Sample records for ranchers

  1. Alone on the range: Exploring first-generation ranchers: Adaptations to socio-economic challenges in California

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    California’s ranching landscape is shifting as new ranchers enter, often with differing socio-economic backgrounds and goals. In contrast to multi-generational ranchers (MGRs), research suggests that first-generation farmers and ranchers (FGRs) are more likely to be younger, highly educated, non-Whi...

  2. 75 FR 72780 - Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-26

    ... Beginning Farmers and Ranchers AGENCY: Departmental Management, Office of Advocacy and Outreach, USDA... advise the public that meetings of the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (Committee... Beginning Farmers and Ranchers.'' DATES: The public meetings will be held December 15th and 16th, 2010...

  3. 7 CFR 3430.601 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...-GENERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.601 Purpose. The purpose of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) is to establish a beginning farmer and rancher development program that provides local and regional training, education...

  4. Jaguar critical habitat designation causes concern for Southwestern ranchers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Svancara, Colleen; Lien, Aaron M.; Vanasco, Wendy T.; Laura Lopez-Hoffman,; Ruyle, George B.

    2015-01-01

    The designation of jaguar critical habitat in April 2014 in southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico created concern for livestock ranchers in the region. We interviewed ranchers to understand their concerns with the jaguar critical habitat designation and their attitudes toward jaguars, wildlife conservation, and resource management in general. Ranchers we interviewed were concerned about direct impacts of designated critical habitat on ranching, as well as possible alternative agendas of critical habitat advocates and issues specific to the borderlands region. The ranchers were less concerned about the presence of jaguars but were more concerned about possible limiting effects of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), distrust of government entities, and litigious environmental groups. To maximize effectiveness, government agencies should work to foster trust in the ranching community, be cognizant of sensitive issues specific to the region that may challenge endangered species conservation goals, recognize the opportunity to work with ranchers for endangered species management, and provide outreach about implications of the ESA.

  5. Resolving resource conflict: A bigger pie

    Treesearch

    Jim Winder

    1999-01-01

    One of today's critical questions for ranchers is how to gain economic benefits from natural resources without damaging biodiversity. Ranchers today face declining beef prices, escalating resource prices, and taking on costs once covered outside the industry. Ranchers join environmentalists and agency personnel in the struggle to meet evolving needs of the...

  6. Rancher-reported efficacy of lethal and non-lethal livestock predation mitigation strategies for a suite of carnivores.

    PubMed

    Scasta, J D; Stam, B; Windh, J L

    2017-10-26

    Pastoralists have dealt with livestock losses from predators for millennia, yet effective mitigation strategies that balance wildlife conservation and sustainable agriculture are still needed today. In Wyoming, USA, 274 ranchers responded to a retrospective survey, and rated the efficacy of predation mitigation strategies for foxes, dogs, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, and birds (buzzards, eagles, hawks, ravens). Rancher reported efficacy of mitigation varied by predator species, mitigation strategy, and lethality of strategies, but not livestock type. Ranchers perceive they were most effective at mitigating predation by foxes and coyotes, moderately effective at mitigating large carnivores, and the least effective at mitigating birds. Ranchers also reported that avian predators seem to be the most challenging predator type. The general perception was lethal mitigation strategies were more effective than non-lethal strategies, with guard animals showing the most potential among the non-lethal options. In general, ranchers did not perceive non-lethal strategies as a proxy for lethal strategies. However, a few ranchers reported being successful with non-lethal options such as herding, fencing, and stalling at night but more details about such successful applications are needed. Innovation in current or novel non-lethal mitigation strategies, and examples of efficacy, are needed to justify producer adoption.

  7. When ranchers don't know what to do: Care and rangeland management decision-making under uncertainity

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This presentation asks: how do ranchers know what to do when they are faced with a decision under high levels of complexity and uncertainty? In the semi-arid Western Great Plains of North America, rancher decisions have implications for rangeland ecosystems and for livelihoods. Adaptive management r...

  8. An Exploration of the Relationship between Depressive Symptoms and Cortisol Rhythms in Colorado Ranchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schulze, Emily; Laudenslager, Mark; Coussons-Read, Mary

    2009-01-01

    Context: Although the effects of stress on health have been studied in numerous urban-dwelling populations, fewer studies have addressed these effects in rural populations, such as farmers and ranchers. Purpose: The present study focuses on seasonal levels of depressed affect and perceived stress in Western Colorado ranchers, and how those…

  9. Wave of mutilation: the cattle mutilation phenomenon of the 1970s.

    PubMed

    Goleman, Michael J

    2011-01-01

    During the 1970s many small-scale cattle ranchers across the Midwest reported finding their cattle mutilated. The episode, often dismissed as mass hysteria or sensationalized reporting, demonstrates the growing dissatisfaction of many ranchers concerning government intrusiveness and restrictive policies. These frustrations found a release in response to the mutilation phenomenon during which ranchers vented their anger by taking direct aim at the federal government. The turbulent economic conditions of the period paired with government interference in the cattle industry helped sustain the mutilation phenomenon as ranchers projected their fears and insecurities through the bizarre episode. The hostility ranchers showed toward the federal government during the mutilation scare presaged and helped provide the impetus for events such as the Sagebrush Rebellion. The mutilation phenomenon also underscores the pronounced effects of the libertarian movement of the 1960s that gave rise to the New Right and gained adherents across the West and Midwest.

  10. Educating the Future of Agriculture: A Focus Group Analysis of the Programming Needs and Preferences of Montana Young and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Nikki E.; Arnold, Shannon K.; Igo, Carl G.

    2014-01-01

    The average age of farmers and ranchers is rising and each year, there are fewer young and beginning farmers and ranchers (YBFR). Therefore, it is critical that agricultural educators and programmers provide learning opportunities that develop the knowledge and competencies YBFR need to be successful. The purpose of this study was to develop a…

  11. Stakeholder Theory and Rangeland Management: The Importance of Ranch Income Dependence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elias, S.; Roche, L. M.; Elias, E.

    2016-12-01

    The California drought beginning in 2012 has been driven by reduced precipitation and record high temperatures. Hydrologic drought in the Southwest United States is projected to become the new climatology of the region. While ranchers are considered naturally adaptive, often adeptly altering management based upon conditions, the projected increased aridity may challenge rangeland management. Certain rancher characteristics are likely to impact how well ranchers adapt. Based on Stakeholder Theory (ST), we hypothesize that the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches as a source of income would serve as a predictor of several key variables related to ranching adaptation and success. Data were obtained from 507 ranchers throughout the State of California via the Rangeland Decision-Making Survey implemented by University of California, Davis in 2010, just prior to the unprecedented California drought. Consistent with the ST urgency facet, results of linear regression analyses indicate the more dependent ranchers are on their ranches for their income, the more aware they are of USDA ranching initiatives (β = 0.19, p < .001) and state ranching initiatives (β = 0.10, p < .05). In addition, more dependent ranchers are more likely to use multiple and diverse sources of information about ranching (β = 0.18, p < .001), are more likely to realize the severity and extent of the most recent drought's impacts (β = 0.18, p < .001), and were more likely to have a drought management plan in place during the most recent drought (β = 0.18, p < .001). These findings are important in relation to both outreach/extension efforts and rangeland research. Outreach/extension efforts should take into account that people less dependent on their ranches are less aware of resources, as well as, less prepared to adapt to drought. Researchers should control for the extent to which ranchers are dependent on their ranches for income in order to ensure more accurate findings.

  12. Transhumant Ranchers in California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sulak, A.; Forero, L.; Huntsinger, L.

    2009-04-01

    There is a strong link between some of the richest, most productive lands of the western United States, including California's oak woodlands, and the traditional "transhumance" of ranchers using public ranges. Oak woodland ranchers with government grazing leases report that about half of their income stems from using government -owned montane ranges. For many, loss of these leases reduces their ranch productive capacity to a level insufficient for sustainability, augmenting the sale of ranch lands for development. Many thousands of hectares of oak woodlands are linked to the fate of government leases in this way, and this linkage limits the opportunities for conservation of oak woodlands as "working landscapes" via conservation easements. This type of conservation is the fastest growing type in California today. The first case study shows that over the past 100 years there has been a reduction in access to the natural resources needed for transhumance from three sources: competition from use of the pastures for recreation and nature preservation, management practices that have brought about change in the character of the natural resources themselves, and urban sprawl. Ranchers are leasing other properties, purchasing feed, and transporting animals to other regions to compensate. Most had increased their privately leased land over the previous five years. Though they desire to stay on their ranches, transhumant ranching is becoming increasingly difficult because of land use changes on both public and private lands and a third of ranchers believe that they may need to sell the property for development if they lose their summer permits. There are many "line camps" on Forest Service range—cabins that families or workers would stay in during the summer to tend the cattle. However, the need to support the ranch with work in town limits the ability of the household to participate in transhumance or even travel into the mountains to check on the animals. For ranching to continue, mobility is one of several key factors, but as this case study demonstrates there are many obstacles facing ranchers who need to move their cattle from winter to summer forage. In the second case study many similar factors are operating to suppress transhumance, including fire suppression and stocking reductions. Change in land use, with the construction of a major reservoir on grazing lands, also reduced grazing on the National Forest. Family demographics, with more ranchers working off ranch, were becoming an important factor making transhumance more difficult. As in the first study, regulations were emphasized by some ranchers as a problem, and regulations and economic factors were the main reason former permit holders had given up their permits. The case studies reveal that factors constraining and reducing grazing on transhumance range are fundamentally linked to insecurity of tenure on high elevation range, loss of grazing capacity from vegetation change as traditional management methods are forbidden, development and land use change as the surrounding society encroaches into pastoral areas and other uses take priority on public lands, and changes in family economy and goals. The publically owned range upon which transhumance depends are no longer managed to maintain open lands and grazing areas, and traditional ranch practices like burning vegetation have been suppressed. Goals for these lands have changed away from grazing, as the majority society seeks other things from public lands, and increased regulation reduces grazing flexibility and available forage. As more members of ranch families work longer off the ranch, they are less able to spend summer tending stock in the mountains. Development and land use change not only affect ranchers in general, reducing the amount of forage, displacing infrastructure, and making traditional practices more difficult, these factors seem to affect transhumant ranchers more than those who are more sedentary. Transhumant ranchers have been using rangelands longer, and are more committed to the traditions of pastoralism, than more sedentary pastoralists. Ranchers in general seek to acquire more access to forage through leasing additional lands from a variety of sources. As is apparent from the case studies, many ranchers lease land from private landowners. Ironically these may be properties in transition to development, or ranches where the heirs or owners do not want to engage in ranching directly. But there is more than just a forage base that is needed for ranch production--there is also an infrastructural base that is needed. This may be termed a "critical mass" (Huntsinger and Hopkinson, 1996). Ranchers need the community of ranchers for both what we might call loosely "cultural support," but also for labor needs during particular times of the year (Liffmann et al. 2000). The sale of each range hastens the sale of the next, creating a feedback loop that results in the conversion of wooded lands to housing and urban development.

  13. Flexibility: Insights from successful ranchers [abstract

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Successful ranching families maintain flexibility in their operations over decades to multi-generational time spans. Interviews and focus groups with ranchers in the Western Great Plains help rangeland scientists understand flexibility, and barriers to flexibility, from a “ranchers’ perspective”. I ...

  14. LANDSAT Range Resource Information System. [a user evaluation of green forage and rainfall accumulation maps

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Boyd, W. E.; Harlan, J. C.

    1981-01-01

    A series of test products were developed from LANDSAT data sets for North Central Texas that paralleled the needs of ranchers, technical personnel, and the media. The products and evaluation questionnaires were mailed to approximately 150 ranchers who had reported an interest in evaluating the information systems. In addition to the rancher group, fourteen media people and a thirty-three member group in the agri business/technical community was also chosen to receive test products. The group responses are analyzed. Examples of the test products and associated questionnaires are included.

  15. 75 FR 56487 - Loan Policies and Operations; Loan Purchases From FDIC

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-16

    ...-AC62 Loan Policies and Operations; Loan Purchases From FDIC AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. ACTION... authority to purchase from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation loans to farmers, ranchers, producers... Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation loans to farmers, ranchers, producers or harvesters of aquatic...

  16. Should ranchers value sagebrush? Why we need sagebrush

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Sagebrush is an important native species that has potential benefits to ranchers who desire multiple services from their lands. Here, we outline how sagebrush benefits other range plants, improves forage and habitat for wildlife, and can be valuable for winter livestock grazing and revegetation....

  17. Land-Cover and Land-Use Change in the Brazilian Amazon: Smallholders, Ranchers and Frontier Stratification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aldrich, Stephen P.; Walker, Robert T.; Arima, Eugenio Y.; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Browder, John O.; Perz, Stephen

    2006-01-01

    Tropical deforestation is a significant driver of global environmental change, given its impacts on the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Loss of the Amazon forest, the focus of this article, is of particular concern because of the size and the rapid rate at which the forest is being converted to agricultural use. In this article, we identify what has been the most important driver of deforestation in a specific colonization frontier in the Brazilian Amazon. To this end, we consider (1) the land-use dynamics of smallholder households, (2) the formation of pasture by large-scale ranchers, and (3) structural processes of land aggregation by ranchers. Much has been written about relations between smallholders and ranchers in the Brazilian Amazon, particularly those involving conflict over land, and this article explicates the implications of such social processes for land cover. Toward this end, we draw on panel data (1996-2002) and satellite imagery (1986-1999) to show the deforestation that is attributable to small- and largeholders, and the deforestation that is attributable to aggregations of property arising from a process that we refer to as frontier stratification. Evidently, most of the recent deforestation in the study area has resulted from the household processes of smallholders, not from conversions to pasture pursuant to the appropriations of smallholders' property by well-capitalized ranchers or speculators.

  18. 12 CFR 618.8325 - Disclosure of loan documents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ...) Loan means a loan made to a farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products, for any agricultural or aquatic purpose and other credit needs of the borrower, including financing for basic..., ranchers, and producers or harvesters of aquatic products. (4) Loan contract means any written agreement...

  19. 12 CFR 618.8325 - Disclosure of loan documents.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...) Loan means a loan made to a farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products, for any agricultural or aquatic purpose and other credit needs of the borrower, including financing for basic..., ranchers, and producers or harvesters of aquatic products. (4) Loan contract means any written agreement...

  20. 12 CFR 613.3000 - Financing for farmers, ranchers, and aquatic producers or harvesters.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... owning agricultural land or engaged in the production of agricultural products, including aquatic... producers or harvesters. 613.3000 Section 613.3000 Banks and Banking FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FARM CREDIT... fide farmer or rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products for any agricultural or aquatic...

  1. Rancher participation in conservation easements: Survey results from California

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The increasing role of conservation easements on rangelands in the western US makes it especially important to understand the drivers and/or barriers to rancher participation. A commonly held perception is that basic social values like views on private property rights and trust in government will in...

  2. 7 CFR 760.107 - Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher. (a) Risk management purchase requirements, as... members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Gender is not included as a covered group... Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and (ii) A producer whose total household income is at or below the...

  3. 78 FR 76315 - Proposed Information Collection; Survey of Rancher Knowledge and Attitudes About Jaguar Habitat...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-12-17

    ...-FF02ENEH00] Proposed Information Collection; Survey of Rancher Knowledge and Attitudes About Jaguar Habitat... determine their knowledge of and attitudes toward jaguar habitat, the level of knowledge regarding payments for ecosystem services, and attitudes and interest toward a payment for ecosystem services intended to...

  4. Effect of annual, growing season, and spring precipitation on peak standing crop at three locations

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranchers and range managers in the West are at the mercy of climatic conditions that determine the amount of annual forage available on rangeland. Typically, stocking or de-stocking decisions need to be made before the final forage production level is known. Ranchers and range managers need a decisi...

  5. The utilization of historical data and geospatial technology advances at the Jornada Experimental Range to support western America ranching culture

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In the early 1900s, concerns were expressed by ranchers, academicians, and federal scientists that widespread overgrazing and invasion of native grassland by woody shrubs were having severe negative impacts upon normal grazing practices in Western America. Ranchers wanted to reverse these trends an...

  6. Colorado's AgrAbility Project's Effects on KASA and Practice Changes with Agricultural Producers and Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fetsch, Robert J.; Jackman, Danielle M.

    2015-01-01

    Disability rates resulting from work-related injuries remain steadily high among farmers and ranchers. To address the gap in services within this population, USDA implemented AgrAbility nationally. Using part of Bennett's hierarchical model, the current study evaluated the KASA and practice change levels of 401 farmers and ranchers and compared…

  7. Quality of life and independent living and working levels of farmers and ranchers with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Jackman, Danielle M; Fetsch, Robert J; Collins, Christina L

    2016-04-01

    The status of farmers and ranchers with disabilities has been understudied. Understanding this population's quality of life (QOL) and independent living and working (ILW) levels have the potential to be informative for changes in public policy and service provision. To assess QOL levels among farmers and ranchers with disabilities as well as explore a conceptual model of ILW accounting for variance in QOL levels. Participants (N = 398) included farmers and ranchers with varying disabilities. Descriptive information was gathered using the McGill Quality of Life (MQOL) and ILW measures. The MQOL measure produces an objective and comprehensive profile of one's QOL across several domains. ILW was used to account for variance in QOL scores. We also examined whether there were any differences in QOL and or ILW based on type of disability. There were no differences in type of disability and QOL levels. The mean QOL level was 5.50 (SD = 1.67; N = 398). The sample rated support and existential well-being the highest among the QOL subscales, which confounds previous research. Further, age group and ILW accounted for 16.2% of the variance in QOL levels, P < .001. With this sample of farmers and ranchers with disabilities, age group and ILW account for significant variance in QOL. Health professionals can use these findings to support and assess improvements in clients' ILW, self-determination, and QOL. Future research is needed to explore further the effects of QOL and ILW in this population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Connecting stakeholders and climate science: A summary of farmer, rancher, and forester climate data needs and climate change attitudes

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The mission of the USDA Southwest Regional Climate Hub is to provide farmers, ranchers and forest land owners and managers with information and resources to cope with the impacts of climate change. As such, a clear understanding of landowner needs for weather and climate data and their attitudes abo...

  9. Ranchers and biologists in Hawai‘i—Keeping a business strong and protecting native forests at Ulupalakua Ranch, Maui

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Erdman, Sumner; Medeiros, Arthur C.; Durso, Anthony; Loope, Lloyd

    2000-01-01

    The loss of ranchland to critical habitat has been a major concern to ranchers and other large landowners in recent years. On the island of Maui, a novel approach is in the works which seems to have merit both for conservation of endangered species and for helping a landowner ethically manage an ecologically sensitive area.

  10. Life...Pass It On. [How Educators Can Help, How the Farmer and Rancher Can Help, How the Homemaker Can Help, How the Outdoorsman Can Help, How You Can Help].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, CO.

    These materials are an attempt at continued cooperation between the diverse economic groups of the Rocky Mountain-Prairie Region of the Environmental Protection Agency. This cooperation between educators, outdoorsmen, homemakers, students, farmers, and ranchers is vital to the improvement of present environmental quality and the ensuring of its…

  11. Factors Contributing to Land-Use Change in the Hardwood Rangelands of Two Central Sierra Nevadan Counties

    Treesearch

    Sharon G. Johnson

    1997-01-01

    In many parts of California, the rate and progression of land use change in the hardwood rangeland depend upon the decisions of ranchers. As major landowners in these regions, a rancher’s decision to subdivide or sell for development are significant moves toward land use change. In many instances, a single landowner decision may effect the disposition of thousands of...

  12. Factors in Sustainable Development: Current and Innovative Livestock and Range Management Practices as Perceived by Cattle-Producing Ejidatarios and Private Cattle Ranchers of Sonora, Mexico. A Summary Report of Research. Department Information Bulletin 99-4.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamlett, Peggy J.

    A study was conducted to identify and compare livestock production and range management practices currently in use in the Texas/Mexico border corridor, and to determine the acceptance of selected innovative practices among cattle ranchers in the State of Sonora, Mexico. Information was collected from private livestock producers who were members of…

  13. Dissemination of assistive technology information to farmers and ranchers with disabilities.

    PubMed

    Racz, C W; Field, W E

    2011-07-01

    Since induction of the AgrAbility program through appropriations contained in the 1990 Farm Bill, the national and state/regional AgrAbility projects have used a variety of methods to disseminate information about assistive technology (AT) to farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with disabilities. To date, no known research has been conducted to assess those delivery methods from the perspectives of either the persons with disabilities in need of information or the education and rehabilitation professionals who work with them. This study's purpose was two-fold: (1) review various dissemination strategies to identify those documented as being more effective, and (2) conduct surveys to ascertain the perspectives of AgrAbility project professionals and a national network of farmers and ranchers with disabilities (called the Barn Builders). Key findings of the study were as follows: (1) the farmers and ranchers most preferred receiving information via printed newsletters (71%) and printed publications (67%); (2) AgrAbility staff most preferred receiving information via internet-based publication access (61%), e-mail (60%), and printed publications (58%); (3) many farmers and ranchers perceived that dissemination strategies were moving toward the internet (53%) and that AT information was generally more available now than in the past (38%); (4) both AgrAbility staff and the Barn Builders tended to agree that farmers still wanted to receive information in printed form; and (5) neither age nor education level appeared to be a strong predictor of internet use by farmers. Key recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of current AT information delivery methods included: (1) implementing effective document management strategies for all information resources, especially for online content; and (2) minimizing language translation efforts, since such a small percentage of the AgrAbility project customer base is primarily non-English speaking. It is believed that the findings of this study also have implications for service delivery strategies in other areas, including topics relating to agricultural safety and health.

  14. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

  15. Connecting Stakeholders and Climate Science: A Summary of Farmer, Rancher, and Forester Climate Data Needs and Climate Change Attitudes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rango, A.; Crimmins, M.; Elias, E.; Steele, C. M.; Weiss, J. L.

