Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …

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.

Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial …

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

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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 …

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

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely distributed broadleaf forest tree in North America. However, aspen are declining rapidly in areas of the Intermountain West. Aspen in this area are prone to experiencing limited moisture and high temperatures. An important aspect of plant physiology when dealing with these stressors is stomatal function. Stomata control the rate of photosynthesis, therefore, the size and frequency of the stomata is likely to influence the survival of the species in this environment.

An unusual feature of aspen is the high frequency of triploidy in the southern portion of its range. Stomata! size …

Modeling Habitat Use Of A Fringe Greater Sage-Grouse Population At Multiple Spatial Scales, Anya Cheyenne Burnett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are a prominent bird species of sagebrush-dominated landscapes across the western United States. Over the past 15 years, sage-grouse have gained international attention due to decreasing population trends despite management efforts. In 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated this species as warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but the listing was precluded by other species at higher conservation risk. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation have been implicated as primary sources of declines in sage-grouse distribution and abundance. The Bald Hills population in southwestern Utah occupies an area with …

Factors Affecting Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Minimus) Conservation In San Juan County, Utah, Phoebe R. Prather

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to loss of habitat, Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) currently occupy 8.5% of their presumed historical range. One population survives in Utah, occurring in San Juan County. The Gunnison Sage-grouse Rangewide Conservation Plan and the San Juan County Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Plan recommended management strategies to address identified conservation threats to the Utah population. I addressed three conservation strategies identified in the plans: 1) creation and enhancement of brood-rearing areas; 2) assessment of habitat conditions within the Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Area; and 3) prevention or reduction of perching events by avian predators on distribution line power poles.

From 2007-2009, I …

Fault Formation In Porous Sedimentary Rocks At High Strain Rates, Wendy R.O. Key

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Home Range Characteristics Of Mexican Spotted Owls In The Canyonlands Of Utah, D. W. Willey, C. Van Riper

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

We studied home-range characteristics of adult Mexican Spotted Owls (Slyix occidentalis lucida) in southern Utah. Twenty-eight adult owls were radio-tracked using a ground-based telemetry system during 1991-95. Five males arid eight females molted tail feathers and dropped transmitters within 4 wk. We estimated cumulative home ranges for 15 Spotted Owls (12 males, 3 females). The mean estimate of cumulative home-range size was not statistically different between the minimum convex polygon and adaptive kernel (AK) 95% isopleth. Both estimators yielded relatively high SD, and male and fernale range sizes varied widely. For 12 owls tracked during both the breeding and nonbreeding …

Utah Resource Assessment, Utah Association Of Conservation Districts, Utah Department Of Agriculture And Food, Natural Resource Conservation Service

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

Located in the Rocky Mountain Region, Utah derives its name from the Native American Ute tribe and means “people of the mountains”. Utah is 84,900 square miles and is ranked the 11th largest state (in terms of square miles) in the US. As hosts of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, Utah boasts the “greatest snow on earth” and is the home of 18 colorful National Parks and monuments. Utah's peaks are, on average, the tallest in the country and create great contrasts that range from the snow covered peaks of the Uinta Range in the east, to the renowned natural …

Cache County, Utah Resource Assessment, Utah Association Of Conservation Districts, Utah Department Of Agriculture And Foods, Natural Resources Conservation Service

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

This resource assessment is designed to gather and display information specific to Cache County, Utah. This report will highlight the natural and social resources present in the county, detail specific concerns, and be used to aid in resource planning and target conservation assistance needs. This document is dynamic and will be updated as additional information is available through a multi-agency partnership effort. The general observations and summaries are listed first, followed by the specific resource inventories.

Particle Size, Caco3, Chemical, Magnetic, And Age Data From Surficial Deposits In And Around Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Harland Goldstein, Richard Reynolds, Marith Reheis, James Yount, Paul Lamothe, Helen Roberts, John Mcgeehin

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Strategic Management Plan For Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse 2002, State Of Utah, Department Of Natural Resoures, Division Of Wildlife Resources

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

The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) is one of seven subspecies of Sharp-tailed Grouse. Historically, Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse occurred within sagebrush-native bunch grass habitat throughout the intermountain region, extending from British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Montana south through portions of Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Sharp-tailed Grouse populations range-wide began declining during 1880-1920 (Bart 2000). By 1936, the range of distribution had been reduced by two-thirds (Hart et al. 1950). Currently, Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse occur in only 5 % of their historic range-wide distribution and 4% of their distribution in Utah (Bart 2000). Within the …

Fungi Associated With Biological Soil Crusts In Desert Grasslands Of Utah And Wyoming, Jack S. States, Martha Christensen

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

No abstract provided.

First-Year Movements By Juvenile Mexican Spotted Owls In The Canyonlands Of Utah, D. W. Willey, C. Van Riper

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

We studied first-year movements of Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) during natal dispersal in canyonlands of southern Utah. Thirty-one juvenile Mexican Spotted Owls were captured and radiotracked during 1992-95 to examine behavior and conduct experiments related to the onset of natal dispersal. Juvenile Spotted Owls dispersed from their nest areas during September to October each year, with 85% leaving in September. The onset of movements was sudden and juveniles dispersed in varied directions. The median distance from nest area to last observed location was 25.7 km (range = 1.7-92.3 km). Three of 26 juveniles tracked (11%) were alive after …

Completing Canyonlands, Rober B. Keiter

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

Focuses on the proposal to follow the basin that defines the national boundaries of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Background of the establishment of the park; Role of the National Park Conservation Association and other environmentalist in advocating the proposal; Factors involved in the completion of the proposal.

