Environmental Policy Commons^™

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Homestead National Monument Of America, David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Christopher Herron, Jay Benner, Karin Decker, Andrew Beavers, Johannes Beebee, David Weinzimmer

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements historic resource assessments, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions and GIS (map) products.

Congress established the Homestead National …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2019 Data Report, Molly B. Davis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2019 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire). This was the ninth year of combined monitoring efforts.

In 2019, crew members from NGPN visited 6 long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots to collect data on the upland mixed-grass prairie plant communities at AGFO. This work is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better understand the condition of the vegetation community and how it changes over time. NGPN staff …

Interpreting Potential Groundwater Policies Through Modeling Of Market And Non-Market Benefits And Costs, Grant H. West

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current policies leveraging financial incentives and improved irrigation efficiency to mitigate groundwater scarcity have not proven to curtail trends of resource depletion. Groundwater benefits cannot be appropriately valued solely on market forces, and so deeper policy consideration is warranted under a framework that considers the importance of groundwater across all its values to society. Understanding time preferences for groundwater management and preferences for alternative policies is vital to inform efficient policies. Furthermore, climate change remains politically controversial yet has important consequences for critical groundwater resources and their sustainable long-term management. Proliferating policy narratives concerning climate change could influence the way …

Material And Seismic Assessment Of The Great House At Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona, Douglas W. Porter, Anjali Mehrotra, Matthew J. Dejong, Angelyn Bass, Matthew Guebard, John Ochsendorf

United States National Park Service: Publications

The authors characterized earthen wall materials and plasters in a mid-fourteenth-century Hohokam great house at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument (Arizona) and assessed the seismic susceptibility of its puddled earth walls. Characterization included determining the microstructure, microcomposition, porosity, aggregate mineralogy, and identification of phases in the binding matrix for each of 36 samples and reconstructing plaster technologies, including material selection, preparation, and application sequences. Findings support the ideas that earthen materials were manipulated to optimize their performance to suit the unique site conditions and needs of the ancient people using the structure and included finishes that were unusual in southwestern …

Exposure And Potential Effects Of Pesticides And Pharmaceuticals In Protected Streams Of The Us National Park Service Southeast Region, Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Jeffrey R. Duncan, William A. Battaglin, Jimmy M. Clark, Michelle L. Hladik, Bradley J. Huffman, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Celeste A. Journey, Kelly L. Smalling

United States National Park Service: Publications

Globally, protected areas offer refugia for a broad range of taxa including threatened and endangered species. In the United States (US), the National Park Service (NPS) manages public lands to preserve biodiversity, but increasing park visitation and development of surrounding landscapes increase exposure to and effects from bioactive contaminants. The risk (exposure and hazard) to NPS protected-stream ecosystems within the highly urbanized southeast region (SER) from bioactive contaminants was assessed in five systems based on 334 pesticide and pharmaceutical analytes in water and 119 pesticides in sediment. Contaminant mixtures were common across all sampled systems, with approximately 24% of the …

Satellite-Based Decadal Change Assessments Of Pan-Arctic Environments, Liza K. Jenkins, Tom Barry, Karl R. Bosse, William S. Currie, Tom Christensen, Sara Longan, Robert A. Shuchman, Danielle Tanzer, Jason J. Taylor

United States National Park Service: Publications

Remote sensing can advance the work of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program through monitoring of satellite-derived terrestrial and marine physical and ecological variables. Standardized data facilitate an unbiased comparison across variables and environments. Using MODIS standard products of land surface temperature, percent snow-covered area, NDVI, EVI, phenology, burned area, marine chlorophyll, CDOM, sea surface temperature, and marine primary productivity, significant trends were observed in almost all variables between 2000 and 2017. Analysis of seasonal data revealed significant breakpoints in temporal trends. Within the terrestrial environment, data showed significant increasing trends in land surface temperature and NDVI. In the marine environment, …

Vegetation Classification And Mapping, Niobrara National Scenic River, Tom Baldvins, Matt Ley, Joe Stevens, David Jones, Hannah Pilkington

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The vegetation inventory project at Niobrara National Scenic River (NIOB) classified and mapped vegetation within the park administrative boundary and estimated thematic map accuracy quantitatively. The project was conducted over a four year period from the summer of 2015 to the winter of 2019. Located in north-central Nebraska, approximately 76 miles of the park is designated as a wild and scenic river. The vast majority of land within the NIOB administrative boundary is private or state-owned.

The project follows guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. The overall process includes initial planning …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Christopher Herron, Jay Benner, Karin Decker, Andrew Beavers, Johannes Beebee, David Weinzimmer, Rob Schorr

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements historic resource assessments, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions and GIS products.