    2015-12-01

    The mission of the USDA Southwest Regional Climate Hub is to provide farmers, ranchers and forest land owners and managers with information and resources to cope with the impacts of climate change. As such, a clear understanding of landowner needs for weather and climate data and their attitudes about climate change is required. Here we present a summary of results from 17 peer-reviewed articles on studies pertaining to landowner needs and attitudes towards climate change adaptation and mitigation that span much of the continental U.S. and ideally represent a cross-section of different geographies. In general, approximately 75% of landowners and farm advisors believe climate change is occurring, but disagree on the human contribution. Studies found that most farmers were supportive of adaptation responses, but fewer endorsed farm-based greenhouse gas reduction mitigation strategies. Adaptation is often driven by local concerns and requires locally specific strategies. Perceiving weather variability increased belief in human-caused climate change. Presently farmers and ranchers rely on past experience and short-range forecasts (weeks to seasons) whereas some foresters are requesting long-term predictions on the order of years to decades. Foresters indicated that most of them (74%) are presently unable to find needed long-term information. We augment peer-reviewed literature with observations from landowner workshops conducted in Nevada and Arizona during 2014, the first year of Climate Hub operation. To better collect information about climate change needs and attitudes of farmers, ranchers and foresters across the globe, we created a Climate Change Attitudes collection in JournalMap (https://journalmap.org/usda-southwest-regional-climate-hub/climate-change-attitudes). Users anywhere can add articles to this collection, ultimately generating a comprehensive spatial resource in support of adaptation and mitigation efforts on working lands.

  16. 7 CFR 1468.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns, water quality protection or improvement; wetland restoration and protection; wildlife habitat...

  17. 7 CFR 3430.602 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... as the Secretary may establish. Clearinghouse means an online repository that will make available to... online courses for direct use by beginning farmers or ranchers. Limited resource beginning farmers or...

  18. 7 CFR 3430.602 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... as the Secretary may establish. Clearinghouse means an online repository that will make available to... online courses for direct use by beginning farmers or ranchers. Limited resource beginning farmers or...

  19. 7 CFR 3430.602 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... as the Secretary may establish. Clearinghouse means an online repository that will make available to... online courses for direct use by beginning farmers or ranchers. Limited resource beginning farmers or...

  20. The value of forage measurement information in rangeland management. [implementation of satellite data in range management

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lietzke, K. R.

    1975-01-01

    An economic model and simulation are developed to estimate the potential social benefit arising from the use of alternative measurement systems in rangeland management. In order to estimate these benefits, it was necessary to model three separate systems: the range environment, the rangeland manager, and the information system which links the two. The rancher's decision-making behavior is modeled according to sound economic principles. Results indicate substantial potential benefits, particularly when used in assisting management of government-operated ranges; possible annual benefits in this area range from $20 to $46 million, depending upon the system capabilities assumed. Possible annual benefit in privately-managed stocker operations range from $2.8 to $49.5 million, depending upon where actual rancher capabilities lie and what system capabilities are assumed.

  1. 7 CFR 3430.607 - Stakeholder input.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS-GENERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program... (e.g., public meetings, request for input and/or via Web site), as well as through a notice in the...

  2. Watershed Academy Webcast: USDA's National Water Quality Initiative

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page contains a description and documentation associated with the webcast on how USDA’s NWQI is working in priority watersheds to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners improve water quality.

  3. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA

    2011-11-10

    Senate - 11/10/2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  4. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013

    THOMAS, 113th Congress

    Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA

    2013-04-25

    Senate - 04/25/2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  5. 77 FR 77015 - Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Request for Nominations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-31

    ... and farming producers (industry), related government, State, and Tribal agricultural agencies... representation on the Committee. Equal opportunity practices, in line with the USDA policies, will be followed in...

  6. 77 FR 61751 - Farm Credit Administration Board; Sunshine Act; Regular Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-11

    ... meeting is: Open Session A. Approval of Minutes September 13, 2012 B. New Business Final Rule--Investment Management Final Rule--Farmer Mac Investment Management Bookletter--Providing Credit to Farmers and Ranchers...

  7. Watershed Academy Webcast: Understanding Nutrient Issues Affecting Ohio’s Inland Lakes

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page contains a description and documentation associated with the webcast on how USDA’s NWQI is working in priority watersheds to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners improve water quality.

  8. Application of Frequency of Detection Methods in Design and Optimization of the INL Site Ambient Air Monitoring Network

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

    Rood, Arthur S.; Sondrup, A. Jeffrey

    This report presents an evaluation of a hypothetical INL Site monitoring network and the existing INL air monitoring network using frequency of detection methods. The hypothetical network was designed to address the requirement in 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart H (2006) that “emissions of radionuclides to ambient air from U.S. DOE facilities shall not exceed those amounts that would cause any member of the public to receive in any year an effective dose equivalent exceeding 10 mrem/year.” To meet the requirement for monitoring only, “radionuclide releases that would result in an effective dose of 10% of the standard shall bemore » readily detectable and distinguishable from background.” Thus, the hypothetical network consists of air samplers placed at residence locations that surround INL and at other locations where onsite livestock grazing takes place. Two exposure scenarios were used in this evaluation: a resident scenario and a shepherd/rancher scenario. The resident was assumed to be continuously present at their residence while the shepherd/rancher was assumed to be present 24-hours at a fixed location on the grazing allotment. Important radionuclides were identified from annual INL radionuclide National Emission Standards for Hazardous Pollutants reports. Important radionuclides were defined as those that potentially contribute 1% or greater to the annual total dose at the radionuclide National Emission Standards for Hazardous Pollutants maximally exposed individual location and include H-3, Am-241, Pu-238, Pu 239, Cs-137, Sr-90, and I-131. For this evaluation, the network performance objective was set at achieving a frequency of detection greater than or equal to 95%. Results indicated that the hypothetical network for the resident scenario met all performance objectives for H-3 and I-131 and most performance objectives for Cs-137 and Sr-90. However, all actinides failed to meet the performance objectives for most sources. The shepherd/rancher scenario showed that air samplers placed around the facilities every 22.5 degrees were very effective in detecting releases, but this arrangement is not practical or cost effective. However, it was shown that a few air samplers placed in the prevailing wind direction around each facility could achieve the performance objective of a frequency of detection greater than or equal to 95% for the shepherd/rancher scenario. The results also indicate some of the current sampler locations have little or no impact on the network frequency of detection and could be removed from the network with no appreciable deterioration of performance. Results show that with some slight modifications to the existing network (i.e., additional samplers added north and south of the Materials and Fuels Complex and ineffective samplers removed), the network would achieve performance objectives for all sources for both the resident and shepherd/rancher scenario.« less

  9. Wildfire and Drought Relief for Ranchers and Farmers Act of 2012

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR

    2012-07-17

    Senate - 07/17/2012 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  10. INL Researchers Advance Detection of Brucellosis

    ScienceCinema

    Roberto, Frank; Newby, Deborah

    2017-12-09

    What do cattle ranchers in the greater Yellowstone region have in common with British soldiers garrisoned on the island of Malta in the late 1800s? Hint: it's a pathogen that starts with the letter B. It's Brucella Abortus.

  11. INL Researchers Advance Detection of Brucellosis

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

    Roberto, Frank; Newby, Deborah

    What do cattle ranchers in the greater Yellowstone region have in common with British soldiers garrisoned on the island of Malta in the late 1800s? Hint: it's a pathogen that starts with the letter B. It's Brucella Abortus.

  12. Robustness and management adaptability in tropical rangelands: a viability-based assessment under the non-equilibrium paradigm.

    PubMed

    Accatino, F; Sabatier, R; De Michele, C; Ward, D; Wiegand, K; Meyer, K M

    2014-08-01

    Rangelands provide the main forage resource for livestock in many parts of the world, but maintaining long-term productivity and providing sufficient income for the rancher remains a challenge. One key issue is to maintain the rangeland in conditions where the rancher has the greatest possibility to adapt his/her management choices to a highly fluctuating and uncertain environment. In this study, we address management robustness and adaptability, which increase the resilience of a rangeland. After reviewing how the concept of resilience evolved in parallel to modelling views on rangelands, we present a dynamic model of rangelands to which we applied the mathematical framework of viability theory to quantify the management adaptability of the system in a stochastic environment. This quantification is based on an index that combines the robustness of the system to rainfall variability and the ability of the rancher to adjust his/her management through time. We evaluated the adaptability for four possible scenarios combining two rainfall regimes (high or low) with two herding strategies (grazers only or mixed herd). Results show that pure grazing is viable only for high-rainfall regimes, and that the use of mixed-feeder herds increases the adaptability of the management. The management is the most adaptive with mixed herds and in rangelands composed of an intermediate density of trees and grasses. In such situations, grass provides high quantities of biomass and woody plants ensure robustness to droughts. Beyond the implications for management, our results illustrate the relevance of viability theory for addressing the issue of robustness and adaptability in non-equilibrium environments.

  13. 7 CFR 4284.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ..., including farmers, ranchers, loggers, agricultural harvesters and fishermen, that engage in the production or harvesting of an agricultural product. Producers may or may not own the land or other production..., value of production, increased diversification of industry, higher labor force participation rates...

  14. 7 CFR 4284.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ..., including farmers, ranchers, loggers, agricultural harvesters and fishermen, that engage in the production or harvesting of an agricultural product. Producers may or may not own the land or other production..., value of production, increased diversification of industry, higher labor force participation rates...

  15. 7 CFR 4284.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ..., including farmers, ranchers, loggers, agricultural harvesters and fishermen, that engage in the production or harvesting of an agricultural product. Producers may or may not own the land or other production..., value of production, increased diversification of industry, higher labor force participation rates...

  16. Alternative Fuels Data Center

    Science.gov Websites

    independent agricultural producers enter into or expand value-added activities, including innovative uses of agricultural projects, such as biofuels production. Eligible applicants include independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, agricultural producer groups, and majority-controlled producer-based

  17. Predicting rainfall beyond tomorrow

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center issues climate precipitation forecasts that offer potential support for water resource managers and farmers and ranchers in New Mexico, but the forecasts are frequently misunderstood and not widely used in practical decision making. The objectives of this newsletter ...

  18. Where Do We Go from Here?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacLeish, William H.

    1990-01-01

    Explores environmental problem management alternatives cited as demonstrating the human potential for renewal and change. These alternatives include (1) management of wolf/rancher confrontations; (2) energy conservation; (3) agribusiness products and practices; (4) solar technology; and (5) air pollution control. (MCO)

  19. Invasive Plants on Rangelands: a Global Threat

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Invasive plant species are spreading and invading rangelands at an unprecedented rate costing ranchers billions of dollars to control invasive plants each year. In its simplest form, the invasion process has four primary stages, including introduction, establishment, spread and colonization. Th...

  20. 7 CFR 760.107 - Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Gender is not included as a covered group... and substantially participated in the operation of a farm or ranch. (c) If a legal entity requests to...

  1. 7 CFR 760.107 - Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Gender is not included as a covered group... and substantially participated in the operation of a farm or ranch. (c) If a legal entity requests to...

  2. 7 CFR 760.107 - Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Gender is not included as a covered group... and substantially participated in the operation of a farm or ranch. (c) If a legal entity requests to...

  3. 7 CFR 1468.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns, water quality protection or improvement; wetland restoration and protection; wildlife habitat... concerns for producers of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice, resulting in consolidation of payments that...

  4. 7 CFR 1468.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns, water quality protection or improvement; wetland restoration and protection; wildlife habitat... concerns for producers of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice, resulting in consolidation of payments that...

  5. 7 CFR 1468.1 - Purpose.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns, water quality protection or improvement; wetland restoration and protection; wildlife habitat... concerns for producers of wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice, resulting in consolidation of payments that...

  6. 7 CFR 3430.604 - Project types and priorities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... markets. (10) Conservation assistance. (11) Risk management education. (12) Diversification and marketing... and ranchers. (4) Innovative farm and ranch transfer strategies. (5) Entrepreneurship and business training. (6) Model land leasing contracts. (7) Financial management training. (8) Whole farm planning. (9...

  7. 7 CFR 3430.605 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 3430.605 Section 3430.605 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION... will not detract from the primary purpose of educating beginning farmers and ranchers as defined under...

  8. ACHP | Federal Programs that Can Support Heritage Tourism

    Science.gov Websites

    farmers and ranchers in exploring alternate economic enterprises, including heritage tourism.(http Rural Business Enterprise Grants, Rural Business Opportunity Grants, and Rural Economic Development /td/mdcp/) Public Works, Economic Adjustment, Planning, and Research and Technical Assistance Programs

  9. Flexible stocking strategies for adapting to climatic variability

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    As a result of precipitation-induced variability on forage production, ranchers have difficulty matching animal demand with forage availability in their operations. Flexible stocking strategies could more effectively use extra forage in highly productive years and limit risk of overgrazing during dr...

  10. 7 CFR 755.1 - Administration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Administration. 755.1 Section 755.1 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.1 Administration. (a) This part establishes the terms and conditions under...

  11. 7 CFR 755.1 - Administration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Administration. 755.1 Section 755.1 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.1 Administration. (a) This part establishes the terms and conditions under...

  12. Sustaining working rangelands: Insights from rancher decision making

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Grazed rangeland ecosystems encompass diverse global land resources, and are complex social-ecological systems from which society demands both goods (e.g., livestock and forage production) and services (e.g., abundant and high quality water). In the dialogue on rangeland conservation and sustainable...

  13. 7 CFR 4284.907 - Eligibility for grant assistance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 4284.907 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL BUSINESS..., Farmer or Rancher cooperatives and Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Business Ventures, are eligible for... producer group or a Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Business Venture must be entering into an Emerging...

  14. 75 FR 20977 - Departmental Management; Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-22

    ...; Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers AGENCY: USDA. ACTION: Notice: Request for Nominations. SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) establish the Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers (Committee) on... assistance to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, methods of maximizing participation of minority...

  15. 7 CFR 755.1 - Administration.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Administration. 755.1 Section 755.1 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FARM SERVICE AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.1 Administration. (a) This part establishes the terms and conditions under...

  16. 7 CFR 2500.106 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 2500.106 Section 2500.106 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH... Outreach and Assistance For Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program § 2500.106 Funding...

  17. 7 CFR 3430.605 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 3430.605 Section 3430.605 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND... ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.605 Funding restrictions. (a...

  18. 7 CFR 3430.605 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 3430.605 Section 3430.605 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND... ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.605 Funding restrictions. (a...

  19. 7 CFR 2500.106 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 2500.106 Section 2500.106 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH... Outreach and Assistance For Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program § 2500.106 Funding...

  20. 7 CFR 3430.605 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 3430.605 Section 3430.605 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND... ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.605 Funding restrictions. (a...

  1. 7 CFR 3430.605 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 3430.605 Section 3430.605 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND... ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.605 Funding restrictions. (a...

  2. 7 CFR 2500.106 - Funding restrictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Funding restrictions. 2500.106 Section 2500.106 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH... Outreach and Assistance For Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program § 2500.106 Funding...

  3. The role of bank credit for cattle raising in financing tropical deforestation: An economic case study from Panama

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

    Ledec, G.

    1992-01-01

    Panama's rapid deforestation for cattle pasture is causing serious environmental problems, as well as negative economic and social consequences. Bank credit encourages deforestation by making cattle pasture expansion more affordable, more profitable, or less risky. Two governmental banks in Panama supply most of the institutional credit provided to small- and medium-scale ranchers, through loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank. Panama's large-scale ranchers obtain credit mostly from private commercial banks at subsidized interest rates. This study estimates that at least 7-10 percent of Panama's annual deforestation is due to governmental bank cattle credit. Cattle credit is more importantmore » in the loss of remaining forest fragments in long-settled areas than in forest-to-pasture conversion in frontier areas. However, because of the high environmental value of these forest remnants, their credit-induced loss is a serious public policy problem. Other incentives for cattle pasture expansion include beef markets, securing land claims, land price speculation, tax advantages, and the prestige value of cattle ranching. With care, the findings from this study can be generalized to many other tropical Latin American countries. Options available for minimizing deforestation include prohibiting or reducing institutional credit to cattle ranchers, restricting cattle credit to areas where little or no potential exists for additional deforestation, and eliminating interest rate subsidies on cattle credit. Such credit policy reforms would also improve economic efficiency and income distribution. other policy variables also influence Panama's deforestation rate: road construction and improvement, establishment and enforcement of protected areas, land titling laws and procedures, taxes, commercial forestry policies, beef pricing and export policies, the siting of hydroelectric projects, and policies that promote alternative employment for forest settlers.« less

  4. 7 CFR 760.107 - Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or beginning farmer or rancher.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Gender is not included as a covered group... participated in the operation of a farm or ranch. (c) If a legal entity requests to be considered a “socially...

  5. Earth stewardship on rangelands: Coping with ecological, economic, and political marginality

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rangelands encompass 30-40 percent of Earth's land surface and support 1-2 billion people. Their predominant use is extensive livestock production by pastoralists and ranchers. But rangelands are characterized by ecological, economic, and political marginality, and higher-value, more intensive land ...

  6. 7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

  7. 7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

  8. 7 CFR 610.4 - Technical assistance furnished.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... districts and other organizations concerned with the conservation of soil, water, plant, and wildlife... and needs in order for districts to develop long-range soil and water conservation programs...) Farmers, ranchers, and other land users concerned with the conservation of land and water resources. (2...

  9. 7 CFR 755.7 - Transportation rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Transportation rates. 755.7 Section 755.7 Agriculture... SPECIAL PROGRAMS REIMBURSEMENT TRANSPORTATION COST PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.7 Transportation rates. (a) Payments may be based on fixed, set, or actual...

  10. 7 CFR 755.7 - Transportation rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Transportation rates. 755.7 Section 755.7 Agriculture... SPECIAL PROGRAMS REIMBURSEMENT TRANSPORTATION COST PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.7 Transportation rates. (a) Payments may be based on fixed, set, or actual...

  11. 7 CFR 755.7 - Transportation rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Transportation rates. 755.7 Section 755.7 Agriculture... SPECIAL PROGRAMS REIMBURSEMENT TRANSPORTATION COST PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.7 Transportation rates. (a) Payments may be based on fixed, set, or actual...

  12. 7 CFR 755.7 - Transportation rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Transportation rates. 755.7 Section 755.7 Agriculture... SPECIAL PROGRAMS REIMBURSEMENT TRANSPORTATION COST PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.7 Transportation rates. (a) Payments may be based on fixed, set, or actual...

  13. 7 CFR 3430.602 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.602 Definitions. The definitions applicable to the... 2002 Prices Paid by Farmer Index compiled and updated annually by the USDA National Agricultural... as determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), using the Census Poverty...

  14. Anatomy of an eradication effort: Removing Hawaii's illegally introduced axis deer

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hess, Steven C.; Muise, Jake; Schipper, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Soon after the rancher's report, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an investigation, which revealed that in December 2009, a helicopter pilot and rancher from Maui had covertly transported four deer in exchange for about a dozen European mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini musimon) (Tummons 2011a, b)--a species also valued for trophies and meat. Because neither species was established in the wild on either of the islands, in June 2012, state lawmakers responded by specifically banning "the international possession or interisland transportation or release of wild or feral deer" (Honolulu Star-Advertiser 2012). The two individuals were prosecuted under the Lacey Act for transporting wildlife between islands with the intent to guide hunting for out-of-state residents (Stephens Media 2012), while the individual who provided the mouflon was sentenced to community service. Further, the helicopter pilot agreed to provide 500 hours of flight time to locate and eradicate the Hawaii Island deer population in restitution.

  15. Larkspur poisoning of cattle: Current knowledge and research

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Larkspurs (Delphinium species) are native poisonous plants that negatively impact the earning potential of beef producers on many western rangelands. If ranchers are unfortunate enough to have large stands of toxic larkspur in their pastures, yearly herd mortality can be as high as 10%. This results...

  16. 75 FR 58281 - National Farm Safety and Health Week, 2010

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-23

    ... National Farm Safety and Health Week, 2010 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation... and Health Week, we recognize the tremendous contributions of these individuals and rededicate ourselves to ensuring their safety and health at all times. Our farmers, ranchers, farmworkers...

  17. Climate change, agriculture and water resources in the Southwestern United States

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In February 2014 the USDA established regional climate hubs across the United States to assist farmers, ranchers and foresters in adapting to the effects of climate change. The Southwest (SW) region encompasses six states which provide highly diverse agricultural crops including cotton, stone fruit ...

  18. Farm & Ranch Business Management. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steward, Jim; Jobes, Raleigh

    This practical guide for the agribusiness manager (the farmer, rancher, and other agribusiness people who work with agricultural commodities, supplies, and services) gives a basic understanding of modern management practices. It provides guidelines that can help them make practical business decisions. Chapter 1 is an introduction that highlights…

  19. Generation of ecosystem hotspots using short-term cattle corrals in an African savanna

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Many rangelands are now being managed for multiple uses, and it is increasingly important to identify livestock management practices that maximize long-term productivity, biodiversity and wildlife conservation. In sub-Saharan Africa, pastoralists and ranchers use temporary thorn-fence corrals (“boma...

  20. Climate programs update: USDA Southwest Regional Climate Hub update

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    PROGRAM OVERVIEW: The overarching goal of the USDA SW Climate Hub is to assist farmers, ranchers and foresters in addressing the effects of climate change including prolonged drought, increased insect outbreaks and severe wildfires. In the first year of operations, the SW Climate Hub (est. Februa...

  1. Serum toxicokinetics after intravenous and oral dosing of larkspur toxins in goats

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Poisoning of cattle by larkspur plants (Delphinium spp.) is a concern for cattle ranchers in western North America. Previous research studies have evaluated the toxicokinetic profile of multiple larkspur toxins in several livestock species. However, those studies were all performed by orally dosing ...

  2. 76 FR 78882 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-20

    ... the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have... assistance to under served producers, farmers, ranchers and women, limited resource, socially disadvantaged... and narrative, a statement of work, a budget narrative and OMB grant forms. RMA and a review panel...

  3. Supporting tribal agriculture and natural resources in a changing climate working group

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hubs were created in 2014 to deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies to enable climate-informed decision-making. Our stakeholders include agricultural and natural resource managers (i.e. farmers, ranchers, forest land mana...

  4. 12 CFR 613.3020 - Financing for farm-related service businesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...-related services to farmers and ranchers that are directly related to their agricultural production is... furnishing farm-related services that are directly related to the agricultural production of farmers and...) from furnishing farm-related services that are directly related to the agricultural production of...

  5. 7 CFR 3430.602 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...-GENERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program § 3430.602... year, based on the October 2002 Prices Paid by Farmer Index compiled and updated annually by the USDA... the previous 2 years as determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), using...

