Environmental Policy Commons^™

Problematic Plant Monitoring In Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, 2006–2018, Craig C. Young

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Managers are challenged with the impact of problematic plants, including exotic, invasive, and pest plant species. Information on the abundance, distribution, and location of these plants is essential for developing risk-based approaches to managing these species. Based on surveys conducted in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018, Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network staff and contractors identified a cumulative total of 33 problematic plant species in Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Of the 27 species found in 2018, we characterized 14 as very low frequency, 9 as low frequency, 4 as medium frequency, and 0 as high frequency. Only 4 (14.8%) of …

Estimation Of Available Epinephrine Dose In Expired And Discolored Autoinjectors Via Quantitative Smartphone Imaging, Amirus Saleheen, Bill M. Campbell, Rebecca A. Prosser, Christopher A. Baker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Epinephrine autoinjectors (EAIs) are important first aid medications for treating anaphylaxis. A 10-fold price increase over the past 12 years and evidence that expired EAIs may still contain significant doses of available epinephrine have motivated interest in the efficacy of expired EAIs as treatments of last resort. Degradation of expired EAIs, which can be caused by improper storage conditions, results in various degrees of discoloration of the epinephrine solution. Previous studies have determined that significant epinephrine remains available in expired EAIs, but these have only considered EAIs that show no discoloration. Here, we investigate the potential for colorimetric estimation of …

Effects Of Culling White-Tailed Deer On Tree Regeneration And Microstegium Vimineum, An Invasive Grass, John Paul Schmit, Elizabeth R. Matthews, Andrejs Brolis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Reduction of forest regeneration due to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer is a growing concern for land managers. Abundant deer can impede forest regeneration through direct predation on tree seedlings. Additionally high deer density can facilitate the establishment of a dense understory of browse tolerant plant species that shades seedlings and persists even in the absence of deer. In response to these challenges, land managers have sought to reduce deer herds to restore tree regeneration, but few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of this management. Our study took place in Catoctin Mountain Park, a US National Park Service unit with a …

Nurse Rock Microclimates Significantly Buffer Exposure To Freezing T Temperature And Moderate Summer Temperature, Joshua L. Conver, Elliott Yarwood, Lucas D. Hetherington, Don E. Swann

United States National Park Service: Publications

Nurse tree canopies mitigate exposure to freezing temperatures that could result in injury or mortality to the saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea). Abiotic objects have been hypothesized to provide similar beneficial microclimates. We used data loggers at 11 nurse rock sites to record daily daytime summer maximum and winter nighttime minimum temperatures at Saguaro National Park, Arizona, to examine the effectiveness of rocks to moderate seasonal temperature extremes in the microclimate. Temperatures at rock sites averaged 2 °C warmer than exposed open control sites in winter. We found that the efficiency of rocks to act as insulators significantly increased as temperature …

Beryllium-7 Elucidate Sediment Dynamics Of The Branford River Estuary, Connecticut, Usa, Gaboury Benoit, Matthew Hirschbeck, Beth Bisson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Berrylium-7 elucidates sediment dynamics (i.e., sources, sinks, deposition, and resuspension) in a Connecticut estuary. Average 7 −2−1 annual atmospheric deposition of Be is 290 mBq cm year. Sediment samples from 43 locations within the estuary show that 7Be deposition is spatially complex, but were statistically indistinguishable a year apart. Weekly time series of sediments indicate 7 that levels are nearly constant on this shorter time scale on ceradio active decay is taken into account. Be levels in sediments area balance between steady losses through radioactive decay and periodic pulse inputs following rainstorms. The water column was measured intensively during three …

Implications Of Organic Mass To Carbon Ratios Increasing Over Time In The Rural United States, W.C. Malm, B.A. Schichtel, J.L. Hand, A.J. Prenni

United States National Park Service: Publications

The thermal evolution procedure used by most monitoring programs in the United States to determine carbonaceous aerosol concentrations is referred to as the thermal‐optical reflectance method, where an aerosol sample that has been collected on a quartz filter is heated and evolved carbon is characterized as either organic (OC) or light absorbing carbon (LAC). Evolved carbon assigned to OC is multiplied by a factor, Roc, to achieve an estimate of organic mass. Over the last 10–15 years, Roc, estimated through multiple linear regression analysis of data collected in the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program, has increased at …

Berry Important? Wolf Provisions Pups With Berries In Northern Minnesota, Austin T. Homkes, Thomas D. Gable, Steve K. Windles, Joseph K. Bump

United States National Park Service: Publications

Wolves (Canis lupus) primarily provision pups by catching mammalian prey and bringing remains of the carcass to the pups at a den or rendezvous site via their mouths or stomach. In August 2017, we observed an adult wolf regurgitating wild blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) to pups at a rendezvous site in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, Minnesota, USA, which is the only known observation of wolves provisioning pups with wild berries. This observation, in combination with other evidence from the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, suggests wild berries might be a more valuable food source for wolves in southern boreal ecosystems than previously appreciated.

