Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Slides: Unquenchable, Robert Glennon

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Robert Glennon, Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona

56 slides

Slides: Climate Change And The Death Of Stationarity: A New Era For Western Water?, Stephen T. Gray

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Steven T. Gray, Wyoming State Climatologist, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

48 slides

Slides: Finding Flows: Fish Still Need Water Everyday, Melinda Kassen

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Melinda Kassen, Director of the Western Water Project, Trout Unlimited

12 slides

Slides: Oil Shale Water Use: Upsetting The Apple-Cart Of River Habitat, Irrigation And Existing Water Rights?, Bart Miller

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Bart Miller, Western Resource Advocates, Boulder, CO

13 slides

Slides: Rapanos And The Courts: Navigating Through The Fog, Jim Murphy

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Jim Murphy, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel, National Wildlife Federation, VT

25 slides

Slides: Integrated Policy, Planning, And Management Of Water Resources, Robert Wilkinson

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D., Director of the Water Policy Program, Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-- Santa Barbara

60 slides

Slides: Agricultural Resilience And Urban Growth: A Closer Look, William R. Travis

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: William R. Travis, Department of Geography, Center for Science & Technology Policy Research, CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder

30 slides

Fisheries Research Report No.157 - The Western Rock Lobster Fishery 2003/2004 And 2004/2005, Simon De Lestang, E H. Barker

Fisheries Research Reports

The 2003/2004 season produced the second highest catch recorded to date (13,684 tonnes), up markedly on the previous season’s catch of 11,415 t. Nominal effort in 2003/2004 (10,180,444 pot lifts) did not vary by nearly as much as did the catch, with total pot lifts declining only slightly (<1%) on the previous season. Season 2004/2005 produced a catch of 12, 236 tonnes, down on the previous season’s catch of 13,684 t. Similar to the catch, total nominal effort in 2004/2005 (9,789,671 pot lifts) also declined fairly substantially (4%) on the previous season. Recreational catches for the above two seasons were also down on their respective previous seasons by 52 and 11% each.

Puerulus settlement coast wide during 2003/2004 was below average, especially towards the southern and northern extremes of the fishery (Port Gregory and Jurien Bay south). This was also the case during the following season (2004/2005), although the poor settlement was more evenly spread across the entire fishery. Catch predictions from these …

Fisheries Research Report No. 174 - Spatial Scales Of Exploitation Among Populatons Of Demersal Scalefish : Implications For Management. Part 2: Stock Structure And Biology Of Two Indicator Species, West Australian Dhufish (Glaucosoma Hebraicum) And Pink Snapper (Pagrus Auratus) In The West Coast Bioregion, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report - Project 2003/052

EDITORS: R. Lenanton, J. StJohn, I. Keay, C. Wakefield, G. Jackson, B. Wise and D. Gaughan

West Australian dhufish is endemic to shelf waters of south-western Western Australia (WA). In contrast, snapper (known as “pink snapper” in WA) has a continuous distribution around the southern coastline of mainland Australia and in New Zealand. Dhufish and snapper are the two most important exploited demersal scalefish species in the West Coast Bioregion (WCB) of WA, which extends from Kalbarri (27°S) to Augusta (35°S). This study examined regional variation in the biology of the two species, their …

Fisheries Research Report No. 191 - Maximising Survival Of Released Undersize West Coast Reef Fish, Rodney C J Lenanton, Jill St John, Brent S. Wise, Ian S. Keay, D J. Gaughan

Fisheries Research Reports

Final FRDC Report – Project 2000/194

In Australia, most fishery managers regulate the catch of recreational fishes using size and bag limits. The effectiveness of these regulations depends on the fish surviving capture and then release back into the water. Effective management of fishing using size or bag limits therefore requires an understanding of the rates of mortality of released fish and what factors are causing mortality so that these might be alleviated. The rates and likely causes of mortality of released WA dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) and snapper (Pagrus auratus), breaksea cod (Epinephelides armatus) and baldchin groper (Choerodon rubescens) off …

