Heritage Education Resource Guide. Preliminary Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Kathleen, Ed.

Heritage education is defined as teaching and learning about U.S. history and culture. It is an interdisciplinary approach to education that encompasses subjects like architecture, art, community planning, social history, politics, conservation, and transportation. This guide is intended to help persons identify information about heritage…

Development by Design in Colombia: Making Mitigation Decisions Consistent with Conservation Outcomes

PubMed Central

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition. PMID:24339972

Development by design in Colombia: making mitigation decisions consistent with conservation outcomes.

PubMed

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition.

Airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy to map forest trait diversity and guide conservation.

PubMed

Asner, G P; Martin, R E; Knapp, D E; Tupayachi, R; Anderson, C B; Sinca, F; Vaughn, N R; Llactayo, W

2017-01-27

Functional biogeography may bridge a gap between field-based biodiversity information and satellite-based Earth system studies, thereby supporting conservation plans to protect more species and their contributions to ecosystem functioning. We used airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy with environmental modeling to derive large-scale, multivariate forest canopy functional trait maps of the Peruvian Andes-to-Amazon biodiversity hotspot. Seven mapped canopy traits revealed functional variation in a geospatial pattern explained by geology, topography, hydrology, and climate. Clustering of canopy traits yielded a map of forest beta functional diversity for land-use analysis. Up to 53% of each mapped, functionally distinct forest presents an opportunity for new conservation action. Mapping functional diversity advances our understanding of the biosphere to conserve more biodiversity in the face of land use and climate change. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Conservation of Energy in Schools--A Feasibility Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitworth, Fred E.

This report is concerned with suggestions for translating changing educational requirements and community needs into appropriate school facilities that are designed, or changed, to be cost beneficial and to conserve energy. Planning guides are offered for the construction and the improvement of elementary and secondary schools. Some preventative…

Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge land cover mapping project users guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl J.

1988-01-01

Title III of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 (ANILCA 1980) established the Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge (NNWR).  Section 304 of the Act requires the Secretary of Interior to "prepare, and from time to time revise, a comprehensive conservation plan" for the refuge.  

76 FR 9047 - Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Clark County, WA; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-16

... to guide stream and tidally influenced wetland restorations. We would conduct feasibility studies for... assessments to guide stream and tidally influenced wetland restorations. We will conduct feasibility studies.... Wetlands would be managed to increase productivity and reduce water pumping costs. Invasive species and...

Rapid Assessment of Ecosystem Service Co-Benefits of Biodiversity Priority Areas in Madagascar

PubMed Central

Andriamaro, Luciano; Cano, Carlos Andres; Grantham, Hedley S.; Hole, David; Juhn, Daniel; McKinnon, Madeleine; Rasolohery, Andriambolantsoa; Steininger, Marc; Wright, Timothy Max

2016-01-01

The importance of ecosystems for supporting human well-being is increasingly recognized by both the conservation and development sectors. Our ability to conserve ecosystems that people rely on is often limited by a lack of spatially explicit data on the location and distribution of ecosystem services (ES), the benefits provided by nature to people. Thus there is a need to map ES to guide conservation investments, to ensure these co-benefits are maintained. To target conservation investments most effectively, ES assessments must be rigorous enough to support conservation planning, rapid enough to respond to decision-making timelines, and often must rely on existing data. We developed a framework for rapid spatial assessment of ES that relies on expert and stakeholder consultation, available data, and spatial analyses in order to rapidly identify sites providing multiple benefits. We applied the framework in Madagascar, a country with globally significant biodiversity and a high level of human dependence on ecosystems. Our objective was to identify the ES co-benefits of biodiversity priority areas in order to guide the investment strategy of a global conservation fund. We assessed key provisioning (fisheries, hunting and non-timber forest products, and water for domestic use, agriculture, and hydropower), regulating (climate mitigation, flood risk reduction and coastal protection), and cultural (nature tourism) ES. We also conducted multi-criteria analyses to identify sites providing multiple benefits. While our approach has limitations, including the reliance on proximity-based indicators for several ES, the results were useful for targeting conservation investments by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). Because our approach relies on available data, standardized methods for linking ES provision to ES use, and expert validation, it has the potential to quickly guide conservation planning and investment decisions in other data-poor regions. PMID:28006005

Make a Difference in Your School: A How-to Guide for Engaging Students in Resource Conservation and Waste Reduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Environmental Protection Agency, 2006

2006-01-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this guide to provide advice, ideas, and inspiration to teachers, school administrators, and others for planning a hands-on environmental day at school. Many of the tips and ideas in this guide come from "Make a Difference Day" events supported by EPA. EPA launched its "Make a…

Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment: A Guide for Planning, Design, Construction, and Maintenance on New & Existing School Sites.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryland State Dept. of Education, Baltimore. School Facilities Branch.

Natural environments on school sites provide considerable multi-disciplinary educational opportunities, many of which are "hands-on" experiences that stimulate learning. This document presents guidelines on conserving and enhancing the natural environment on school sites. It provides guidance for developing the site requirements in…

Recovery plan for laurel wilt on redbay and other forest species caused by Raffaelea lauricola and disseminated by Xyleborus glabratus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genetic data can guide the management of plant conservation collections. Direct assay of an ex situ collection’s genetic diversity, measured against wild plant populations, offers insight for conservation efforts. Here we present a carefully chosen case study, Zamia lucayana, selected for its contra...

Examining current or future trade-offs for biodiversity conservation in north-eastern Australia.

PubMed

Reside, April E; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Moilanen, Atte; Graham, Erin M

2017-01-01

With the high rate of ecosystem change already occurring and predicted to occur in the coming decades, long-term conservation has to account not only for current biodiversity but also for the biodiversity patterns anticipated for the future. The trade-offs between prioritising future biodiversity at the expense of current priorities must be understood to guide current conservation planning, but have been largely unexplored. To fill this gap, we compared the performance of four conservation planning solutions involving 662 vertebrate species in the Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management Cluster Region in north-eastern Australia. Input species data for the four planning solutions were: 1) current distributions; 2) projected distributions for 2055; 3) projected distributions for 2085; and 4) current, 2055 and 2085 projected distributions, and the connectivity between each of the three time periods for each species. The four planning solutions were remarkably similar (up to 85% overlap), suggesting that modelling for either current or future scenarios is sufficient for conversation planning for this region, with little obvious trade-off. Our analyses also revealed that overall, species with small ranges occurring across steep elevation gradients and at higher elevations were more likely to be better represented in all solutions. Given that species with these characteristics are of high conservation significance, our results provide confidence that conservation planning focused on either current, near- or distant-future biodiversity will account for these species.

Examining current or future trade-offs for biodiversity conservation in north-eastern Australia

PubMed Central

VanDerWal, Jeremy; Moilanen, Atte; Graham, Erin M.

2017-01-01

With the high rate of ecosystem change already occurring and predicted to occur in the coming decades, long-term conservation has to account not only for current biodiversity but also for the biodiversity patterns anticipated for the future. The trade-offs between prioritising future biodiversity at the expense of current priorities must be understood to guide current conservation planning, but have been largely unexplored. To fill this gap, we compared the performance of four conservation planning solutions involving 662 vertebrate species in the Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management Cluster Region in north-eastern Australia. Input species data for the four planning solutions were: 1) current distributions; 2) projected distributions for 2055; 3) projected distributions for 2085; and 4) current, 2055 and 2085 projected distributions, and the connectivity between each of the three time periods for each species. The four planning solutions were remarkably similar (up to 85% overlap), suggesting that modelling for either current or future scenarios is sufficient for conversation planning for this region, with little obvious trade-off. Our analyses also revealed that overall, species with small ranges occurring across steep elevation gradients and at higher elevations were more likely to be better represented in all solutions. Given that species with these characteristics are of high conservation significance, our results provide confidence that conservation planning focused on either current, near- or distant-future biodiversity will account for these species. PMID:28222199

Predicting and Mapping Potential Whooping Crane Stopover Habitat to Guide Site Selection for Wind Energy Projects

EPA Science Inventory

Migration is one of the most poorly understood components of a bird’s life cycle. For that reason, migratory stopover habitats are often not part of conservation planning and may be overlooked when planning new development projects. This project highlights and addresses an overl...

Population and geographic range dynamics: implications for conservation planning

PubMed Central

Mace, Georgina M.; Collen, Ben; Fuller, Richard A.; Boakes, Elizabeth H.

2010-01-01

Continuing downward trends in the population sizes of many species, in the conservation status of threatened species, and in the quality, extent and connectedness of habitats are of increasing concern. Identifying the attributes of declining populations will help predict how biodiversity will be impacted and guide conservation actions. However, the drivers of biodiversity declines have changed over time and average trends in abundance or distributional change hide significant variation among species. While some populations are declining rapidly, the majority remain relatively stable and others are increasing. Here we dissect out some of the changing drivers of population and geographic range change, and identify biological and geographical correlates of winners and losers in two large datasets covering local population sizes of vertebrates since 1970 and the distributions of Galliform birds over the last two centuries. We find weak evidence for ecological and biological traits being predictors of local decline in range or abundance, but stronger evidence for the role of local anthropogenic threats and environmental change. An improved understanding of the dynamics of threat processes and how they may affect different species will help to guide better conservation planning in a continuously changing world. PMID:20980321

Systematic planning of disconnection to enhance conservation success in a modified world.

PubMed

Hermoso, Virgilio; Januchowski-Hartley, Stephanie R; Linke, Simon

2015-12-01

Maintaining spatial-temporal connectivity for conservation is necessary to allow the persistence of ecological processes and the biodiversity they sustain. However, conservation practice in human-modified environments can also benefit from prescribed disconnection through the implementation of barriers. Barriers, such as fences or dams, and buffer zones can be a cost-effective way of addressing threats caused by a globally connected world, such as the propagation of invasive species and diseases, creating refuge areas for native biodiversity and helping reduce economic losses caused by native wildlife or invasive species. Despite the global attention that disconnection has received, no clear framework exists to guide the allocation of barriers for conservation management. Here we propose that the implementation of barriers for conservation should be systematically planned, considering ecological trade-offs for multiple species (easing threats vs. interruption of ecosystem processes) and socio-economic cost-benefits (implementation cost vs. reduced human-wildlife conflicts), rather than using ad-hoc opportunistic criteria or accommodating conservation needs for individual species. Such a systematic approach is necessary to ensure both socially acceptable and ecologically effective use of disconnections as a conservation tool and ideally planned across different realms so co-benefits or trade-offs can be accounted for. However, any implementation of disconnection for conservation should be cautiously considered if uncertainty in effectiveness of the barrier and ecological impacts to other species are high. We also suggest the need for improved approaches to monitoring to learn from previous successes and failures. Our recommendations should guide the systematic evaluation and allocation of barriers to help enhance the value of this conservation tool in the face of increasing propagation of threats worldwide. However, new tools and collaborative frameworks across different realms are needed to help stakeholders make better informed decision. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Identifying species conservation strategies to reduce disease-associated declines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gerber, Brian D.; Converse, Sarah J.; Muths, Erin L.; Crockett, Harry J.; Mosher, Brittany A.; Bailey, Larissa L.

2018-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a salient threat to many animal taxa, causing local and global extinctions, altering communities and ecosystem function. The EID chytridiomycosis is a prominent driver of amphibian declines, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). To guide conservation policy, we developed a predictive decision-analytic model that combines empirical knowledge of host-pathogen metapopulation dynamics with expert judgment regarding effects of management actions, to select from potential conservation strategies. We apply our approach to a boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) and Bd system, identifying optimal strategies that balance tradeoffs in maximizing toad population persistence and landscape-level distribution, while considering costs. The most robust strategy is expected to reduce the decline of toad breeding sites from 53% to 21% over 50 years. Our findings are incorporated into management policy to guide conservation planning. Our online modeling application provides a template for managers of other systems challenged by EIDs.

Resistance-surface-based wildlife conservation connectivity modeling: Summary of efforts in the United States and guide for practitioners

Treesearch

Alisa A. Wade; Kevin S. McKelvey; Michael K. Schwartz

2015-01-01

Resistance-surface-based connectivity modeling has become a widespread tool for conservation planning. The current ease with which connectivity models can be created, however, masks the numerous untested assumptions underlying both the rules that produce the resistance surface and the algorithms used to locate low-cost paths across the target landscape. Here we present...

Patterns of red tree vole distribution and habitat suitability: implications for surveys and conservation planning

Treesearch

Daniel K. Rosenberg; Raymond J. Davis; Kelli J. Van Norman; Jeffrey R. Dunk; Eric D. Forsman; Robert D. Huff

2016-01-01

Environmental regulations often require wildlife surveys prior to habitat disturbance to avoid impacts or as the basis for planning mitigation, yet project-level surveys may not provide the insights needed to guide long-term management. Management of the red tree vole (Arborimus longicaudus) has largely been based on such surveys. As an alternative...

Optimal portfolio design to reduce climate-related conservation uncertainty in the Prairie Pothole Region.

PubMed

Ando, Amy W; Mallory, Mindy L

2012-04-24

Climate change is likely to alter the spatial distributions of species and habitat types but the nature of such change is uncertain. Thus, climate change makes it difficult to implement standard conservation planning paradigms. Previous work has suggested some approaches to cope with such uncertainty but has not harnessed all of the benefits of risk diversification. We adapt Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) to optimal spatial targeting of conservation activity, using wetland habitat conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) as an example. This approach finds the allocations of conservation activity among subregions of the planning area that maximize the expected conservation returns for a given level of uncertainty or minimize uncertainty for a given expected level of returns. We find that using MPT instead of simple diversification in the PPR can achieve a value of the conservation objective per dollar spent that is 15% higher for the same level of risk. MPT-based portfolios can also have 21% less uncertainty over benefits or 6% greater expected benefits than the current portfolio of PPR conservation. Total benefits from conservation investment are higher if returns are defined in terms of benefit-cost ratios rather than benefits alone. MPT-guided diversification can work to reduce the climate-change-induced uncertainty of future ecosystem-service benefits from many land policy and investment initiatives, especially when outcomes are negatively correlated between subregions of a planning area.

Optimal portfolio design to reduce climate-related conservation uncertainty in the Prairie Pothole Region

PubMed Central

Ando, Amy W.; Mallory, Mindy L.

2012-01-01

Climate change is likely to alter the spatial distributions of species and habitat types but the nature of such change is uncertain. Thus, climate change makes it difficult to implement standard conservation planning paradigms. Previous work has suggested some approaches to cope with such uncertainty but has not harnessed all of the benefits of risk diversification. We adapt Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) to optimal spatial targeting of conservation activity, using wetland habitat conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) as an example. This approach finds the allocations of conservation activity among subregions of the planning area that maximize the expected conservation returns for a given level of uncertainty or minimize uncertainty for a given expected level of returns. We find that using MPT instead of simple diversification in the PPR can achieve a value of the conservation objective per dollar spent that is 15% higher for the same level of risk. MPT-based portfolios can also have 21% less uncertainty over benefits or 6% greater expected benefits than the current portfolio of PPR conservation. Total benefits from conservation investment are higher if returns are defined in terms of benefit–cost ratios rather than benefits alone. MPT-guided diversification can work to reduce the climate-change–induced uncertainty of future ecosystem-service benefits from many land policy and investment initiatives, especially when outcomes are negatively correlated between subregions of a planning area. PMID:22451914

7 CFR 1466.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... a contract, and which is operated by the producer with equipment, labor, management, and production... management facility means a structural conservation practice, implemented in the context of a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan and consistent with the Field Office Technical Guide, which is used for storing...

Evaluating perceived benefits of ecoregional assessments.

PubMed

Bottrill, Madeleine C; Mills, Morena; Pressey, Robert L; Game, Edward T; Groves, Craig

2012-10-01

The outcomes of systematic conservation planning (process of assessing, implementing, and managing conservation areas) are rarely reported or measured formally. A lack of consistent or rigorous evaluation in conservation planning has fueled debate about the extent to which conservation assessment (identification, design, and prioritization of potential conservation areas) ultimately influences actions on the ground. We interviewed staff members of a nongovernmental organization, who were involved in 5 ecoregional assessments across North and South America and the Asia-Pacific region. We conducted 17 semistructured interviews with open and closed questions about the perceived purpose, outputs, and outcomes of the ecoregional assessments in which respondents were involved. Using qualitative data collected from those interviews, we investigated the types and frequency of benefits perceived to have emerged from the ecoregional assessments and explored factors that might facilitate or constrain the flow of benefits. Some benefits reflected the intended purpose of ecoregional assessments. Other benefits included improvements in social interactions, attitudes, and institutional knowledge. Our results suggest the latter types of benefits enable ultimate benefits of assessments, such as guiding investments by institutional partners. Our results also showed a clear divergence between the respondents' expectations and perceived outcomes of implementation of conservation actions arising from ecoregional assessments. Our findings suggest the need for both a broader perspective on the contribution of assessments to planning goals and further evaluation of conservation assessments. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Identifying conservation priorities and management strategies based on ecosystem services to improve urban sustainability in Harbin, China

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Rapid urbanization and agricultural development has resulted in the degradation of ecosystems, while also negatively impacting ecosystem services (ES) and urban sustainability. Identifying conservation priorities for ES and applying reasonable management strategies have been found to be effective methods for mitigating this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive framework for identifying ES conservation priorities and associated management strategies for these planning areas. First, we incorporated 10 ES indicators within a systematic conservation planning (SCP) methodology in order to identify ES conservation priorities with high irreplaceability values based on conservation target goals associated with the potential distribution of ES indicators. Next, we assessed the efficiency of the ES conservation priorities for meeting the designated conservation target goals. Finally, ES conservation priorities were clustered into groups using a K-means clustering analysis in an effort to identify the dominant ES per location before formulating management strategies. We effectively identified 12 ES priorities to best represent conservation target goals for the ES indicators. These 12 priorities had a total areal coverage of 13,364 km2 representing 25.16% of the study area. The 12 priorities were further clustered into five significantly different groups (p-values between groups < 0.05), which helped to refine management strategies formulated to best enhance ES across the study area. The proposed method allows conservation and management plans to easily adapt to a wide variety of quantitative ES target goals within urban and agricultural areas, thereby preventing urban and agriculture sprawl and guiding sustainable urban development. PMID:29682412

Identifying conservation priorities and management strategies based on ecosystem services to improve urban sustainability in Harbin, China.

PubMed

Qu, Yi; Lu, Ming

2018-01-01

Rapid urbanization and agricultural development has resulted in the degradation of ecosystems, while also negatively impacting ecosystem services (ES) and urban sustainability. Identifying conservation priorities for ES and applying reasonable management strategies have been found to be effective methods for mitigating this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive framework for identifying ES conservation priorities and associated management strategies for these planning areas. First, we incorporated 10 ES indicators within a systematic conservation planning (SCP) methodology in order to identify ES conservation priorities with high irreplaceability values based on conservation target goals associated with the potential distribution of ES indicators. Next, we assessed the efficiency of the ES conservation priorities for meeting the designated conservation target goals. Finally, ES conservation priorities were clustered into groups using a K-means clustering analysis in an effort to identify the dominant ES per location before formulating management strategies. We effectively identified 12 ES priorities to best represent conservation target goals for the ES indicators. These 12 priorities had a total areal coverage of 13,364 km 2 representing 25.16% of the study area. The 12 priorities were further clustered into five significantly different groups ( p -values between groups < 0.05), which helped to refine management strategies formulated to best enhance ES across the study area. The proposed method allows conservation and management plans to easily adapt to a wide variety of quantitative ES target goals within urban and agricultural areas, thereby preventing urban and agriculture sprawl and guiding sustainable urban development.

School District Energy Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of School Business Officials International, Reston, VA.

This manual serves as an energy conservation reference and management guide for school districts. The School District Energy Program (SDEP) is designed to provide information and/or assistance to school administrators planning to implement a comprehensive energy management program. The manual consists of 15 parts. Part 1 describes the SDEP; Parts…

Hunter Education: Instructor Manual. Shooting Skills Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diebold, Louis, Comp.; And Others

Composed of three books (a procedures guide, the basic student manual, and lesson plans), the instructor's manual provides information to set up and conduct a Hunter Education Certification Course. Course topics include: an introduction, firearms and ammunition, hunting tradition and ethics, the hunter and conservation, safe firearms handling,…

THE FORESTRY AIDE, A SUGGESTED TRAINING PROGRAM.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE IS TO ASSIST TEACHERS IN PLANNING AND CONDUCTING A 45-WEEK COURSE AT THE POSTSECONDARY LEVEL TO PREPARE PERSONS AS ASSISTANTS TO PROFESSIONAL FORESTERS. COURSE OBJECTIVES INCLUDE PREPARING TRAINEES TO -- (1) ASSIST FORESTERS, (2) CONDUCT SURVEYS, (3) PERFORM CONSERVATION FUNCTIONS, (4) MARK TIMBER FOR HARVEST,…

Major Energy Conservation Retrofits: A Planning Guide for Northern Climates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quivik, Fredric

Energy-efficient retrofits are suggested as alternatives to conventional weatherization practices in this three-chapter report. Chapter 1 provides information necessary to help readers decide if a major energy retrofit is the right approach to a particular housing situation. Chapter 2 examines various aspects of retrofit designing, considering…

Rural Housing Site Planning in North Carolina. Agricultural Extension Publication 105.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hester, Randolph T., Jr.; And Others

Addressing the problems of rural housing site selection and development in North Carolina, this guide is designed for cooperative and coordinated use by: technical assistance personnel employed by the Farmers Home Administration; local lending institutions; Health Departments; the Agricultural Extension Service; the Soil Conservation Service; and…

Spatial demographic models to inform conservation planning of golden eagles in renewable energy landscapes.

EPA Science Inventory

Spatial demographic models can help guide monitoring and management activities targeting at-risk species, even in cases where baseline data are lacking. Here, we provide an example of how site-specific changes in land-use and other anthropogenic stressors can be incorporated int...

78 FR 1201 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Take of Anadromous Fish

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-08

... research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https://apps... management actions and to help prioritize and plan recovery measures for the listed species. Under the...

77 FR 64541 - Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, Liberty County, TX; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-22

...-guided with public use jubilee and various interpretative facilities. public speaking events. materials... and the EA to the public, announcing and requesting comments in a notice of availability in the... recreational opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife...

75 FR 62759 - Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-13

..., Roof Runoff Structure; 600, Terrace; 620, Underground Outlet; 313, Waste Storage Facility; 359, Waste Treatment Lagoon; 633, Waste Utilization; 638, Water and Sediment Control Basin. These practices will be used to plan and install conservation practices on cropland, pastureland, woodland, and wildlife land...

Energy future Santa Cruz: A citizens' plan for energy self-reliance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohn, J.; Stayton, R.

The results of a grassroots energy conservation project which involved more than 3,100 residents of Santa Cruz, California, is discussed. Citizens attended forums and town meetings to suggest ideas for solving the community's energy problems. These ideas were then evaluated by the Energy Future Advisory Board and compiled into the Energy Future Plan. The energy plan covers such topics as new residences, residential retrofit, automobile efficiency, farm efficiency, commercial greenhouses, local food production, commercial efficiency, land use planning, energy education and financing, and solar, wind, and ocean energy. An energy implementation guide and glossary are included.

Planning for bird conservation: a tale of two models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Douglas H.; Winter, Maiken

2005-01-01

Planning for bird conservation has become increasingly reliant on remote sensing, geographical information systems, and, especially, models used to predict the occurrence of bird species as well as their density and demographics. We address the role of such tools by contrasting two models used in bird conservation. One, the Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos) productivity model, is very detailed, mechanistic, and based on an enormous body of research. The Mallard model has been extensively used with success to guide management efforts for Mallards and certain other species of ducks. The other model, the concept of Bird Conservation Areas, is more simple, less mechanistic, and less well-grounded in research. This concept proposes that large patches of suitable habitat in a proper landscape will be adequate to maintain populations of birds. The Bird Conservation Area concept recently has been evaluated in the northern tallgrass prairie, where its fundamental assumptions have been found not to hold consistently. We argue that a more comprehensive understanding of the biology of individual species, and how they respond to habitat features, will be essential before we can use remotely sensed information and geographic information system products with confidence.

Predicting and mapping potential Whooping Crane stopover habitat to guide site selection for wind energy projects.

PubMed

Belaire, J Amy; Kreakie, Betty J; Keitt, Timothy; Minor, Emily

2014-04-01

Migratory stopover habitats are often not part of planning for conservation or new development projects. We identified potential stopover habitats within an avian migratory flyway and demonstrated how this information can guide the site-selection process for new development. We used the random forests modeling approach to map the distribution of predicted stopover habitat for the Whooping Crane (Grus americana), an endangered species whose migratory flyway overlaps with an area where wind energy development is expected to become increasingly important. We then used this information to identify areas for potential wind power development in a U.S. state within the flyway (Nebraska) that minimize conflicts between Whooping Crane stopover habitat and the development of clean, renewable energy sources. Up to 54% of our study area was predicted to be unsuitable as Whooping Crane stopover habitat and could be considered relatively low risk for conflicts between Whooping Cranes and wind energy development. We suggest that this type of analysis be incorporated into the habitat conservation planning process in areas where incidental take permits are being considered for Whooping Cranes or other species of concern. Field surveys should always be conducted prior to construction to verify model predictions and understand baseline conditions. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Ultrasound-guided breast-sparing surgery to improve cosmetic outcomes and quality of life. A prospective multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial comparing ultrasound-guided surgery to traditional palpation-guided surgery (COBALT trial)

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer was developed as a method to preserve healthy breast tissue, thereby improving cosmetic outcomes. Thus far, the primary aim of breast-conserving surgery has been the achievement of tumour-free resection margins and prevention of local recurrence, whereas the cosmetic outcome has been considered less important. Large studies have reported poor cosmetic outcomes in 20-40% of patients after breast-conserving surgery, with the volume of the resected breast tissue being the major determinant. There is clear evidence for the efficacy of ultrasonography in the resection of nonpalpable tumours. Surgical resection of palpable breast cancer is performed with guidance by intra-operative palpation. These palpation-guided excisions often result in an unnecessarily wide resection of adjacent healthy breast tissue, while the rate of tumour-involved resection margins is still high. It is hypothesised that the use of intra-operative ultrasonography in the excision of palpable breast cancer will improve the ability to spare healthy breast tissue while maintaining or even improving the oncological margin status. The aim of this study is to compare ultrasound-guided surgery for palpable tumours with the standard palpation-guided surgery in terms of the extent of healthy breast tissue resection, the percentage of tumour-free margins, cosmetic outcomes and quality of life. Methods/design In this prospective multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial, 120 women who have been diagnosed with palpable early-stage (T1-2N0-1) primary invasive breast cancer and deemed suitable for breast-conserving surgery will be randomised between ultrasound-guided surgery and palpation-guided surgery. With this sample size, an expected 20% reduction of resected breast tissue and an 18% difference in tumour-free margins can be detected with a power of 80%. Secondary endpoints include cosmetic outcomes and quality of life. The rationale, study design and planned analyses are described. Conclusion The COBALT trial is a prospective, multicentre, randomised controlled study to assess the efficacy of ultrasound-guided breast-conserving surgery in patients with palpable early-stage primary invasive breast cancer in terms of the sparing of breast tissue, oncological margin status, cosmetic outcomes and quality of life. Trial Registration Number Netherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR2579 PMID:21410949

Your Food Dollar. Money Management. [Revised].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baran, Nancy H., Ed.

This student/teacher resource booklet provides information on conserving food dollars while providing nutritious meals. The guide shows how to set up a food budget and explains how scanning the weekly food ads, planning meals around the specials, and compiling a list accordingly can also help consumers get more for their food dollars. Numerous…

Monitoring goals and programs of the Bureau of Land Management

Treesearch

Terrell D. Rich

1993-01-01

In 1991, the Bureau of Land Management wrote its Nongame Migratory Bird Habitat Conservation Plan to guide implementation of Partners In Flight objectives on 270 million acres of public land in the U.S. Inventory and monitoring of neotropical migrants are the most important program goals because few bird data are available over...

75 FR 62759 - Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-13

... following practice standards: 314, Brush Management, 324, Deep Tillage, 330, Contour Farming, 332, Contour.... These practices will be used to plan and install conservation practices. DATES: Comments will be...-1737. Copies of the practice standards will be made available upon written request to the address shown...

From principles to practice: a spatial approach to systematic conservation planning in the deep sea.

PubMed

Wedding, L M; Friedlander, A M; Kittinger, J N; Watling, L; Gaines, S D; Bennett, M; Hardy, S M; Smith, C R

2013-12-22

Increases in the demand and price for industrial metals, combined with advances in technological capabilities have now made deep-sea mining more feasible and economically viable. In order to balance economic interests with the conservation of abyssal plain ecosystems, it is becoming increasingly important to develop a systematic approach to spatial management and zoning of the deep sea. Here, we describe an expert-driven systematic conservation planning process applied to inform science-based recommendations to the International Seabed Authority for a system of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs) to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in an abyssal Pacific region targeted for nodule mining (e.g. the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone, CCZ). Our use of geospatial analysis and expert opinion in forming the recommendations allowed us to stratify the proposed network by biophysical gradients, maximize the number of biologically unique seamounts within each subregion, and minimize socioeconomic impacts. The resulting proposal for an MPA network (nine replicate 400 × 400 km MPAs) covers 24% (1 440 000 km(2)) of the total CCZ planning region and serves as example of swift and pre-emptive conservation planning across an unprecedented area in the deep sea. As pressure from resource extraction increases in the future, the scientific guiding principles outlined in this research can serve as a basis for collaborative international approaches to ocean management.

From principles to practice: a spatial approach to systematic conservation planning in the deep sea

PubMed Central

Wedding, L. M.; Friedlander, A. M.; Kittinger, J. N.; Watling, L.; Gaines, S. D.; Bennett, M.; Hardy, S. M.; Smith, C. R.

2013-01-01

Increases in the demand and price for industrial metals, combined with advances in technological capabilities have now made deep-sea mining more feasible and economically viable. In order to balance economic interests with the conservation of abyssal plain ecosystems, it is becoming increasingly important to develop a systematic approach to spatial management and zoning of the deep sea. Here, we describe an expert-driven systematic conservation planning process applied to inform science-based recommendations to the International Seabed Authority for a system of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs) to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in an abyssal Pacific region targeted for nodule mining (e.g. the Clarion–Clipperton fracture zone, CCZ). Our use of geospatial analysis and expert opinion in forming the recommendations allowed us to stratify the proposed network by biophysical gradients, maximize the number of biologically unique seamounts within each subregion, and minimize socioeconomic impacts. The resulting proposal for an MPA network (nine replicate 400 × 400 km MPAs) covers 24% (1 440 000 km2) of the total CCZ planning region and serves as example of swift and pre-emptive conservation planning across an unprecedented area in the deep sea. As pressure from resource extraction increases in the future, the scientific guiding principles outlined in this research can serve as a basis for collaborative international approaches to ocean management. PMID:24197407

Initial Northwest Power Act Power Sales Contracts : Final Environmental Impact Statement. Volume 2, Appendices A--L.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration.

1992-01-01

This report consists of appendices A-L of the final environmental impact statement for the Bonneville Power Administration. The appendices provide information on the following: Ninth circuit Court opinion in Forelaws on Board v. Johnson; guide to Northwest Power act contracts; guide to hydro operations; glossary; affected environment supporting documentation; environmental impacts of generic resource types; information on models used; technical information on analysis; public involvement activities; bibliography; Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act; and biological assessment. (CBS)

A national geographic framework for guiding conservation on a landscape scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Millard, Michael J.; Czarnecki, Craig A.; Morton, John M.; Brandt, Laura A.; Briggs, Jennifer S.; Shipley, Frank S.; Sayre, Roger G.; Sponholtz, Pamela J.; Perkins, David; Simpkins, Darin G.; Taylor, Janith

2012-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the global conservation community, has recognized that the conservation challenges of the 21st century far exceed the responsibilities and footprint of any individual agency or program. The ecological effects of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors do not recognize geopolitical boundaries and, as such, demand a national geographic framework to provide structure for cross-jurisdictional and landscape-scale conservation strategies. In 2009, a new map of ecologically based conservation regions in which to organize capacity and implement strategic habitat conservation was developed using rapid prototyping and expert elicitation by an interagency team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey scientists and conservation professionals. Incorporating Bird Conservation Regions, Freshwater Ecoregions, and U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic unit codes, the new geographic framework provides a spatial template for building conservation capacity and focusing biological planning and conservation design efforts. The Department of Interior's Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are being organized in these new conservation regions as multi-stakeholder collaborations for improved conservation science and management.

7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart G of... - Development and Implementation of Natural Resource Management Guide

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... planning tool and with sensitivity to the Agency's mission. 3. After the Administrator approves the natural... high water quality, or scenic or recreational value; n. Agricultural districts or other similar zoning... executed in May 1979 between the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and FmHA or its successor agency under...

7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart G of... - Development and Implementation of Natural Resource Management Guide

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... planning tool and with sensitivity to the Agency's mission. 3. After the Administrator approves the natural... high water quality, or scenic or recreational value; n. Agricultural districts or other similar zoning... executed in May 1979 between the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and FmHA or its successor agency under...

7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart G of... - Development and Implementation of Natural Resource Management Guide

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... planning tool and with sensitivity to the Agency's mission. 3. After the Administrator approves the natural... high water quality, or scenic or recreational value; n. Agricultural districts or other similar zoning... executed in May 1979 between the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and FmHA or its successor agency under...

Chesapeake Bay Riparian Handbook: A Guide for Establishing and Maintaining Riparian Forest Buffers

Treesearch

Roxane Palone; Albert Todd

1998-01-01

The Purpose of This Handbook Riparian forest buffers have been identified as avaluable nutrient reduction tool when used inconjunction with other conservation practices. For this reason, the Chesapeake Bay Programhas targeted riparian forests as a key habitat for restoration. The purpose of this handbook is toprovide professional land managers and plan-ners with the...

Ecosystem impacts of exotic annual invaders in the genus Bromus

Treesearch

Matthew J. Germino; Jayne Belnap; John M. Stark; Edith B Allen; Benjamin Rau

2016-01-01

An understanding of the impacts of exotic plant species on ecosystems is necessary to justify and guide efforts to limit their spread, restore natives, and plan for conservation. Invasive annual grasses such as Bromus tectorum, B. rubens, B. hordeaceus, and B. diandrus (hereafter collectively referred to as Bromus) transform the structure and function of ecosystems...

Working Together for a Healthy Environment: A Guide for Multi-Cultural Community Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007

2007-01-01

As a community-based organization, community leader or activist, individuals are in a unique position to take the lead in raising awareness about resource conservation, good solid waste management, and safeguarding the environment for future generations. This paper is designed to help individuals plan and execute community events that promote the…

San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) Rare Plant Monitoring Review and Revision

USGS Publications Warehouse

McEachern, Kathryn; Pavlik, Bruce M.; Rebman, Jon; Sutter, Rob

2007-01-01

Introduction The San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) was developed for the conservation of plants and animals in the south part of San Diego County, under the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act of 1991 (California Department of Fish and Game) and the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S. Code 1531-1544.) The Program is on the leading edge of conservation, as it seeks to both guide development and conserve at-risk species with the oversight of both State and Federal agencies. Lands were identified for inclusion in the MSCP based on their value as habitat for at-risk plants or plant communities (Natural Community Conservation Planning, 2005). Since its inception in the mid-1990s the Program has protected over 100,000 acres, involving 15 jurisdictions and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) in the conservation of 87 taxa. Surveys for covered species have been conducted, and management and monitoring have been implemented at some high priority sites. Each jurisdiction or agency manages and monitors their conservation areas independently, while collaborating regionally for long-term protection. The San Diego MSCP is on the forefront of conservation, in one of the most rapidly growing urban areas of the country. The planning effort that developed the MSCP was state-of-the-art, using expert knowledge, spatial habitat modeling, and principles of preserve design to identify and prioritize areas for protection. Land acquisition and protection are ahead of schedule for most jurisdictions. Surveys have verified the locations of many rare plant populations known from earlier collections, and they provide general information on population size and health useful for further conservation planning. Management plans have been written or are in development for most MSCP parcels under jurisdictional control. Several agencies are developing databases for implementation and management tracking. In many ways this program is at the cutting edge of regional conservation, testing concepts, developing techniques, and demonstrating conservation effectiveness in new and uncharted ways. Periodic program review is crucial to the continued success of the program, as it moves from a phase of planning and acquisition to one of management and monitoring. Ecological monitoring is the key to assessing the success of the protection and management implemented at each individual reserve and for the MSCP as a whole. The ultimate goal of the Program is conservation of at-risk taxa and their habitats, as well as underlying ecological processes that contribute to sustainability of the ecosystem. Monitoring guidelines and timetables were developed by Ogden Environmental and Energy Services Co., Inc. (1996), and reviewed by Conservation Biology Institute (2001). The Program is in transition now, from the initial stage of land protection to one of land management and monitoring to determine population responses to management regimes. Several agencies have already invested substantial effort in status and trend monitoring, while others are developing their monitoring plans. Management is ongoing at several sites. With both management and monitoring, collaboration and coordination among jurisdictions can be especially fruitful in conserving resources and maximizing success.

Restoration planning to guide Aichi targets in a megadiverse country.

PubMed

Tobón, Wolke; Urquiza-Haas, Tania; Koleff, Patricia; Schröter, Matthias; Ortega-Álvarez, Rubén; Campo, Julio; Lindig-Cisneros, Roberto; Sarukhán, José; Bonn, Aletta

2017-10-01

Ecological restoration has become an important strategy to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems services. To restore 15% of degraded ecosystems as stipulated by the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi target 15, we developed a prioritization framework to identify potential priority sites for restoration in Mexico, a megadiverse country. We used the most current biological and environmental data on Mexico to assess areas of biological importance and restoration feasibility at national scale and engaged stakeholders and experts throughout the process. We integrated 8 criteria into 2 components (i.e., biological importance and restoration feasibility) in a spatial multicriteria analysis and generated 11 scenarios to test the effect of assigning different component weights. The priority restoration sites were distributed across all terrestrial ecosystems of Mexico; 64.1% were in degraded natural vegetation and 6% were in protected areas. Our results provide a spatial guide to where restoration could enhance the persistence of species of conservation concern and vulnerable ecosystems while maximizing the likelihood of restoration success. Such spatial prioritization is a first step in informing policy makers and restoration planners where to focus local and large-scale restoration efforts, which should additionally incorporate social and monetary cost-benefit considerations. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Geospatial considerations for a multiorganizational, landscape-scale program

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Donnell, Michael S.; Assal, Timothy J.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Bowen, Zachary H.

2013-01-01

Geospatial data play an increasingly important role in natural resources management, conservation, and science-based projects. The management and effective use of spatial data becomes significantly more complex when the efforts involve a myriad of landscape-scale projects combined with a multiorganizational collaboration. There is sparse literature to guide users on this daunting subject; therefore, we present a framework of considerations for working with geospatial data that will provide direction to data stewards, scientists, collaborators, and managers for developing geospatial management plans. The concepts we present apply to a variety of geospatial programs or projects, which we describe as a “scalable framework” of processes for integrating geospatial efforts with management, science, and conservation initiatives. Our framework includes five tenets of geospatial data management: (1) the importance of investing in data management and standardization, (2) the scalability of content/efforts addressed in geospatial management plans, (3) the lifecycle of a geospatial effort, (4) a framework for the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) in a landscape-scale conservation or management program, and (5) the major geospatial considerations prior to data acquisition. We conclude with a discussion of future considerations and challenges.

IPPF focuses on advocacy. Advocacy for reproductive health: worldwide.

