Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Socio-Environmental Considerations At The Usuma Reservoir In Abuja, Nigeria, Fanan Ujoh Mr, James Ikyernum Mr, Olarewaju O. Ifatimehin Dr

Dr. Fanan Ujoh

Reservoirs are Man’s attempt towards water re-distribution from regions/seasons of abundance/surplus to regions/seasons of scarcity. This study focuses on socio-environmental impacts of the Lower Usuma dam in Abuja, on its four surrounding communities. Stratified random sampling technique was employed in the administration of a questionnaire to 200 respondents. Using descriptive statistics and the student t-test for the analysis, the study discovered that: (i) there has been no significant improvement in infrastructure provision by Government; (ii) cases of water-borne diseases are high; (iii) the communities have lost land for cultivation; and, (iv) the communities believe that the resettlement scheme is not …

An Evaluative Framework For Assessing Information Management In Watershed Management: The Case Of The Grand River Conservation Authority (Ontario), Robert Scott Brown

Dr Robert Brown

Watershed management has been rapidly evolving over the last 50 years. The current focus has been adaptive and ecosystem-based approaches to watershed management, redefining roles, responsibilities, and relationships of watershed organizations. While entire management models need to be heavily scrutinized, the practices and policies surrounding information are fundamentally important. Information forms the understanding and knowledge for watershed decision-making. Watershed organizations need to be critical of the policies and practices affecting their collection, storage, processing, analysis, monitoring, and reporting of data and information. Among the Conservation Authorities, the GRCA has developed a proficiency at information management, doing it as well as …

Agenda: The Future Of Natural Resources Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Moderator: Dean Phil Weiser, University of Colorado Law School

Panelists:

Jay Jensen, Associate Director for Land & Water Ecosystems, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Scott Miller, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Law …

Background Reading: Department Of The Interior, 2013 Departmental Overview, United States. Department Of The Interior, Ken Salazar

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

18 pages (DO-5 through DO-22).

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Background Reading: Department Of Agriculture, 2013 Budget Overview, United States. Forest Service, United States. Department Of Agriculture

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

57 pages.

"Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Overview"

"February 2012"

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Interactions Of Zooplankton And Phytoplankton With Cyanobacteria, Rebecca Alexander

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cyanobacteria are a major concern in Nebraska reservoirs and are capable of producing toxins that can cause skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems, as well as affect the nervous system. It is important to determine the mechanisms that can cause cyanobacteria blooms due to the effect they can have on human health. The interaction of zooplankton and other phytoplankton groups with cyanobacteria is important because there is a biological component in surface waters that should be taken into consideration along with the physical and chemical parameters that have been noted to promote cyanobacteria. For example, zooplankton have the ability to alter …

Interactions Of Zoo Plankton And Phytoplankton With Cyanobacteria, Rebecca J. Alexander

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cyanobacteria are a major concern in Nebraska reservoirs and are capable of producing toxins that can cause skin irritations and gastrointestinal problems, as well as affect the nervous system. It is important to determine the mechanisms that can cause cyanobacteria blooms due to the effect they can have on human health. The interaction of zooplankton and other phytoplankton groups with cyanobacteria is important because there is a biological component in surface waters that should be taken into consideration along with the physical and chemical parameters that have been noted to promote cyanobacteria. For example, zooplankton have the ability to alter …

Local Residents' Experience Of The Coal Ash Spill In Kingston, Tennessee: A Phenomenological Study, Amy Lynn Mathis

Doctoral Dissertations

On December 22, 2008, near Kingston, Tennessee, a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) retention pond holding approximately 1.7 million cubic yards of coal fly ash failed, spilling the ash into the nearby Emory River and inundating farms and homes in the Swan Pond community. As a result more than 100 people were permanently displaced from their homes and the clean-up effort is ongoing.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of living near Kingston, Tennessee, in the aftermath of the spill. Using existential phenomenology as the guiding research methodology, I interviewed 9 participants from the area and asked …

Logistic Curves, Extraction Costs And Peak Oil, Robert J. Brecha

Physics Faculty Publications

Debates about the possibility of a near-term maximum in world oil production have become increasingly prominent over the past decade, with the focus often being on the quantification of geologically available and technologically recoverable amounts of oil in the ground. Economically, the important parameter is not a physical limit to resources in the ground, but whether market price signals and costs of extraction will indicate the efficiency of extracting conventional or nonconventional resources as opposed to making substitutions over time for other fuels and technologies. We present a hybrid approach to the peak-oil question with two models in which the …

