Natural Resource Economics Commons^™

Vascular Plant Surveys Of The Winnebago And Omaha Indian Reservations, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

During the summer of 2000 the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) undertook a vascular plant survey of the Winnebago and Omaha Indian reservations in northeast Nebraska. All funding for the project was provided by the NGPC. The primary objective of the project was to identify all native and exotic plant species growing on the reservations and to identify traditional uses of these plants by the Winnebago, Omaha and HoChunk people. Secondary objectives of the project include: 1) identify rare plant populations, 2) identify high-quality examples of native plant communities and 3) document threats to rare plant populations and native …

Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska (Version Iii - June 30, 2005), Gerry Steinauer, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

For more than a decade, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and state natural heritage programs, including the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NNHP), have used a “coarse filter/fine filter” approach to preserving biological diversity (The Nature Conservancy, 1994). This approach involves identification and protection of natural communities (coarse filter) as well as rare species (fine filter). Identifying and protecting representative examples of natural communities ensures conservation of most species, biotic interactions and ecological processes. Those species that “fall through” the community filters are generally the rare species. Identification and protection of viable occurrences of rare species serves as the fine filter for …

A Guide To Prairie And Wetland Restoration In Eastern Nebraska, Gerry Steinauer, Bill Whitney, Krista Adams, Mike Bullerman, Chris Helzer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This publication documents the restoration methods originally developed by Bill Whitney and later refined by himself and other ecologists from TNC, PRCT, NGPC and USFWS working in eastern Nebraska. Restoration of the following plant community types is covered in this document: tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, sand prairie, freshwater wet meadow and marsh, Rainwater Basin wet meadow and marsh, and saline wet meadow and marsh.

The methods we use are generally affordable and not complicated. To quickly summarize, we handpick and machine harvest seed, do little seed cleaning and broadcast plant with a fertilizer spreader. We do not mow annual weeds …

2003 Survey Of Priority Natural Communities In Jefferson County, Nebraska, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This survey was undertaken to update information on native plant communities and wildlife habitats in Nebraska to facilitate the development of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s (NGPC) Comprehensive Wildlife Plan. The specific intent of the project was to identify and map all large blocks of privately owned native plant communities within the survey area. In 2003, the surveys focused on eastern Nebraska, specifically deciduous forest communities along the Missouri River, tallgrass prairies of southeastern Nebraska (Pawnee, Gage, Jefferson, and eastern Thayer counties), and loess mixed-grass prairies in central Nebraska. A brief survey of the Elkhorn River valley in Madison …

Rapid Ecological Assessment Of The Northern Mixedgrass Prairie Ecoregion (Nebraska Portion), Gerry Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study was conducted as part of The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) project to conduct ecoregional conservation planning throughout the continental United States. TNC contracted with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) to conduct a rapid ecological assessment (REA) of the portion of the Northern Mixedgrass Prairie ecoregion (NMGP) occurring in Nebraska. This report concludes that agreement. Roughly the northern 1/5 of central Nebraska occurs within the NMGP (Figure 1). This ecoregion also includes extensive area of central South Dakota and central North Dakota. The objective of this study was to conduct a REA of the untilled landscapes within the …

Intermediate Rings Between A Local Domain And Its Completion, Ii, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We present results connecting flatness of extension rings to the Noetherian property for certain intermediate rings between an excellent normal local domain and its completion. We consider conditions for these rings to have Cohen-Macaulay formal fibers. We also present several examples illustrating these results.

Yellow Jackets (Vespula Spp.) Disperse Trillium (Spp.) Seeds In Eastern North America, Jennifer A. Zettler, Timonthy P. Spira, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Approximately 70 plant families worldwide have ant-dispersed seeds (myrmecochory). In this putative ant-plant mutualism, ants are attracted to and disperse seeds that have a lipid-rich elaiosome. We observed yellow jackets (Vespula spp.) dispersing seeds of three elaiosome-bearing species-Trillium cuneatum, T. undulatum and T catesbaei-in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina. Moreover, we estimated the mean distance yellow jackets dispersed seeds of T. cuneatum by placing intact fruits on index cards and recovering dispersed seeds on sheets placed on the ground surface. Of the seeds presented, 41% were recovered and the average dispersal distance …

