Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Patch-Burn Grazing Effects On Cattle Performance: Research Conducted In A Working Landscape, Stephen L. Winter, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Mark Goes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

• Patch-burn grazing is a range management strategy that might be able to simultaneously optimize livestock production objectives and wildlife habitat objectives.

• We compared patch-burn grazing to a traditional range management strategy in multiple pastures, representing a variety of land ownership and management histories, dispersed across a relatively large geographic area. Our results likely represent what land managers could expect if they adopted patch-burn grazing in similar situations.

• We found that cattle performance in pastures managed with patch-burn grazing did not differ from that found in pastures managed with a traditional range management strategy. This suggests that land …

Umphlett Qci June 2014, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

􏰞􏰥􏰬􏰨􏰤􏰮􏱨Streamflow

Drought Impacts to Livestock

Continued Cold Hampers Producers in North

3-Month Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks

U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook

City Of San Luis Obispo Open Space Vegetation Management Plan, Danielle Rose Althaus

Master's Theses

This Master’s Professional Project is focused on the development of a draft Vegetation Management Plan for the City of San Luis Obispo Open Space properties. The purpose of the plan is to provide a comprehensive document which identifies how the city is addressing wildfire preparedness in city-owned open space properties. Methods used in plan development include a literature review, content analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), a course audit, and consultation with city staff and other stakeholders. Each open space property is identified in the plan, describing its location, vegetation, topography, assets, access points, water supply, evacuation routes, historical fire data, …

Western Massasauga (Sistrurus Tergeminus): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella, Brent D. Johnson

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the Western Massasauga (Sistrurus tergeminus) as a Tier I at-risk species. Provided are some general management recommendations regarding Western Massasaugas. Conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment to make specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and a multitude of variables. This resource was designed to share available knowledge of this at-risk species that will aid in the decision-making process or …

Water In The 21st Century, Grayson Michael Shor

Social Sciences

The aim of this research project is to provide a comprehensive and global analysis of water use in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive grasp of current and impending issues. The included five (5) chapters discuss water distribution, conservation, purification, law, international development, economic debates, ethical consideration, as well as educated estimations of the effects water related issues may cause in the next one-hundred years.

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge With Modern Day Ecosystem Management And Restoration Practices, Leialani O. Hufana

Master's Projects and Capstones

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is a fairly new area of research that can supplement science research and modern day ecosystem management practices. Indigenous cultures and local communities have been using and passing on TEK in forestry, agricultural, and aquaculture/marine ecosystem management. Through a review of literature, TEK in Hawaiʻi was compared to TEK in other countries. TEK was also compared to modern day ecosystem management practices to determine if TEK could be integrated. In Hawaiʻi an ahupuaʻa, a land transect that cuts the islands in sections from mountain to sea, was an integrated watershed based management system. TEK in ahupuaʻa …

Utility Right Of Way Management: Potential For Expanded Integrated Vegetation Managment In California, Kayla Paschal

Master's Projects and Capstones

Utility companies have the challenge of meeting vegetation clearance requirements within their right of ways and complying with various environmental laws and company goals. Vegetation management programs at the major utility companies cost millions of dollars a year. Reducing cost and increasing compliance are goals of right of way managers at utilities across the country. This paper looks at the possibility of increasing the utilization of integrated vegetation management on California’s utility right of ways. This paper will examine the current vegetation management strategy of California’s major utility companies and determine whether a more comprehensive integrated vegetation management program could …

What Role Can Ceqa Play In Reaching Ghg Emissions Reductions Goals Set Forth In Ab 32 – An Analysis Of Ceqa, Ab 32, And Recommendations For Ceqa Reform, Eleanor Gilbert

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) intends to reduce the effects of climate change through several mechanisms, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. AB 32 established a statewide GHG emissions goal, which requires California to decrease its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is an environmental assessment law adopted in 1970 that requires lead agencies (private developers, public agencies, etc.) to consider and disclose the potential significant environmental impacts of new development projects the lead agency is planning. CEQA has attracted much controversy since adoption and continues to be the …

Deep Energy Retrofits Using The Integrative Design Process: Are They Worth The Cost, Daniel S. Bertoldi

Master's Projects and Capstones

The McKinsey Global Initiative identified existing building retrofits as an integral component to achieve a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the United Sates by 2050 (Fluhrer, Maurer, & Deshmukh 2010). However, this will require energy efficiency retrofits for existing buildings to be deployed more frequently and achieve higher energy savings on average. Deep Energy Retrofits using the Integrative Design Process can result in 30-60%+ energy savings in office buildings. Because Deep Energy Retrofits require higher upfront capital costs, in an economy still recovering from the economic downturn, financial decision makers may not be inclined to invest more capital …

Recovery Of Oregon Coast Coho Salmon (Onchorhynchus Kitsutch) Through Restoration Of Freshwater Habitats, Andrew P. Lutz

Master's Projects and Capstones

Pacific salmon populations are significantly lower than historic levels on the Western Coast of the United States. The Oregon Coast coho salmon Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in February 2008. The total number of adult coho salmon returning to Oregon Coast rivers today are between 5-20% of historic levels. Since the 1980s, restoration of freshwater habitat has become a common practice in the attempt to recover Pacific salmon populations. I used two databases, the Oregon Watershed Restoration Inventory, and the Salmon Recovery Tracker, to analyze habitat restoration and coho salmon population recovery …

Refining Dendrochronology To Evaluate The Relationship Between Age And Diameter For Dominant Riparian Trees In The Redwood Creek Watershed, Devin Barry