Modelling Pinniped Abundance And Distribution By Combining Counts At T Terrestrial Sites And In-Water Sightings, Steven L. Whitlock, Jamie N. Womble, James T. Peterson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Pinnipeds are commonly monitored using aerial photographic surveys at land- or ice-based sites, where animals come ashore for resting, pupping, molting, and to avoid predators. Although these counts form the basis for monitoring population change over time, they do not provide information regarding where animals occur in the water, which is often of management and conservation interest. In this study, we developed a hierarchical model that links counts of pinnipeds at terrestrial sites to sightings-at-sea and estimates abundance, spatial distribution, and the proportion of time spent on land (attendance probability). The structure of the model also allows for the inclusion …

Dental Microwear As A Behavioral Proxy For Distinguishing Between Canids At The Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) Site Of Predmostí, Czech Republic, Kari A. Prassack, Josephine Dubois, Martina Laznickova-Galetova, Mietje Germonpre, Peter S. Ungar

United States National Park Service: Publications

Morphological and genetic evidence put dog domestication during the Paleolithic, sometime between 40,000 and 15,000 years ago, with identification of the earliest dogs debated. We predict that these earliest dogs (referred to herein as protodogs), while potentially difficult to distinguish morphologically from wolves, experienced behavioral shifts, including changes in diet. Specifically, protodogs may have consumed more bone and other less desirable scraps within human settlement areas. Here we apply Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) to canids from the Gravettian site of P�redmostí (approx. 28,500 BP), which were previously assigned to the Paleolithic dog or Pleistocene wolf morphotypes. We test whether …

Draft Management Plan For The South Coast Nearshore Net Managed Fishery, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Draft Management Plan For The South Coast Line And Fish Trap Managed Fishery, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Bird Community Monitoring At Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas, Status Report 2001–2018, David G. Peitz, Kathleen A. Kull

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2001, the Heartland I&M Network initiated breeding bird surveys on Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas, to assess the ecological integrity of the preserve’s habitat. Birds are an important component of ecosystems and can serve as good indicators of habitat change in an ecosystem. In the 17 years of bird surveys at the preserve (2001 to 2018, excluding 2003), there were 2,089 plot visits and 119 different bird species recorded, 96 of which have the potential to breed within the preserve. These 96 species represent approximately 81% of the total species one would reasonably expect to have breeding …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Acoustic Monitoring Report, 2017, Emma Brown

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report presents acoustical data gathered by Student Conservation Association interns and the Natural Resource Specialist at Homestead National Monument of America in 2017. Data were collected at one site to provide park managers with information about the acoustical environment, sources of noise, and the existing ambient sound levels within the monument. This deployment also captured acoustic conditions during the total solar eclipse on 8/21/2017. (Results of the eclipse monitoring effort are provided in Appendix B.)

In this deployment, sound pressure level (SPL) was measured continuously every second by a calibrated sound level meter. Other equipment included an …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Acoustic Monitoring, 2011-2012

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report presents acoustical data gathered by Student Conservation Association interns and the Natural Resource Specialist at Homestead National Monument of America in 2011 and 2012. Data were collected at four sites to provide park managers with information on the acoustical environment, sources of noise, and the existing ambient sound levels within the monument. The data will also inform the park managers with information regarding the potential impact of traffic on Highway 4.

Monitoring occurred at each site during two different seasons (except HOME002) in order to document seasonal variations. In each deployment, sound pressure level (SPL) was …

Community Resilience To Climate Change: Theory, Research And Practice, Dana E. Hellman, Vivek Shandas

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate or higher-level undergraduate university course in climate change resilience, adaptation, and/or planning. While the material is geared toward students in urban and regional planning, it may also be of interest to students of urban studies, public health, geography, political science, sociology, risk management, and others.

