Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Utahns' Perceptions Of Climate Change And Disaster Vulnerabilities, Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed, Jennifer E. Givens, Peter D. Howe, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, making people more vulnerable in a variety of ways^1-2. It is essential to determine if individuals believe they are susceptible to the effects of climate change in order to develop effective adaptation strategies.

Climate change has contributed to extreme weather occurrences in Utah in recent years. For instance, in the summer of 2022, there was a severe or extreme drought in all of Utah's counties³. Health effects of drought vary with intensity⁴ and can cause climate related deaths directly and indirectly, such as by …

Planning For A Gnarly Future: Reimagining Planning To Empower Your Community, Elizabeth Sodja

All Current Publications

The purpose of this document is to summarize key takeaways and resources from our 5-part online learning series featuring planning solutions to challenges facing Gateway and Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) communities in the west.

Red Wolf Multispecies Justice Publication 2023, Eskar, Elizabeth Bennett, Finley Schad, Alex Baldwin, Oluwaseyifunmi Adejugbe, Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed, Maisie Schad, Sadie Braddock, Azra Soyer, Melih Soyer, Anne-Laure Blanche, Zubair Barkat, Amol K, Sarah Ann Woodbury, Kirsten Vinyeta

Publications

Our understanding of multispecies justice is still solidifying. In spring 2023, a group of Utah State University undergraduate and graduate students attended a course by Dr.Kirsten Vinyeta on Multispecies Justice and Indigenous Approaches to the Environment. Throughout this course, we studied the works of scholars and writers from a variety of social locations and identities who challenge Western theoretical frameworks in social science.

This publication celebrates our intellectual struggle with this emerging field and opens a forum for conversations about justice for humans and additional species. This issue features various writings, reflections, and photos from students taking the Multispecies Justice …

Future Of Great Salt Lake Survey, Lisa W. Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring, Anna Mcentire

Reports

The Future of Great Salt Lake Survey was conducted in fall 2022 when state and global attention on Great Salt Lake was ramping up, following record lows of the elevation of lake water levels. In the survey, we asked Utahns their opinions on securing water for Great Salt Lake and focused on strategies that individuals, local communities, and the state of Utah could pursue. When it comes to how water is used and managed in Utah, there are multiple actors and institutions who all make decisions and have authority or ability to take different actions. While the state of …

Strategies To Secure Water For Great Salt Lake, Lisa W. Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere (Wilsey et al. 2017) and plays an important role in Utah’s economy, environment, and ecology (Baxter and Butler 2020; Great Salt Lake Advisory Committee 2021). It has a long history of commercial and recreational activities including mineral production, brine shrimp harvesting, waterfowl hunting, boating, and sightseeing (Utah Department of Natural Resources 2013a, 2013b). The Great Salt Lake ecosystem supports over 10 million birds representing 338 species and acts as an important stopover for migratory birds between North and South America (Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program; Wilsey et al. …

Colorado River Basin Water Accounts: 1-Page Summary, David E. Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

26 Colorado River managers and experts constructively improved basin water accounts as a framework to transition emergency reservoir operations into more sustainable, equitable, and adaptive water uses.

Storing Water For The Environment: Operating Reservoirs To Improve California’S Freshwater Ecosystems, Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala, Gokce Sencan, Anna Sturrock, Barton Thompson, Harrison Zeff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

California’s freshwater ecosystems—its lakes, rivers, floodplains, meadows, natural and managed wetlands, and estuaries—are a vital part of the state’s natural infrastructure. These ecosystems provide numerous benefits, including water supply, hydropower, flood control, fisheries, recreation, and cultural and aesthetic value. They are also home to the nation’s most diverse array of plant and animal communities, with numerous freshwater species found only in California (Jensen et al. 1993; Grantham et al. 2017).