Created in 1996, Tallgrass Prairie National …

Relationships Between Soil Macroinvertebrates And Nonnative Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) In Hawaiian Tropical Montane Wet Forests, Nathaniel H. Wehr, Creighton M. Litton, Noa K. Lincoln, Steven C. Hess

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract Nonnative feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are recognized throughout the New World as a highly significant introduced species in terms of ecosystem alteration. Similarly, nonnative soil macroinvertebrates (e.g. earthworms, ground beetles) invade and alter the structure and function of native habitats globally. However, the relationship between feral pigs and soil macroinvertebrates remains largely unknown. This study analyzed relationships between these taxa using nine sites located inside and outside of feral pig management units representing a * 25 year chronosequence of removal in tropical montane wet forests in Hawai‘i. Soil macroinvertebrates were sampled from plots categorized as: actively trampled by feral …

Blue Biotechnology, Renewable Energy, Unconventional Resources And Products As Emerging Frontiers At Sea, Sheikh Aftab Uddin, Mohammad Mahmudul Islam

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Blue biotechnology, renewable energy and unconventional marine living resources are considered as emerging frontiers for enhancing ocean-based blue economy in Bangladesh. Blue biotechnology can help both fisheries and aquaculture industry by producing fish varieties that can become quicker, more beneficial, and greater with tastier flesh, by developing gene transfer technology to be used to develop the growth of fish or by using of monoclonal antibodies and DNA probes to new diagnostic strategies for pathogens. Transformation of marine bioresources (main, co-product and by-products) into food, medicine, animal feed and related bio-based items i.e. cosmetics, nutritional supplements, enzymes, agrichemicals etc could help …

Juvenile Hawksbill Residency And Habitat Use Within A Caribbean Marine Protected Area, Thomas H. Selby, Kristen M. Hart, Brian J. Smith, Clayton G. Pollock, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Madan K. Oli

United States National Park Service: Publications

Understanding the spatial ecology of highly mobile marine vertebrates is necessary for informing conservation and management strategies aimed at protecting such species. Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM), off the coast of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, harbors critical foraging habitat for Critically Endangered juvenile hawksbills Eretmochelys imbricata that exhibit high site fidelity until sexual maturation. Using an array of fixed passive acoustic receivers that covered over 20.2 km2 at its largest configuration and in-water biannual sampling, we analyzed residency patterns and habitat use of 29 hawksbills. High recapture rates allowed for long- term data collection for some individuals, with …

Nonlinear Reaction–Diffusion Process Models Improve Inference For Population Dynamics, Xinyi Lu, Perry J. Williams, Mevin B. Hooten, James A. Powell, Jamie N. Womble, Michael R. Bower

United States National Park Service: Publications

Partial differential equations (PDEs) are a useful tool for modeling spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological processes. However, as an ecological process evolves, we need statistical models that can adapt to changing dynamics as new data are collected. We developed a model that combines an ecological diffusion equation and logistic growth to characterize colonization processes of a population that establishes long-term equilibrium over a heterogeneous environment. We also developed a homogenization strategy to statistically upscale the PDE for faster computation and adopted a hierarchical framework to accommodate multiple data sources collected at different spatial scales. We highlighted the advantages of using a …

Permafrost Hydrology Drives The Assimilation Of Old Carbon By Stream Food Webs In The Arctic, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Michael P. Carey, Joshua C. Koch, Xiaomei Xu, Brett A. Poulin, Jennifer Walker, Christian E. Zimmerman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Permafrost thaw in the Arctic is mobilizing old carbon (C) from soils to aquatic ecosystems and the atmosphere. Little is known, however, about the assimilation of old C by aquatic food webs in Arctic watersheds. Here, we used C isotopes (d13C, D14C) to quantify C assimilation by biota across 12 streams in arctic Alaska. Streams spanned watersheds with varying permafrost hydrology, from ice-poor bedrock to ice-rich loess (that is, yedoma). We measured isotopic content of (1) C sources including dissolved organic C (DOC), dissolved inorganic C (DIC), and soil C, and (2) stream biota, including benthic biofilm and macroinvertebrates, and …

Key Elements Of Environmental Justice In The Geothermal Power Plant Resistance Movement, Priyo Fajar Santoso, Bevaola Kusumasari

Jurnal Politik

Geothermal energy is currently considered as an environmentally friendly, renewable energy source. However, based on empirical data from various countries, geothermal energy production often results socioecological losses for the host community. Various environmental justice movements have emerged to protect environment by protestesting and providing a counter discourse against the dominant perception that geothermal energy is renewable and environmentally friendly. As Indonesian government put more effort to develop more geothermal power thermal across the country, more reactions also emerge and surprisingly include the critical one. This article aims to look at one of the critical reaction from community to counter the …