  6. Cover Crop Chart: An Outreach Tool for Agricultural Producers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Interest in cover crops by farmers and ranchers throughout the Northern Great Plains has increased the need for information on the suitability of a diverse portfolio of crops for different production and management resource goals. To help address this need, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory...

  7. The effect of western juniper on the estrous cycle in beef cattle

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Numerous evergreen trees and shrubs contain labdane acids, including isocupressic acid, which can cause late-term abortions in cattle. Recent research has shown that the bark from western juniper trees can also cause late-term abortions in cattle. Additionally, ranchers have observed that cattle in ...

  8. Ranching sustainability analysis

    Treesearch

    Royce Larsen; William Tietje; Karl Striby

    2015-01-01

    California oak woodland creates a landscape of renowned beauty, providing the public with essential natural resource services and economic values through ranching. Ranchers however, come under intense pressure and scrutiny from the public to demonstrate stewardship of the land they manage. The solution often chosen to address these concerns is, simply, more regulations...

  9. Evaluating Perspectives on Westward Expansion: Weighing the Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenhut, Stephanie

    2011-01-01

    When Americans from the eastern part of the United States began moving west in large numbers in the mid-nineteenth century, tensions escalated and conflicts erupted between and among settlers, railroad workers, ranchers, the United States military, and numerous Native American tribes. Incorporating balanced consideration of these diverse and…

  10. Farmer Brown v. Rancher Wyatt: Teaching the Coase Theorem

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gourley, Patrick

    2018-01-01

    The Coase Theorem is a fundamental tenet of environmental economics and is taught to thousands of principles of microeconomics students each year. Its counterintuitive conclusion, that a Pareto optimal solution can result between private parties regardless of the initial allocation of property rights over a scarce resource, is difficult for…

  11. SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM DESIGN FOR A REMOTE COMMUNITY IN PANAMA

    EPA Science Inventory

    Santo Domingo, Panama, is a rural town of 100, located in the Colon province within Chagres National Park. The town’s inhabitants are small-scale farmers and ranchers. The town is only accessible via rugged roads and has neither electric nor phone lines. Since the town i...

  12. A Working Ranch with an Effective Medusahead Management Program

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Since 2005, rancher Ben McGough, owner of the Circle Bar Ranch in Mitchell, Oregon, has been working with USDA-ARS rangeland ecologist Roger Sheley to implement EBIPM on the ranch. More than 600 acres were infested with medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) when they began working together. We de...

  13. Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up

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

    K.C. Cole

    2009-10-14

    Cole discusses the extraordinary life of her late mentor, Frank Oppenheimer (1912-1985), physicist, cattle rancher, teacher and founder of the Exploratorium, a hands-on museum of science, art and human perception in San Francisco. He was the younger brother of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

  14. Larkspur - Poison Weed (100 Years of Delphinium Research)

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are found in the foothill and mountain rangelands of the western United States. Losses to ranchers from larkspurs range from 2 to 5 percent and as high as 15% in places with large stands of toxic larkspur. There are three basic categories of larkspur, plains, low, and t...

  15. SRAC

    Science.gov Websites

    University Aquaculture Louisiana Alligator Farmers and Ranchers Association 1105 W Port Abbeville, LA 70510 P.O. Box 16008 Baton Rouge, LA 70893 Phone: 504-388-2152 Fax: 504-388-2478 Email: glutz@agctr.lsu.edu Louisiana Catfish Farmers Association 8506 Highway 17 Winnsboro, LA 71295 Phone: 318-435-7551 Email: cbreden

  16. Adapting to Mother Nature's changing climatic conditions: Flexible stocking for enhancing profitability of Wyoming ranchers

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranching is a dynamic business in which profitability is impacted by changing weather and climatic conditions. A ranch-level model using a representative ranch in southeastern Wyoming was used to compare economic outcomes from growing season precipitation scenarios of: 1) historical precipitation da...

  17. Tools for adaptation and mitigation of climate change on southwestern working-lands

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In February 2014, the USDA established 7 Hubs and 3 Sub Hubs across the nation to assist farmers, ranchers and foresters in adapting to the effects of climate change. Specific vulnerabilities related to projected climatic changes in the Southwest (SW) include water scarcity, the effects of elevated ...

  18. Ranch business planning and resource monitoring for rangeland sustainability

    Treesearch

    Kristie A. Maczko; John A. Tanaka; Michael Smith; Cindy Garretson-Weibel; Stanley F. Hamilton; John E. Mitchell; Gene Fults; Charles Stanley; Dick Loper; Larry D. Bryant; J. K. (Rooter) Brite

    2012-01-01

    Aligning a rancher's business plan goals with the capability of the ranch's rangeland resources improves the viability and sustainability of family ranches. Strategically monitoring the condition of soil, water, vegetation, wildlife, livestock production, and economics helps inform business plan goals. Business planning and resource monitoring help keep...

  19. Impacts of a human disturbance on greater prairie chickens: Insights from a spatial IBM

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Flint Hills of Kansas are home to the largest remaining tallgrass prairie ecosystem in North America. The Flint Hills are currently managed under an early season burn-intensive stocking regime, whereby ranchers will ignite the majority of pasture land each year to increase r...

  20. Working landscapes: the future of land use policy?

    Treesearch

    Marc Miller; Thomas E. Sheridan; Susan Charnley; Christy Plumer; Jim Lyons; Tom Martin

    2015-01-01

    The history of land use in the American West has traditionally been one of conflict, but the divisive relationships between ranchers, foresters, land management agencies, recreational users, and conservationists are transforming. Grassroots coalitions have developed among unlikely allies. Together, they are advocating for management approaches that incorporate local...

  1. Building Dreams on the High Ground.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benton, Sherrole; Ambler, Marjane

    1995-01-01

    Discusses the negative effects on Native American agriculture in the Upper Missouri River Valley from such federal projects as the Garrison Dam. Describes the Assistance, Counseling, and Training Project and cattle relending program at Fort Berthold Community College, indicating that they provide ranchers with a fully-funded education and help…

  2. Seasonal weather-related decision making for cattle production in the Northern Great Plains

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    High inter-annual variability of seasonal weather patterns can greatly affect forage and therefore livestock production in the Northern Great Plains. This variability can make it difficult for ranchers to set yearly stocking rates, particularly in advance of the grazing season. To better understand ...

  3. Ground-based photographic monitoring.

    Treesearch

    Frederick C. Hall

    2001-01-01

    Land management professionals (foresters, wildlife biologists, range managers, and land managers such as ranchers and forest land owners) often have need to evaluate their management activities. Photographic monitoring is a fast, simple, and effective way to determine if changes made to an area have been successful. Ground-based photo monitoring means using photographs...

  4. 77 FR 75105 - Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers; Intent To Renew and Request for Nominations

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-19

    ..., policies, and programs that will enhance opportunities and create new farming and ranching operations. The... farming producers (industry), related government, State, and Tribal agricultural agencies, academic... 1041-001. Equal opportunity practices, in line with the USDA policies, will be followed in all...

  5. 78 FR 49444 - Council for Native American Farming and Ranching

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-14

    ... American Farming and Ranching AGENCY: Office of Tribal Relations, USDA. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a forthcoming meeting of The Council for Native American Farming and... American farmers and ranchers; (3) to examine methods of maximizing the number of new farming and ranching...

  6. 7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

  7. 7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

  8. 7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

  9. 7 CFR 755.10 - Death, incompetence, or disappearance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Death, incompetence, or disappearance. 755.10 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.10 Death, incompetence, or disappearance. (a) In the case of the death, incompetency, or disappearance of a person or the dissolution of an entity that is...

  10. 7 CFR 755.6 - Availability of funds.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Availability of funds. 755.6 Section 755.6 Agriculture... FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.6 Availability of funds. (a) Payments under this part are subject to the availability of funds. (b) A reserve will be created to handle appeals and errors. ...

  11. The future of arid grasslands: identifying issues, seeking solutions

    Treesearch

    Barbara Tallman; Deborah M. Finch; Carl Edminster; Robert Hamre

    1998-01-01

    This conference was designed to provide a non-confrontational setting for a variety of people from differing viewpoints to discuss the threats facing arid grasslands of the Southwest. Participants included ranchers and other private economists, scientists, and students. The sessions were organized around the major themes of understanding grasslands, identifying...

  12. Engaging the Wild: Community Building in the Context of Living Places.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    House, Freeman

    1999-01-01

    Timber operators, ranchers, corporate timberland owners, environmentalists, state government, and local schools in rural northern California formed an alliance to save the local salmon from extinction. The community's struggle toward consensus was an attempt to abandon the polarization that arises from power struggles. Local nonprofessionals were…

  13. Chapter 8: Uncertainty assessment for quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks

    Treesearch

    Jay Breidt; Stephen M. Ogle; Wendy Powers; Coeli Hoover

    2014-01-01

    Quantifying the uncertainty of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reductions from agriculture and forestry practices is an important aspect of decision�]making for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners as the uncertainty range for each GHG estimate communicates our level of confidence that the estimate reflects the actual balance of GHG exchange between...

  14. Anticipating future landscape conditions: A case study

    Treesearch

    Bill McDonald

    2000-01-01

    Anticipating landscape conditions in the 21st century is a difficult, if not impossible task. Different people have different perceptions of what future landscapes should look like. One group of people, a group of ranchers in the Malpai Borderland Region of the southwestern United States, have come together to work with government agencies, universities, and...

  15. Spring precipitation as a predictor for peak standing crop of mixed-grass prairie

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranchers and range managers in the West are at the mercy of climatic conditions that determine the amount of annual forge available on rangeland. Typically, stocking or de-stocking decisions need to be made before the final annual forage production level is known. Since erroneous stocking rate decis...

  16. 12 CFR 614.4165 - Young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... association in writing. (e) YBS program and the operational and strategic business plan. Targets and goals...'s operational and strategic business plan for at least the succeeding 3 years (as set forth in § 618... performance results, and YBS quarterly reporting to the association's board of directors. [69 FR 16470, Mar...

  17. Department of Agriculture Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-20

    ... Import Restrictions on Certain 0579-AC74 Live Fish 189 Scrapie in Sheep and Goats 0579-AC92 190 Plant..., Farming Experience as an Eligibility Requirement; 5201, Eligibility of Equine Farmers and Ranchers for... Phone: 301 734-8695 RIN: 0579-AC74 189. SCRAPIE IN SHEEP AND GOATS Legal Authority: 7 USC 8301 to 8317...

  18. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus crossbred steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranchers that raise Raramuri Criollo (RC) cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Growing and finishing RC or RC-crossbred steers on rangeland pastures is increasingly common; however, no data exist on their weight gains or grazing behavior. We tracked the weight a...

  19. An economic analysis of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) control

    Treesearch

    Alan R. Collins; John P. Workman; Daniel W. Uresk

    1984-01-01

    Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) control by poisoning with zinc phosphide was not economically feasible in the Conata Basin of South Dakota. Economic analyses were conducted from U.S. Forest Service and rancher viewpoints. Control programs were analyzed with annual maintenance or complete retreatment of initially treated areas to...

  20. 76 FR 45221 - Office of Advocacy and Outreach; Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers; Notice of Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-28

    ... Outreach; Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Office of Advocacy and Outreach... amended, the OAO announces a public meeting of the Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers (Committee) to... minority farmers and ranchers in Department of Agriculture programs; and (3) civil rights activities within...

  1. 76 FR 72605 - National Farm-City Week, 2011

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-23

    ... National Farm-City Week, 2011 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation With tenacity... National Farm-City Week, we celebrate the essential contributions of farmers and ranchers to our country's... November 18 through November 24, 2011, as National Farm-City Week. I call upon all Americans to reflect on...

  2. Chapter 3. Malpai Borderlands prehistory

    Treesearch

    Paul R. Fish; Suzanne K. Fish

    2006-01-01

    Systematic archaeology in the Malpai Borderlands begins with D. D. Gaillard's (1896) map of the elevated Cloverdale Playa beachline in the San Luis Valley. During his involvement with the U.S.-Mexico International Border Survey, Gailard was drawn to this feature by local ranchers' reports of a massive Native American dam. Familiar with the scale of...

  3. Public land grazing for private land conservation?

    Treesearch

    Adriana Sulak; Lynn Huntsinger; Sheila Barry; Larry Forero

    2008-01-01

    California ranchers with substantial private oak woodlands sometimes use public lands as an important component of their production cycle. Yet allowed public grazing has declined and is likely to continue to decline. This, combined with intensifying development pressure and land use change, dramatically affects the resource base for ranch operations, which in turn...

  4. An Analysis of the Motivations of Oregon's Ranchers to Diversify into Agritourism

    Treesearch

    Fernanda de Vasconcellos Pêgas; Joanne F. Tynon

    2004-01-01

    Cattle ranches are unique American cultural icons. Unfortunately, ranching is also associated by some with the exploitation of natural resources and labeled an environmentally destructive activity motivated by greedy and neglectful livestock operators (Jacobs, 1991; Wuerthner, 1990). Some believe that livestock ranching is a major contributor to unsustainable land use...

  5. The Role of Credit in Native Adaptation to the Great Basin Ranching Economy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knack, Martha C.

    1987-01-01

    Examines Nevada rancher's account books to explain details of relationship between Great Basin Indian laborers and White employers during the late 19th century. Describes Indians' work, pay rates, purchases, seasonal food availability, and credit arrangements. Examines Indians' social, economic lives and their incorporation into debt/wage system.…

  6. 7 CFR 755.9 - Misrepresentation and scheme or device.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Misrepresentation and scheme or device. 755.9 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.9 Misrepresentation and scheme or device. (a) In addition... payments under this part if the producer is determined by FSA to have: (1) Adopted any scheme or device...

  7. 7 CFR 755.9 - Misrepresentation and scheme or device.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Misrepresentation and scheme or device. 755.9 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.9 Misrepresentation and scheme or device. (a) In addition... payments under this part if the producer is determined by FSA to have: (1) Adopted any scheme or device...

  8. 7 CFR 755.9 - Misrepresentation and scheme or device.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Misrepresentation and scheme or device. 755.9 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.9 Misrepresentation and scheme or device. (a) In addition... payments under this part if the producer is determined by FSA to have: (1) Adopted any scheme or device...

  9. 7 CFR 755.9 - Misrepresentation and scheme or device.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Misrepresentation and scheme or device. 755.9 Section... GEOGRAPHICALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS § 755.9 Misrepresentation and scheme or device. (a) In addition... payments under this part if the producer is determined by FSA to have: (1) Adopted any scheme or device...

  10. Public Policy and the Next Generation of Farmers, Ranchers, Producers, and Agribusiness Leaders.

    PubMed

    Gasperini, Frank A

    2017-01-01

    The emerging, next generation of people engaged as managers in agriculture differs from the "baby boomer" farm generation that relishes certain traditions and an agrarian lifestyle. These futuristic producers and managers have been raised in a society that promulgates safety environment rules. They have witnessed lives saved by automobile seatbelts and lives improved from clean air and water. They know the basic cost of effective safety compliance is relatively fixed, regardless of the number of employees, and they are willing to invest resources that ensure a culture of safety, because it is economically beneficial, socially responsible, and probably required by the companies to whom they need to market their products. These same millennials understand that society and their customers will not continue to tolerate the high rate of agricultural injuries and deaths indefinitely. Public policy as a means to improve agricultural workers' safety and health is likely to be less resisted by the next generation of farmers, ranchers, producers, and agribusiness leaders who, regardless of legal or regulatory pressure, will implement internal business policies emphasizing safety, health, sustainability, and social justness as they understand it.

  11. Short Communication Quick method for identifying horse (Equus caballus) and donkey (Equus asinus) hybrids.

    PubMed

    Franco, M M; Santos, J B F; Mendonça, A S; Silva, T C F; Antunes, R C; Melo, E O

    2016-09-23

    The domestication of the Equus genus 5000-6000 years ago has influenced the history of human civilization. As soon as horse and donkey species had been domesticated, they were crossbred, producing humanity's first documented attempt at animal genome manipulation. Since then, the mule (male donkey x female horse) and the reciprocal cross (the hinny, male horse x female donkey) have been the most common equine hybrids in the world. Due to their hybrid vigor, mules and hinnies have been intensively used for carrying loads and people and for tilling the land. Despite their importance, visual distinction of mules and hinnies is difficult due to high phenotypic resemblance. However, the distinction between these two hybrids is of pivotal importance for equid breeders and ranchers. In this study, an easy, low-cost, effective, and fast multiplex-polymerase chain reaction method was developed to distinguish the maternal origin of mules and hinnies, targeting the hyper-variable mitochondrial DNA D-loop region. This methodology can help breeders, ranchers, animal science professionals, and researchers manage their equine herds with more confidence and precision.

  12. How William F. Cody Helped Save the Buffalo without Really Trying

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nesheim, David

    2007-01-01

    Most historians have focused their attention on two elements about the restoration of the American bison: western ranchers who started the earliest private herds and eastern conservationists who raised funds and lobbied for the creation of the first national preserves. However, no one was a more effective popularizer than William F. Cody, despite…

  13. Traditional ranching heritage and cultural continuity in the southwestern United States

    Treesearch

    Carol Raish; Alice M. McSweeney

    2008-01-01

    This study, conducted among ranchers on the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests in the Southwestern United States, examines the role of ranching in maintaining traditional heritage and cultural continuity. The mainly Hispanic ranching families of northern New Mexico first came into the region in 1598 with Spanish colonization. Many of the villages received community...

  14. Sustaining flows of critical resources: One example (Abstract)

    Treesearch

    Jim Renthal

    2000-01-01

    Growth of communities throughout the west accelerates into the 21st century, resources that were once unseen and unused, except, perhaps, by ranchers, are in increasing demand. This trend is particularly apparent on the Public Land. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for sustaining the availability, the flow, of many natural resources from substantive...

  15. Extending the Security Net: The Impact of Rangeland Insurance on Ranching Economy and Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowley, Rex J.

    2008-01-01

    Crop insurance is a relatively recent invention that attempts to level the playing field in our contest with the environment. It well represents the complexity and interaction within the human-land relationship. Ranching is another symbol of this relationship. The word stewardship captures a rancher's connection to the land. It denotes a respect…

  16. Rooted in the Soil: How Understanding the Perspectives of Landowners Can Enhance the Management of Environmental Disputes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Tarla Rai; Horton, Cristi Choat

    1995-01-01

    Uses mythic criticism to examine missed opportunities for identifying with landowners in ways that would enhance the constructive management of environmental disputes. Offers an alternative mythic understanding of the American West drawn from discourse with Texas ranchers. Argues for the inclusion of communities that are directly influenced, yet…

  17. The USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub: Regional agricultural management in the context of weather and climate variability and change

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In the Southern Great Plains of the United States, extremes of weather and climate are the norm. Farmers, ranchers, and foresters rely upon timely and authoritative data and information when making management decisions that are weather- and climate-dependent. In response to the needs of these agricu...

  18. Engaging ranchers in market-based approaches to climate change mitigation: opportunities, challenges, and policy implications

    Treesearch

    Hannah Gosnell; Nicole Robinson-Maness; Susan Charnley

    2011-01-01

    Unsustainable rangeland management and land conversion are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming; however, rangelands also can be managed to mitigate climate change by enhancing carbon uptake through increased plant production and biological sequestration. According to a 2000 USFS General Technical Report, there are opportunities to make...

  19. Impacts of climate change on Southwestern working lands and water resources: a report from the inaugural year of the USDA Southwest climate hub

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In February 2014 the USDA established seven regional climate hubs to assist farmers, ranchers and foresters in adapting to the effects of climate change. The SW region encompasses six states (including Hawaii) and provides highly diverse agricultural crops including cotton, stone fruit and grapes. ...

  20. Ensuring coordination and collaboration across climate science entities: toward effective stakeholder engagement for science-informed decisions

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    As one of the newest federal programs to emerge in response to climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hubs were established to assist farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in their adaptation and mitigation efforts under a changing climate. The Hubs’ mission is to delive...

  1. Fiscal Year 2003 Appendix, Budget of the United States of America

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-01-01

    the specifica- tions shall include requirements for— (I) a fountain; (II) extensive use of trees and flowering plants from each of the 50 States; (III...Estimates Reports issued ...................................................................................... 12 12 12 Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin...disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The USDA will provide outreach, training, and technical assistance on sound farm management and production, crop

  2. Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures. Teaching with Historic Places.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sperling, Carol E.

    Castolon, a small trading and farming community in far southwest Texas has a history that includes harmonious mixing of the people along the United States-Mexico border. The first inhabitants were American Indians who hunted and farmed. By 1900, the area began to attract U.S. and Mexican farmers and ranchers interested in establishing homesteads.…

  3. Weight gain and behavior of Raramuri Criollo versus Corriente steers developed on Chihuahuan Desert rangeland

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranchers that raise Criollo cattle must overcome the challenge of lack of markets for weaned calves. Raramuri Criollo (RC) steers are commonly raised for beef and finished on rangelands, while Corriente (CR) are often raised for rodeo sports. No data exist on weight gains and grazing behavior of ran...

  4. Mexico’s ’Narco-Refugees’: The Looming Challenge for U.S. National Security

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-10-01

    States.14 The location curse supports a common Mexican saying: “Pobre Mexico. Tan lejos de Dios; tan cerca de los Estados Unidos” (“Poor Mexico. So...in various cities in Guerrero and Morelos challenging the cartels; a rancher in Guerrero formed a group called the Army that Liberates the People

  5. Using a model and forecasted weather to predict forage and livestock production for making stocking decisions in the coming growing season

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Forecasting peak standing crop (PSC) for the coming grazing season can help ranchers make appropriate stocking decisions to reduce enterprise risks. Previously developed PSC predictors were based on short-term experimental data (<15 yr) and limited stocking rates (SR) without including the effect of...

  6. Nez Perce Tribe Welcomes Wolves Back to Idaho.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grossman, Elizabeth

    2002-01-01

    The Nez Perce Tribe is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce the gray wolf to central Idaho. The tribe does all the fieldwork with the wolves and shares their work with the public at the Wolf Education and Research Center, Winchester, Idaho. Despite opposition from ranchers and legislators, the wolf population is…

  7. Community based monitoring: engaging and empowering Alberta ranchers

    Treesearch

    Michael S. Quinn; Jennifer E. Dubois

    2005-01-01

    Community based monitoring (CBM), a form of citizen science, is presented as a potential contributor to ecosystem management and sustainable development. A conceptual model for CBM and lessons learned from a Canadian national pilot program, the Canadian Community Monitoring Network, are summarized along with a description of the European university-based “science shop...