Biogeochemical Behavior Of Dissolved Arsenic And Uranium Concentrations In Public Water Supply Wells, Kevin J. Mcvey

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

Public water supply (PWS) wells currently contain dissolved uranium concentrations above the federally mandated maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 30 ppb (parts per billion) and dissolved arsenic concentrations above the 10 ppb MCL. Both uranium and arsenic are known to cause various forms of cancer in humans. Variations in total uranium concentrations in PWS wells in Nebraska indicate a relationship to the duration and rate of pumping in specific wells. Although total arsenic concentrations show some variability over time in specific wells, the relationship to pumping is not as clear. Previous studies show that iron and sulfur bacteria present in …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending April 1, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at two advisory team meetings attended this quarter.

Project 2: Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (poster) was presented at the Lake Mead Science Symposium; a journal article is in preparation.

Project 3: A draft document titled “Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP): Quagga Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave” has been subdivided into four major sections and corresponding sub-groups have been formed to provide review and input. Six oral presentations related to quagga mussels were presented at the Lake Mead Science Symposium. Two …

Using Gis To Locate Areas For Growing Quality Coffee In Honduras, Ellen Mickle

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Abstract Small-scale coffee producers worldwide remain vulnerable to price fluctuations after the 1999-2003 coffee crisis. One way to increase small-scale farmer economic resilience is to produce a more expensive product, such as quality coffee. There is growing demand in coffee-producing and coffee-importing countries for user-friendly tools that facilitate the marketing of quality coffee. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototypical quality coffee marketing tool in the form of a GIS model that identifies regions for producing quality coffee in a country not usually associated with quality coffee, Honduras. Maps of areas for growing quality coffee were produced …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, January 1, 2009 To March 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• The Weed Sentry program surveyed over 126 miles (981 acres) of federal land by vehicle and foot in Clark County for incipient populations of exotic plants.
• Weed Sentry staff continue to survey never before surveyed sites, and trails and regions within Red Rock and Sloan Canyon NCAs requested by BLM managers.
• The 2009 rare plant monitoring was initiated and in progress.
• Northshore Road reconstruction monitoring was initiated and active monitoring and care of salvaged plants was performed by UNLV staff.
• Rana onca vegetation monitoring and reporting was completed.

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 20 - Risk Assessment Of The Record Brook Inter-Basin Water Transfer Scheme To The Aquatic Fauna Of The Donnelly And Warren Rivers, M. De Graaf, D. L. Morgan, S. J. Beatty, C. W. Hugh

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

Report to the Water Corporation of Western Australia

This report describes the fishes and freshwater crayfishes of the Donnelly and Warren River catchments and provides a risk assessment to these fauna of the proposed extraction of water from Record Brook (tributary of the Donnelly River) and subsequent transfer to Scabby Gully Dam (Warren River catchment). The proposed location of the structure in Record Brook is at the gauging station ~1 km upstream from the confluence with the Donnelly River. The project aims to divert peak flows in the winter and spring flow period, transferring around 500 ML each year. The …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 41, No. 1/2 March/June 2009, The Great Plains Natural Science Society

The Prairie Naturalist

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DUCK USE OF IMPOUNDED AND NATURAL WETLANDS IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. J. E. Austin and D. A. Buhl

THIRD REPORT OF THE NORTH DAKOTA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE: 2004-2005 D. Svingen and R. E. Martin

EFFECT OF DROUGHT AND AGRICULTURE ON RING-NECKED PHEASANT ABUNDANCE, NEBRASKA PANHANDLE. C. J. Randel 55

COMMON RAVEN NESTS IN NORTH DAKOTA AFTER 1OO-YEAR HIATUS. M. P. Nenneman, T. A. Grant, and R. E. Martin

Suggestions for Contributors

Editorial Policy

2009 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2009). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of Nebraska–School of Natural Resources, and the Nongame Bird Program (NBP), based at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) work cooperatively on Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover monitoring, research, management, and education-outreach activities. While the proximate focus of our work is the Lower …

Lithobates Catesbeianus (American Bullfrog) Predation On Cliff Swallows, Mary Bomberger Brown, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

During a 25-year study of Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, we observed Lithobates catesbeianus prey on, or attempt to prey on, Cliff Swallows. As we were mist-netting Cliff Swallows at a 10-nest colony on 7 July 1998, a L. catesbeianus attempted to eat a Cliff Swallow that was caught in the net.