Using Smart Foodscapes To Enhance The Sustainability Of Western Rangelands, Juan J. Villalba

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

2022 Report To The Governor: Utah's Land, Water, And Air, Janet Quinney Lawson Institute For Land, Water, And Air

Reports

This report serves as a 2022 snapshot of key issues and concerns with Utah's shared resources. It highlights gathered data that is available to provide context to these issues, as well as identifies areas where more study is needed. Addressing these challenges will enable Utah policymakers and other statewide leaders to make informed decisions for the future. Under the authorship of 37 researchers and experts and the general guidance of 38 advisory committee members, the report outlines 26 issues and trends to pay attention to in the coming months and years.

Determining How Increasing Precipitation Intensity Will Impact Rangelands In Utah., Karen H. Beard, Andrew Kulmatiski

Browse all Datasets

As the atmosphere warms, precipitation events become larger, but less frequent. Yet, there is fundamental disagreement about how increased precipitation intensity will affect vegetation. Walter’s two-layer hypothesis and experiments testing it have demonstrated that precipitation intensity can increase woody plant growth. Observational studies have found the opposite pattern. Not only are the patterns contradictory, but inference is largely limited to grasslands and savannas. We tested the effects of increased precipitation intensity in a shrub-steppe ecosystem that receives >30% of its precipitation as snow. We used 11 (8 m x 8 m) shelters to collect and redeposit rain and snow as …

Supplemental Material For Cotterill Et Al. 2020: Parsing The Effects Of Demography, Climate, And Management On Recurrent Brucellosis Outbreaks In Elk. Journal Of Applied Ecology., Gavin G. Coterill, Johan T. Du Toit, Paul C. Cross

Browse all Datasets

Zoonotic pathogens can harm human health and wellbeing directly or by impacting livestock. Pathogens that spillover from wildlife can also impair conservation efforts if humans perceive wildlife as pests. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, circulates in elk and bison herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and poses a risk to cattle and humans. Our goal was to understand the relative effects of climatic drivers, host demography, and management control programs on disease dynamics.

Synthesis and applications: Positive serostatus is often weakly correlated with infectiousness but is nevertheless used to make management decisions including lethal removal in wildlife disease …

Is Grassfed Meat And Dairy Better For Human And Environmental Health?, Frederick D. Provenza, Scott L. Kronberg, Pablo Gregorini

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The health of livestock, humans, and environments is tied to plant diversity—and associated phytochemical richness—across landscapes. Health is enhanced when livestock forage on phytochemically rich landscapes, is reduced when livestock forage on simple mixture or monoculture pastures or consume high-grain rations in feedlots, and is greatly reduced for people who eat highly processed diets. Circumstantial evidence supports the hypothesis that phytochemical richness of herbivore diets enhances biochemical richness of meat and dairy, which is linked with human and environmental health. Among many roles they play in health, phytochemicals in herbivore diets protect meat and dairy from protein oxidation and lipid …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goals of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Can The Desiccation Of Great Salt Lake Be Stopped?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Craig Miller, Sarah E. Null, R. Justin Derose, Peter Wilcock

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake, with its watershed in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Like all terminal lakes, the water inflows are balanced only by evaporative loss from its surface—when inflows decrease the lake shrinks until evaporation matches that inflow.

Waterfall Formation At A Desert River-Reservoir Delta Isolates Endangered Fishes, Charles N. Cathcart, Casey A. Pennock, Christopher A. Cheek, Mark C. Mckinstry, Peter D. Mackinnon, Mary M. Conner, Keith B. Gido

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Unforeseen interactions of dams and declining water availability have formed new obstacles to recovering endemic and endangered big-river fishes. During a recent trend of drying climate and declining reservoir water levels in the southwestern United States, a large waterfall has formed on two separate occasions (1989-1995 & 2001-present) in the transition zone between the San Juan River and Lake Powell reservoir because of deposited sediments. Because recovery plans for two large-bodied endangered fish species, razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius), include annual stockings in the San Juan River, this waterfall potentially blocks upstream …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Piping Water From Rural Counties To Fuel Growth In Las Vegas, Nevada: Water Transfer Risks In The Arid Usa West, Lisa Welsh, Joanna Endter-Wada