Rare, Imperiled, And Recently Extinct Or Extirpated Mollusks Of Utah: A Literature Review, George V. Oliver, William R. Bosworth, Iii, State Of Utah Department Of Natural Resources

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

About 139 species of mollusks are known to occur, or within historical times to have occurred, in Utah. The number of known Utah mollusks is not fixed and can be expected to continue to change, increasing as new molluscan discoveries are made in Utah and possibly decreasing as taxonomic revisions change our concept of how many valid mollusk species exist. This report represents one of the end products of a review of literature—published journal articles and books as well as unpublished agency reports—dealing with mollusks in Utah. The goals of this review were to determine (1) which species have been …

Habitat Conservation Plan For Utah Prairie Dogs In Iron County, Utah, Iron County Commission, Utah Division Of Wildlife Resources

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

The Utah prairie dog is a federally threatened species that occurs only in southwestern Utah. A large proportion (65%) of the total population of Utah prairie dogs occurs in Iron County, and a high percentage (86%) of those (2,456/2,843 in 1997) occur on privately owned lands. Population growth in Iron County has averaged more than 6% over the last five years, and is expected to continue at least at the same pace, and possibly as high as 10% (Colgan 1997). The increase in both residential and commercial development in Iron County has been the greatest in Cedar City, but has …

Revegetation Of Disturbed Semiarid Grassland In Canyonlands National Park, Susan B. Goldberg

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

A grassland restoration project was conducted in Canyonlands National Park on an area recently disturbed due to construction. Two native grasses (Oryzopsis hymenoides and Stipa comata) were seeded with 18 different soil treatments. Stipa density and relative mycorrhizal colonization were measured. None of the soil treatments resulted in significantly greater Stipa density than the control treatment of seeding only plus water. There was very little correlation between Stipa density and mycorrhizal colonization based on the treatments (r2= 0.011 p = 0.05). Three treatments produced 3 to 5 times the VAN colonization as the control including spring cryptobiotic soil crusts, with …

Mineral Resources Of The Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area, White Pine County, Nevada, And Millard County, Utah, Michael F. Diggles, Gary A. Nowlan, H. Richard Blank, Jr., Susan M. Marcus, Richard F. Kness, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau Of Mines

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

The 19,150-acre Marble Canyon Wilderness Study Area (NV-040-086) was evaluated for mineral resources (known) and mineral resource potential (undiscovered), and field work was conducted in 1987. The acreage includes 6,435 acres that is now designated as part of the Mount Moriah Wilderness under the Nevada Wilderness Protection Act of 1989 (S. 974), most but not all of which is included in 8,300 acres fro which the U.S. Bureau of Land Management requested a mineral survey. In this report, the "wilderness study area," or simply "the study area" refers to the entire 19,150-acre tract. The area in underlain by quartzite shale …

Factors Influencing Development Of Cryptogamic Soil Crusts In Utah Deserts, David C. Anderson, Kimball T. Harper, Ralph C. Holmgren

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

The relation of some physical and chemical soil characteristics to cryptogamic crust development was determined from sites in semidesert regions of southern Utah. The effects of grazing on cryptogamic crust development also was examined. Electrical conductivity, percentage silt, and soil phosphorus were found to be correlated with well-developed cryptogamic crusts. Both total cryptogamic cover and the number of cryptogamic species decreased under grazing pressure. The management of rangelands, especially in arid regions, would be strengthened by understanding the role of cryptogamic crusts and considering them in range management decisions.

Permit Requirements For Development Of Energy And Other Selected Natural Resources For The State Of Utah, Camp Dresser And Mckee, Inc.

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

This guidebook is one of a series prepared for every State. The purpose of the guidebook is to summarize environmental and land-use permits issued by the State for the development of energy and other natural resources. The guidebook is intended not only for private developers and interest groups, but also for regulatory officials of Federal, State, and local government as well.

Population Dynamics And Harvest Of Canada Geese In Utah, John Tautin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A twenty-one year (1952-72) accumulation of banding data for Canada geese in Utah was studied to determine the distribution and chronology of the harvest of the geese and the effects that hunting regulations have had upon harvests and population parameters. The banding data were also used in an attempt to develop a population model capable of predicting population trends and desirable survival rates.

Within Utah, the bulk of the annual harvest (78 percent) takes place in the northern portion of the State in the vicinity of the Great Salt Lake marshes. In Northern Utah the harvest peaks on the opening …

Water Resources Of Part Of Canyonlands National Park, Southeastern Utah, C. T. Sumsion, E. L. Bolke

Canyonlands Research Bibliography

Canyonlands National Park is in about the center of the Canyon Lands section of the Colorado Plateaus physiographic province in southeastern Utah. The part of the park discussed embraces an area of about 400 square miles comprising isolated mesas, precipitous canyons, and dissected broad benches near the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, the only perennial streams in the area. The climate is arid to semiarid; normal annual precipitation ranges from less than 8 to about 10 inches. Potential evapotranspiration is about 41 inches annually.

Geology of the park is characterized by nearly horizontal strata that dip gently northward. …