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

Agroforestry: Working Trees For Sequestering Carbon On Agricultural Lands, Michele M. Schoeneberger

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Guide To Fuel Management Practices For Dry Mixed Conifer Forests In The Northwestern United States, Theresa B. Jain, Michael Battaglia, Han-Sup Han, Russell T. Graham, Jeremy S. Fried, Christopher R. Keyes, Jonathan Sandquist

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This guide describes the benefits, opportunities, and trade-offs concerning fuel treatments in the dry mixed conifer forests of northern California and the Klamath Mountains, Pacific Northwest Interior, northern and central Rocky Mountains, and Utah. Multiple interacting disturbances and diverse physical settings have created a forest mosaic with historically low- to mixed-severity fire regimes. Analysis of forest inventory data found nearly 80 percent of these forests rate hazardous by at least one measure and 20 to 30 percent rate hazardous by multiple measures. Modeled mechanical treatments designed to mimic what is typically implemented, such as thinning, are effective on less than …

A Comparison Of Fire Severity Patterns In The Late 19th And Early 21st Century In A Mixed Conifer Forest Landscape In The Southern Cascades, Alan H. Taylor, Carl N. Skinner, Becky Estes

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The extent and severity of fires in the United States during the last decade has been remarkable. Since 2002, there has been seven years (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012) when over 2.8 million ha have burned, more than twice the previous decade. The extent of recent fire activity has increased risks to lives and property (Cohen 2008; , biodiversity and species-at-risk (Spies et al. 2006), the timber value of forests (Butry et al. 2001) and forests as a carbon sink (Hurteau et al. 2008, 2011). Although one driver of the increase in fire extent, at least in western …

Validation Of Smoke Transport Models With Airborne And Lidar Experiments, Shawn P. Urbanski, Wei Min Hao, Vladimir Kovalev

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This document reports our success in achieving the objectives and accomplishing the deliverables proposed in the project “Validation of Smoke Transport Models with Airborne and Lidar Experiments”. This final report is divided into four sections. Section 1, the Background, describes the purpose of the project and summarizes the project objectives and how accomplishment of these objectives addresses the original research solicitation JFSP AFP-2008-1, Task 6. The Background section also provides relates the project purpose material on smoke dispersion and air quality forecasting systems. The goal of Section 2 is to illustrate how the accomplished tasks contribute towards the project objective …

A Synthesis Of Post-Fire Road Treatments For Baer Teams: Methods, Treatment Effectiveness, And Decisionmaking Tools For Rehabilitation, Randy B. Foltz, Peter R. Robiochaud, Hakjun Rhee

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

We synthesized post-fire road treatment information to assist BAER specialists in making road rehabilitation decisions. We developed a questionnaire; conducted 30 interviews of BAER team engineers and hydrologists; acquired and analyzed gray literature and other relevant publications; and reviewed road rehabilitation procedures and analysis tools. Post-fire road treatments are implemented if the values at risk warrant the treatment and based on regional characteristics, including the timing of first damaging storm and window of implementation. Post-fire peak flow estimation is important when selecting road treatments. Interview results indicate that USGS methods are used for larger watersheds (>5 mi2) and NRCS …

Creating Stand-Level Prescriptions That Integrate Ecological And Fuel Management Objectives Across The Eastern Cascades – A Workshop, John F. Lehmkuhl, Sue Livingston, Karl Halupka, Eric Knapp, John Bailey, Bill Gaines