Each section of this volume includes (1) an introductory summary, (2) a reading list with full text articles, (3) student exercises meant to enhance understanding and facilitate in-class discussion, and (4) additional discussion prompts or activities for instructors to use in class. The …

Natural Resources Condition Assessment, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (February 2020 Revision), Reilly R. Dibner, Nicole Korfanta, Gary Beauvais

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In collaboration with the National Park Service, the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database completed the Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) for Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (NM). The purpose of the NRCA is to provide park leaders and resource managers with information on resource conditions to support near-term planning and management, long-term strategic planning, and effective science communication to decision-makers and the public.

Agate Fossil Beds NM was authorized in 1965 and established in 1997. The purposes of the park include protecting the paleontological resources on the …

Measuring Spatial And Temporal Shifts In Forest Structure And Composition In T High Elevation Beech Forests In Response To Beech Bark Disease In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lee Rubmle, Glenn Taylor, Joshua B. Grinath, Ashley B. Morris

United States National Park Service: Publications

Exotic forest pests and pathogens are among the most serious environmental threats to millions of hectares of forested land worldwide. Beech Bark Disease (BBD) is a non-native, pathogenic complex consisting of associations between scale insects and fungi. First confirmed in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) in 1986, this complex has since threatened local high elevation beech forests, which are G-1 ranked (critically imperiled) forest communities where American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) is a foundational tree species. In 1994, GRSM initiated the BBD Monitoring Protocol at 10 high elevation beech forest plots in the Park. The plots were sampled biennially …

Prey Of Reintroduced Fishers And Their Habitat Relationships In The Cascades T Range, Washington, Mitchell A. Parsons, Jeffrey C. Lewis, Jonathan N. Pauli, Tara Chestnut, Jason I. Ransom, David O. Werntz, Laura R. Prugh

United States National Park Service: Publications

Conservation and recovery of forest carnivores requires an understanding of their habitat requirements, as well as requirements of their prey. In much of the western United States, trapping and habitat loss led to extirpations of fishers (Pekania pennanti) by the mid-20th century, and reintroductions are ongoing to restore fishers to portions of their former range. Fisher recovery in Washington State has been limited by isolation from other populations, but other potentially important factors, such as diet of fishers in this region and prey availability, have not been thoroughly investigated. We collected hair samples from potential prey and fishers for stable …

Following The Newark, Nj Drinking Water Lead Crisis, Morgan Clauser

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

In the summer of 2018, after it was revealed that there were dangerous levels of lead in the drinking water in Newark, New Jersey, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the New Jersey Education Workers Caucus filed a lawsuit against the City of Newark. They claimed the city did not comply with statues in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Lead and Copper Rule, and New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. This case follows the nationally recognized case in Flint, MI, and both cases present undertones of systemic racism through the inaction of local governments. While the jury is still out …

Plains Zebra (Equus Quagga) Behaviour In A Restored Population Reveals Seasonal Resource Limitations, Charli De Vos, Alison J. Leslie, Jason I. Ransom

United States National Park Service: Publications

A once abundant species, plains zebra (Equus quagga), is declining across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Reintroduction efforts at Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, have resulted in rapid population increases, but little is known about how such populations resemble natural populations socially or behaviourally, and what those attributes may reveal about restoration success. Incorporating behavioural knowledge into conservation efforts is an important tool for managing the effects of habitat fragmentation and resource competition. The aim of this study was to quantify the daylight time budget of both family and bachelor bands of reintroduced plains zebra to determine if such behaviours …

Predicting Livestock Depredation Risk By African Lions (Panthera Leo) In A Multi-Use Area Of Northern Tanzania, K. Beattie, E. R. Olson, B. Kissui, A. Kirschbaum, C. Kiffner

United States National Park Service: Publications

Human-wildlife conflicts, especially those involving large carnivores, are of global conservation and livelihood concern and require effective and locally-adapted prevention measures. Risk of lion attack on livestock (i.e. depredation) may vary seasonally and may be associated with variation in wild prey abundance or landscape characteristics. To test these competing hypotheses, we used a resource selection approach, and determined whether prey catchability (indicated by geo-spatial variables), or prey availability (indicated by modeled abundance recorded via camera traps) explained spatial and seasonal variation in livestock depredation risk by African lions on Manyara Ranch Conservancy, a multi-use area in northern Tanzania. Seasonal variation …

A Skein Of Thought: The Ireland At Fordham Humanitiarian Lecture Series, Brendan Cahill, Johanna Lawton

International Affairs

No abstract provided.