PubMed

Puri, S; Ketting, E

1996-01-01

The International Planned Parenthood Federation has been advocating human rights since its establishment in 1952. Since the adoption of its global strategic plan, Vision 2000, it has dealt with advocacy in a more systematic manner. Advocacy aims to gain broader support for a cause. In family planning and reproductive health, advocacy is important in counteracting conservative opposition movements. Its most effective tool is high-quality information and services for meeting people's needs. Its target groups are women's groups, youth organizations, parliamentarians, media representatives, and religious leaders. Information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns differ from advocacy, because the latter is deliberately persuasive and campaign-oriented. An Advocacy Working Group was convened by IPPF and an Advocacy Guide was produced in 1995. Advocacy is needed for the promotion of sexual and reproductive health in the face of opposition from traditional and cultural forces represented by small, vocal, well-financed and organized groups. In 1984 they succeeded in halting funding for IPPF by the United States. This made IPPF resolute in strategic planning and setting goals as contained in Vision 2000. The goals include advocacy for family planning, the prevention of unsafe abortion, women's empowerment, the involvement of youth, the responsibility of men for family life, and the improvement of the status of the female child. The IPPF's 1985 Central Council discussed new initiatives and an Issues Manual was published. The 1989 Members' Assembly held a seminar on critical issues in advocating family planning. A further 1993 resolution urged support for advocacy initiatives. A Public Response Guide was published in 1991 and Language Guidelines were also produced for correct family planning terminology. In addition, an Interregional Training Workshop was held in London in 1995 on the use of the Advocacy Guide. Recommendations were also submitted by participants for advocacy programs and for future training.

Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Annual Implementation Work Plan for Fiscal Year 1993.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Northwest Power Planning Council; Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority

1992-09-01

The Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (Program) was developed by the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council) in accordance with Public Law 96-501, the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Act). The purpose of the Program is to guide the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other Federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin. The Annual Implementation World Plan (AIWP) presents BPA`s plans for implementing the Program during fiscal year (FY) 1993. The FY 1993 AIWP emphasizes continuation of 143 ongoing or projecting ongoing Programmore » projects, tasks, or task orders, most of which involve protection, mitigation, or enhancement of anadromous fishery resources. The FY 1993 AIWP also contains three new Program projects or tasks that are planned to start in FY 1993.« less

Interpreting beta-diversity components over time to conserve metacommunities in highly dynamic ecosystems.

PubMed

Ruhí, Albert; Datry, Thibault; Sabo, John L

2017-12-01

The concept of metacommunity (i.e., a set of local communities linked by dispersal) has gained great popularity among community ecologists. However, metacommunity research mostly addresses questions on spatial patterns of biodiversity at the regional scale, whereas conservation planning requires quantifying temporal variation in those metacommunities and the contributions that individual (local) sites make to regional dynamics. We propose that recent advances in diversity-partitioning methods may allow for a better understanding of metacommunity dynamics and the identification of keystone sites. We used time series of the 2 components of beta diversity (richness and replacement) and the contributions of local sites to these components to examine which sites controlled source-sink dynamics in a highly dynamic model system (an intermittent river). The relative importance of the richness and replacement components of beta diversity fluctuated over time, and sample aggregation led to underestimation of beta diversity by up to 35%. Our literature review revealed that research on intermittent rivers would benefit greatly from examination of beta-diversity components over time. Adequately appraising spatiotemporal variability in community composition and identifying sites that are pivotal for maintaining biodiversity at the landscape scale are key needs for conservation prioritization and planning. Thus, our framework may be used to guide conservation actions in highly dynamic ecosystems when time-series data describing biodiversity across sites connected by dispersal are available. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Driver Education Curriculum Guide. Energy Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Governor's Highway Safety Program Office, Columbus, OH.

Designed to provide high school students with information concerning energy-efficient driving, this curriculum guide covers techniques of conserving energy, efficient use of motor vehicles, safe driving techniques, and development of energy-efficient driving habits. The guide consists of six lessons: (1) Fuel Conservation: Why It Is Essential; (2)…

Expert knowledge as a foundation for the management of secretive species and their habitat

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drew, C. Ashton; Collazo, Jaime

2012-01-01

In this chapter, we share lessons learned during the elicitation and application of expert knowledge in the form of a belief network model for the habitat of a waterbird, the King Rail (Rallus elegans). A belief network is a statistical framework used to graphically represent and evaluate hypothesized cause and effect relationships among variables. Our model was a pilot project to explore the value of such a model as a tool to help the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) conserve species that lack sufficient empirical data to guide management decisions. Many factors limit the availability of empirical data that can support landscape-scale conservation planning. Globally, most species simply have not yet been subject to empirical study (Wilson 2000). Even for well-studied species, data are often restricted to specific geographic extents, to particular seasons, or to specific segments of a species’ life history. The USFWS mandates that the agency’s conservation actions (1) be coordinated across regional landscapes, (2) be founded on the best available science (with testable assumptions), and (3) support adaptive management through monitoring and assessment of action outcomes. Given limits on the available data, the concept of “best available science” in the context of conservation planning generally includes a mix of empirical data and expert knowledge (Sullivan et al. 2006).

Agricultural implications of providing soil-based constraints on urban expansion: Land use forecasts to 2050.

PubMed

Smidt, Samuel J; Tayyebi, Amin; Kendall, Anthony D; Pijanowski, Bryan C; Hyndman, David W

2018-07-01

Urbanization onto adjacent farmlands directly reduces the agricultural area available to meet the resource needs of a growing society. Soil conservation is a common objective in urban planning, but little focus has been placed on targeting soil value as a metric for conservation. This study assigns commodity and water storage values to the agricultural soils across all of the watersheds in Michigan's Lower Peninsula to evaluate how cities might respond to a soil conservation-based urbanization strategy. Land Transformation Model (LTM) simulations representing both traditional and soil conservation-based urbanization, are used to forecast urban area growth from 2010 to 2050 at five year intervals. The expansion of urban areas onto adjacent farmland is then evaluated to quantify the conservation effects of soil-based development. Results indicate that a soil-based protection strategy significantly conserves total farmland, especially more fertile soils within each soil type. In terms of revenue, ∼$88 million (in current dollars) would be conserved in 2050 using soil-based constraints, with the projected savings from 2011 to 2050 totaling more than $1.5 billion. Soil-based urbanization also increased urban density for each major metropolitan area. For example, there were 94,640 more acres directly adjacent to urban land by 2050 under traditional development compared to the soil-based urbanization strategy, indicating that urban sprawl was more tightly contained when including soil value as a metric to guide development. This study indicates that implementing a soil-based urbanization strategy would better satisfy future agricultural resource needs than traditional urban planning. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Integrating the avoidance of forest degradation into systematic conservation planning in the Eastern Amazon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, J.; Barlow, J.; Thompson, J.; Berenguer, E.; Aragão, L. E.; Lees, A.; Lennox, G.; Brancalion, P.; Ferraz, S.; Moura, N.; Oliveira, V. H.; Louzada, J.; Solar, R.; Nunes, S.; Parry, L.; Fonseca, T.; Garrett, R.; Vieira, I.; MacNally, R.; Gardner, T.

2017-12-01

Undisturbed forests are becoming increasingly rare in the tropics. The area of forest degraded by some form of disturbance, such as logging or fire, in the Brazilian Amazon now greatly exceeds that which had been deforested. Yet forest policy in the Amazon, as elsewhere in the tropics, remains overwhelmingly focused curbing the rate of forest loss without considering impacts on forest quality. We use a unique data set from the Sustainable Amazon Network (RAS), in the eastern Brazilian Amazon to assess the impacts of forest disturbance on biodiversity and assess the benefits of including avoided degradation measures in conservation planning. Biodiversity data on trees and fauna from two large regions, Santarém and Paragominas, were combined with remote sensing data to model biodiversity patterns as well as estimates of above-ground carbon stocks across a range of land-use types and forest conditions. We found that impact of forest disturbance on biodiversity loss in the state of Pará equates to double that lost from deforestation alone, -the equivalent of losing 92,000-139,000 km2 of primary forest. We found a strong positive relationship between increasing carbon stocks and higher biodiversity in varyingly disturbed forests. Simulations demonstrated that a carbon-focused conservation strategy is least effective at conserving biodiversity in the least disturbed forests, highlighting the importance of on-the-ground biodiversity surveys to prioritise conservation investments in the most species rich forests. We explored trade-offs among management actions to guide priorities for habitat protection, avoided degradation and restoration and found that where restoration imposes significant opportunity and implementation costs, efforts to avoid and reverse the degradation of existing forests can deliver greater returns on investment for biodiversity conservation. Systemic planning of forest management options at regional scales can substantially improve biodiversity outcomes while greatly reducing costs and risks. These results provide new and valuable information for regulators, conservation practitioners and landowners in this biologically unique region.

Planning the breast tumor bed boost: Changes in the excision cavity volume and surgical scar location after breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oh, Kevin S.; Kong, F.-M.; Griffith, Kent A.

2006-11-01

Purpose: The aims of this study were to determine the changes in breast and excision cavity volumes after whole-breast irradiation and the adequacy of using the surgical scar to guide boost planning. Methods and Materials: A total of 30 women consecutively treated for 31 breast cancers were included in this study. Simulation CT scans were performed before and after whole-breast irradiation. CT breast volumes were delineated using clinically defined borders. Excision cavity volumes were contoured based on surgical clips, the presence of a hematoma, and/or other surgical changes. Hypothetical electron boost plans were generated using the surgical scar with amore » 3-cm margin and analyzed for coverage. Results: The mean CT breast volumes were 774 and 761 cc (p = 0.22), and the excision cavity volumes were 32.1 and 25.1 cc (p < 0.0001), before and after 40 Gy (39-42 Gy) of whole-breast irradiation, respectively. The volume reduction in the excision cavity was inversely correlated with time elapsed since surgery (R = 0.46, p < 0.01) and body weight (R = 0.50, p < 0.01). The scar-guided hypothetical plans failed to cover the excision cavity adequately in 62% and 53.8% of cases using the pretreatment and postradiation CTs, respectively. Per the hypothetical plans, the minimum dose to the excision cavity was significantly lower for tumors located in the inner vs. outer quadrants (p = 0.02) and for cavities >20 cc vs. <20 cc (p = 0.01). Conclusions: This study demonstrates a significant reduction in the volume of the excision cavity during whole-breast irradiation. Scar-guided boost plans provide inadequate coverage of the excision cavity in the majority of cases.« less

Overcoming Hurdles: Teaching Guides To Interpret Biodiversity Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohl, Jon; Brown, Cynthia; Humke, Matt

2001-01-01

Highlights the development and use of bilingual nature guide training. Examines work at the RARE Center for tropical conservation in Central America. Speculates about the future of conservation interpretation. (DDR)

A Classroom Teaching and Resource Guide in Conservation Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnhart, William M.

In this teaching guide the natural and social sciences are integrated with an emphasis on conservation and ecology. The guide contains ten teaching units dealing with various physical and biological aspects of the environment. Unit one deals with the question of what is conservation. Unit two is concerned with the question of what is a natural…

Pumas and Prepositions: Training Nature Guides in the Yucatan Peninsula.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Cynthia

2000-01-01

In the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), the 10-week Nature Guide Training Program integrates English immersion with natural history and environmental interpretation to train rural adults as nature guides and conservation leaders. Most graduates have found work as ecotourism guides or in conservation-related activities, and many have provided English…

Northwest Boreal Landscape Conservation Cooperative strategic plan 2015 - 2025

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markon, Carl; Schroff, Eric

2016-01-01

The Northwest Boreal Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NWB LCC) is a voluntary, diverse, self-directed management-science partnership, informing and promoting integrated science, sustainable natural and cultural resource management, and conservation to address impacts of climate change and other stressors within and across ecosystems. The NWB LCC area includes parts of Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. Our partnership reflects both the broad geographic scope and an extensive array of active and engaged participants including resource management organizations, government representatives, policy makers, Tribes and First Nations, industry leaders, researchers, non-governmental organizations, and research/education institutions. Bringing together diverse partners will help assure the northwest boreal is a functioning, sustainable landscape. We live in an era of profound conservation challenges, including the loss and fragmentation of habitats, genetic isolation, invasive species, and unnatural wildfire. The effects of rapidly changing climate are already evident on the landscape. In these circumstances, it is imperative that natural resource management agencies, science providers, Tribes, First Nations, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders work together to understand the drivers and impacts of landscape change and to determine how best to address those challenges. Further, it is essential that the public and communities receive clear communication about the vision and activities of the NWB LCC. Open public access to NWB LCC activities and products will promote acceptance and support of the science that guides potential changes in management action and conservation strategy. This strategic plan provides a great opportunity for the NWB LCC to share our approach and intentions to the LCC members, collaborators, communities, and the public at large.

Building robust conservation plans.

PubMed

Visconti, Piero; Joppa, Lucas

2015-04-01

Systematic conservation planning optimizes trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human activities by accounting for socioeconomic costs while aiming to achieve prescribed conservation objectives. However, the most cost-efficient conservation plan can be very dissimilar to any other plan achieving the set of conservation objectives. This is problematic under conditions of implementation uncertainty (e.g., if all or part of the plan becomes unattainable). We determined through simulations of parallel implementation of conservation plans and habitat loss the conditions under which optimal plans have limited chances of implementation and where implementation attempts would fail to meet objectives. We then devised a new, flexible method for identifying conservation priorities and scheduling conservation actions. This method entails generating a number of alternative plans, calculating the similarity in site composition among all plans, and selecting the plan with the highest density of neighboring plans in similarity space. We compared our method with the classic method that maximizes cost efficiency with synthetic and real data sets. When implementation was uncertain--a common reality--our method provided higher likelihood of achieving conservation targets. We found that χ, a measure of the shortfall in objectives achieved by a conservation plan if the plan could not be implemented entirely, was the main factor determining the relative performance of a flexibility enhanced approach to conservation prioritization. Our findings should help planning authorities prioritize conservation efforts in the face of uncertainty about future condition and availability of sites. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rick, Torben C.; Sillett, T. Scott; Ghalambor, Cameron K.; Hofman, Courtney A.; Ralls, Katherine; Anderson, R. Scott; Boser, Christina L.; Braje, Todd J.; Cayan, Daniel R.; Chesser, R. Terry; Collins, Paul W.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Faulkner, Kate R.; Fleischer, Robert; Funk, W. Chris; Galipeau, Russell; Huston, Ann; King, Julie; Laughrin, Lyndal L.; Maldonado, Jesus; McEachern, Kathryn; Muhs, Daniel R.; Newsome, Seth D.; Reeder-Myers, Leslie; Still, Christopher; Morrison, Scott A.

2014-01-01

Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use and ecological changes. Our analysis spans approximately 20,000 years, from before human occupation and through Native American hunter–gatherers, commercial ranchers and fishers, the US military, and other land managers. We demonstrate how long-term, interdisciplinary research provides insight into conservation decisions, such as setting ecosystem restoration goals, preserving rare and endemic taxa, and reducing the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources. We illustrate the importance of historical perspectives for understanding modern patterns and ecological change and present an approach that can be applied generally in conservation management planning.

Green utilities for research and eco-tourist communities, Rio Bravo, Belize, Central America

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jackson, O.

1997-12-31

Programme for Belize (PFB), a non-governmental organization which owns and manages the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA), a 229,000 acre section of subtropical rainforest in northwestern Belize, is developing a series of research and eco-tourism developments as sustainable development projects. Guided by a comprehensive Sustainable Infrastructure Plan completed by Caribbean Infra-Tech, Inc. (CIT) in 1995, PFB adopted an organizational goal of implementing 100% green renewable energy-based utilities for their two major development sites: La Milpa and Hill Bank stations. To date, PFB has constructed or installed over 20 kW of standalone PV power, sustainable water supply systems, recyclingmore » waste treatment systems, and a model sustainable Dormitory and Bath House facility in the RBCMA. In addition, a Resource Conservation and Management Program (RCMP), which is to guide ongoing visitor orientation, staff training, and sustainable systems operations and maintenance, is now being prepared for immediate implementation. In this paper, the design and technical performance of the solar (PV) electric power plants, PV water pumping, solar water heating and other green utility systems will be assessed.« less

7 CFR 633.9 - Conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Conservation plan. 633.9 Section 633.9 Agriculture... AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING WATER BANK PROGRAM § 633.9 Conservation plan. (a) The program participant... conservation plan for the acreage designated under an agreement. (b) The conservation plan is the basis for the...

Conserving Limited Resources. Secondary Learning Guide 14. Project Connect. Linking Self-Family-Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Inc., Hartford, CT.

This competency-based secondary learning guide on conserving limited resources is part of a series that are adaptations of guides developed for adult consumer and homemaking education programs. The guides provide students with experiences that help them learn to do the following: make decisions; use creative approaches to solve problems; establish…

Planning for land use and conservation: Assessing GIS-based conservation software for land use planning

Treesearch

Rob Baldwin; Ryan Scherzinger; Don Lipscomb; Miranda Mockrin; Susan Stein

2014-01-01

Recent advances in planning and ecological software make it possible to conduct highly technical analyses to prioritize conservation investments and inform local land use planning. We review these tools, termed conservation planning tools, and assess the knowledge of a key set of potential users: the land use planning community. We grouped several conservation software...

Designing systematic conservation assessments that promote effective implementation: best practice from South Africa.

PubMed

Knight, Andrew T; Driver, Amanda; Cowling, Richard M; Maze, Kristal; Desmet, Philip G; Lombard, Amanda T; Rouget, Mathieu; Botha, Mark A; Boshoff, Andre F; Castley, J Guy; Goodman, Peter S; Mackinnon, Kathy; Pierce, Shirley M; Sims-Castley, Rebecca; Stewart, Warrick I; von Hase, Amrei

2006-06-01

Systematic conservation assessment and conservation planning are two distinct fields of conservation science often confused as one and the same. Systematic conservation assessment is the technical, often computer-based, identification of priority areas for conservation. Conservation planning is composed of a systematic conservation assessment coupled with processes for development of an implementation strategy and stakeholder collaboration. The peer-reviewed conservation biology literature abounds with studies analyzing the performance of assessments (e.g., area-selection techniques). This information alone, however can never deliver effective conservation action; it informs conservation planning. Examples of how to translate systematic assessment outputs into knowledge and then use them for "doing" conservation are rare. South Africa has received generous international and domestic funding for regional conservation planning since the mid-1990s. We reviewed eight South African conservation planning processes and identified key ingredients of best practice for undertaking systematic conservation assessments in a way that facilitates implementing conservation action. These key ingredients include the design of conservation planning processes, skills for conservation assessment teams, collaboration with stakeholders, and interpretation and mainstreaming of products (e.g., maps) for stakeholders. Social learning institutions are critical to the successful operationalization of assessments within broader conservation planning processes and should include not only conservation planners but also diverse interest groups, including rural landowners, politicians, and government employees.

Energy Conservation: A Management Report for State and Local Governments and A Technical Guide for State and Local Governments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Public Technology, Inc., Washington, DC.

This technical guide is part of a packet of tools designed to assist state or local government practitioners in organizing and managing an energy conservation program. It gives information on adapting energy conservation methods to existing public buildings and on designing new public buildings with energy conservation in mind. It also discusses…

Optimal management of a multispecies shorebird flyway under sea-level rise.

PubMed

Iwamura, Takuya; Fuller, Richard A; Possingham, Hugh P

2014-12-01

Every year, millions of migratory shorebirds fly through the East Asian-Australasian Flyway between their arctic breeding grounds and Australasia. This flyway includes numerous coastal wetlands in Asia and the Pacific that are used as stopover sites where birds rest and feed. Loss of a few important stopover sites through sea-level rise (SLR) could cause sudden population declines. We formulated and solved mathematically the problem of how to identify the most important stopover sites to minimize losses of bird populations across flyways by conserving land that facilitates upshore shifts of tidal flats in response to SLR. To guide conservation investment that minimizes losses of migratory bird populations during migration, we developed a spatially explicit flyway model coupled with a maximum flow algorithm. Migratory routes of 10 shorebird taxa were modeled in a graph theoretic framework by representing clusters of important wetlands as nodes and the number of birds flying between 2 nodes as edges. We also evaluated several resource allocation algorithms that required only partial information on flyway connectivity (node strategy, based on the impacts of SLR at nodes; habitat strategy, based on habitat change at sites; population strategy, based on population change at sites; and random investment). The resource allocation algorithms based on flyway information performed on average 15% better than simpler allocations based on patterns of habitat loss or local bird counts. The Yellow Sea region stood out as the most important priority for effective conservation of migratory shorebirds, but investment in this area alone will not ensure the persistence of species across the flyway. The spatial distribution of conservation investments differed enormously according to the severity of SLR and whether information about flyway connectivity was used to guide the prioritizations. With the rapid ongoing loss of coastal wetlands globally, our method provides insight into efficient conservation planning for migratory species. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Conservation plan based on the concept of integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Y. N.; Cheng, C. F.

2015-08-01

Value based concept has been accepted as a universal principle for the conservation of Cultural Heritage. Authenticity and integrity are two main issues protecting those values. Authenticity is the major tool in the value assessment and integrity plays an important role in the procedure of conservation plan. From the perspective of integrity, this research explores the principle of conservation plan and discusses its relation with the restoration plan and urban plan. A conservation plan in Quing-Lin village, Kinmen, will be taken as an example for implementation. The research shows that a conservation plan with integrity in mind helps to clarify the conservation target areas and their buffer zones. It also serves as a tool for developing control and risk management. Cultural mapping is an efficient tool for the communication with stakeholders in the process of the conservation plan.

Use of cccupancy models to evaluate expert knowledge-based species-habitat relationships

USGS Publications Warehouse

Iglecia, Monica N.; Collazo, Jaime A.; McKerrow, Alexa

2012-01-01

Expert knowledge-based species-habitat relationships are used extensively to guide conservation planning, particularly when data are scarce. Purported relationships describe the initial state of knowledge, but are rarely tested. We assessed support in the data for suitability rankings of vegetation types based on expert knowledge for three terrestrial avian species in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States. Experts used published studies, natural history, survey data, and field experience to rank vegetation types as optimal, suitable, and marginal. We used single-season occupancy models, coupled with land cover and Breeding Bird Survey data, to examine the hypothesis that patterns of occupancy conformed to species-habitat suitability rankings purported by experts. Purported habitat suitability was validated for two of three species. As predicted for the Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) and Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla), occupancy was strongly influenced by vegetation types classified as “optimal habitat” by the species suitability rankings for nuthatches and wood-pewees. Contrary to predictions, Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) models that included vegetation types as covariates received similar support by the data as models without vegetation types. For all three species, occupancy was also related to sampling latitude. Our results suggest that covariates representing other habitat requirements might be necessary to model occurrence of generalist species like the woodpecker. The modeling approach described herein provides a means to test expert knowledge-based species-habitat relationships, and hence, help guide conservation planning.

Developing a Bird Conservation Plan for the Diverse Coniferous Forests of California

Treesearch

John C. Robinson

2005-01-01

Bird conservation plans represent one of the pillars of the National Partners in Flight (PIF) bird conservation strategy known as the Flight Plan. The Flight Plan provides the framework for bird conservation plans that, in turn, set conservation priorities and specific objectives for bird populations and habitat for each state or eco-region in the nation. Many of...

77 FR 74500 - Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan for Western Butte County...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-14

... is being prepared under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act. The BRCP addresses State and Federal endangered species compliance... conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (Act), and a natural community conservation...

Putting people on the map through an approach that integrates social data in conservation planning.

PubMed

Stephanson, Sheri L; Mascia, Michael B

2014-10-01

Conservation planning is integral to strategic and effective operations of conservation organizations. Drawing upon biological sciences, conservation planning has historically made limited use of social data. We offer an approach for integrating data on social well-being into conservation planning that captures and places into context the spatial patterns and trends in human needs and capacities. This hierarchical approach provides a nested framework for characterizing and mapping data on social well-being in 5 domains: economic well-being, health, political empowerment, education, and culture. These 5 domains each have multiple attributes; each attribute may be characterized by one or more indicators. Through existing or novel data that display spatial and temporal heterogeneity in social well-being, conservation scientists, planners, and decision makers may measure, benchmark, map, and integrate these data within conservation planning processes. Selecting indicators and integrating these data into conservation planning is an iterative, participatory process tailored to the local context and planning goals. Social well-being data complement biophysical and threat-oriented social data within conservation planning processes to inform decisions regarding where and how to conserve biodiversity, provide a structure for exploring socioecological relationships, and to foster adaptive management. Building upon existing conservation planning methods and insights from multiple disciplines, this approach to putting people on the map can readily merge with current planning practices to facilitate more rigorous decision making. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

7 CFR 1450.207 - Conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan, such approval may be waived by CCC. (b) The... purposes as determined by CCC. (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan must be developed and included in the conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan. Such tree planting plan may allow...

7 CFR 1450.207 - Conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan, such approval may be waived by CCC. (b) The... purposes as determined by CCC. (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan must be developed and included in the conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan. Such tree planting plan may allow...

7 CFR 1450.207 - Conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan, such approval may be waived by CCC. (b) The... purposes as determined by CCC. (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan must be developed and included in the conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan. Such tree planting plan may allow...

7 CFR 1450.207 - Conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan, such approval may be waived by CCC. (b) The... purposes as determined by CCC. (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan must be developed and included in the conservation plan, forest stewardship plan, or equivalent plan. Such tree planting plan may allow...

Conservation in the face of climate change: The roles of alternative models, monitoring, and adaptation in confronting and reducing uncertainty

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conroy, M.J.; Runge, M.C.; Nichols, J.D.; Stodola, K.W.; Cooper, R.J.

2011-01-01

The broad physical and biological principles behind climate change and its potential large scale ecological impacts on biota are fairly well understood, although likely responses of biotic communities at fine spatio-temporal scales are not, limiting the ability of conservation programs to respond effectively to climate change outside the range of human experience. Much of the climate debate has focused on attempts to resolve key uncertainties in a hypothesis-testing framework. However, conservation decisions cannot await resolution of these scientific issues and instead must proceed in the face of uncertainty. We suggest that conservation should precede in an adaptive management framework, in which decisions are guided by predictions under multiple, plausible hypotheses about climate impacts. Under this plan, monitoring is used to evaluate the response of the system to climate drivers, and management actions (perhaps experimental) are used to confront testable predictions with data, in turn providing feedback for future decision making. We illustrate these principles with the problem of mitigating the effects of climate change on terrestrial bird communities in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. ?? 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

A field ornithologist’s guide to genomics: Practical considerations for ecology and conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oyler-McCance, Sara J.; Oh, Kevin; Langin, Kathryn; Aldridge, Cameron L.

2016-01-01

Vast improvements in sequencing technology have made it practical to simultaneously sequence millions of nucleotides distributed across the genome, opening the door for genomic studies in virtually any species. Ornithological research stands to benefit in three substantial ways. First, genomic methods enhance our ability to parse and simultaneously analyze both neutral and non-neutral genomic regions, thus providing insight into adaptive evolution and divergence. Second, the sheer quantity of sequence data generated by current sequencing platforms allows increased precision and resolution in analyses. Third, high-throughput sequencing can benefit applications that focus on a small number of loci that are otherwise prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, and technically difficult using traditional sequencing methods. These advances have improved our ability to understand evolutionary processes like speciation and local adaptation, but they also offer many practical applications in the fields of population ecology, migration tracking, conservation planning, diet analyses, and disease ecology. This review provides a guide for field ornithologists interested in incorporating genomic approaches into their research program, with an emphasis on techniques related to ecology and conservation. We present a general overview of contemporary genomic approaches and methods, as well as important considerations when selecting a genomic technique. We also discuss research questions that are likely to benefit from utilizing high-throughput sequencing instruments, highlighting select examples from recent avian studies.

Energy Efficiency Feasibility Study and Resulting Plan for the Bay Mills Indian Community

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kushman, Chris

In 2011 the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. was awarded an Energy Efficiency Development and Deployment in Indian Country grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal Energy Program. This grant aimed to study select Bay Mills Indian Community community/government buildings to determine what is required to reduce each building’s energy consumption by 30%. The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) buildings with the largest expected energy use were selected for this study and included the Bay Mills Ellen Marshall Health Center building, Bay Mills Indian Community Administration Building, Bay Mills Community College main campus, Bay Mills Charter School and themore » Waishkey Community Center buildings. These five sites are the largest energy consuming Community buildings and comprised the study area of this project titled “Energy Efficiency Feasibility Study and Resulting Plan for the Bay Mills Indian Community”. The end objective of this study, plan and the Tribe is to reduce the energy consumption at the Community’s most energy intensive buildings that will, in turn, reduce emissions at the source of energy production, reduce energy expenditures, create long lasting energy conscious practices and positively affect the quality of the natural environment. This project’s feasibility study and resulting plan is intended to act as a guide to the Community’s first step towards planned energy management within its buildings/facilities. It aims to reduce energy consumption by 30% or greater within the subject facilities with an emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency. The energy audits and related power consumption analyses conducted for this study revealed numerous significant energy conservation and efficiency opportunities for all of the subject sites/buildings. In addition, many of the energy conservation measures require no cost and serve to help balance other measures requiring capital investment. Reoccurring deficiencies relating to heating, cooling, thermostat setting inefficiencies, powering computers, lighting, items linked to weatherization and numerous other items were encountered that can be mitigated with the energy conservation measures developed and specified during the course of this project.« less

25 CFR 166.312 - Is a conservation plan required?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2012-04-01 2011-04-01 true Is a conservation plan required? 166.312 Section 166.312... Operations Management Management Plans and Environmental Compliance § 166.312 Is a conservation plan required? A conservation plan must be developed for each permit with the permittee and approved by us prior to...

25 CFR 166.312 - Is a conservation plan required?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Is a conservation plan required? 166.312 Section 166.312... Operations Management Management Plans and Environmental Compliance § 166.312 Is a conservation plan required? A conservation plan must be developed for each permit with the permittee and approved by us prior to...

25 CFR 166.312 - Is a conservation plan required?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Is a conservation plan required? 166.312 Section 166.312... Operations Management Management Plans and Environmental Compliance § 166.312 Is a conservation plan required? A conservation plan must be developed for each permit with the permittee and approved by us prior to...

25 CFR 166.312 - Is a conservation plan required?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Is a conservation plan required? 166.312 Section 166.312... Operations Management Management Plans and Environmental Compliance § 166.312 Is a conservation plan required? A conservation plan must be developed for each permit with the permittee and approved by us prior to...

Science for avian conservation: Priorities for the new millennium

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruth, J.M.; Petit, D.R.; Sauer, J.R.; Samuel, M.D.; Johnson, F.A.; Fornwall, M.D.; Korschgen, C.E.; Bennett, J.P.

2003-01-01

Over the past decade, bird conservation activities have become the preeminent natural resource conservation effort in North America. Maturation of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), establishment of Partners in Flight (PIF), and creation of comprehensive colonial waterbird and shorebird conservation plans have stimulated unprecedented interest in, and funding for, bird conservation in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other countries in the western hemisphere. Key to that success in the United States has been active collaboration among federal, state and local governments, conservation organizations, academia, and industry. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), which has primary statutory responsibility for migratory bird conservation and management, has been a key partner.Despite the great strides that have been made in bird conservation science, historical approaches to research and monitoring have often failed to provide sufficient information and understanding to effectively manage bird populations at large spatial scales. That shortcoming, and the lack of an integrated strategy and comprehensive set of research priorities, is more evident in light of the goals established by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). The NABCI is a trinational, coalition-driven effort to provide an organizational umbrella for existing conservation initiatives. The expanded focus of NABCI and individual bird conservation initiatives is to work together in an integrated, holistic fashion to keep common birds common and to increase populations of declining, threatened, and endangered species.To assist bird conservation initiatives in defining goals and developing new approaches to effective research, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the research agency of DOI, convened a workshop, “Science for Avian Conservation: Understanding, Modeling, and Applying Ecological Relationships,” on 31 October–2 November 2000, which brought together 51 scientists from USGS, as well as scientists and conservationists from other agencies and organizations actively participating in NABCI. As the lead federal agency involved in bird conservation research, USGS has a clear legislative mandate to provide scientific information upon which future management plans and actions will be built.This article summarizes key issues and recommendations that arose from that workshop. The principal goal of the workshop was to guide USGS in defining its role, assessing capabilities, and directing future agency planning in support of bird conservation. A major component was to identify key areas of research needed in this new era of bird conservation science. Although tailored to the mission of USGS, workshop recommendations visualize a bold direction for future avian conservation science in which research and monitoring work in tandem with management to increase our understanding of avian populations and the processes that affect them. The USGS is a science agency whose role is to provide objective scientific information to management agencies and therefore is not directly involved in high-level resource policy-making or on-the-ground management decision making. Nevertheless, it is important to note that effective policy decision making must integrate the best available science with political and economic realities to achieve successful avian conservation—an important subject acknowledged in the workshop, but largely beyond its scope of discussion. Williams (2003) questions regarding how scientific information can be effectively communicated to decision makers and incorporated into natural resource policy. Without an aggressive vision and the willingness of researchers, managers, and policy makers to implement it, conservation of North American birds is likely to proceed without the full benefit of scientific investigation. These recommendations represent the principal conclusions drawn by workshop participants and do not necessarily reflect official USGS policy.

75 FR 11194 - San Diego County Water Authority Natural Communities Conservation Program/Habitat Conservation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-10

... Diego County Water Authority Natural Communities Conservation Program/Habitat Conservation Plan, San... meetings for the San Diego County Water Authority's (Water Authority/Applicant) draft Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP)/Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) prepared in application to us for an incidental take...

A system to evaluate the scientific quality of biological and restoration objectives using National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plans as a case study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schroeder, R.L.

2006-01-01

It is widely accepted that plans for restoration projects should contain specific, measurable, and science-based objectives to guide restoration efforts. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is in the process of developing Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs) for more than 500 units in the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). These plans contain objectives for biological and ecosystem restoration efforts on the refuges. Based on USFWS policy, a system was developed to evaluate the scientific quality of such objectives based on three critical factors: (1) Is the objective specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented, and time-fixed? (2) What is the extent of the rationale that explains the assumptions, logic, and reasoning for the objective? (3) How well was available science used in the development of the objective? The evaluation system scores each factor on a scale of 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent) according to detailed criteria. The biological and restoration objectives from CCPs published as of September 2004 (60 total) were evaluated. The overall average score for all biological and restoration objectives was 1.73. Average scores for each factor were: Factor 1-1.97; Factor 2-1.86; Factor 3-1.38. The overall scores increased from 1997 to 2004. Future restoration efforts may benefit by using this evaluation system during the process of plan development, to ensure that biological and restoration objectives are of the highest scientific quality possible prior to the implementation of restoration plans, and to allow for improved monitoring and adaptive management.

LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN ESTUARY CONSERVATION PLAN

EPA Science Inventory

The Nature Conservancy will conduct a series of a least four science expert workshops to develop a Site Conservation Plan for the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary and adjacent wetlands. The objective of the Site Conservation Plan is to identify conservation targets, threats or stresse...

Decision support frameworks and tools for conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schwartz, Mark W.; Cook, Carly N.; Pressey, Robert L.; Pullin, Andrew S.; Runge, Michael C.; Salafsky, Nick; Sutherland, William J.; Williamson, Matthew A.

2018-01-01

The practice of conservation occurs within complex socioecological systems fraught with challenges that require transparent, defensible, and often socially engaged project planning and management. Planning and decision support frameworks are designed to help conservation practitioners increase planning rigor, project accountability, stakeholder participation, transparency in decisions, and learning. We describe and contrast five common frameworks within the context of six fundamental questions (why, who, what, where, when, how) at each of three planning stages of adaptive management (project scoping, operational planning, learning). We demonstrate that decision support frameworks provide varied and extensive tools for conservation planning and management. However, using any framework in isolation risks diminishing potential benefits since no one framework covers the full spectrum of potential conservation planning and decision challenges. We describe two case studies that have effectively deployed tools from across conservation frameworks to improve conservation actions and outcomes. Attention to the critical questions for conservation project planning should allow practitioners to operate within any framework and adapt tools to suit their specific management context. We call on conservation researchers and practitioners to regularly use decision support tools as standard practice for framing both practice and research.

Biodiversity conservation in local planning.

PubMed

Miller, James R; Groom, Martha; Hess, George R; Steelman, Toddi; Stokes, David L; Thompson, Jan; Bowman, Troy; Fricke, Laura; King, Brandon; Marquardt, Ryan

2009-02-01

Local land-use policy is increasingly being recognized as fundamental to biodiversity conservation in the United States. Many planners and conservation scientists have called for broader use of planning and regulatory tools to support the conservation of biodiversity at local scales. Yet little is known about the pervasiveness of these practices. We conducted an on-line survey of county, municipal, and tribal planning directors (n =116) in 3 geographic regions of the United States: metropolitan Seattle, Washington; metropolitan Des Moines, Iowa; and the Research Triangle, North Carolina. Our objectives were to gauge the extent to which local planning departments address biodiversity conservation and to identify factors that facilitate or hinder conservation actions in local planning. We found that biodiversity conservation was seldom a major consideration in these departments. Staff time was mainly devoted to development mandates and little time was spent on biodiversity conservation. Regulations requiring conservation actions that might benefit biodiversity were uncommon, with the exception of rules governing water quality in all 3 regions and the protection of threatened and endangered species in the Seattle region. Planning tools that could enhance habitat conservation were used infrequently. Collaboration across jurisdictions was widespread, but rarely focused on conservation. Departments with a conservation specialist on staff tended to be associated with higher levels of conservation actions. Jurisdictions in the Seattle region also reported higher levels of conservation action, largely driven by state and federal mandates. Increased funding was most frequently cited as a factor that would facilitate greater consideration of biodiversity in local planning. There are numerous opportunities for conservation biologists to play a role in improving conservation planning at local scales.

Conservation for Children [Levels 1-6 and an All-Levels Supplement].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cupertino Union School District, CA.

Developed to promote conservation awareness in elementary students, each of the six grade-level-sequenced activity guides provides: (1) a list of conservation concepts; (2) a criterion-referenced test; (3) a class record sheet; (4) a content guide; and (5) 90 student worksheets (40 for language arts, 20 for mathematics, 20 for social studies and…

75 FR 57059 - Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Final Habitat Conservation Plan and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-17

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS-R6-ES-2010-N175; 61130-1115-0000 F2] Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Final Habitat Conservation Plan and Final... Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) a Final Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and prepared...

A framework for modeling anthropogenic impacts on waterbird habitats: addressing future uncertainty in conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matchett, Elliott L.; Fleskes, Joseph P.; Young, Charles A.; Purkey, David R.

2015-01-01

The amount and quality of natural resources available for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats are expected to decrease throughout the world in areas that are intensively managed for urban and agricultural uses. Changes in climate and management of increasingly limited water supplies may further impact water resources essential for sustaining habitats. In this report, we document adapting a Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system model for the Central Valley of California. We demonstrate using this adapted model (WEAP-CVwh) to evaluate impacts produced from plausible future scenarios on agricultural and wetland habitats used by waterbirds and other wildlife. Processed output from WEAP-CVwh indicated varying levels of impact caused by projected climate, urbanization, and water supply management in scenarios used to exemplify this approach. Among scenarios, the NCAR-CCSM3 A2 climate projection had a greater impact than the CNRM-CM3 B1 climate projection, whereas expansive urbanization had a greater impact than strategic urbanization, on annual availability of waterbird habitat. Scenarios including extensive rice-idling or substantial instream flow requirements on important water supply sources produced large impacts on annual availability of waterbird habitat. In the year corresponding with the greatest habitat reduction for each scenario, the scenario including instream flow requirements resulted in the greatest decrease in habitats throughout all months of the wintering period relative to other scenarios. This approach provides a new and useful tool for habitat conservation planning in the Central Valley and a model to guide similar research investigations aiming to inform conservation, management, and restoration of important wildlife habitats.

Big biology meets microclimatology: defining thermal niches of ectotherms at landscape scales for conservation planning.

