Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Evaluation Of Gamebird Use And Thermal Characteristics Of Alfalfa And Perennial Grasses In Eastern South Dakota, Neal P. Martorelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The northern Great Plains provide critical breeding habitat for waterfowl and gamebirds in the United States. Peak commodity prices in the late 2000s resulted in increased agricultural production and large-scale conversions of grassland habitat to monoculture row crops. However, recent declines in commodity prices have created a renewed interest for private landowners to diversify crops and enroll in government subsidized conservation programs that convert idle grassland and unproductive cropland to wildlife friendly perennial grassland plantings. Exploring alternative grassland restoration techniques can improve the efficiency of management practices to benefit future wildlife habitat and productivity on both public and private lands. …

Measuring Aquatic Organism Responses To Grassland Restoration: Does The Field Of Dreams Really Exist?, David A. Schumann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Landscape homogenization and the degradation of riparian areas has greatly impaired stream ecosystems throughout North America. Conservation programs may repair riparian ecosystems to indirectly improve water quality and instream habitat heterogeneity in hopes to elicit biological responses. However, focused manipulations on isolated stream fragments have rarely achieved biological goals. Prairie streams with restored riparian areas were appraised (chemical, physical, and biological variables) to quantify the indirect effects of prevalent grassland conservation practices on aquatic resources. Riparian rehabilitation, via passive methods, promoted bank-stabilizing vegetation along all conservation stream reaches. Riparian vegetation and function quickly recovered from previous agricultural disturbances at conservation …

Assessment Of Watershed Condition And Vulnerability To Forecasted Land-Use/Land-Cover Change In The Northwestern Great Plains Of Western South Dakota, Aaron Suehring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A projected increase in global population by mid-century will likely further intensify agricultural practices given future demand for food, increasing the strain on the nation’s aquatic resources. Extensive water quality monitoring will be important in agriculturally dominated regions. The main objectives of this effort were to develop an approach to assess watershed condition and watershed vulnerability to land-use/landcover (LULC) change under multiple scenarios of future development. We used U.S. EPA’s Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessment (ATtILA) to analyze landscape spatial data to determine the condition of wadeable, perennial stream watersheds in the Northwestern Great Plains level III ecoregion of …

An Integrated Evaluation Of The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program In South Dakota, Jarrett D. Pfrimmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grassland restoration efforts in North America typically share the goal of improving ecological conditions for wildlife; however, it is unclear in many cases if goals are met. The South Dakota Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was initiated to alleviate agriculturally-related environmental degradation by converting 40,469 hectares of eligible cropland and marginal pastureland to perennial vegetation. The program aims to provide habitat for obligate grassland breeding songbirds, while producing an additional 285,000 pheasants and 60,000 ducks annually. As part of a collaborative comprehensive evaluation effort, my research assessed the response of grassland-dependent breeding birds to CREP implementation at varying spatial scales …

Longevity Of Ponderosa Pine Fuel Reduction Treatments: A Legacy Of Research At Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest In Western Montana, Katelynn J. Bowen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In ponderosa pine ecosystems of the interior western United States, fuels reduction treatments are common, but the persistence of their effectiveness in mitigating fire behavior is poorly understood. We addressed this problem by analyzing ponderosa pine – Douglas-fir stands during more than two decades of response following fuel reduction treatments. An experiment at the Lick Creek Demonstration/Research Forest in western Montana was initiated in 1991 as a partnership between the USDA Forest Service and the University of Montana to evaluate tradeoffs among alternative cutting and burning strategies to reduce fuels and forest fire behavior while restoring historical stand structures and …

Mountain Lion (Puma Concolor) Population Characteristics And Resource Selection In The North Dakota Badlands, Randy D. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have significant ecological impacts on the ecosystems they inhabit, leading to both biological and social ramifications. Yet, due to the relatively recent natural recolonization by mountain lions of the Little Missouri Badlands Region of western North Dakota, detailed data regarding many aspects of this population have been lacking. Therefore, we studied mountain lions occupying the Badlands Region to improve our understanding of mountain lion population ecology, resource selection, and occurrence in North Dakota. Our objectives were to: 1) improve the accuracy of home range size, subadult movement, and survival estimates of mountain lions in …