A Skein Of Thought: The Ireland At Fordham Humanitiarian Lecture Series, Brendan Cahill, Johanna Lawton

Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs

No abstract provided.

Temporospatial Shifts In Sandhill Crane Staging In The Central Platte River Valley In Response To Climatic Variation And Habitat Change, Andrew J. Caven, Emma M. Brinley Buckley, Kelsey C. King, Joshua Wiese, David M. Baasch, Greg D. Wright, Mary Harner, Aaron T. Pearse, Matt Raabe, Dana Varner, Brice Krohn, Nicole Arcilla, Kirk D. Schroeder, Kenneth F. Dinan

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

Over 80% of the Mid-Continent Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) Population (MCP), estimated at over 660,000 individuals, stops in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) during spring migration from mid-February through mid-April. Research suggests that the MCP may be shifting its distribution spatially and temporally within the CPRV. From 2002 to 2017, we conducted weekly aerial surveys of Sandhill Cranes staging in the CPRV to examine temporal and spatial trends in their abundance and distribution. Then, we used winter temperature and drought severity measures from key wintering and early migratory stopover locations to assess the impacts of weather patterns …

"Pliable And Easily Shaped": History, Harms, And Regulations Of Plastic In The United States, Krista Decima Smithers

Online Theses and Dissertations

The majority of plastic exists in a linear economy, wherein a product is developed with raw materials, used, and then discarded. Because there are many applications for plastic in today’s society unparalleled by alternative materials, removing all or most plastic use from daily life in the United States is unrealistic. Nevertheless, eliminating single-use plastics and improving recycling are reasonably attainable goals.

This thesis offers a detailed discussion of the origins of plastic, including its discovery, initial applications, and growth in the United States. Against this backdrop, this thesis then examines how various nonhuman animal species and ecosystems have been negatively …

Zamboanga Peninsula’S Seasonal Fishing Closure For Sardines: Opening The Sustainability Frontier, Agnes R. Rola, Teresita A. Narcaez, Maria Rio A. Naguit, Dulce D. Elazegui, Bing Baltazar C. Brillo, Merlyn M. Paunlagui, Hadji C. Jalotjot, Catherine P. Cervantes

CSPPS Policy Brief

No abstract provided.

Farming With Nature: Promoting Biodiversity Across Europe Through Partridge Conservation, Jen Brewin, Francis Buner, Julie Ewald

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

A summary of scientific evidence underlying the North Sea Region Interreg PARTRIDGE project, https://northsearegion.eu/partridge.

This publication describes how grey partridge conservation helps to address the farmland biodiversity crisis across Europe. It summarises the most relevant scientific evidence regarding grey partridge management and the biodiversity benefits associated with it. We have selected what we felt were the best and most thorough studies and papers available. We cite high-impact peer-reviewed papers wherever possible, relying on our combined experience and expertise to quote non-reviewed reports where published papers were unavailable.

Lewisburg Shade Tree Commission: Tree Inventory Repair, Community Awareness, And Policy Recommendations, Jiaxuan Zhao, Brian Gockley

Student Project Reports

No abstract provided.

A Backbone Organization For Denver Based Environmental Justice Organizations 5280 For Environmental Justice, Allison Finnegan-Kihega

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Environmental injustices in Denver follow the same patterns that are seen throughout the country, which is that low-income People of Color are, relative to White people, disproportionately impacted by poor air and water quality, food deserts, displacement, and a phenomenon known as urban heat islands. The literature review conducted for this proposal revealed that despite the 2019 U.S Census Bureau indicating that Denver is 80.9 percent White, 29 percent Latino, and 10 percent Black, neighborhoods with predominantly Black and Latino residents are the neighborhoods experiencing environmental injustices in Denver.

For this project proposal, a literature review was conducted along with …

Sustainability, Urban Planning And Development: Sustainable And Self-Reliant Urban Development In Post- Pandemic Nepal, Ambika P. Adhikari, Keshav Bhattarai

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

COVID-19 pandemic is affecting many aspects of the society, economy and the way people live. The pandemic is also disrupting the process of physical planning and development in the cities. It will perhaps permanently change the way planners and policy makers think about the city and plan for its development. The residents and visitors will also find the city to be different from the pre-COVID-19 era. The emerging situation would likely require new ways of moving, working and living in the city, and building the different physical components of the city.

Cities around the world are experiencing varieties of unexpected …