PubMed

Isaak, Daniel J; Wenger, Seth J; Young, Michael K

2017-04-01

Temperature profoundly affects ecology, a fact ever more evident as the ability to measure thermal environments increases and global changes alter these environments. The spatial structure of thermalscapes is especially relevant to the distribution and abundance of ectothermic organisms, but the ability to describe biothermal relationships at extents and grains relevant to conservation planning has been limited by small or sparse data sets. Here, we combine a large occurrence database of >23 000 aquatic species surveys with stream microclimate scenarios supported by an equally large temperature database for a 149 000-km mountain stream network to describe thermal relationships for 14 fish and amphibian species. Species occurrence probabilities peaked across a wide range of temperatures (7.0-18.8°C) but distinct warm- or cold-edge distribution boundaries were apparent for all species and represented environments where populations may be most sensitive to thermal changes. Warm-edge boundary temperatures for a native species of conservation concern were used with geospatial data sets and a habitat occupancy model to highlight subsets of the network where conservation measures could benefit local populations by maintaining cool temperatures. Linking that strategic approach to local estimates of habitat impairment remains a key challenge but is also an opportunity to build relationships and develop synergies between the research, management, and regulatory communities. As with any data mining or species distribution modeling exercise, care is required in analysis and interpretation of results, but the use of large biological data sets with accurate microclimate scenarios can provide valuable information about the thermal ecology of many ectotherms and a spatially explicit way of guiding conservation investments. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Incorporating climate change into systematic conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Groves, Craig R.; Game, Edward T.; Anderson, Mark G.; Cross, Molly; Enquist, Carolyn; Ferdana, Zach; Girvetz, Evan; Gondor, Anne; Hall, Kimberly R.; Higgins, Jonathan; Marshall, Rob; Popper, Ken; Schill, Steve; Shafer, Sarah L.

2012-01-01

The principles of systematic conservation planning are now widely used by governments and non-government organizations alike to develop biodiversity conservation plans for countries, states, regions, and ecoregions. Many of the species and ecosystems these plans were designed to conserve are now being affected by climate change, and there is a critical need to incorporate new and complementary approaches into these plans that will aid species and ecosystems in adjusting to potential climate change impacts. We propose five approaches to climate change adaptation that can be integrated into existing or new biodiversity conservation plans: (1) conserving the geophysical stage, (2) protecting climatic refugia, (3) enhancing regional connectivity, (4) sustaining ecosystem process and function, and (5) capitalizing on opportunities emerging in response to climate change. We discuss both key assumptions behind each approach and the trade-offs involved in using the approach for conservation planning. We also summarize additional data beyond those typically used in systematic conservation plans required to implement these approaches. A major strength of these approaches is that they are largely robust to the uncertainty in how climate impacts may manifest in any given region.

Bay Delta Conservation Plan / California WaterFix Documents

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is working with state and federal agencies on development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), a habitat conservation plan. This page contains correspondence commenting on BDCP planning by state and federal agencies.

Meta-analysis of landscape conservation plan evaluations

Treesearch

Michaela Foster; M. Nils Peterson; Frederick Cubbage; Gerard McMahon

2016-01-01

The number of studies evaluating the quality and content of many types of plans have grown in recent decades. Natural resource conservation plans have been included in some of these plan evaluation studies; however, no meta-analysis of natural resource planning literature has been conducted. This focus is needed because natural resource conservation planning differs...

The Intermountain West Region Waterbird Plan

Treesearch

Gary Ivey

2005-01-01

The planning process for the Intermountain West Region component of the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan began in November 2001. This is one of several region-specific plans being developed as part of the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas initiative (Kushlan et al. 2002), as called for in the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan. The plan...

Monitoring habitat restoration projects: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and Coastal Program Protocol

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodward, Andrea; Hollar, Kathy

2011-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Pacific Region (Region 1) includes more than 158 million acres (almost 247,000 square miles) of land base in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Hawai`i, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Region 1 is ecologically diverse with landscapes that range from coral reefs, broadleaf tropical forests, and tropical savannahs in the Pacific Islands, to glacial streams and lakes, lush old-growth rainforests, inland fjords, and coastal shoreline in the Pacific Northwest, to the forested mountains, shrub-steppe desert, and native grasslands in the Inland Northwest. Similarly, the people of the different landscapes perceive, value, and manage their natural resources in ways unique to their respective regions and cultures. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (Partners Program) and Coastal Program work with a variety of partners in Region 1 including individual landowners, watershed councils, land trusts, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, non-governmental organizations, Tribal governments, Native Hawaiian organizations, and local, State, and Federal agencies. The Partners Program is the FWS's vanguard for working with private landowners to voluntarily restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat. Using non-regulatory incentives, the Partners Program engages willing partners to conserve and protect valuable fish and wildlife habitat on their property and in their communities. This is accomplished by providing the funding support and technical and planning tools needed to make on-the-ground conservation affordable, feasible, and effective. The primary goals of the Pacific Region Partners Program are to: Promote citizen and community-based stewardship efforts for fish and wildlife conservation Contribute to the recovery of at-risk species, Protect the environmental integrity of the National Wildlife Refuges, Contribute to the implementation of the State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies, and Help achieve the objectives of the National Fish Habitat Partnerships and regionally based bird conservation plans (for example, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, U.S. Pacific Island Shorebird Conservation Plans, Intermountain West Regional Shorebird Plan, etc.). The Partners Program accomplishes these priorities by: Developing and maintaining strong partnerships, and delivering on-the-ground habitat restoration projects designed to reestablish habitat function and restore natural processes; Addressing key habitat limiting factors for declining species; Providing corridors for wildlife and decrease impediments to native fish and wildlife migration; and Enhancing native plant communities by reducing invasive species and improving native species composition. The Coastal Program is a voluntary fish and wildlife conservation program that focuses on watershed-scale, long-term collaborative resource planning and on-the-ground restoration projects in high-priority coastal areas. The Coastal Program conducts planning and restoration work on private, State, and Federal lands, and partnerships with other agencies-Native American Tribes, citizens, and organizations are emphasized. Coastal Program goals include restoring and protecting coastal habitat, providing technical and cost-sharing assistance where appropriate, supporting community-based restoration, collecting and developing information on the status of and threats to fish and wildlife, and using outreach to promote stewardship of coastal resources. The diversity of habitats and partners in Region 1 present many opportunities for conducting restoration projects. Faced with this abundance of opportunity, the Partners Program and Coastal Program must ensure that limited staffing and project dollars are allocated to benefit the highest priority resources and achieve the highest quality results for Federal trust species. In 2007, the Partners Program and Coastal Program developed a Strategic Plan to guide program operations and more efficiently conserve habitat by focusing partnership building and habitat improvement actions within 35 Partners Program Focus Areas and 9 Coastal Program Focus Areas (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2010). The Strategic Plan also contains four other goals: broaden and strengthen partnerships; improve information sharing and communications; enhance workforce; and increase accountability to ensure that program resources are used efficiently and effectively. This protocol will help achieve all goals of the Strategic Plan.

75 FR 27708 - Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-18

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service RIN 0648-XV36 Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan AGENCIES... University Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan), the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for...

A Guide for Teaching Conservation Education in the Schools of Louisiana; Soil and Water Section. (Revision)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, George; McCollum, Howard P.

This publication is a revised edition of the teachers guide for teaching soil and water conservation in the elementary and junior high schools of Louisiana. The format of the guide includes a statement of concept, followed by discussion of the concept, suggested activities, and possible outcomes. There is a glossary of terms and a section that…

Learning from conservation planning for the U.S. National Wildlife Refuges.

PubMed

Meretsky, Vicky J; Fischman, Robert L

2014-10-01

The U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System has nearly completed its first round of unit-level, comprehensive conservation plans (CCPs) and will soon begin required revisions. Laws and policies governing refuge planning emphasize ecological integrity, landscape-scale conservation, and adaptive management. We evaluated 185 CCPs completed during 2005-2011, which cover 324 of 555 national wildlife refuges. We reviewed CCP prescriptions addressing 5 common conservation issues (habitat and game, nongame, imperiled, and invasive species) and 3 specialized topics (landscape-scale conservation, climate change, and environmental quality). Common conservation issues received prescriptions in >90% of CCPs. Specialized topics received more variable treatment. Prescriptions for aquatic connectivity, water quantity, and climate-change impacts increased over the study period. Except for climate change, direct actions were the most common type of management prescription, followed by plans or studies. Most CCPs stated a commitment to adaptive management and prescribed monitoring for common conservation objectives; other aspects of planning for adaptive management were often lacking, despite strong support for adaptive management in the conservation planning literature. To better address refuge-specific threats, we recommend that revised plans explicitly match identified refuge issues with prescriptions, particularly for under-represented concerns such as novel pests and pathogens. We recommend incorporating triggers into monitoring frameworks and specifying actions that will occur when threshold values are reached to improve support for adaptive management. Revised CCPs should better reflect work that refuges already undertake to extend conservation objectives beyond their borders and better engage with regional conservation efforts to continue this work. More thorough landscape-scale threat assessments and explicit prioritization of planned actions would further improve conservation effectiveness. Excellent examples of all recommended practices exist within the CCPs we examined; sharing best planning practices would improve planning efficiency within the refuge system. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology.

Multispecies genetic objectives in spatial conservation planning.

PubMed

Nielsen, Erica S; Beger, Maria; Henriques, Romina; Selkoe, Kimberly A; von der Heyden, Sophie

2017-08-01

Growing threats to biodiversity and global alteration of habitats and species distributions make it increasingly necessary to consider evolutionary patterns in conservation decision making. Yet, there is no clear-cut guidance on how genetic features can be incorporated into conservation-planning processes, despite multiple molecular markers and several genetic metrics for each marker type to choose from. Genetic patterns differ between species, but the potential tradeoffs among genetic objectives for multiple species in conservation planning are currently understudied. We compared spatial conservation prioritizations derived from 2 metrics of genetic diversity (nucleotide and haplotype diversity) and 2 metrics of genetic isolation (private haplotypes and local genetic differentiation) in mitochondrial DNA of 5 marine species. We compared outcomes of conservation plans based only on habitat representation with plans based on genetic data and habitat representation. Fewer priority areas were selected for conservation plans based solely on habitat representation than on plans that included habitat and genetic data. All 4 genetic metrics selected approximately similar conservation-priority areas, which is likely a result of prioritizing genetic patterns across a genetically diverse array of species. Largely, our results suggest that multispecies genetic conservation objectives are vital to creating protected-area networks that appropriately preserve community-level evolutionary patterns. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Setting Priorities for Regional Conservation Planning in the Mediterranean Sea

PubMed Central

Micheli, Fiorenza; Levin, Noam; Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Abdulla, Ameer; Coll, Marta; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Kark, Salit; Koutsoubas, Drosos; Mackelworth, Peter; Maiorano, Luigi; Possingham, Hugh P.

2013-01-01

Spatial prioritization in conservation is required to direct limited resources to where actions are most urgently needed and most likely to produce effective conservation outcomes. In an effort to advance the protection of a highly threatened hotspot of marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean Sea, multiple spatial conservation plans have been developed in recent years. Here, we review and integrate these different plans with the goal of identifying priority conservation areas that represent the current consensus among the different initiatives. A review of six existing and twelve proposed conservation initiatives highlights gaps in conservation and management planning, particularly within the southern and eastern regions of the Mediterranean and for offshore and deep sea habitats. The eighteen initiatives vary substantially in their extent (covering 0.1–58.5% of the Mediterranean Sea) and in the location of additional proposed conservation and management areas. Differences in the criteria, approaches and data used explain such variation. Despite the diversity among proposals, our analyses identified ten areas, encompassing 10% of the Mediterranean Sea, that are consistently identified among the existing proposals, with an additional 10% selected by at least five proposals. These areas represent top priorities for immediate conservation action. Despite the plethora of initiatives, major challenges face Mediterranean biodiversity and conservation. These include the need for spatial prioritization within a comprehensive framework for regional conservation planning, the acquisition of additional information from data-poor areas, species or habitats, and addressing the challenges of establishing transboundary governance and collaboration in socially, culturally and politically complex conditions. Collective prioritised action, not new conservation plans, is needed for the north, western, and high seas of the Mediterranean, while developing initial information-based plans for the south and eastern Mediterranean is an urgent requirement for true regional conservation planning. PMID:23577060

7 CFR 1410.22 - CRP conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan shall be developed and included in the CRP conservation plan. Such tree planting plan may allow up to 3 years to complete plantings if 10 or more acres of hardwood trees are to be established. (d) If applicable, the CRP conservation plan shall address the goals...

Development of a Hands-On Model Embedded with Guided Inquiry Laboratory to Enhance Students' Understanding of Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wangdi, Dumcho; Kanthang, Paisan; Precharattana, Monamorn

2017-01-01

This paper attempts to investigate the understanding of the law of mechanical energy conservation using a guided inquiry approach. A simple hands-on model was constructed and used to demonstrate the law of mechanical energy conservation. A total of 30 grade ten students from one of the middle secondary schools in western Bhutan participated in…

Teaching Sustainability in Introductory Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coffey, David

Guiding students to a better understanding of sustainability is a key part of a modern undergraduate education. Since 2014, Warren Wilson College has incorporated a sustainability component into our introductory physics courses. Students perform energy audits and abatement plans for a business or building. In the process, students strengthen their competency with basic physics concepts including energy, power, units, and conservation of energy but also gain an appreciation of the complexity of sustainability as well as the need for quantitative understanding. These courses are taught to mostly undergraduate science majors. The challenges and opportunities of incorporating such a broad and personalized educational component will be discussed.

CT-image-based conformal brachytherapy of breast cancer. The significance of semi-3-D and 3-D treatment planning.

PubMed

Polgár, C; Major, T; Somogyi, A; Takácsi-Nagy, Z; Mangel, L C; Forrai, G; Sulyok, Z; Fodor, J; Németh, G

2000-03-01

To compare the conventional 2-D, the simulator-guided semi-3-D and the recently developed CT-guided 3-D brachytherapy treatment planning in the interstitial radiotherapy of breast cancer. In 103 patients with T1-2, N0-1 breast cancer the tumor bed was clipped during breast conserving surgery. Fifty-two of them received boost brachytherapy after 46 to 50 Gy teletherapy and 51 patients were treated with brachytherapy alone via flexible implant tubes. Single, double and triple plane implant was used in 6, 89 and 8 cases, respectively. The dose of boost brachytherapy and sole brachytherapy prescribed to dose reference points was 3 times 4.75 Gy and 7 times 5.2 Gy, respectively. The positions of dose reference points varied according to the level (2-D, semi-3-D and 3-D) of treatment planning performed. The treatment planning was based on the 3-D reconstruction of the surgical clips, implant tubes and skin points. In all cases the implantations were planned with a semi-3-D technique aided by simulator. In 10 cases a recently developed CT-guided 3-D planning system was used. The semi-3-D and 3-D treatment plans were compared to hypothetical 2-D plans using dose-volume histograms and dose non-uniformity ratios. The values of mean central dose, mean skin dose, minimal clip dose, proportion of underdosaged clips and mean target surface dose were evaluated. The accuracy of tumor bed localization and the conformity of planning target volume and treated volume were also analyzed in each technique. With the help of conformal semi-3-D and 3-D brachytherapy planning we could define reference dose points, active source positions and dwell times individually. This technique decreased the mean skin dose with 22.2% and reduced the possibility of geographical miss. We could achieve the best conformity between the planning target volume and the treated volume with the CT-image based 3-D treatment planning, at the cost of worse dose homogeneity. The mean treated volume was reduced by 25.1% with semi-3-D planning, however, it was increased by 16.2% with 3-D planning, compared to the 2-D planning. The application of clips into the tumor bed and the conformal (semi-3-D and 3-D) planning help to avoid geographical miss. CT is suitable for 3-D brachytherapy planning. Better local control with less side effects might be achieved with these new techniques. Conformal 3-D brachytherapy calls for new treatment planning concepts, taking the irregular 3-D shape of the target volume into account. The routine clinical application of image-based 3-D brachytherapy is a real aim in the very close future.

Conservation Awareness Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santa Rosa County Board of Public Instruction, Milton, FL.

Recommendations for incorporating conservation education into the K-5 curriculum comprise this teacher's guide. Examined are eight natural resources: air, energy, forests and plant life, human resources, minerals, soil, water, and wildlife. Each of these topics is considered in two ways: (1) a chart depicts concepts basic to understanding the…

CURRICULUM GUIDE IN CONSERVATION EDUCATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HERRINGTON, EUGENE H.; ROBBINS, LARRY

THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE PRESENTS CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AS AN INTEGRATED NATURAL SCIENCE STUDY. NATURAL RESOURCES ARE SEEN AS BEING INORGANIC (MINERALS, AIR, WATER, AND SOIL) OR ORGANIC (PLANT, ANIMAL, AND HUMAN). THESE RESOURCES ARE PRESENTED AS SUGGESTED CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES DESIGNED FOR THE PRIMARY, INTERMEDIATE, AND JUNIOR HIGH…

7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of... EQIP plan of operations must include: (1) A description of the participant's specific conservation and... for achieving the participant's conservation, natural resource, and environmental objectives; (3) A...

7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of... EQIP plan of operations must include: (1) A description of the participant's specific conservation and... for achieving the participant's conservation, natural resource, and environmental objectives; (3) A...

7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of... EQIP plan of operations must include: (1) A description of the participant's specific conservation and... for achieving the participant's conservation, natural resource, and environmental objectives; (3) A...

7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of... EQIP plan of operations must include: (1) A description of the participant's specific conservation and... for achieving the participant's conservation, natural resource, and environmental objectives; (3) A...

7 CFR 1466.9 - EQIP plan of operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... General Provisions § 1466.9 EQIP plan of operations. (a) All conservation practices in the EQIP plan of... EQIP plan of operations must include: (1) A description of the participant's specific conservation and... for achieving the participant's conservation, natural resource, and environmental objectives; (3) A...

Assessing the shelf life of cost-efficient conservation plans for species at risk across gradients of agricultural land use.

PubMed

Robillard, Cassandra M; Kerr, Jeremy T

2017-08-01

High costs of land in agricultural regions warrant spatial prioritization approaches to conservation that explicitly consider land prices to produce protected-area networks that accomplish targets efficiently. However, land-use changes in such regions and delays between plan design and implementation may render optimized plans obsolete before implementation occurs. To measure the shelf life of cost-efficient conservation plans, we simulated a land-acquisition and restoration initiative aimed at conserving species at risk in Canada's farmlands. We accounted for observed changes in land-acquisition costs and in agricultural intensity based on censuses of agriculture taken from 1986 to 2011. For each year of data, we mapped costs and areas of conservation priority designated using Marxan. We compared plans to test for changes through time in the arrangement of high-priority sites and in the total cost of each plan. For acquisition costs, we measured the savings from accounting for prices during site selection. Land-acquisition costs and land-use intensity generally rose over time independent of inflation (24-78%), although rates of change were heterogeneous through space and decreased in some areas. Accounting for spatial variation in land price lowered the cost of conservation plans by 1.73-13.9%, decreased the range of costs by 19-82%, and created unique solutions from which to choose. Despite the rise in plan costs over time, the high conservation priority of particular areas remained consistent. Delaying conservation in these critical areas may compromise what optimized conservation plans can achieve. In the case of Canadian farmland, rapid conservation action is cost-effective, even with moderate levels of uncertainty in how to implement restoration goals. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

78 FR 75939 - Bay Delta Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan, Sacramento, CA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-13

... patterns, including breeding, feeding, and sheltering (50 CFR 17.3(c)). NMFS defines ``harm'' to include... impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, spawning, rearing, migrating, feeding, or... permit in recognition of the conservation benefits provided to them under a habitat conservation plan...

Hawai`i forest bird monitoring database: Database dictionary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Camp, Richard J.; Genz, Ayesha

2017-01-01

Between 1976 and 1981, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (now U.S. Geological Survey – Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center [USGS-PIERC]) conducted systematic surveys of forest birds and plant communities on all the main Hawaiian Islands, except O‘ahu, as part of the Hawai‘i Forest Bird Surveys (HFBS). Results of this monumental effort have guided conservation efforts and provided the basis for many plant and bird recovery plans and land acquisition decisions in Hawai‘i. Unfortunately, these estimates and range maps are now seriously outdated, hindering modern conservation decision-making and recovery planning. HFBIDP staff work closely with land managers and others to identify the location of bird populations in need of protection. In addition, HFBIDP is able to assess field collection methods, census areas, and survey frequency for their effectiveness. Survey and geographical data are refined and released in successive versions, each more inclusive, detailed, and accurate than the previous release. Incrementally releasing data gives land managers and survey coordinators reasonably good data to work with early on rather than waiting for the release of ‘perfect’ data, ‘perfectly’ analyzed. Consequently, summary results are available in a timely manner.

Water Management Planning: A Case Study at Blue Grass Army Depot

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Solana, Amy E.; Mcmordie, Katherine

2006-04-03

Executive Order 13123, Greening the Government Through Efficient Energy Management, mandates an aggressive policy for reducing potable water consumption at federal facilities. Implementation guid¬ance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) set a requirement for each federal agency to “reduce potable water usage by implementing life cycle, cost-effective water efficiency programs that include a water management plan, and not less than four Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Best Manage¬ment Practices (BMPs).” The objective of this plan is to gain full compliance with Executive Order 13123 and associated DOE implementation guidance on behalf of Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD), Richmond, Kentucky.more » In accordance with this plan, BGAD must: • Incorporate the plan as a component of the Installation energy conservation plan • Investigate the water savings potential and life-cycle cost effectiveness of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and retrofit/replacement options associated with the ten FEMP BMPs • Put into practice all applicable O&M options • Identify retrofit/replacement options appropriate for implementation (based upon calculation of the simple payback periods) • Establish a schedule for implementation of applicable and cost-effective retrofit/replacement options.« less

Forestry Activities. A Guide for Youth Group Leaders.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forest Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Twenty-six activities related to forestry, conservation, and outdoor education comprise the content of this leader's guide. Designed for use with youth groups, ideas and techniques range from forest conservation mobiles, locating forest fires, and Christmas tree uses to litterbug campaigns, watershed experiments, and crossword puzzles. Activities…

76 FR 23970 - Notice of Proposed Changes to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-29

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Proposed Changes to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U..., 395, Stream Habitat Improvement and Management, 422, Hedgerow Planting, 643, Restoration and...

76 FR 50183 - Western Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for the Northern Mariana Islands

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-12

... Pacific Fisheries; Approval of a Marine Conservation Plan for the Northern Mariana Islands AGENCY.... ACTION: Notice of agency decision. SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan for the...-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the Secretary of State...

Prairie Conservation in Canada: The Prairie Conservation Action Plan Experience

Treesearch

Dean Nernberg; David Ingstrup

2005-01-01

In Canada, grassland conservation has been mobilized and directed through the development of Prairie Conservation Action Plans and Action Plan Committees in the three prairie provinces of Alberta (45 partner agencies and organizations), Saskatchewan (26 partners), and Manitoba (26 partners). In Alberta, 43 percent of the native prairie remains; in Saskatchewan and...

A case study of assigning conservation value to dispersed habitat units for conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rohweder, Jason J.; Sara C. Vacek,; Crimmins, Shawn M.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.

2015-01-01

Resource managers are increasingly tasked with developing habitat conservation plans in the face of numerous, sometimes competing, objectives. These plans must often be implemented across dispersed habitat conservation units that may contribute unequally to overall conservation objectives. Using U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service waterfowl production areas (WPA) in western Minnesota as our conservation landscape, we develop a landscape-scale approach for evaluating the conservation value of dispersed habitat conservation units with multiple conservation priorities. We evaluated conservation value based on a suite of variables directly applicable to conservation management practices, thus providing a direct link between conservation actions and outcomes. We developed spatial models specific to each of these conservation objectives and also developed two freely available prioritization tools to implement these analyses. We found that some WPAs provided high conservation value across a range of conservation objectives, suggesting that managing these specific areas would achieve multiple conservation goals. Conversely, other WPAs provided low conservation value for some objectives, suggesting they would be most effectively managed for a distinct set of specific conservation goals. Approaches such as ours provide a direct means of assessing the conservation value of dispersed habitat conservation units and could be useful in the development of habitat management plans, particularly when faced with multiple conservation objectives.

7 CFR 1415.12 - Modifications to easements and rental contracts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... modifications for restoration agreements and grazing management plans, or conservation plans where applicable... conservation plans, grazing management plans, and restoration plans, to facilitate the practical administration...

How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedman, Rachel S.; Law, Elizabeth A.; Bennett, Nathan J.; Ives, Christopher D.; Thorn, Jessica P. R.; Wilson, Kerrie A.

2018-05-01

Background: Conservation decisions not only impact wildlife, habitat, and environmental health, but also human wellbeing and social justice. The inclusion of safeguards and equity considerations in the conservation field has increasingly garnered attention in international policy processes and amongst conservation practitioners. Yet, what constitutes an ‘equitable’ solution can take many forms, and how the concept is treated within conservation research is not standardized. This review explores how social equity is conceptualized and assessed in conservation research. Methods/Design: Using a structured search and screening process, we identified 138 peer-reviewed studies that addressed equity in relation to conservation actions. The authors developed a coding framework to guide the review process, focusing on the current state of, definitions used for, and means of assessing social equity in empirical conservation research. Review Results: Results show that empirical research on social equity in conservation is rapidly growing, with the majority of studies on the topic published only since 2009. Equity within conservation research is skewed toward distributional concerns and to a lesser extent procedural issues, with recognition and contextual equity receiving little attention. Studies are primarily situated in forested biomes of the Global South. Conservation interventions mostly resulted in mixed or negative impacts on equity. Synthesis and Discussion: Our results demonstrate the current limitations of research on equity in conservation, and raise challenging questions about the social impacts of conservation and how to ameliorate equity concerns. Framing of equity within conservation research would benefit from greater transparency of study motivation, more explicit definition of how equity is used within the study context, and consideration for how best to assess it. We recommend that the empirical conservation literature more deeply engage with different notions of equity when studying, planning, and implementing actions to address potential trade-offs among equity and conservation objectives and beneficiaries.

Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.

PubMed

Di Minin, Enrico; Macmillan, Douglas Craig; Goodman, Peter Styan; Escott, Boyd; Slotow, Rob; Moilanen, Atte

2013-08-01

The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US$60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

75 FR 34974 - Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U... Road, Suite 209, Richmond, Virginia 23229-5014; Telephone number (804) 287-1691; Fax number (804) 287...

77 FR 55180 - Notice of Proposed Changes to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-07

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Proposed Changes to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U..., Virginia 23229-5014; Telephone number (804) 287-1691 or [email protected] Copies of the practice...

76 FR 59382 - Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-26

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U... Harvest Management, 657, Wetland Restoration, 658, Wetland Creation, and 659, Wetland Enhancement. These...

A Guide to Ohio Outdoor Education Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melvin, Ruth W.

More than 700 areas in Ohio, useful as sites for environmental and outdoor studies, are catalogued in this guide. They include national forests; state parks; forest and wildlife areas; historic sites and memorials; metropolitan, country, and city parks; agency and private camps; conservation agency properties; conservancy district lands and…

Planning and programing in the soil conservation service

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, R. M.

1972-01-01

The historical base is presented for the framework plan for soil conservation. Conservation effects, resource management systems, and accomplishments, activities, and costs of the Soil Conservation Service are discussed.

Ants as a measure of effectiveness of habitat conservation planning in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mitrovich, Milan J.; Matsuda, Tritia; Pease, Krista H.; Fisher, Robert N.

2010-01-01

In the United States multispecies habitat conservation plans were meant to be the solution to conflicts between economic development and protection of biological diversity. Although now widely applied, questions exist concerning the scientific credibility of the conservation planning process and effectiveness of the plans. We used ants to assess performance of one of the first regional conservation plans developed in the United States, the Orange County Central-Coastal Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP), in meeting its broader conservation objectives of biodiversity and ecosystem-level protection. We collected pitfall data on ants for over 3 years on 172 sites established across a network of conservation lands in coastal southern California. Although recovered native ant diversity for the study area was high, site-occupancy models indicated the invasive and ecologically disruptive Argentine ant ( Linepithema humile) was present at 29% of sites, and sites located within 200 m of urban and agricultural areas were more likely to have been invaded. Within invaded sites, native ants were largely displaced, and their median species richness declined by more than 60% compared with uninvaded sites. At the time of planning, 24% of the 15,133-ha reserve system established by Orange County NCCP fell within 200 m of an urban or agricultural edge. With complete build out of lands surrounding the reserve, the proportion of the reserve system vulnerable to invasion will grow to 44%. Our data indicate that simply protecting designated areas from development is not enough. If habitat conservation plans are to fulfill their conservation promise of ecosystem-level protection, a more-integrated and systematic approach to the process of habitat conservation planning is needed.

Documenting Biogeographical Patterns of African Timber Species Using Herbarium Records: A Conservation Perspective Based on Native Trees from Angola

PubMed Central

Romeiras, Maria M.; Figueira, Rui; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Beja, Pedro; Darbyshire, Iain

2014-01-01

In many tropical regions the development of informed conservation strategies is hindered by a dearth of biodiversity information. Biological collections can help to overcome this problem, by providing baseline information to guide research and conservation efforts. This study focuses on the timber trees of Angola, combining herbarium (2670 records) and bibliographic data to identify the main timber species, document biogeographic patterns and identify conservation priorities. The study recognized 18 key species, most of which are threatened or near-threatened globally, or lack formal conservation assessments. Biogeographical analysis reveals three groups of species associated with the enclave of Cabinda and northwest Angola, which occur primarily in Guineo-Congolian rainforests, and evergreen forests and woodlands. The fourth group is widespread across the country, and is mostly associated with dry forests. There is little correspondence between the spatial pattern of species groups and the ecoregions adopted by WWF, suggesting that these may not provide an adequate basis for conservation planning for Angolan timber trees. Eight of the species evaluated should be given high conservation priority since they are of global conservation concern, they have very restricted distributions in Angola, their historical collection localities are largely outside protected areas and they may be under increasing logging pressure. High conservation priority was also attributed to another three species that have a large proportion of their global range concentrated in Angola and that occur in dry forests where deforestation rates are high. Our results suggest that timber tree species in Angola may be under increasing risk, thus calling for efforts to promote their conservation and sustainable exploitation. The study also highlights the importance of studying historic herbarium collections in poorly explored regions of the tropics, though new field surveys remain a priority to update historical information. PMID:25061858

Documenting biogeographical patterns of African timber species using herbarium records: a conservation perspective based on native trees from Angola.

PubMed

Romeiras, Maria M; Figueira, Rui; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Beja, Pedro; Darbyshire, Iain

2014-01-01

In many tropical regions the development of informed conservation strategies is hindered by a dearth of biodiversity information. Biological collections can help to overcome this problem, by providing baseline information to guide research and conservation efforts. This study focuses on the timber trees of Angola, combining herbarium (2670 records) and bibliographic data to identify the main timber species, document biogeographic patterns and identify conservation priorities. The study recognized 18 key species, most of which are threatened or near-threatened globally, or lack formal conservation assessments. Biogeographical analysis reveals three groups of species associated with the enclave of Cabinda and northwest Angola, which occur primarily in Guineo-Congolian rainforests, and evergreen forests and woodlands. The fourth group is widespread across the country, and is mostly associated with dry forests. There is little correspondence between the spatial pattern of species groups and the ecoregions adopted by WWF, suggesting that these may not provide an adequate basis for conservation planning for Angolan timber trees. Eight of the species evaluated should be given high conservation priority since they are of global conservation concern, they have very restricted distributions in Angola, their historical collection localities are largely outside protected areas and they may be under increasing logging pressure. High conservation priority was also attributed to another three species that have a large proportion of their global range concentrated in Angola and that occur in dry forests where deforestation rates are high. Our results suggest that timber tree species in Angola may be under increasing risk, thus calling for efforts to promote their conservation and sustainable exploitation. The study also highlights the importance of studying historic herbarium collections in poorly explored regions of the tropics, though new field surveys remain a priority to update historical information.

Benefits and Challenges of Scaling Up Expansion of Marine Protected Area Networks in the Verde Island Passage, Central Philippines.

PubMed

Horigue, Vera; Pressey, Robert L; Mills, Morena; Brotánková, Jana; Cabral, Reniel; Andréfouët, Serge

2015-01-01

Locally-established marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proven to achieve local-scale fisheries and conservation objectives. However, since many of these MPAs were not designed to form ecologically-connected networks, their contributions to broader-scale goals such as complementarity and connectivity can be limited. In contrast, integrated networks of MPAs designed with systematic conservation planning are assumed to be more effective--ecologically, socially, and economically--than collections of locally-established MPAs. There is, however, little empirical evidence that clearly demonstrates the supposed advantages of systematic MPA networks. A key reason is the poor record of implementation of systematic plans attributable to lack of local buy-in. An intermediate scenario for the expansion of MPAs is scaling up of local decisions, whereby locally-driven MPA initiatives are coordinated through collaborative partnerships among local governments and their communities. Coordination has the potential to extend the benefits of individual MPAs and perhaps to approach the potential benefits offered by systematic MPA networks. We evaluated the benefits of scaling up local MPAs to form networks by simulating seven expansion scenarios for MPAs in the Verde Island Passage, central Philippines. The scenarios were: uncoordinated community-based establishment of MPAs; two scenarios reflecting different levels of coordinated MPA expansion through collaborative partnerships; and four scenarios guided by systematic conservation planning with different contexts for governance. For each scenario, we measured benefits through time in terms of achievement of objectives for representation of marine habitats. We found that: in any governance context, systematic networks were more efficient than non-systematic ones; systematic networks were more efficient in broader governance contexts; and, contrary to expectations but with caveats, the uncoordinated scenario was slightly more efficient than the coordinated scenarios. Overall, however, coordinated MPA networks have the potential to be more efficient than the uncoordinated ones, especially when coordinated planning uses systematic methods.

Benefits and Challenges of Scaling Up Expansion of Marine Protected Area Networks in the Verde Island Passage, Central Philippines

PubMed Central

Horigue, Vera; Pressey, Robert L.; Mills, Morena; Brotánková, Jana; Cabral, Reniel; Andréfouët, Serge

2015-01-01

Locally-established marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proven to achieve local-scale fisheries and conservation objectives. However, since many of these MPAs were not designed to form ecologically-connected networks, their contributions to broader-scale goals such as complementarity and connectivity can be limited. In contrast, integrated networks of MPAs designed with systematic conservation planning are assumed to be more effective—ecologically, socially, and economically—than collections of locally-established MPAs. There is, however, little empirical evidence that clearly demonstrates the supposed advantages of systematic MPA networks. A key reason is the poor record of implementation of systematic plans attributable to lack of local buy-in. An intermediate scenario for the expansion of MPAs is scaling up of local decisions, whereby locally-driven MPA initiatives are coordinated through collaborative partnerships among local governments and their communities. Coordination has the potential to extend the benefits of individual MPAs and perhaps to approach the potential benefits offered by systematic MPA networks. We evaluated the benefits of scaling up local MPAs to form networks by simulating seven expansion scenarios for MPAs in the Verde Island Passage, central Philippines. The scenarios were: uncoordinated community-based establishment of MPAs; two scenarios reflecting different levels of coordinated MPA expansion through collaborative partnerships; and four scenarios guided by systematic conservation planning with different contexts for governance. For each scenario, we measured benefits through time in terms of achievement of objectives for representation of marine habitats. We found that: in any governance context, systematic networks were more efficient than non-systematic ones; systematic networks were more efficient in broader governance contexts; and, contrary to expectations but with caveats, the uncoordinated scenario was slightly more efficient than the coordinated scenarios. Overall, however, coordinated MPA networks have the potential to be more efficient than the uncoordinated ones, especially when coordinated planning uses systematic methods. PMID:26288089

Studying citizen science through adaptive management and learning feedbacks as mechanisms for improving conservation.

PubMed

Jordan, Rebecca; Gray, Steven; Sorensen, Amanda; Newman, Greg; Mellor, David; Newman, Greg; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy; LaDeau, Shannon; Biehler, Dawn; Crall, Alycia

2016-06-01

Citizen science has generated a growing interest among scientists and community groups, and citizen science programs have been created specifically for conservation. We examined collaborative science, a highly interactive form of citizen science, which we developed within a theoretically informed framework. In this essay, we focused on 2 aspects of our framework: social learning and adaptive management. Social learning, in contrast to individual-based learning, stresses collaborative and generative insight making and is well-suited for adaptive management. Adaptive-management integrates feedback loops that are informed by what is learned and is guided by iterative decision making. Participants engaged in citizen science are able to add to what they are learning through primary data collection, which can result in the real-time information that is often necessary for conservation. Our work is particularly timely because research publications consistently report a lack of established frameworks and evaluation plans to address the extent of conservation outcomes in citizen science. To illustrate how our framework supports conservation through citizen science, we examined how 2 programs enacted our collaborative science framework. Further, we inspected preliminary conservation outcomes of our case-study programs. These programs, despite their recent implementation, are demonstrating promise with regard to positive conservation outcomes. To date, they are independently earning funds to support research, earning buy-in from local partners to engage in experimentation, and, in the absence of leading scientists, are collecting data to test ideas. We argue that this success is due to citizen scientists being organized around local issues and engaging in iterative, collaborative, and adaptive learning. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Taming Data to Make Decisions: Using a Spatial Fuzzy Logic Decision Support Framework to Inform Conservation and Land Use Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheehan, T.; Baker, B.; Degagne, R. S.

2015-12-01

With the abundance of data sources, analytical methods, and computer models, land managers are faced with the overwhelming task of making sense of a profusion of data of wildly different types. Luckily, fuzzy logic provides a method to work with different types of data using language-based propositions such as "the landscape is undisturbed," and a simple set of logic constructs. Just as many surveys allow different levels of agreement with a proposition, fuzzy logic allows values reflecting different levels of truth for a proposition. Truth levels fall within a continuum ranging from Fully True to Fully False. Hence a fuzzy logic model produces continuous results. The Environmental Evaluation Modeling System (EEMS) is a platform-independent, tree-based, fuzzy logic modeling framework. An EEMS model provides a transparent definition of an evaluation model and is commonly developed as a collaborative effort among managers, scientists, and GIS experts. Managers specify a set of evaluative propositions used to characterize the landscape. Scientists, working with managers, formulate functions that convert raw data values into truth values for the propositions and produce a logic tree to combine results into a single metric used to guide decisions. Managers, scientists, and GIS experts then work together to implement and iteratively tune the logic model and produce final results. We present examples of two successful EEMS projects that provided managers with map-based results suitable for guiding decisions: sensitivity and climate change exposure in Utah and the Colorado Plateau modeled for the Bureau of Land Management; and terrestrial ecological intactness in the Mojave and Sonoran region of southern California modeled for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan.

78 FR 14587 - Kelley-McDonough Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail, Community...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-06

...] Kelley-McDonough Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail, Community of Los... that includes the Kelley-McDonough Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband... plan, draft environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, and related documents on the...

7 CFR 1410.22 - CRP conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... may be waived by CCC. (b) The practices and management activities included in the CRP conservation.... (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan shall be developed and included in the CRP conservation plan. Such tree planting plan may allow up to 3 years to complete plantings if 10 or more acres of hardwood...

7 CFR 1410.22 - CRP conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... may be waived by CCC. (b) The practices and management activities included in the CRP conservation.... (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan shall be developed and included in the CRP conservation plan. Such tree planting plan may allow up to 3 years to complete plantings if 10 or more acres of hardwood...

7 CFR 1410.22 - CRP conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... may be waived by CCC. (b) The practices and management activities included in the CRP conservation.... (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan shall be developed and included in the CRP conservation plan. Such tree planting plan may allow up to 3 years to complete plantings if 10 or more acres of hardwood...

7 CFR 1410.22 - CRP conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... may be waived by CCC. (b) The practices and management activities included in the CRP conservation.... (c) If applicable, a tree planting plan shall be developed and included in the CRP conservation plan. Such tree planting plan may allow up to 3 years to complete plantings if 10 or more acres of hardwood...

76 FR 41810 - Francis Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail, Los Osos...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-15

...] Francis Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Morro Shoulderband Snail, Los Osos, San Luis... conservation program to minimize and mitigate project activities as described in their low-effect habitat conservation plan. We invite comments from the public on the application, which includes the Francis Low-Effect...

78 FR 35951 - Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the City of Santa Cruz Graham Hill Water...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-14

... under a habitat conservation plan. Impacts to Ben Lomond spineflower as a result of restoration and...] Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the City of Santa Cruz Graham Hill Water Treatment Plant... grasshopper (Trimerotropis infantilis), and will address associated impacts and conservation measures for the...

Agricultural Conservation Planning Toolbox User's Manual

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) comprises an approach for applying concepts of precision conservation to watershed planning in agricultural landscapes. To enable application of this approach, USDA/ARS has developed a set of Geographic Information System (GIS) based software tools...

