Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Nebraska Public Water Supply Program Summary Report 2017

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program under the authority of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Under the SDWA and the 1986 Amendments, EPA sets national limits on contaminant levels in drinking water to ensure that the water is safe for human consumption. These limits are known as Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and Maximum Residual Disinfectant Levels (MRDLs). For some regulations, EPA establishes treatment techniques in lieu of an MCL to control unacceptable levels of contaminants in water.

2017 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Assessing Responses Of Betula Papyrifera (Paper Birch) To Climate Variability In A Remnant Population Along The Niobrara River In Nebraska Through Dendroecological And Remote Sensing Techniques, Evan Bumann

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

Remnant populations of the boreal species Betula papyrifera, found along north-facing canyons and river banks of the Niobrara River Valley in north-central Nebraska, represent one of the southernmost distributions of the species in North America. Although, the species has persisted in the Great Plains after the Wisconsin Glaciation due to the local topography and microclimatic conditions, canopy dieback has been reported in recent years, which is believed to be attributed to temperature change. Therefore, the goals of this research are to: 1) use dendroecological techniques, or the study of tree rings to assess the responses B. papyrifera to intra- and …

Ecophysiological Responses Of Native Invasive Woody Juniperus Virginiana L. To Resource Availability And Stand Characteristics In The Semiarid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Joseph Msanne, Tala Awada, N. M. Bryan, Walter H. Schacht, Rhae A. Drijber, Y. Li, X. Zhou, Jane A. Okalebo, David A. Wedin, James R. Brandle, J. Hiller

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Vegetation in grasslands is changing at an unprecedented rate. In the Nebraska Sandhills, this shift is attributed in part to encroachment of the woody species Juniperus virginiana. We investigated changes in resource availability and their feedback on seasonal trends in photosynthetic characteristics of J. virginiana trees scattered in open grasslands vs. a dense 57-year-old stand. Dense stand exhibited lower volumetric soil water content, NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^–, and δ¹³C, as well as foliage δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and N content, compared to grasslands. Water potential was higher in trees in grasslands …

Spatially Biased Dispersal Of Acorns By A Scatter-Hoarding Corvid May Accelerate Passive Restoration Of Oak Habitat On California’S Largest Island, Mario B. Pesendorfer, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Scatter hoarding by corvids (crows, jays, magpies, and nutcrackers) provides seed dispersal for many large-seeded plants, including oaks and pines. When hoarding seeds, corvids often choose nonrandom locations throughout the landscape, resulting in differential survival of seeds. In the context of habitat restoration, such disproportional storing of seeds in areas suitable for germination and establishment can accelerate expansion and recovery of large-seeded tree populations and their associated ecosystems. Here, we investigate the spatial preferences of island scrub jays Aphelocoma insularis during scatter hoarding of acorns (Quercus spp.) on Santa Cruz Island. We use a large behavioral data set on …

Mesonets: Meso-Scale Weather And Climate Observations For The U.S., Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Droughts Of The Twentieth And Early Twenty First Centuries: Influences On The Production Of Beef And Forage In Kentucky, Usa, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Executive Summary, Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency In U. S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions, Toral Patel-Weynand, Gary Bentrup, Michele M. Schoeneberger

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal production systems, is being deployed to enhance productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship of agricultural operations and lands across the United States. The full assessment at https://doi.org/10.2737/WO-GTR-96 and summarized here provides a science-based synthesis on the use of agroforestry for mitigation and adaptation services in the face of climatic variability and change. It provides technical input to land-use sector issues in the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and serves as a framework for including agroforestry systems in agricultural strategies to improve productivity and food security and to build resilience in …

Resilience In Ecotoxicology: Toward A Multiple Equilibrium Concept, Mirco Bundschuh, Ralf Schulz, Ralf B. Schäfer, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The term resilience describes stress-response patterns across scientific disciplines. In ecology, advances have been made to clearly define resilience based on underlying mechanistic assumptions. Engineering resilience (rebound) is used to describe the ability of organisms to recover from adverse conditions (disturbances), which is termed the rate of recovery. By contrast, the ecological resilience definition considers a systemic change, that is, when ecosystems reorganize into a new regime following disturbance. Under this new regime, structural and functional aspects change considerably relative to the previous regime, without recovery. In this context, resilience is an emergent property of complex systems. In the present …