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) plans to build a 300-mile pipeline to transfer groundwater from five rural basins in north-eastern Nevada south to the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area. Relying on the path dependence literature, we trace the policy choices and legal battles that have led to southern Nevada’s proposed Groundwater Development Project. We find that policy decisions over time, often initiated by powerful water policy entrepreneurs, have fuelled southern Nevada’s rapid growth and development. After emphasising water demand management for more than two decades, SNWA has revived its controversial plans to increase water supplies by importing water from …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and permittable option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services …

A Novel Qtl Associated With Dwarf Bunt Resistance In Idaho 444 Winter Wheat, Jianli Chen, Mary J. Guttieri, Junli Zhang, David Hole, Edward Souza, Blair Goates

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Dwarf bunt [Tilletia controversa J.G. Kühn [as ‘contraversa’], in Rabenhorst, Hedwigia 13: 188 (1874)] is a destructive disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that reduces grain yield and quality. A number of distinct genes conferring resistance to dwarf bunt have been used by breeding programs for nearly 100 years. However, few markers were identified that can be used in selection of dwarf bunt resistance. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the bunt-resistant germplasm, Idaho 444 (IDO444), and the susceptible cultivar, Rio Blanco, was evaluated for phenotypic reaction to dwarf bunt inoculation in four trials in …

Stomatal Differences In Western Aspen And Linkage To Drought Tolerance, Brianne Palmer

Research on Capitol Hill

Aspen are the most widely distributed broadleaf tree in North America .However, aspen mortality is widespread across the Intermountain West. Researchers are attempting to determine the causes of the decline and propose future methods of management.

In order to survive, plants need to take in CO₂ through pores on their leaves called stomata. When the stomata are open, the plant takes in CO₂, however, water escapes. Therefore, stomata are important in regulating the drought response in plants. The size and the density of the stomata could influence the drought tolerance of an organism.

In Utah, there are …

Soil Organic Carbon As The Basis For Assessment Of Site Condition In Stands Of Quaking Aspen, Brian Rozick

Research on Capitol Hill

• Land managers need to be able to track site productivity changes based on past management
• Site quality assessments often extensive, expensive, specific, and confusing
• Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) = potential all encompassing indicator for site condition
• SOC central to healthy soil functions which contribute to a healthy site
• Research done in context of stands of Aspen (Populus tremuloides) on Cedar Mountain

Demographic Consequences Of Climate Change In The Uinta Ground Squirrel, Kari Norman

Research on Capitol Hill

One important impact of climate change is shifts in the timing of life events such as reproduction and flowering. Hibernators like the Uinta Ground Squirrel are especially sensitive to potential shifts because they depend on food at essential times.

Genetic Analysis Of The Henry Mountains Bison Herd, Dustin H. Ranglack, Lauren K. Dobson, Johan T. Du Toit, James Derr

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Wild American plains bison (Bison bison) populations virtually disappeared in the late 1800s, with some remnant animals retained in what would become Yellowstone National Park and on private ranches. Some of these private bison were intentionally crossbred with cattle for commercial purposes. This forced hybridization resulted in both mitochondrial and nuclear introgression of cattle genes into some of the extant bison genome. As the private populations grew, excess animals, along with their history of cattle genetics, provided founders for newly established public bison populations. Of the US public bison herds, only those in Yellowstone and Wind Cave National Parks (YNP …

The First Bromeligenous Species Of Dendropsophus (Anura: Hylidae) From Brazil's Atlantic Forest, Rodrigo Barbosa Ferreira, Julián Faivovich, Karen H. Beard, José P. Pombal Jr

