scrub From The Western Colorado Desert, Robert J. Steers, Edith B. Allen

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Creosote bush scrub vegetation typically contains high diversity of native annual plants relative to shrubs, cacti, perennial herbaceous species, or other plant life forms. This vegetation type is also very susceptible to exotic, invasive annual plants, which promote fire by changing fuel properties. The impact of fire on most perennial species is severe but the impact on native annual plants is not well understood. We measured annual species composition in five sites that each contained paired burned and unburned stands in the western Colorado Desert, California. The burned stands at each site ranged in time since fire from 3 to …

Bottom-Up Effects Of Substrate On Two Adjacent Shrub Communities And The Distribution Of A Rare And Endangered Plant Species, Astragalus Jaegerianus Munz., Barry A. Prigge, Thomas R. Huggins, M R. Sharifi, Philip W. Rundel

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Edaphic habitats are botanically interesting because of differences in vegetation with neighboring sites and because they tend to harbor rare species. In the central Mojave Desert, there are granite colluvial substrates where creosote bush, the dominant shrub in the area, is sparser and generally smaller than in the neighboring creosote bush communities. It is on these sites that the Lane Mountain milkvetch, a rare and federally endangered species, is restricted. The milkvetch is a nitrogen-fixer and grows under and within the canopy of host shrubs. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the milkvetch has no preference for species of host …

Seasonal Soil Co2 Flux Under Big Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.), Michael C. Amacher, Cheryl L. Mackowiak

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Soil respiration is a major contributor to atmospheric CO2, but accurate landscape-scale estimates of soil CO2 flux for many ecosystems including shrublands have yet to be established. We began a project to measure, with high spatial and temporal resolution, soil CO2 flux in a stand (11 x 25 m area) of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) at the Logan, Utah, Forestry Sciences Laboratory. Beginning on Nov. 1, 2009, hourly soil CO2 flux measurements were made at a single location in the stand using the Li-Cor LI-8100 soil CO2 flux instrument and 20-cm long-term chamber. Beginning in April, 2010, monthly soil …

Trend Of Gardner Saltbush And Halogeton In The Lower Green River Basin, Wyoming, Sherel Goodrich, Aaron Zobell

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

Displacement of Gardner saltbush (Atriplex gardneri) by halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus) is being recorded at several points in the Lower Green River Basin, Wyoming by line intercept measurements and by repeat photography. This paper gives results of the monitoring studies as of 2009. Total displacement of Gardner saltbush by halogeton has taken as little as 10 years at some locations. Loss of Gardner saltbush to halogeton has major management implications.

Field Trip Overview: Habitat Loss And Plant Invasions In Northern Utah, Justin R. Williams, Kevin J. Connors, Thomas A. Monaco

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

No abstract provided.

First Year Soil Impacts Of Well-Pad Development And Reclamation On Wyoming, Amber Mason, Cally Driessen, Jay Norton, Calvin Strom

Natural Resources and Environmental Issues

No abstract provided.

Journal Of Mormon History Vol. 37, No. 3, Summer 2011

Journal of Mormon History

ARTICLES

--Mormonism’s Adoption Theology: An Introductory Statement Samuel M. Brown and Jonathan A. Stapley, 1

--Early Mormon Adoption Theology and the Mechanics of Salvation Samuel M. Brown, 3

--Adoptive Sealing Ritual in Mormonism Jonathan A. Stapley, 53

--Transgression in the LDS Community: The Cases of Albert Carrington, Richard R. Lyman, and Joseph F. Smith, Part 1 Gary James Bergera, 119

--Hostile Mormons and Persecuted Presbyterians in Utah, 1870–1900: A Reappraisal R. Douglas Brackenridge, 162

--The Kearny/Stockton/Frémont Feud: The Mormon Battalion’s Most Significant Contribution in California Sherman L. Fleek, 229

REVIEWS

--John Gary Maxwell, Gettysburg …