On Being a Master Planner - A Step by Step Guide. From a Nationwide Study of Environmental Education Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rocchio, Richard; Lee, Eve

This guide demonstrates a new way of utilizing the planning process within a social movement context in view of developing a state master plan for environmental education. In addition the book serves as a guide to realistic planning, including models, definitions, and examples. The guide contains five parts: Part One - The background, Part Two -…

7 CFR 1415.4 - Program requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., including the conservation, protection, enhancement, and, if necessary, restoration of the grassland... grazing management plan and any associated conservation plan or restoration agreement. (h) Easements and... conservation plan. (d) The easement or rental contract must grant USDA or its representatives a right of...

Accuracy assessment of surgical planning and three-dimensional-printed patient-specific guides for orthopaedic osteotomies.

PubMed

Sys, Gwen; Eykens, Hannelore; Lenaerts, Gerlinde; Shumelinsky, Felix; Robbrecht, Cedric; Poffyn, Bart

2017-06-01

This study analyses the accuracy of three-dimensional pre-operative planning and patient-specific guides for orthopaedic osteotomies. To this end, patient-specific guides were compared to the classical freehand method in an experimental setup with saw bones in two phases. In the first phase, the effect of guide design and oscillating versus reciprocating saws was analysed. The difference between target and performed cuts was quantified by the average distance deviation and average angular deviations in the sagittal and coronal planes for the different osteotomies. The results indicated that for one model osteotomy, the use of guides resulted in a more accurate cut when compared to the freehand technique. Reciprocating saws and slot guides improved accuracy in all planes, while oscillating saws and open guides lead to larger deviations from the planned cut. In the second phase, the accuracy of transfer of the planning to the surgical field with slot guides and a reciprocating saw was assessed and compared to the classical planning and freehand cutting method. The pre-operative plan was transferred with high accuracy. Three-dimensional-printed patient-specific guides improve the accuracy of osteotomies and bony resections in an experimental setup compared to conventional freehand methods. The improved accuracy is related to (1) a detailed and qualitative pre-operative plan and (2) an accurate transfer of the planning to the operation room with patient-specific guides by an accurate guidance of the surgical tools to perform the desired cuts.

Evaluation of waterfowl conservation under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, B.K.; Koneff, M.D.; Stith, David A.

1999-01-01

In 1986, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (Plan) was signed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and the Canadian Minister of the Environment, with a goal of restoring waterfowl populations to levels of the 1970s via habitat conservation. Central to the Plan is a set of ambitious continental population goals and habitat objectives to be met through broad-based public-private partnerships. Inadequate attention has been paid to evaluation of the Plan, despite the fact that Plan delivery can be enhanced via improved understanding of the effects of habitat conservation on waterfowl population dynamics. Several factors confound the effort to evaluate the Plan at regional and continental levels, including difficulties in accounting for national land-use policies. To date, evaluation has proceeded along 2 avenues of investigation: (1) the study of conservation actions at local-regional levels, and (2) statistical assessment of Plan assumptions. Among other things, results thus far indicate duck production from the U.S. Northern Great Plains has increased in recent years, and intensive treatments such as planted cover have had positive effects on local reproductive success. Many duck species currently exceed Plan population goals; however, population levels of some species, most notably northern pintail (Anas acuta), remain below expectations based on historic relationships with precipitation. Management implications include the need for ongoing and more carefully prioritized conservation efforts, broader partnerships, and improved understanding of the linkages between habitats and biological processes. Delivery of the Plan must involve collaboration among the Continental Evaluation Team, joint Venture partners, the Adaptive Management and Assessment Team of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation groups. Although the challenges and projected costs of Plan conservation efforts are considerable, the long-term potential benefits to waterfowl conservation are great.

Conservation in a World of Six Billion: A Grassroots Action Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hren, Benedict J.

This grassroots action guide features a conservation initiative working to bring the impacts of human population growth, economic development, and natural resource consumption into balance with the limits of nature for the benefit of current and future generations. Contents include information sheets entitled "Six Billion People and Growing,""The…

Hands-On Herpetology: Exploring Ecology and Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Rebecca L.; Krasny, Marianne E.; Morreale, Stephen J.

This guide provides an introduction to the study of reptiles and amphibians and presents opportunities for young people to become involved in their conservation. This book is designed as an instructional guide for many educators in various settings from classroom to nature center. The material provides a thorough introduction to the world of…

Guide to Environmental Education: Conservation of Natural Resources, Kindergarten-Grade Six.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madison Public Schools, WI. Dept. of Curriculum Development.

This guide was designed to serve as a tool which elementary teachers may use to incorporate basic princples concerning the conservation of all natural resources into their instruction. From the suggestions offered, teachers are encouraged to develop concepts in six major areas: soil, water, minerals, wildlife, plants, and resources--recreational,…

75 FR 47259 - Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-05

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Proposed Change to Section IV of the Virginia State Technical Guide AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U..., Virginia 23229-5014; Telephone number (804) 287-1691; Fax number (804) 287-1737. Copies of the practice...

Environmental Education Manual. Teacher's Guide to Environmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Stafford; Williams, Eugenie

This five-unit volume is intended for use principally as a guide to the teaching of environmental education in upper secondary schools in Barbados. Topic areas of units include: (1) the environment and environmental conservation; (2) erosion/conservation and land use/misuse; (3) destruction/protection of wildlife and the importance, destruction,…

Soil and Water Conservation for a Better America. A Framework Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soil Conservation Service (USDA), Washington, DC.

Through this framework plan, the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) takes a look ahead to its soil and water conservation mission, a look at its direction and thrust in helping create a desirable America in the decades ahead. The plan attempts to define the nature of soil and water conservation efforts, to put them in perspective, and to present a…

Prioritizing Conservation of Ungulate Calving Resources in Multiple-Use Landscapes

PubMed Central

Dzialak, Matthew R.; Harju, Seth M.; Osborn, Robert G.; Wondzell, John J.; Hayden-Wing, Larry D.; Winstead, Jeffrey B.; Webb, Stephen L.

2011-01-01

Background Conserving animal populations in places where human activity is increasing is an ongoing challenge in many parts of the world. We investigated how human activity interacted with maternal status and individual variation in behavior to affect reliability of spatially-explicit models intended to guide conservation of critical ungulate calving resources. We studied Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) that occupy a region where 2900 natural gas wells have been drilled. Methodology/Principal Findings We present novel applications of generalized additive modeling to predict maternal status based on movement, and of random-effects resource selection models to provide population and individual-based inference on the effects of maternal status and human activity. We used a 2×2 factorial design (treatment vs. control) that included elk that were either parturient or non-parturient and in areas either with or without industrial development. Generalized additive models predicted maternal status (parturiency) correctly 93% of the time based on movement. Human activity played a larger role than maternal status in shaping resource use; elk showed strong spatiotemporal patterns of selection or avoidance and marked individual variation in developed areas, but no such pattern in undeveloped areas. This difference had direct consequences for landscape-level conservation planning. When relative probability of use was calculated across the study area, there was disparity throughout 72–88% of the landscape in terms of where conservation intervention should be prioritized depending on whether models were based on behavior in developed areas or undeveloped areas. Model validation showed that models based on behavior in developed areas had poor predictive accuracy, whereas the model based on behavior in undeveloped areas had high predictive accuracy. Conclusions/Significance By directly testing for differences between developed and undeveloped areas, and by modeling resource selection in a random-effects framework that provided individual-based inference, we conclude that: 1) amplified selection or avoidance behavior and individual variation, as responses to increasing human activity, complicate conservation planning in multiple-use landscapes, and 2) resource selection behavior in places where human activity is predictable or less dynamic may provide a more reliable basis from which to prioritize conservation action. PMID:21297866

Strategic conservation planning for the Eastern North Carolina/Southeastern Virginia Strategic Habitat Conservation Team

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alexander-Vaughn, Louise B.; Collazo, Jaime A.; Drew, C. Ashton

2014-01-01

The Eastern North Carolina/Southeastern Virginia Strategic Habitat Conservation Team (ENCSEVA) is a partnership among local federal agencies and programs with a mission to apply Strategic Habitat Conservation to accomplish priority landscape-level conservation within its geographic region. ENCSEVA seeks to further landscape-scale conservation through collaboration with local partners. To accomplish this mission, ENCSEVA is developing a comprehensive Strategic Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) to provide guidance for its members, partners, and collaborators by establishing mutual conservation goals, objectives, strategies, and metrics to gauge the success of conservation efforts. Identifying common goals allows the ENCSEVA team to develop strategies that leverage joint resources and are more likely to achieve desired impacts across the landscape. The Plan will also provide an approach for ENCSEVA to meet applied research needs (identify knowledge gaps), foster adaptive management principles, identify conservation priorities, prioritize threats (including potential impacts of climate change), and identify the required capacity to implement strategies to create more resilient landscapes. ENCSEVA seeks to support the overarching goals of the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) and to provide scientific and technical support for conservation at landscape scales as well as inform the management of natural resources in response to shifts in climate, habitat fragmentation and loss, and other landscape-level challenges (South Atlantic LCC 2012). The ENCSEVA ecoregion encompasses the northern third of the SALCC geography and offers a unique opportunity to apply landscape conservation at multiple scales through the guidance of local conservation and natural resource management efforts and by reporting metrics that reflect the effectiveness of those efforts (Figure 1). The Environmental Decision Analysis Team, housed within the North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at North Carolina State University, is assisting the ENCSEVA team in developing a scientifically sound basis for the Plan though the elicitation of expert knowledge and the organization of that knowledge using the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. The Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation is a framework that is well suited to incorporating decision-making tools such as Structured Decision Making and provides a multi-step process to conceptually organize conservation projects in a manner that enhances the rigor and transparency of expert and knowledge-based plans. It helps define explicit pathways from 2 planned conservation activities and ultimate impact, as well as indicators to measure success (Stem et al. 2005). Specifically, the framework identifies conservation targets, key ecological attributes, threats, and associated indicators to monitor responses given the implementation of a conservation action (Conservation Measures Partnership 2007). This report serves to provide a scientific foundation for the Plan by summarizing the expert opinion of wildlife biologists, ecologists, hydrologists, researchers, natural resource managers, and conservation practitioners regarding five environments (wetlands, riverine systems, estuaries, uplands, and barrier islands) within the ENCSEVA geography. Specifically, this report describes (1) the approach to elicit expert knowledge meant to support the strategic plan, (2) how this knowledge can inform collaborative conservation planning, and (3) a summary of opportunities available for the ENCSEVA team to address threats and impacts associated with climate change within the ecoregion.

Development of a spatially universal framework for classifying stream assemblages with application to conservation planning for Great Lakes lotic fish communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKenna, James E.; Schaeffer, Jeffrey S.; Stewart, Jana S.; Slattery, Michael T.

2015-01-01

Classifications are typically specific to particular issues or areas, leading to patchworks of subjectively defined spatial units. Stream conservation is hindered by the lack of a universal habitat classification system and would benefit from an independent hydrology-guided spatial framework of units encompassing all aquatic habitats at multiple spatial scales within large regions. We present a system that explicitly separates the spatial framework from any particular classification developed from the framework. The framework was constructed from landscape variables that are hydrologically and biologically relevant, covered all space within the study area, and was nested hierarchically and spatially related at scales ranging from the stream reach to the entire region; classifications may be developed from any subset of the 9 basins, 107 watersheds, 459 subwatersheds, or 10,000s of valley segments or stream reaches. To illustrate the advantages of this approach, we developed a fish-guided classification generated from a framework for the Great Lakes region that produced a mosaic of habitat units which, when aggregated, formed larger patches of more general conditions at progressively broader spatial scales. We identified greater than 1,200 distinct fish habitat types at the valley segment scale, most of which were rare. Comparisons of biodiversity and species assemblages are easily examined at any scale. This system can identify and quantify habitat types, evaluate habitat quality for conservation and/or restoration, and assist managers and policymakers with prioritization of protection and restoration efforts. Similar spatial frameworks and habitat classifications can be developed for any organism in any riverine ecosystem.

An optoacoustic guide with augmented reality system towards precision breast conserving surgery (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Lu; Liu, Kaiming; Xia, Yan; Wu, Jiayingzi; Li, Rui; Wang, Pu; Han, Linda K.; Cheng, Ji-Xin

2017-02-01

Breast-conserving surgery is a well-accepted breast cancer treatment. However, it is still challenging for the surgeon to accurately localize the tumor during the surgery. Also, the guidance provided by current methods is 1 dimensional distance information, which is indirect and not intuitive. Therefore, it creates problems on a large re-excision rate, and a prolonged surgical time. To solve these problems, we have developed a fiber-delivered optoacoustic guide (OG), which mimics the traditional localization guide wire and is preoperatively placed into tumor mass, and an augmented reality (AR) system to provide real-time visualization on the location of the tumor with sub-millimeter variance. By a nano-composite light diffusion sphere and light absorbing layer formed on the tip of an optical fiber, the OG creates an omnidirectional acoustic source inside tumor mass under pulsed laser excitation. The optoacoustic signal generated has a high dynamic range ( 58dB) and spreads in a large apex angle of 320 degrees. Then, an acoustic radar with three ultrasound transducers is attached to the breast skin, and triangulates the location of the OG tip. With an AR system to sense the location of the acoustic radar, the relative position of the OG tip inside the tumor to the AR display is calculated and rendered. This provides direct visual feedback of the tumor location to surgeons, which will greatly ease the surgical planning during the operation and save surgical time. A proof-of-concept experiment using a tablet and a stereo-vision camera is demonstrated and 0.25 mm tracking variance is achieved.

Can electromagnetic-navigated maxillary positioning replace occlusional splints in orthognathic surgery? A clinical pilot study.

PubMed

Berger, Moritz; Nova, Igor; Kallus, Sebastian; Ristow, Oliver; Freudlsperger, Christian; Eisenmann, Urs; Dickhaus, Hartmut; Engel, Michael; Hoffmann, Jürgen; Seeberger, Robin

2017-10-01

Because of the inaccuracy of intermaxillary splints in orthognathic surgery, intraoperative guidance via a real time navigation system might represent a suitable method for enhancing the precision of maxillary positioning. Therefore, in this clinical trial, maxillary repositioning after Le Fort I osteotomy was guided splintless by an electromagnetic navigation system. Conservatively planned maxillary reposition in each of 5 patients was transferred to a novel software module of the electromagnetic navigation system. Intraoperatively, after Le Fort I osteotomy, the software guided the maxilla to the targeted position. Accuracy was evaluated by pre- and postoperative cone beam computer tomography imaging (the vectorial distance of the incisal marker points was measured in three dimensions) and compared with that of a splint transposed control group. The repositioning of the maxilla guided by the electromagnetic navigation system was intuitive and simple to accomplish. The achieved maxillary position with a deviation of 0.7 mm on average to the planned position was equally accurate compared with that of the splint transposed control group of 0.5 mm (p > 0.05). The data of this clinical study display good accuracy for splintless electromagnetic-navigated maxillary positioning. Nevertheless, this method does not surpass the splint-encoded gold standard with regard to accuracy. Future investigations will be necessary to show the full potential of electromagnetic navigation in orthognathic surgery. Copyright © 2017 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conservation Action Planning: Lessons learned from the St. Marys River watershed biodiversity conservation planning process

USGS Publications Warehouse

Patterson, Tamatha A.; Grundel, Ralph

2014-01-01

Conservation Action Planning (CAP) is an adaptive management planning process refined by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and embraced worldwide as the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. The CAP process facilitates open, multi-institutional collaboration on a common conservation agenda through organized actions and quantified results. While specifically designed for conservation efforts, the framework is adaptable and flexible to multiple scales and can be used for any collaborative planning effort. The CAP framework addresses inception; design and development of goals, measures, and strategies; and plan implementation and evaluation. The specific components of the CAP include defining the project scope and conservation targets; assessing the ecological viability; ascertaining threats and surrounding situation; identifying opportunities and designing strategies for action; and implementing actions and monitoring results. In 2007, TNC and a multidisciplinary graduate student team from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment initiated a CAP for the St. Marys River, the connecting channel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, and its local watershed. The students not only gained experience in conservation planning, but also learned lessons that notably benefited the CAP process and were valuable for any successful collaborative effort—a dedicated core team improved product quality, accelerated the timeline, and provided necessary support for ongoing efforts; an academic approach in preparation for engagement in the planning process brought applicable scientific research to the forefront, enhanced workshop facilitation, and improved stakeholder participation; and early and continuous interactions with regional stakeholders improved cooperation and built a supportive network for collaboration.

Strategic Energy Management Plan for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davenport, Lars; Smythe, Louisa; Sarquilla, Lindsey

2015-03-27

This plan outlines the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ comprehensive energy management strategy including an assessment of current practices, a commitment to improving energy performance and reducing overall energy use, and recommended actions to achieve these goals. Vision Statement The primary objective of the Strategic Energy Management Plan is to implement energy efficiency, energy security, conservation, education, and renewable energy projects that align with the economic goals and cultural values of the community to improve the health and welfare of the tribe. The intended outcomes of implementing the energy plan include job creation, capacity building, and reduced energy costsmore » for tribal community members, and tribal operations. By encouraging energy independence and local power production the plan will promote self-sufficiency. Mission & Objectives The Strategic Energy Plan will provide information and suggestions to guide tribal decision-making and provide a foundation for effective management of energy resources within the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (SYBCI) community. The objectives of developing this plan include; Assess current energy demand and costs of all tribal enterprises, offices, and facilities; Provide a baseline assessment of the SYBCI’s energy resources so that future progress can be clearly and consistently measured, and current usage better understood; Project future energy demand; Establish a system for centralized, ongoing tracking and analysis of tribal energy data that is applicable across sectors, facilities, and activities; Develop a unifying vision that is consistent with the tribe’s long-term cultural, social, environmental, and economic goals; Identify and evaluate the potential of opportunities for development of long-term, cost effective energy sources, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, and other feasible supply- and demand-side options; and Build the SYBCI’s capacity for understanding, managing, and developing energy resources by identifying training, distribution of information materials, and community meeting needs and opportunities« less

25 CFR 166.312 - Is a conservation plan required?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Operations Management Management Plans and Environmental Compliance § 166.312 Is a conservation plan required... resource management plan and must address the permittee's management objectives regarding animal husbandry...

Filling gaps in a large reserve network to address freshwater conservation needs.

PubMed

Hermoso, Virgilio; Filipe, Ana Filipa; Segurado, Pedro; Beja, Pedro

2015-09-15

Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are among the most threatened at global scale, but efforts for their conservation have been mostly peripheral to terrestrial conservation. For example, Natura 2000, the world's largest network of protected areas, fails to cover adequately the distribution of rare and endangered aquatic species, and lacks of appropriate spatial design to make conservation for freshwater biodiversity effective. Here, we develop a framework to identify a complementary set of priority areas and enhance the conservation opportunities of Natura 2000 for freshwater biodiversity, using the Iberian Peninsula as a case study. We use a systematic planning approach to identify a minimum set of additional areas that would help i) adequately represent all freshwater fish, amphibians and aquatic reptiles at three different target levels, ii) account for key ecological processes derived from riverscape connectivity, and iii) minimize the impact of threats, both within protected areas and propagated from upstream unprotected areas. Addressing all these goals would need an increase in area between 7 and 46%, depending on the conservation target used and strength of connectivity required. These new priority areas correspond to subcatchments inhabited by endangered and range restricted species, as well as additional subcatchments required to improve connectivity among existing protected areas and to increase protection against upstream threats. Our study should help guide future revisions of the design of Natura 2000, while providing a framework to address deficiencies in reserve networks for adequately protecting freshwater biodiversity elsewhere. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incorporating the effects of socioeconomic uncertainty into priority setting for conservation investment.

PubMed

McBride, Marissa F; Wilson, Kerrie A; Bode, Michael; Possingham, Hugh P

2007-12-01

Uncertainty in the implementation and outcomes of conservation actions that is not accounted for leaves conservation plans vulnerable to potential changes in future conditions. We used a decision-theoretic approach to investigate the effects of two types of investment uncertainty on the optimal allocation of global conservation resources for land acquisition in the Mediterranean Basin. We considered uncertainty about (1) whether investment will continue and (2) whether the acquired biodiversity assets are secure, which we termed transaction uncertainty and performance uncertainty, respectively. We also developed and tested the robustness of different rules of thumb for guiding the allocation of conservation resources when these sources of uncertainty exist. In the presence of uncertainty in future investment ability (transaction uncertainty), the optimal strategy was opportunistic, meaning the investment priority should be to act where uncertainty is highest while investment remains possible. When there was a probability that investments would fail (performance uncertainty), the optimal solution became a complex trade-off between the immediate biodiversity benefits of acting in a region and the perceived longevity of the investment. In general, regions were prioritized for investment when they had the greatest performance certainty, even if an alternative region was highly threatened or had higher biodiversity value. The improved performance of rules of thumb when accounting for uncertainty highlights the importance of explicitly incorporating sources of investment uncertainty and evaluating potential conservation investments in the context of their likely long-term success.

Conservation and Management of the Endangered Fiji Sago Palm, Metroxylon vitiense, in Fiji

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, Clare; Rounds, Isaac; Watling, Dick

2012-05-01

Recovery planning is a key component of many threatened species conservation initiatives and can be a powerful awareness raising tool. One of the largest impediments to conservation efforts in the Pacific region however, is the lack of ecological data and its subsequent effects on the development of feasible and useful recovery plans for threatened species. Without these plans, the understaffed, underfunded and often technically ill-equipped conservation agencies face huge difficulties in planning, prioritizing and conducting conservation activities to adequately protect biodiversity. The Fiji sago palm, Metroxylon vitiense, is an endemic endangered palm species whose survival is heavily dependent on a feasible species recovery plan. It is geographically restricted and threatened by habitat destruction and overexploitation for thatch for the tourism industry and palm heart consumption by local consumers. Despite its threatened status, M. vitiense is not currently protected by national or international legislation. Recent field surveys and extensive stakeholder consultation have resulted in the production of a species recovery plan highlighting the importance of the species and advocating sustainable harvesting rather than complete bans to promote conservation. This article summarizes the recovery plan and its current effects on the status of M. vitiense in Fiji. We also discuss the role of different stakeholders in the conservation of M. vitiense, including the absence of significant behavioral changes by the largest consumer - the tourism industry, and the importance of recovery plans for biodiversity conservation in the Pacific.

7 CFR 610.32 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation of Private Grazing Land... managers to plan and implement resource conservation on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing...

7 CFR 610.32 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation of Private Grazing Land... managers to plan and implement resource conservation on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing...

7 CFR 610.32 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation of Private Grazing Land... managers to plan and implement resource conservation on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing...

7 CFR 610.32 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation of Private Grazing Land... managers to plan and implement resource conservation on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing...

7 CFR 610.32 - Technical assistance furnished.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Conservation of Private Grazing Land... managers to plan and implement resource conservation on grazing land. The objective of planning on grazing...

Conservation and Education in Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordahl, Mark D.

2005-01-01

This thesis forms the foundation for a conservation education training manual to help guides in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, communicate to foreign visitors about conservation issues. For background information I used a combination of text-based research and interviews to examine the application of community conservation and…

(rehabilitating Heritage Places) Structural Repairs and Conservation Works for Astor Kolkata, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasgupta, S.; Fournier, L.

2017-08-01

Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta in English, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The city was a colonial city developed by the British East India Company and then by the British Empire. Kolkata was the capital of the British Indian empire until 1911 when the capital was relocated to Delhi. Kolkata grew rapidly in the 19th century to become the second city of the British Empire. This was accompanied by the development of a culture that fused European philosophies with Indian tradition. The city has been known by many names "Cultural Capital of India", "The City of Processions", "The City of Palaces", and the "City of Joy". Problems related to rapid urbanisation started to plaque Kolkata from the 1930s and the city remains an example of the urbanization challenges of the developing nations. The exercise included Archival research, Field surveys, Condition Mapping, structural evaluation and preparation of restoration & conservation solutions along with post conservation management plan. The Major challenges encountered were identifying the correct consolidation techniques using modern technology and incorporation of modern services. The Documentation and Mapping was used as a significant tool to guide towards the structural consolidation, conservation and Management strategy of the complex.

This is Your Life: A Career and Education Planning Guide: Educator's Companion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, 2009

2009-01-01

This guide was developed to fill a need identified by high school educators and Alberta Advanced Education and Technology staff. The Guide introduces students to the principles of career and education planning and various authorized Alberta resources by helping students work through the planning process. The student guide is a series of modules…

Be a Water Watcher: A Resource Guide for Water Conservation, K-12. 1985.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kominski, John

This guide provides teachers of kindergarten through high school with model lessons relating to water conservation. Age-appropriate suggestions are presented including songs, poems, skits, activity sheets, and field trips. Generic hints and information are included in addition to material which applies specifically to New York City, such as how to…

77 FR 25962 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-02

... Collection; Comment Request; Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Planning, Protection or Restoration... recipients for planning, conservation, acquisition, protection, restoration, or construction projects. The... Conservation Program (CELCP) to protect important coastal and estuarine areas that have significant...

Collections Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeCandido, Robert

Collections conservation is an approach to the preservation treatment of books and book-like materials that is conceptualized and organized in terms of large groups of materials. This guide is intended to enable a library to evaluate its current collections conservation activities. The introduction describes collections conservation and gives…

76 FR 45606 - Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, Habitat Conservation Plan and Possible Land Use Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-29

... than would a project-by-project, species-by-species review; and Identify and incorporate climate change... environmental justice, outdoor recreation, visual resources, induced growth, climate change and greenhouse gases... biological resource conservation across the Mojave and Colorado Desert regions of southern California. The...

77 FR 8890 - Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, KY; Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

...-FF04R02000] Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, KY; Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan and... availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment (Draft CCP/EA) for Clarks... (telephone). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Introduction With this notice, we continue the CCP process for Clarks...

77 FR 71013 - Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Spring Mountain Raceway Expansion Project...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-28

...-FXES11130800000-134] Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Spring Mountain Raceway Expansion... (Service), have received an application from Spring Mountain Raceway, LLC (applicant), for an incidental... to the Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Spring Mountain Raceway Expansion Project...

75 FR 41157 - Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan; Extension of Comment Period

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-15

... Fish and Wildlife Service RIN 0648-XX52 Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan; Extension of... extending the comment period for our joint request for comments on the Stanford University Habitat... issued Stanford University Habitat Conservation Plan, a DEIS for Authorization of Incidental Take and...

COLLABORATIVE GUIDE: A REEF MANAGER'S GUIDE TO ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Innovative strategies to conserve the world's coral reefs are included in a new guide released today by NOAA, and the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, with author contributions from a variety of international partners from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. Referred to as A Reef Manager's Guide to Coral Bleaching, the guide will provide coral reef managers with the latest scientific information on the causes of coral bleaching and new management strategies for responding to this significant threat to coral reef ecosystems. Innovative strategies to conserve the world's coral reefs are included in a new guide released today by NOAA, and the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, with author contributions from a variety of international partners from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. Dr. Jordan West, of the National Center for Environmental Assessment, was a major contributor to the guide. Referred to as

Integrated Bird Conservation along the Pacific Coast of North America: An Action Agenda

Treesearch

Gregg Elliott; Bob Altman; Wendy Easton; Ricardo Estrella; Geoffrey Geupel; Mary Chase; Ellie Cohen; Ann Chrisney

2005-01-01

Scientists and managers representing the continental bird conservation plans explored the status of conservation planning and implementation for birds along the Pacific coast of North America. The theme of the session, "using common currencies to advance bird conservation," emphasized the components of bird conservation shared among the major initiatives,...

Planning Resource Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

RP Group of California Community Colleges, Santa Ana.

The Planning Resource Guide by the RP Group of California Community Colleges was created to provide practical planning assistance. It contains four sections, including: (1) a basic conceptual framework for planning; (2) common planning definitions for colleges; (3) planning steps and samples of planning structures; and (4) suggestions for linking…

Energy conserving site design case study: Shenandoah, Georgia. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The case study examines the means by which energy conservation can be achieved at an aggregate community level by using proper planning and analytical techniques for a new town, Shenandoah, Georgia, located twenty-five miles southwest of Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. A potentially implementable energy conservation community plan is achieved by a study team examining the land use options, siting characteristics of each building type, alternate infrastructure plans, possible decentralized energy options, and central utility schemes to determine how community energy conservation can be achieved by use of pre-construction planning. The concept for the development of mixed land uses as amore » passively sited, energy conserving community is based on a plan (Level 1 Plan) that uses the natural site characteristics, maximizes on passive energy siting requirement, and allows flexibility for the changing needs of the developers. The Level 2 Plan is identical with Level 1 plan plus a series of decentraized systems that have been added to the residential units: the single-family detached, the apartments, and the townhouses. Level 3 Plan is similar to the Level 1 Plan except that higher density dwellings have been moved to areas adjacent to central site. The total energy savings for each plan relative to the conventional plan are indicated. (MCW)« less

7 CFR 766.110 - Conservation Contract.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... floodplains; (iii) Areas of high water quality or scenic value; (iv) Historic or cultural properties listed in..., or 50 years. (e) Conservation management plan. The Agency, through the recommendations of the Conservation Contract review team, is responsible for approving the conservation management plan. (f...

7 CFR 766.110 - Conservation Contract.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... floodplains; (iii) Areas of high water quality or scenic value; (iv) Historic or cultural properties listed in..., or 50 years. (e) Conservation management plan. The Agency, through the recommendations of the Conservation Contract review team, is responsible for approving the conservation management plan. (f...

Career Exploration Occupational Information for the Junior High/Middle School. A Planning Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawson, Dorothy M.; McDonald, Dorothea V.

Materials contained in this guide are designed to be used in planning a comprehensive career education program and for developing individual career education units for grades 6-9. Section 1 is the planning guide and contains strategies for organizing, planning, and implementing a program, developing staff inservice, conducting a needs assessment,…

Model State Plan Characteristics. A Guide for Refining State Plans for Career Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Anita

This guide for refining state plans for career education was developed to assist states in revision of their state plans to satisfy requirements of Public Law 95-207. The guide is divided into fourteen chapters. Chapter 1, the introduction, contains background information on the assessment conducted to develop the guidelines. (A full report of…

Application of models to conservation planning for terrestrial birds in North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fitzgerald, Jane A.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Dettmers, Randy; Jones, Tim; Rustay, Christopher; Ruth, Janet M.; Thompson, Frank R.; Will, Tom; Millspaugh, Joshua J.; Thompson, Frank R.

2009-01-01

Partners in Flight (PIF), a public–private coalition for the conservation of land birds, has developed one of four international bird conservation plans recognized under the auspices of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). Partners in Flight prioritized species most in need of conservation attention and set range-wide population goals for 448 species of terrestrial birds. Partnerships are now tasked with developing spatially explicit estimates of the distribution, and abundance of priority species across large ecoregions and identifying habitat acreages needed to support populations at prescribed levels. The PIF Five Elements process of conservation design identifies five steps needed to implement all bird conservation at the ecoregional scale. Habitat assessment and landscape characterization describe the current amounts of different habitat types and summarize patch characteristics, and landscape configurations that define the ability of a landscape to sustain healthy bird populations and are a valuable first step to describing the planning area before pursuing more complex species-specific models. Spatially linked database models, landscape-scale habitat suitability models, and statistical models are viable alternatives for predicting habitat suitability or bird abundance across large planning areas to help assess conservation opportunities, design landscapes to meet population objectives, and monitor change in habitat suitability or bird numbers over time.Bird conservation in the United States is a good example of the use of models in large-scale wildlife conservation planning because of its geographic extent, focus on multiple species, involvement of multiple partners, and use of simple to complex models. We provide some background on the recent development of bird conservation initiatives in the United States and the approaches used for regional conservation assessment and planning. We focus on approaches being used for landscape characterization and assessment, and bird population response modeling.

Overhead guide sign retroreflectivity and illumination.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-01-01

Roadway guide sign visibility during darkness is fundamental to driver safety, especially elderly drivers. Guide : sign visibility can be improved by external sign illumination or the use of retroreflective sheeting on signs. Because : energy conserv...

Ecotourism, sustainable development, and conservation education: Development of a tour guide training program in Tortuguero, Costa Rica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobson, Susan K.; Robles, Rafael

1992-11-01

A tour guide training program was developed for rural communities near Costa Rica's Tortuguero National Park to respond to the impacts of the 24-fold increase in park visitation in the past decade, to involve local communities in resource management, and to provide regional environmental education. The development of the training course involved a survey of scientists and park managers to ascertain resource management needs, priorities for information to be disseminated, and impacts of tourism on the resource base. Current and potential tour guides were surveyed to identify their information needs, solicit their input in the training program, and to determine their knowledge and skills. Written questionnaires were developed and given to 400 tourists to determine their activities and environmental information needs, and hotel owners were censused to examine the economic feasibility of a local guide program. A pilot training course and guide program involving 12 Tortuguero residents demonstrated that a tour guide program: (1) helped mitigate negative tourism impacts on Tortuguero National Park's natural resources, particularly by regulating tourists on the park's 35-km beach used for nesting by endangered sea turtles; (2) provided environmental education to an important segment of the local community not traditionally reached through school or government development projects; (3) provided environmental information to tourists, thus enhancing their visit; and (4) provided local economic benefits through lucrative part-time employment, thereby allowing local people to participate more fully in the tourism system. An extended training course is being planned to provide further environmental education programming and to increase year-round employment opportunities for the tour guides.

Land Conservation Plan from the New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds (Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The overarching goal of this land conservation plan is to focus conservation on those lands and waters that are most important for conserving living resources - native plants, animals and natural communities - and water quality in the coastal watersheds.

Diagnosis and treatment of haemorrhoids.

PubMed

Buntzen, Steen; Christensen, Peter; Khalid, Ali; Ljungmann, Ken; Lindholt, Jan; Lundby, Lilli; Walker, Line Rossell; Raahave, Dennis; Qvist, Niels

2013-12-01

These guidelines provide a review of diagnosis, conservative and surgical treatment of haemorrhoids with primary focus on the surgical treatment. In symptomatic hemorrhoids it is recommended, that conservative treatment is used as basic treatment regardless of grading. The vast majority of grade II haemorrhoids are treated conservatively, but surgery may be considered in a few cases with pronounced symptoms. In these cases chirurgia minor, Doppler guided dearterilization procedures or stapled haemorrhoidopexy are recommended. In grade III and IV Doppler guided dearterilization procedures, stapled haemorrhoidopexy (Grade III) or conventional Milligan Morgan haemorrhoidectomy are recommended.

Bird Conservation Planning and Implementation in Canada's Intermountain Region

Treesearch

Ilia Hartasanchez; Krista De Groot; Andre Breault; Rob W. Butler

2005-01-01

Bird conservation planning in British Columbia and Yukon has been carried out by each of the major bird initiatives. The purpose of this paper is to provide a status report of planning activities and to discuss how integration of the initiatives is being accomplished for efficient and effective implementation of bird conservation actions.

77 FR 12074 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Receipt of Application for Modification of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-28

... Incidental Take Permit; Availability of Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan; Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC... proposed habitat conservation plan (HCP), as well as on our preliminary determination that the plan... 24 years to 41 years, changing the boundary of the conservation easement placed on the property used...

Complete, accurate, mammalian phylogenies aid conservation planning, but not much

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, Ana S. L.; Grenyer, Richard; Baillie, Jonathan E. M.; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R. P.; Gittlemann, John L.; Hoffmann, Michael; Safi, Kamran; Schipper, Jan; Stuart, Simon N.; Brooks, Thomas

2011-01-01

In the face of unprecedented global biodiversity loss, conservation planning must balance between refining and deepening knowledge versus acting on current information to preserve species and communities. Phylogenetic diversity (PD), a biodiversity measure that takes into account the evolutionary relationships between species, is arguably a more meaningful measure of biodiversity than species diversity, but cannot yet be applied to conservation planning for the majority of taxa for which phylogenetic trees have not yet been developed. Here, we investigate how the quality of data on the taxonomy and/or phylogeny of species affects the results of spatial conservation planning in terms of the representation of overall mammalian PD. The results show that the better the quality of the biodiversity data the better they can serve as a basis for conservation planning. However, decisions based on incomplete data are remarkably robust across different levels of degrading quality concerning the description of new species and the availability of phylogenetic information. Thus, given the level of urgency and the need for action, conservation planning can safely make use of the best available systematic data, limited as these data may be. PMID:21844044

Give Water a Hand. Home Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water and water conservation within the home while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

Give Water a Hand. Community Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water, and water conservation within a community, while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Green,T.

This Wildland Fire Management Plan (FMP) for Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) updates the 2003 plan incorporating changes necessary to comply with DOE Order 450.1 and DOE P 450.4, Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy and Program Review; Wildland and Prescribed Fire Management Policy and implementation Procedures Reference Guide. This current plan incorporates changes since the original draft of the FMP that result from new policies on the national level. This update also removes references and dependence on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior, fully transitioning Wildland Fire Management responsibilities to BNL. The Department of Energy policymore » for managing wildland fires requires that all areas, managed by the DOE and/or its various contractors, that can sustain fire must have a FMP that details fire management guidelines for operational procedures associated with wild fire, operational, and prescribed fires. Fire management plans provide guidance on fire preparedness, fire prevention, wildfire suppression, and the use of controlled, 'prescribed' fires and mechanical means to control the amount of available combustible material. Values reflected in the BNL Wildland FMP include protecting life and public safety; Lab properties, structures and improvements; cultural and historical sites; neighboring private and public properties; and endangered, threatened, and species of concern. Other values supported by the plan include the enhancement of fire-dependent ecosystems at BNL. This FMP will be reviewed periodically to ensure the fire program advances and evolves with the missions of the DOE and BNL. This Fire Management Plan is presented in a format that coverers all aspects specified by DOE guidance documents which are based on the national template for fire management plans adopted under the National Fire Plan. The DOE is one of the signatory agencies on the National Fire Plan. This FMP is to be used and implemented for the entire BNL site including the Upton Reserve and has been reviewed by, The Nature Conservancy, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, and DOE, as well as appropriate BNL emergency services personnel. The BNL Fire Department is the lead on wildfire suppression. However, the BNL Natural Resource Manager will be assigned to all wildland fires as technical resource advisor.« less

The Big Red How-To Guide: Planning a Health Fair for Children and Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, Christina A.

Community health fairs usually focus on adult health issues and seldom on child and family health or the link between health and education. This guide's purpose is to assist communities in developing child and family-focused health fairs. The guide is divided into two major sections: pre-planning and planning. The pre-planning section covers steps…

A Guide for Teaching Regional Environmental Planning. Final Report of Project - Inservice Personnel Development: Regional Environmental Planning Workshops for Tri-County Secondary School Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher, James Joseph, Ed.

This guide is designed for teachers, administrators, inservice leaders, and teacher educators. Its purpose is to provide an organizational framework, material, and resources for the development of instructional plans and strategies for incorporating regional environmental planning in the secondary school curriculum. The guide is divided into three…

Fine-resolution conservation planning with limited climate-change information.

PubMed

Shah, Payal; Mallory, Mindy L; Ando, Amy W; Guntenspergen, Glenn R

2017-04-01

Climate-change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation-related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation-planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk-diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate-change scenarios for carrying out fine-resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk-return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate-change information and full climate-change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate-change forecasts such that the best possible risk-return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate-change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

US Policy approaches for assessing soil health

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is worldwide recognition for a more holistic vision of soil health and tools to guide soil conservation policy, management and restoration. To meet this need, U.S. conservation programs in the US Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the farm bill), including the Conservation Stewardship...

Beyond protection: Expanding "conservation opportunity" to redefine conservation planning in the 21st century.

