Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Environmental Studies

2023

WWU Graduate School Collection

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Motivations For And Barriers To Forest Certification Of Washington State Trust Lands, Tracy Petroske Jan 2023

Motivations For And Barriers To Forest Certification Of Washington State Trust Lands, Tracy Petroske

WWU Graduate School Collection

Forest management certification is a system to assess whether forests are grown in a manner that complies to a pre-determined set of requirements. Certification programs (called “Standards”) are designed to indicate that compliance to those conditions demonstrate the forest is managed in a way that is environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially beneficial. In the United States, there are two recognized forest certification programs: the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®). The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) certifies 100% of their forested trust lands to the SFI Standard. …

Go to article

Seeing Environmental Injustice Through Moss-Colored Glasses: Neighborhood Monitoring Of Toxic Metal Air Pollution Disparities With Orthotrichum Lyellii, Allison Hayes Jan 2023

Seeing Environmental Injustice Through Moss-Colored Glasses: Neighborhood Monitoring Of Toxic Metal Air Pollution Disparities With Orthotrichum Lyellii, Allison Hayes

WWU Graduate School Collection

Toxic air pollution in the United States has been regulated through the Clean Air Act (CAA) since the 1970’s. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that the CAA’s air pollution management system has several blind spots. The CAA’s inability to identify and remedy pollution hot spots across the country. These hot spots are areas where air pollution exists but are often entirely overlooked because of the extreme hyperlocal scale and the current methods for identifying areas of concern outlined in the CAA for the Environmental Protection Agency. Researchers find that these hot spots are more prevalent in minority and …

Go to article

Who’S Nature? Ontological Narrative Dissonance Among Skagit River Fishery Coalitions, Jann Eberharter Jan 2023

Who’S Nature? Ontological Narrative Dissonance Among Skagit River Fishery Coalitions, Jann Eberharter

WWU Graduate School Collection

My research investigates narratives within fisheries management for Washington state’s Skagit River, focusing on ecological restoration and diminishing salmon runs. I ask, how might differing narratives affect progress and reflect the ontological orientations of the fishery’s co-stewards? Asked with a twist, Who is Nature? (abbreviated Who’s Nature?), I aim to critique the classic Euro-American paradigm of nature and examine the connections between us, the who, and natural world? I hope my research illuminates these important questions. I selected three entities with varying Euro-American and Indigenous affiliations—the Skagit Watershed Council (SWC), Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC), and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission …

Go to article

Dendrohydrological Reconstruction Of North Fork Nooksack River August Streamflow From Subannual Mountain Hemlock Ring-Widths, Cascade Mountains, Washington State, Hannah Lagassey Jan 2023

Dendrohydrological Reconstruction Of North Fork Nooksack River August Streamflow From Subannual Mountain Hemlock Ring-Widths, Cascade Mountains, Washington State, Hannah Lagassey

WWU Graduate School Collection

Climate warming is driving changes to snowpack and streamflows in snow and ice-driven systems throughout the world. To better understand present and future conditions, we need to examine conditions prior to the onset of climate warming. Tree ring records are used widely to reconstruct pre-instrumental climate and hydrological records. Some locations are more conducive to this methodology than others, however, and moisture-rich environments such as the west slopes of the Cascade mountains continue to present challenges to effective hydrological record reconstruction. Previous researchers working in this environment have employed several techniques in response to this problem, which require integrated dendrochronological …

Go to article

Against The Grain: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of The Effects Of Climatic And Cultural Changes On Grain Agriculture In Northwest Washington, Natalie Furness Jan 2023

Against The Grain: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of The Effects Of Climatic And Cultural Changes On Grain Agriculture In Northwest Washington, Natalie Furness

WWU Graduate School Collection

Local food movements are growing in popularity across the United States. Communities are interested in gaining more control over their food choices and food sources. Northwest Washington is one area where multiple communities are concerned with their food choices. Over the last 10 years, communities have invested increasing amounts of resources and energy in growing grains in San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties rather than importing all their grain from Eastern Washington. This study examines how grain agriculture has changed both climatically and culturally in Northwest Washington since the late 19th century. To address this knowledge gap, climatic factors, …