Master's Projects and Capstones

Methods of dendrochronology by means of incremental coring

have been refined in this study for specific use in northern

California riparian floodplains. Little information is available

on riparian dendrochronology because of the challenges of

analyzing riparian tree species. Three dominant tree species

(Alnus rubra, Umbellularia californica, Acer macrophyllum)

in the floodplain of Redwood Creek were evaluated for the

relationship between age and diameter at breast height (DBH)

using a least squares linear regression analysis. Through this

study, complications with analysis for the riparian tree species

led to a more thorough investigation as to enhancing core

quality and annual growth ring …

Macroinvertebrate Prey Availability And Food Web Dynamics Of Nonnative Trout In A Colorado River Tributary, Grand Canyon, Daniel P. Whiting, Craig P. Paukert, Brian Healy, Jonathan Spurgeon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nonnative fishes have been linked to the decline of native fishes and may affect aquatic food webs through direct and indirect pathways. These concerns have led to efforts to remove nonnative Brown and Rainbow Trout, which are abundant in tributaries of the Colorado River, to enhance native fish communities. We sampled fish, benthic, and drifting macroinvertebrates in November 2010, January 2011, June 2011, and Septem- ber 2011 to assess resource availability and to evaluate the effects of nonnative Brown and Rainbow Trout in a tributary of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. We evaluated trout diets from stomach samples …

Water Water Everywhere: Analyzing Long Island's Water Issues And Finding Solutions For A Sustainable Future, Anthony T. Becker

2014 Student Theses

Over three million people call Long Island their home. With access to beautiful landscapes, world-renowned beaches, and proximity to New York City, it is no wonder that so many proudly call this geographic stretch of glacial till their home. However, throughout the years our actions do not necessarily reflect this affection we have to our home. Years of sprawl and human infestation across the island have resulted in widespread environmental degradation. Specifically, the water we drink and the beaches we enjoy have become endangered. I plan on studying the urban ecology of how intensified population growth led to the eutrophication …

Herring Governance Report Herring Network Institutions And Governance, Harry V. Strehlow, Dariusz P. Fey, Adam M. Lejk, Friederike Lempe, Henrik Nilsson, Iwona Psuty, Lena Szymanek

HERRING

The Governance Report presents the research about the governance framework in which the various aspects and sectors that are relevant for spawning ground management are embedded.

Adapting To A Changing Climate: Local Drivers For Policy Response, Andrew J. Bilich

Honors Scholar Theses

Responding to the present and looming effects of global climate change presents a challenging task for policymakers at all levels of governance. The outcomes of climate change do present serious adaptation problems for global policy makers, but the implications of climate change are more immediately experienced by local communities and policy makers. Historical policymaking models suggest that economic well-being is an influential driver in local policy adoption. This particular analysis explores the relationship between economic variables and the development of climate adaptation policies by Connecticut municipalities. To test the degree of interaction present, adaptation policy data in the form of …

Local Land Trusts: A Comparative Analysis In Search Of An Improved Template For Land Trusts, Meagan Roach

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of World Bank’S Conditionality-Ownership Hybrid On Forest Management In Cameroon: Policy Hybridity In International Dependence Development, Asongayi Venard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many developing countries depend on the World Bank for development assistance, which the Bank often provides with policy reform conditions. Resistance to World Bank’s conditionality caused the Bank to posit “ownership” as a country’s real assent to its development policies. The combination of ownership and conditionality invalidates the neocolonial, false-paradigm and dualism theses in explaining the international dependence development model. This study explains this model by investigating how the relationship between conditionality and ownership in the context of this model impacts forest management in Cameroon.

Integrating theoretical and methodological insights mainly from political science, economics, geosciences, and sociology, the study …

Late Pleistocene And Holocene Bison Of Grand Canyon And Colorado Plateau: Implications From The Use Of Paleobiology For Natural Resource Management Policy, Jeffrey M. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bison spp. (bison) fossils are scarce on the Colorado Plateau, especially within the greater Grand Canyon region. Because of the poor fossil record for bison on the plateau and in Grand Canyon National Park, various resource managers have surreptitiously designated bison a nonnative and human-introduced species. The lack of evidence for bison seems to be the result of collection bias rather than a true lack of bison remains. Today, Grand Canyon National Park has a neighboring herd of 350 bison that have meandered unwantedly onto National Park lands from neighboring Forest Service and State of Arizona lands. This study spatiotemporally …

Leaching Characteristics Of Selenium From Coal Fly Ash, Mark Allen Cantrell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Selenium (Se) contamination can be a potential groundwater concern near un-lined coal ash landfills. Out of all the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) priority and non-priority pollutants, Se has the narrowest range between what is considered beneficial and detrimental for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The effects of ash type (i.e., fresh and weathered), water-extractant type (i.e., deionized water, rainwater, and groundwater), and extraction time (i.e., 2- and 6-hours) on Se, arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr) concentrations were investigated from Class C, subbituminous coal fly ash produced at the Flint Creek Power Plant located in Benton County, AR. Water-extractable Se concentrations differed …

Prymnesium Parvum And Fish Kills In A Southern Nevada Man-~Made Reservoir, Tara Gregg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The water chemistry of Lake Las Vegas (LLV), a Southern Nevada man-made reservoir, is influenced by both anthropogenic and natural sources. These sources affect the reservoir's water chemistry, which may promote harmful algal blooms (HABs) leading to massive fish kill events. Fish kills, caused by the golden algaePrymnesium parvum (P. parvum), continue to pose a threat in the reservoir. However, no effective treatments to controlP. parvumin large reservoirs such as LLV have been determined. This cross-sectional study evaluated important variables that may affectP. parvumHABs in LLV, including non-P. parvumbiomass (mg/m3), total zooplankton abundance (#/m3), temperature, TDS (salinity), mineral concentration (Ca, …