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

We describe a new treefrog species of Dendropsophus collected on rocky outcrops in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Ecologically, the new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by having a larval phase associated with rainwater accumulated in bromeliad phytotelms instead of temporary or lentic water bodies. Phylogenetic analysis based on molecular data confirms that the new species is a member of Dendropsophus; our analysis does not assign it to any recognized species group in the genus. Morphologically, based on comparison with the 96 known congeners, the new species is diagnosed by its small size, framed dorsal color pattern, and …

Improving The Resilience Of Mixed-Farm Systems To Pending Climate Change In Far Western Nepal: Endline Survey Report, D. Layne Coppock

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This report presents general findings from an endline survey carried out during May 2015 in Jugada, Budhiganga, Attichaur and Gudukhati Village Development Committees (VDCs) in Bajura District. A total of 320 households were surveyed, a total of 80 per VDC. Two of the VDCs—Jugada and Budhiganga—received capacity-building interventions for 16 months concerning climate-change adaptation, poverty reduction, and other aspects of well-being, while two VDCs—Attichaur and Gudkhati—were their "paired controls," respectively, that did not receive interventions. The interventions were largely delivered as informal educational or training modules.

Using Life History Trade-Offs To Understand Core-Transient Structuring Of A Small Mammal Community, Sarah R. Supp, David N. Koons, S.K. Morgan Ernest

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

An emerging conceptual framework suggests that communities are composed of two main groups of species through time: core species that are temporally persistent, and transient species that are temporally intermittent. Core and transient species have been shown to differ in spatiotemporal turnover, diversity patterns, and importantly, survival strategies targeted at local versus regional habitat use. While the core-transient framework has typically been a site-specific designation for species, we suggest that if core and transient species have local versus regional survival strategies across sites, and consistently differ in population-level spatial structure and gene flow, they may also typically exhibit different life-history …

Tools For Evaluating And Monitoring Effectiveness Of Urban Landscape Water Conservation Interventions And Programs, Diana T. Glenn, Joanna Endter-Wada, Roger Kjelgren, Christopher M. U. Neale

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Our research objective was to investigate ways to evaluate landscape water use to help cities more effectively direct water conservation programs to locations with capacity to conserve. Research was conducted in connection with a landscape irrigation evaluation delivered through a city-sponsored Water Check Program. Research efforts led to development of several assessment and monitoring tools including: Landscape Irrigation Ratio (LIR), Participant Outcome Evaluation Tool, and Program Evaluation Tool. We utilized these tools to identify locations with capacity to conserve water applied to landscapes, compare water use before and after the water check, and evaluate Water Check Program effectiveness. We found …

Registration Of ‘Newell’ Smooth Bromegrass, K P. Vogel, R B. Mitchell, B L. Waldron, M R. Haferkamp, J D. Berdahl, D D. Baltensperger, Galen Erickson, T J. Klopfenstein

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Improving The Resilience Of Mixed-Farm Systems To Pending Climate Change In Far Western Nepal: Baseline Survey Report, D. Layne Coppock

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This report provides a summary of the main results of a household baseline survey carried out in late 2013 in four village development committees (VDC) in Bajura District. A total of 320 households were surveyed with 80 per VDC. Two of the VDCs have been subsequently targeted for interventions related to climate change adaptation, while two VDCs have voluntary agreed to serving as paired “controls.” This baseline survey was undertaken as part of a study entitled, ‘Improving the Resilience of Mixed Farm Systems to Pending Climate Change in Far Western Nepal’, conducted by USU and HKI. The baseline survey was …

Warming, Competition, And Bromus Tectorum Population Growth Across An Elevation Gradient, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in North America and climate change threatens to exacerbate its impacts. We conducted a two‐year field experiment to test the effect of warming, competition, and seed source on cheatgrass performance across an elevation gradient in northern Utah. We hypothesized that warming would increase cheatgrass performance, but that warming effects would be limited by competing vegetation and by local adaptation of cheatgrass seed sources. The warming treatment relied on open top chambers, we removed vegetation to assess the effect of competition from neighboring vegetation, and we reciprocally …