PubMed

Liberati, Marjorie R; Rittenhouse, Chadwick D; Vokoun, Jason C

2016-12-01

The protected lands estate increased dramatically during the 20th century and forms the backbone of current fisheries and wildlife conservation in North America. However, there is increasing evidence that modern conservation goals cannot be achieved by only focusing on adding new acreage, particularly with opportunistic protection. In the 21st century, flexibility and adaptability of conservation options can be accomplished by expanding the vocabulary of conservation planning beyond protection. We suggest a conceptual framework that considers suites of objectives to translate the broad goal of "conservation" into multiple implementation-specific objectives. These objectives form the "PCRM-PI" approach: protect, connect, restore, manage, partner, and inform. We use a case study to illustrate the limitations of protection-centric planning and how expanding the definition of conservation opportunity can help planners do more on the landscape. We suggest that the PCRM-PI approach with implementation-specific objectives is an effective way to bridge planning-implementation gaps and translate broad, landscape-level conservation goals into implementable actions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

10 CFR 436.104 - Energy conservation measures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Energy conservation measures and standards. 436.104 Section 436.104 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.104 Energy conservation measures and standards. (a...

10 CFR 436.104 - Energy conservation measures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Energy conservation measures and standards. 436.104 Section 436.104 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.104 Energy conservation measures and standards. (a...

10 CFR 436.104 - Energy conservation measures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Energy conservation measures and standards. 436.104 Section 436.104 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.104 Energy conservation measures and standards. (a...

10 CFR 436.104 - Energy conservation measures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Energy conservation measures and standards. 436.104 Section 436.104 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.104 Energy conservation measures and standards. (a...

10 CFR 436.104 - Energy conservation measures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Energy conservation measures and standards. 436.104 Section 436.104 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS Guidelines for General Operations Plans § 436.104 Energy conservation measures and standards. (a...

NRT-1: Hazardous Materials Planning Guide

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The NRT issued Hazardous Materials Emergency Planning Guide (NRT1) in 1987, as required by EPCRA, to provide planning guidance for state and local governments in the development of local emergency response plans.

Pandemic Planning Guide for Alberta School Authorities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Education, 2008

2008-01-01

A crisis always seems like something that happens somewhere else - that is, until it arrives on your doorstep. Although other issues and challenges scream for your attention, School Authorities should not postpone developing an influenza pandemic plan. The "Pandemic Planning Guide for Alberta School Authorities" (the "Guide")…

Planning Guide for Secondary School Music Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenger Corp., Owatonna, MN.

This planning guide focuses on the fundamental requirements for planning and designing school music suites. The guide provides brief explanations of critical factors affecting music suites so that music directors and other stakeholders can more quickly and clearly communicate music area fundamentals to architects and administrators. Topics cover…

75 FR 79013 - Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan and Natural Community Conservation Plan, CA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

... injures listed wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding... permits in recognition of the conservation benefits provided to them under the HCP/NCCP. Regulations...

Value-focused framework for defining landscape-scale conservation targets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Romañach, Stephanie; Benscoter, Allison M.; Brandt, Laura A.

2016-01-01

Conservation of natural resources can be challenging in a rapidly changing world and require collaborative efforts for success. Conservation planning is the process of deciding how to protect, conserve, and enhance or minimize loss of natural and cultural resources. Establishing conservation targets (also called indicators or endpoints), the measurable expressions of desired resource conditions, can help with site-specific up to landscape-scale conservation planning. Using conservation targets and tracking them through time can deliver benefits such as insight into ecosystem health and providing early warnings about undesirable trends. We describe an approach using value-focused thinking to develop statewide conservation targets for Florida. Using such an approach allowed us to first identify stakeholder objectives and then define conservation targets to meet those objectives. Stakeholders were able to see how their shared efforts fit into the broader conservation context, and also anticipate the benefits of multi-agency and -organization collaboration. We developed an iterative process for large-scale conservation planning that included defining a shared framework for the process, defining the conservation targets themselves, as well as developing management and monitoring strategies for evaluation of their effectiveness. The process we describe is applicable to other geographies where multiple parties are seeking to implement collaborative, large-scale biological planning.

Natural Resource Management Plan for Brookhaven National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

green, T.

This comprehensive Natural Resource Management Plan (NRMP) for Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) was built on the successful foundation of the Wildlife Management Plan for BNL, which it replaces. This update to the 2003 plan continues to build on successes and efforts to better understand the ecosystems and natural resources found on the BNL site. The plan establishes the basis for managing the varied natural resources located on the 5,265 acre BNL site, setting goals and actions to achieve those goals. The planning of this document is based on the knowledge and expertise gained over the past 10 years by themore » Natural Resources management staff at BNL in concert with local natural resource agencies including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Long Island Pine Barrens Joint Planning and Policy Commission, The Nature Conservancy, and others. The development of this plan is an attempt at sound ecological management that not only benefits BNL's ecosystems but also benefits the greater Pine Barrens habitats in which BNL is situated. This plan applies equally to the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve (Upton Reserve). Any difference in management between the larger BNL area and the Upton Reserve are noted in the text. The purpose of the Natural Resource Management Plan (NRMP) is to provide management guidance, promote stewardship of the natural resources found at BNL, and to sustainably integrate their protection with pursuit of the Laboratory's mission. The philosophy or guiding principles of the NRMP are stewardship, sustainability, adaptive ecosystem management, compliance, integration with other plans and requirements, and the incorporation of community involvement, where applicable. The NRMP is periodically reviewed and updated, typically every five years. This review and update was delayed to develop documents associated with a new third party facility, the Long Island Solar Farm. This two hundred acre facility will result in significant changes to this plan warranting the delay. The body of this plan establishes the management goals and actions necessary for managing the natural resources at BNL in a sustainable manner. The appendices provide specific management requirements for threatened and endangered amphibians and fish (Appendices A and B, respectively), and lists of actions in tabular format - including completed items as well as ongoing and new action items (Appendices C and D, respectively).« less

Impacts of climate change on the distribution of Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Shennongjia area, China.

PubMed

Luo, Zhenhua; Zhou, Surong; Yu, Wendi; Yu, Huiliang; Yang, Jingyuan; Tian, Yanhong; Zhao, Mian; Wu, Hua

2015-02-01

Understanding the effects of climate change on primate ranging patterns is crucial for conservation planning. Rhinopithecus roxellana is an endangered primate species distributed in mountainous forests at the elevation of 1500-3500 m a.s.l. in China. Our study site, the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, represents the eastern-most distribution of this species. This area has experienced significant habitat loss and fragmentation because of human population growth, increased farming and logging, and climate change. To estimate how changes in temperature and rainfall will affect the presumed future distribution of this species, we examined eco-geographic factors including bioclimate, habitat (vegetation type, landcover, etc.), topography, and human impact (human population, gross domestic product, etc.), and provide suggestions for management and conservation. We used a maximum entropy approach to predict the location and distribution of habitats suitable for R. roxellana in the present, 2020, 2050, and 2080 based on 33 environmental parameters, three general circulation models, three emissions scenarios, and two dispersal hypotheses. According to the ensemble modeling, we found range reductions of almost 30% by 2020, 70% by 2050, and over 80% by 2080. Although no obvious differences were found in distribution change based on full and zero dispersal assumptions, our results revealed range reductions in response to elevational, latitudinal, and longitudinal gradients, with the monkeys forced to migrate to higher elevations over time. Bioclimte factors, such as temperature, precipitation, evapo-transpiration, and aridity condition, were dominant contributors to range shifting. As habitat loss due to human influence and climate change is likely to be even more severe in the future, we considered three conservation hot-spots in the Shennongjia area and recommended: (i) securing existing reserves and establishing new reserves, (ii) re-designing management systems to include the Shenongjia reserve and the surrounding reserves and highlighting ecosystem protection at higher elevations, and (iii) using finer-scale research to guide the conservation planning and education in order to enhance protection and awareness in the local community. National and provincial conservation policies should integrate projections of climate change in making effective conservation strategies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Natural resource assessment and decision support tools for bird conservation planning

Treesearch

Carl E. Korschgen; Melinda G. Knutson; Timothy J. Fox; Leslie Holland-Bartels; Henry C. Dehaan; Charles H. Theiling; Jason J. Rohweder; Kevin Kenow; Linda E. Leake; Tom Will

2005-01-01

We have used a place-based decision support system for several years to identify bird conservation issues relating to the management and planning needs of resource managers. Public and private land managers are constantly seeking better ways to incorporate landscape, species, and habitat relationships into the conservation planning process. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

Comparison of statistical and theoretical habitat models for conservation planning: the benefit of ensemble prediction

Treesearch

D. Todd Jones-Farrand; Todd M. Fearer; Wayne E. Thogmartin; Frank R. Thompson; Mark D. Nelson; John M. Tirpak

2011-01-01

Selection of a modeling approach is an important step in the conservation planning process, but little guidance is available. We compared two statistical and three theoretical habitat modeling approaches representing those currently being used for avian conservation planning at landscape and regional scales: hierarchical spatial count (HSC), classification and...

78 FR 62646 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits; Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-22

... the Utah Prairie Dog in Garfield County, Utah AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION... Draft Low-effect Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Utah prairie dog in Garfield County, Utah, for... review and comment of the Draft Low-effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Utah prairie dog in Garfield...

Predicting habitat suitability for rare plants at local spatial scales using a species distribution model.

PubMed

Gogol-Prokurat, Melanie

2011-01-01

If species distribution models (SDMs) can rank habitat suitability at a local scale, they may be a valuable conservation planning tool for rare, patchily distributed species. This study assessed the ability of Maxent, an SDM reported to be appropriate for modeling rare species, to rank habitat suitability at a local scale for four edaphic endemic rare plants of gabbroic soils in El Dorado County, California, and examined the effects of grain size, spatial extent, and fine-grain environmental predictors on local-scale model accuracy. Models were developed using species occurrence data mapped on public lands and were evaluated using an independent data set of presence and absence locations on surrounding lands, mimicking a typical conservation-planning scenario that prioritizes potential habitat on unsurveyed lands surrounding known occurrences. Maxent produced models that were successful at discriminating between suitable and unsuitable habitat at the local scale for all four species, and predicted habitat suitability values were proportional to likelihood of occurrence or population abundance for three of four species. Unfortunately, models with the best discrimination (i.e., AUC) were not always the most useful for ranking habitat suitability. The use of independent test data showed metrics that were valuable for evaluating which variables and model choices (e.g., grain, extent) to use in guiding habitat prioritization for conservation of these species. A goodness-of-fit test was used to determine whether habitat suitability values ranked habitat suitability on a continuous scale. If they did not, a minimum acceptable error predicted area criterion was used to determine the threshold for classifying habitat as suitable or unsuitable. I found a trade-off between model extent and the use of fine-grain environmental variables: goodness of fit was improved at larger extents, and fine-grain environmental variables improved local-scale accuracy, but fine-grain variables were not available at large extents. No single model met all habitat prioritization criteria, and the best models were overlaid to identify consensus areas of high suitability. Although the four species modeled here co-occur and are treated together for conservation planning, model accuracy and predicted suitable areas varied among species.

The Food-Safe Schools Action Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007

2007-01-01

"The Food-Safe School Needs Assessment and Planning Guide" is a tool that can help schools assess their food safety policies, procedures, and programs and develop plans for improvement. This tool includes a simple, straightforward questionnaire, score card, and planning guide that give administrators, school staff, families, and students a chance…

Water Foundations Teachers Guide. The Science of Florida's Water Resources: Lesson Plans for Teachers and Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2001

This document features lesson plans for teachers and students on Florida's water resources. The guide is divided into four grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each grade level includes objectives, guides, and five lesson plans. K-2 lesson plans include: (1) "We Are Water"; (2) "Why Water is Extra Special"; (3) "Water's…

Wildlife connectivity approaches and best practices in U.S. state wildlife action plans.

PubMed

Lacher, Iara; Wilkerson, Marit L

2014-02-01

As habitat loss and fragmentation threaten biodiversity on large geographic scales, creating and maintaining connectivity of wildlife populations is an increasingly common conservation objective. To assess the progress and success of large-scale connectivity planning, conservation researchers need a set of plans that cover large geographic areas and can be analyzed as a single data set. The state wildlife action plans (SWAPs) fulfill these requirements. We examined 50 SWAPs to determine the extent to which wildlife connectivity planning, via linkages, is emphasized nationally. We defined linkage as connective land that enables wildlife movement. For our content analysis, we identified and quantified 6 keywords and 7 content criteria that ranged in specificity and were related to linkages for wide-ranging terrestrial vertebrates and examined relations between content criteria and statewide data on focal wide-ranging species, spending, revenue, and conserved land. Our results reflect nationwide disparities in linkage conservation priorities and highlight the continued need for wildlife linkage planning. Only 30% or less of the 50 SWAPs fulfilled highly specific content criteria (e.g., identifying geographic areas for linkage placement or management). We found positive correlations between our content criteria and statewide data on percent conserved land, total focal species, and spending on parks and recreation. We supplemented our content analysis with interviews with 17 conservation professionals to gain specific information about state-specific context and future directions of linkage conservation. Based on our results, relevant literature, and interview responses, we suggest the following best practices for wildlife linkage conservation plans: collect ecologically meaningful background data; be specific; establish community-wide partnerships; and incorporate sociopolitical and socioeconomic information. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

A Teacher's Guide to Resource - Use Outdoor Education Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor County Board of Public Instruction, Perry, FL.

Included in this guide are ideas on evaluation and conduct of outdoor education classes and unit guides and lesson plans. An interdisciplinary approach is emphasized and the unit guides and lesson plans present activities related to science, mathematics, social studies, art, and music relevant to outdoor education in general. Unit guides for soil,…

An emergency medical planning guide for commercial spaceflight events.

PubMed

Law, Jennifer; Vanderploeg, James

2012-09-01

Commercial spaceflight events transporting paying passengers into space will begin to take place at various spaceports around the country within the next few years. Many spaceports are located in remote areas that are far from major hospitals and trauma centers. Spaceport medical directors should develop emergency medical plans (EMPs) to prepare for potential medical contingencies that may occur during commercial spaceflight events. The aim of this article is to guide spaceport medical directors in emergency medical planning for commercial spaceflight events. This guide is based on our experience and a recently developed EMP for Spaceport America which incorporated a literature review of mass gathering medicine, existing planning guides for mass gathering events, and EMPs for analogous aerospace events. We propose a multipronged approach to emergency medical planning, consisting of event planning, medical reconnaissance, medical personnel, protocols, physical facility and hardware, and documentation. Medical directors should use this guide to develop an emergency medical plan tailored to the resources and constraints specific to their events.

Combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs: a case study.

PubMed

Underwood, Jared G

2011-01-01

Habitat loss is a major factor in the endangerment and extinction of species around the world. One promising strategy to balance continued habitat loss and biodiversity conservation is that of biodiversity offsets. However, a major concern with offset programs is their consistency with landscape-level conservation goals. While merging offset policies and landscape-level conservation planning is thought to provide advantages over a traditional disconnected approach, few such landscape-level conservation-offset plans have been designed and implemented, so the effectiveness of such a strategy remains uncertain. In this study, we quantitatively assess the conservation impact of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs by comparing regions of San Diego County, USA with the combined approach to regions with only an offset program. This comparison is generally very difficult due to a variety of complicating factors. We overcome these complications and quantify the benefits to rare and threatened species of implementing a combined approach by assessing the amount of each species' predicted distribution, and the number of documented locations, conserved in comparison to the same metric for areas with an offset policy alone. We found that adoption of the combined approach has increased conservation for many rare species, often 5-10 times more than in the comparison area, and that conservation has been focused in the areas most important for these species. The level of conservation achieved reduces uncertainty that these species will persist in the region into the future. This San Diego County example demonstrates the potential benefits of combining landscape-level conservation planning and biodiversity offset programs.

Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse in the Bi-State Planning Area Final Report, September 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Casazza, Michael L.; Overton, Cory T.; Farinha, Melissa A.; Torregrosa, Alicia; Fleskes, Joseph P.; Miller, Michael R.; Sedinger, James S.; Kolada, Eric J.

2009-01-01

Conservation efforts for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), hereafter sage-grouse, are underway across the range of this species. Over 70 local working groups have been established and are implementing on-the-ground sage-grouse oriented conservation projects. Early on in this process, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) recognized the need to join in these efforts and received funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Candidate Species Conservation Program to help develop a species conservation plan for sage-grouse in the Mono County area. This conservation plan covers portions of Alpine, Mono, and Inyo counties in California and Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, and Mineral counties in Nevada. A concurrent effort underway through the Nevada Governor's Sage-grouse Conservation Team established Local Area Working Groups across Nevada and eastern California. The Mono County populations of sage-grouse were encompassed by the Bi-State Local Planning Area, which was comprised of six population management units (PMUs). The state agencies from California (CDFG) and Nevada (Nevada Department of Wildlife; NDOW) responsible for the management of sage-grouse agreed to utilize the process that had begun with the Nevada Governor's Team in order to develop local plans for conservation planning and implementation. Resources from the USFWS were applied to several objectives in support of the development of the Bi-State Local Area Sage-grouse Conservation Plan through a grant to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Objectives included: (1) participate in the development of the Bi-State Conservation Plan, (2) compile and synthesize existing sage-grouse data, (3) document seasonal movements of sage-grouse, (4) identify habitats critical to sage-grouse, (5) determine survival rates and identify causal factors of mortality, (6) determine nest success and brood success of sage-grouse, and (7) identify sage-grouse lek sites. Progress reports completed in 2004 and 2005 addressed each of the specific objectives and this final report focuses on the biological information gathered in support of local conservation efforts. Participation in the development of the Bi-State Local Area Conservation Plan was accomplished on multiple scales. Beginning in the fall of 2002, USGS personnel began participating in meetings of local stakeholders involved in the development of a sage-grouse conservation plan for the Bi-State planning area. This included attendance at numerous local PMU group meetings and field trips as well as participating on the technical advisory committee (TAC) for the Bi-State group. Whenever appropriate, ongoing results and findings regarding sage-grouse ecology in the local area were incorporated into these working group meetings. In addition, the USGS partnered with CDFG to help reorganize one of the local PMU groups (South Mono) and edited that portion of the Bi-State plan. The USGS also worked closely with CDFG to draft a description of the state of knowledge for sage-grouse genetic information for inclusion in the Bi-State Conservation Plan. The first edition of the Bi-State Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-Grouse was completed in June 2004 (Bi-State Sage-grouse Conservation Team 2004). This report is organized primarily by PMU to facilitate the incorporation of these research findings into the individual PMU plans that compose the Bi-State plan. Information presented in this report was derived from over 7,000 radio-telemetry locations obtained on 145 individual sage-grouse during a three year period (2003-2005). In addition, we collected detailed vegetation measurements at over 590 habitat sampling plots within the study area including canopy cover, shrubs, forbs, and grasses diversity. Vegetation data collection focused on sage-grouse nests, and brood-use areas. Additionally we collected data at random sites to examine sage-grouse habitat relationships within the study area. The majori

Achievable future conditions as a framework for guiding forest conservation and management

Treesearch

S.W. Golladay; K.L. Martin; J. M. Vose; D. N. Wear; A.P. Covich; R.J. Hobbs; Kier Klepzig; G.E. Likens; R.J. Naiman; A.W. Shearer

2016-01-01

We contend that traditional approaches to forest conservation and management will be inadequate given the predicted scale of social-economic and biophysical changes in the 21st century. New approaches, focused on anticipating and guiding ecological responses to change, are urgently needed to ensure the full value of forest ecosystem services for future generations....

Give Water a Hand. Farm and Ranch Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water, and water conservation on a farm or ranch, while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

Give Water a Hand. School Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water, and water conservation at a school site, while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

18 CFR 5.13 - Revised study plan and study plan determination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Revised study plan and study plan determination. 5.13 Section 5.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... APPLICATION PROCESS § 5.13 Revised study plan and study plan determination. (a) Within 30 days following the...

18 CFR 5.13 - Revised study plan and study plan determination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Revised study plan and study plan determination. 5.13 Section 5.13 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY... APPLICATION PROCESS § 5.13 Revised study plan and study plan determination. (a) Within 30 days following the...

Closure Plan for the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site at the Nevada Test Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NSTec Environmental Management

The Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RMWS) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) is managed and operated by National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). This document is the first update of the preliminary closure plan for the Area 5 RWMS at the NTS that was presented in the Integrated Closure and Monitoring Plan (DOE, 2005a). The major updates to the plan include a new closure schedule, updated closure inventory, updated site and facility characterization data, the Title II engineering cover design, and the closure processmore » for the 92-Acre Area of the RWMS. The format and content of this site-specific plan follows the Format and Content Guide for U.S. Department of Energy Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility Closure Plans (DOE, 1999a). This interim closure plan meets closure and post-closure monitoring requirements of the order DOE O 435.1, manual DOE M 435.1-1, Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 191, 40 CFR 265, Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 444.743, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements as incorporated into NAC 444.8632. The Area 5 RWMS accepts primarily packaged low-level waste (LLW), low-level mixed waste (LLMW), and asbestiform low-level waste (ALLW) for disposal in excavated disposal cells.« less

Mapping social-ecological vulnerability to inform local decision making.

PubMed

Thiault, Lauric; Marshall, Paul; Gelcich, Stefan; Collin, Antoine; Chlous, Frédérique; Claudet, Joachim

2018-04-01

An overarching challenge of natural resource management and biodiversity conservation is that relationships between people and nature are difficult to integrate into tools that can effectively guide decision making. Social-ecological vulnerability offers a valuable framework for identifying and understanding important social-ecological linkages, and the implications of dependencies and other feedback loops in the system. Unfortunately, its implementation at local scales has hitherto been limited due at least in part to the lack of operational tools for spatial representation of social-ecological vulnerability. We developed a method to map social-ecological vulnerability based on information on human-nature dependencies and ecosystem services at local scales. We applied our method to the small-scale fishery of Moorea, French Polynesia, by combining spatially explicit indicators of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of both the resource (i.e., vulnerability of reef fish assemblages to fishing) and resource users (i.e., vulnerability of fishing households to the loss of fishing opportunity). Our results revealed that both social and ecological vulnerabilities varied considerably through space and highlighted areas where sources of vulnerability were high for both social and ecological subsystems (i.e., social-ecological vulnerability hotspots) and thus of high priority for management intervention. Our approach can be used to inform decisions about where biodiversity conservation strategies are likely to be more effective and how social impacts from policy decisions can be minimized. It provides a new perspective on human-nature linkages that can help guide sustainability management at local scales; delivers insights distinct from those provided by emphasis on a single vulnerability component (e.g., exposure); and demonstrates the feasibility and value of operationalizing the social-ecological vulnerability framework for policy, planning, and participatory management decisions. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Split-mouth comparison of the accuracy of computer-generated and conventional surgical guides.

PubMed

Farley, Nathaniel E; Kennedy, Kelly; McGlumphy, Edwin A; Clelland, Nancy L

2013-01-01

Recent clinical studies have shown that implant placement is highly predictable with computer-generated surgical guides; however, the reliability of these guides has not been compared to that of conventional guides clinically. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of reproducing planned implant positions with computer-generated and conventional surgical guides using a split-mouth design. Ten patients received two implants each in symmetric locations. All implants were planned virtually using a software program and information from cone beam computed tomographic scans taken with scan appliances in place. Patients were randomly selected for computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM)-guided implant placement on their right or left side. Conventional guides were used on the contralateral side. Patients underwent operative cone beam computed tomography postoperatively. Planned and actual implant positions were compared using three-dimensional analyses capable of measuring volume overlap as well as differences in angles and coronal and apical positions. Results were compared using a mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of variance and were further analyzed using a Bartlett test for unequal variance (α = .05). Implants placed with CAD/CAM guides were closer to the planned positions in all eight categories examined. However, statistically significant differences were shown only for coronal horizontal distances. It was also shown that CAD/CAM guides had less variability than conventional guides, which was statistically significant for apical distance. Implants placed using CAD/CAM surgical guides provided greater accuracy in a lateral direction than conventional guides. In addition, CAD/CAM guides were more consistent in their deviation from the planned locations than conventional guides.

17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry... claims and claim adjustment expenses of property-casualty insurance underwriters. (g) Guide 7...

Executive summary of the KDIGO Controversies Conference on Supportive Care in Chronic Kidney Disease: developing a roadmap to improving quality care.

PubMed

Davison, Sara N; Levin, Adeera; Moss, Alvin H; Jha, Vivekanand; Brown, Edwina A; Brennan, Frank; Murtagh, Fliss E M; Naicker, Saraladevi; Germain, Michael J; O'Donoghue, Donal J; Morton, Rachael L; Obrador, Gregorio T

2015-09-01

Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high burden of physical and psychosocial symptoms, poor outcomes, and high costs of care. Current paradigms of care for this highly vulnerable population are variable, prognostic and assessment tools are limited, and quality of care, particularly regarding conservative and palliative care, is suboptimal. The KDIGO Controversies Conference on Supportive Care in CKD reviewed the current state of knowledge in order to define a roadmap to guide clinical and research activities focused on improving the outcomes of people living with advanced CKD, including those on dialysis. An international group of multidisciplinary experts in CKD, palliative care, methodology, economics, and education identified the key issues related to palliative care in this population. The conference led to a working plan to address outstanding issues in this arena, and this executive summary serves as an output to guide future work, including the development of globally applicable guidelines.

Costs of integrating economics and conservation planning.

PubMed

Arponen, Anni; Cabeza, Mar; Eklund, Johanna; Kujala, Heini; Lehtomäki, Joona

2010-10-01

Recent literature on systematic conservation planning has focused strongly on economics. It is a necessary component of efficient conservation planning because the question is about effective resource allocation. Nevertheless, there is an increasing tendency toward economic factors overriding biological considerations. Focusing too narrowly on economic cost may lead us back toward solutions resembling those obtained by opportunistic choice of areas, the avoidance of which was the motivation for development of systematic approaches. Moreover, there are many overlooked difficulties in incorporating economic considerations reliably into conservation planning because available economic data and the free market are complex. For instance, economies based on free markets tend to be shortsighted, whereas biodiversity conservation aims far into the future. Although economic data are necessary, they should not be relied on too heavily or considered separately from other sociopolitical factors. We suggest focusing on development of more-comprehensive ecological-economic modeling, while not forgetting the importance of purely biological analyses that are needed as a point of reference for evaluating conservation outcomes. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Social Network Analysis Identifies Key Participants in Conservation Development.

PubMed

Farr, Cooper M; Reed, Sarah E; Pejchar, Liba

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of participation in private lands conservation, which is often implemented voluntarily by individual citizens and private organizations, could improve its effectiveness at combating biodiversity loss. We used social network analysis (SNA) to examine participation in conservation development (CD), a private land conservation strategy that clusters houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Using data from public records for six counties in Colorado, USA, we compared CD participation patterns among counties and identified actors that most often work with others to implement CDs. We found that social network characteristics differed among counties. The network density, or proportion of connections in the network, varied from fewer than 2 to nearly 15%, and was higher in counties with smaller populations and fewer CDs. Centralization, or the degree to which connections are held disproportionately by a few key actors, was not correlated strongly with any county characteristics. Network characteristics were not correlated with the prevalence of wildlife-friendly design features in CDs. The most highly connected actors were biological and geological consultants, surveyors, and engineers. Our work demonstrates a new application of SNA to land-use planning, in which CD network patterns are examined and key actors are identified. For better conservation outcomes of CD, we recommend using network patterns to guide strategies for outreach and information dissemination, and engaging with highly connected actor types to encourage widespread adoption of best practices for CD design and stewardship.

The Nature Conservancy's Gulf Wings Project – A Case Study in Conservation Planning for Migratory Birds

Treesearch

Charles Duncan; Becky Abel; Danny Kwan; David Mehlman

2005-01-01

The Nature Conservancy has adopted a framework for mission success called Conservation by Design. We plan at the ecoregional level to define conservation targets and the portfolio of sites needed to protect them. We consider threats and strategies for abating them at these key sites, and we define measures of success to hold ourselves accountable. Migratory birds...

Conservation planning and accomplishments for protection of Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) nonbreeding habitat

Treesearch

Benjamin Skolnik; David Wiedenfeld; Randy Dettmers; Constantino Aucca; Lina Daza; Heidy Valle; Francisco Sornoza; Javier Robayo; David Diaz; Jane Fitzgerald; Daniel Lebbin; Paul B. Hamel

2012-01-01

Vital to the work of the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group has been the collaboration among members to evaluate population status and coordinate planning for future activities, principally in conservation implementation. Two plans have been produced, one a general strategy for the conservation and management of the species over its entire range, and a more restricted...

78 FR 54478 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Permits; Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-04

... the Utah Prairie Dog in Iron County, Utah AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice... Draft Low-effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the Utah prairie dog in Iron County, Utah, for review and... Conservation Plan for the Utah prairie dog in Iron County, Utah. The Iron County Commission has prepared a...

Comparing extinction risk and economic cost in wildlife conservation planning

Treesearch

Robert G. Haight

1995-01-01

Planning regulations pursuant to the National Forest Management Act of 1976 require the USDA Forest Service to produce cost-effective, multiple-use forest plans that ensure the viability of native wildlife populations within the planning area. In accordance with these regulations, this paper presents a method for determining cost-effective conservation plans for...

Back-to-School Countdown: A Planning Guide for Time-Conscious Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spann, Mary Beth

1991-01-01

This planning guide for efficient use of the last weeks before school opens offers ideas for interactive hall and wall displays, a guide to self-made math manipulatives, a materials checklist, a four-week task planning countdown, and a listing of teacher resource books and other classroom materials. (SM)

The ARL 2030 Scenarios: A User's Guide for Research Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Research Libraries, 2010

2010-01-01

This user's guide was developed to advance local planning at ARL member libraries. It is written for library leaders writ large and for anyone leading or contributing to research library planning processes. Users do not need advanced facilitation skills to benefit from this guide, but facilitators charged with supporting scenario planning will…

78 FR 44920 - Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-25

... Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska; Extension of Comment Period AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries... proposed regulations to implement a catch sharing plan for the guided sport and commercial fisheries for... sharing plan for the guided sport and commercial fisheries for Pacific halibut in waters of IPHC...

The HEFCE Guide to Strategic Planning: The Need for a New Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolmie, Fiona

2005-01-01

This paper examines the approach of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to institutional strategy and planning, set out in 2000 in "Strategic Planning in Higher Education: A Guide for Heads of Institutions, Senior Managers and Members of Governing Bodies" ("the Guide"). It considers the general lack of…

The Effect of Guided Self-Reflection on Teachers' Technology Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farber, Susan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to pilot an instructional planning tool grounded in guided self-reflection on the instructional planning practices and instructional behaviors of a small sample of teachers. I designed the instructional planning tool, which was named the Informed Technology Integration Guide (ITIG). Participants used the instructional…

NOAA Office of Exploration and Research > About OER > Strategic Plan

Science.gov Websites

Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Staff and Affiliate Locations Strategic Plan Media News Room OER Symposium Overview Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Strategic Plan Home About OER Overview Organization Guiding Documents Organizational Structure Map of Staff

Lifelines: An Ethnographic Study of an IEP Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bro, Elsa C.

2004-01-01

River guides and teachers share important characteristics, like having a rescue plan or a teaching plan for every imaginable scenario. A raft guide describes her modified teaching plan that will help the students with diverse learning needs and also describes the similarities between a teacher and a raft guide as she studies a high school…

Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shah, Payal; Mallory, Mindy L.; Ando , Amy W.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

2017-01-01

Climate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate‐change scenarios for carrying out fine‐resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk‐return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate‐change information and full climate‐change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate‐change forecasts such that the best possible risk‐return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate‐change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches.

National and international conservation efforts and their relevance to plant conservation in the Southwest

Treesearch

Nancy R. Morin

2001-01-01

Plant conservation in the United States benefits directly and indirectly from national and international conservation initiatives. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which began in December 1993, serves as a guiding force for conservation in the United States even though the U.S. is not a party to the convention. An international meeting in 1998 of...

Integrating Climate and Ocean Change Vulnerability into Conservation Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mcleod, E.; Green, A.; Game, E.; Anthony, K.; Cinner, J.; Heron, S. F.; Kleypas, J. A.; Lovelock, C.; Pandolfi, J.; Pressey, B.; Salm, R.; Schill, S.; Woodroffe, C. D.

2013-05-01

Tropical coastal and marine ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to ocean warming, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise. Yet these projected climate and ocean change impacts are rarely considered in conservation planning due to the lack of guidance on how existing climate and ocean change models, tools, and data can be applied. We address this gap by describing how conservation planning can use available tools and data for assessing the vulnerability of tropical marine ecosystems to key climate threats. Additionally, we identify limitations of existing tools and provide recommendations for future research to improve integration of climate and ocean change information and conservation planning. Such information is critical for developing a conservation response that adequately protects these ecosystems and dependent coastal communities in the face of climate and ocean change.

7 CFR 1470.22 - Conservation stewardship plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM Contracts... process as outlined in the National Planning Procedures Handbook to encourage participants to address... the participant's decisions that describes the schedule of conservation activities to be implemented...

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide. Section 2 : general transit-supportive development planning topics.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

A practical guide on DTA model applications for regional planning

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-07

This document is intended as a guide for use by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) and other planning agencies that are interested in applying Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) models for planning applications. The objective of this document is...

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide. Section 5 : local planning and transit-supportive development.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide. Section 4 : corridor planning and transit-supportive development.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

Federal resource guide for infrastructure planning and design.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-05-01

This Guide describes the important role of planning and design typically known as predevelopment in the life of an : infrastructure project and provides: : Guiding principles for predevelopment; : Case studies highlighting how t...

Three-dimensional planning and use of patient-specific guides improve glenoid component position: an in vitro study.

PubMed

Walch, Gilles; Vezeridis, Peter S; Boileau, Pascal; Deransart, Pierric; Chaoui, Jean

2015-02-01

Glenoid component positioning is a key factor for success in total shoulder arthroplasty. Three-dimensional (3D) measurements of glenoid retroversion, inclination, and humeral head subluxation are helpful tools for preoperative planning. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and precision of a novel surgical method for placing the glenoid component with use of patient-specific templates created by preoperative surgical planning and 3D modeling. A preoperative computed tomography examination of cadaveric scapulae (N = 18) was performed. The glenoid implants were virtually placed, and patient-specific guides were created to direct the guide pin into the desired orientation and position in the glenoid. The 3D orientation and position of the guide pin were evaluated by performing a postoperative computed tomography scan for each scapula. The differences between the preoperative planning and the achieved result were analyzed. The mean error in 3D orientation of the guide pin was 2.39°, the mean entry point position error was 1.05 mm, and the mean inclination angle error was 1.42°. The average error in the version angle was 1.64°. There were no technical difficulties or complications related to use of patient-specific guides for guide pin placement. Quantitative analysis of guide pin positioning demonstrated a good correlation between preoperative planning and the achieved position of the guide pin. This study demonstrates the reliability and precision of preoperative planning software and patient-specific guides for glenoid component placement in total shoulder arthroplasty. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Knowledge co-production and boundary work to promote implementation of conservation plans.

PubMed

Nel, Jeanne L; Roux, Dirk J; Driver, Amanda; Hill, Liesl; Maherry, Ashton C; Snaddon, Kate; Petersen, Chantel R; Smith-Adao, Lindie B; Van Deventer, Heidi; Reyers, Belinda

2016-02-01

Knowledge co-production and boundary work offer planners a new frame for critically designing a social process that fosters collaborative implementation of resulting plans. Knowledge co-production involves stakeholders from diverse knowledge systems working iteratively toward common vision and action. Boundary work is a means of creating permeable knowledge boundaries that satisfy the needs of multiple social groups while guarding the functional integrity of contributing knowledge systems. Resulting products are boundary objects of mutual interest that maintain coherence across all knowledge boundaries. We examined how knowledge co-production and boundary work can bridge the gap between planning and implementation and promote cross-sectoral cooperation. We applied these concepts to well-established stages in regional conservation planning within a national scale conservation planning project aimed at identifying areas for conserving rivers and wetlands of South Africa and developing an institutional environment for promoting their conservation. Knowledge co-production occurred iteratively over 4 years in interactive stake-holder workshops that included co-development of national freshwater conservation goals and spatial data on freshwater biodiversity and local conservation feasibility; translation of goals into quantitative inputs that were used in Marxan to select draft priority conservation areas; review of draft priority areas; and packaging of resulting map products into an atlas and implementation manual to promote application of the priority area maps in 37 different decision-making contexts. Knowledge co-production stimulated dialogue and negotiation and built capacity for multi-scale implementation beyond the project. The resulting maps and information integrated diverse knowledge types of over 450 stakeholders and represented >1000 years of collective experience. The maps provided a consistent national source of information on priority conservation areas for rivers and wetlands and have been applied in 25 of the 37 use contexts since their launch just over 3 years ago. When framed as a knowledge co-production process supported by boundary work, regional conservation plans can be developed into valuable boundary objects that offer a tangible tool for multi-agency cooperation around conservation. Our work provides practical guidance for promoting uptake of conservation science and contributes to an evidence base on how conservation efforts can be improved. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

EDI Planning and Implementation Guide.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-01

mentation Guide is designed to both assist DoD activities in the preparation of EDI business plans and to educate DoD personnel on EDI matters. Strategic...business trans- actions be transmitted using EDI by the fourth quarter of FY96. Structure of the Guide The figure below shows how each chapter and appendix...in the Guide relate to each other and their roles in the development of business plans and the education of DoD personnel. Chapters 1, 5, and the

Reduced-Noise Gas Flow Design Guide Developed as a Noise-Control Design Tool for Meeting Glenn's Hearing Conservation and Community Noise Goals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, Beth A.

2000-01-01

A Reduced-Noise Gas Flow Design Guide has been developed for the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field by Nelson Acoustical Engineering of Elgin, Texas. Gas flow systems are a significant contributor to t he noise exposure landscape at Glenn. Because of the power of many of these systems, hearing conservation and community noise are importan t issues. The purpose of the Guide is to allow Glenn engineers and de signers to address noise emission and control at the design stage by using readily available system parameters. Although the Guide was deve loped with Glenn equipment and systems in mind, it is expected to hav e wide application in industry.

Integrated Migratory Bird Planning in the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region

Treesearch

Chuck Hayes; Andrew Milliken; Randy Dettmers; Kevin Loftus; Brigitte Collins; Isabelle Ringuet

2005-01-01

The Atlantic Coast and Eastern Habitat Joint Ventures hosted two international planning workshops to begin the process of integrating bird conservation strategies under the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region. The workshops identified priority species and habitats, delineated focus areas,...

Oak woodland conservation management planning in southern CA - lessons learned

Treesearch

Rosi Dagit

2015-01-01

The California Oak Woodlands Conservation Act (AB 242 2001) established requirements for the preservation and protection of oak woodlands and trees, and allocated funding managed by the Wildlife Conservation Board. In order to qualify to use these funds, counties and cities need to adopt an oak conservation management plan. Between 2008 and 2011, a team of concerned...

75 FR 30422 - Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Chariton County, MO

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-01

... the next 15 years. Management includes conservation, restoration, and preservation but occurs...: Notice of availability: draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment; request for... comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and draft environmental assessment (EA) for Swan Lake National Wildlife...

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide. Section 3 : regional vision planning and transit-supportive development.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

77 FR 52754 - Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan Within Eight-State Planning Area

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-30

... include new and existing small-scale wind energy facilities, such as single-turbine demonstration projects, as well as large, multi-turbine commercial wind facilities. Covered Species The planning partners are...-FF03E00000] Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan Within Eight-State Planning...

The Beginnings of a Nature Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherem, Gabriel J.; And Others

This guide is a comprehensive interpretive plan for the development of a nature center. Although the plan centers on a proposed nature center, the ideas included in the guide can be applied to other situations. The guide deals with all aspects of planning and is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1, Visitorship, looks at the people who attend…

78 FR 39121 - Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-28

... Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska; Proposed Rule #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 125... Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska AGENCY: National... sharing plan for the guided sport (charter) and commercial fisheries for Pacific halibut in waters of...

A Resource Guide for the Maryland Plan's Group Project and Line Production.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Gerald F.