Assessment Of A Channel Catfish Population In A Large Open River System, A. J. Blank, M. J. Hamel, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Mark A. Pegg

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Estimates of dynamic rate functions for riverine channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), populations are limited. The open nature and inherent difficulty in sampling riverine environments and the propensity for dispersal of channel catfish impede estimation of population variables. However, contemporary population models (i.e. robust design models) can incorporate the open nature of these systems. The purpose of this study was to determine channel catfish population abundance, survival and size structure and to characterize growth in the lower Platte River, Nebraska, USA. Annual survival estimates of adult channel catfish were 13%–49%, and channel catfish abundance estimates ranged from 8,281 to 24,261 …

Recent Land Cover Changes And Sensitivity Of The Model Simulations To Various Land Cover Datasets For China, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Stop Fighting It Nebraska: Clean Energy Is Here To Stay, Nicholas Underwood

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The state of Nebraska and more specifically the Nebraska Public Power District has so far shown a surprising reluctance to incorporate clean or renewable sources of power into its portfolio. The state’s reluctance is exemplified in their support for legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan put forth by the Obama Administration. NPPD in particular has decided to stick with coal as its primary fuel source and has even discouraged the construction of natural gas facilities in the state. The power utilities in this state need to develop a modern, clean energy system to avoid being left behind.

On one …

The Clean Power Plan And How It Will Change History, Abbie Andersen

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

In a country where 30% of the population still believes that man made climate change is a myth, president Obama has made a daring effort to help fix the damage our country has already inflicted on our planet. By creating The Clean Power Plan (CPP) we’ve taken a step in the right direction as a country. The action that we take to limit our emissions within the next 10 years will likely determine the course of the rest of our existence.

In our current situation humanity has no choice other than to act, and act quickly. We have passed the …

Fossil Fuel Subsides Will Keep The Us In The Stone Age, Alexander Stejskal

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Renewable sources will be the future of energy production for the United States. Clean sources of energy like wind and solar have been the topic of conversation for quite some time, and now they’re starting to show their ability to compete economically with fossil fuels.

Even as renewable sources of energy begin to show their gusto, they are still a part of a relatively new industry and new industries always need a little help getting off the ground. There are some forms of aid being provided for renewable sources of energy, like the production tax credit or PTCs, where the …

Solar, Why Not?, Emily Hergenrader

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Imagine yourself standing outside for an hour wearing a black shirt on a 90-degree day. Now touch your shirt. Notice how warm it is? This warming is due to the sun’s energy. According to Daniel Nocera, a member of the Division of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that same heat from one hour of sun exposure is more energy than all of the energy consumed by humans in an entire year.

Energy is one of the hottest topics debated in our world today. Human existence on Earth depends on energy usage and the availability of its consumption. Due …

Why We Should Keep Worrying About The Atomic Bomb, Eric Davis

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

“… the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board have looked closely at the world situation and found it highly threatening to humanity—so threatening that the hands of the Doomsday Clock must once again be set at three minutes to midnight, two minutes closer to catastrophe than in 2014…Meanwhile, as they slow the pace of disarmament, the nuclear weapon states have given other strong indications that they are committed to retaining nuclear weapons for the indefinite future” - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2015). "Three Minutes and Counting".

Nuclear proliferation and climate change pose the …

Independent Energy, Ian Hall

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

In the world of energy, an elite selection of the world’s most influential leaders dictates the development of the world. The correlation between petroleum production and global influence is hard to ignore. The world needs energy to move and those with the energy control the movement. Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US combine to contribute over a third of world oil production. OPEC countries however, dominate the vast energy markets around the world. Well inundated with regional conflict and hostile relations, OPEC countries remain volatile and on top of global energy production.