Social Interactions Do Not Drive Territory Aggregation In A Grassland Songbird, S.K. Winnicki, S.M. Munguia, E.J. Williams, W.A. Boyle

United States National Park Service: Publications

Understanding the drivers of animal distributions is a fundamental goal of ecology and informs habitat management. The costs and benefits of colonial aggregations in animals are well established, but the factors leading to aggregation in territorial animals remain unclear. Territorial animals might aggregate to facilitate social behavior such as (1) group defense from predators and/or parasites, (2) cooperative care of offspring, (3) extra-pair mating, and/or (4) mitigating costs of extra-pair mating through kin selection. Using experimental and observational methods, we tested predictions of all four hypotheses in a tallgrass prairie in northeast Kansas, United States. Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) males …

Vegetation Monitoring At Homestead National Monument Of America, Nebraska, 1998–2017, Sherry A. Leis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network has sampled permanent monitoring sites in three vegetation community types (restored prairie, successional forest, and bur oak forest) at Homestead National Monument of America since 1998 (includes nine sample years). Network scientists record each species, aerial cover estimates of ground flora, diameter at breast height of midstory and overstory trees, and tree regeneration frequency (tree seedlings and saplings) within these permanent sites.

The park has experienced similar periods of drought and wetness through the monitoring record. Ground cover estimates indicate that prairie litter and bare ground are negatively related; prescribed fire cycles …

How Pennsylvanians Define Environmental Justice, Kayla Hofmann

Sociology Summer Fellows

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) defines an environmental justice area as any census tract that partially or wholly includes a 30 percent or greater minority population or 20 percent or more of a population living in poverty. However, little is known about how the average Pennsylvanian defines environmental justice, hindering our ability to determine whether the current definition is adequate. Using transcripts from nine listening sessions on the DEP’s tour of affected counties, I address 3 questions: (1) How do people define environmental justice? (2) What do people think are the most pressing issues in each county? And …

Enhancing Rural Economies Through Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup, Dean Current, Christopher Hartley, Marlen Eve, Tricia Kovacs, Kate Mcfarland, Eric Norland, David Smith, Susan Stein, Richard Straight

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

Executive Summary

Accelerating the adoption of agroforestry will require a better understanding of the economic opportunities and financial benefits to society, says a recent assessment of United States agroforestry.1 Providing this understanding is critical for agroforestry to reach its full potential, whereby it enhances rural economies and provides ecological services that people need, such as clean drinking water. To assess emerging opportunities, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) convened more than 60 people in March 2018 to learn, network, and, above all, generate ideas for raising the economic profile and viability of agroforestry in the United States.

The effort …

Bird Monitoring At Homestead National Monument Of America, Nebraska, Status Report 2009–2017, David G. Peitz, Lloyd W. Morrison, Kristen L. Mecke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2009, the Heartland Inventory Monitoring Network initiated breeding bird surveys on Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska, to address two objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, and (2) to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and habitat, and the effects of management actions on those relationships. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Central Mixed Grass Prairie Bird Conservation Region, the region in which the park is located. By doing so, we can …

Bird Monitoring At Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa, Status Report 2005–2017, David G. Peitz, Lloyd W. Morrison, Kristen L. Mecke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2005, the Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network initiated breeding bird surveys on Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa, to address two objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, and (2) to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and habitat, and the effects of management actions on those relationships. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Eastern Tallgrass Prairie Bird Conservation Region , the region in which the park is located. By doing so, we …

Understanding Ngos And Their Effectiveness Through A Comparative Study Of Their Role In Redd+, Jessica Russo

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis explores the following question: what roles do NGOs play and how effective may they be in efforts at global governance? Through a comparative case study analysis of NGOs advocating for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and NGOs implementing REDD+ projects, specifically the Surui Forest Carbon Project located in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, I examine whether NGOs are more effective taking on the role as advocates or policy implementers. For this work, I will argue that independent of the multiplicity of roles that NGOs play, their effectiveness is a function of the level of their …

A Fishy Problem: Effects Of Atlantic Salmon Farming In The Pacific Ocean, Madeleine A. Griffith

Student Theses 2015-Present

In this report, I explore the historical, climatological, economic, and ethical issues created by the contemporary industrial salmon farming practices off Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. Chapter 1 utilizes a variety of sources from Stephen Hume’s A Stain upon the Sea to Miller’s Living in the Environment, to examine the integral part salmon plays in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, the ecosystem services salmon contribute in wild and farmed settings, and the trends in salmon consumption around the world. Chapter 2 examines the historically relevant role salmon held among indigenous societies and how that role has changed …