A Statewide Assessment Of Drivers Influencing Biotic Integrity In Perennial, Wadeable Prairie Streams Of South Dakota, Lyntausha Kuehl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biological assessments are used to evaluate the biotic integrity of a system. Great Plains prairie streams are harsh environments due to variable climate, topography, vegetation, and human development. This presents a challenge to water resource managers who must detect impairment and determine causation. The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop a macroinvertebrate Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) for the Northwestern Great Plains (NWGP) and compare it to an existing Northern Glaciated Plains (NGP) IBI, and 2) to identify and evaluate statewide abiotic drivers of biotic integrity. The IBIs were hypothesized to differ regionally, as were abiotic drivers explaining …

Biotic Integrity In The Northwestern Great Plains And Mechanisms Regulating Stream Condition In South Dakota, Chad Kaiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic disturbance of streams can alter biotic integrity in various ways. Some degradation is easy to classify and monitor, others such as habitat impairment may be less easy to quantify. The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) is a unique method of assessing the aquatic health of an ecosystem. Beginning in 2010 the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (SD DENR) began implementing biological monitoring on wadeable streams by developing an IBI for the Northern Glaciated Plains ecoregion in eastern SD (Krause et al. 2013). Prior to this survey the condition of the majority of SD’s streams was unknown. …

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 …

Coral Gardening: Issues And Challenges, Michelle Z. Reyes, Darwin J. C. Raymundo, Sameen J. Rizwan, Wilfredo Y. Licuanan

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Coral gardening is the process of restoring cover of a damaged reef by affixing live coral fragments. This method of reef rehabilitation has been gaining popularity in the Philippines, and while it has its applications, it should be the last option for bringing a reef back to a healthy state. Proper management of reef resources through marine protected areas, removal of stressors, and easing of fishing pressure provides a broader and more holistic approach while allowing the reef to recover by itself. If coral gardening is the only viable option available for rehabilitating a certain reef, careful consideration must be …

Land Trust Response To Renewable Energy Siting Challenges In New York, Collin David Adkins

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Energy policies promoting energy independence, grid modernization, climate change mitigation, and clean energy standards are a leading driver of land-use change in the United States. This has resulted in an increased pressure to develop land. The recent focus by states to expand renewable energy poses an interesting challenge to organizations dedicated to conserving open space and natural resources, creating a potential tension between competing “green” goals. In response, The Land Trust Alliance, a national organization supporting over 1,100 member land trusts, has recently set a goal to “empower land trusts to encourage the buildout of renewable energy facilities while steering …

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 …

Assessing Riparian Ecosystem Condition And Monitoring Recovery From Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Rachel Powers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian ecosystems are the transition zones between river systems and uplands. They provide many valuable ecological functions including creating habitat for wildlife, stabilizing banks from erosion and providing a buffer that prevents excess nutrients from entering streams. Fires and other disturbances alter the function of these ecosystems. Currently, there is a lack of broadly used standardized assessments and monitoring methods in riparian areas within our current water policy framework. This study aims to examine this gap in riparian ecosystem protection by reviewing the assessment methods currently in use, selecting one method for field testing, and analyzing the effort involved in …

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 …

Dam Removal In The Usa: Effects On River Water Quality, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Dam removal decisions should ideally be made after a thorough cost-benefit analysis. If dam obsolescence, structural safety, harm to fisheries, maintenance costs, and reservoir eutrophication are among the primary concerns, decommissioning would likely be favored. On the other hand, dams provide considerable benefits including water storage for agricultural and urban consumption, renewable electricity generation, support of navigational canal systems, flood control, and lakes for recreation. Because of these competing factors and interests, dam removal decision-making in the United States is often a slow process fraught with controversy, as in the case of the Klamath River.