  8. Why Is Diversification an Attractive Farm Adjustment Strategy? Insights from Texas Farmers and Ranchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barbieri, Carla; Mahoney, Edward

    2009-01-01

    State agencies have been encouraging the development of different enterprises to diversify farm incomes in an effort to retain farmers in business, attract new entrants to agriculture and promote regional development. Entrepreneurship and farming are known to be driven by a complex set of goals including those which are economic and intrinsic in…

  9. Mineral resource potential map of the Vermilion Cliffs-Paria Canyon instant study area, Coconino County, Arizona, and Kane County, Utah

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bush, Alfred L.; Lane, Michael

    1982-01-01

    Water is perhaps the most significant resource needed in the study area. A number of perennial springs support the few local ranchers and tourist facilities. Some ground water would be available below the plateau, but drilling depths would be more than 2,000 ft (600-700 m).

  10. Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire. Teaching with Documents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

    Life in the western United States was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool that helped ranchers tame the land: barbed wire. Nine patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office to U.S. inventors beginning with Michael Kelly in 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in 1874. Vast and undefined prairies and…

  11. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013

    THOMAS, 113th Congress

    Rep. Walz, Timothy J. [D-MN-1

    2013-04-25

    House - 04/25/2013 Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  12. Informing rangeland stewardship with research: lessons learned from Yolo County, California

    Treesearch

    Vance Russell; Chris Rose; Miles DaPrato

    2008-01-01

    Approximately 70 percent of the contiguous United States is in private lands with half of this total in row crop or rangelands. Audubon California’s Landowner Stewardship Program engages with farmers and ranchers on conservation and restoration projects in a manner compatible with existing agricultural operations. To assess the success of these efforts, Audubon,...

  13. The Politics and Science of Tamarisk

    Treesearch

    Philip Westra

    2006-01-01

    Tamarisk is a woody invasive weed of riparian areas which has galvanized an amazing array of scientists, politicians, ranchers, farmers, tribal people, and many other interested parties because of its devastating impacts on natural ecosystems and valuable water ways in the west. Rarely has a single plant become such a catalyst for so many people to use as a “poster...

  14. Geohydrology of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, South Dakota

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Howells, Lewis W.

    1979-01-01

    The cooperation and courtesy extended by many farmers, ranchers, and residents of the area contributed greatly to the success of the study.  Special thanks are due to Mr. John Wall, U.S. Public Health Service, Eagle Butte, and to the personnel of the Land Operations and Conservation Unites of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Eagle Butte.

  15. Through Our Eyes: Narratives of Three Student Volunteers at Aaniiih Nakoda College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patrick Wertz, Kerri

    2016-01-01

    Many adults pursue college degrees with high hopes of attaining a job and financial stability. However, visualize being not only a full-time college student but also a parent, a rancher, and most importantly, an American Indian. Many students enrolled in higher education in the United States have the luxury of focusing their time on their studies,…

  16. USDA Northern Plains Regional Climate Hub assessment of climate change variability and adaptation and mitigation strategies

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Ranchers, farmers and forest land owners in the Northern Plains have experienced warmer temperatures (1 to 1.5 degrees F), longer growing seasons (about a week and a half) and generally more precipitation (5 to >15% increases over the eastern 2/3 of this region) over the past twenty years compared t...

  17. The Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program: Education and Research as a Conservation Strategy

    Treesearch

    Richard B. Standiford; James W. Bartolome

    1997-01-01

    California’s hardwood rangelands cover 10 million acres, providing wildlife habitat, esthetics, recreation, and watershed protection. About 85 percent of the area is privately owned, and private ranchers supply most of these open space values. The important public values from these privately-owned wildlands has created pressure for the state to regulate oak harvest and...

  18. Private-public collaboration to reintroduce fire into the changing ecosystems of the Southwestern Borderlands region

    Treesearch

    Gerald J. Gottfried; Larry S. Allen; Peter L. Warren; Bill McDonald; Ronald J. Bemis; Carleton B. Edminster

    2009-01-01

    Fires caused by lightning or Native Americans were the major ecological factor in the borderlands region of Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico prior to European settlement. Historical overgrazing and aggressive fire suppression have led to the encroachment of woody vegetation and accumulations of woody fuels in these grasslands. Ranchers associated with the Malpai...

  19. Rangeland ecosystem goods and services: Values and evaluation of opportunities for ranchers and land managers

    Treesearch

    Kristie Maczko; John A. Tanaka; Robert Breckenridge; Lori Hidinger; H. Theodore Heintz; William E. Fox; Urs P. Kreuter; Clifford S. Duke; John E. Mitchell; Daniel W. McCollum

    2011-01-01

    Although the US Department of Agriculture's 2005 public commitment to use market-based incentives for environmental stewardship and cooperative conservation focused land managers' attention on the concept of ecosystem goods and services (EGS), this was not a new idea. Much earlier in the 20th century, Aldo Leopold embraced the value of open space, calling for...

  20. Farmers, Ranchers, and the Railroad: The Evolution of Fence Law in the Great Plains, 1865-1900

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kawashima, Yasuhide

    2010-01-01

    This article is divided into three parts. The first examines specific fencing policies in Kansas, Nebraska, and other Plains states, highlighting the transformation from the "fence-out" to "fence-in" (herd laws) policies. The second part discusses the coming of the railroads to the Great Plains and the farmers and the ranchers…

  1. Engaging western landowners in climate change mitigation: a guide to carbon-oriented forest and range management and carbon market opportunities

    Treesearch

    David D. Diaz; Susan Charnley; Hannah Gosnell

    2009-01-01

    There are opportunities for forest owners and ranchers to participate in emerging carbon markets and contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon oriented forest and range management activities. These activities often promote sutainable forestry and ranching and broader conservation goals while having the potential to provide a new income stream for...

  2. Economics of transitioning from a cow-calf-yearling operation to a stocker operation as a potential strategy to address brucellosis risk in northwestern Wyoming

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An alternative enterprise for cattle ranchers that produce cows and calves is the production of stocker cattle. While stocker only operations have generally found to be less profitable than cow-calf or cow-calf-yearling operations, potential reasons for switching to stockers from having cows could i...

  3. Chief Joseph: The Story of an American Indian.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, R. P.

    Written for children in grades 5-9, this biography of the Nez Perce leader, Chief Joseph, describes the conflict between the Nez Perce American Indian tribe and the United States government, known as the Nez Perce War of 1877. Describing the 1,700 mile retreat of those Nez Perce who refused to surrender their lands to white settlers, ranchers, and…

  4. BeefTracker: Spatial Tracking and Geodatabase for Beef Herd Sustainability and Lifecycle Analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oltjen, J. W.; Stackhouse, J.; Forero, L.; Stackhouse-Lawson, K.

    2015-12-01

    We have developed a web-based mapping platform named "BeefTracker" to provide beef cattle ranchers a tool to determine how cattle production fits within sustainable ecosystems and to provide regional data to update beef sustainability lifecycle analysis. After initial identification and mapping of pastures, herd data (class and number of animals) are input on a mobile device in the field with a graphical pasture interface, stored in the cloud, and linked via the web to a personal computer for inventory tracking and analysis. Pasture use calculated on an animal basis provides quantifiable data regarding carrying capacity and subsequent beef production to provide more accurate data inputs for beef sustainability lifecycle analysis. After initial testing by university range scientists and ranchers we have enhanced the BeefTracker application to work when cell service is unavailable and to improve automation for increased ease of use. Thus far experiences with BeefTracker have been largely positive, due to livestock producers' perception of the need for this type of software application and its intuitive interface. We are now in the process of education to increase its use throughout the U.S.

  5. Wilderness and woodland ranchers in California: A total income case study of public grazing permits and their impacts on conservation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oviedo Pro, J. L.; Huntsinger, L.; Campos, P.; Caparros, A.

    2009-04-01

    Mediterranean woodlands in California are managed as agro-silvo-pastoral systems producing a number of commercial products as well as a huge variety of environmental services, including private amenities for the landowner. In many parts of the woodlands, grazing on government owned (public) lands has traditionally had an important role in private ranching. In recent decades the risk of conversion to alternative uses (such as urban development or vineyards) has threatened these woodlands due to the increasing opportunity costs of capital. Understanding the economy of these woodlands and the potential effects of public grazing policies on the total income perceived by the landowner is crucial when considering strategies attempting to slow or stop land use change. However, traditional cash-flow analyses are lacking crucial information needed to understand all the elements that have an important role in the economic decisions that landowners make about their woodlands. For more than half a century, the use of public lands by private ranchers has been one of the most controversial debates in the American west. Wilderness conservationist groups have denounced grazing as destructive and argue for the removal of any kind of livestock. Ranchers have fought for their right to hold public grazing leases, arguing that they are crucial for the continuity of private ranching and consequently for the conservation of extensive rangeland habitat that otherwise could be converted to alternative uses. In this study, we apply the Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) methodology to a California oak woodland case study to estimate the total private income generated in an accounting period. The presented case study is characterized by a household economy with self-employed labour and with part of the grazing dependent on public land leases. The AAS methodology extends traditional cash-flow analysis in order to estimate the total private income that would accurately explain the woodland mixed economy where household rationality, market, property rights, and lifestyle and amenity values shape woodland management. We present the results of the assessment of total private income, and its allocation among the different production factors in the current situation and in an alternative scenario where public grazing leases are removed and the landowners have to decide what to do with the size of the herd. We discuss the potential effects that this policy would have on the total income perceived by the landowner and on woodland management. The implications in terms of the conservation and continuity of these extensive Mediterranean rangelands are important since ranchers might give up their ranching activities, due to the reduction in their total income, and sell their properties for alternative uses. Lifestyle and amenity values, however, seem to have an important off-set role in the conversion of these woodlands and we recommend their quantification and inclusion in woodland economic analysis.

  6. Social, cultural, and economic aspects of livestock ranching on the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests

    Treesearch

    Alice M. McSweeney; Carol Raish

    2012-01-01

    We examined the cultural, social, and economic aspects of livestock operations of ranchers who have Federal grazing permits (called permittees) on the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests of northern New Mexico. This study was an expansion of the 2003 pilot study and was designed to provide much-needed information concerning the culture and economic practices of the...

  7. Resistance and Common Ground as Functions of Mis/Aligned Attitudes: A Filter-Theory Analysis of Ranchers' Writings about the Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walsh, Lynda

    2013-01-01

    Writing scholars interested in stakeholder attitudes need ways to reconstruct them from archives because (a) interview/survey studies are not always feasible (particularly in historical work) and (b) the question/answer format of these studies may exclude key attitudes that emerge in unprompted expressions of opinion. Accordingly, this article…

  8. Information Technology for Agricultural America. Prepared for the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research and Foreign Agriculture, 97th Congress, 2d Session. Committee Print.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Congressional Research Service.

    This summary of the combined Hearing and Workshop on Applications of Computer-Based Information Systems and Services in Agriculture (May 19-20, 1982) offers an overview of the ways in which information technology--computers, telecommunications, microforms, word processing, video and audio devices--may be utilized by American farmers and ranchers.…

  9. Tailoring Earth Observation To Ranchers For Improved Land Management And Profitability: The VegMachine Online Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scarth, P.; Trevithick, B.; Beutel, T.

    2016-12-01

    VegMachine Online is a freely available browser application that allows ranchers across Australia to view and interact with satellite derived ground cover state and change maps on their property and extract this information in a graphical format using interactive tools. It supports the delivery and communication of a massive earth observation data set in an accessible, producer friendly way . Around 250,000 Landsat TM, ETM and OLI images were acquired across Australia, converted to terrain corrected surface reflectance and masked for cloud, cloud shadow, terrain shadow and water. More than 2500 field sites across the Australian rangelands were used to derive endmembers used in a constrained unmixing approach to estimate the per-pixel proportion of bare, green and non-green vegetation for all images. A seasonal metoid compositing method was used to produce national fractional cover virtual mosaics for each three month period since 1988. The time series of green fraction is used to estimate the persistent green due to tree and shrub canopies, and this estimate is used to correct the fractional cover to ground cover for our mixed tree-grass rangeland systems. Finally, deciles are produced for key metrics every season to track a pixels relativity to the entire time series. These data are delivered through time series enabled web mapping services and customised web processing services that enable the full time series over any spatial extent to be interrogated in seconds via a RESTful interface. These services interface with a front end browser application that provides product visualization for any date in the time series, tools to draw or import polygon boundaries, plot time series ground cover comparisons, look at the effect of historical rainfall and tools to run the revised universal soil loss equation in web time to assess the effect of proposed changes in cover retention. VegMachine Online is already being used by ranchers monitoring paddock condition, organisations supporting land management initiatives in Great Barrier Reef catchments, by students developing tools to understand land condition and degradation and the underlying data and APIs are supporting several other land condition mapping tools.

  10. Southern Plains assessment of vulnerability and preliminary adaptation and mitigation strategies for farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners

    Treesearch

    Jean L. Steiner; Jeanne M. Schneider; Clay Pope; Sarah Pope; Paulette Ford; Rachel F. Steele; Terry Anderson

    2015-01-01

    The Southern Plains region contributes significantly to the Nation’s wheat and beef production. Winter wheat is the principal annual crop, with much of it serving dual-use as a cool-season annual forage in addition to grain production. Cattle are raised on extensive pasture and rangelands across the region. Agricultural production and farm income in the...

  11. A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Miller, Brian; Wemmer, Christen; Biggins, Dean; Reading, Richard P.

    1990-01-01

    Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) have been poisoned throughout this century because of grazing competition with livestock. Recent evidence showed these early claims were exaggerated, but animal control was already entrenched in government policy. As a result, ongoing government subsidized poisoning has reduced prairie dogs to about 2% of their former distribution. The reduction of prairie dogs diminished species diversity in the arid grasslands of North America, including the potential extinction of the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). Cost-benefit analysis revealed that poisoning costs more than any grazing benefits accrued. This analysis did not consider the long-term costs of reversing ecosystem degradation, the intangible value of biological diversity as a public benefit, or the depletion of biotic resources as a loss of actual or potential wealth. The government presently finances the poisoning policy and the preservation of endangered species like the black-footed ferret, two apparently conflicting programs. We, therefore, propose an integrated management plan that considers both interests. We propose that federal monies allocated to the poisoning program be converted into a rebate for ranchers who manage livestock while preserving the prairie dog community. This would redirect funds and personnel already allocated to prairie dog eradication to an incentive for ranchers who manage for livestock and wildlife. Livestock interests and grassland biotic diversity would both benefit.

  12. A proposal to conserve black-footed ferrets and the prairie dog ecosystem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miller, Brian; Wemmer, Christen; Biggins, Dean; Reading, Richard

    1990-11-01

    Prairie dogs ( Cynomys spp.) have been poisoned throughout this century because of grazing competition with livestock. Recent evidence showed these early claims were exaggerated, but animal control was already entrenched in government policy. As a result, ongoing government subsidized poisoning has reduced prairie dogs to about 2% of their former distribution. The reduction of prairie dogs diminished species diversity in the arid grasslands of North America, including the potential extinction of the black-footed ferret ( Mustela nigripes). Cost-benefit analysis revealed that poisoning costs more than any grazing benefits accrued. This analysis did not consider the long-term costs of reversing ecosystem degradation, the intangible value of biological diversity as a public benefit, or the depletion of biotic resources as a loss of actual or potential wealth. The government presently finances the poisoning policy and the preservation of endangered species like the black-footed ferret, two apparently conflicting programs. We, therefore, propose an integrated management plan that considers both interests. We propose that federal monies allocated to the poisoning program be converted into a rebate for ranchers who manage livestock while preserving the prairie dog community. This would redirect funds and personnel already allocated to prairie dog eradication to an incentive for ranchers who manage for livestock and wildlife. Livestock interests and grassland biotic diversity would both benefit.

  13. Utilizing Ecological Health Index to Monitor Grazingland Ecological Health: A Quick and Flexible Method for Ranchers and Farmers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, S.; Borrelli, P. R.; Raven, M. R.; Rowntree, J. E.

    2017-12-01

    Grazing lands should be monitored to ensure their long-term productivity and sustainability. While monitoring protocols do exist, there is a need to simplify procedures for land managers while maintaining efficacy in order to increase usage. The objective in this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an Ecological Health Index (EHI) on indicating ecological health in grazing lands. We introduced the EHI, which was derived by synthesizing vegetation and soil cover indicators already existing in the literature to ranchers in Patagonia. Additionally, we implemented long-term transects at 44 farms from two ecological regions in Patagonia, the non-brittle Humid Magellan Steppe (HMS) (n=24) and the brittle Subandean Grasslands (SG) (n=20), to collect quantitative vegetative and soil measurements and correlated this back to EHI. In the non-brittle area HMS with even distribution of rainfall and good temperature which can support more plant biomass, the EHI ranged from -40 to 65 with a mean of 12.5 ± 24. The EHI from brittle SG ranged from -80 to 75 with a mean of 1.25 ± 35, which was 90% lower than the mean non-brittle EHI. From a quantitative perspective, HMS had greater species richness compared to SG (27 vs. 20, P=0.0003). Similarly, the average percentage of total live vegetation was higher in HMS than that in SG (77% vs. 48%, P < 0.0001). There was a positive correlation between EHI and carrying capacity. Mean HMS carrying capacity was 123 animal days per hectare (AD/ha) (P = 0.0022) which was greater compared to 35 AD/ha in SG. Moreover, our data indicate that EHI was positively correlated with species richness, the percentage of total live vegetation, and carrying capacity and it was negatively correlated with erosion pavement percentage and bare ground + erosion pavement (P < 0.05). These results suggest that EHI could be a useful method to detect the ecological health and productivity in grazing lands. Overall, we conclude that EHI is an effective short and long-term monitoring approach that ranchers could easily use annually to monitor grazing lands and determine the impacts of ranch decision-making on important ecosystem indicators.

  14. Economic, social, and cultural aspects of livestock ranching on the Española and Canjilon Ranger Districts of the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests: a pilot study

    Treesearch

    Carol Raish; Alice M. McSweeney

    2003-01-01

    The ranches of northern New Mexico, composed of land and livestock, are integral components of family and community life. This pilot study examines current economic, social, and cultural aspects of livestock operations owned by ranchers with Federal grazing permits (permittees) on the Canjilon and Española Ranger Districts of the Santa Fe and Carson National...

  15. Mexican Cartels: The Threat Along Our Southern Border

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-12-01

    associates to set off explosives at a public restaurant in Washington, D.C., where Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US, was to be...informed there could be as many as 150 casualties, including U.S. Senators known to frequent the establishment, as a result of the restaurant bombing... franchises to distribute drugs, launder money and arrange for the southward export of deadly firearms. Ranchers may not say much to the media for

  16. Attitudes and perceptions about prairie dogs

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lamb, Berton Lee; Reading, Richard P.; Andelt, William F.; Hoogland, John L.

    2006-01-01

    We sometimes get the impression that all ranchers and farmers of the western United States hate prairie dogs, and that people everywhere else love them. This generality contains elements of truth, but better documentation of attitudes and perceptions is paramount for good conservation. In this chapter we examine attitudes and perceptions about prairie dogs, and how state and federal actions affect these viewpoints. We also investigate how wildlife managers might respond to attitudes and perceptions about prairie dogs.

  17. Characterization of puma-livestock conflicts in rangelands of central Argentina.

    PubMed

    Guerisoli, María de Las Mercedes; Luengos Vidal, Estela; Franchini, Marcello; Caruso, Nicolás; Casanave, Emma Beatriz; Lucherini, Mauro

    2017-12-01

    Livestock predation is one of the major causes of conflicts between humans and pumas ( Puma concolor ). Using data from interviews with ranchers and kill-site inspections, we characterized puma-livestock conflicts in Villarino and Patagones counties of central Argentinean rangelands. Depredation was considered the major cause of livestock losses, and puma attacks were reported in 46.6% and 35.4% of ranches in Villarino and Patagones, respectively. The majority of ranches underwent losses smaller than 1000 USD. The proportion of livestock lost to predation (0.1-10.4%) and financial losses (5.3-1560.4 USD) per ranch/year varied across ranches, and small sheep ranches in Villarino were affected the most. Depredation was recorded only at night and preferentially in grassland with shrubs and cropland habitats. Although nocturnal enclosures appeared to decrease sheep losses, puma hunting was considered the most effective form of reducing depredation and was implemented by most ranchers. Mortality rates were 3.7 and 1.1-1.56 individuals/year × 100 km 2 for sheep and pumas, respectively. Nocturnal fencing, shepherding and spatial separation from predators may efficiently reduce sheep losses. However, the poor association between the intensity of puma persecution and puma-related livestock losses suggests that conflict mitigation in central Argentina is not only about reducing damage but also about increasing tolerance.

  18. Characterization of puma–livestock conflicts in rangelands of central Argentina

    PubMed Central

    Luengos Vidal, Estela; Franchini, Marcello; Caruso, Nicolás; Casanave, Emma Beatriz; Lucherini, Mauro

    2017-01-01

    Livestock predation is one of the major causes of conflicts between humans and pumas (Puma concolor). Using data from interviews with ranchers and kill-site inspections, we characterized puma–livestock conflicts in Villarino and Patagones counties of central Argentinean rangelands. Depredation was considered the major cause of livestock losses, and puma attacks were reported in 46.6% and 35.4% of ranches in Villarino and Patagones, respectively. The majority of ranches underwent losses smaller than 1000 USD. The proportion of livestock lost to predation (0.1–10.4%) and financial losses (5.3–1560.4 USD) per ranch/year varied across ranches, and small sheep ranches in Villarino were affected the most. Depredation was recorded only at night and preferentially in grassland with shrubs and cropland habitats. Although nocturnal enclosures appeared to decrease sheep losses, puma hunting was considered the most effective form of reducing depredation and was implemented by most ranchers. Mortality rates were 3.7 and 1.1–1.56 individuals/year × 100 km2 for sheep and pumas, respectively. Nocturnal fencing, shepherding and spatial separation from predators may efficiently reduce sheep losses. However, the poor association between the intensity of puma persecution and puma-related livestock losses suggests that conflict mitigation in central Argentina is not only about reducing damage but also about increasing tolerance. PMID:29308228

  19. A new view for resource managers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Haas, Robert H.

    1986-01-01

    In decades past, the rancher depended upon reports from cowboys to gather information he needed to make management decisions. Today, the vast open ranges of the cowboy era are mostly gone in the United States-fenced into pastures, paddocks, or fields that are now discrete management units. But fencing in the rangeland, while it has replaced much of the need for cowboys, has not replaced the need for information about the health and vigor of the forage on each parcel of land. Can a satellite, orbiting at more than 400 miles in space, serve this purpose? As ranchers and resource specialists are asked to make more and more complex management decisions, with less manpower for conducting inventories, they are wise to seek help in today's rapidly developing technologies. For the past few decades the range technician has accomplished most of his range assessment from a pickup truck, traveling periodically to each unit to determine its status. Now, satellite images of the Earth's resources might be able to help the modern range person do an even more efficient job of monitoring the availability of feed for livestock and wildlife. Yet some important questions need to be answered first. Can this new information source be used to evaluate the ecological condition of these lands? Or are satellite images of our Earth and its variety of landscapes just "pretty pictures," with little practical utility?