Inventory Of Parks Division Lands For Threatened And Endangered Species Habitats And Exemplary Natural Communities, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program is responsible for environmental review of state projects, including those on Parks division properties, to determine if they may impact state-listed threatened and endangered species. In addition, the Program maintains a statewide database on natural communities and rare and imperiled species. This information is used to inform conservation decision-making, including land management decisions, with a goal of conserving Nebraska’s flora and fauna, our natural legacy. The two main objectives of this inventory project were first to improve the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s knowledge of threatened and endangered species and their potential habitat on Parks …

Horse Creek Fen, Birdwood Creek And Kelly Ranch Inventory, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

Horse Creek Fen preserve is a complex of wetland communities (Sandhills fen, Sandhills freshwater marsh, and northern sedge wet meadow) associated with Horse Creek, a ditched stream that drains the Allen Valley fen. Fen vegetation on the preserve is limited to approximately 20 acres on the western boundary of the preserve where it abuts the eastern end of the Allen Valley fen (Steinauer et al. 1996). The fen vegetation is surrounded primarily by Sandhills freshwater marsh, which in turn is surrounded by northern sedge wet meadow. Additional Sandhills freshwater marsh occurs near the eastern boundary of the preserve. The eastern …

Dynamic Fluvial Systems And Gravel Progradation In The Himalayan Foreland, Nicholas Brozovic, Douglas W. Burbank

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Although the large-scale stratigraphy of many terrestrial foreland basins is punctuated by major episodes of gravel progradation, the relationships of such facies to hinterland tectonism and climate change are often unclear. Structural reentrants provide windows into older and more proximal parts of the foreland than are usually exposed, and thus provide key insights to earlier phases of foreland evolution. Our magnetostratigraphic studies show that, although the major lithofacies preserved within the Himachal Pradesh structural reentrant in northwestern India resemble Neogene facies in Pakistan, they have a much greater temporal and spatial variability. From 11.5 to 7 Ma, major facies boundaries …

Characterization And Improvement Of Eos Land Products Using Measurements At Ameriflux Grassland And Wheat Sites In The Arm/Cart Region: Research Annual Performance Report For Period March 1, 2000- February 28, 2001, E. A. Walter-Shea, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska - Version Ii, Gerry Steinauer, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

For more than a decade, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and state natural heritage programs, including the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NNHP), have used a “coarse filter/fine filter” approach to preserving biological diversity (The Nature Conservancy, 1994). This approach involves identification and protection of natural communities (coarse filter) as well as rare species (fine filter). Identifying and protecting representative examples of natural communities ensures conservation of most species, biotic interactions and ecological processes. Those species that “fall through” the community filters are generally the rare species. Identification and protection of viable occurrences of rare species serves as the fine filter for …

Conservation In A Highly Fragmented Landscape: The Central Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregional Conservation Plan, The Central Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion Planning Team

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

With the adoption of Conservation by Design in 1995, The Nature Conservancy recognized the importance of working at larger scales to achieve our mission which is: the long-term survival of all viable native species and community types through the design and conservation of portfolios of sites within ecoregions. The Conservancy set forth to design conservation plans on an ecoregional basis by working closely with various conservation partners. These plans are intended to provide a framework within which the Conservancy and our partners, such as the Natural Heritage Programs, can make decisions regarding conservation actions to be taken at the …

Intermediate Rings Between A Local Domain And Its Completion, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We consider the structure of certain intermediate domains between a local Noetherian domain Rand an ideal-adic completion R* of R that arise as the intersection of R* with a field containing R. In the case where the intersection domain A can be expressed as a directed union of localized polynomial extension rings of R, the computation of A is easier. We examine conditions for this to happen. We also present examples to motivate and illustrate the concepts considered.