Circumpolar Status Of Arctic Ptarmigan: Population Dynamics And Trends, Eva Fuglei, John-Andre ́ Henden, Chris T. Callahan, Olivier Gilg, Jannik Hansen, Rolf A. Ims, Arkady P. Isaev, Johannes Lang, Carol L. Mcintyre, Richard A. Merizon, Oleg Y. Mineev, Yuri N. Mineev, Dave Mossop, Olafur K. Nielsen, Erlend B. Nilsen, Ashild Ønvik Pedersen, Niels Martin Martin, Benoıt Sittler, Maria Hørnell Willebrand, Kathy Martin

United States National Park Service: Publications

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. …

The Niobrara National Scenic River: Exploring Co-Management Through A Case Study Of The Niobrara Council, Melissa M. Mosier

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

In recent decades, government staff and local citizens have increasingly employed cooperative schemes of natural resource management, in lieu of more conventional, top-down approaches of addressing user conflicts as they relate to water resources. The focus of this project was on the Niobrara Council, a partnership of local, state, and federal representatives charged with cooperatively managing the reach of the Niobrara River that was federally designated under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1991. The project's purpose was to explore the cooperative framework of the Council, using the methodology outlined by Carlsson and Berkes (2005). This methodology involved investigating …

Climate Change Governance And The Politics Of Scale: Evaluating Local Climate Protection Policies And Practices In The United States And Germany, Ayure-Inga Mark Anthony Agana

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When it became evident that the issue of climate change needed to be acted upon, it was projected as a global scale problem. To make this rhetoric concrete, the international relations logic that ‘regimes’ of cooperating nation-states are the most feasible approach to solving problems that are global in nature was adopted. While the national level has performed poorly in climate change mitigation action, as exemplified by the United States’ refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Canada’s subsequent withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011 after initial ratification and, more recently, the United States withdrawal from the Paris Accord, a …

Stream Channel Monitoring In Northern Great Plains Network, Data Quality Standards, Darren J. Thornbrugh

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to document the standards used by the Northern Great Plain Network (NGPN) for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data as described in the Protocol implementation plan for stream channel monitoring in the Northern Great Plains Network: narrative version 1.0 (Thornbrugh et al. 2019). The plan also serves as a guide for all NGPN personnel who are involved in protocol/program activities and as a resource for identifying memoranda, publications, and other literature that describe associated techniques and requirements in more detail.

Protocol Implementation Plan For Cave Water Quality Monitoring In The Northern Great Plains Network, Narrative Version 1.0, Isabel W. Ashton, Justin S. Mills, Marc Ohms, Daniel Austin, Michael Wiles, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Two park units, Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) and Wind Cave National Park (WICA), protect significant cave resources. These two caves are among the longest caves in the world and have an assortment of underground water resources ranging from drip sites to cave lakes. Subsurface water quantity and quality in the caves is a concern due to groundwater depletion and groundwater contamination from pesticides (aboveground applications), hydrocarbons (vehicle use and related activities), and wastewater effluent (sewage …

It's Essential: The Ylang-Ylang Trade On Nosy Be, James Sleigh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper attempts to describe the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang from cultivation of the tree to the export of the flower, and examines the roles and power that each stakeholder has in the value chain. From there, the paper will look at issues associated with the trade; namely of the threat to the terrestrial ecosystem and the profit imbalance in the industry. Finally, the paper turns to potential strategies to resolve the previously stated issues associated with the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang. As a whole I hope that the paper can be seen as a rough survey of …

The Case For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard In Virginia: A Case Study Examining Virginia’S Potential For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard By Comparing Virginia To Maryland And North Carolina, Rebecca Wescott

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Since the early 1980s, states have utilized Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (“RPSs”) as policy mechanisms to “promote broader investment in renewable energy without requiring passage of a comprehensive energy policy measure that includes a pricing mechanism for carbon.” RPS policies can be drafted in one of two ways: (1) as a mandatory RPS, a legal mandate on what percentage of a state’s power portfolio must come from specific eligible renewable energy sources by a specific date in the future, or (2) as a non-binding or voluntary RPS, a policy goal that recommends that a certain percentage of a state’s power …

Redescription Of Anaschisma (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae) From The Late Triassic Of Wyoming And The Phylogeny Of The Metoposauridae, Bryan M. Gee, William G. Parker, Adam D. Marsh

United States National Park Service: Publications

Metoposaurids are non-marine temnospondyls that are among the most common constituents of Late Triassic deposits, but despite their abundance, the evolutionary relationships of the group are poorly resolved and have not been fully addressed with modern phylogenetic methods. The genus Anaschisma is one of a number of poorly resolved metoposaurid taxa and was erected to describe two species from the Popo Agie Formation (Carnian) in Wyoming: Anaschisma browni and Anaschisma brachygnatha. Since being named, the genus has been repeatedly synonymized and separated with other taxa in the context of broader revisions of the Metoposauridae. At present, Anaschisma is considered …