  20. Barratt with AgCam setup

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2009-04-16

    ISS019-E-007253 (16 April 2009) --- Astronaut Michael Barratt, Expedition 19/20 flight engineer, performs Agricultural Camera (AgCam) setup and activation in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. AgCam takes frequent images, in visible and infrared light, of vegetated areas on Earth, such as farmland, rangeland, grasslands, forests and wetlands in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. Images will be delivered directly to requesting farmers, ranchers, foresters, natural resource managers and tribal officials to help improve environmental stewardship.

  1. Sources and Uses of Weather Information for Agricultural Decision Makers.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McNew, Kevin P.; Mapp, Harry P.; Duchon, Claude E.; Merritt, Earl S.

    1991-04-01

    Numerous studies have examined the importance of weather information to farmers and ranchers across the U.S. This study is focused on the kinds of weather information received by farmers and ranchers, the sources of that information, and its use in production and marketing decisions. Our results are based on a survey of 292 producers from the principal agricultural areas of Oklahoma. Producers were classified into five categories related to their source of income from crop and livestock sales.Among temperature, precipitation, relative humility, and wind speed, temperature information was most widely received. Forecast lengths of highest interest were 24-h and 5-day forecasts. Precipitation information was used by many respondents for planting and harvesting decisions. Weather data and forecasts seem to be of greater value to diversified crop and livestock operators than specialized crop and livestock, perhaps due to more frequent timing decisions. Relative humility and wind information appear to be important especially during specific times of the growing season, for example, at harvest time and time of pesticide application. Television is the primary source of weather information for more than 60% of the producers.It appears that there may be a role for both public and private entities in transforming weather data and forecasts into recommendations to crop and livestock producers. Further research is needed to determine the potential value of weather information for alternative production, marketing and livestock decisions, different categories of producers, and different geographic regions.

  2. Rural Nevada and climate change: vulnerability, beliefs, and risk perception.

    PubMed

    Safi, Ahmad Saleh; Smith, William James; Liu, Zhnongwei

    2012-06-01

    In this article, we present the results of a study investigating the influence of vulnerability to climate change as a function of physical vulnerability, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity on climate change risk perception. In 2008/2009, we surveyed Nevada ranchers and farmers to assess their climate change-related beliefs, and risk perceptions, political orientations, and socioeconomic characteristics. Ranchers' and farmers' sensitivity to climate change was measured through estimating the proportion of their household income originating from highly scarce water-dependent agriculture to the total income. Adaptive capacity was measured as a combination of the Social Status Index and the Poverty Index. Utilizing water availability and use, and population distribution GIS databases; we assessed water resource vulnerability in Nevada by zip code as an indicator of physical vulnerability to climate change. We performed correlation tests and multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of vulnerability and its three distinct components on risk perception. We find that vulnerability is not a significant determinant of risk perception. Physical vulnerability alone also does not impact risk perception. Both sensitivity and adaptive capacity increase risk perception. While age is not a significant determinant of it, gender plays an important role in shaping risk perception. Yet, general beliefs such as political orientations and climate change-specific beliefs such as believing in the anthropogenic causes of climate change and connecting the locally observed impacts (in this case drought) to climate change are the most prominent determinants of risk perception. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

  3. The Cattle-Wolf Dilemma: Interactions among Three Protected Species

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, Nir; Farja, Yanay

    2017-02-01

    This paper utilizes economic valuation to offer a new perspective on livestock rancher—predator conflicts. While most studies have considered losses to the species directly involved, i.e., cattle and wolves ( Canis lupus), we take into account other species that are threatened by efforts to protect livestock. In this case, vultures ( Gyps fulvus) and gazelles ( Gazella gazella), both endangered species, are either poisoned (vultures) or suffer from habitat fragmentation (gazelles) in the Upper Galilee region in Israel. Since the ecological value of these species is unobserved in the marketplace, we use the contingent valuation method to quantify the loss incurred from damage to protected species: wolves, vultures and gazelles. This method uses surveys of a representative sample from the population to generate estimates for use and non-use values of animals and other components of the natural environment. These value estimates are then used to compare between different measures that address the problem: either protect cattle herds by building anti-wolf fences and taking other protective measures, or compensating ranchers for their losses from wolf depredations. Our analysis suggests that while it is optimal from the ranchers' point of view to invest in protective measures such as fences, dogs and guards against wolves, it is not in society's best interest. A cost-benefit analysis taking into account all the ecological values finds a higher net benefit to society from a relatively small amount of protection, coupled with compensation to the farmers for depredations.

  4. Initial results of experimental studies of prairie dogs in arid grasslands: Implications for landscape conservation and the importance of scale (Resultados Iniciales de Estudios Experimentales en Perros Llaneros de Pastizales Aridos: Implicaciones Para la Conservacion del Paisaje y la Importancia de Escala)

    Treesearch

    Charles Curtin

    2006-01-01

    Numerous ecologists and conservationists believe that prairie dogs increase ecosystem diversity and preserve the function of grasslands (Whicker and Detling 1988, Miller et al. 1994, Jones et al. 1994, Power et al. 1996, Weltzin et al. 1997, Miller et al. 2000), yet this perspective is controversial (Stapp 1998). In contrast, many ranchers and land owners view prairie...

  5. USDA Climate Hubs - delivering usable information and tools to farmers, ranchers and forest land managers - Communication insights from the Regions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnson, R.; Steele, R.

    2016-12-01

    The USDA Climate Hubs were established in 2014 to develop and deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies, with USDA agencies and partners, to agricultural and natural resource managers to enable climate-informed decision-making. In the two and half years of existence, our regional leads have gained insights into communicating with the agricultural and forestry communities throughout the different regions of the country. Perspectives differ somewhat among regions and sectors. This talk will share those various insights.

  6. AmeriFlux US-Var Vaira Ranch- Ione

    DOE Data Explorer

    Baldocchi, Dennis [University of California, Berkeley

    2016-01-01

    This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Var Vaira Ranch- Ione. Site Description - Located in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on privately owned land, the Vaira Ranch site is classified as a grassland dominated by C3 annual grasses. Managed by local rancher, Fran Vaira, brush has been periodically removed for cattle grazing. Species include a variety of grasses and herbs, including purple false brome, smooth cat's ear, and rose clover. Growing season is confined to the wet season only, typically from October to early May.

  7. Maintaining ecosystem services through continued livestock production on California rangelands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, S.; Becchetti, T.

    2015-12-01

    Nearly 40% of California is rangeland comprising the largest land type in California and providing forage for livestock, primarily beef cattle. In addition to forage, rangelands provide a host of ecosystem systems services, including habitat for common and endangered species, fire fuels management, pollination services, clean water, viewsheds, and carbon sequestration. Published research has documented that most of these ecosystem services are positively impacted by managed livestock grazing and rancher stewardship. Ranchers typically do not receive any monetary reimbursement for their stewardship in providing these ecosystem services to the public. Markets have been difficult to establish with limited ability to adequately monitor and measure services provided. At the same time, rangelands have been experiencing rapid conversion to urbanization and more profitable and intensive forms of agriculture such as almond and walnut orchards. To prevent further conversion of rangelands and the loss of the services they provide, there needs to be a mechanism to identify and compensate landowners for the value of all products and services being received from rangelands. This paper considers two methods (opportunity cost and avoided cost) to determine the value of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) for rangelands. PES can raise the value of rangelands, making them more competitive financially. Real estate values and University of California Cooperative Extension Cost Studies, were used to demonstrate the difference in value (lost opportunity cost) between the primary products of rangelands (livestock production) and the products of the converted rangelands (almond and walnut orchards). Avoided costs for vegetation management and habitat creation and maintenance were used to establish the value of managed grazing. If conversion is to be slowed or stopped and managed grazing promoted to protect the ecosystem services rangelands provide, this value could be compensated through PES

  8. Empire: New Mexico's First Television Program

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

    Meade, Roger Allen

    In recent years, New Mexico has hosted television and motion picture film crews working on both famous and not-so-famous productions. Perhaps the most famous of these productions was the television hit Breaking Bad. Perhaps the least famous production, which almost certainly no one remembers, is the 1962-1963 television series Empire. Empire was an hour long western that chronicled the lives of 1960s ranchers in New Mexico. The series starred Richard Egan, Ryan O’Neal, Denver Pyle, and Charles Bronson. Guest stars included Robert Vaughn (The Man from Uncle), Inger Stevens (The Farmer’s Daughter), Robert Culp (I Spy), and Telly Savalas (Kojak).

  9. Applied regional monitoring of the vernal advancement and retrogradation (Green wave effect) of natural vegetation in the Great Plains corridor. [Texas and Oklahoma

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rouse, J. W., Jr. (Principal Investigator)

    1976-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. A TV16 isoline map at the 6.25 million hectare extended test site area in north central Texas and southern Oklahoma was produced. The map was compared to a published USDA Statistical Reporting Service map, which shows pasture and range feed conditions, as reported by rancher respondents. Both maps show similar areas of drought stress and good to excellent forage conditions, but preliminary indications are that the LANDSAT-derived map more accurately depicts the areal extent of each condition class.

  10. Clockwise rotation of the Santa Marta massif and simultaneous Paleogene to Neogene deformation of the Plato-San Jorge and Cesar-Ranchería basins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Montes, Camilo; Guzman, Georgina; Bayona, German; Cardona, Agustin; Valencia, Victor; Jaramillo, Carlos

    2010-10-01

    A moderate amount of vertical-axis clockwise rotation of the Santa Marta massif (30°) explains as much as 115 km of extension (stretching of 1.75) along its trailing edge (Plato-San Jorge basin) and up to 56 km of simultaneous shortening with an angular shear of 0.57 along its leading edge (Perijá range). Extensional deformation is recorded in the 260 km-wide, fan-shaped Plato-San Jorge basin by a 2-8 km thick, shallowing-upward and almost entirely fine-grained, upper Eocene and younger sedimentary sequence. The simultaneous initiation of shortening in the Cesar-Ranchería basin is documented by Mesozoic strata placed on to lower Eocene syntectonic strata (Tabaco Formation and equivalents) along the northwest-verging, shallow dipping (9-12° to the southeast) and discrete Cerrejón thrust. First-order subsidence analysis in the Plato-San Jorge basin is consistent with crustal stretching values between 1.5 and 2, also predicted by the rigid-body rotation of the Santa Marta massif. The model predicts about 100 km of right-lateral displacement along the Oca fault and 45 km of left-lateral displacement along the Santa Marta-Bucaramanga fault. Clockwise rotation of a rigid Santa Marta massif, and simultaneous Paleogene opening of the Plato-San Jorge basin and emplacement of the Cerrejón thrust sheet would have resulted in the fragmentation of the Cordillera Central-Santa Marta massif province. New U/Pb ages (241 ± 3 Ma) on granitoid rocks from industry boreholes in the Plato-San Jorge basin confirm the presence of fragments of a now segmented, Late Permian to Early Triassic age, two-mica, granitic province that once spanned the Santa Marta massif to the northernmost Cordillera Central.

  11. Coping with historic drought in California rangelands: Developing a more effective institutional response

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brown, Joel R.; Alvarez, Pelayo; Byrd, Kristin B.; Deswood, Helena; Elias, Emile; Spiegal, Sheri

    2017-01-01

    Drought response is widely varied depending on both the characteristics of the drought and the ability of individual ranchers to respond.Assistance from institutions during drought has not typically considered preemptive, during, and post-drought response as a strategic approach, which recognizes biophysical, sociological, and economic complexities of drought.A USDA Southwest Climate Hub-sponsored workshop brought together a range of representatives from public and private institutions with drought response responsibilities to examine how those institutions could better support drought decision-making.Institutions can greatly improve their support for individual land managers by doing more systematic collecting and organizing of drought-related information as a basis for programs, and by collaborating to enhance both institutional and individual learning.

  12. Rangeland biomass estimation demonstration. [Texas Experimenta Ranch

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Newton, R. W. (Principal Investigator); Boyd, W. E.; Clark, B. V.

    1982-01-01

    Because of their sensitivity to chlorophyll density, green leaf density, and leaf water density, two hand-held radiometers which have sensor bands coinciding with thematic mapper bands 3, 4, and 5 were used to calibrate green biomass to LANDSAT spectral ratios as a step towards using portable radiometers to speed up ground data acquisition. Two field reflectance panels monitored incoming radiation concurrently with sampling. Software routines were developed and used to extract data from uncorrected tapes of MSS data provided in NASA LANDSAT universal format. A LANDSAT biomass calibration curve estimated the range biomass over a four scene area and displayed this information spatially as a product in a format of use to ranchers. The regional biomass contour map is discussed.

  13. Serum toxicokinetics after intravenous and oral dosing of larkspur toxins in goats.

    PubMed

    Welch, K D; Gardner, D R; Stonecipher, C A; Green, B T; Pfister, J A

    2017-07-01

    Poisoning of cattle by larkspur plants (Delphinium spp.) is a concern for cattle ranchers in western North America. Previous research studies have evaluated the toxicokinetic profile of multiple larkspur toxins in several livestock species. However, those studies were all performed by orally dosing plant material. Consequently some toxicokinetic parameters could not be definitively determined. In this study, we compared the serum toxicokinetic profile of the larkspur alkaloids methyllycaconitine (MLA) and deltaline in goats dosed both IV and via oral gavage. The results from this study indicate that the toxic alkaloids in larkspurs undergo flip-flop kinetics, meaning the rate of absorption of the alkaloids is slower than the rate of elimination. The implications of flip-flop kinetics in treating animals poisoned by larkspur is discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Rancher and farmer quality of life in the midst of energy development in southwest Wyoming

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Allen, Leslie; Montag, Jessica; Lyon, Katie; Soileau, Suzanna; Schuster, Rudy

    2014-01-01

    Quality of life (QOL) is usually defined as a person’s general well-being, and may include individual perceptions of a variety of factors such family, work, finances, local community services, community relationships, surrounding environment, and other important aspects of their life, ultimately leading to life satisfaction. Energy development can have an effect on QOL components for rural residents. Southwest Wyoming is a rural area with a history of ranching and farming which continues today. This area has also seen a “boom” of increasing wind, solar, oil and gas energy developments over the past decade. Wyoming Department of Agriculture, as part of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI), sponsored research to examine the effect of energy development on ranchers’ and farmers’ quality of life.

  15. A Conservation-Based Approach to Compensation for Livestock Depredation: The Florida Panther Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Jacobs, Caitlin E.; Main, Martin B.

    2015-01-01

    Calf (Bos taurus) depredation by the federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) on ranches in southwest Florida is an important issue because ranches represent mixed landscapes that provide habitat critical to panther recovery. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify calf depredation by panthers on two ranches in southwest Florida, and (2) develop a habitat suitability model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on ranchlands, assess whether the model could predict predation risk to calves, and discuss its potential to be incorporated into an incentive-based compensation program. We ear-tagged 409 calves with VHF transmitters on two ranches during 2011–2013 to document calf mortality. We developed a model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on private lands in southwest Florida using environmental variables obtained from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) Cooperative Landcover Database and nocturnal GPS locations of panthers provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). We then tested whether the model could predict the location of calf depredation sites. Tagged calf loss to panthers varied between the two ranches (0.5%/yr to 5.3%/yr) and may have been influenced by the amount of panther hunting habitat on each ranch as the ranch that experienced higher depredation rates contained a significantly higher probability of panther presence. Depredation sites of tagged calves had a significantly greater probability of panther presence than depredation sites of untagged calves that were found by ranchers in open pastures. This suggests that there may be more calves killed in high risk environments than are being found and reported by ranchers and that panthers can hunt effectively in open environments. It also suggests that the model may provide a means for evaluating the quality of panther hunting habitat and the corresponding risk of depredation to livestock across the landscape. We suggest that our approach could be applied to prioritize and categorize private lands for participation in a Payment for Ecosystem Services program that compensates landowners for livestock loss and incentivizes conserving high quality habitat for large carnivores where livestock depredation is a concern. PMID:26421433

  16. Elaboration over a Discourse Facilitates Retrieval in Sentence Processing.

    PubMed

    Troyer, Melissa; Hofmeister, Philip; Kutas, Marta

    2016-01-01

    Language comprehension requires access to stored knowledge and the ability to combine knowledge in new, meaningful ways. Previous work has shown that processing linguistically more complex expressions ('Texas cattle rancher' vs. 'rancher') leads to slow-downs in reading during initial processing, possibly reflecting effort in combining information. Conversely, when this information must subsequently be retrieved (as in filler-gap constructions), processing is facilitated for more complex expressions, possibly because more semantic cues are available during retrieval. To follow up on this hypothesis, we tested whether information distributed across a short discourse can similarly provide effective cues for retrieval. Participants read texts introducing two referents (e.g., two senators), one of whom was described in greater detail than the other (e.g., 'The Democrat had voted for one of the senators, and the Republican had voted for the other, a man from Ohio who was running for president'). The final sentence (e.g., 'The senator who the {Republican/Democrat}had voted for…') contained a relative clause picking out either the Many-Cue referent (with 'Republican') or the One-Cue referent (with 'Democrat'). We predicted facilitated retrieval (faster reading times) for the Many-Cue condition at the verb region ('had voted for'), where readers could understand that 'The senator' is the object of the verb. As predicted, this pattern was observed at the retrieval region and continued throughout the rest of the sentence. Participants also completed the Author/Magazine Recognition Tests (ART/MRT; Stanovich and West, 1989), providing a proxy for world knowledge. Since higher ART/MRT scores may index (a) greater experience accessing relevant knowledge and/or (b) richer/more highly structured representations in semantic memory, we predicted it would be positively associated with effects of elaboration on retrieval. We did not observe the predicted interaction between ART/MRT scores and Cue condition at the retrieval region, though ART/MRT interacted with Cue condition in other locations in the sentence. In sum, we found that providing more elaborative information over the course of a text can facilitate retrieval for referents, consistent with a framework in which referential elaboration over a discourse and not just local linguistic information directly impacts information retrieval during sentence processing.

  17. A Conservation-Based Approach to Compensation for Livestock Depredation: The Florida Panther Case Study.

    PubMed

    Jacobs, Caitlin E; Main, Martin B

    2015-01-01

    Calf (Bos taurus) depredation by the federally endangered Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) on ranches in southwest Florida is an important issue because ranches represent mixed landscapes that provide habitat critical to panther recovery. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify calf depredation by panthers on two ranches in southwest Florida, and (2) develop a habitat suitability model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on ranchlands, assess whether the model could predict predation risk to calves, and discuss its potential to be incorporated into an incentive-based compensation program. We ear-tagged 409 calves with VHF transmitters on two ranches during 2011-2013 to document calf mortality. We developed a model to evaluate the quality of panther hunting habitat on private lands in southwest Florida using environmental variables obtained from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) Cooperative Landcover Database and nocturnal GPS locations of panthers provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). We then tested whether the model could predict the location of calf depredation sites. Tagged calf loss to panthers varied between the two ranches (0.5%/yr to 5.3%/yr) and may have been influenced by the amount of panther hunting habitat on each ranch as the ranch that experienced higher depredation rates contained a significantly higher probability of panther presence. Depredation sites of tagged calves had a significantly greater probability of panther presence than depredation sites of untagged calves that were found by ranchers in open pastures. This suggests that there may be more calves killed in high risk environments than are being found and reported by ranchers and that panthers can hunt effectively in open environments. It also suggests that the model may provide a means for evaluating the quality of panther hunting habitat and the corresponding risk of depredation to livestock across the landscape. We suggest that our approach could be applied to prioritize and categorize private lands for participation in a Payment for Ecosystem Services program that compensates landowners for livestock loss and incentivizes conserving high quality habitat for large carnivores where livestock depredation is a concern.

  18. Range Management Affects Native Ungulate Populations in Península Valdés, a World Natural Heritage

    PubMed Central

    Nabte, Marcela J.; Marino, Andrea I.; Rodríguez, María Victoria; Monjeau, Adrián; Saba, Sergio L.