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The primary goal of this workshop was to develop a range of fuel reduction prescriptions that integrate fuel and ecological objectives specifically related to northern spotted owl (NSO) conservation in dry forests of the Cascade Range in eastern Washington and Oregon and northern California. The workshop was held at the Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, Oregon, from October 13-15, 2009. Over 200 managers and scientists attended from California, Oregon, and Washington. Most (82%) of the 194 people who formally registered for the workshop worked for federal land management, research, or regulatory agencies. The rest were a mix of university faculty and …

Characterizing Lessons Learned From Federal Biomass Removal Projects, Dennia R. Becker, Dalia Abbas, Kathleen E. Halvorsen, Pamela J. Jakes, Sarah M. Mccaffrey, Cassandra Moseley

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The idea of offsetting the costs of wildfire hazardous fuels reduction treatments by selling the biomass removed is appealing. There are however challenges to biomass utilization that impedes progress. For instance, the lack of biomass processing capacity may impede progress in some regions, while in other regions an inconsistent supply of biomass available for wood products markets limits private investment. Despite efforts to increase biomass utilization, uncertainty exists of regarding the characteristics necessary to stimulate biomass utilization, effectiveness of agency and local efforts, and the role of partnerships in building the types of capacity necessary to expedite biomass removal. The …

Delivery And Demonstration Of Surface Wind Simulation Tool For Fire Management Decision Support, Mark Finney, Larry Bradshaw, Bret Butler

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

One major source of uncertainty in fire behavior predictions is the spatial variation in winds blowing over mountainous terrain. Fire managers have not had access to “real time” predictions of surface wind flow. With the generous support of the JFSP and additional funding from several USDA Forest Service sources a wind simulation tool has been developed and tested. This project had three primary objectives: 1. Support wildland fire incident management teams with surface wind flow simulations. 2. Validate, improve and document the utility of gridded wind as a fire management decision support tool. 3. Produce technical documentation, including a user’s …

Development And Delivery Of Version 2 Of The Fire And Fuels Extension To The Forest Vegetation Simulator, Nicholas Crookston, Stephanie Rebain, Elizabeth Reinhardt, Gary Dixon

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project provided for an improved version of the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS), a program whose original development was largely financed by the JFSP. The program is widely used by JFSP member agencies and several JFSP-sponsored research projects to support analysis at the stand to large landscape spatial scales. New research results rendered version 1 obsolete and experience with the model demonstrated that some parts of it needed to be improved. Equally important are issues regarding support, training, and system usability. We conducted 42 on-site training sessions over the last 4 years and also …

Does Prescribed Burning In Southern Forests Release Significant Amounts Of Mercury To The Atmosphere?, Thomas A. Waldrop, Mac A. Callahn, John A. Stanturf

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Mercury (Hg) emissions from prescribed fire present a potential impact on air quality that could motivate regulators to further restrict prescribed burning. Atmospheric deposition of Hg (originating from industrial sources) to forests is well documented, and the prescribed burning of two to four million acres per year in the South recycles an unknown (but potentially significant) amount of Hg into the atmosphere and surface waters by volatilization and post-fire runoff. This and other environmental concerns present a significant challenge to local land managers who use prescribed fire. Our objectives were (1) to estimate local and South-wide emission of Hg due …

Effect Of Mechanical Mastication Followed By Prescribed Fire On Mycorrhizas And Hypogeous Fungi In Mixed Hardwood Chaparral, Darlene Southworth, Jennifer Gibson, Jessica Donohue, Jonathan Frank, Kate Wagner, Jason Lambert, Acacia Baldner

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mechanical mastication followed by prescribed fire on mycorrhizal fungi and hypogeous sporocarps. A dense fire-prone mixed hardwood-conifer chaparral comprises a significant component of vegetation at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Prescribed burns, as fuel reduction treatments, are limited by air quality restrictions and narrow climatic conditions appropriate for burnings. Brush mastication is a fast and inexpensive tool commonly used by land managers to reduce ladder fuels. However, a dense layer of chipped debris remains, which, when burned, heats the soil more than ladder fuels. The upper layers of mineral soil …