Go to article

Was The Grass Always Greener? Mapping The Historical Extent Of Grassland Ecosystems In The San Juan Islands, Kailey Schillinger-Brokaw Jan 2023

Was The Grass Always Greener? Mapping The Historical Extent Of Grassland Ecosystems In The San Juan Islands, Kailey Schillinger-Brokaw

WWU Graduate School Collection

The San Juan Islands, an archipelago in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the Washington coast, are one of the few places native temperate grasslands are found in western Washington State. These ecosystems are important sources of biodiversity and support many rare and endemic species. In addition to their ecological importance, native temperate grasslands have profound cultural significance to the Coast Salish peoples who historically stewarded these landscapes using traditional land management practices-particularly fire-for the production of bulb crops such as common camas (Camassia quamash). Unfortunately, these ecologically and culturally valuable ecosystems have become rare, greatly impacted by the …

Go to article

Investigating Perennial & Annual Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) In Padilla Bay As Potential Donor Sources For Seed-Based Restoration, Yuki Wilmerding Jan 2023

Investigating Perennial & Annual Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) In Padilla Bay As Potential Donor Sources For Seed-Based Restoration, Yuki Wilmerding

WWU Graduate School Collection

This paper explores recovery of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) meadows through seed-based restoration to address declines from natural and anthropogenic disturbances. The study focuses on the Joe Leary meadow site in Padilla Bay, Washington, aiming to (1) determine the spatial distribution of perennial and annual Z. marina, (2) understand variation in flowering shoot density and potential seed production, and (3) compare the phenology of flowering shoots. These objectives were investigated using field-based methods to collect presence/absence transect data for delineation, quadrat-based count data, and monitor seed development. Data collection occurred in the summer throughout the flowering life stage …

Go to article

Social Justice Through Beach Access And Community-Based Placemaking In Puna, Hawai'i, Yumi-Shika Shridhar Jan 2023

Social Justice Through Beach Access And Community-Based Placemaking In Puna, Hawai'i, Yumi-Shika Shridhar

WWU Graduate School Collection

This project investigates how tourist-dependent regions can implement community-based placemaking to create an inclusive outdoor space and experience for both tourists and locals. My area of focus is on Puna District, located on the southeast side of Hawai'i’s Big Island; their community was damaged by a volcanic eruption from Mount Kīlauea in 2018. The county, economic development organizations and community members are working to rebuild the region and infrastructure and reopen parts of the land covered by the lava. The research is conducted through a case study methodology of the Puna District and how the area is revitalizing their region, …

Go to article

Adoption Of Agroforestry Practices In Northwest Washington State: An Ex-Ante Case-Study, Ava Stone Jan 2023

Adoption Of Agroforestry Practices In Northwest Washington State: An Ex-Ante Case-Study, Ava Stone

WWU Graduate School Collection

Agroforestry (AF) practices mitigate climate change, provide ecosystem services, benefit communities, and create long-term economic opportunities for farmers and land managers worldwide. Despite these well-documented benefits, however, the adoption of agroforestry practices remains low. This study aimed to understand the barriers and incentives to adoption by applying the stated choice method to a case study of direct-to-market farmers in the four counties of northwest Washington State: Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island. Our results indicate that the scale of initial implementation and the upfront costs of seedlings had the largest relative impact on respondent decision making. Similarly, one early adopter …

Go to article

Weaving Fragmented Lands Together: Perspectives On A National Framework For Landscape Conservation, Jaimie Baxter Jan 2023

Weaving Fragmented Lands Together: Perspectives On A National Framework For Landscape Conservation, Jaimie Baxter

WWU Graduate School Collection

Conservation goals that transcend political boundaries and integrate social-ecological systems are foundational to an emerging field of research and practice called landscape conservation. A nationwide example of a landscape conservation strategy is the Biden administration’s “30 by 30” goal and related “America the Beautiful (ATB) initiative.” The national 30 by 30 goal aims to protect 30 percent of the United States’ (U.S.) terrestrial lands, fresh waters, and ocean waters by 2030. To accomplish the objectives outlined in the ATB initiative and 30 by 30 goal, practitioners and scholars put forth recommendations to design a durable and effective national framework for …

Go to article