    2013-01-01

    Sheep rearing is the main productive activity in Patagonian rangelands, where guanacos are the only native ungulate. Ranchers perceive a decrease in range carrying capacity as guanaco numbers increase, therefore guanaco conservation within private lands becomes a considerable challenge. This issue is particularly evident in the World Natural Heritage Península Valdés (PV), where there is a need to harmonize livestock production and biodiversity conservation. While sheep rearing prevails as the primary land use in the area, some ecotourism initiatives have been implemented to complement livestock production. In order to study how land use affected guanaco distribution, we characterized PV's ranches in terms of land subdivision, primary productivity, stocking-rate and management type, and assess how these variables affected guanaco encounter rates. Smaller ranches were composed of smaller paddocks (mean size 4.8 km2), which showed higher values of the remote-sensing derived Enhance Vegetation Index (EVI) (mean 0.14) and held higher sheep densities (mean 108.0 sheep/km2), while larger management units (mean size 23.8 km2), showed lower EVI values (mean 0.12) and lower stocking-rates (mean 36.7 sheep/km2). This pattern suggests that primary productivity has been a decisive factor to determine the minimal paddock size set by ranchers in PV, apparently precluding excessive land-subdivision in less productive areas. Guanaco encounter rate, expressed as number of guanacos per travelled kilometre, was inversely related to EVI and stocking-rate. However, land subdivision was the better predictor of guanaco encounter-rate within only sheep ranches, finding more guanacos per kilometre as paddock size increased. In contrast, in ranches where ecotourism was implemented as a complementary activity, guanaco encounter-rates were greater, regardless of paddock size. Our results suggest that the implementation of an additional activity by which landowners derive benefits from wildlife has prompted a beneficial outcome for guanacos, presumably through a decrease in harassment intensity. Finally, we propose possible mechanisms by which land subdivision may affect guanaco distribution and potential alternatives for the inclusion of wildlife conservation in a context of extensive livestock production. PMID:23390546

  19. Range management affects native ungulate populations in Península Valdés, a World Natural Heritage.

    PubMed

    Nabte, Marcela J; Marino, Andrea I; Rodríguez, María Victoria; Monjeau, Adrián; Saba, Sergio L

    2013-01-01

    Sheep rearing is the main productive activity in Patagonian rangelands, where guanacos are the only native ungulate. Ranchers perceive a decrease in range carrying capacity as guanaco numbers increase, therefore guanaco conservation within private lands becomes a considerable challenge. This issue is particularly evident in the World Natural Heritage Península Valdés (PV), where there is a need to harmonize livestock production and biodiversity conservation. While sheep rearing prevails as the primary land use in the area, some ecotourism initiatives have been implemented to complement livestock production. In order to study how land use affected guanaco distribution, we characterized PV's ranches in terms of land subdivision, primary productivity, stocking-rate and management type, and assess how these variables affected guanaco encounter rates. Smaller ranches were composed of smaller paddocks (mean size 4.8 km(2)), which showed higher values of the remote-sensing derived Enhance Vegetation Index (EVI) (mean 0.14) and held higher sheep densities (mean 108.0 sheep/km(2)), while larger management units (mean size 23.8 km(2)), showed lower EVI values (mean 0.12) and lower stocking-rates (mean 36.7 sheep/km(2)). This pattern suggests that primary productivity has been a decisive factor to determine the minimal paddock size set by ranchers in PV, apparently precluding excessive land-subdivision in less productive areas. Guanaco encounter rate, expressed as number of guanacos per travelled kilometre, was inversely related to EVI and stocking-rate. However, land subdivision was the better predictor of guanaco encounter-rate within only sheep ranches, finding more guanacos per kilometre as paddock size increased. In contrast, in ranches where ecotourism was implemented as a complementary activity, guanaco encounter-rates were greater, regardless of paddock size. Our results suggest that the implementation of an additional activity by which landowners derive benefits from wildlife has prompted a beneficial outcome for guanacos, presumably through a decrease in harassment intensity. Finally, we propose possible mechanisms by which land subdivision may affect guanaco distribution and potential alternatives for the inclusion of wildlife conservation in a context of extensive livestock production.

  20. [Leishmaniasis: a preliminary epidemiological study in a locality of the endemic area in the state of the Tabasco].

    PubMed

    Córdova-Uscanga, C; Albertos-Alpuche, N E; Andrade-Narváez, F J; Canto-Lara, S B

    1993-01-01

    The state of Tabasco is localized in the endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis where both diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis have recently been reported. The objective of the present study was to obtain reliable information of the situation of this disease--which has a great relevance as a worldwide public health problem--through determination of the allergic index in a randomized sample from Ranchería Miguel Hidalgo, Comalcalco Municipality, Tabasco, Mexico. We found an allergic index of 56 per cent. Farmers and housewives had the highest positive responses to the Montenegro skin test. We found no statistical differences between males and females. Moreover, 3 patients with active lesions and people with scars suggestive of prior leishmaniasis were detected during the study. This village should be considered a high endemic focus.

  1. GRACEnet: addressing policy needs through coordinated cross-location research

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jawson, Michael D.; Walthall, Charles W.; Shafer, Steven R.; Liebig, Mark; Franzluebbers, Alan J.; Follett, Ronald F.

    2012-01-01

    GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) was conceived to build upon ongoing USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research to improve soil productivity, while addressing the challenges and opportunities of interest in C sequestration from a climate change perspective. The vision for GRACEnet was and remains: Knowledge and information used to implement scientifically based agricultural management practices from the field to national policy scales on C sequestration, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and environmental benefits. The national focus of GRACEnet uses a standardized approach by ARS laboratories and university and land manager (e.g. farmer and rancher) cooperators to assess C sequestration and GHG emission from different crop and grassland systems. Since 2002, GRACEnet has significantly expanded GHG mitigation science and delivered usable information to agricultural research and policy organizations. Recent developments suggest GRACEnet will have international impact by contributing leadership and technical guidance for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

  2. Animal Models: New Biosensors and Technologies?Including Those for Bone Regrowth and Wound Healing?Advance Animal Health Care While Also Providing a Fertile Testing Ground for Human Health.

    PubMed

    Allen, Summer

    2017-01-01

    Dogs have bad breath. But when Montana sheep rancher Katy Harjes noticed her collie, Hoshi, had particularly bad breath and facial swelling, she was concerned that the symptoms might be a sign of something serious. She was right; ten-year-old Hoshi had squamous cell carcinoma, a common type of oral tumor found in dogs. The cancer had not metastasized, but the damage was extensive enough that part of Hoshi's lower jaw needed to be removed. Luckily, Hoshi was a suitable candidate for a stateof-the-art bone regrowth procedure developed by Frank Verstraete, B.V.Sc, Dr.Med.Vet., M.Med.Vet., and Boaz Arzi, D.V.M., oral surgeons at the University of California (UC), Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Consequently, Katy and Hoshi embarked on a 15-hour road trip to California.

  3. 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.

  4. Providing farmers, ranchers, and foresters in California with actionable climate information: opportunities and obstacles for California's USDA Regional Climate Sub Hub

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kerr, A. C.; Steenwerth, K. L.; Stine, P.; Chambers, J.; Fischer, C.; Kiger, L.; Hedt, T.; Gonzales, O.; Tse, R.; Tse, A.; Gunasekara, A.; Henly, R.; DeLaRosa, J.; Battany, M.; Pathak, T.; Parker, D.; Schwartz, M.; Tjeerdema, R.; Kalansky, J.; Kehmeier, E.; Xides, A.; Marshall, A.; Jagannathan, K.

    2015-12-01

    California is the #1 agricultural state in the US, with output worth $50 billion in 2014. California produces half the nation's specialty crops (fruits, vegetables, and nuts) and is a leader in beef and dairy production. California also has 10% of the forestland west of the Mississippi, including many economically and ecologically important forest types. The USDA Regional Climate Sub Hub for California was created in 2014 to help land users (farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners) cope with climate variability and change, via two-way linkages with producers of climate information. In its first year and a half, the Sub Hub has formed partnerships with California's many other climate-focused organizations, including state and federal government, universities, and NGOs. The Sub Hub coordinates climate-related work among several USDA agencies (ARS, FS, NRCS, and others), which formerly had no mechanism to do so. The Sub Hub also works with other federal climate programs (such as the DOI's CA Landscape Conservation Cooperative, with which the Sub Hub is engaged in a multi-year assessment to balance conservation and agriculture in the Central Valley). State government agencies, such as the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, are key partners for priority-setting and data-sharing. One of the Sub Hub's crucial synergies is with UC Cooperative Extension, which provides insight into land users' needs and provides an outlet to deliver Sub Hub products on the ground. In response to stakeholder concerns, the Sub Hub's 2015-16 emphasis is the ongoing California drought. The Sub Hub's current stakeholder-focused projects include (1) a climate vulnerability assessment of California rangelands, including detailed maps of likely vegetation change and suggestions for location-specific adaptation options; (2) a comprehensive climate-related update of Cooperative Extension's widely used Forest Stewardship Series for private landowners; (3) a study on climate information needs of California nut growers; and (4) a series of sector-specific fact sheets on drought impacts and adaptation. To succeed, these efforts must acknowledge that land users do not seek climate information in isolation; rather, they need to integrate it with other components of their decision-making.

  5. "Climate Matters Documoments": Enabling Regionally-Specific Climate Awareness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keener, V. W.; Finucane, M.

    2012-12-01

    The Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences & Assessments (RISA) is a multidisciplinary program that enhances the ability of Pacific Island communities to understand, plan for, and adapt to climate-induced change. Using both social and physical science research methods, the Pacific RISA engages a network of regional decision-makers and stakeholders to help solve climate-related issues. Pacific RISA has a broad audience of local and regional decision-makers (i.e. natural resource managers, community planners, state and federal government agencies) and stakeholders (i.e. farmers and ranchers, fishermen, community and native islander groups). The RISA program engages with this audience through a mixed-method approach of two-way communication, including one-on-one interviews, workshops, consensus discussions and public presentations that allow us to tailor our efforts to the needs of specific stakeholders. A recent Pacific RISA project was the creation and production of four short, educational "documoment" videos that explore the different ways in which climate change in Hawaii affects stakeholders from different sectors. The documoments, generally titled "Climate Matters", start with a quote about why climate matters to each stakeholder: a rancher, a coastal hotel owner, the manager of a landfill, and the local branch of the National Weather Service. The narratives then have each stakeholder discussing how climate impacts their professional and personal lives, and describing the types of climate change they have experienced in the islands. Each video ends with a technical fact about how different climate variables in Hawaii (sea level, precipitation, ENSO) have actually changed within the last century of observational data. Freely available on www.PacificRISA.org, the Documoments have been viewed over 350 times, and have inspired similar video projects and received positive attention from different audiences of stakeholders and scientists. In other assessment work the Pacific RISA has done, we found that many stakeholders who regularly make climate sensitive decisions do not always realize it. By viewing videos like the Climate Matters Documoments, it may help a wide variety of community stakeholders and natural resource decision makers realize the myriad ways in which climate change affects their communities and jobs. In addition, when viewed outside of the Pacific Islands region, the different stories told in the Documoments help foster a greater understanding of the unique climate-related issues faced within the Hawaiian Islands.

  6. Senior Research Connects Students with a Living Laboratory As Part of an Integrated Crop and Livestock System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas; Brevik, Eric C.

    2015-04-01

    Soil, water, soil microbes, and solar energy are the main sources that sustain life on this planet. Without them working in concert, neither plants nor animals would survive. Considering the efficiency of animal production targets, soil must be protected and improved. Therefore, through our sustainable integrated crop and livestock research, we are studying animal and soil interactions from the soil to the plate. Integrating beef cattle systems into a diverse cropping system is providing a living laboratory for education beyond the traditional classroom setting. To establish the living learning laboratory at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, a five-crop rotation was established that included adapted cool and warm season grasses and broadleaf crops. The crop rotation is: sunflower > hard red spring wheat > fall seeded winter triticale-hairy vetch (hay)/spring seeded 7-species cover crop > Corn (85-95 day varieties) > field pea-barley intercrop. Sunflower and spring wheat are harvested for cash crop income in the rotation. Livestock integration occurs when yearling steers that had previously grazed perennial pastures until mid-August graze field pea-barley and subsequently unharvested corn. Average grazing days for field pea-barley and unharvested corn is 30 and 70 days, respectively. At the end of the grazing period, the yearling steers average 499-544 kg and are moved to a feedlot and fed an additional 75 days until slaughter. Maximizing grazing days and extending the grazing season through integration with the cropping system reduces custom feeding costs and enhances animal profit. Beef cows do not require high quality feed after their calves have been weaned. Therefore, gestating beef cows are an ideal animal to graze cover crops and crop aftermath (residue) after yearling steer grazing and farming operations have been completed. Extending the grazing season for beef cows by grazing cover crops and residues reduces winter feed cost, which is one of the highest expenses in beef cattle production. Senior research investigating the impact of livestock integration and multi-species cover crop grown within the crop rotation is studying changes in soil attributes resulting from the crop-animal integration by measuring bulk density and in-season soil fertility in the crop rotation. These responses are further contrasted with results from within the crop rotation and responses from perennial native range. Students that become engaged in the research represent a broad cross section of the consuming public and include high school junior and senior students, college undergraduate students that conduct research projects, postdoctoral research scientists engaged in senior level research, agricultural extension educators, and finally, farmer and rancher businessmen. The integrated nature of the research provides a wealth of learning opportunities for these various groups. For the high school students, visits to the living laboratory increase awareness and introduces students to a potential career path in agriculture, natural resource fields, and the many allied vocational fields that support agriculture. When college undergraduate students visit the living laboratory, they seek to address a researchable question or a problem in agriculture, while fulfilling requirements for graduation by conducting a research project. Because postdoctoral students want to be actively engaged in research and advanced learning, they are interested in conducting research in the living laboratory that can be published in peer reviewed journals. Agricultural extension educators, who advise farmers and ranchers, are looking for research results from the living laboratory that can be convey to their constituents. Farmers and ranchers participate in workshop events that give them face-to-face learning opportunities that they can use to effect change in their farm and ranch businesses. Each of these demographic groups are unique in their interest in the interaction between agricultural production and soil science. The authors will describe and discuss how each of these very different research consumers have been assisted during their experience and involvement in the living laboratory.

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

    Little, P.D.

    The prevalence of absentee herd ownership in Africa's pastoral areas is increasing. Its presence has important implications both for local resource management systems and for research programs that address pastoral ecology and related topics. This paper examines patterns of absentee herd ownership in the Baringo District of northern Kenya. This region has been the source of much debate regarding herder ''mismanagement'' of range lands. Three categories of absentee herd owners are discussed in the paper: (1) ranchers, (2) livestock traders, and (3) townsmen. It is suggested that the blame for some of the apparent resource mismanagement in the region maymore » lie more with actors in these categories than with the pastoralists themselves. Data collected during an 18-month period in 1980-1981 on pastoral ecology, grazing patterns, and tenure institutions are presented in support of the argument. The paper concludes with a comparative analysis of contemporary resource management strategies in pastoral Africa, emphasizing that: (1) the Baringo case is not an isolated anomaly, and (2) a new orientation toward pastoral studies is warranted.« less

  8. Deforestation control in Mato Grosso: a new model for slowing the loss of Brazil's Amazon forest.

    PubMed

    Fearnside, Philip M

    2003-08-01

    Controlling deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region has long been illusive despite repeated efforts of government authorities to slow the process. From 1997 to 2000, deforestation rates in Brazil's 9-state "Legal Amazon" region continually crept upward. Now, a licensing and enforcement program for clearing by large farmers and ranchers in the state of Mato Grosso appears to be having an effect. The deforestation rate in Mato Grosso was already beginning to slacken before initiation of the program in 1999, but examination of county-level data suggests that deforestation in already heavily cleared areas was falling due to lack of suitable uncleared land, while little-cleared areas were experiencing rapid deforestation. Following initiation of the program, the clearing rates declined in the recent frontiers. Areas with greater enforcement effort also appear to have experienced greater declines. Demonstration of government ability to enforce regulations and influence trends is important to domestic and international debates regarding use of avoided deforestation to mitigate global warming.

  9. The effect of western juniper on the estrous cycle in beef cattle.

    PubMed

    Welch, Kevin D; Stonecipher, Clint A; Gardner, Dale R; Panter, Kip E; Parsons, Cory; Deboodt, Tim; Johnson, Bryan

    2015-02-01

    Numerous evergreen trees and shrubs contain labdane acids, including isocupressic acid, which can cause late-term abortions in cattle. Recent research has shown that the bark from western juniper trees can also cause late-term abortions in cattle. Additionally, ranchers have observed that cattle in western juniper-infested rangelands tend to have decreased conception rates. The objective of this study was to determine if western juniper alters the estrous cycle of cattle. Fourteen heifers (10 treated and 4 control) were monitored for 74 days for signs of normal estrous behavior, with a 21 day feeding trial with western juniper bark from days 28-48, after which the cattle were bred naturally with a bull. The cattle were checked for pregnancy 30 days after all cattle had been bred. The data from this study indicate that exposure to western juniper bark does not affect normal estrus, estrous cycle or conception rates of cattle. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. A comprehensive review of Farm Bill contributions to wildlife conservation, 1985-2000

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Heard, P.L.; Allen, A.W.; Best, Louis B.; Brady, S.J.; Burger, W.; Esser, A.J.; Hackett, E.; Johnson, D.H.; Pederson, R.L.; Reynolds, R.E.; Rewa, C.; Ryan, M.R.; Molleur, R.T.; Buck, P.

    2000-01-01

    A comprehensive review of the scientific literature was undertaken to determine wildlife responses to programs established under the conservation title of the 1985 Food Security Act as amended in 1990 and 1996 (Farm Bill). Literature was annotated and summaries of wildlife responses were provided for the Conservation Reserve Program CRP, Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The report recognized that Farm Bill conservation programs were created to serve many purposes. Foremost among these purposes was to enable Americaa??s farmers and ranchers to be better stewards of their lands. In general, wildlife responded positively to improvements in land stewardship, particularly when the needs of wildlife were considered in conservation planning and implementation. Whereas authors acknowledged that their understanding of wildlife responses to Farm Bill conservation programs was still incomplete, they concluded that these programs were making significant contributions toward conservation of the nationa??s fish and wildlife resources.

  11. AmeriFlux US-Ton Tonzi Ranch

    DOE Data Explorer

    Baldocchi, Dennis [University of California, Berkeley

    2016-01-01

    This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Ton Tonzi Ranch. Site Description - Located in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Tonzi Ranch site is classified as an oak savanna woodland on privately owned land. Managed by local rancher, Russell Tonzi, brush has been periodically removed for cattle grazing. The overstory is dominated by blue oak trees (40% of total vegetation) with intermittent grey pine trees (3 trees/ha). Understory species include a variety of grasses and herbs, including purple false brome, smooth cat's ear, and rose clover. These two distinctive layers operate in and out from one another. Growing season of the understory is confined to the wet season only, typically from October to early May. In contrast, the deciduous blue oak trees are dormant during the rainy winter months and reach maximum LAI in April. The blue oak ecosystem rings the Great Central Valley of California, inhabiting the lower reaches of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

  12. A Physicist for All Seasons: Part II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oppenheimer, Frank

    2013-06-01

    The second part of this interview covers Frank Oppenheimer's move to the University of California at Berkeley and wartime work at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the electromagnetic-separation plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and at Los Alamos, New Mexico (1941-1945); his postwar research at Berkeley (1945-1947); his appointment at the University of Minnesota in 1947 and firing two years later after being required to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee; his decade as a rancher in Colorado (1949-1959) and high-school science teacher toward the end of this period; his research at the University of Colorado in Boulder after 1959; his year as a Guggenheim Fellow at University College London in 1965; and his founding of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. California, in 1969. He also discusses his wartime relations with his older brother Robert and postwar events in Robert's life, including his Hearings before the Personnel Security Board of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1954.

  13. Presence of nitrate NO 3 a ects animal production, photocalysis is a possible solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barba-Molina, Heli; Barba-Ortega, J.; Joya, M. R.

    2016-02-01

    Farmers and ranchers depend on the successful combination of livestock and crops. However, they have lost in the production by nitrate pollution. Nitrate poisoning in cattle is caused by the consumption of an excessive amount of nitrate or nitrite from grazing or water. Both humans and livestock can be affected. It would appear that well fertilised pasture seems to take up nitrogen from the soil and store it as nitrate in the leaf. Climatic conditions, favour the uptake of nitrate. Nitrate poisoning is a noninfectious disease condition that affects domestic ruminants. It is a serious problem, often resulting in the death of many animals. When nitrogen fertilizers are used to enrich soils, nitrates may be carried by rain, irrigation and other surface waters through the soil into ground water. Human and animal wastes can also contribute to nitrate contamination of ground water. A possible method to decontaminate polluted water by nitrates is with methods of fabrication of zero valent iron nanoparticles (FeNps) are found to affect their efficiency in nitrate removal from water.

  14. Western rangelands: overgrazed and undermanaged

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

    Sheridan, D.

    1981-05-01

    Overgrazing and poor management of the western arid lands causes desertification as the levels of water tables and surface waters drop, top soil and surface waters become more saline, soil erodes, and native vegetation disappears. This process had led to severe desertification in an estimated 1.1 million square miles and very severe desertification on 10,500 square miles in the US. The three areas in the very severe category occur in the Navajo Indian reservation in Arizona and New Mexico and on either side of El Paso, Texas. All were subjected to overgrazing. Government policies have only recently tried to bringmore » public land grazing in line with the land's carrying capacity by focusing on long-term productivity. The Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 authorizes better management and multiple use of public lands, but the Bureau of Land Management has not established an effective monitoring system to ensure its implementation or to overcome political constraints against reducing livestock. Ranchers disagree with the assessments made by scientists and support vegetation modification instead of grazing allotments. 58 references, 7 figures. (DCK)« less

  15. All the king's horses and 2,4,5-T was the best tool of all; yet 2,4,5-T had a very great fall. All of the facts midst all of the din couldn't put T back together again

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

    Walstad, J.D.; Dost, F.N.

    1986-09-01

    On January 30 and February 11, 1985, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) canceled the use of 2,4,5-T and of silvex, a chemical analog of 2,4,5-T. These actions climaxed the most controversial and turbulent period in the history of forest pest management. Beginning in 1969, stories about 2,4,5-T safety generated intense social activism, litigation, and sometimes violence. Foresters, farmers, ranchers, politicians, manufacturers, environmentalists, scientists, regulatory officials, and local citizens entered the debate. The role of government in pesticide regulation and the integrity of industry and science were being challenged. Although 2,4,5-T and silvex are no longer used, questions remain. Were themore » ultimate decisions the result of scientific evidence and analysis, or were they a response to public opinion that with all the smoke there must be fire somewhere. Can forestry professionals help the nation avoid controversies of this nature in the future.« less

  16. [Major rural accident: the pesticide "rain" case in Lucas do Rio Verde city - MT].

    PubMed

    Pignati, Wanderlei Antonio; Machado, Jorge M H; Cabral, James F

    2007-01-01

    The article reports the environmental accident caused by aerial pesticide spraying that reached the urban space of Lucas do Rio Verde-MT, in March 2006. It was characterized as a "major rural accident" of environmental and occupational aspects whose seriousness and extension crossed the agriculturally productive unit boundaries causing sanitary, social and environmental impact. This case study had as its objective the understanding of the social-technical scene of the accident and the monitoring process in health-environment in a research-action dynamic. The information was collected through interviews, documents and daily observation reports. It also referred to accidents, multidisciplinary and participatory analyses with the participation of local institutions of health, agriculture and environment, political and union leaderships, ranchers and farmers, the public prosecutor's office, journalists and the University. The study shows that the pesticide "use and abuse" monitoring actions have been extended to [a] "movement for the sustainable development of the region" supported by the participative monitoring and the fight for democracy and social justice in the search of a sustainable agriculture and/or environment.

