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Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association, 2012/2013, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Annual Review of the World Pheasant Association, 2012/2013

Chairman of Trustees' Report, Richard carden

Obituary: John Heyworth (August 21, 1925-November 24, 2012)

Activities of Conservation Breeding Advisory Group, 2012/2013, Nigel Hester

Back Grouse Project, Mieke Zwart

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the World Pheasant Association (September 12, 2012: Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)

Treasurer’s Report for the year ended April 30, 2013, Jon Riley

Myanmar Pheasant Survey Programme progress in 2013, Alexander Pack-Blumenau and Karl-Heinz Grabowski

Focus groups, reports

2013 Pipar Pheasant Survey, Laxman Prasad Poudyal

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Stephen K. Wilson, Daniel J. Swanson, Michael Prowatzke, Phil Graeve

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) plays a vital role in protecting and managing some of the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Fire Ecology Program (FireEP) surveyed 12 long-term monitoring plots in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, looked for the presence of exotic species that may be newly invading the park, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance …

Wpa News 92 (2013), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2013), number 92

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Carbon Storage And Sequestration By Trees In Urban And Community Areas Of The United States, David J. Nowak, Eric J. Greenfield, Robert E. Hoehn, Elizabeth Lapoint

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

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m^‒2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m^‒2 of tree …

Evaluating Population Connectivity For Species Of Conservation Concern In The American Great Plains, Samuel A. Cushman, Erin L. Landguth, Curtis H. Flather

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

Habitat loss and fragmentation are widely recognized as among the most important threats to global biodiversity. New analytical approaches are providing an improved ability to predict the effects of landscape change on population connectivity at vast spatial extents. This paper presents an analysis of population connectivity for three species of conservation concern [swift fox (Vulpes velox); lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus); massasuaga (Sistrurus catenatus)] across the American Great Plains region. We used factorial least-cost path and resistant kernel analyses to predict effects of landscape conditions on corridor network connectivity. Our predictions of population connectivity provide …

Sustainable Production Of Swine: Putting Lipstick On A Pig?, Michelle B. Nowlin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Agenda: The Future Of Natural Resources Policy, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Moderator: Dean Phil Weiser, University of Colorado Law School

Panelists:

Jay Jensen, Associate Director for Land & Water Ecosystems, White House Council on Environmental Quality

Scott Miller, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Law …

Background Reading: Department Of Agriculture, 2013 Budget Overview, United States. Forest Service, United States. Department Of Agriculture

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

57 pages.

"Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Overview"

"February 2012"

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) surveyed 8 long-term monitoring plots in Scotts Bluff National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, estimated tree and shrub density, looked for the presence of exotic species that are of concern to park management, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance at all plots. This effort was the second year in a multiple-year venture to document the current …

Valuing Improvements To Coastal Waters Using Choice Experiments: An Application To Revisions Of The Eu Bathing Waters Directive, Stephen Hynes, Dugald Tinch, Nick Hanley

Working Papers

Planned changes to the European Union’s Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7 EC) will force member states to produce improvements in a number of parameters of coastal water quality. This study uses the choice experiment method to estimate the economic benefits attached to such improvements, based on a sample of recreationalists on beaches in Ireland. The analysis indicates that improvements in all of the bathing water related attributes studied result in positive willingness to pay, and also show evidence of scope effects. Using random parameters and latent class modelling techniques, potential heterogeneity in preferences is then investigated and shown to be present …

Ocean Governance: The New Zealand Dimension Full Report, Michael Vincent Mcginnis

Working Papers

The primary goal of this report is to provide interested members of the public and policymakers with a general overview and a description of the types of principles, planning tools, and policy instruments that can be used to strengthen and improve marine governance in New Zealand. As extractive uses (hydrocarbons and minerals, in particular) ramp up and others are explored and brought on line in the marine areas of New Zealand, the need will increase for a more integrative, ecosystem-based approach to marine governance.

This study is based on the following types of analysis:

• a review of the literature …

Superfund Evaluation: The Families Of Tar Creek, Gary D. Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Tar Creek Superfund Site is located in far northeastern Oklahoma near the Oklahoma/Kansas border in Ottawa County. The Site generally consists of a forty-square-mile area which is also part of the larger Tri-State Mining District that includes areas of Kansas and Missouri. The Site includes parts of five communities: Picher, Cardin, Quapaw, North Miami, and Commerce in Oklahoma. It also includes Treece, Kansas, and affects a total population of roughly 30,000 residents. Following Superfund designation, families in the Tar Creek area had to decide whether to accept or reject buy-out offers. This project explored the decision-making processes employed by …

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association, 2011/2012, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Chairman of Trustees' report, Richard Carden

Obituary: Reinhard Kruger (1938?-June 14, 2012)