The energy industry has become extremely productive, fueling …

A Dynamic Power Grid For A Dynamic Age Introducing Les To A Pricing Mechanism That Assesses Demand, And Changes Every Hour, Marvin Christopher Cunningham

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Lets say you knew someone who would buy a whole pizza when they were a little bit hungry, left their sink running when they weren’t using it, maxed out their A/C in their house when they were on vacation, and always kept their stove on just in case they wanted to cook something.

You would probably see this as horribly wasteful, and a terrible drain of money. But every time we pay our power bill, our prices assume we share these wasteful habits. The rate that we pay per kilowatt hour assumes customers are eating the whole pizza, even though …

Les To Increase Fixed Price, Nathan Blazek

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Lincoln Electric System (LES) plans to increase the fixed amount customers pay each month and decrease the rate it charges for each kWh used.

This shift is claimed to be revenue neutral for LES. But for customers, it means they’ll save less money by turning off lights and buying more efficient appliances.

This policy is a sly and deliberate stab at ongoing conservation efforts. The decreased kilowatt pricing will give customers the perception that it is relatively unnecessary to decrease electricity usage if they are already paying a high price to initially have it. This new policy will even further …

Is Nebraska Really “The Good Life”?, Sarah Porath

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

For anyone who has ever lived in Nebraska, you know the state is filled with people who resist change. Nebraska is “The Good Life.” Any adjustments or modifications that could disrupt the lifestyle are not welcomed. The people who are elected into office clearly reflect this type of mindset.

It is time for Nebraska to get outside of their comfort zone. We need to move from the good life to the great, healthy, and progressive life by developing a state-wide Energy Efficiency Resource Standard or Goal.

20 states have Mandated Statewide Energy Efficiency Resource Standards and 8 states have Goals …

Fracking Chill, Nick Nardone

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Hydraulic Fracturing or commonly known as fracking has caused a big boom in the oil and gas industry making it easier for us to extract oil and gas from the ground, but has serious side effects that as they cause harm to us and our environment. We should slow or stop fracking at once if we want a clean and healthy environment to live in.

Fracking has become widely popular in the last decade and has brought us benefits on the oil and gas side and with little lack of information and support it has been difficult to put restrictions …

The Great Plains: America’S Carbon Vault, William Davidson

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

As a nation we are starting a race against climate change, a competitor who has had a very long head start and only plans on picking up the pace. The Clean Power Plan has laid a blueprint to lower carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants nationwide, a crucial step in recovering from decades of pollution. Meeting these goals will take years and greenhouse gasses will continue to accumulate throughout the process. Efforts beyond the scope of this plan must also be made in order to prevent emissions from sources not specifically addressed, namely sources of carbon that cannot …

Calculating The Methan-Matics Of Our Future, Victoria Salinas

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

In the first two decades after its release, methane, a green house gas, is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Historically, atmospheric concentrations of methane remained fairly stable at around 750 ppb, significantly less than today’s levels of 1,800 ppb. Unfortunately, agricultural activity accounts for about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gas emissions, while the current production of ruminants contributes nearly 80% of these emissions due to their large populations, body size and appetites, and the anaerobic microbial fermentation that occurs during digestion. Because of methane’s severe impact on the climate, methane emissions, specifically due to the production of …

Willingness To Pay Today For A Cleaner Tomorrow, Yukihira Naoe

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

To a ten year old boy on a tedious trip across the country side, few views are more fascinating than a wind farm. Massive turbines spin slowly as if to emphasize their preposterous size and magnificence. In an era where increasing global attention is brought to climate change, renewable energy is carving its way into the minds of billions. This once free roadside attraction is now something that in the near future, we must pay and patronize, and this is where my literature begins, how willing are we to pay for renewable energy? Are you willing to pay to give …