Characterization And Improvement Of Eos Land Products Using Measurements At Ameriflux Grassland And Wheat Sites In The Arm/Cart Region: Research Annual Performance Report For Period March 1, 1999- February 29, 2000., E. A. Walter-Shea, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

1999 Nebraska Central Mixedgrass Prairie Rapid Ecological Assessment, Mike Bullerman

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This document has been prepared in partial fulfillment of the 1999 Central Mixedgrass Prairie ecoregion [CMGP] Rapid Ecological Assessment [REA] contract between the Nebraska Chapter of The Nature Conservancy [TNC] and Michael J. Bullerman [“contractor”]. The contract provided for the survey of selected untilled landscapes within the Nebraska portion of the CMGP ecoregion, excluding the Sandhills. The objectives of this study were to:

1) Identify relatively intact CMGP landscapes within the state of Nebraska,

2) Determine the ecological condition, threats, unique features, and conservation potential of these landscapes,

3) Determine land use practices implemented by landowners,

4) Determine landowner attitudes …

1999 Wildlife Management Area Threatened And Endangered Species Inventory, Final Report, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of threatened and endangered (T&E) species habitats and high-quality native plant communities on Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NHP) is responsible for environmental reviews of state projects that may impact threatened and endangered (T&E) species in Nebraska, including proposed management actions on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). These environmental reviews require a significant amount of NHP staff time, and frequently find no adverse impacts associated with the proposed management actions. This survey was undertaken to improve Nebraska Game and Parks Commissions (NGPC) …

Inventory Of The Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion Of Kansas And Nebraska, Hillary Loring, Mike Bullerman, Kelly Kindscher

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

An inventory of potential high quality mixed-grass prairie ranches and large properties within the Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion of Kansas and Nebraska was conducted in the spring and summer of 1999. Emphasis during the inventory was placed on identification of relatively intact landscapes. Significant ranches within those untilled landscapes were visited. An interview of the owners or managers of those properties was coupled with a survey of the vegetation. Assessments of quality were based on species composition, continuity of ground cover, observations of livestock impact, and viability of the community types present.

The objectives of this study were to:

1) …

Ecological Evaluation For The West Ash Creek Potential Research Natural Area, Pine Ridge Ranger Unit, Nebraska National Forest, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The West Ash Creek Potential Research Natural Area is located within pastures 6, 7, and 11 of the Pine Ridge Unit of the Nebraska National Forest ca 18 mi. (30 km) southwest of Chadron, Nebraska. The area consists of ca 1020 acres of mostly successional pine forest burned in a 1985 wildfire, with unburned forest, some grassland, and riparian canyon bottoms. The area is within the Pine Ridge ecosystem of the White River watershed in northwestern Nebraska. The area has remained ungrazed nearly continuously since 1986.

This document was prepared to provide the Forest Service with information to determine the …

Inventory For Endangered, Threatened And Rare Plant And Animal Species Within The Floodplain Corridor Of The Middle Loup River Basin In Nebraska, Michael I. Fritz, Gerry Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This survey was conducted by Nebraska Natural Heritage Program of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission with funding received from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Grand Island office. This agreement was entered into on April 16, 1996. The objective of the agreement was to conduct a survey of a portion of the Loup River basin floodplain corridor for rare plant communities and plant and animal species. This is the final report of that survey. This report includes not only data collected directly as a result of field survey work associated with the project but also previous …

Characterization And Improvement Of Eos Land Products Using Measurements At Ameriflux Grassland And Wheat Sites In The Arm/Cart Region: Research Annual Performance Report For Period March 1, 1998- January 8, 1999, E. A. Walter-Shea, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

1997 Inventory For Spiranthes Diluvialis Sheviak In Western Nebraska: A Final Report, Volume I, Terri Hildebrand

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study resulted from an agreement between Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). After the 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis, in western Nebraska, NGPC was seeking to determine the extent of the Nebraska population. Information on the wet meadow community of orchid occurrence in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming was needed. This report includes descriptions of communities inventoried, Spiranthes diluvialis populations, and additional species monitored by Nebraska and Wyoming Natural Heritage programs.

