Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Naming The Tragedy, Eric T. Freyfogle

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Isolated Wetland Commons And The Constitution, Blake Hudson, Mike Hardig

BYU Law Review

Isolated wetlands provide great ecological and economic value to the United States. While some states provide protection for isolated wetlands, a great many do not. These wetlands are also left outside the ambit of federal wetland regulatory protections under the Clean Water Act, with its murky jurisdictional reach. Notwithstanding jurisdictional questions under current federal statutes, the U.S. Supreme Court has gone so far as to call into question the constitutionality of federal isolated wetland regulation. This Article makes a normative argument that, in the absence of state or local programs providing holistic isolated wetland protection, federal action is needed. The …

Local Governments And Global Commons, Jonathan Rosenbloom

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enso Teleconnection Pattern Changes Over The Southeastern United States Under A Climate Change Scenario In Cmip5 Models, Ji-Hyun Oh, D.W. Shin, Steven D. Cocke, Guillermo A. Baigorria

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A strong teleconnection exists between the sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Pacific and the winter precipitation in the southeastern United States (SE US).This feature is adopted to validate the fidelity of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) in this study. In addition, the authors examine whether the teleconnection pattern persists in the future under a global warming scenario. Generally, most of the eight selected models show a positive correlation between November SST over Ni˜no 3 region and December–February (DJF) mean daily precipitation anomalies over the SE US, consistent with the observation. However, the models with poor realization …

Coastal Land Loss And Collaborative Resource Governance: The Case Of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, Nandini Seth

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The research, presented here, is about the collaborative governance and adaptive management in coastal planning efforts of Louisiana. Fundamental conflict, between the idea of environmental conservation and developmental growth, has always existed in the coastal regions. The presence of the large number of environmental laws, at various levels of government and their different management objectives for utilization of coastal resources, requires study of intergovernmental relationship. Taking Plaquemines Parish as a case in point, this thesis will, therefore, review the critical restoration plans for intergovernmental coordination and conflicts. It will also provide recommendations, for elected representatives and policy makers, with an …

Analysis Of Hurricane Preparedness Levels And Evacuation Intent For South Carolina Coastal Residents, Wesley Chad Seigler

Theses and Dissertations

Many communities across the nation, especially those in coastal areas, are experiencing extensive growth and expansion. This growth and the associated need for additional infrastructure, goods and services, and basic human needs often place people and the things they value in harm’s way due to the threat of a natural disaster. In order to properly prepare and mitigate disaster impacts, individuals and communities must view disasters as events that will likely occur at least once during their lifetime rather than simply outside possibilities. Residents of coastal communities must prepare for potential impacts from hurricanes and resulting storm surges and must …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Ecotourism As A Funding Source For Protected Area Management In Guyana, Jordan S. Flagel

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Protected areas in tropical rainforests serve many important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. These areas are often in need of donor or grant funding to operate as governments in tropical forested countries are not always able to provide adequate funds for protection. This paper focuses on the Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development in the South American country of Guyana, which has had funding issues since the global economic crisis of 2008 and an accompanying shift in donor country financial priorities. Increasing the amount of sustainable ecotourism in the Iwokrama reserve was identified as a potential source for …

Policy Context Of The Endemic Flora Of The Maltese Islands In A Changing Taxonomic Landscape, Clara Agius

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The degradation of the environment since the Industrial Revolution has been a turning point for legislation, leading to many countries, including EU states, to create legislations that conserve the environment. These legislations are based on scientific facts. This can create a divide between policy and science, as science and scientific methods are constantly changing, while policy has to keep up. Scientific facts of yesterday, may not necessarily be the same as today. This divide between science and policy may have implications on the designation of Protected Areas. One of the criteria of a Protected Area is the protection of an …

An Analysis Of U.S./Canadian Fisheries Policy In Regards To Pacific Salmon And The Preservation Of Indigeneity In The Pacific Northwest, Michael James Lockwood

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

For more than 160 years, the Pacific salmon has been an important resource for the United States and Canada. However, it has been overexploited. Proper management of the species is essential not only for maintaining healthy populations but also maintaining the interests of diverse stakeholders. One set of stakeholders consists of the indigenous peoples of North America because the Pacific salmon are crucial to their food, social, and ceremonial traditions.

This thesis explores the impacts of Canadian and U.S. public policies on the cultural integrity of native peoples in the Pacific Northwest, specifically as those peoples rely on wild Pacific …

Polyculture Bioremediation: An Analysis Of Potential Nitrogen Assimilation And Removal By Mya Arenaria, Gracilaria Tikvahiae And Ulva Lactuca Harvests In The Corsica River, Md, Kathleen Hemeon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

An analysis of nitrogen bioremediation in a tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay by the use of a hypothetical bivalve and macroalgae polyculture covering 1%, 3% and 5% of the Corsica River bottom area. This study was performed to illustrate the role ecosystem services play in managing diffuse watershed pollution, particularly nitrogen, resulting in water quality and living resource degradation. Excess concentrations of nitrogen in the Corsica River estuary lead to seasonal eutrophication and subsequent hypoxic events. Mya arenaria L. and Gracilaria tikvahiae (McLachlan, 1979) were chosen for this theoretical study due to their high assimilative capacities for nitrogen and …

Offshore Wind Energy In The U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region And The Epa Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule, Kamil E. Armaiz Nolla

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

ABSTRACT

Offshore Wind Energy in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region and the EPA Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule

Kamil E. Armaiz Nolla

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere have been experiencing a rapid rise since the start of the Industrial Era. Human activities have been recognized by the scientific community as the main contributors to CO₂ emissions by way of the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Scientific consensus about human-induced climate change has been recognized since 1992 by the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate. Since then, …