Ghost Tiger Beetle (Cicindela Lepida): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the ghost tiger beetle, a.k.a. white tiger beetle, (Cicindela lepida) as a Tier I at-risk species of high conservation priority. Some general management recommendations are made here regarding ghost tiger beetles; however, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment to make specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and a multitude of variables. This resource was designed to share available knowledge …

Assessing The Impacts Of Surface Water Removal For Use In Natural Gas Extraction On A Watershed Level, Carrie Ann Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Test (SWAT) was used as a tool to predict whether diffuse water removal from the Cadron Creek watershed for use with natural gas development would have an impact on downstream flow within the watershed. Cadron Creek watershed expands across four counties within Arkansas and is located in the Fayetteville Shale Gas region. This region is experiencing significant growth in natural gas development. Successful development of shale gas depends on the identification of what water supplies are available for production without interfering with community and environmental needs. The SWAT model used to evaluate …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) surveyed 8 long-term monitoring plots in Scotts Bluff National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, estimated tree and shrub density, looked for the presence of exotic species that are of concern to park management, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance at all plots. This effort was the second year in a multiple-year venture to document the current …

A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares a novel simulation approach to the conventional Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeler's approach for targeting biofuel crop production on marginal lands. In conventional SWAT modeling approach, non-spatial definition of hydrological response units (HRUs) results in the simulation of biofuel crops on both marginal and non-marginal land. This study provides an alternative approach in which a marginal-land raster was integrated into the land use and land cover (LULC) raster in such a way that the land uses were divided into marginal and non-marginal components. This modified LULC was used for model setup which resulted in marginal …

Mortality Assessment Of Redwood And Mixed Conifer Forest Types In Santa Cruz County Following Wildfire, Steve R. Auten

Master's Theses

On August 12, 2009, the Lockheed Fire ignited the west slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains burning approximately 7,819 acres. Foresters and other land managers were left with challenging decisions on how to evaluate tree mortality. Big Creek Lumber Company, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)’s Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR), and other resource professionals familiar with this region teamed up to develop a method for evaluating damage and thereby mortality for redwood, California nutmeg, live oak, tanoak, California bay, Pacific madrone, big leaf maple, Douglas-fir, Monterey pine, and knobcone pine. Quantitative damage criteria were used to design …

Shoreline Evolution: City Of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Chesapeake Bay, Lynnhaven River, Broad Bay, And Atlantic Ocean Shorelines, Donna A. Milligan, Christine Wilcox, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Mary C. Cox

Reports

The City of Virginia Beach is situated along both the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay (Figure 1). Through time, the City’s shoreline has evolved, and determining the rates and patterns of shore change provides the basis to know how a particular coast has changed through time and how it might proceed in the future.Along Chesapeake Bay’s estuarine shores, winds, waves, tides and currents shape and modify coastlines by eroding, transporting and depositing sediments.
The purpose of this report is to document how the shore zone of the City of Virginia Beach has evolved since 1937. Aerial imagery was taken for …

Public Land In A Changing Climate: Planning For An Uncertain Future, Kathleen Marie Hauser

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the ways in which institutions and actors consider climate change, and how the inclusion of diverse perspectives and challenges in the planning process shapes climate change governance. In particular, I asked how the participants, place-specific contexts, and decision-making processes affect environmental decision-making in Alaska’s National Parks. I discuss the literature on geographical perspectives on climate change, environmental and climate change governance, how uncertainty and risk affect decision-making in the context of climate change, and the history of land use management in the United States. This project incorporates qualitative methods to research the Climate Change Scenario Planning project …