The 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis in Nebraska by Hazlett merited the need for further inventory for the species …

Drought-Induced Shift Of A Forest–Woodland Ecotone: Rapid Landscape Response To Climate Variation, Craig Allen, David D. Breshears

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In coming decades, global climate changes are expected to produce large shifts in vegetation distributions at unprecedented rates. These shifts are expected to be most rapid and extreme at ecotones, the boundaries between ecosystems, particularly those in semiarid landscapes. However, current models do not adequately provide for such rapid effects—particularly those caused by mortality—largely because of the lack of data from field studies. Here we report the most rapid landscape-scale shift of a woody ecotone ever documented: in northern New Mexico in the 1950s, the ecotone between semiarid ponderosa pine forest and pinon– juniper woodland shifted extensively (2 km or …

1998 Southeast Nebraska Tallgrass Praire Inventory: Johnson, Gage, And Jefferson Counties, Final Report, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This report is prepared as a requirement of the 1998 Southeast Nebraska Prairie Survey contract between the Platte/Rainwater Basin Project Office of the Nature Conservancy and Robert F. Steinauer. The original contract called for the examination of Johnson County south of Highway 136, and Gage County east of Beatrice. Due to the scarcity of prairies in these areas, the survey region was expanded to include northern Johnson County, and southern Jefferson County.

Prairies in these areas were identified using infrared and black and white photos, driving on county and within grassland roads, and conversations with landowners. Heritage Program “Site Survey …

1997 Inventory For Spiranthes Diluvialis Sheviak In Western Nebraska: A Final Report, Volume Ii, Terri Hildebrand

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study resulted from an agreement between Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). After the 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis, in western Nebraska, NGPC was seeking to determine the extent of the Nebraska population. Information on the wet meadow community of orchid occurrence in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming was needed. This report includes descriptions of communities inventoried, Spiranthes diluvialis populations, and additional species monitored by Nebraska and Wyoming Natural Heritage programs.

Between May and September 1997, potential Spiranthes diluvialis habitat was inventoried for occurrences of the orchid. For all sites …

Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska - Version I, Gerry Steinauer, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program has been collecting information and data including published literature, field observations and vegetation plot data over the last 10 years of development of Nebraska’s natural community classification. The classification contains 27 wetland and 36 upland communities including forest, woodland, shrubland, herbaceous, and sparsely vegetated (e.g. rock outcrop) types. The community types were distinguished primarily on plant species composition and to a lesser extent on soils, hydrology and geographic location. The classification contains descriptions of each community type that include dominant species, soils, range, and other ecological information. The classification is designed to be flexible enough …

Idealwise Algebraic Independence For Elements Of The Completion Of A Local Domain, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Over the past forty years many examples in commutative algebra have been constructed using the following principle: Let k be a field, let S k[xl Xn]x,xn) be a localized polynomial ring over k, and let a be an ideal in the completion S of S such that the associated prims of a are in the generic formal fiber of S; that is, p N S (0) for each p Ass(S/a):. Then S embeds in S/a, the fraction field Q(S) of S embeds in the fraction ring of S/a, and for certain choices of a, the intersection D Q(S) f3 (S/a) …

Radiation And Gas Exchange Of Understory Species At Boreas: Research Annual Performance Report For Period June 15, 1997- June 14, 1998, E. A. Walter-Shea, T. J. Arkebauer

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

1997 Rapid Ecological Assessment Northern Great Plains Steppe Ecoregion: Western And Central South Dakota, Northwestern Nebraska, Eastern Wyoming, A Final Report, Terri Hildebrand

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

In an effort to gain a more complete understanding of existing vegetative communities of the Northern Great Plains Steppe Ecoregion, rapid ecological assessment was undertaken throughout the ecoregion during the field season of 1997. Field office personnel of The Nature Conservancy and private contractors evaluated previously delineated regions in accordance with methodology determined in May of 1997. The following document presents results of the rapid ecological assessments performed by Hildebrand Contracting. The purpose of this document is to provide The Nature Conservancy with information to help determine the vegetative features of regions sampled. The specific areas and boundaries for evaluation …

A Floristic Study Of The Republican River Valley In Nebraska With Emphasis On Endangered, Threatened, And Rare Plants, Steven J. Rothenberger

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The objectives of this study were: (1) to survey the Republican River Valley and selected tributaries in Nebraska for rare plant species (as listed by the Nebraska Natural Heritage program) and determine the present status of these species; (2) to identify and describe potential natural areas that, because of their location and/or species composition, are thought to have ecological value; (3) to complie a plant species check list for the study area in order to better understand species distributions and associations that impact rare species; and (4) to speculate as to the effect of instream river flows on the distribution …