This guide was developed for teachers who are using the Maryland Plan's group processes--the group project and line production methods. The guide is divided into four sections. The first section is an overview of the entire Maryland Plan. It describes the program which provides high school industrial arts students, from seventh grade through ninth…

Self-Study Guide for Florida VPK Provider Improvement Plan Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Beth M.; Mazzeo, Debbie; Smith, Kevin

2016-01-01

This Self-Study Guide has been developed to support Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten Providers (VPK) who are required to complete an improvement plan process (i.e., low-performing providers). The guide has sections that can be used during both the process of selecting target areas for an improvement plan and the process of implementing new or…

Self-Motivated Personal Career Planning Program. Planner's Guide. [Student Edition].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Verne

The Self-Motivated Personal Career Planning guide for students presents a process of self-assessment and goal-setting. An overview and rationale of the program and instructions and procedures are discussed in Chapters 1 and 2. The remainder of the guide consists of procedural steps for (1) self-assessment and (2) review and planning.…

78 FR 42071 - Updates to Protective Action Guides Manual: Protective Action Guides (PAGs) and Planning Guidance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-15

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0268; FRL-9833-5] Updates to Protective Action Guides Manual: Protective Action Guides (PAGs) and Planning Guidance for Radiological Incidents AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Proposed guidance; extension of comment period. SUMMARY: The U.S...

78 FR 22257 - Updates to Protective Action Guides Manual: Protective Action Guides (PAGs) and Planning Guidance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-15

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-0268; FRL-9707-2] Updates to Protective Action Guides Manual: Protective Action Guides (PAGs) and Planning Guidance for Radiological Incidents AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of document availability for interim use and public...

Wildlife connectivity approaches and best practices in U.S. state wildlife action plans

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lacher, Iara; Wilkerson, Marit L.

2014-01-01

As habitat loss and fragmentation threaten biodiversity on large geographic scales, creating and maintaining connectivity of wildlife populations is an increasingly common conservation objective. To assess the progress and success of large-scale connectivity planning, conservation researchers need a set of plans that cover large geographic areas and can be analyzed as a single data set. The state wildlife action plans (SWAPs) fulfill these requirements. We examined 50 SWAPs to determine the extent to which wildlife connectivity planning, via linkages, is emphasized nationally. We defined linkage as connective land that enables wildlife movement. For our content analysis, we identified and quantified 6 keywords and 7 content criteria that ranged in specificity and were related to linkages for wide-ranging terrestrial vertebrates and examined relations between content criteria and statewide data on focal wide-ranging species, spending, revenue, and conserved land. Our results reflect nationwide disparities in linkage conservation priorities and highlight the continued need for wildlife linkage planning. Only 30% or less of the 50 SWAPs fulfilled highly specific content criteria (e.g., identifying geographic areas for linkage placement or management). We found positive correlations between our content criteria and statewide data on percent conserved land, total focal species, and spending on parks and recreation. We supplemented our content analysis with interviews with 17 conservation professionals to gain specific information about state-specific context and future directions of linkage conservation. Based on our results, relevant literature, and interview responses, we suggest the following best practices for wildlife linkage conservation plans: collect ecologically meaningful background data; be specific; establish community-wide partnerships; and incorporate sociopolitical and socioeconomic information.

43 CFR 10005.16 - Plan content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Plan content. 10005.16 Section 10005.16 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.16 Plan...

43 CFR 10005.16 - Plan content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Plan content. 10005.16 Section 10005.16 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.16 Plan...

43 CFR 10005.16 - Plan content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Plan content. 10005.16 Section 10005.16 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.16 Plan...

43 CFR 10005.16 - Plan content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Plan content. 10005.16 Section 10005.16 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) UTAH RECLAMATION MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE COMMISSION'S MITIGATION AND CONSERVATION PLAN § 10005.16 Plan...

Magnetic Resonance Image Guided Radiation Therapy for External Beam Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation: Evaluation of Delivered Dose and Intrafractional Cavity Motion.

PubMed

Acharya, Sahaja; Fischer-Valuck, Benjamin W; Mazur, Thomas R; Curcuru, Austen; Sona, Karl; Kashani, Rojano; Green, Olga; Ochoa, Laura; Mutic, Sasa; Zoberi, Imran; Li, H Harold; Thomas, Maria A

2016-11-15

To use magnetic resonance image guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT) for accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) to (1) determine intrafractional motion of the breast surgical cavity; and (2) assess delivered dose versus planned dose. Thirty women with breast cancer (stages 0-I) who underwent breast-conserving surgery were enrolled in a prospective registry evaluating APBI using a 0.35-T MR-IGRT system. Clinical target volume was defined as the surgical cavity plus a 1-cm margin (excluding chest wall, pectoral muscles, and 5 mm from skin). No additional margin was added for the planning target volume (PTV). A volumetric MR image was acquired before each fraction, and patients were set up to the surgical cavity as visualized on MR imaging. To determine the delivered dose for each fraction, the electron density map and contours from the computed tomography simulation were transferred to the pretreatment MR image via rigid registration. Intrafractional motion of the surgical cavity was determined by applying a tracking algorithm to the cavity contour as visualized on cine MR. Median PTV volume was reduced by 52% when using no PTV margin compared with a 1-cm PTV margin used conventionally. The mean (± standard deviation) difference between planned and delivered dose to the PTV (V95) was 0.6% ± 0.1%. The mean cavity displacement in the anterior-posterior and superior-inferior directions was 0.6 ± 0.4 mm and 0.6 ± 0.3 mm, respectively. The mean margin required for at least 90% of the cavity to be contained by the margin for 90% of the time was 0.7 mm (5th-95th percentile: 0-2.7 mm). Minimal intrafractional motion was observed, and the mean difference between planned and delivered dose was less than 1%. Assessment of efficacy and cosmesis of this MR-guided APBI approach is under way. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prospective study of cone-beam computed tomography image-guided radiotherapy for prone accelerated partial breast irradiation.

PubMed

Jozsef, Gabor; DeWyngaert, J Keith; Becker, Stewart J; Lymberis, Stella; Formenti, Silvia C

2011-10-01

To report setup variations during prone accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). New York University (NYU) 07-582 is an institutional review board-approved protocol of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to deliver image-guided ABPI in the prone position. Eligible are postmenopausal women with pT1 breast cancer excised with negative margins and no nodal involvement. A total dose of 30 Gy in five daily fractions of 6 Gy are delivered to the planning target volume (the tumor cavity with 1.5-cm margin) by image-guided radiotherapy. Patients are set up prone, on a dedicated mattress, used for both simulation and treatment. After positioning with skin marks and lasers, CBCTs are performed and the images are registered to the planning CT. The resulting shifts (setup corrections) are recorded in the three principal directions and applied. Portal images are taken for verification. If they differ from the planning digital reconstructed radiographs, the patient is reset, and a new CBCT is taken. 70 consecutive patients have undergone a total of 343 CBCTs: 7 patients had four of five planned CBCTs performed. Seven CBCTs (2%) required to be repeated because of misalignment in the comparison between portal and digital reconstructed radiograph image after the first CBCT. The mean shifts and standard deviations in the anterior-posterior (AP), superior-inferior (SI), and medial-lateral (ML) directions were -0.19 (0.54), -0.02 (0.33), and -0.02 (0.43) cm, respectively. The average root mean squares of the daily shifts were 0.50 (0.28), 0.29 (0.17), and 0.38 (0.20). A conservative margin formula resulted in a recommended margin of 1.26, 0.73, 0.96 cm in the AP, SI, and ML directions. CBCTs confirmed that the NYU prone APBI setup and treatment technique are reproducible, with interfraction variation comparable to those reported for supine setup. The currently applied margin (1.5 cm) adequately compensates for the setup variation detected. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic Resonance Image Guided Radiation Therapy for External Beam Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation: Evaluation of Delivered Dose and Intrafractional Cavity Motion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Acharya, Sahaja; Fischer-Valuck, Benjamin W.; Mazur, Thomas R.

Purpose: To use magnetic resonance image guided radiation therapy (MR-IGRT) for accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) to (1) determine intrafractional motion of the breast surgical cavity; and (2) assess delivered dose versus planned dose. Methods and Materials: Thirty women with breast cancer (stages 0-I) who underwent breast-conserving surgery were enrolled in a prospective registry evaluating APBI using a 0.35-T MR-IGRT system. Clinical target volume was defined as the surgical cavity plus a 1-cm margin (excluding chest wall, pectoral muscles, and 5 mm from skin). No additional margin was added for the planning target volume (PTV). A volumetric MR image was acquired beforemore » each fraction, and patients were set up to the surgical cavity as visualized on MR imaging. To determine the delivered dose for each fraction, the electron density map and contours from the computed tomography simulation were transferred to the pretreatment MR image via rigid registration. Intrafractional motion of the surgical cavity was determined by applying a tracking algorithm to the cavity contour as visualized on cine MR. Results: Median PTV volume was reduced by 52% when using no PTV margin compared with a 1-cm PTV margin used conventionally. The mean (± standard deviation) difference between planned and delivered dose to the PTV (V95) was 0.6% ± 0.1%. The mean cavity displacement in the anterior–posterior and superior–inferior directions was 0.6 ± 0.4 mm and 0.6 ± 0.3 mm, respectively. The mean margin required for at least 90% of the cavity to be contained by the margin for 90% of the time was 0.7 mm (5th-95th percentile: 0-2.7 mm). Conclusion: Minimal intrafractional motion was observed, and the mean difference between planned and delivered dose was less than 1%. Assessment of efficacy and cosmesis of this MR-guided APBI approach is under way.« less

Discussion and Reflection on Several Core Issues in the Grand Canal Heritage Conservation Planning Under the Background of Application for World Heritage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, D.; Dai, D. S.; Tang, Y. Z.; Zhu, G. Y.; Chen, X.

2015-08-01

At the turn of the century, a series of new heritage concepts have appeared in the area of international cultural heritage protection, such as cultural landscape, cultural route, heritage corridor, heritage canal, which presents the development of people's recognition of cultural heritage. According to The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, management planning must be contained in the material used to apply for world heritage. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage designed the mission and work schedule of China's Grand Canal conservation planning in 2008. This research will introduce the working system of China's Grand Canal conservation planning on three levels: city, province and nation. It will also summarize the characteristics of the core technologies in China's Grand Canal conservation planning, including key issues like the identification of the core characteristic of China's Grand Canal, value assessment and determination of the protection scope. Through reviewing, thinking and analyzing the previous accomplishments, the research will offer some advices for the similar world heritage conservation planning after.

75 FR 39038 - Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge and Wetland Management District, Minnesota

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-07

... forest birds and their habitats. Alternative 4: Current Management Direction of Conservation, Restoration... Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of Availability: draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental... availability of a draft comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and draft environmental assessment (EA) for...

76 FR 77431 - Decommissioning Planning During Operations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-13

... (DG) DG-4014, ``Decommissioning Planning During Operations.'' This guide describes a method that the.... The draft regulatory guide entitled, ``Decommissioning Planning During Operations,'' is temporarily..., 40, 50, 70, and 72 RIN 3150-AI55 [NRC-2011-0286; NRC-2008-0030] Decommissioning Planning During...

78 FR 663 - Decommissioning Planning During Operations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-04

...] Decommissioning Planning During Operations AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Regulatory guide..., ``Decommissioning Planning During Operations.'' The guide describes a method that the NRC staff considers acceptable for use by holders of licenses in complying with the NRC's Decommissioning Planning Rule (DPR) (76 FR...

ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES: A GUIDE FOR LOCAL DECISION-MAKERS

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental Planning for Small Communities - A Guide for Local Decision-Makers presents a process for creating and implementing a community environmental plan. With a comprehensive environmental plan, local decision-makers can create an integrated approach to protecting the env...

Collaborative Guide: A Reef Manager's Guide to Coral Bleaching

EPA Science Inventory

Innovative strategies to conserve the world's coral reefs are included in a new guide released today by NOAA, and the Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, with author contributions from a variety of international partners from government agencies, non-governmental...

The Crowded Sea: Incorporating Multiple Marine Activities in Conservation Plans Can Significantly Alter Spatial Priorities

PubMed Central

Mazor, Tessa; Possingham, Hugh P.; Edelist, Dori; Brokovich, Eran; Kark, Salit

2014-01-01

Successful implementation of marine conservation plans is largely inhibited by inadequate consideration of the broader social and economic context within which conservation operates. Marine waters and their biodiversity are shared by a host of stakeholders, such as commercial fishers, recreational users and offshore developers. Hence, to improve implementation success of conservation plans, we must incorporate other marine activities while explicitly examining trade-offs that may be required. In this study, we test how the inclusion of multiple marine activities can shape conservation plans. We used the entire Mediterranean territorial waters of Israel as a case study to compare four planning scenarios with increasing levels of complexity, where additional zones, threats and activities were added (e.g., commercial fisheries, hydrocarbon exploration interests, aquaculture, and shipping lanes). We applied the marine zoning decision support tool Marxan to each planning scenario and tested a) the ability of each scenario to reach biodiversity targets, b) the change in opportunity cost and c) the alteration of spatial conservation priorities. We found that by including increasing numbers of marine activities and zones in the planning process, greater compromises are required to reach conservation objectives. Complex plans with more activities incurred greater opportunity cost and did not reach biodiversity targets as easily as simplified plans with less marine activities. We discovered that including hydrocarbon data in the planning process significantly alters spatial priorities. For the territorial waters of Israel we found that in order to protect at least 10% of the range of 166 marine biodiversity features there would be a loss of ∼15% of annual commercial fishery revenue and ∼5% of prospective hydrocarbon revenue. This case study follows an illustrated framework for adopting a transparent systematic process to balance biodiversity goals and economic considerations within a country's territorial waters. PMID:25102177

Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework: 3. Land Use and Field Boundary Database Development and Structure.

PubMed

Tomer, Mark D; James, David E; Sandoval-Green, Claudette M J

2017-05-01

Conservation planning information is important for identifying options for watershed water quality improvement and can be developed for use at field, farm, and watershed scales. Translation across scales is a key issue impeding progress at watershed scales because watershed improvement goals must be connected with implementation of farm- and field-level conservation practices to demonstrate success. This is particularly true when examining alternatives for "trap and treat" practices implemented at agricultural-field edges to control (or influence) water flows through fields, landscapes, and riparian corridors within agricultural watersheds. We propose that database structures used in developing conservation planning information can achieve translation across conservation-planning scales, and we developed the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) to enable practical planning applications. The ACPF comprises a planning concept, a database to facilitate field-level and watershed-scale analyses, and an ArcGIS toolbox with Python scripts to identify specific options for placement of conservation practices. This paper appends two prior publications and describes the structure of the ACPF database, which contains land use, crop history, and soils information and is available for download for 6091 HUC12 watersheds located across Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and parts of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin and comprises information on 2.74 × 10 agricultural fields (available through /). Sample results examining land use trends across Iowa and Illinois are presented here to demonstrate potential uses of the database. While designed for use with the ACPF toolbox, users are welcome to use the ACPF watershed data in a variety of planning and modeling approaches. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

10 CFR 436.105 - Emergency conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS... electricity. Priorities for temporarily reducing missions, production, services, and other programmatic or functional activities shall be developed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. Planning for...

10 CFR 436.105 - Emergency conservation plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION FEDERAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING PROGRAMS... electricity. Priorities for temporarily reducing missions, production, services, and other programmatic or functional activities shall be developed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. Planning for...

Soil Conservation Unit for the Advanced Crop Production and Marketing Course. Student Reference. AGDEX 570.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Bob R.; And Others

This student reference booklet is designed to accompany lessons outlined in the companion instructor's guide on soil conservation. The soil conservation unit builds on competencies gained in Agricultural Science I and II. Informative material is provided for these eight lessons: benefits of conservation, land utilization, how soils are eroded,…

76 FR 44155 - Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan for Guided Sport and Commercial Fisheries in Alaska

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-22

...NMFS proposes regulations that would implement a catch sharing plan for the guided sport and commercial fisheries for Pacific halibut in waters of International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). If approved, this catch sharing plan will change the annual process of allocating halibut between the guided sport and commercial fisheries in Area 2C and Area 3A, establish allocations for each sector, and specify harvest restrictions for guided sport anglers that are intended to limit harvest to the annual guided sport fishery catch limit. In order to provide flexibility for individual commercial and guided sport fishery participants, the proposed catch sharing plan also will authorize annual transfers of commercial halibut quota to charter halibut permit holders for harvest in the guided sport fishery. This action is necessary to achieve the halibut fishery management goals of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Port Security: A National Planning Guide

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

Port Security: A National Planning Guide has been produced for the purpose of conveying the United States Department of Transportations policy perspective on port security to the maritime community. This guide provides an overview of the essential as...

Botanic garden genetics: comparison of two cyacad conservation collections

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genetic data can guide the management of plant conservation collections. Direct assay of an ex situ collection’s genetic diversity, measured against wild plant populations, offers insight for conservation efforts. Here we present a carefully chosen case study, Zamia lucayana, selected for its contra...

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide, executive summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

General Mechanical Repair. Minor Automotive Maintenance, Small Engine [Repair, and] Welding: Curriculum Guide and Lesson Plans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamlin, Larry

This document contains a curriculum guide and lesson plans for a general mechanical repair course with three sections: minor automotive maintenance, small engine repair, and welding. The curriculum guide begins with a matrix that relates the lesson plans to essential elements of math, science, language arts, and social studies and to Texas…

Planning, Management and Evaluation: Realizing PIC Potential. Private Industry Council Guide. Working Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Alliance of Business, Inc., Washington, DC.

This Planning, Management, and Evaluation (PME) guide was developed by the National Alliance of Business as part of its program of management assistance for Private Industry Councils (PICs). The guide is a tool which PICs can use to improve their capability to plan, manage, and evaluate the programs which they administer, and to establish locally…

Facility Planning in the Construction Grants Program. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buskirk, E. Drannon, Jr.; Cole, Charles A.

Wastewater facility planning is an essential component of the federal construction grants process. Presented in this instructor's guide is a one-hour presentation on facility planning intended for citizen advisory groups. The guide is part of the Working for Clean Water Project, which also includes a supplementary audiovisual presentation.…

We the People: Law Day USA 1987. 1987 Planning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Bar Association, Chicago, IL.

"We the People" is the theme for the 1987 American Bar Association's 30th annual Law Day USA, observed May 1. This guide brings together information to help plan and execute programs which call attention to the principles and practices of United States law and justice. The guide contains facts about Law Day; tips for planning a Law Day…

Suggested Curriculum and Planning Guide for Developing a Program in Auto Mechanics. Bulletin No. 49-174.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Board of Vocational Education and Rehabilitation, Springfield. Div. of Vocational and Technical Education.

The curriculum and planning guide has two objectives: to give the instructor, planner, and counselor a guide which furnishes current information on the trade, facility planning, equipment, and resource information for all levels of occupational instruction in the field of auto mechanics maintenance and repair; and to enable the student to be…

Guide Manual for Preparation of Water Balances

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

boundaries for the AGUA study (39). This figure was developed from a LANDSAT photograph of the Albuquerque, New Mexico area. It clearly shows the boundaries of...Guide to Water-Management Alternatives. USGS Professional Paper 627-F. 12. Gilbert, J. B. and Associates, 1977. Report on Water Conservation Reuse and...Report on Water Conservation Reuse and Supply, San Francisco Bay Region, prepared by J. B. Gilbert and Associates, 1978. (12) Purposes of this study

Radiological Defense. Planning and Operations Guide. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Civil Defense (DOD), Washington, DC.

This guide is a reprint of published and draft materials from the Federal Civil Defense Guide. This guide is intended to assist the student in planning, developing, implementing and operating a local, county, or state radiological defense (RADEF) system. The state and local radiological defense program objectives are to create an effective and…

77 FR 8751 - Guidance for Decommissioning Planning During Operations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

..., 40, 50, 70, and 72 [NRC-2011-0286] Guidance for Decommissioning Planning During Operations AGENCY... Guide, DG-4014, ``Decommissioning Planning During Operations'' in the Federal Register with a public... Guide DG-4014, ``Decommissioning Planning During Operations.'' This DG refers to NUREG-1757 Volume 3...

A Cost-Effective, In-House, Positioning and Cutting Guide System for Orthognathic Surgery.

PubMed

McAllister, Peter; Watson, Melanie; Burke, Ezra

2018-03-01

Technological advances in 3D printing can dramatically improve orthognathic surgical planning workflow. Custom positioning and cutting guides enable intraoperative reproduction of pre-planned osteotomy cuts and can result in greater surgical accuracy and patient safety. This short paper describes the use of freeware (some with open-source) combined with in-house 3D printing facilities to produce reliable, affordable osteotomy cutting guides. Open-source software (3D Slicer) is used to visualise and segment three-dimensional planning models from imported conventional computed tomography (CT) scans. Freeware (Autodesk Meshmixer ©) allows digital manipulation of maxillary and mandibular components to plan precise osteotomy cuts. Bespoke cutting guides allow exact intraoperative positioning. These are printed in polylactic acid (PLA) using a fused-filament fabrication 3D printer. Fixation of the osteotomised segments is achieved using plating templates and four pre-adapted plates with planned screw holes over the thickest bone. We print maxilla/ mandible models with desired movements incorporated to use as a plating template. A 3D printer capable of reproducing a complete skull can be procured for £1000, with material costs in the region of £10 per case. Our production of models and guides typically takes less than 24 hours of total print time. The entire production process is frequently less than three days. Externally sourced models and guides cost significantly more, frequently encountering costs totalling £1500-£2000 for models and guides for a bimaxillary osteotomy. Three-dimensional guided surgical planning utilising custom cutting guides enables the surgeon to determine optimal orientation of osteotomy cuts and better predict the skeletal maxilla/mandible relationship following surgery. The learning curve to develop proficiency using planning software and printer settings is offset by increased surgical predictability and reduced theatre time, making this form of planning a worthy investment.

Landuse and agricultural management practice web-service (LAMPS) for agroecosystem modeling and conservation planning

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agroecosystem models and conservation planning tools require spatially and temporally explicit input data about agricultural management operations. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is developing a Land Management and Operation Database (LMOD) which contains potential model input, howe...

Indicator-driven conservation planning across terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, and marine ecosystems of the south Atlantic, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pickens, Bradley A.; Mordecai, Rua S.; Drew, C. Ashton; Alexander-Vaughn, Louise B.; Keister, Amy S.; Morris, Hilary L.C.; Collazo, Jaime A.

2017-01-01

Systematic conservation planning, a widely used approach to identify priority lands and waters, uses efficient, defensible, and transparent methods aimed at conserving biodiversity and ecological systems. Limited financial resources and competing land uses can be major impediments to conservation; therefore, participation of diverse stakeholders in the planning process is advantageous to help address broad-scale threats and challenges of the 21st century. Although a broad extent is needed to identify core areas and corridors for fish and wildlife populations, a fine-scale resolution is needed to manage for multiple, interconnected ecosystems. Here, we developed a conservation plan using a systematic approach to promote landscape-level conservation within the extent of the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative. Our objective was to identify the highest-ranked 30% of lands and waters within the South Atlantic deemed necessary to conserve ecological and cultural integrity for the 10 primary ecosystems of the southeastern United States. These environments varied from terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, and marine. The planning process was driven by indicators of ecosystem integrity at a 4-ha resolution. We used the program Zonation and 28 indicators to optimize the identification of lands and waters to meet the stated objective. A novel part of our study was the prioritization of multiple ecosystems, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. The evaluation of indicator representation within prioritizations was a useful method to show where improvements could be made; some indicators dictated hotspots, some had a limited extent and were well represented, and others had a limited effect. Overall, we demonstrate that a broad-scale (408,276 km2 of terrestrial and 411,239 km2 of marine environments) conservation plan can be realized at a fine-scale resolution, which will allow implementation of the regional plan at a local level relevant to decision making.

Comprehensive Approach to Pupil Planning: Stage II - Planning and Placement (Includes Planning and Placement Team Meeting Agenda). Experimental Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlasak, Frances Stetson; Kaufman, Martin J.

Presented is Stage II of the Comprehensive Approach to Pupil Planning (CAPP) System, a three-stage model for planning educational interventions in the regular and special education classrooms and for guiding placement decisions. The guide focuses on the evaluation services performed by the Planning and Placement Team (PPT) with sections on the…

10 CFR 905.18 - What are the criteria for Western's approval of submittals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... requirements of this subpart. (d) Water-based plans and reports. In evaluating a plan or report, Western will consider water planning, efficiency improvements, and conservation in the same manner it considers energy... irrigation load as part of their overall load may include water conservation activities in their plans or...

10 CFR 905.18 - What are the criteria for Western's approval of submittals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... requirements of this subpart. (d) Water-based plans and reports. In evaluating a plan or report, Western will consider water planning, efficiency improvements, and conservation in the same manner it considers energy... irrigation load as part of their overall load may include water conservation activities in their plans or...

10 CFR 905.18 - What are the criteria for Western's approval of submittals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... requirements of this subpart. (d) Water-based plans and reports. In evaluating a plan or report, Western will consider water planning, efficiency improvements, and conservation in the same manner it considers energy... irrigation load as part of their overall load may include water conservation activities in their plans or...

10 CFR 905.18 - What are the criteria for Western's approval of submittals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... requirements of this subpart. (d) Water-based plans and reports. In evaluating a plan or report, Western will consider water planning, efficiency improvements, and conservation in the same manner it considers energy... irrigation load as part of their overall load may include water conservation activities in their plans or...

10 CFR 905.18 - What are the criteria for Western's approval of submittals?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... requirements of this subpart. (d) Water-based plans and reports. In evaluating a plan or report, Western will consider water planning, efficiency improvements, and conservation in the same manner it considers energy... irrigation load as part of their overall load may include water conservation activities in their plans or...

18 CFR 401.2 - Concept of the plan.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Concept of the plan. 401.2 Section 401.2 Conservation of Power and Water Resources DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Comprehensive Plan § 401.2 Concept of the plan. (a) The...

Proposed energy conservation contingency plan: emergency restrictions on advertising lighting. Authorities, need, rationale, and operation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The emergency restrictions on advertising lighting proposed in Energy Conservation Contingency Plan No. 5 of 1977 are presented. A statement is given on the need for rationale and operation of the Contingency Plan.

Textiles & Clothing Curriculum Guide. Energy and the Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Jane S.; Morris, Carol

This curriculum guide on textiles and clothing, covering one of the five content areas of the Energy and Family Curriculum Guide, has been designed to provide learning experiences and identify resources that can be used to develop units of study related to energy usage and conservation. The guide is intended for use in comprehensive courses of…

Housing & Home Furnishings Curriculum Guide. Energy and the Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Jane S.; Morris, Carol

This curriculum guide on housing and home furnishings, covering one of the five content areas of the Energy and the Family Curriculum Guide, has been designed to provide learning experiences and identify resources that can be used to develop units of study related to energy usage and conservation. The guide is intended for use in comprehensive…

Community Solutions for Stormwater Management: A Guide for Voluntary Long-Term Planning

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This draft guide describes how to develop a comprehensive long-term community stormwater plan that integrates stormwater management with communities’ broader plans for economic development, infrastructure investment and environmental compliance.

Planning for transit-supportive development : a practitioner's guide. Section 1 : introduction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

Planning for Transit-Supportive Development: A Practitioners Guide is a toolkit of practical and innovative measures to help : Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), regional planners, transit agencies, and local government elected o...

Optimization in the utility maximization framework for conservation planning: a comparison of solution procedures in a study of multifunctional agriculture

PubMed Central

Stoms, David M.; Davis, Frank W.

2014-01-01

Quantitative methods of spatial conservation prioritization have traditionally been applied to issues in conservation biology and reserve design, though their use in other types of natural resource management is growing. The utility maximization problem is one form of a covering problem where multiple criteria can represent the expected social benefits of conservation action. This approach allows flexibility with a problem formulation that is more general than typical reserve design problems, though the solution methods are very similar. However, few studies have addressed optimization in utility maximization problems for conservation planning, and the effect of solution procedure is largely unquantified. Therefore, this study mapped five criteria describing elements of multifunctional agriculture to determine a hypothetical conservation resource allocation plan for agricultural land conservation in the Central Valley of CA, USA. We compared solution procedures within the utility maximization framework to determine the difference between an open source integer programming approach and a greedy heuristic, and find gains from optimization of up to 12%. We also model land availability for conservation action as a stochastic process and determine the decline in total utility compared to the globally optimal set using both solution algorithms. Our results are comparable to other studies illustrating the benefits of optimization for different conservation planning problems, and highlight the importance of maximizing the effectiveness of limited funding for conservation and natural resource management. PMID:25538868

Optimization in the utility maximization framework for conservation planning: a comparison of solution procedures in a study of multifunctional agriculture

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kreitler, Jason R.; Stoms, David M.; Davis, Frank W.

2014-01-01

Quantitative methods of spatial conservation prioritization have traditionally been applied to issues in conservation biology and reserve design, though their use in other types of natural resource management is growing. The utility maximization problem is one form of a covering problem where multiple criteria can represent the expected social benefits of conservation action. This approach allows flexibility with a problem formulation that is more general than typical reserve design problems, though the solution methods are very similar. However, few studies have addressed optimization in utility maximization problems for conservation planning, and the effect of solution procedure is largely unquantified. Therefore, this study mapped five criteria describing elements of multifunctional agriculture to determine a hypothetical conservation resource allocation plan for agricultural land conservation in the Central Valley of CA, USA. We compared solution procedures within the utility maximization framework to determine the difference between an open source integer programming approach and a greedy heuristic, and find gains from optimization of up to 12%. We also model land availability for conservation action as a stochastic process and determine the decline in total utility compared to the globally optimal set using both solution algorithms. Our results are comparable to other studies illustrating the benefits of optimization for different conservation planning problems, and highlight the importance of maximizing the effectiveness of limited funding for conservation and natural resource management.

Youth Conservation Corps Guidance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fish and Wildlife Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

This document provides guidelines for operating Youth Conservation Corps programs under both the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. The guide contains 11 units that cover the following topics: (1) enrollees; (2) enrollee payroll; (3) enrollee problems; (4) Youth Conservation Corps staff; (5) accounting; (6) operations; (7)…

Wisconsin Hearing Conservation Program: A Guide for Nurses, Parents, School Personnel, Physicians. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisconsin State Dept. of Public Instruction, Madison. Div. for Handicapped Children and Pupil Services.

The booklet describes Wisconsin's hearing conservation program designed to identify children with impaired hearing, provide diagnostic otologic examinations and evaluations for students with significant losses, provide medical care and educational intervention, and encourage local communities to continue hearing conservation programs. Statistics…

Waterbird conservation planning in the northern prairie and parkland region: Integration across borders and with other bird conservation initiatives

Treesearch

Neal D. Niemuth; Gerard W. Beyersbergen; Michael R. Norton

2005-01-01

The Northern Prairie and Parkland Region contain millions of wetland basins, which harbor large proportions of the populations of many North American waterbird species, several of which are of high conservation concern. However, knowledge of waterbirds in the region is limited, and there has been little direction for waterbird conservation planning or management. The...

Pre-Euroamerican distribution of pine warblers (Dendroica pinus) in Wisconsin: tool for setting regional conservation priorities

Treesearch

Anna M. Pidgeon; Lisa A. Schulte; David J. Mladenoff

2005-01-01

A common goal of conservation and management plans is to maintain populations of species of conservation concern at some historic level that was a product of environmental conditions at a time when they were less influenced by humans than at present (e.g., Wade 1993, Reijnders 1994, Polacheck et al. 1999). Conservation planning also includes consideration of the...

Creating Customizable Subject Guides at Your Library to Support Online, Distance and Traditional Education: Comparing Three Self-Developed and One Commercial Online Subject Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Julie; Kim, Don

2010-01-01

This article compares three self-developed subject guides and one commercial online subject guide (LibGuides) to provide information to other institutions which have a plan or are in the process of developing a plan to implement similar services to support online, distance and traditional education. This is a comparison of the current subject…

The Effects of Guided Careful Online Planning on Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Intermediate EFL Learners' Oral Production: The Case of English Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmadian, Mohammad Javad

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study reported in this article was twofold: First, to see whether guided careful online planning assists intermediate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in accurate oral production of English articles ("an/a" and "the"); and, second, to see whether guided careful online planning has any effects…

Traveling through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal Data Systems. Book Two of Four: Planning and Developing an LDS. NFES 2011-804

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Education Statistics, 2010

2010-01-01

This document, "Book Two of Four: Planning and Developing an LDS", is the second installment of this Forum (National Forum on Education Statistics) series of guides on longitudinal data systems (LDS). This second book in the guide series delves into the planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of a longitudinal data system (LDS)…

Weather integration in TMC operations : a self-evaluation and planning guide.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

This flyer describes how Traffic Management Centers (TMC) can integrate weather information into their daily operations, and is based on the Road Weather Management Program publication, Self-Evaluation and Planning Guide (FHWA-JPO-08-057). The Guide ...

Four-dimensional computed tomography based respiratory-gated radiotherapy with respiratory guidance system: analysis of respiratory signals and dosimetric comparison.

PubMed

Lee, Jung Ae; Kim, Chul Yong; Yang, Dae Sik; Yoon, Won Sup; Park, Young Je; Lee, Suk; Kim, Young Bum

2014-01-01

To investigate the effectiveness of respiratory guidance system in 4-dimensional computed tomography (4 DCT) based respiratory-gated radiation therapy (RGRT) by comparing respiratory signals and dosimetric analysis of treatment plans. The respiratory amplitude and period of the free, the audio device-guided, and the complex system-guided breathing were evaluated in eleven patients with lung or liver cancers. The dosimetric parameters were assessed by comparing free breathing CT plan and 4 DCT-based 30-70% maximal intensity projection (MIP) plan. The use of complex system-guided breathing showed significantly less variation in respiratory amplitude and period compared to the free or audio-guided breathing regarding the root mean square errors (RMSE) of full inspiration (P = 0.031), full expiration (P = 0.007), and period (P = 0.007). The dosimetric parameters including V(5 Gy), V(10 Gy), V(20 Gy), V(30 Gy), V(40 Gy), and V(50 Gy) of normal liver or lung in 4 DCT MIP plan were superior over free breathing CT plan. The reproducibility and regularity of respiratory amplitude and period were significantly improved with the complex system-guided breathing compared to the free or the audio-guided breathing. In addition, the treatment plan based on the 4D CT-based MIP images acquired with the complex system guided breathing showed better normal tissue sparing than that on the free breathing CT.

Using the Food Guide Pyramid: A Resource for Nutrition Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Anne; Fulton, Lois; Davis, Carole; Hogbin, Myrtle

This booklet provides information to assist nutrition educators in helping their audiences use the Food Guide Pyramid to plan and prepare foods for a healthy diet. It reviews the objectives set in developing the Food Guide Pyramid and illustrates their impact on the application of the Food Guide Pyramid to planning menus. In particular, the…

Guide to Developing an Environmental Management System - Plan

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page takes you though the basic steps (Plan, Do, Check, Act) of building an Environmental Management System (EMS) as they are outlined in the 2001 Second Edition of Environmental Management Systems: An Implementation Guide. Plan section.

Comprehensive Approach to Pupil Planning: Stage III - Instructional Planning (Includes Data Sources Within the CAPP System and Teacher's Instructional Plan). Experimental Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlasak, Frances Stetson; Kaufman, Martin J.

Presented is Stage III of the Comprehensive Approach to Pupil Planning (CAPP) System, a three-stage model for planning educational interventions in the regular and special education classrooms and for guiding placement decisions. The guide focuses on the instructional planning team with sections on the following: Stage III personnel; roles and…

A Planning Guide for Instructional Networks, Part I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daly, Kevin F.

1994-01-01

Discusses three phases in implementing a master plan for a school-based local area network (LAN): (1) network software selection; (2) hardware selection, network topology, and site preparation; and (3) implementation time table. Sample planning and specification worksheets and a list of planning guides are included. (Contains six references.) (KRN)

A Guide to Program Planning Vol. II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Earl, Sr.

This booklet is a simplified guide for program planning and is intended to complement a somewhat lengthier companion booklet on program evaluation. It spells out in outline fashion the basic elements and steps involved in the planning process. Brief sections focus in turn on different phases of the planning process, including problem…

Climate-smart conservation: putting adaption principles into practice

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stein, Bruce A.; Glick, Patty; Edelson, Naomi; Staudt, Amanda

2014-01-01

Climate change already is having significant impacts on the nation’s species and ecosystems, and these effects are projected to increase considerably over time. As a result, climate change is now a primary lens through which conservation and natural resource management must be viewed. How should we prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change on wildlife and their habitats? What should we be doing differently in light of these climatic shifts, and what actions continue to make sense? Climate-Smart Conservation: Putting Adaptation Principles into Practice offers guidance for designing and carrying out conservation in the face of a rapidly changing climate. Addressing the growing threats brought about or accentuated by rapid climate change requires a fundamental shift in the practice of natural resource management and conservation. Traditionally, conservationists have focused their efforts on protecting and managing systems to maintain their current state, or to restore degraded systems back to a historical state regarded as more desirable. Conservation planners and practitioners will need to adopt forward-looking goals and implement strategies specifically designed to prepare for and adjust to current and future climatic changes, and the associated impacts on natural systems and human communities—an emerging discipline known as climate change adaptation. The field of climate change adaptation is still in its infancy. Although there is increasing attention focused on the subject, much of the guidance developed to date has been general in nature, concentrating on high-level principles rather than specific actions. It is against this backdrop that this guide was prepared as a means for helping put adaptation principles into practice, and for moving adaptation from planning to action.

Spatial demographic models to inform conservation planning of golden eagles in renewable energy landscapes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiens, J. David; Schumaker, Nathan H.; Inman, Richard D.; Esque, Todd C.; Longshore, Kathleen M.; Nussear, Kenneth E

2017-01-01

Spatial demographic models can help guide monitoring and management activities targeting at-risk species, even in cases where baseline data are lacking. Here, we provide an example of how site-specific changes in land use and anthropogenic stressors can be incorporated into a spatial demographic model to investigate effects on population dynamics of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). Our study focused on a population of Golden Eagles exposed to risks associated with rapid increases in renewable energy development in southern California, U.S.A. We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based simulation model that integrated empirical data on demography of Golden Eagles with spatial data on the arrangement of nesting habitats, prey resources, and planned renewable energy development sites. Our model permitted simulated eagles of different stage-classes to disperse, establish home ranges, acquire prey resources, prospect for breeding sites, and reproduce. The distribution of nesting habitats, prey resources, and threats within each individual's home range influenced movement, reproduction, and survival. We used our model to explore potential effects of alternative disturbance scenarios, and proposed conservation strategies, on the future distribution and abundance of Golden Eagles in the study region. Results from our simulations suggest that probable increases in mortality associated with renewable energy infrastructure (e.g., collisions with wind turbines and vehicles, electrocution on power poles) could have negative consequences for population trajectories, but that site-specific conservation actions could reduce the magnitude of negative effects. Our study demonstrates the use of a flexible and expandable modeling framework to incorporate spatially dependent processes when determining relative effects of proposed management options to Golden Eagles and their habitats.

30 CFR 550.246 - What mineral resource conservation information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... SHELF Plans and Information Contents of Development and Production Plans (dpp) and Development Operations Coordination Documents (docd) § 550.246 What mineral resource conservation information must... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false What mineral resource conservation information...

30 CFR 550.246 - What mineral resource conservation information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... SHELF Plans and Information Contents of Development and Production Plans (dpp) and Development Operations Coordination Documents (docd) § 550.246 What mineral resource conservation information must... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false What mineral resource conservation information...

30 CFR 550.246 - What mineral resource conservation information must accompany the DPP or DOCD?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... SHELF Plans and Information Contents of Development and Production Plans (dpp) and Development Operations Coordination Documents (docd) § 550.246 What mineral resource conservation information must... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What mineral resource conservation information...

Evidence-based planning for forest adaptation

Treesearch

Lee Hannah; Thomas E. Lovejoy

2014-01-01

Forest conservation under climate change requires conserving species both in their present ranges and where they may exist in the future as climate changes. Several debates in the literature are pioneering this relatively novel ground. For instance, conservation planning using species distribution models is advocated because it uses information on both exposure to...

Conservation Task Force Report on Education and Training. Draft Copy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Educational Programs Div.

Several months ago a planning session was held during which representatives of several colleges and universities shared their plans and strategies for energy conservation education. This publication contains reports from five community colleges, two universities, and one technical institute about how they have applied energy conservation and…

76 FR 78940 - Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge, Blaine, Cassia, Minidoka, and Power Counties, ID...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-20

...; Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION... prepare a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) for Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge. We will also... principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and our policies. In addition to...