Treasurer's report for the year ended April 30, 2012, Jon Riley

Achieving our charitable objectives, Philip J. K. McGowan

Galliformes Specialist Group, Peter J. Garson and Ilse Storch

Conserving Djibouti's priority land animals, Philip J.K. McGowan

Assessing the future of species on the brink, Matt Grainger

Myanmar workshop, Philip J. K. McGowan

What is the status of peafowl in Vietnam? Tommaso Savini, Vy Nguyen, and Niti Sukumal

Highlights from the European Conservation Breeding Group, Ludo Pinceel

Pipar project

Implications Of The Forest Charges Law To Rattan-Based Livelihoods Of Indigenous Peoples Of The Philippines, Vince Michael A. Docta, Ramon A. Razal

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

This policy research investigated the question: "What are the implications of Republic Act 7161 (or the Forest Charges Law) as it is interpreted, imposed, and implemented towards sustainable rattan-based livelihoods of indigenous peoples (IP) communities in the Philippines?" An in-depth review and analysis of the Act was undertaken by examining the past policies, relevant administrative orders, and memorandum circulars issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and relevant forerunner agencies. The policy performance of forest charges via-a-vis collection and resource conservation targets and the perceptions of the IP communities towards RA 7161 were assessed. Results provide evidence …

Agenda: A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint For The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute, Western Resource Advocates, Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.)

A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint for the American West (Martz Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The future of the planet may depend upon our ability to increase energy supplies even as we reduce carbon emissions. This conference will address how a low-carbon energy program might evolve with a particular focus on the American West. It will focus on the future of energy in the West--on a “managed transition” to a different energy mix, on the need to nest this effort in a framework that acknowledges interconnections, and on identifying the most salient opportunities to consider the legal, political, financial, and technical challenges.

Investigating The Role Of An Understudied North Atlantic Right Whale Habitat: Right Whale Movement, Ecology, And Distribution In Jeffreys Ledge, Kathryn Longley

Graduate Masters Theses

The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) consistently visits five major habitats throughout the year; however, they are known to visit additional habitats. This project examines the role of Jeffreys Ledge as an additional habitat of importance for this species by investigating three aspects of its distribution and ecology. I first addressed the relationship of Jeffreys Ledge to a known significant right whale feeding ground, Cape Cod Bay, by quantifying the movement of right whales between the two habitats and comparing demographic characteristics of right whales seen in these habitats. Secondly, I measured the quality of the zooplankton …

Cheating Cheatgrass: New Research To Combat A Wily Invasive Weed, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Cheatgrass and its cousin, red brome, are exotic annual grasses that have invaded and altered ecosystem dynamics in more than 41 million acres of desert shrublands between the Rockies and the Cascade-Sierra chain. A fungus naturally associated with these Bromus species has been found lethal to the plants’ soil-banked dormant seeds. Supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), researchers Susan Meyer, Phil Allen, and Julie Beckstead cultured this fungus, Pyrenophora semeniperda, in the laboratory and developed an experimental field application that, in some trials, killed all the dormant soil-banked Bromus seeds, leaving none to germinate the following year. The …

Agenda: A Life Of Contributions For All Time: Symposium In Honor Of David H. Getches, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, University Of Colorado Law Review

A Life of Contributions for All Time: Symposium in Honor of David H. Getches (April 26-27)

On April 26-27, 2012, Colorado Law honored David H. Getches with a symposium to celebrate his life and legacy of trailblazing scholarship. “A Life of Contributions for All Time” featured a keynote address by Distinguished Professor Charles Wilkinson entitled, “Hero for the People, Hero for the Land and Water: Reflections on the Enduring Contributions of David Getches.” Top scholars in the fields of natural resources, water, and American Indian law reflected on Dean Getches’ contributions and their own insights into these fields, including Professor John Leshy, John Echohawk, Professor Carole Goldberg, Professor Joe Sax, Professor Rebecca Tsosie, Justice Greg Hobbs, …

How Does Climate Change Affect Agricultural Stability In Southeast Unguja? An Assessment Of The Threats To Agriculture And Food Security From Rising Temperature And Changes In Predictability And Intensity Of Rainy Seasons., Eloise Reid

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The relationship between climate change, agriculture, and food security on the island of Unguja was studied. Informal interviews were carried out in the south-eastern coastal communities of Bwejuu, Paje, and Jambiani in order to gain perspective and awareness of local knowledge concerning changes in climate and it's affects on crop production. Formal interviews were conducted in Stone Town with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Environment, the Sustainable Management of Land and the Environment office, private climate change experts and environmental consultants, and local NGO's to gain insight on what aspects of climate change are most detrimental in the …

Wpa News 89 (2012), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Spring 2012), number 89