Modeling The Snow Surface Temperature With A One-Layer Energy Balance Snowmelt Model, J. You, D. G. Tarboton, C. H. Luce

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Snow surface temperature is a key control on and result of dynamically coupled energy exchanges at the snow surface. The snow surface temperature is the result of the balance between external forcing (incoming radiation) and energy exchanges above the surface that depend on surface temperature (outgoing longwave radiation and turbulent fluxes) and the transport of energy into the snow by conduction and meltwater influx. Because of the strong insulating properties of snow, thermal gradients in snow packs are large and nonlinear, a fact that has led many to advocate multiple layer snowmelt models over single layer models. In an effort …

Speleoclimate Dynamics In Santana Cave (Petar, São Paulo State, Brazil): General Characterization And Implications For Tourist Management, Heros Augusto Santos Lobo, Paulo Cesar Boggiani, José Alexandre De Jesus Perinotto

International Journal of Speleology

Show caves provide tourists with the opportunity to have close contact with natural underground spaces. However, visitation to these places also creates a need for management measures, mainly the definition of tourist carrying capacity. The present work describes the results of climate monitoring and atmospheric profiling performed in Santana Cave (Alto Ribeira State and Tourist Park – PETAR, Brazil) between 2008 and 2011. Based on the results, distinct preliminary zones with different levels of thermal variation were identified, which classify Santana Cave as a warm trap. Two critical points along the tourist route (Cristo and Encontro Halls) were identified where …

The Effect Of Weather During Rearing On Morphometric Traits Of Juvenile Cliff Swallows, Erin A. Roche, Mary Bomberger Brown, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Episodes of food deprivation may change how nestling birds allocate energy to the growth of skeletal and feather morphological traits during development. Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) are colonial, insectivorous birds that regu­larly experience brief periods of severe weather–induced food deprivation during the nesting season which may affect offspring development. We investigated how annual variation in timing of rearing and weather were associated with length of wing and tail, skeletal traits, and body mass in juvenile cliff swallows reared in southwestern Nebraska during 2001–2006. As predicted under conditions of food deprivation, nestling skeletal and feather measurements were generally smaller …

Citizen Science Reveals Widespread Negative Effects Of Roads On Amphibian Distributions, Bradley J. Cosentino, David M. Marsh, Kara S. Jones, Joseph J. Apodaca, Christopher Bates, Jessica Beach, Karen H. Beard, Kelsie Becklin, Jane Margaret Bell, Christopher Crockett, George Fawson, Jennifer Fjelsted, Elizabeth A. Forys, Kristen S. Genet, Melanie Grover, Jaimie Holmes, Katherine Indeck, Nancy E. Karraker, Eran S. Kilpatrick, Tom A. Langen, Stephen G. Mugel, Alessandro Molina, James R. Vonesh, Ryan J. Weaver, Anisha Willey

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Landscape structure is important for shaping the abundance and distribution of amphibians, but prior studies of landscape effects have been species or ecosystem-specific. Using a large-scale, citizen science-generated database, we examined the effects of habitat composition, road disturbance, and habitat split (i.e. the isolation of wetland from forest by intervening land use) on the distribution and richness of frogs and toads in the eastern and central United States. Undergraduates from nine biology and environmental science courses collated occupancy data and characterized landscape structure at 1617 sampling locations from the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. Our analysis revealed that anuran species …

Umphlett Qci Dec 2014, Natalie A. Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought Conditions

Agriculture

Horticulture

Recreation and Tourism

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

Soil Moisture Conditions

Review: The Wilderness Writings Of Howard Zahniser, Jillian M. Slater

Marian Library Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Decision Support Tools To Address Climate Change: Climate Model–Land Surface Models, Zea Mays L. (Corn) Phenology And Evapotranspiration–Yield Sensitivity Models For Nebraska, Usa, Jane A. Okalebo

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

Nebraska's climate is highly variable and is expected to change in the future with anthropogenic global warming (AGW), resulting in warmer spring and summer temperatures coupled with more erratic rainfall events. This has strong implications for agriculture in the region, yet it is not clear that current modeling and decision-support tools are adequate to address these looming changes and provide planning, mitigation and adaptation strategies. To address climate change and its implications to agriculture in Nebraska, a set of robust decision support tools are very crucial. This study herein are divided into three chapters, with each chapter addressing a specific …

Why Environmental Laws Fail, Jan G. Laitos, Lauren Joseph Wolongevicz

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Although governments have deployed an array of environmental protection laws, our planet continues to experience unprecedented environmental “crises,” including climate change, resource depletion, species extinction, ecosystem damage, and toxic air-water-land pollution. Despite universal acknowledgment and recognition of these serious environmental issues, and despite a growing list of laws designed to address these issues, the reality is that these adverse Earth-based environmental changes continue, and may even be worsening. Environmental protection laws have often failed because they usually include certain problematic characteristics: they are anthropocentric, in that their goal is to protect and benefit humans, not the environment in which humans …

The Challenges And Opportunities Throughout The Life Cycle Of Landscape-Scale Collaborative Conservation Organizations: Case Studies In The Southern Appalachians And The Northern Rockies Ecosystems, Jennifer Thomsen

All Dissertations

Currently our natural environment is threatened by climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other transboundary issues. To address these problems, it is thought that conservation organizations and land management agencies should attempt to manage at larger geographic scales and across political boundaries. The Crown Managers Partnership (CMP) and the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative (SAMAB) are two such organizations that work at an ecoregional scale to support collaboration among agencies, aboriginal groups, conservationists, scientists, and other stakeholders for the conservation and restoration of the Northern Rocky Mountain and the Southern Appalachian regions in North America. Over the past decades, …