Improving our legacy: Incorporation of adaptive management into state wildlife action plans

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fontaine, J.J.

2011-01-01

The loss of biodiversity is a mounting concern, but despite numerous attempts there are few large scale conservation efforts that have proven successful in reversing current declines. Given the challenge of biodiversity conservation, there is a need to develop strategic conservation plans that address species declines even with the inherent uncertainty in managing multiple species in complex environments. In 2002, the State Wildlife Grant program was initiated to fulfill this need, and while not explicitly outlined by Congress follows the fundamental premise of adaptive management, 'Learning by doing'. When action is necessary, but basic biological information and an understanding of appropriate management strategies are lacking, adaptive management enables managers to be proactive in spite of uncertainty. However, regardless of the strengths of adaptive management, the development of an effective adaptive management framework is challenging. In a review of 53 State Wildlife Action Plans, I found a keen awareness by planners that adaptive management was an effective method for addressing biodiversity conservation, but the development and incorporation of explicit adaptive management approaches within each plan remained elusive. Only ???25% of the plans included a framework for how adaptive management would be implemented at the project level within their state. There was, however, considerable support across plans for further development and implementation of adaptive management. By furthering the incorporation of adaptive management principles in conservation plans and explicitly outlining the decision making process, states will be poised to meet the pending challenges to biodiversity conservation. ?? 2010 .

Improving our legacy: incorporation of adaptive management into state wildlife action plans.

PubMed

Fontaine, Joseph J

2011-05-01

The loss of biodiversity is a mounting concern, but despite numerous attempts there are few large scale conservation efforts that have proven successful in reversing current declines. Given the challenge of biodiversity conservation, there is a need to develop strategic conservation plans that address species declines even with the inherent uncertainty in managing multiple species in complex environments. In 2002, the State Wildlife Grant program was initiated to fulfill this need, and while not explicitly outlined by Congress follows the fundamental premise of adaptive management, 'Learning by doing'. When action is necessary, but basic biological information and an understanding of appropriate management strategies are lacking, adaptive management enables managers to be proactive in spite of uncertainty. However, regardless of the strengths of adaptive management, the development of an effective adaptive management framework is challenging. In a review of 53 State Wildlife Action Plans, I found a keen awareness by planners that adaptive management was an effective method for addressing biodiversity conservation, but the development and incorporation of explicit adaptive management approaches within each plan remained elusive. Only ~25% of the plans included a framework for how adaptive management would be implemented at the project level within their state. There was, however, considerable support across plans for further development and implementation of adaptive management. By furthering the incorporation of adaptive management principles in conservation plans and explicitly outlining the decision making process, states will be poised to meet the pending challenges to biodiversity conservation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Large-scale conservation planning in a multinational marine environment: cost matters.

PubMed

Mazor, Tessa; Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Kark, Salit; Possingham, Hugh P

2014-07-01

Explicitly including cost in marine conservation planning is essential for achieving feasible and efficient conservation outcomes. Yet, spatial priorities for marine conservation are still often based solely on biodiversity hotspots, species richness, and/or cumulative threat maps. This study aims to provide an approach for including cost when planning large-scale Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks that span multiple countries. Here, we explore the incorporation of cost in the complex setting of the Mediterranean Sea. In order to include cost in conservation prioritization, we developed surrogates that account for revenue from multiple marine sectors: commercial fishing, noncommercial fishing, and aquaculture. Such revenue can translate into an opportunity cost for the implementation of an MPA network. Using the software Marxan, we set conservation targets to protect 10% of the distribution of 77 threatened marine species in the Mediterranean Sea. We compared nine scenarios of opportunity cost by calculating the area and cost required to meet our targets. We further compared our spatial priorities with those that are considered consensus areas by several proposed prioritization schemes in the Mediterranean Sea, none of which explicitly considers cost. We found that for less than 10% of the Sea's area, our conservation targets can be achieved while incurring opportunity costs of less than 1%. In marine systems, we reveal that area is a poor cost surrogate and that the most effective surrogates are those that account for multiple sectors or stakeholders. Furthermore, our results indicate that including cost can greatly influence the selection of spatial priorities for marine conservation of threatened species. Although there are known limitations in multinational large-scale planning, attempting to devise more systematic and rigorous planning methods is especially critical given that collaborative conservation action is on the rise and global financial crisis restricts conservation investments.

Guiding concepts for park and wilderness stewardship in an era of global environmental change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hobbs, Richard J.; Cole, David N.; Yung, Laurie; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Chapin, F. Stuart; Landres, Peter B.; Parsons, David J.; Stephenson, Nathan L.; White, Peter S.; Graber, David M.; Higgs, Eric S.; Millar, Constance I.; Randall, John M.; Tonnessen, Kathy A.; Woodley, Stephen

2010-01-01

The major challenge to stewardship of protected areas is to decide where, when, and how to intervene in physical and biological processes, to conserve what we value in these places. To make such decisions, planners and managers must articulate more clearly the purposes of parks, what is valued, and what needs to be sustained. A key aim for conservation today is the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity, but a broader range of values are also likely to be considered important, including ecological integrity, resilience, historical fidelity (ie the ecosystem appears and functions much as it did in the past), and autonomy of nature. Until recently, the concept of "naturalness" was the guiding principle when making conservation-related decisions in park and wilderness ecosystems. However, this concept is multifaceted and often means different things to different people, including notions of historical fidelity and autonomy from human influence. Achieving the goal of nature conservation intended for such areas requires a clear articulation of management objectives, which must be geared to the realities of the rapid environmental changes currently underway. We advocate a pluralistic approach that incorporates a suite of guiding principles, including historical fidelity, autonomy of nature, ecological integrity, and resilience, as well as managing with humility. The relative importance of these guiding principles will vary, depending on management goals and ecological conditions.

Conservation Planning for Ecosystem Services

PubMed Central

Chan, Kai M. A; Shaw, M. Rebecca; Cameron, David R; Underwood, Emma C; Daily, Gretchen C

2006-01-01

Despite increasing attention to the human dimension of conservation projects, a rigorous, systematic methodology for planning for ecosystem services has not been developed. This is in part because flows of ecosystem services remain poorly characterized at local-to-regional scales, and their protection has not generally been made a priority. We used a spatially explicit conservation planning framework to explore the trade-offs and opportunities for aligning conservation goals for biodiversity with six ecosystem services (carbon storage, flood control, forage production, outdoor recreation, crop pollination, and water provision) in the Central Coast ecoregion of California, United States. We found weak positive and some weak negative associations between the priority areas for biodiversity conservation and the flows of the six ecosystem services across the ecoregion. Excluding the two agriculture-focused services—crop pollination and forage production—eliminates all negative correlations. We compared the degree to which four contrasting conservation network designs protect biodiversity and the flow of the six services. We found that biodiversity conservation protects substantial collateral flows of services. Targeting ecosystem services directly can meet the multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity goals more efficiently but cannot substitute for targeted biodiversity protection (biodiversity losses of 44% relative to targeting biodiversity alone). Strategically targeting only biodiversity plus the four positively associated services offers much promise (relative biodiversity losses of 7%). Here we present an initial analytical framework for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning and illustrate its application. We found that although there are important potential trade-offs between conservation for biodiversity and for ecosystem services, a systematic planning framework offers scope for identifying valuable synergies. PMID:17076586

Measuring the Success of Bird Conservation Plan Implementation

Treesearch

Rolf R. Koford; Jane A. Fitzgerald

2005-01-01

Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plans (BCPs) have been under development since 1995. Plans are now available for almost all of the physiographic areas and/or states in the continental United States (BCPs can be downloaded at www.partnersinflight.org). Although the format of and information in each plan varies to some degree depending upon the region and approach...

75 FR 6056 - Establishment of the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-05

... among the public, the sporting conservation community, wildlife conservation groups, the States, Native... organizations. (5) Big game hunting organizations. (6) Sportsmen and women community at-large. (7) Archery... organizations. (9) Tourism, Outfitter, and/or Guide industries related to hunting and/or shooting sports. (10...

Texas Conservation Guide for Municipal Services: A Report to Texas Cities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Jacilyn G.; DeHaven, Martha L.

This document presents a collection of energy conservation ideas gathered from a survey of Texas cities and via a national search of recent technical information. The conservation ideas presented are grouped into categories of: administrative concerns, public buildings, public vehicle fleets, transportation systems, municipal utilities, alternate…

Measuring farmer conservation behaviors: Challenges and best practices

Treesearch

Kristin Floress; Adam Reimer; Aaron Thompson; Mark Burbach; Cody Knutson; Linda Prokopy; Marc Ribaudo; Jessica Ulrich-Schad

2018-01-01

This article presents a guide for understanding the purposes and appropriate uses of different measures of conservation behavior. While applicable across natural resource management contexts, we primarily draw upon agricultural conservation research to illustrate our points. Farmers are often of interest to researchers, program managers, extension professionals, and...

Institutional Manager's Guide to Energy Conservation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of State and Local Programs.

The information provided in this guidebook is based on a field evaluation of grantees in the Institutional Conservation Program (ICP). The ICP, authorized by the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978 and administered by the Department of Energy, provides energy audits and 50 percent matching grants for detailed energy analyses and for…

25 CFR 162.231 - How can the land be used under an agricultural lease?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... with recognized principles of sustained yield management, integrated resource management planning, sound conservation practices, and other community goals as expressed in applicable tribal laws, leasing policies, or agricultural resource management plans. Appropriate stipulations or conservation plans must be...

Can We "Future-Proof" Marine Conservation Planning?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinsky, M. L.; Rogers, L. A.

2016-02-01

Marine conservation and marine spatial planning strategies worldwide are designed around biogeographic patterns, often under the assumption that these patterns are relatively stable. With climate change, however, distributions are shifting rapidly as species seek more suitable conditions. Here, we use distribution projections from 2006-2100 for 360 marine species in North America to evaluate the effectiveness of the current marine protected area (MPA) network and to test climate-ready planning approaches. We consider both expected community changes and the uncertainty in those projections. We find that existing MPAs are likely to lose more species over the coming century than other locations on the continental shelf. We also find substantial shifts in the location of high- and low-value regions, which can complicate conservation planning. However, planning portfolios can be developed that perform much better in the face of changes expected over the coming century. The theory and practice of marine spatial planning and marine conservation can be substantially more responsive to our dynamic ocean.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brizard, Alain J.; Tronci, Cesare

The variational formulations of guiding-center Vlasov-Maxwell theory based on Lagrange, Euler, and Euler-Poincaré variational principles are presented. Each variational principle yields a different approach to deriving guiding-center polarization and magnetization effects into the guiding-center Maxwell equations. The conservation laws of energy, momentum, and angular momentum are also derived by Noether method, where the guiding-center stress tensor is now shown to be explicitly symmetric.

Conservation Plan for the Cerulean Warbler on its nonbreeding range - Plan de conservación para la Reinita Cerúlea sobre su rango no reproductivo

Treesearch

Paula Caycedo; Paul Hamel; Melinda Welton; David Caro; D. Wiedenfield

2010-01-01

This plan was prepared by Paula Caycedo on behalf of American Bird Conservancy and Fundación ProAves with the editorial and technical assistance of Paul Hamel, Melinda Welton, David Caro, David Wiedenfeld, David Mehlman, Deanna Dawson, Katie Fallon, and Paul Salaman. Additional support was provided by the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of the U.S. Fish and...

Project Earth, A Curriculum Guide, Kindergarten-Primary-Intermediate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Arnold R., Ed.

This conservation curriculum guide contains units on the air, water, soil, plants, and animals. The guide is organized by grade levels--kindergarten, primary, intermediate. Objectives and concepts are listed and suggested activities are complete with a statement of procedure and necessary materials. A resource appendix includes books, films, and…

An ecological basis for ecosystem management

Treesearch

M. R. Kaufmann; R. T. Graham; D. A. Boyce; W. H. Moir; L. Perry; R. T. Reynolds; R. L. Bassett; P. Mehlhop; C. B. Edminster; W. M. Block; P. S. Corn

1994-01-01

Guiding principles based on conservation biology are applied in assessing ecosystem needs. Ecosystem, economic, and social needs are integrated in a decision model in which the guiding principles are used as a primary filter for evaluating proposed actions. Management practices consistent with the guiding principles are likely to lead to ecological, economic, and...

17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

17 CFR 229.801 - Securities Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Securities Act industry guides. 229.801 Section 229.801 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.801 Securities Act industry...

17 CFR 229.802 - Exchange Act industry guides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Exchange Act industry guides. 229.802 Section 229.802 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION STANDARD... AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975-REGULATION S-K List of Industry Guides § 229.802 Exchange Act industry...

The Evaluation of Water Conservation for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply: Illustrative Examples. Water Conservation and Supply Information Transfer and Analysis Program. Revision.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-02-01

108 NED Project Plan........................................ 108 EQ Project Plan ......................................... 115 Performance of Water...Conservation Proposal: ED Objective ............. 115 50. Atlanta ED Water Conservation Proposal: EQasObjective............. 115 52. Atlanta EQ Water... differential inflation of energy prices, this would provide an annualized energy-related advantageous effect of $655,000/year. Measure A2--Moderate Kit

Civil Engineering Work Information Management System (WIMS) Planning Guide,

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

WORK INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PLANNING GUIDE l-!O L~ JAUG 0)12 13 "’ ’’’ " " 𔄂 5 7 2 2 0 0 9 W WTVF--- DISCLAIMER The views and conclusions...y CHAPTER PAGE I INTRODUCTION What is WIMS? --------------------------------- 1I Why Do We Need A WIMS Planning Guide? ------------ I The Target...Administrator ------------------ 21 6 EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES Introduction ------------------------------- 22 Magnetic Media Supplies

Report planning, preparation and review guide

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, J.E.; Aronson, D.A.; Green, J.H.; Puente, Celso

1990-01-01

The guide describes critical steps in the planning, preparation, and review of hydrologic projects and reports. Project and report planning and organization are discussed first. Report writing and guidelines for writing selected parts of the report are covered next. The last topics covered are editorial and technical review. The guide contains examples of good and poor writing, report checklists, and source references to assist authors in the various stages of report preparation.

Choosing Wellness: Comprehensive Health Education Planning and Implementation Handbook. A Handbook for Head Start Programs [and] Resource Guide: A Guide for Head Start Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enright, Margaret; Davidson, Tasha

These materials consist of: (1) a planning and implementation handbook designed to help Head Start managers better understand, plan, and implement a more comprehensive aproach to health education and health promotion--one that addresses local needs and tailors programs to the needs of the children, parents, and staff; and (2) a resource guide that…

An Update on Tobacco Control Initiatives in Comprehensive Cancer Control Plans

PubMed Central

Dunne, Katherine; Henderson, Susan; Stewart, Sherri L.; Moore, Angela; Hayes, Nikki S.; Jordan, Jerelyn

2013-01-01

Introduction Comprehensive cancer control (CCC) coalitions address tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, through formal plans to guide tobacco control activities and other cancer prevention strategies. Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs (Best Practices) and The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) are used to assist with this effort. We examined CCC plans to determine the extent to which they followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) tobacco control and funding recommendations. Methods We obtained 69 CCC plans, current as of August 1, 2011, to determine which CDC recommendations from Best Practices and The Community Guide were incorporated. Data were abstracted through a content review and key word search and then summarized across the plans with dichotomous indicators. Additionally, we analyzed plans for inclusion of tobacco control funding goals and strategies. Results CCC plans incorporated a mean 4.5 (standard deviation [SD], 2.1) of 5 recommendations from Best Practices and 5.2 (SD, 0.9) of 10 recommendations from The Community Guide. Two-thirds of plans (66.7%) addressed funding for tobacco control as a strategy or action item; 47.8% of those plans (31.9% of total) defined a specific, measurable funding goal. Conclusion Although most CCC plans follow CDC-recommended tobacco control recommendations and funding levels, not all recommendations are addressed by every plan and certain recommendations are addressed in varying numbers of plans. Clearer prioritization of tobacco control recommendations by CDC may improve the extent to which they are followed and therefore maximize their public health benefit. PMID:23806802

Accuracy of a laboratory-based computer implant guiding system.

PubMed

Barnea, Eitan; Alt, Ido; Kolerman, Roni; Nissan, Joseph

2010-05-01

Computer-guided implant placement is a growing treatment modality in partially and totally edentulous patients, though data about the accuracy of some systems for computer-guided surgery is limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a laboratory computer-guided system. A laboratory-based computer guiding system (M Guide; MIS technologies, Shlomi, Israel) was used to place implants in a fresh sheep mandible. A second computerized tomography (CT) scan was taken after placing the implants . The drill plan figures of the planned implants were positioned using assigned software (Med3D, Heidelberg, Germany) on the second CT scan to compare the implant position with the initial planning. Values representing the implant locations of the original drill plan were compared with that of the placed implants using SPSS software. Six measurements (3 vertical, 3 horizontal) were made on each implant to assess the deviation from the initial implant planning. A repeated-measurement analysis of variance was performed comparing the location of measurement (center, abutment, apex) and type of deviation (vertical vs. horizontal). The vertical deviation (mean -0.168) was significantly smaller than the horizontal deviation (mean 1.148). The laboratory computer-based guiding system may be a viable treatment concept for placing implants. Copyright (c) 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

7 CFR 1415.18 - Easement transfer to eligible entities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... approved by NRCS, and implementation of any associated conservation or restoration plans and costs of such... incurred in administering and enforcing the easement, including the costs of restoration or rehabilitation... for enforcing the grazing management plan, or conservation plan as applicable, as approved by NRCS. (b...

10 CFR 436.102 - General operations plan format and content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... tasking resulting from development of the Plan; (B) Guidance for the development of emergency conservation... § 436.106(a); (I) Schedules of plan preparation and publication; (J) Communication, implementation, and... evaluate any innovative energy conserving technologies or methods, not included in this part, which the...

Strategic Planning in Higher Education: A Guide for Leaders. Second Edition [with CD-ROM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tromp, Sherrie A.; Ruben, Brent D.

2010-01-01

"Strategic Planning in Higher Education" unveils a comprehensive approach to planning that has proved successful at Rutgers University. The SPHE framework, developed by authors Tromp and Ruben, provides a blueprint for planning--a step-by-step approach that guides leaders on strategic thinking; helps them align organizational goals with…

Scheduling language and algorithm development study. Volume 2, phase 2: Introduction to plans programming. [user guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cochran, D. R.; Ishikawa, M. K.; Paulson, R. E.; Ramsey, H. R.

1975-01-01

A user guide for the Programming Language for Allocation and Network Scheduling (PLANS) is presented. Information is included for the construction of PLANS programs. The basic philosophy of PLANS is discussed, and access and update reference techniques are described along with the use of tree structures.

A quantitative analysis on the effects of critical factors limiting the effectiveness of species conservation in future time.

PubMed

Alagador, Diogo; Cerdeira, Jorge Orestes

2018-03-01

The effectiveness of conservation plans depends on environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic factors. Global change makes conservation decisions even more challenging. Among others, the components of most concern in modern-day conservation assessments are as follows: the magnitude of climate and land-use changes; species dispersal abilities; competition with harmful socioeconomic activities for land use; the number of threatened species to consider; and, relatedly, the available budget to act. Here, we provide a unified framework that quantifies the relative effects of those factors on conservation. We conducted an area-scheduling work plan in order to identify sets of areas along time in which the persistence expectancies of species are optimized. The approach was illustrated using data of potential distribution of ten nonvolant mammal species in Iberia Peninsula from current time up to 2080. Analyses were conducted considering possible setups among the factors that are likely to critically impact conservation success: three climate/land-use scenarios; four species' dispersal kernel curves; six land-use layer types; and two planning designs, in which assessments were made independently for each species, or joining all species in a single plan. We identified areas for an array of investments levels capable to circumvent the spatial conflicts with socioeconomic activities. The effect of each factor on the estimated species persistence scores was assessed using linear mixed models. Our results evidence that conservation success is highly reliant on the resources available to abate land-use conflicts. Nonetheless, under the same investment levels, planning design and climate change were the factors that most shaped species persistence scores. The persistence of five species was especially affected by the sole effect of planning design and consequently, larger conservation investments may retard climatic debts. For three species, the negative effects of a changing climate and of multiple-species planning designs added up, making these species especially at risk. Integrated assessments of the factors most likely to limit species persistence are pivotal to achieve effectiveness.

Fringe Land Use Guide and Street Plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

The Fringe Land Use Guide and Transportation Plan has been developed over the : past two years by the F-M Metropolitan Council of Governments. One of : the primary purposes of the project was to extend arterial and collector street : planning beyond ...

77 FR 36287 - Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander, Calaveras...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-18

...-FXES11120800000F2-123-F2] Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander... animal, the threatened Central California Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander (tiger salamander). The applicant would implement a conservation program to minimize and mitigate the...

76 FR 44036 - Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander, AT&T Portable...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-22

...] Proposed Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan for the California Tiger Salamander, AT&T Portable Generator... Federally listed animal, the California tiger salamander. The applicant would implement a conservation... permanently convert 1.24 acres of upland grassland habitat for the California tiger salamander into a new...

Adding a landscape ecology perspective to conservation and management planning

Treesearch

Kathryn E. Freemark; John R. Probst; John B. Dunning; Salllie J. Hejl

1993-01-01

We briefly review concepts in landscape ecology and discuss their relevance to the conservation and management of neotropical migrant landbirds. We then integrate a landscape perspective into a spatially-hierarchical framework for conservation and management planning for neotropical migrant landbirds (and other biota). The framework outlines a comprehensive approach by...

78 FR 57651 - Habitat Conservation Plan for the Community of Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, CA; Notice of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

..., management, maintenance, and monitoring of conservation lands used to mitigate the effects of the other.... The LOHCP is a comprehensive plan designed to provide long-term conservation and management of... Maintenance: Public and private utility company activities to operate and maintain, including repair and...

The aquatic conservation strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan.

Treesearch

Gordon H. Reeves; Jack E. Williams; Kelly M. Burnett; Kirsten Gallo

2006-01-01

Implemented in 1994, the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan was designed to restore and maintain ecological processes for aquatic and riparian area conservation on federal lands in the western portion of the Pacific Northwest. We used decision support models to quantitatively evaluate changes in the condition of selected watersheds. In the...

Planning for bird conservation: a tale of two models

Treesearch

Douglas H. Johnson; Maiken Winter

2005-01-01

Planning for bird conservation has become increasingly reliant on remote sensing, geographical information systems, and, especially, models used to predict the occurrence of bird species as well as their density and demographics. We address the role of such tools by contrasting two models used in bird conservation. One, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos...

Challenges of Avian Conservation on Non-Federal Forests in the Pacific Northwest

Treesearch

Joseph B. Buchanan

2005-01-01

Conservation of species associated with mature forest habitats remains an important objective for non-federal lands in the Pacific Northwest. With few exceptions, state forest practices rules, a Washington state pilot landscape planning program, and federal Habitat Conservation Plans provide little functional habitat for species, like the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus...

Estimating Landholders’ Probability of Participating in a Stewardship Program, and the Implications for Spatial Conservation Priorities

PubMed Central

Adams, Vanessa M.; Pressey, Robert L.; Stoeckl, Natalie

2014-01-01

The need to integrate social and economic factors into conservation planning has become a focus of academic discussions and has important practical implications for the implementation of conservation areas, both private and public. We conducted a survey in the Daly Catchment, Northern Territory, to inform the design and implementation of a stewardship payment program. We used a choice model to estimate the likely level of participation in two legal arrangements - conservation covenants and management agreements - based on payment level and proportion of properties required to be managed. We then spatially predicted landholders’ probability of participating at the resolution of individual properties and incorporated these predictions into conservation planning software to examine the potential for the stewardship program to meet conservation objectives. We found that the properties that were least costly, per unit area, to manage were also the least likely to participate. This highlights a tension between planning for a cost-effective program and planning for a program that targets properties with the highest probability of participation. PMID:24892520

Guiding automated left ventricular chamber segmentation in cardiac imaging using the concept of conserved myocardial volume.

PubMed

Garson, Christopher D; Li, Bing; Acton, Scott T; Hossack, John A

2008-06-01

The active surface technique using gradient vector flow allows semi-automated segmentation of ventricular borders. The accuracy of the algorithm depends on the optimal selection of several key parameters. We investigated the use of conservation of myocardial volume for quantitative assessment of each of these parameters using synthetic and in vivo data. We predicted that for a given set of model parameters, strong conservation of volume would correlate with accurate segmentation. The metric was most useful when applied to the gradient vector field weighting and temporal step-size parameters, but less effective in guiding an optimal choice of the active surface tension and rigidity parameters.

A guide to understanding social science research for natural scientists.

PubMed

Moon, Katie; Blackman, Deborah

2014-10-01

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researcher's choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Government Materials on Enrollment Management and Planning in Higher Education: A Resource Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, David G.

The guide is intended to provide admissions directors, academic deans, institutional planning officers, and faculty with access to government sources of information concerning college enrollment management. Sections provide information on: using the guide; additional government document information sources; using government documents; acquiring…

Guide of Ideas for Planning and Implementing Intergenerational Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinto, Teresa Almeida; Marreel, Iris; Hatton-Yeo, Alan

2009-01-01

"Guide of Ideas for Planning and Implementing Intergenerational Projects," is for all professionals that are or wish to be enrolled in the development of intergenerational activities. This "Guide" is the main product of the Project MATES--Mainstreaming Intergenerational Solidarity, co-financed by the Lifelong Learning…

18 CFR 725.7 - Regional or river basin planning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Regional or river basin planning. 725.7 Section 725.7 Conservation of Power and Water Resources WATER RESOURCES COUNCIL... basin Level B Studies and regional water resource management plans, the responsible official...

Developing a Master Plan for Your School. School Buildings Planning, Design, and Construction Series No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, John H.

A school construction guide offers key personnel in school development projects information on the complex task of master planning and construction of schools in Australia. This chapter of the guide provides advice on how to set up a master planning team and establish a plan for quickly completing the building process. It provides an overview of…

Backyard Conservation: Bringing Conservation from the Countryside to Your Backyard.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildlife Habitat Council, Silver Spring, MD.

This guide highlights 10 conservation activities, adapted from farms and ranches, that can be used in the backyard. Each activity provides background information and instructions on how to complete the activity. The activities concern: (1) tree planting; (2) wildlife habitat; (3) backyard ponds; (4) nutrient management; (5) terracing; (6) water…

The Economy of Energy Conservation in Educational Facilities. A Report. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Educational Facilities Labs., Inc., New York, NY.

This is an update of the 1973 edition of a guide for energy conservation in schools. This Educational Facilities Laboratories publication is an information source for teachers, school administrators, school maintenance personnel, school designers, or anyone interested in conserving energy in schools. Topics discussed include: (1) life-cycle…

Ex situ conservation priorities for the wild relatives of potato (Solanum L. section Petota)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We analyzed the contemporary ex situ conservation coverage of the wild relatives of cultivated potato (Solanum section Petota) to set priorities and guide future collections and conservation. We conducted a gap analysis for 73 taxa involving seven, 63 and three species from the primary, secondary an...

Development of Secondary Route Bridge Design Plan Guides

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-03-03

The objective of this study is to develop a set of bridge plan guides for low-volume traffic roads. The purpose of the plans is to facilitate construction of new structures suitable for local agencies. The designs are to specifically address common l...

Planning and environment linkages program : a guide to measuring progress in linking transportation planning and environmental analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-01

Transportation agencies use a variety of metrics to document progress toward achieving specific goals and objectives. This guide, developed by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) program, is intended to hel...

Manufacturing Planning Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waid, Michael

2011-01-01

Manufacturing process, milestones and inputs are unknowns to first-time users of the manufacturing facilities. The Manufacturing Planning Guide aids in establishing expectations for both NASA and non-NASA facility customers. The potential audience for this guide includes both internal and commercial spaceflight hardware/software developers. It is intended to assist their project engineering personnel in manufacturing planning and execution. Material covered includes a roadmap of the manufacturing process, roles and responsibilities of facility and user, major milestones, facility capabilities, and inputs required by the facility. Samples of deliverables, products, and inputs necessary to define test scope, cost, and schedule are included as an appendix to the guide.

Computer-Assisted Virtual Planning for Surgical Guide Manufacturing and Internal Distractor Adaptation in the Management of Midface Hypoplasia in Cleft Patients.

PubMed

Scolozzi, Paolo; Herzog, Georges

2017-07-01

We are reporting the treatment of severe maxillary hypoplasia in two patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate by using a specific approach combining the Le Fort I distraction osteogenesis technique coupled with computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing customized surgical guides and internal distractors based on virtual computational planning. This technology allows for the transfer of the virtual planned reconstruction to the operating room by using custom patient-specific implants, surgical splints, surgical cutting guides, and surgical guides to plate or distractor adaptation.

Testing residential energy pricing in the Krakow, Poland, municipal district heat system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wisnewski, R.; Reeves, G.; Markiewicz, J.

1995-08-01

While understanding of the operation of the price and rebate mechanism may be imperfect in the United States, in Poland most of the necessary infrastructure simply does not exist. Of all the former Soviet-bloc countries, Poland has moved the quickest to a market economy; however, the stresses have been and continue to be significant, particularly on the pensioned. The energy sector of the economy is still centrally planned while the legal framework for a transition to a regulated market is created. Some utilities have made more rapid progress than others in the transition. This paper describes the first year ofmore » an experiment involving design, implementation, and analysis of a pilot pricing, conservation, and heating system control experiment in 264 apartments in four buildings. The results--and experience in the United States--will be used to guide the pricing decisions of the municipal district heat utility and the conservation and air quality strategies of the Krakow development authority. Development of a price incentive strategy involved considerations of public policy toward fixed-income occupants and ownership of energy metering. Thermostats were installed to permit occupant control, and building-level conservation and control techniques were implemented. Physical constraints required the use of German ``cost allocator`` metering technology at the apartment level. Final subsidy or ``pseudo-pricing`` design included-building-level incentives as well as apartment performance inducements. Results include insights on communication and cultural impacts and guidance for future testing as well as energy conservation effectiveness values.« less

No Reef Is an Island: Integrating Coral Reef Connectivity Data into the Design of Regional-Scale Marine Protected Area Networks.

PubMed

Schill, Steven R; Raber, George T; Roberts, Jason J; Treml, Eric A; Brenner, Jorge; Halpin, Patrick N

2015-01-01

We integrated coral reef connectivity data for the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico into a conservation decision-making framework for designing a regional scale marine protected area (MPA) network that provides insight into ecological and political contexts. We used an ocean circulation model and regional coral reef data to simulate eight spawning events from 2008-2011, applying a maximum 30-day pelagic larval duration and 20% mortality rate. Coral larval dispersal patterns were analyzed between coral reefs across jurisdictional marine zones to identify spatial relationships between larval sources and destinations within countries and territories across the region. We applied our results in Marxan, a conservation planning software tool, to identify a regional coral reef MPA network design that meets conservation goals, minimizes underlying threats, and maintains coral reef connectivity. Our results suggest that approximately 77% of coral reefs identified as having a high regional connectivity value are not included in the existing MPA network. This research is unique because we quantify and report coral larval connectivity data by marine ecoregions and Exclusive Economic Zones (EZZ) and use this information to identify gaps in the current Caribbean-wide MPA network by integrating asymmetric connectivity information in Marxan to design a regional MPA network that includes important reef network connections. The identification of important reef connectivity metrics guides the selection of priority conservation areas and supports resilience at the whole system level into the future.

Absorptive capacity as a guiding concept for effective public sector management and conservation of freshwater ecosystems.

PubMed

Murray, K; Roux, D J; Nel, J L; Driver, A; Freimund, W

2011-05-01

The ability of an organisation to recognise the value of new external information, acquire it, assimilate it, transform, and exploit it, namely its absorptive capacity (AC), has been much researched in the context of commercial organisations and even applied to national innovation. This paper considers four key AC-related concepts and their relevance to public sector organisations with mandates to manage and conserve freshwater ecosystems for the common good. The concepts are the importance of in-house prior related knowledge, the importance of informal knowledge transfer, the need for motivation and intensity of effort, and the importance of gatekeepers. These concepts are used to synthesise guidance for a way forward in respect of such freshwater management and conservation, using the imminent release of a specific scientific conservation planning and management tool in South Africa as a case study. The tool comprises a comprehensive series of maps that depict national freshwater ecosystem priority areas for South Africa. Insights for implementing agencies relate to maintaining an internal science, rather than research capacity; making unpublished and especially tacit knowledge available through informal knowledge transfer; not underestimating the importance of intensity of effort required to create AC, driven by focussed motivation; and the potential use of a gatekeeper at national level (external to the implementing organisations), possibly playing a more general 'bridging' role, and multiple internal (organisational) gatekeepers playing the more limited role of 'knowledge translators'. The role of AC as a unifying framework is also proposed.

No Reef Is an Island: Integrating Coral Reef Connectivity Data into the Design of Regional-Scale Marine Protected Area Networks

PubMed Central

Schill, Steven R.; Raber, George T.; Roberts, Jason J.; Treml, Eric A.; Brenner, Jorge; Halpin, Patrick N.

2015-01-01

We integrated coral reef connectivity data for the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico into a conservation decision-making framework for designing a regional scale marine protected area (MPA) network that provides insight into ecological and political contexts. We used an ocean circulation model and regional coral reef data to simulate eight spawning events from 2008–2011, applying a maximum 30-day pelagic larval duration and 20% mortality rate. Coral larval dispersal patterns were analyzed between coral reefs across jurisdictional marine zones to identify spatial relationships between larval sources and destinations within countries and territories across the region. We applied our results in Marxan, a conservation planning software tool, to identify a regional coral reef MPA network design that meets conservation goals, minimizes underlying threats, and maintains coral reef connectivity. Our results suggest that approximately 77% of coral reefs identified as having a high regional connectivity value are not included in the existing MPA network. This research is unique because we quantify and report coral larval connectivity data by marine ecoregions and Exclusive Economic Zones (EZZ) and use this information to identify gaps in the current Caribbean-wide MPA network by integrating asymmetric connectivity information in Marxan to design a regional MPA network that includes important reef network connections. The identification of important reef connectivity metrics guides the selection of priority conservation areas and supports resilience at the whole system level into the future. PMID:26641083

Some guiding concepts for conservation biology.

PubMed

Lindenmayer, David; Hunter, Malcolm

2010-12-01

The search for generalities in ecology has often been thwarted by contingency and ecological complexity that limit the development of predictive rules. We present a set of concepts that we believe succinctly expresses some of the fundamental ideas in conservation biology. (1) Successful conservation management requires explicit goals and objectives. (2) The overall goal of biodiversity management will usually be to maintain or restore biodiversity, not to maximize species richness. (3) A holistic approach is needed to solve conservation problems. (4) Diverse approaches to management can provide diverse environmental conditions and mitigate risk. (5) Using nature's template is important for guiding conservation management, but it is not a panacea. (6) Focusing on causes not symptoms enhances efficacy and efficiency of conservation actions. (7) Every species and ecosystem is unique, to some degree. (8) Threshold responses are important but not ubiquitous. (9) Multiple stressors often exert critical effects on species and ecosystems. (10) Human values are variable and dynamic and significantly shape conservation efforts. We believe most conservation biologists will broadly agree these concepts are important. That said, an important part of the maturation of conservation biology as a discipline is constructive debate about additional or alternative concepts to those we have proposed here. Therefore, we have established a web-based, online process for further discussion of the concepts outlined in this paper and developing additional ones. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Synthesis of economic criteria in the design of electric utility industrial conservation programs in Costa Rica

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisher, S.C.

This paper lays out a set of economic criteria to guide the development of electricity conservation programs for industrial customers of the Costa Rican utilities. It puts the problem of utility and other public policy formulation in the industrial conservation field into the context of ongoing economic and trade liberalization in Costa Rica, as well as the financial and political pressures with which the country`s utilities must contend. The need to bolster utility financial performance and the perennial political difficulty of adjusting power rates for inflation and devaluation, not to mention maintaining efficient real levels, puts a premium on controllingmore » the costs of utility conservation programs and increasing the degree of cost recovery over time. Industrial conservation programs in Costa Rica must adopt a certain degree of activation to help overcome serious market failures and imperfections while at the same time avoiding significant distortion of the price signals guiding the ongoing industrial rationalization process and the reactivation of growth.« less

Are virtual planning and guided surgery for head and neck reconstruction economically viable?

PubMed

Zweifel, Daniel Fritz; Simon, Christian; Hoarau, Remy; Pasche, Philippe; Broome, Martin

2015-01-01

Virtual planning and guided surgery with or without prebent or milled plates are becoming more and more common for mandibular reconstruction with fibular free flaps (FFFs). Although this excellent surgical option is being used more widely, the question of the additional cost of planning and cutting-guide production has to be discussed. In capped payment systems such additional costs have to be offset by other savings if there are no special provisions for extra funding. Our study was designed to determine whether using virtual planning and guided surgery resulted in time saved during surgery and whether this time gain resulted in self-funding of such planning through the time saved. All consecutive cases of FFF surgery were evaluated during a 2-year period. Institutional data were used to determine the price of 1 minute of operative time. The time for fibula molding, plate adaptation, and insetting was recorded. During the defined period, we performed 20 mandibular reconstructions using FFFs, 9 with virtual planning and guided surgery and 11 freehand cases. One minute of operative time was calculated to cost US $47.50. Multiplying this number by the time saved, we found that the additional cost of virtual planning was reduced from US $5,098 to US $1,231.50 with a prebent plate and from US $6,980 to US $3,113.50 for a milled plate. Even in capped health care systems, virtual planning and guided surgery including prebent or milled plates are financially viable. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing for possible motor fuel shortages: a community planning guide, Roswell, New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This guide is prepared to provide a practical approach for the community of Roswell, New Mexico, to respond to fuel supply disruptions. It contains: overviews highlighting fuel supplies and government roles in emergency transportation planning; factors in contingency planning which include community profiles, needs, resources, and constraints; and the local emergency planning process. (MHR)

Electrician Cluster, STEP Training Plan. Skills Training and Education Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabama State Dept. of Postsecondary Education, Montgomery.

This guide is a training plan for the electrical skills cluster of the Skills Training and Education Program (STEP), an open-entry, open-exit program funded by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). In the STEP training plan, each task has its own lesson plan guide. This manual contains the following information: definitions, instructions for…

Educating the Public About Health: A Planning Guide. Health Planning Methods and Technology Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Daniel

A comprehensive overview of major issues involved in educating the public about health, with emphasis on methods and approaches designed to foster community participation in health planning, is presented in this guide. It is intended to provide ideas for those engaged in health education program development with ideas for use in planning,…

Developing State Agency Facility Plans: A Guide to Planning and Implementation. Michigan Studies in Rehabilitation Utilization Series: 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Juliet V.; Wargel, James F.

Intended for use in inservice training of vocational rehabilitation agency personnel, this facility planning guide is designed to (1) help state agencies understand the new facility planning requirements of the Rehabilitation Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978, (2) provide information about a six-step planning…

Clerical Cluster, STEP Training Plan. Skills Training and Education Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabama State Dept. of Postsecondary Education, Montgomery.

This guide is a training plan for the clerical skills cluster of the Skills Training and Education Program (STEP), an open-entry, open-exit program funded by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). In the STEP training plan, each task has its own lesson plan guide. This manual contains the following information: definitions, instructions for…

Teacher Performance Evaluation Plan: A Personalized Approach to Supervision, Staff Development, and Evaluation. An Implementation Guide. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, Jeanne; And Others

This guide provides assistance to New Mexico school districts in implementing a state-sponsored teacher performance evaluation plan (Provision III of the New Mexico Staff Accountability Plan, adopted by the State Board of Education). This plan involves five basic procedures: (1) determine specific definitions of the six essential teaching…

A Guide for Developing a Business Plan for Charter Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charter Friends National Network, St. Paul, MN.

This guide may be used by charter school operators in developing a business plan that can be used as a management tool in individual schools and in preparing applications for charters, renewals, and grants and loans. A sound business plan must reflect the school's ideas, assets, and needs clearly and succinctly. Drafting a business plan begins…

Intraoperative Ultrasound Guidance in Breast-Conserving Surgery Improves Cosmetic Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction: Results of a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (COBALT).