  17. Survival of the endangered Pima pineapple cactus: Does clearing before prescribed fire alter survival postfire?

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Thomas, Kathryn A.; Jarchow, Christopher; Crawford, Julie A.

    2017-01-01

    Federal land managers and ranchers often use prescribed fire as a tool to reduce invading woody plants within desert grasslands of the arid southwestern United States. Managers must evaluate the threat of the burn toward the health and survival of plants of concern including how preemptive clearing before prescribed fire might benefit these species. One example is the endangered Pima pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina), a small hemispheric cactus of desert scrublands and grasslands of south-central Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. In 2014, we examined survival of Pima pineapple cactus documented in 2009 or 2010 within grasslands of Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. Of the 72 sites observed, 35 had no burn after documentation and 37 experienced prescribed fire. Refuge staff removed vegetation between 0.3 and 3.0 m from the cactus preburn. We found that Pima pineapple cacti in areas subjected to prescribed fire and with preemptive clearing had the same survival statistically as cacti from sites that were not burned.

  18. Changing drivers of deforestation and new opportunities for conservation.

    PubMed

    Rudel, Thomas K; Defries, Ruth; Asner, Gregory P; Laurance, William F

    2009-12-01

    Over the past 50 years, human agents of deforestation have changed in ways that have potentially important implications for conservation efforts. We characterized these changes through a meta-analysis of case studies of land-cover change in the tropics. From the 1960s to the 1980s, small-scale farmers, with state assistance, deforested large areas of tropical forest in Southeast Asia and Latin America. As globalization and urbanization increased during the 1980s, the agents of deforestation changed in two important parts of the tropical biome, the lowland rainforests in Brazil and Indonesia. Well-capitalized ranchers, farmers, and loggers producing for consumers in distant markets became more prominent in these places and this globalization weakened the historically strong relationship between local population growth and forest cover. At the same time, forests have begun to regrow in some tropical uplands. These changing circumstances, we believe, suggest two new and differing strategies for biodiversity conservation in the tropics, one focused on conserving uplands and the other on promoting environmental stewardship in lowlands and other areas conducive to industrial agriculture.

  19. The diffuse seismicity of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, the Perijá Range, and south of the La Guajira peninsula, Colombia and Venezuela: Result of the convergence between Caribbean plate and the South American margin during the Late Neogene?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chicangana, G.; Pedraza, P.; Mora-paez, H.; Ordonez Aristizabal, C. O.; Vargas-Jimenez, C. A.; Kammer, A.

    2012-12-01

    A diffuse low deep microseismicity located overall between the Guajira peninsula and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) was registered with the recent installation (2008 to Present) of three seismological stations in northeastern Colombia by the Colombian Seismological Network (RSNC), but mainly with the Uribia station in (the) central region of La Guajira peninsula, The microseismicity is characterized by a great population of events with 1.2 < Ml < 3.0. and few events of 3.0 < Ml < 4.0 that sporadically occur. The poor number of seismological stations in this region of Colombia impedes to locate the origin of the local seismicity; however, this seismic activity is associated to the tectonic activity of the Oca fault because with the GPS displacement analysis, neotectonics evidence found in faults traces associated to the Oca fault and the historical earthquake that affected the Colombian city of Santa Marta in 1834, lead us to conclude this. This is a big cortical fault that sets the limit between La Guajira peninsula and the SNSM. Its cortical characteristics were verified from geological data together with gravimetric and seismic exploration. The SNSM limits toward the southeast with the Cesar - Ranchería basin, and this basin in turn limits with the Perijá Range that is localized in the Colombia - Venezuela border. The SNSM, Cesar - Ranchería basin and Perijá Range limit toward the southwest with the Bucaramanga - Santa Marta fault (BSMF), the Oca fault toward the north, and Perijá - El Tigre fault toward the southeast defining a pyramidal orogenic complex. Using remote sensing images data with geological and regional geophysical information, we proposed that this orogenic complex was originated as a result of the Panama arc with the northwestern South America accretion. The final adjustment of the Caribbean plate (CP) between North America and South America during the Late Neogene produced the big cortical faults systems activation like Oca - Moron - El Pilar in Colombia and Venezuela toward the south of the Caribbean Plate (CP), and Motegua - Walton - Enriquillo - Plantain Garden toward the north of the CP. This situation was originated of a new subduction development of the Nazca - Cocos plates toward the south and the west of the Panama arc; when this happened, the evolution of the Present - day configuration of the Nazca plate and Galapagos Spreading Center started. From the Early Pliocene, the BSMF and the Oca fault were reactivated: the BSMF, with a left lateral movement, and the Oca fault with a right lateral movement. This last mobility produces the cortical diffuse seismicity that we are showing here.

  20. Structure and agency in development-induced forced migration: the case of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines how structure and agency interact to shape forced migration outcomes. Specifically, I ask how structural factors such as compensation policies as well as social, financial, and human capital may either foster or constrain migration aspirations and capabilities. I use longitudinal, semi-structured interview data to study forced migration among farmers displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Results from baseline interviews indicate that nearly all community members aspired to purchase rural land in the region and maintain livelihoods as cacao farmers or cattle ranchers. Constraints limiting the ability to attain aspirations included strict requirements on land titles for properties, delays in receiving compensation, rising land prices, and the lack of power to negotiate for better compensation. Despite these constraints, most migrants succeeded in attaining aspirations, as they were able to mobilize resources such as social networks, financial capital, skills, and knowledge. These findings highlight the importance of considering the relationship between structure and agency within forced migration research. I conclude by discussing how the findings may inform resettlement policies for future cases of development- or environment-induced forced migration. PMID:28298745

  1. Knowledge and tools to enhance resilience of beef grazing systems for sustainable animal protein production.

    PubMed

    Steiner, Jean L; Engle, David M; Xiao, Xiangming; Saleh, Ali; Tomlinson, Peter; Rice, Charles W; Cole, N Andy; Coleman, Samuel W; Osei, Edward; Basara, Jeffrey; Middendorf, Gerad; Gowda, Prasanna; Todd, Richard; Moffet, Corey; Anandhi, Aavudai; Starks, Patrick J; Ocshner, Tyson; Reuter, Ryan; Devlin, Daniel

    2014-11-01

    Ruminant livestock provides meat and dairy products that sustain health and livelihood for much of the world's population. Grazing lands that support ruminant livestock provide numerous ecosystem services, including provision of food, water, and genetic resources; climate and water regulation; support of soil formation; nutrient cycling; and cultural services. In the U.S. southern Great Plains, beef production on pastures, rangelands, and hay is a major economic activity. The region's climate is characterized by extremes of heat and cold and extremes of drought and flooding. Grazing lands occupy a large portion of the region's land, significantly affecting carbon, nitrogen, and water budgets. To understand vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of beef production, a multi-institutional Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP), the "grazing CAP," was established. Integrative research and extension spanning biophysical, socioeconomic, and agricultural disciplines address management effects on productivity and environmental footprints of production systems. Knowledge and tools being developed will allow farmers and ranchers to evaluate risks and increase resilience to dynamic conditions. The knowledge and tools developed will also have relevance to grazing lands in semiarid and subhumid regions of the world. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

  2. Spatial and temporal land cover changes in Terminos Lagoon Reserve, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Soto-Galera, Ernesto; Piera, Jaume; López, Pilar

    2010-06-01

    Terminos Lagoon ecosystem is the largest fluvial-lagoon estuarine system in the country and one of the most important reserves of coastal flora and fauna in Mexico. Since the seventies, part of the main infrastructure for country's oil extraction is located in this area. Its high biodiversity has motivated different type of studies including deforestation processes and land use planning. In this work we used satellite image analysis to determine land cover changes in the area from 1974 to 2001. Our results indicate that tropical forest and mangroves presented the most extensive losses in its coverage. In contrast, urban areas and induced grassland increased considerably. In 2001 more than half of the ecosystem area showed changes from its original land cover, and a third part of it was deteriorated. The main causes of deforestation were both the increase in grassland and the growth of urban areas. However, deforestation was attenuated by natural reforestation and plant canopy recovery. We conclude that the introduction of cattle and urban development were the main causes for the land cover changes; however, the oil industry activity located in the ecosystem, has promoted indirectly to urban growth and rancher boom.

  3. Science in the Public Sphere: Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Planning from a Transdisciplinary Perspective

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Torregrosa, Alicia; Casazza, Michael L.; Caldwell, Margaret R.; Mathiasmeier, Teresa A.; Morgan, Peter M.; Overton, Cory T.

    2010-01-01

    Integration of scientific data and adaptive management techniques is critical to the success of species conservation, however, there are uncertainties about effective methods of knowledge exchange between scientists and decisionmakers. The conservation planning and implementation process for Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; ) in the Mono Basin, Calif. region, was used as a case study to observe the exchange of scientific information among stakeholders with differing perspectives; resource manager, scientist, public official, rancher, and others. The collaborative development of a risk-simulation model was explored as a tool to transfer knowledge between stakeholders and inform conservation planning and management decisions. Observations compiled using a transdisciplinary approach were used to compare the exchange of information during the collaborative model development and more traditional interactions such as scientist-led presentations at stakeholder meetings. Lack of congruence around knowledge needs and prioritization led to insufficient commitment to completely implement the risk-simulation model. Ethnographic analysis of the case study suggests that further application of epistemic community theory, which posits a strong boundary condition on knowledge transfer, could help support application of risk simulation models in conservation-planning efforts within similarly complex social and bureaucratic landscapes.

  4. Cattle, clean water, and climate change: policy choices for the Brazilian Agricultural Frontier.

    PubMed

    Bell, Andrew Reid; Lemos, Maria Carmen; Scavia, Donald

    2010-11-15

    In the Amazonian agricultural frontier, pasture for cattle ranching is an important and potentially hazardous form of land use because of sediment erosion as pastures degrade. This relationship between ranching, sediment load, and water quality is likely to further exacerbate environmental impacts, particularly in the context of climate change. We examine the role that river basin councils (RBCs) - a water governance option of Brazil's 1997 National Water Act - might play in managing this nonpoint-source pollution in the Amazônian state of Rondônia. We implement a simple coupled rancher-water system model to compare two potential governance options: a bulk water cleanup charge (BWC) implemented by RBCs and a land-use fine (LUF) for failing to maintain riparian buffers. We find no significant advantage of BWC over LUF in reducing sediment loading while keeping ranching profitable, under a changing climate. We also fail to find in Rondônia the important stake in water issues that has driven water reform elsewhere in Brazil. Moreover, the comparative success of reforestation programs suggests these programs may, in fact, have the potential to manage nonpoint-source agricultural pollution in the region.

  5. Promoting Sustainable Agricultural Practices Through Remote Sensing Education and Outreach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Driese, K. L.; Sivanpillai, R.

    2007-12-01

    Ever increasing demand for food and fiber calls for farm management strategies such as effective use of chemicals and efficient water use that will maximize productivity while reducing adverse impacts on the environment. Remotely sensed data collected by satellites are a valuable resource for farmers and ranchers for gaining insights about farm and ranch productivity. While researchers in universities and agencies have made tremendous advances, technology transfer to end-users has lagged, preventing the farmers from taking advantage of this valuable resource. To overcome this barrier, the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC), a NASA funded program headed by the University of North Dakota, has been working with end-users to promote the use of remote sensing technology for sustainable agricultural practices. We will highlight the UMAC activities in Wyoming aimed at promoting this technology to sugar-beet farmers in the Big Horn Basin. To assist farmers who might not have a computer at home, we provide them to local county Cooperative Extension Offices pre-loaded with relevant imagery. Our targeted outreach activities have resulted in farmers requesting and using new and old Landsat images to identify growth anomalies and trends which have enabled them to develop management zones within their croplands.

  6. Ranching modernization in tropical Brazil: foreign investment and environment in Mato Grosso, 1900-1950.

    PubMed

    Wilcox, Robert W

    2008-01-01

    Accompanying the expansion of modern beef production in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were technologies and methods that proponents assumed were applicable to all ecosystems. successes in Europe, the United States, and Argentina convinced ranchers, investors, and animal scientists that these could be applied in the tropical Americas with ease. This assumption contributed to a wave of foreign ranching investment in semi-tropical Mato Grosso, Brazil, beginning in the early twentieth century. However, such a view failed to consider the specific characteristics of such environments and led to difficulties for several ventures and a re-evaluation of the relationship between ecosystems and the type of ranching appropriate to them. Ultimately, local Brazilian practice and experimentation proved more successful in tropical and semi-tropical Brazil, forcing foreign ranching concerns to adapt their techniques. Following the logic of earlier decades, more recently cattle-raising practices developed in Mato Grosso and similar regions have been applied in the tropical Amazon, resulting in widespread ecological devastation. The uneven experiences of foreign entrepreneurs in Mato Grosso offer valuable lessons for understanding the application of modernization technologies to diverse ecosystems; such knowledge can lead to a more sustainable approach to meat production.

  7. Whole-body vibration exposure of occupational horseback riding in agriculture: A ranching example.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Xiaoke; Trask, Catherine; Kociolek, Aaron M

    2017-02-01

    Horse riding is common in many occupations; however, there is currently no research evaluating exposure to whole-body vibration and mechanical shock on horseback. Whole-body vibration was measured on a cattle rancher during two 30 min horseback rides using a tri-axial accelerometer mounted on a western saddle. Vibration was summarized into standardized metrics, including the 8 hr equivalent root-mean-squared acceleration (A[8]) and the daily 4th power vibration dose value (VDV). The resulting exposures were compared to the exposure limit and action values provided by European Union Directive 2002/44/EC. The highest vibration for both rides was in the vertical axis, with average A(8) and VDV of 0.56 m/s 2 and 26.24 m/s 1.75 , respectively. The A(8) value indicated moderate risk while the VDV suggested high risk of harmful health effects. Exposure to whole-body vibration and mechanical shock during occupational horseback riding may pose deleterious health risks and increased susceptibility to low back pain. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:215-220, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Addressing agricultural issues in health care education: an occupational therapy curriculum program description.

    PubMed

    Smallfield, Stacy; Anderson, Angela J

    2008-01-01

    Medical and allied health professionals who work in agricultural states frequently address the needs of clients who live and work in rural and frontier environments. The primary occupations of those living in rural areas include farming, ranching, or other agriculture-related work. Farming is consistently ranked as one of the most high-risk occupations for work-related injuries and accidents; therefore, it is critical that health education programs include content to prepare future medical and health professionals to work with this population. This paper describes the rural issues component of the occupational therapy curriculum at The University of South Dakota. This rural issues module is designed to provide occupational therapists with training about the physical, temporal, and sociocultural aspects of production agriculture and the impact these have on the health and well-being of the agricultural population. It also addresses the occupational therapy implications for farmers and ranchers who have disabilities. Student assessments of the course content have been above average. Training in agricultural health enables our occupational therapy students to be well prepared for work in the rural and frontier areas of South Dakota and other rural locations.

  9. Fatal Clostridium botulinum toxicosis in eleven Holstein cattle fed round bale barley haylage.

    PubMed

    Kelch, W J; Kerr, L A; Pringle, J K; Rohrbach, B W; Whitlock, R H

    2000-09-01

    Twenty-two lactating Holstein cattle in Tennessee had clinical signs of intoxication with preformed Clostridium botulinum toxin. These signs included weakness, paralysis of the tongue and chest muscles, abdominal breathing, and, in 11 of the 22 cows, death. Differential diagnoses included hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, carbohydrate overload, and several toxicoses including mycotoxin, lead, nitrate, organophosphate, atropine or atropine-like alkaloid, and botulism. A diagnosis of botulism by the ingestion of preformed C. botulinum type B toxin was made by eliminating these other diseases, by finding C. botulinum type B spores in 3 bales of round bale barley haylage fed to these cattle, and by isolating preformed type B toxin from 1 of the 3 bales. Confirmation of the toxin type was made by demonstrating mouse lethality by intraperitoneal injection of specimen extracts with neutralization by C. botulinum type B antitoxin. The haylage, harvested green and encased in black plastic bags to facilitate fermentation, was presumably contaminated by the botulinum toxin when fermentation failed to produce enough acid to lower the pH to 4.5, the pH below which C. botulinum growth is inhibited. Farmers and ranchers who use round hay balers to produce haylage should be alert to this potential problem.

  10. A fuzzy multi-objective linear programming approach for integrated sheep farming and wildlife in land management decisions: a case study in the Patagonian rangelands

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metternicht, Graciela; Blanco, Paula; del Valle, Hector; Laterra, Pedro; Hardtke, Leonardo; Bouza, Pablo

    2015-04-01

    Wildlife is part of the Patagonian rangelands sheep farming environment, with the potential of providing extra revenue to livestock owners. As sheep farming became less profitable, farmers and ranchers could focus on sustainable wildlife harvesting. It has been argued that sustainable wildlife harvesting is ecologically one of the most rational forms of land use because of its potential to provide multiple products of high value, while reducing pressure on ecosystems. The guanaco (Lama guanicoe) is the most conspicuous wild ungulate of Patagonia. Guanaco ?bre, meat, pelts and hides are economically valuable and have the potential to be used within the present Patagonian context of production systems. Guanaco populations in South America, including Patagonia, have experienced a sustained decline. Causes for this decline are related to habitat alteration, competition for forage with sheep, and lack of reasonable management plans to develop livelihoods for ranchers. In this study we propose an approach to explicitly determinate optimal stocking rates based on trade-offs between guanaco density and livestock grazing intensity on rangelands. The focus of our research is on finding optimal sheep stocking rates at paddock level, to ensure the highest production outputs while: a) meeting requirements of sustainable conservation of guanacos over their minimum viable population; b) maximizing soil carbon sequestration, and c) minimizing soil erosion. In this way, determination of optimal stocking rate in rangelands becomes a multi-objective optimization problem that can be addressed using a Fuzzy Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) approach. Basically, this approach converts multi-objective problems into single-objective optimizations, by introducing a set of objective weights. Objectives are represented using fuzzy set theory and fuzzy memberships, enabling each objective function to adopt a value between 0 and 1. Each objective function indicates the satisfaction of the decision maker towards the respective objective. Fuzzy logic is closer to intuitive thinking used by decision makers, making it a user-friendly approach for them to select alternatives. The proposed approach was applied in a study area of approximately 40,000 hectares in semiarid Patagonian rangelands where extensive, continuous sheep grazing for wool production is the main land use. Multi- and hyper-spectral data were combined with ancillary data within a GIS environment, and used to derive maps of forage production, guanacos density, soil organic carbon and soil erosion. Different scenarios, with different objectives weights were evaluated. Results showed that under scenario 1, where livestock production is predicted to have the highest values, guanaco numbers decrease substantially as well as soil carbon sequestration, and soil erosion exhibit the highest values. On the other hand, when guanaco population is prioritized, livestock production has the lowest value. A compromise alternative resulted from a scenario where variables are assigned same weight; under this condition, high livestock production is predicted, while conservation of guanaco population is sustainable, carbon sequestration is maximized and soil erosion minimized.

  11. Tropical forests: present status and future outlook.

    PubMed

    Myers, N

    1991-09-01

    Tropical forests still cover almost 8 million km squared of the humid tropics but they are being destroyed at ever-more rapid rates. In 1989, the area deforested amounted to 142,200 km squared, or nearly 90% more than in 1979. Thus, whereas the 1989 amounted total to 1.8% of the remaining biome, the proportion could well continue to rise for the foreseeable future, until there is little forest in just a few decades. Deforestati on patterns are far from even throughout the biome. In much of the Southeast and Southern Asia, East and West Africa, and Central America, there is likely to be little forest left by the year 2000 or shortly thereafter. But in the Zaire basin, western Brazilian Amazonia, and the Guyana highlands, sizeable expanses of forest could persist a good while longer. The main agent of deforestation in the 'shifted cultivator' or displaced peasant, who, responding to land hunger and general lack of rural development in traditional farming areas of countries concerned, feels there is no alternative but to adopt a slash-and-burn lifestyle in forestlands. This person is now accounting for at least 60% of deforestation, a rapidly expanding proportion. However, he receives far less policy attention than the commercial logger, the cattle rancher, and other agents of deforestation.

  12. Pesticide-laced predator baits: considerations for prosecution and sentencing

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vyas, N.B.; Spann, J.W.; Albers, E.; Patterson, D.

    2003-01-01

    The illegal use of pesticide-laced baits for predator control is a wildlife crime that is underreported, inadequately documented, and insufficiently punished. The crime occurs when some ranchers, farmers, and hunting groups illegally lace baits with pesticides to control avian and mammalian predators. The activity has poisoned birds protected by the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. However, because of difficulties in discovering, reporting, and confirming the baitings and the wildlife kills, the crimes often appear inconsequential. The limited knowledge of these crimes in the public, regulatory, and judicial arenas distorts their importance .for some prosecutors and judges. The United States pesticide regulatory system has positioned federal and state prosecutors and judges in a critical role for protecting wildlife from the illegal practice of lacing baits with pesticides. In this article, the authors provide an overview of the crime and describe the ways in which the crime is investigated. They then present investigative and experimental evidence on the extent of the illegal practice and the magnitude of the kills in order to elucidate their importance with respect to prosecution and sentencing. The authors conclude by recommending that sufficient resources be made available, public awareness and education increased, and persistent prosecution occur in order to improve the effectiveness of all federal wildlife enforcement.

  13. Xingu Project - Integrating Land Use Planning and Water Governance in Amazonia: Towards Improved Freshwater Security in the Agricultural Frontier of Mato Grosso.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krusche, A. V.; Ballester, M. V.; Neill, C.; Elsenbeer, H.; Johnson, M. S.; Coe, M. T.; Garavello, M.; Molina, S. G.; Empinotti, V.; Reichardt, F.; Deegan, L.; Harris, L.