Dams provided mechanical water power …

Monitoring Reduction Efforts For Pm2.5 In Ellensburg,Wa Using Community-Based Social Marketing To Examine Behavioral Change, Kelsey Gibbs

All Master's Theses

In 2011, Ellensburg, Washington was labeled by the Washington Department of Ecology as being vulnerable for violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate pollution (PM_2.5­). In the Kittitas Basin, winter-time frequent air inversions and stagnant air events trap pollution near the ground, elevating pollutant concentrations during winter months. Wood smoke from household burning has been identified by mobile PM_2.5 monitoring completed in 2015 as the primary source of PM­_2.5. This research utilizes community-based social marketing techniques to encourage behavioral change for wood burning in a targeted neighborhood in Ellensburg. Residents of the target neighborhood …

River Report. State Of The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, Contaminants, 2017, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Radha Pyati, Anthony Ouellette, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, An-Phong Le, Brian P. Zoellner, Peter Bacopoulos

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Justice And Equity In Carbon Offset Governance: Debates And Dilemmas, Mary Finley-Brook

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Trade-offs complicate development interventions so that benefits for one group or area often imply costs for another; large-scale projects deemed highly efficient in economic terms may generate harmful environmental or social externalities. This chapter explores issues of justice in carbon trading in terms of decision-making power and the subsequent distribution of positive and negative impacts. It explores whether offset governance can help resolve widespread problems, such as racial or income inequality and environmental injustice.

The Water-Electricity Nexus In California: Drought-Induced Risk To Thermal Electricity Generation, Timothy S. Hyles

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Investigating the possibility that drought might limit the water supply needed for thermal electricity generation in California, power plant water consumption data was compared to urban and agricultural consumptive demands to identify areas where power plants might contribute to regional water stress. To identify areas where power plants might be impacted by water stress, regional power plant, urban, and agricultural water demands were also compared to the available water supply. A list of power plants that would contribute most to regional water scarcity (individually and in aggregate) was highlighted, based on the plant’s water consumption volume, water-intensity, and water source. …

A Population Model For Coho Salmon (Onchorhynchus Kisutch) In Freshwater Creek: Evaluating The Effects Of Life History Variation And Habitat Restoration, Gabriel Scheer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Historic land use practices and associated habitat degradation have led to significant declines in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch ) populations across their range. In California they are a state and federally listed species, requiring population monitoring and management plans tailored towards recovery. Traditionally, juvenile coho salmon in California were thought to spend approximately one year in their natal freshwater habitats before migrating to sea the following spring and summer as smolts. However, recent work has documented considerable variation in juvenile life history and migration timing. Specifically, juveniles that migrate downstream prior to one year of age and spend their …

Wringing Wonder From The Arid Landscape Of Law, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Charles Wilkinson’s estimable contribution to public land law scholarship is widely cited but only partly understood. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s he upended the field by elevating the diffuse public interest, displacing creation and adjudication of private property interests as the field’s focus. However, his subsequent scholarship grappled with an even more important challenge that has been far less noted. Beginning in the late 1980s, Wilkinson explored how legal institutions should determine the pluralistic, public interest. In trailblazing articles and books, he rose to the challenge with site-specific details, compelling narratives, and aspirational themes. This work undermined the dominance …

Information Technology Approaches To Forest Management, Mary Snow, Richard Snow

Publications

The majority of the world’s forests occur where there is a dry season long enough to affect a seasonal change in the forest community. The seasonal forest may include evergreen, semi-deciduous, deciduous trees, or some combination of these. Local differences in soil or other site characteristics often determine which community persists. Since the seasonal forests exist where there is seasonal precipitation, the character of the forest is closely associated with the length of the rainy season. As the length of the rainy season decreases, the density of the canopy decreases. If the global climate system warms and prolonged drought gives …

Comparing Changes In Fuel Loading, Tree Regeneration, And Forest Structure In Once- And Twice-Burned Mixed-Conifer Forests With A Before-After-Control-Impact Case Study In The Bob Marshall Wilderness, Wyatt W. Trull