PubMed

Haloua, Max H; Volders, José H; Krekel, Nicole M A; Lopes Cardozo, Alexander M F; de Roos, Wifred K; de Widt-Levert, Louise M; van der Veen, Henk; Rijna, Herman; Bergers, Elisabeth; Jóźwiak, Katarzyna; Meijer, Sybren; van den Tol, Petrousjka

2016-01-01

Ultrasound-guided breast-conserving surgery (USS) results in a significant reduction in both margin involvement and excision volumes (COBALT trial). Objective. The aim of the present study was to determine whether USS also leads to improvements in cosmetic outcome and patient satisfaction when compared with standard palpation-guided surgery (PGS). A total of 134 patients with T1–T2 invasive breast cancer were included in the COBALT trial (NTR2579) and randomized to either USS (65 patients) or PGS (69 patients). Cosmetic outcomes were assessed by a three-member panel using computerized software Breast Cancer Conservative Treatment cosmetic results (BCCT.- core) and by patient self-evaluation, including patient satisfaction. Time points for follow-up were 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. Overall cosmetic outcome and patient satisfaction were scored on a 4-point Likert scale (excellent, good, fair, or poor), and outcomes were analyzed using a multilevel, mixed effect, proportional odds model for ordinal responses. Ultrasound-guided breast-conserving surgery achieved better cosmetic outcomes, with 20 % excellence overall and only 6 % rated as poor, whereas 14 % of PGS outcomes were rated excellent and 13 % as poor. USS also had consistently lower odds for worse cosmetic outcomes (odds ratio 0.55, p = 0.067) than PGS. The chance of having a worse outcome was significantly increased by a larger lumpectomy volume (ptrend = 0.002); a volume [40 cc showed odds 2.78-fold higher for a worse outcome than a volume B40 cc. USS resulted in higher patient satisfaction compared with PGS. Ultrasound-guided breast-conserving surgery achieved better overall cosmetic outcomes and patient satisfaction than PGS. Lumpectomy volumes[40 cc resulted in significantly worse cosmetic outcomes.

Marketing Internships: A Planning and Implementation Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faught, Suzanne G.

This planning and implementation guide is designed to assist marketing educators and others supportive of marketing education. It begins with definitions of vocabulary of related terminology and descriptions of the four models of internships presented in the guide: full-year, rotation-type format; 1-semester, rotation-type format; full-year format…

Industrial Marketing. Marketing and Distributive Education Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, James R.; And Others

This guide is designed to provide the curriculum coordinator with a basis for planning a comprehensive program in the field of marketing as well as to provide marketing and distributive education teacher/coordinators with maximum flexibility in planning an industrial marketing curriculum. The guide was constructed by identifying the competencies…

Marketing Services: Insurance. Marketing and Distributive Education Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luft, Roger L.; And Others

This guide is designed to provide the curriculum coordinator with a basis for planning a comprehensive program in the field of marketing as well as to provide marketing and distributive education teacher/coordinators with maximum flexibility in planning an insurance marketing curriculum. The guide was constructed by identifying the competencies…

VET Providers Planning to Deliver Degrees: Good Practice Guide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2015

2015-01-01

This good practice guide is intended to assist public and private registered training organisations (RTOs) planning to commence higher education (HE) delivery. The guide is based on research undertaken by Victor Callan and Kaye Bowman, who completed case studies with six providers currently delivering higher education qualifications in addition to…

Water Pollution, Environmental Science Curriculum Guide Supplement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenna, Harold J.

This curriculum guide is a 40-day unit plan on water pollution developed, in part, from the National Science Foundation Environmental Science Institutes' Ninth Grade Environmental Science Curriculum Guide. This unit contains teacher lesson plans, suggested teacher and student modules, case studies, and activities to be developed by teachers…

A gap analysis and comprehensive conservation strategy for riverine ecosystems of Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sowa, Scott P.; Annis, Gust; Morey, Michael E.; Diamond, David D.

2007-01-01

North America harbors an astounding proportion of the world's freshwater species, but it is facing a freshwater biodiversity crisis. A first step to slowing the loss of biodiversity involves identifying gaps in existing efforts to conserve biodiversity and prioritizing opportunities to fill these gaps. In this monograph we detail two separate, but complementary, conservation planning efforts - a Gap Analysis (GAP) and a State Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) - for Missouri that address this first step. The goal of the Missouri Aquatic GAP Project was to identify riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species not adequately represented (i.e., gaps) within existing conservation lands. The goal of the freshwater component of the Missouri Wildlife Action Plan was to identify and map a set of conservation-opportunity areas (COAs) that holistically represent all riverine ecosystems, habitats, and species in Missouri. Since conservation planning is a geographical exercise, both efforts utilized geographic information systems (GIS). Four principal GIS data sets were used in each planning effort: (1) a hierarchical riverine ecosystem classification, (2) predicted species distributions, (3) public ownership/stewardship, and (4) a human-threat index. Results of the gap analyses are not encouraging. Forty five, mostly rare, threatened, or endangered, species are not represented in lands set aside for conserving biodiversity. Results also illustrate the fragmented nature of conservation lands, which are mainly situated in the uplands and fail to provide connectivity among riverine habitats. Furthermore, many conservation lands are severely threatened by an array of human disturbances. In contrast, results of the WAP provide hope that relatively intact riverine ecosystems still exist. A total of 158 COAs, representing ∼6% of the total kilometers of stream in Missouri, were selected for the WAP. This illustrates that a wide spectrum of biodiversity can be represented within a small portion of the total resource base, but the area of conservation concern is often much larger. Identifying priority riverscapes for conservation is an important first step toward effective biodiversity conservation. Yet, achieving the ultimate goal of conserving biodiversity will require vigilance on the part of all responsible parties, with particular attention to addressing and coordinating the many remaining logistical tasks.

REVIEW: The evolving linkage between conservation science and practice at The Nature Conservancy.

PubMed

Kareiva, Peter; Groves, Craig; Marvier, Michelle

2014-10-01

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded by ecologists as a United States land trust to purchase parcels of habitat for the purpose of scientific study. It has evolved into a global organization working in 35 countries 'to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends'. TNC is now the world 's largest conservation non-governmental organization (NGO), an early adopter of advances in ecological theory and a producer of new science as a result of practising conservation.The Nature Conservancy 's initial scientific innovation was the use of distributional data for rare species and ecological communities to systematically target lands for conservation. This innovation later evolved into a more rigorous approach known as 'Conservation by Design' that contained elements of systematic conservation planning, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation.The next scientific transition at TNC was a move to landscape-scale projects, motivated by ideas from landscape ecology. Because the scale at which land could be set aside in areas untouched by humans fell far short of the spatial scale demanded by conservation, TNC became involved with best management practices for forestry, grazing, agriculture, hydropower and other land uses.A third scientific innovation at TNC came with the pursuit of multiobjective planning that accounts for economic and resource needs in the same plans that seek to protect biodiversity.The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment prompted TNC to become increasingly concerned with ecosystem services and the material risk to people posed by ecosystem deterioration.Finally, because conservation depends heavily upon negotiation, TNC has recently recruited social scientists, economists and communication experts. One aspect still missing, however, is a solid scientific understanding of thresholds that should be averted. Synthesis and applications . Over its 60-plus year history, scientific advances have informed The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 's actions and strategies, and in turn the evolving practice of conservation has altered the type of science sought by TNC in order to maximize its conservation effectiveness.

REVIEW: The evolving linkage between conservation science and practice at The Nature Conservancy

PubMed Central

Kareiva, Peter; Groves, Craig; Marvier, Michelle

2014-01-01

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) was founded by ecologists as a United States land trust to purchase parcels of habitat for the purpose of scientific study. It has evolved into a global organization working in 35 countries ‘to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends’. TNC is now the world 's largest conservation non-governmental organization (NGO), an early adopter of advances in ecological theory and a producer of new science as a result of practising conservation.The Nature Conservancy 's initial scientific innovation was the use of distributional data for rare species and ecological communities to systematically target lands for conservation. This innovation later evolved into a more rigorous approach known as ‘Conservation by Design’ that contained elements of systematic conservation planning, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation.The next scientific transition at TNC was a move to landscape-scale projects, motivated by ideas from landscape ecology. Because the scale at which land could be set aside in areas untouched by humans fell far short of the spatial scale demanded by conservation, TNC became involved with best management practices for forestry, grazing, agriculture, hydropower and other land uses.A third scientific innovation at TNC came with the pursuit of multiobjective planning that accounts for economic and resource needs in the same plans that seek to protect biodiversity.The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment prompted TNC to become increasingly concerned with ecosystem services and the material risk to people posed by ecosystem deterioration.Finally, because conservation depends heavily upon negotiation, TNC has recently recruited social scientists, economists and communication experts. One aspect still missing, however, is a solid scientific understanding of thresholds that should be averted.Synthesis and applications. Over its 60-plus year history, scientific advances have informed The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 's actions and strategies, and in turn the evolving practice of conservation has altered the type of science sought by TNC in order to maximize its conservation effectiveness. PMID:25641980

Constraints of philanthropy on determining the distribution of biodiversity conservation funding.

PubMed

Larson, Eric R; Howell, Stephen; Kareiva, Peter; Armsworth, Paul R

2016-02-01

Caught between ongoing habitat destruction and funding shortfalls, conservation organizations are using systematic planning approaches to identify places that offer the highest biodiversity return per dollar invested. However, available tools do not account for the landscape of funding for conservation or quantify the constraints this landscape imposes on conservation outcomes. Using state-level data on philanthropic giving to and investments in land conservation by a large nonprofit organization, we applied linear regression to evaluate whether the spatial distribution of conservation philanthropy better explained expenditures on conservation than maps of biodiversity priorities, which were derived from a planning process internal to the organization and return on investment (ROI) analyses based on data on species richness, land costs, and existing protected areas. Philanthropic fund raising accounted for considerably more spatial variation in conservation spending (r(2) = 0.64) than either of the 2 systematic conservation planning approaches (r(2) = 0.08-0.21). We used results of one of the ROI analyses to evaluate whether increases in flexibility to reallocate funding across space provides conservation gains. Small but plausible "tax" increments of 1-10% on states redistributed to the optimal funding allocation from the ROI analysis could result in gains in endemic species protected of 8.5-80.2%. When such increases in spatial flexibility are not possible, conservation organizations should seek to cultivate increased support for conservation in priority locations. We used lagged correlations of giving to and spending by the organization to evaluate whether investments in habitat protection stimulate future giving to conservation. The most common outcome at the state level was that conservation spending quarters correlated significantly and positively with lagged fund raising quarters. In effect, periods of high fund raising for biodiversity followed (rather than preceded) periods of high expenditure on land conservation projects, identifying one mechanism conservation organizations could explore to seed greater activity in priority locations. Our results demonstrate how limitations on the ability of conservation organizations to reallocate their funding across space can impede organizational effectiveness and elucidate ways conservation planning tools could be more useful if they quantified and incorporated these constraints. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

78 FR 67390 - Early Scoping for Proposed Application for Incidental Take Permit and Habitat Conservation Plan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-12

...; Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources AGENCY: Fish and...) application and associated draft habitat conservation plan (HCP) from the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC... lands. PGC manages 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands, and DCNR manages 2.2 million acres of State...

Extension of landscape-based population viability models to ecoregional scales for conservation planning

Treesearch

Thomas W. Bonnot; Frank R. III Thompson; Joshua Millspaugh

2011-01-01

Landscape-based population models are potentially valuable tools in facilitating conservation planning and actions at large scales. However, such models have rarely been applied at ecoregional scales. We extended landscape-based population models to ecoregional scales for three species of concern in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region and compared model...

78 FR 23588 - Final Supplementary Rules for the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-19

... Conservation Area (NCA), addressed in the September 2008 Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Record of Decision... an array of management actions designed to conserve natural and cultural resources on BLM... analysis can be found in Chapter 4 of the Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact...

School Emergency Planning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benedetto, Harry J.

This guide was prepared to assist Pennsylvania schools and communities in the development of comprehensive emergency plans. Procedures for identifying and responding to potential community and school emergency situations are presented. A plan for developing and organizing mass care centers utilizing school and community facilities and resources is…

Guide to Packaging Your Educational Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Janice M.; And Others

This guide to planning, producing, and disseminating instructional materials includes topics on (1) planning content and form; (2) planning personnel requirements, budget, and scheduling needs; (3) producing printed materials; (4) producing audiovisual materials; and (5) distribution. The main emphasis is on developing printed materials and on the…

Environmental Health Planning Guide. Revised 1968.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Public Health Service (DHEW), Rockville, MD.

This guide to environmental health planning outlines the process and procedures of bringing together certain fundamental data pertaining to various physical aspects of the environment, including data collection, evaluation, usage, and implementation. The components of such planning programs are listed along with study preparation information.…

77 FR 9693 - Establishment of Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area, Kansas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-17

..., Planning Team Leader, USFWS, Division of Refuge Planning, P.O. Box 25486, DFC, Denver, CO 80225... major role in preserving the tallgrass ecoregion--and by extension, conserving valuable fish and...

77 FR 51044 - Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge, PR; Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Finding of No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-23

... the human environment, which we included in the draft comprehensive conservation plan and... observation, wildlife photography, environmental education, and interpretation; bicycling, hiking, walking...

Planning building energy conservation research in the US

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abel, F.; LaMontagne, J.

1988-01-01

In the US, the federal government plays a key role in the development of energy conserving technologies and practices for buildings. The Office of Buildings and Community Systems (BCS) of the US Department of Energy provides federal leadership for both private and public sector activities in building energy conservation. The federal role in recent years has been largely limited to the development of technical options; behavioral and institutional factors are considered only to the extent necessary to inform the research planning process. Planning in the US requires dealing with uncertainties regarding the federal approach to energy conservation; this can change,more » often dramatically, with changes in administrations or changing economic and energy conditions. Thus federal research plans must be designed to be useful in a wide variety of circumstances. 7 refs.« less

Accuracy of patient-specific guided glenoid baseplate positioning for reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

PubMed

Levy, Jonathan C; Everding, Nathan G; Frankle, Mark A; Keppler, Louis J

2014-10-01

The accuracy of reproducing a surgical plan during shoulder arthroplasty is improved by computer assistance. Intraoperative navigation, however, is challenged by increased surgical time and additional technically difficult steps. Patient-matched instrumentation has the potential to reproduce a similar degree of accuracy without the need for additional surgical steps. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of patient-specific planning and a patient-specific drill guide for glenoid baseplate placement in reverse shoulder arthroplasty. A patient-specific glenoid baseplate drill guide for reverse shoulder arthroplasty was produced for 14 cadaveric shoulders based on a plan developed by a virtual preoperative 3-dimensional planning system using thin-cut computed tomography images. Using this patient-specific guide, high-volume shoulder surgeons exposed the glenoid through a deltopectoral approach and drilled the bicortical pathway defined by the guide. The trajectory of the drill path was compared with the virtual preoperative planned position using similar thin-cut computed tomography images to define accuracy. The drill pathway defined by the patient-matched guide was found to be highly accurate when compared with the preoperative surgical plan. The translational accuracy was 1.2 ± 0.7 mm. The accuracy of inferior tilt was 1.2° ± 1.2°. The accuracy of glenoid version was 2.6° ± 1.7°. The use of patient-specific glenoid baseplate guides is highly accurate in reproducing a virtual 3-dimensional preoperative plan. This technique delivers the accuracy observed using computerized navigation without any additional surgical steps or technical challenges. Copyright © 2014 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sherry, T D; Kohlhorst, D P; Little, S K

The accomplishments to date and the long-range planning of the Y-12 Energy Management and Sustainability and Stewardship programs support the DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) vision for a commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability and to achievement of the Guiding Principles. Specifically, the Y-12 vision is to support the Environment, Safety and Health Policy and the DOE Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) while promoting overall sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Table ES.2 gives a comprehensive overview of Y-12's performance status and planned actions. B&W Y-12's Energy Management mission is to incorporate renewable energy andmore » energy efficient technologies site-wide and to position Y-12 to meet NNSA energy requirement needs through 2025 and beyond. During FY 2011, the site formed a sustainability team (Fig. ES.1). The sustainability team provides a coordinated approach to meeting the various sustainability requirements and serves as a forum for increased communication and consistent implementation of sustainability activities at Y-12. The sustainability team serves as an information exchange mechanism to promote general awareness of sustainability information, while providing a system to document progress and to identify resources. These resources are necessary to implement activities that support the overall goals of sustainability, including reducing the use of resources and conserving energy. Additionally, the team's objectives include: (1) Foster a Y-12-wide philosophy to conserve resources; (2) Reduce the impacts of production operations in a cost-effective manner; (3) Increase materials recycling; (4) Use a minimum amount of energy and fuel; (5) Create a minimum of waste and pollution in achieving Y-12-strategic objectives; (6) Develop and implement techniques, technologies, process modifications, and programs that support sustainable acquisition; (7) Minimize the impacts to resources, including energy/fuel, water, waste, pesticides, and pollution generation; (8) Incorporate sustainable design principles into the design and construction of facility upgrades, new facilities, and infrastructure; and (9) Comply with federal and state regulations, executive orders, and DOE requirements. Y-12 is working to communicate its sustainment vision through procedural, engineering, operational, and management practices. The site will make informed decisions based on the application of the five Guiding Principles for HPSBs to the maximum extent possible.« less

Application of science-based restoration planning to a desert river system.

PubMed

Laub, Brian G; Jimenez, Justin; Budy, Phaedra

2015-06-01

Persistence of many desert river species is threatened by a suite of impacts linked to water infrastructure projects that provide human water security where water is scarce. Many desert rivers have undergone regime shifts from spatially and temporally dynamic ecosystems to more stable systems dominated by homogenous physical habitat. Restoration of desert river systems could aid in biodiversity conservation, but poses formidable challenges due to multiple threats and the infeasibility of recovery to pre-development conditions. The challenges faced in restoring desert rivers can be addressed by incorporating scientific recommendations into restoration planning efforts at multiple stages, as demonstrated here through an example restoration project. In particular, use of a watershed-scale planning process can identify data gaps and irreversible constraints, which aid in developing achievable restoration goals and objectives. Site-prioritization focuses limited the resources for restoration on areas with the greatest potential to improve populations of target organisms. Investment in research to understand causes of degradation, coupled with adoption of a guiding vision is critical for identifying feasible restoration actions that can enhance river processes. Setting monitoring as a project goal, developing hypotheses for expected outcomes, and implementing restoration as an experimental design will facilitate adaptive management and learning from project implementation. Involvement of scientists and managers during all planning stages is critical for developing process-based restoration actions and an implementation plan to maximize learning. The planning process developed here provides a roadmap for use of scientific recommendations in future efforts to recover dynamic processes in imperiled riverine ecosystems.

Application of Science-Based Restoration Planning to a Desert River System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laub, Brian G.; Jimenez, Justin; Budy, Phaedra

2015-06-01

Persistence of many desert river species is threatened by a suite of impacts linked to water infrastructure projects that provide human water security where water is scarce. Many desert rivers have undergone regime shifts from spatially and temporally dynamic ecosystems to more stable systems dominated by homogenous physical habitat. Restoration of desert river systems could aid in biodiversity conservation, but poses formidable challenges due to multiple threats and the infeasibility of recovery to pre-development conditions. The challenges faced in restoring desert rivers can be addressed by incorporating scientific recommendations into restoration planning efforts at multiple stages, as demonstrated here through an example restoration project. In particular, use of a watershed-scale planning process can identify data gaps and irreversible constraints, which aid in developing achievable restoration goals and objectives. Site-prioritization focuses limited the resources for restoration on areas with the greatest potential to improve populations of target organisms. Investment in research to understand causes of degradation, coupled with adoption of a guiding vision is critical for identifying feasible restoration actions that can enhance river processes. Setting monitoring as a project goal, developing hypotheses for expected outcomes, and implementing restoration as an experimental design will facilitate adaptive management and learning from project implementation. Involvement of scientists and managers during all planning stages is critical for developing process-based restoration actions and an implementation plan to maximize learning. The planning process developed here provides a roadmap for use of scientific recommendations in future efforts to recover dynamic processes in imperiled riverine ecosystems.

Application of science-based restoration planning to a desert river system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laub, Brian G.; Jimenez, Justin; Budy, Phaedra

2015-01-01

Persistence of many desert river species is threatened by a suite of impacts linked to water infrastructure projects that provide human water security where water is scarce. Many desert rivers have undergone regime shifts from spatially and temporally dynamic ecosystems to more stable systems dominated by homogenous physical habitat. Restoration of desert river systems could aid in biodiversity conservation, but poses formidable challenges due to multiple threats and the infeasibility of recovery to pre-development conditions. The challenges faced in restoring desert rivers can be addressed by incorporating scientific recommendations into restoration planning efforts at multiple stages, as demonstrated here through an example restoration project. In particular, use of a watershed-scale planning process can identify data gaps and irreversible constraints, which aid in developing achievable restoration goals and objectives. Site-prioritization focuses limited the resources for restoration on areas with the greatest potential to improve populations of target organisms. Investment in research to understand causes of degradation, coupled with adoption of a guiding vision is critical for identifying feasible restoration actions that can enhance river processes. Setting monitoring as a project goal, developing hypotheses for expected outcomes, and implementing restoration as an experimental design will facilitate adaptive management and learning from project implementation. Involvement of scientists and managers during all planning stages is critical for developing process-based restoration actions and an implementation plan to maximize learning. The planning process developed here provides a roadmap for use of scientific recommendations in future efforts to recover dynamic processes in imperiled riverine ecosystems.

Integrating species distributional, conservation planning, and individual based population models: A case study in critical habitat evaluation for the Northern Spotted Owl

EPA Science Inventory

Background / Question / Methods As part of the ongoing northern spotted owl recovery planning effort, we evaluated a series of alternative potential critical habitat scenarios using a species-distribution model (MaxEnt), a conservation-planning model (Zonation), and an individua...

18 CFR 2.19 - State and Federal comprehensive plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false State and Federal comprehensive plans. 2.19 Section 2.19 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY... Policy and Interpretations Under the Federal Power Act § 2.19 State and Federal comprehensive plans. (a...

18 CFR 141.300 - FERC Form No. 715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... FERC Form No. 715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report. (a) Who must file. Any... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false FERC Form No. 715, Annual Transmission Planning and Evaluation Report. 141.300 Section 141.300 Conservation of Power and...

Between-country collaboration and consideration of costs increase conservation planning efficiency in the Mediterranean Basin.

PubMed

Kark, Salit; Levin, Noam; Grantham, Hedley S; Possingham, Hugh P

2009-09-08

The importance of global and regional coordination in conservation is growing, although currently, the majority of conservation programs are applied at national and subnational scales. Nevertheless, multinational programs incur transaction costs and resources beyond what is required in national programs. Given the need to maximize returns on investment within limited conservation budgets, it is crucial to quantify how much more biodiversity can be protected by coordinating multinational conservation efforts when resources are fungible. Previous studies that compared different scales of conservation decision-making mostly ignored spatial variability in biodiversity threats and the cost of actions. Here, we developed a simple integrating metric, taking into account both the cost of conservation and threats to biodiversity. We examined the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, which encompasses over 20 countries. We discovered that for vertebrates to achieve similar conservation benefits, one would need substantially more money and area if each country were to act independently as compared to fully coordinated action across the Basin. A fully coordinated conservation plan is expected to save approximately US$67 billion, 45% of total cost, compared with the uncoordinated plan; and if implemented over a 10-year period, the plan would cost approximately 0.1% of the gross national income of all European Union (EU) countries annually. The initiative declared in the recent Paris Summit for the Mediterranean provides a political basis for such complex coordination. Surprisingly, because many conservation priority areas selected are located in EU countries, a partly coordinated solution incorporating only EU-Mediterranean countries is almost as efficient as the fully coordinated scenario.

Between-country collaboration and consideration of costs increase conservation planning efficiency in the Mediterranean Basin

PubMed Central

Kark, Salit; Levin, Noam; Grantham, Hedley S.; Possingham, Hugh P.

2009-01-01

The importance of global and regional coordination in conservation is growing, although currently, the majority of conservation programs are applied at national and subnational scales. Nevertheless, multinational programs incur transaction costs and resources beyond what is required in national programs. Given the need to maximize returns on investment within limited conservation budgets, it is crucial to quantify how much more biodiversity can be protected by coordinating multinational conservation efforts when resources are fungible. Previous studies that compared different scales of conservation decision-making mostly ignored spatial variability in biodiversity threats and the cost of actions. Here, we developed a simple integrating metric, taking into account both the cost of conservation and threats to biodiversity. We examined the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, which encompasses over 20 countries. We discovered that for vertebrates to achieve similar conservation benefits, one would need substantially more money and area if each country were to act independently as compared to fully coordinated action across the Basin. A fully coordinated conservation plan is expected to save approximately US$67 billion, 45% of total cost, compared with the uncoordinated plan; and if implemented over a 10-year period, the plan would cost ≈0.1% of the gross national income of all European Union (EU) countries annually. The initiative declared in the recent Paris Summit for the Mediterranean provides a political basis for such complex coordination. Surprisingly, because many conservation priority areas selected are located in EU countries, a partly coordinated solution incorporating only EU-Mediterranean countries is almost as efficient as the fully coordinated scenario. PMID:19717457

Marketing and Distributive Education Curriculum Planning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northern Illinois Univ., DeKalb. Dept. of Business Education and Administration Services.

This planning guide in marketing and distributive education is designed to provide the curriculum coordinator and instructor with a basis for planning a comprehensive program in the career field of marketing. Such programs require competencies in sales, sales promotion, buying, transporting, storing, financing, marketing research, and management.…

14 CFR 1216.302 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... overseeing and guiding NASA's integration of NEPA into the Agency's planning and decision making. The SEO... Agency planning and decision-making processes. The SEO shall monitor this process to ensure that these... functions and guiding NASA's integration of NEPA into the Agency's planning and decision making for all NASA...

Dynamic resource allocation in conservation planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golovin, D.; Krause, A.; Gardner, B.; Converse, S.J.; Morey, S.

2011-01-01

Consider the problem of protecting endangered species by selecting patches of land to be used for conservation purposes. Typically, the availability of patches changes over time, and recommendations must be made dynamically. This is a challenging prototypical example of a sequential optimization problem under uncertainty in computational sustainability. Existing techniques do not scale to problems of realistic size. In this paper, we develop an efficient algorithm for adaptively making recommendations for dynamic conservation planning, and prove that it obtains near-optimal performance. We further evaluate our approach on a detailed reserve design case study of conservation planning for three rare species in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Copyright ?? 2011, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved.

ACT College Planning Guide: A Presentation for Students and Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACT, Inc., 2007

2007-01-01

The materials in this College Planning Guide support a 40-50 minute general college planning presentation. It is most effective when delivered to high school juniors (and their parents) in the spring. It can also be used in the fall with seniors or with sophomores and their parents who desire an overview of the college planning process. The…

75 FR 74740 - Measure M2 Natural Community Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan/Master Streambed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-01

... significant direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on biological resources, land use, air quality, water quality, water resources, socioeconomics, and other environmental issues that could occur with the...

Evaluation of participatory planning: Lessons from Hungarian Natura 2000 management planning processes.

PubMed

Kovács, Eszter; Kelemen, Eszter; Kiss, Gabriella; Kalóczkai, Ágnes; Fabók, Veronika; Mihók, Barbara; Megyesi, Boldizsár; Pataki, György; Bodorkós, Barbara; Balázs, Bálint; Bela, Györgyi; Margóczi, Katalin; Roboz, Ágnes; Molnár, Dániel

2017-12-15

Stakeholder participation in nature conservation policies and especially in the management of protected areas has gained importance in the last decades. These changes are underlined by democratic principles and the perceived contribution of stakeholder involvement to the effectiveness of conservation management. Evaluating participatory processes is essential to learn about the past and thus increase the quality of future processes. The evaluation can be useful for the organisations responsible for planning and management, stakeholders and policy makers as well. The present paper shows the results of a systematic evaluation of 25 participatory processes related to the development of management plans for Natura 2000 sites in Hungary between 2007 and 2015. A conceptual framework was developed to evaluate the process and outcome of participatory management planning processes. Criteria were based on the scientific literature on public participation and tailored to conservation-related management planning and stakeholder involvement. Evaluated processes were grouped in three cases based on their time range and financial sources. Overall, the analysed processes scored at a medium level, showing better performance in the process criteria than in the outcome criteria. The best case scored significantly higher in four criteria compared to the other cases: representativeness, resource availability for facilitation, new, creative ideas and impact on the plan. The main factors behind the success were (1) embeddedness of the planning process in a larger project, where the plan was a tool for conservation, (2) carrying out only one process at a time, (3) previous experience of facilitators and planners with participatory planning and (4) the opportunity and capacity to propose a payment scheme as an incentive. But even this case received low scores in some criteria: conflict resolution, early involvement and well defined goals. Based on the results we suggest that more data is needed to evaluate the implementation of the plans and, in many cases, the impact of the process on the plan. Performance can be improved with the assistance of policy makers by further developing guidelines, harmonising payment schemes with the conservation measures of the plans and providing training on conflict resolution. The evaluation framework proved to be suitable for the assessment of a large set of conservation related management planning processes, but it also had some limitations, e.g. concerning the incorporation of stakeholders' views in the evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES, A GUIDE FOR 4-H CLUB LEADERS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FOSTER, ALBERT B.; FOX, ADRIAN C.

THIS PUBLICATION WAS PREPARED BY THE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE FOR USE WITH YOUTH GROUPS. VARIOUS ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS ARE PRESENTED WHICH CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP CONCEPTS ABOUT SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION. IN ORDER TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS OF DEMONSTRATING THESE ACTIVITIES, MANY OF THE CONCEPTS ARE PICTORIALLY ILLUSTRATED. THE ACTIVITIES…

Analyzing Learning about Conservation of Matter in Students while Adapting to the Needs of a School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doucerain, Marina; Schwartz, Marc S.

2010-01-01

We probed the impact of two teaching strategies, "guided inquiry" and "argumentation," on students' conceptual understanding of the conservation of matter. Conservation of matter is a central concept in middle school science curriculum and a prerequisite upon which rests more complex constructs in chemistry. The results indicate that guided…

Teaching Soil and Water Conservation: A Classroom and Field Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Albert B.; Fox, Adrian C.

Compiled in this booklet are 22 activities designed to develop awareness of the importance of conservation and the wise use of soil and moisture on croplands, grasslands, and woodlands. They have been selected by Soil Conservation Service (SCS) personnel and consultants to show that the way we manage our basic natural resources, soil and water,…

Scanning the conservation horizon: A guide to climate change vulnerability assessment

Treesearch

Patty Glick; Bruce A. Stein; Naomi A. Edelson

2011-01-01

Rapid climate change is the defining conservation issue of our generation. The effects of climate change are increasingly apparent, from drowned coastal marshes and drying prairie potholes to melting glaciers. These climate-driven changes will profoundly affect our ability to conserve fish and wildlife and the habitats on which they depend. Indeed, preparing for and...

Changes in Regional Ventilation During Treatment and Dosimetric Advantages of CT Ventilation Image Guided Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Lung Cancer.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Tokihiro; Kabus, Sven; Bal, Matthieu; Bzdusek, Karl; Keall, Paul J; Wright, Cari; Benedict, Stanley H; Daly, Megan E

2018-05-04

Lung functional image guided radiation therapy (RT) that avoids irradiating highly functional regions has potential to reduce pulmonary toxicity following RT. Tumor regression during RT is common, leading to recovery of lung function. We hypothesized that computed tomography (CT) ventilation image-guided treatment planning reduces the functional lung dose compared to standard anatomic image-guided planning in 2 different scenarios with or without plan adaptation. CT scans were acquired before RT and during RT at 2 time points (16-20 Gy and 30-34 Gy) for 14 patients with locally advanced lung cancer. Ventilation images were calculated by deformable image registration of four-dimensional CT image data sets and image analysis. We created 4 treatment plans at each time point for each patient: functional adapted, anatomic adapted, functional unadapted, and anatomic unadapted plans. Adaptation was performed at 2 time points. Deformable image registration was used for accumulating dose and calculating a composite of dose-weighted ventilation used to quantify the lung accumulated dose-function metrics. The functional plans were compared with the anatomic plans for each scenario separately to investigate the hypothesis at a significance level of 0.05. Tumor volume was significantly reduced by 20% after 16 to 20 Gy (P = .02) and by 32% after 30 to 34 Gy (P < .01) on average. In both scenarios, the lung accumulated dose-function metrics were significantly lower in the functional plans than in the anatomic plans without compromising target volume coverage and adherence to constraints to critical structures. For example, functional planning significantly reduced the functional mean lung dose by 5.0% (P < .01) compared to anatomic planning in the adapted scenario and by 3.6% (P = .03) in the unadapted scenario. This study demonstrated significant reductions in the accumulated dose to the functional lung with CT ventilation image-guided planning compared to anatomic image-guided planning for patients showing tumor regression and changes in regional ventilation during RT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wilderness and backcountry site restoration guide

Treesearch

Lisa Therrell; David Cole; Victor Claassen; Chris Ryan; Mary Ann Davies

2006-01-01

This comprehensive guide focuses on restoration of small-scale impact caused by human actions in wilderness and backcountry areas. The guide's goals are to: 1) Help practitioners develop plans that thoroughly address the question of whether site restoration is the best management action and, if so, develop a site-specific restoration plan that incorporates...

Manual of Articulatory Phonetics: Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smalley, William A.

This teaching guide is closely integrated with the "Manual of Articulatory Phonetics" (FL 002 882) and its "Workbook Supplement" (FL 002 881). The guide is based on lesson plans which have been developed by the staff using the manual during its developmental period. An introduction on using the lesson plans and teaching techniques is provided.…

Nutrition and Meal Planning in Child-Care Programs: A Practical Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edelstein, Sari

Designed to assist child care center managers in planning nutritious meals for children in centers or licensed home day care programs, this guide presents information on the nutritional requirements of infants and children, sample menus for child care centers, and resources for further information. The first part of the guide details the…

Robot Service and Repair. Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittsburg State Univ., KS. Kansas Vocational Curriculum Dissemination Center.

This document is a teacher's guide for teaching a course on robot service and repair. The guide is organized in four units covering the following topics: introduction to robots, power supply, robot control systems, and service and repair. Each unit contains several lesson plans on the unit topic. Lesson plans consist of objectives, tools and…

Marketing and Distributive Education Curriculum Guide: Transportation and Warehousing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northern Illinois Univ., DeKalb. Dept. of Business Education and Administration Services.

Designed to be used with the General Marketing Curriculum Planning Guide (ED 156 860), this guide is intended to provide the curriuclum coordinator with a basis for planning a comprehensive program in the field of marketing for transportation and warehousing. It contains job competency sheets in eight instructional areas: (1) communications, (2)…

Earth Science Education for the 21st Century: A Planning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Geological Inst., Alexandria, VA.

In response to the growing national concern about precollege science education, this guide was developed to assist school administrators, curriculum planners, teachers, and scientists in incorporating earth science in K-12 science curricula. The guide is divided into four main sections that provide a framework for planning and implementing earth…

A Guide for Developing the Instructional Program in Agricultural Mechanics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Board of Vocational Education and Rehabilitation, Springfield. Div. of Vocational and Technical Education.

This bulletin contains materials suggested for use by agricultural teachers in the improvement of their agricultural mechanics programs. In its function as a guide to planning a teaching program in agricultural mechanics the document outlines the principles and procedures in course planning, 12 guiding concepts in the teaching of agricultural…

A Guide to Networking for K-12 Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northwest Regional Educational Lab., Portland, OR.

The purpose of this guide is to provide basic networking information and planning assistance for technology coordinators and others involved in building networks for K-12 schools. The information in this guide focuses on the first few steps in the networking process. It reviews planning considerations and network design issues facing educators who…

Planning for Worker Re-Adjustment: A Technical Assistance Guide for States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balfe, Kevin

This guide summarizes key principles drawn from successful programs for helping unemployed workers find new jobs and presents a systematic approach to help states plan and manage their worker readjustment efforts. The guide contains two major sections. The first section is an overview and summary that includes background on the dislocation…

"Review of the Sustained Yield Plan / Habitat Conservation Plan for the properties of The Pacific Lumber Company, Scotia Pacific Holding Company, and Salmon Creek Corporation"

Treesearch

Leslie M. Reid

1998-01-01

Downstream impacts to aquatic environments and property generally occur as cumulative watershed impacts, which are usually caused by changes in the transport of woody debris, water, and sediment through a watershed. The downstream cumulative impacts that are likely to accrue from implementation of the Sustained Yield Plan / Habitat Conservation Plan for the properties...

Program evaluation in integrated resource planning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Council, C.D.

1994-12-31

The Western Area Power Administration along with the Southwestern and Southeastern Power Administrations joined together to develop a set of integrated resource planning (IRP) tools to help their customers development and implement an IRP process. The project has been entitled the Resource Planning Guide (RPG), and is specifically designed to help small- to mid-sized utilities analyze supply- and demand-side alternatives as part of an IRP process. The RPG project will be available in January 1994 and will include such support as: workshops, technical assistance, an RPG hotline, and an RPG User`s Group for the project. The RPG grew out ofmore » the interest shown by utility customers who wanted a user-friendly tool to aid in their application of the IRP process. The project has been field tested by 43 utilities and related organizations over the last year, has sparked interest both nationally and internationally, and is now available for public use. The program evaluation aspects of the IRP process are heightened by a requirement of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 which requires all long-term power customers of the Western Area Power Administration to develop, implement, and monitor an IRP process. The EPAct defines IRP as: A planning process for new energy resources that evaluates the full range of alternatives, including new generating capacity, power purchases, energy conservation and efficiency, cogeneration and district heating and cooling applications, and renewable energy resources, to provide adequate and reliable service to its electric customers at the lowest system cost. The process takes into account necessary features for system operation, such as diversity, reliability, dispatchability, and other factors of risk; the ability to verify energy savings achieved through energy conservation and efficiency and the projected durability of such savings measured over time; and treats demand and supply resources on a consistent and integrated basis.« less

Scientifically defensible fish conservation and recovery plans: Addressing diffuse threats and developing rigorous adaptive management plans

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maas-Hebner, Kathleen G.; Schreck, Carl B.; Hughes, Robert M.; Yeakley, Alan; Molina, Nancy

2016-01-01

We discuss the importance of addressing diffuse threats to long-term species and habitat viability in fish conservation and recovery planning. In the Pacific Northwest, USA, salmonid management plans have typically focused on degraded freshwater habitat, dams, fish passage, harvest rates, and hatchery releases. However, such plans inadequately address threats related to human population and economic growth, intra- and interspecific competition, and changes in climate, ocean, and estuarine conditions. Based on reviews conducted on eight conservation and/or recovery plans, we found that though threats resulting from such changes are difficult to model and/or predict, they are especially important for wide-ranging diadromous species. Adaptive management is also a critical but often inadequately constructed component of those plans. Adaptive management should be designed to respond to evolving knowledge about the fish and their supporting ecosystems; if done properly, it should help improve conservation efforts by decreasing uncertainty regarding known and diffuse threats. We conclude with a general call for environmental managers and planners to reinvigorate the adaptive management process in future management plans, including more explicitly identifying critical uncertainties, implementing monitoring programs to reduce those uncertainties, and explicitly stating what management actions will occur when pre-identified trigger points are reached.

Antenna Test Facility (ATF): User Test Planning Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Greg

2011-01-01

Test process, milestones and inputs are unknowns to first-time users of the ATF. The User Test Planning Guide aids in establishing expectations for both NASA and non-NASA facility customers. The potential audience for this guide includes both internal and commercial spaceflight hardware/software developers. It is intended to assist their test engineering personnel in test planning and execution. Material covered includes a roadmap of the test process, roles and responsibilities of facility and user, major milestones, facility capabilities, and inputs required by the facility. Samples of deliverables, test article interfaces, and inputs necessary to define test scope, cost, and schedule are included as an appendix to the guide.