Insights From Characterizing Extinct Human Gut Microbiomes, Raul Y. Tito, Dan Knights, Jessica Metcalf, Alexandra J. Obregon-Tito, Lauren Cleeland, Fares Najar, Bruce Roe, Karl Reinhard, Kristin Sobolik, Samuel Belknap, Morris Foster, Paul Spicer, Rob Knight, Cecil M. Lewis, Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In an effort to better understand the ancestral state of the human distal gut microbiome, we examine feces retrieved from archaeological contexts (coprolites). To accomplish this, we pyrosequenced the 16S rDNA V3 region from duplicate coprolite samples recovered from three archaeological sites, each representing a different depositional environment: Hinds Cave (~8000 years B.P.) in the southern United States, Caserones (1600 years B.P.) in northern Chile, and Rio Zape in northern Mexico (1400 years B.P.). Clustering algorithms grouped samples from the same site. Phyletic representation was more similar within sites than between them. A Bayesian approach to source-tracking was used to …

The Distribution And Reproductive Success Of The Western Snowy Plover Along The Oregon Coast - 2012, David J. Lauten, Kathleen J. Castelein, J. Daniel Farrar, Adam A. Kotaich, Eleanor P. Gaines

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

From 5 April – 21 September 2012 we monitored the distribution, abundance and productivity of the federally Threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) along the Oregon coast. From north to south, we surveyed and monitored plover activity at Sutton Beach, Siltcoos River estuary, the Dunes Overlook, North Tahkenitch Creek, Tenmile Creek, Coos Bay North Spit, Bandon Snowy Plover Management Area, New River HRA and adjacent lands, and Floras Lake. Our objectives for the Oregon coastal population in 2012 were to: 1) estimate the size of the adult Snowy Plover population, 2) locate plover nests, 3) determine nest …

Effects Of Silvicultural Management On Coast Redwood Forest Composition, Density And Structure In Santa Cruz And San Mateo Counties, Michael J. Papa

Master's Theses

The multiple-objective exploratory study investigates effects of various silvicultural management regimes commonly applied to coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forests in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, California, USA. A temporary forest inventory was installed in 24 harvest origin stands and 4 natural origin stands throughout the study area (sample area = 1189 acres). Data from the systematic sample of 233 one-quarter acre nested cluster plots (sample intensity = 4.9%) rendered overall forest descriptions in terms of species composition, density, and structure. The common forestry measures of trees per acre (TPA), basal area per acre (BA), and …

Slides: Survey Of State Sampling And Monitoring Rules, Kathryn Mutz, Josh Kruger

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenters: Kathryn Mutz and Josh Kruger, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado Law School

7 slides

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

Slides: Overview Of Colorado Aquifer Systems, Christopher J. Sanchez

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Christopher J. Sanchez, P.G., BBA Water Consultants, Bishop-Brogden Associates, Inc.

28 slides

Slides: Colorado Law: Protecting Water Quantity And Quality, Alan E. Curtis

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Alan E. Curtis, White & Jankowski, LLP

23 slides

Slides: What Went Wrong At Divide Creek?, Matthew Sura

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Attorney Matthew Sura, Former Director of Western Colorado Congress, graduate of University of Colorado Law School; attorney specializing in representation of landowners and mineral owners in oil and gas transactions and disputes

17 slides

Slides: Colorado’S Groundwater Protection Program, Andrew Ross

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Andrew Ross, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

22 slides

Slides: The Role Of Groundwater Sampling/Monitoring: Cogcc Proposed Rule 609, Gene Florentino

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Gene Florentino, PG, Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers

14 slides

Further Information: Monitoring And Protecting Groundwater During Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Colorado Water And Energy Research Center

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

1 page.

"For Further Information" (URLs):

COGCC

Rules and Proposed Rules from Other Jurisdictions

Sampling Protocols

Impacts

Agenda: Monitoring And Protecting Groundwater During Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Colorado Water And Energy Research Center

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

This workshop is cosponsored by the Intermountain Oil and Gas BMP Project and the Colorado Water and Energy Research Center, with financial support from the Environmentally Friendly Drilling Project and the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) recently initiated a rule making process to develop new, statewide regulations for baseline sampling and monitoring of groundwater near new oil and gas wells. COGCC’s first rule making hearing was held November 14; the rule is expected to be finalized December 10. This workshop will discuss oil and gas development procedures that can impact groundwater, the current rules …

Slides: Proposed Statewide Baseline Groundwater Sampling And Monitoring Rules, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Colorado. Oil And Gas Conservation Commission

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Kathryn Mutz, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado Law School

16 slides

Slides: Research On Ground Water Monitoring, Matt Samelson

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Matt Samelson, Natural Resources Law Center and the Donnell-Kay Foundation

12 slides