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Wildfires drive landscape character in the seasonally dry mixed-conifer forests of western North America. Forested landscapes in this region are a mosaic of overlapping burn perimeters, which span a wide gradient of severity and burn age. The goal of this study was to compare the effects of single and repeat wildfires on fuel loading and forest structure and composition. Our study site spans the east and west sides of the South Fork of Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The east side of the river burned in 2000 in the Helen Creek Fire. The west side of the river …

Department Of Natural Resource Management Newsletter, Department Of Natural Resource Management

NRM Newsletter

Public-Private Partnership Trains Award-Winning Students [p] 1
New Wetland Restoration Highlights Annual Research Retreat [p] 2
Wetlands Inventory Project Returns [p] 2
Dr. Phillip Fay, USDAARS, Temple, TX visit [p] 2
SDSU researchers examine how land use changes affect lakes and streams [p] 3
Completed PhD and MS Projects:
Growth Potential of Age-0 Pallid Sturgeon in the Missouri River: Insight From an Individual Based Model [p] 3
Evaluating Relationships Among Wetland Quality, Land Use, and Waterbirds in the Prairie Pothole Region [p] 4
Development and Application of a Larval Pallid Sturgeon Energetics Model [p] 5
An Assessment of Direct Mortality …

Short-Term Effects Of Nutrients On A Barrier Island Grassland Community, Ashley Moulton

Theses and Dissertations

Increased nutrient availability globally has the potential to affect community functional composition of plants in nutrient limited environments, such as coastal grassland systems. Stability of these systems are threatened worldwide by urbanization, as well as effects of sea level rise and increased frequency and intensity of storms, and atmospheric N deposition, associated with climate change. Annual net primary productivity (ANPP), species composition, and functional traits (community weighted specific leaf area (CWSLA), leaf area index (LAI), growth form and photosynthetic pathway) were measured across four treatments to assess multiple resource limitation of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and functional community response …

Antibiotics And Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria In Coastal Plain Streams, Jason Duff

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Streams across the United States and globally are influenced by environmental contamination, including antibiotics, which enter streams due to widespread use and multiple pathways into the environment. Antibiotics are also likely to enter streams in mixture with other contaminants that alter the effects on aquatic organisms. Furthermore, antibiotic-resistant bacteria enter streams through similar pathways as antibiotics with implications for natural microbial communities. Therefore, understanding the presence and effects of antibiotic-contaminant mixtures and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in streams is important for resource management.

Chapter one describes an experiment that tested the hypothesis that the antibiotic tetracycline (TC) alone influences phytoplankton communities differently …

Sedimentation And Erosion Patterns Within Anabranching Channels In A Lowland River Restoration Project, Ivan Medel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Phase 2A of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project (SRERP) was implemented to increase transport efficiency of water and sediment through a low gradient river reach to alleviate flooding on adjacent properties. The SRERP utilizes a unique anabranching channel design that concentrates base flows within a single deep, narrow channel overflowing onto an alternating series of higher elevation active benches at flood stages. This paper investigated the performance of the project’s hydraulic conveyance and general utility of anabranching channels as a restoration alternative by assessing the distribution and magnitude of deposition and erosion response patterns.

Aggradation was not observed within …

The Future Of Blackbird Management Research, Page E. Klug

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Human society values birds for their intrinsic and aesthetic value as well as the ecosystem services they provide as pollinators, consumers of pests, and distributors of nutrients and seeds (Wenny et al. 2011). At the same time, conflict between birds and humans is an age-old phenomenon that has persisted as society has transformed and the scale of agriculture has expanded (Conover 2002). Managing conflict between birds and agriculture is challenging for many reasons. Foremost, the need to consider both human welfare and conservation of protected bird species is paramount, with nonlethal management methods preferred to lethal measures from societal, economical, …

Research And Resources, Center For Sea Level Rise, Old Dominion University

Hampton Roads Intergovernmental Pilot Project: Reports

Bibliography of Research and Resources from the Center for Sea Level Rise web site. Reformatted from the web site, March, 2017.