Terrestrial Ecosystem Process Model Biome-Bgcmuso V4.0: Summary Of Improvements And New Modeling Possibilities, Dóra Hidy, Zoltán Barcza, Hrvoje Marjanovi´C, Maša Zorana Ostrogovi´C Sever, Laura Dobor, Györgyi Gelybó, Nándor Fodor, Krisztina Pintér, Galina Churkina, Steven Running, Peter Thornton, Gianni Bellocchi, László Haszpra, Ferenc Horváth, Andrew E. Suyker, Zoltán Nagy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The process-based biogeochemical model Biome- BGC was enhanced to improve its ability to simulate carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles of various terrestrial ecosystems under contrasting management activities. Biome-BGC version 4.1.1 was used as a base model. Improvements included addition of new modules such as the multilayer soil module, implementation of processes related to soil moisture and nitrogen balance, soil-moisture-related plant senescence, and phenological development. Vegetation management modules with annually varying options were also implemented to simulate management practices of grasslands (mowing, grazing), croplands (ploughing, fertilizer application, planting, harvesting), and forests (thinning). New carbon and nitrogen pools have been defined to …

Review Of Booming From The Mists Of Nowhere: The Story Of The Greater Prairie-Chicken By Greg Hoch, Ross H. Hier

The Prairie Naturalist

The Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) is an iconic species inhabiting one of the most iconic and rarest habitats in the world—the tallgrass prairies of central North America. To tell the story of the Greater Prairie-Chicken is a monumental task. Its history is intricately woven into pre- and post-European settlement of the North American prairies in such a way that knowledge of the species is spread over several centuries. Thus, researching the “old and the new” regarding the Greater Prairie-Chicken requires a substantial literature review, much of which occurs in publications from the 1800s. Hoch has done a …

Finding The Best Remaining Black Hills Montane Grasslands, The First Step In Conservation, Hollis Marriott, Don Faber-Langendoen, David J. Ode

The Prairie Naturalist

Black Hills Montane Grassland is a rare and endangered plant community endemic to the Black Hills of western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. It is restricted to higher elevations on the Limestone Plateau in the western part of the uplift. Early visitors to the Black Hills wrote glowing reports of flower-filled grasslands on the Limestone Plateau. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his soldiers reveled in lush grass, and decorated the headgear of their horses with flowers (Custer 1875). Expedition botanist A. B. Donaldson “estimated the number of flowers in bloom in Floral Valley at 50, while an equal number …

Changes In The Prairie Naturalist For 2017: Some Bumps In The Road During Transition, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

By now it is obvious to most of our members and authors that The Prairie Naturalist (TPN) has experienced some delays in conducting journal-related business over the past few months. Publication of the June 2016 issue was slightly delayed and the December 2016 was mailed much later than planned. So I wanted to update our members on the current status, and other aspects, of TPN. As most of you know, when I transitioned into the Editorship of TPN, one of my first orders of business was to secure a new publication venue for the journal. Fortunately, the Department …

Reproductive Characteristics Of Landlocked Fall Chinook Salmon From Lake Oahe, South Dakota, Kelsen L. Young, Michael E. Barnes, Jeremy L. Kientz

The Prairie Naturalist

Lake Oahe, South Dakota, USA, landlocked fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reproductive characteristics were examined over a 27 year period, from 1988 to 2015. Mean total lengths of spawning females ranged from 665 mm (1995) to 812 mm (2015) with considerable year-to-year variation. Post-spawn female weights varied, ranging from 2.02 kg (2000) to 5.55 kg (2015), with an overall mean of 3.04 kg. Fecundity peaked at 4,555 eggs per female in 2003, which was just 3 years after a low of 2,011 eggs per female in 2000. Relative fecundity based on female weight was greatest at 1,211 eggs/kg …

Assessment Of Smallmouth Bass Growth And Mortality In Nebraska Waters, Benjamin J. Schall, Keith D. Koupal, Casey W. Schoenebeck, Keith L. Hurley

The Prairie Naturalist

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) have been introduced across Nebraska into a variety of waterbodies. However, an estimate of smallmouth bass growth and mortality in Nebraska waters has not been produced. The objectives of this study were to use historic sampling data to describe the growth of smallmouth bass in Nebraska lakes in relation to other regional models, growth among waterbody types (reservoirs, Interstate 80 [I-80] lakes, and rivers), estimates of age at quality, preferred, and memorable lengths, and mortality for Nebraska smallmouth bass populations. Mean length ± SE of Nebraska smallmouth bass at age 7 was 383 ± …