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Bark Beetles And Fire: Two Forces Of Nature Transforming Western Forests, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Bark beetles are chewing a wide swath through forests across North America. Over the past few years, infestations have become epidemic in lodgepole and spruce-fir forests of the Intermountain West. The resulting extensive acreages of dead trees are alarming the public and raising concern about risk of severe fire. Researchers supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) are examining the complicated relationship between bark beetles and wildfire, the two most influential natural disturbance agents in these forests. Are the beetles setting the stage for larger, more severe wildfires? And are fires bringing on beetle epidemics? Contrary to popular opinion, …

Scotts Bluff National Monument, Plant Community Resource Brief, Isabel Ashton, Mike Prowatzke

United States National Park Service: Publications

2011 Monitoring Status

Overview

In 2011, the first year of vegetation monitoring by the Northern Great Plains Network Inventory and Monitoring staff at Scotts Bluff National Monument, efforts resulted in the documentation of 79 plant species. This was the lowest number of species among parks sampled in 2011. Graminoid (grass and grass-like plant) species accounted for only 21 (27%) of the total species, but graminoid cover was much higher than that of any other plant type. Forbs were much more diverse, but did not provide as much foliar cover.

The 5 most abundant native non-graminoids were winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring Protocol For The Northern Great Plains I&M Network - Standard Operating Procedures, Version 1.01, Amy J. Symstad, Robert A. Gitzen, Cody L. Wienk, Michael R. Bynum, Daniel J. Swanson, Andy D. Thorstenson, Kara J. Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Introduction

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Plant community composition and structure monitoring comprises the core of the vegetation monitoring effort for the NGPN, covering the “Riparian Lowland Plant Communities” and “Upland Plant Communities” vital signs (Gitzen et al. 2010). The narrative portion of the plant community protocol can be found in Symstad et al. 2012. The narrative includes the rationale for vegetation monitoring, an overview of sample design, field methods, data management, and program requirements. This document contains the standard operating procedures …

Slides: Natural Gas: Game Changer Or Runner Left On Base? Working To Get It Right In Co!, Gary Graham

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Dr. Gary Graham, Director, Lands Program, Western Resource Advocates

21 slides

Nonlinear Effects Of Group Size On The Success Of Wolves Hunting Elk, Daniel R. Macnulty, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech, John A. Vucetich, Craig Packer

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Despite the popular view that social predators live in groups because group hunting facilitates prey capture, the apparent tendency for hunting success to peak at small group sizes suggests that the formation of large groups is unrelated to prey capture. Few empirical studies, however, have tested for nonlinear relationships between hunting success and group size, and none have demonstrated why success trails off after peaking. Here, we use a unique dataset of observations of individually known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to show that the relationship between success and group …

Changing The Way We Address Change, Richard Straight

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

Covers factors impacting private forest management in the United States, and other related issues.

Assessment Of Windbreak Condition And Indicators To Renovate, Steve Rasmussen

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

A presentation covering assessment of windbreak condition and indicators to renovate.

Working Trees For Communities

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

Today, communities are challenged with accommodating new growth while maintaining the integrity of existing neighbor-hoods. Accommodating health, safety, transportation, quality of life, economics, environmental quality and infrastructure development can often lead to land use conflicts. Compromises are often needed to achieve a workable plan.

Today, community residents, businesses, rural landowners and local leaders must look beyond their own backyards. What is done by one resident or business can affect the community and the watershed. The cumulative effects of many individual actions can have significant impact on the overall landscape.

Working Trees for Communities are proven agroforestry technologies that are being …

Use Of Real-Time Pcr To Detect Canine Parvovirus In Feces Of Free-Ranging Wolves, L. David Mech, Emily S. Almberg, Douglas Smith, Sagar Goyal, Randall S. Singer

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Using real-time PCR, we tested 15 wolf (Canis lupus) feces from the Superior National Forest (SNF), Minnesota, USA, and 191 from Yellowstone National Park (YNP), USA, collected during summer and 13 during winter for canine parvovirus (CPV)-2 DNA. We also tested 20 dog feces for CPV-2 DNA. The PCR assay was 100%sensitive and specific with a minimum detection threshold of 104 50% tissue culture infective dose. Virus was detected in two winter specimens but none of the summer specimens. We suggest applying the technique more broadly especially with winter feces.

Profitable Farms And Woodlands: A Practical Guide In Agroforestry For Landowners, Farmers And Ranchers, J. O. Idassi

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

This handbook is part of an interdisciplinary, interinstitutional and comprehensive effort to develop a practical guide to assist underserved and limited resource small farmers and woodland owners to adopt best management technologies in agroforestry. Funding for this effort was provided through the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) from the US Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under cooperative agreement number 68-7482-7-361 with Tennessee State University, Cooperative Extension Program and the 1890/1862 Agroforestry Team.

This guide was prepared by an agroforestry team of research and extension specialists from the 1862 and 1890 Land Grant Universities in collaboration with …