    2014-12-01

    The main goal of this project is to identify how impacts from land conversion, cropland expansion and intensification of both crop and animal production interact to affect regional evapotranspiration, rainfall generation, river flooding, and water quality and stream habitats, allowing us to identify thresholds of change that will endanger agricultural production, livelihoods of non-agricultural settlers and the region's new urban population and infrastructure. We will survey the effects of this on (1) soybean farmers, (2) cattle ranchers, (3) small-scale farm families, (4) rural non-agriculturists, including fishers, and (5) urban residents and map their roles as stakeholders. We will also conduct current water use surveys among the different stakeholder groups, accompanied by questions on desired aspects for future freshwater security to identify targets for desirable outcomes of water governance strategies. These targets, together with the information on land use drivers, water quantity and quality and predicted scenarios for global changes will be incorporated into a fully integrated and interactive geospatially oriented socio-ecological model that can serve as framework for future water governance that enhances Freshwater Security in such systems. This is an international cooperation initiative lead by Brazil and with the participation of Canada, Germany and United States of America.

  14. Interactions among Amazon land use, forests and climate: prospects for a near-term forest tipping point.

    PubMed

    Nepstad, Daniel C; Stickler, Claudia M; Filho, Britaldo Soares-; Merry, Frank

    2008-05-27

    Some model experiments predict a large-scale substitution of Amazon forest by savannah-like vegetation by the end of the twenty-first century. Expanding global demands for biofuels and grains, positive feedbacks in the Amazon forest fire regime and drought may drive a faster process of forest degradation that could lead to a near-term forest dieback. Rising worldwide demands for biofuel and meat are creating powerful new incentives for agro-industrial expansion into Amazon forest regions. Forest fires, drought and logging increase susceptibility to further burning while deforestation and smoke can inhibit rainfall, exacerbating fire risk. If sea surface temperature anomalies (such as El Niño episodes) and associated Amazon droughts of the last decade continue into the future, approximately 55% of the forests of the Amazon will be cleared, logged, damaged by drought or burned over the next 20 years, emitting 15-26Pg of carbon to the atmosphere. Several important trends could prevent a near-term dieback. As fire-sensitive investments accumulate in the landscape, property holders use less fire and invest more in fire control. Commodity markets are demanding higher environmental performance from farmers and cattle ranchers. Protected areas have been established in the pathway of expanding agricultural frontiers. Finally, emerging carbon market incentives for reductions in deforestation could support these trends.

  15. Education can improve the negative perception of a threatened long-lived scavenging bird, the Andean condor

    PubMed Central

    Cailly Arnulphi, Verónica B.; Lambertucci, Sergio A.

    2017-01-01

    Human-wildlife conflicts currently represent one of the main conservation problems for wildlife species around the world. Vultures have serious conservation concerns, many of which are related to people's adverse perception about them due to the belief that they prey on livestock. Our aim was to assess local perception and the factors influencing people's perception of the largest scavenging bird in South America, the Andean condor. For this, we interviewed 112 people from Valle Fértil, San Juan province, a rural area of central west Argentina. Overall, people in the area mostly have an elementary education, and their most important activity is livestock rearing. The results showed that, in general, most people perceive the Andean condor as an injurious species and, in fact, some people recognize that they still kill condors. We identified two major factors that affect this perception, the education level of villagers and their relationship with livestock ranching. Our study suggests that conservation of condors and other similar scavengers depends on education programs designed to change the negative perception people have about them. Such programs should be particularly focused on ranchers since they are the ones who have the worst perception of these scavengers. We suggest that highlighting the central ecological role of scavengers and recovering their cultural value would be fundamental to reverse their persecution and their negative perception by people. PMID:28950019

  16. Globalization of the Amazon soy and beef industries: opportunities for conservation.

    PubMed

    Nepstad, Daniel C; Stickler, Claudia M; Almeida, Oriana T

    2006-12-01

    Amazon beef and soybean industries, the primary drivers of Amazon deforestation, are increasingly responsive to economic signals emanating from around the world, such as those associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, "mad cow disease") outbreaks and China's economic growth. The expanding role of these economic "teleconnections" (coupled phenomena that take place in distant places on the planet) led to a 3-year period (2002-2004) of historically high deforestation rates. But it also increases the potential for large-scale conservation in the region as markets and finance institutions demand better environmental and social performance of beef and soy producers. Cattle ranchers and soy farmers who have generally opposed ambitious government regulations that require forest reserves on private property are realizing that good land stewardship-including compliance with legislation-may increase their access to expanding domestic and international markets and to credit and lower the risk of "losing" their land to agrarian reform. The realization of this potential depends on the successful negotiation of social and environmental performance criteria and an associated system of certification that are acceptable to both the industries and civil society. The foot-and-mouth eradication system, in which geographic zones win permission to export beef, may provide an important model for the design of a low-cost, peer-enforced, socioenvironmental certification system that becomes the mechanism by which beef and soy industries gain access to markets outside the Amazon.

  17. Q fever in the Southern California desert: epidemiology, clinical presentation and treatment.

    PubMed

    Cone, Lawrence A; Curry, Noel; Shaver, Phillip; Brooks, David; DeForge, James; Potts, Barbara E

    2006-07-01

    Despite the absence of a natural reservoir for Q fever in the desert of Southern California, six cases have been identified during the past 32 years. During that period of time, two areas have been used by northern sheep ranchers from Idaho and Wyoming to import sheep to an area in the Coachella Valley through 1985. Thereafter, because of housing development, the sheep area was moved to Blythe along the Colorado River. All but two of these patients probably acquired infection by Coxiella burnetii by living or working in close proximity to these grazing areas but not directly involved with the sheep. The shift of infected patients from the Coachella Valley to Blythe (100 miles distant) seems to support that supposition. All patients with acute Q fever developed antibodies primarily to phase II antigen, whereas the only person with chronic Q fever developed phase I antibodies. All patients presented with granulomatous hepatitis. One also had a pulmonary infiltrate, and the single individual with chronic Q fever also had a mitral valve prosthesis, although echocardiography could not define endocarditis. All patients with acute infections responded to 3-5 weeks of therapy with doxycycline, whereas the patient with chronic disease failed 3 years of therapy with combination regimens. Further studies at the Eisenhower Medical Center on the prevalence of infection in Blythe, CA, and elsewhere are anticipated.

  18. Implementing PURPA : Renewable Resource Development in the Pacific Northwest : Executive Summary.

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

    Washington State Energy Office.

    The Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) of 1979 requires that electrical utilities interconnect with qualifying facilities (QFs) and purchase electricity at a rate based upon their full avoided cost of providing both capacity and energy. Facilities that qualify for PURPA benefits include solar or geothermal electric units, hydropower, municipal solid waste or biomass-fired power plants, and cogeneration projects that satisfy maximum size, fuel use, ownership, location, and/or efficiency criteria. The mandate of PURPA, coupled with the electrical energy deficits projected to occur in the Pacific Northwest by the mid 1980s, led to resurgence of interest in the development ofmore » small, decentralized, non-utility owned and operated generating stations. A variety of would-be developers conducted feasibility studies and initiated environmental permitting and power marketing discussions with appropriate authorities. While many proposed PURPA projects fill by the wayside, others were successfully brought on-line. A variety of public and private sector developers, including cities, counties, irrigation districts, utilities, ranchers, timber companies, and food processing plants, successfully negotiated PURPA-based, or share-the-savings'' power purchase contracts. Other developers run their meter backwards'' or provide energy to their local utilities at the same rate that would otherwise be paid to Bonneville. This document provides a summary resource development of these renewable projects in the Pacific Northwest.« less

  19. Nest survival of American Coots relative to grazing, burning, and water depths

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Austin, Jane E.; Buhl, Deborah A.

    2011-01-01

    Water and emergent vegetation are key features influencing nest site selection and success for many marsh-nesting waterbirds. Wetland management practices such as grazing, burning, and water-level manipulations directly affect these features and can influence nest survival. We used model selection and before-after-control-impact approaches to evaluate the effects of water depth and four common land-management practices or treatments, i.e., summer grazing, fall grazing, fall burning, and idle (no active treatment) on nest survival of American coots (Fulica americana) nesting at Grays Lake, a large montane wetland in southeast Idaho. The best model included the variables year × treatment, and quadratic functions of date, water depth, and nest age; height of vegetation at the nest did not improve the best model. However, results from the before-after-control-impact analysis indicate that management practices affected nest success via vegetation and involved interactions of hydrology, residual vegetation, and habitat composition. Nest success in idled fields changed little between pre- and post-treatment periods, whereas nest success declined in fields that were grazed or burned, with the most dramatic declines the year following treatments. The importance of water depth may be amplified in this wetland system because of rapid water-level withdrawal during the nesting season. Water and land-use values for area ranchers, management for nesting waterbirds, and long-term wetland function are important considerations in management of water levels and vegetation.

  20. Drought in Northeast Brazil—past, present, and future

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marengo, Jose A.; Torres, Roger Rodrigues; Alves, Lincoln Muniz

    2017-08-01

    This study provides an overview of the drought situation in Northeast Brazil for the past, present, and future. Droughts affect more people than any other natural hazard owing to their large scale and long-lasting nature. They are recurrent in the region and while some measures have been taken by the governments to mitigate their impacts, there is still a perception that residents, mainly in rural areas, are not yet adapted to these hazards. The drought affecting the Northeast from 2012 to 2015, however, has had an intensity and impact not seen in several decades and has already destroyed large swaths of cropland, affecting hundreds of cities and towns across the region, and leaving ranchers struggling to feed and water cattle. Future climate projections for the area show large temperature increases and rainfall reductions, which, together with a tendency for longer periods with consecutive dry days, suggest the occurrence of more frequent/intense dry spells and droughts and a tendency toward aridification in the region. All these conditions lead to an increase in evaporation from reservoirs and lakes, affecting irrigation and agriculture as well as key water uses including hydropower and industry, and thus, the welfare of the residents. Integrating drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting provides efficient means of assessing impacts of climate variability and change, identifying vulnerabilities, and allowing for better adaptation measures not only for medium- and long-term climate change but also for extremes of the interannual climate variability, particularly droughts.

  1. Earth observations during STS-89

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1998-01-30

    STS089-709-049 (22-31 Jan. 1998) --- This oblique photograph of Argentina and Chile was among several of South America photographed with a 70mm handheld camera from the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Endeavour. This part of Patagonia in Argentina and the lake district of Chile and Argentina are in southern South America between latitudes 40 degrees and 43 degrees. It is a beautiful alpine region noted for skiing and for the recent immigration of rich Americans and Europeans. On the west side of the Andes are a series of snow-capped volcanoes that are formed due to melting of sediments and portions of the Pacific Plate, which are being subducted beneath South America. East of the mountains the plains are barren and windswept, noted as having "the curse of sterility" by Charles Darwin. In the mountain regions some alpine valleys are filled by lovely lakes, such as Nahuel Huapi (in sunglint). The university town and ski resort of Bariloche, Argentina is the light area on the southeastern shore. In 1901 Robert Leroy Parker and Harry Longabaugh (aka Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid) bought a ranch near the town of Cholila (lower left in the photo) with the proceeds of a robbery of the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada. They lived there as successful ranchers until 1907, when they were reportedly forced to sell out and flee to Bolivia where their career ended at the hands of the Bolivian army. Photo credit: NASA

  2. Effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on secondary metabolites in forage plants and potential consequences for multiple trophic responses involving mammalian herbivores

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thines, Nicole J.; Bassman, John H.; Shipley, Lisa A.; Slusser, James R.

    2004-10-01

    Herbivores represent the interface between primary production and higher trophic levels. The effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on microbes, invertebrate herbivores, and detritivores has received limited study in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, although direct effects (e.g. melanoma, cataracts) on mammals have been documented, indirect effects (e.g., resulting from changes in plant chemistry) of enhanced UV-B on mammalian herbivores have not been evaluated. Although the diet of mammalian herbivores has little effect on nutritional quality for their associated predators, to the extent changes in plant chemistry affect aspects of population dynamics (e.g., growth, fecundity, densities), higher trophic levels can be affected. In this study, different forage species of varying inherent levels of key secondary metabolites are being grown in the field under either ambient or ambient plus supplemental UV-B radiation simulating a 15% stratospheric ozone depletion for Pullman, Washington. At various time intervals, foliage is being sampled and analyzed for changes in secondary metabolites and other attributes. Using controlled feeding trials, changes in plant secondary metabolites are being related to preference and digestibility in specialist and generalist mammalian hindgut herbivores, digestion in ruminants and non-ruminants, and to selected aspects of population dynamics in mammalian herbivores. Results suggest how UV-B-induced changes in plant secondary chemistry affect animal nutrition, and thus animal productivity in a range of mammalian herbivores. Reductions in palatability and digestibility of plant material along with reductions in fecundity and other aspects of population dynamics could have significant economic ramifications for farmers, ranchers and wildlife biologists.

  3. Photogeologic map showing distribution of sinkholes south of Fairplay, Park County, Colorado--a possible geologic hazard

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shawe, D.R.; Steven, T.A.; Taylor, R.B.; Maxwell, C.H.

    1995-01-01

    A large group of at least 50, and perhaps significantly more, sinkholes partially surrounds Black Mountain 6-10 mi south Fairplay in South Park, Park County, Colorado. The sinkholes occur in bedrock in the evaporite facies of the Middle Pennsylvania Minturn Formation, and in Quaternary soil, alluvium, and glacial outwash gravels that overlie the evaporite beds. Sinkholes range in size from small depressions a few feet across to large holes several hundred feet across. Measured sinkholes range in size from about 25 ft in diameter and 2 ft deep to about 235 ft in diameter and 25 ft deep. In places, several sinkholes have coalesced to form depressions as much as 750 ft long and 400 ft wide. One large cluster of small craters is about 1,8000 ft long and 600 ft wide. As reported to us by a resident rancher, one small sinkhole collapsed about 10 years ago. The area of sinkholes extends into land now under development for residences, and the sinkholes thus pose a potential hazard that needs to be considered in future development. Also, they might jeopardize existing farmland, structures, ans roads (including U.S. Highway 285), as well as projected roads and airstrips. This report is not a comprehensive evaluation of the distribution and origin of the sinkholes; its intent is to call attention to their presence and to encourage further study. Many by not all of the sinkholes were visited; the geologic map is based mainly on the interpretation of aerial photographs by D.R. Shawe.

  4. Fire and vegetation history on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands, and long-term environmental change in southern California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Starratt, Scott W.; Pinter, N.; Anderson, Robert S.; Jass, R.B.

    2009-01-01

    The long-term history of vegetation and fire was investigated at two locations – Soledad Pond (275 m; from ca. 12 000 cal. a BP) and Abalone Rocks Marsh (0 m; from ca. 7000 cal. a BP) – on Santa Rosa Island, situated off the coast of southern California. A coastal conifer forest covered highlands of Santa Rosa during the last glacial, but by ca. 11 800 cal. a BP Pinus stands, coastal sage scrub and grassland replaced the forest as the climate warmed. The early Holocene became increasingly drier, particularly after ca. 9150 cal. a BP, as the pond dried frequently, and coastal sage scrub covered the nearby hillslopes. By ca. 6900 cal. a BP grasslands recovered at both sites. Pollen of wetland plants became prominent at Soledad Pond after ca. 4500 cal. a BP, and at Abalone Rocks Marsh after ca. 3465 cal. a BP. Diatoms suggest freshening of the Abalone Rocks Marsh somewhat later, probably by additional runoff from the highlands. Introduction of non-native species by ranchers occurred subsequent to AD 1850. Charcoal influx is high early in the record, but declines during the early Holocene when minimal biomass suggests extended drought. A general increase occurs after ca. 7000 cal. a BP, and especially after ca. 4500 cal. a BP. The Holocene pattern closely resembles population levels constructed from the archaeological record, and suggests a potential influence by humans on the fire regime of the islands, particularly during the late Holocene.

  5. Using Rapid-Response Scenario-Building Methodology for Climate Change Adaptation Planning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ludwig, K. A.; Stoepler, T. M.; Schuster, R.

    2015-12-01

    Rapid-response scenario-building methodology can be modified to develop scenarios for slow-onset disasters associated with climate change such as drought. Results of a collaboration between the Department of the Interior (DOI) Strategic Sciences Group (SSG) and the Southwest Colorado Social-Ecological Climate Resilience Project are presented in which SSG scenario-building methods were revised and applied to climate change adaptation planning in Colorado's Gunnison Basin, United States. The SSG provides the DOI with the capacity to rapidly assemble multidisciplinary teams of experts to develop scenarios of the potential environmental, social, and economic cascading consequences of environmental crises, and to analyze these chains to determine actionable intervention points. By design, the SSG responds to acute events of a relatively defined duration. As a capacity-building exercise, the SSG explored how its scenario-building methodology could be applied to outlining the cascading consequences of slow-onset events related to climate change. SSG staff facilitated two workshops to analyze the impacts of drought, wildfire, and insect outbreak in the sagebrush and spruce-fir ecosystems. Participants included local land managers, natural and social scientists, ranchers, and other stakeholders. Key findings were: 1) scenario framing must be adjusted to accommodate the multiple, synergistic components and longer time frames of slow-onset events; 2) the development of slow-onset event scenarios is likely influenced by participants having had more time to consider potential consequences, relative to acute events; 3) participants who are from the affected area may have a more vested interest in the outcome and/or may be able to directly implement interventions.

  6. Analyzing changes in the beef cattle ranching communities of acatic and tepatitlan de morelos, jalisco, Mexico related to land cover and climate variability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trevino-Pena, Melva B.

    The impacts of climate change on the environment at the global scale can be determined through the use of large-scale circulation models; however, the results from these models are difficult to interpret at the regional or local levels. Regional vulnerability analyses consider the knowledge of locals, which may provide insight into the effects of climate variability on the environment at smaller scales, and most importantly, the effects that these developments are having on society. The objective of this research was to analyze the vulnerability to climate variability of the beef cattle ranching communities of the municipalities of Acatic and of Tepatitlan de Morelos, Jalisco, Mexico. These municipalities are found in a region of the state referred to as "Los Altos". The economy of Los Altos largely relies on agricultural and farming practices; these sectors provide the largest source of employment in the area. In the two municipalities that comprise the study area, the beef cattle industry is one of the strongest economic activities. Climate variability poses great threat on these communities because the main economic activities of the region are highly dependent on natural resources. To have a better understanding of the human-environment interactions in this region, remote sensing methods were applied. Three Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images (years: 1985, 1993 and 2000) were employed to generate land use and land cover classification maps of the study area; these maps were then subjected to a change detections analysis. Some of the land use and land cover categories experienced more change than others; among those was the category of water, shrub land and crop land. The area covered by water nearly doubled from 1985 to 1993 and then nearly decreased by half by the year 2000. From 1985 to 1993, here was a decrease in the shrub land of about 1200 ha and concurrently an increase in the crop land of about 1400 ha. From 1993 to 2000 there was an increase in the shrub land category of about 430 ha and a decrease in the crop land category of about 690 ha. To gain insight into the effects of climate variability on the livelihoods of these communities, nine local beef cattle ranchers were interviewed on a one-on-one basis. All participants believe that the local beef cattle industry is highly valuable to the economy and culture of the region. All participants also mentioned that notable variations in to the climate have been occurring in recent decades; mainly precipitation scarcity and higher temperatures. The locals believe that these changes are the result of extensive deforestation. In past decades, deforestation of native vegetation has been intensely performed in order to make land available for agricultural purposes. Therefore, among the various adaptation measures to the changes presented in the climate, the cattle ranchers talked about planting trees. People believe that the "vision" of the region is changing and that reforestation has become a priority in this land. To determine the exact causes of the climate changes experienced in this region, further investigations have to be done. However, it is certain that these changes are having implications on the economic activities of the region; the people of these communities will continue facing difficulties if the present changes in the regional climate continue to develop. The employment of proper adaptation measures has the potential to reduce climate-related losses within the livestock and agricultural sectors. Therefore, it is crucial that preventive measures are taken by the members of these communities before the effects of climate change worsen in the region.

  7. Present and Potential Future Distribution of Common Vampire Bats in the Americas and the Associated Risk to Cattle

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Dana N.; Papeş, Monica; Van Den Bussche, Ronald A.

    2012-01-01

    Success of the cattle industry in Latin America is impeded by the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, through decreases in milk production and mass gain and increased risk of secondary infection and rabies. We used ecological niche modeling to predict the current potential distribution of D. rotundus and the future distribution of the species for the years 2030, 2050, and 2080 based on the A2, A1B, and B1 climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We then combined the present day potential distribution with cattle density estimates to identify areas where cattle are at higher risk for the negative impacts due to D. rotundus. We evaluated our risk prediction by plotting 17 documented outbreaks of cattle rabies. Our results indicated highly suitable habitat for D. rotundus occurs throughout most of Mexico and Central America as well as portions of Venezuela, Guyana, the Brazilian highlands, western Ecuador, northern Argentina, and east of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. With future climate projections suitable habitat for D. rotundus is predicted in these same areas and additional areas in French Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Columbia; however D. rotundus are not likely to expand into the U.S. because of inadequate ‘temperature seasonality.’ Areas with large portions of cattle at risk include Mexico, Central America, Paraguay, and Brazil. Twelve of 17 documented cattle rabies outbreaks were represented in regions predicted at risk. Our present day and future predictions can help authorities focus rabies prevention efforts and inform cattle ranchers which areas are at an increased risk of cattle rabies because it has suitable habitat for D. rotundus. PMID:22900023

  8. The challenge of wolf recovery: an ongoing dilemma for state managers

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mech, L. David

    2013-01-01

    “Dave, would you do another legal declaration on the wolf for us?” The weary voice on the phone belonged to Mike Jimenez, Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Management and Science Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). He was calling from Wyoming to ask me to prepare a document to address a legal challenge to the FWS’s August 2012 delisting of the wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming, a highly controversial move. Mike’s tone reflected the reality that — as so many wildlife biologists know and live each day — wildlife management is mainly people management. This contention could not be truer for managing any wildlife species than for managing the wolf. Dubbed “the beast of waste and desolation” by Teddy Roosevelt (The Wilderness Hunter 1893/1900), wolves had been universally hated as prolific predators of valuable livestock and game. Around the turn of the 20th century, members of the U.S. Biological Survey and various state agents, ranchers, cowboys, and other frontiersmen poisoned and persecuted wolves, extirpating them from most of the contiguous United States (Young and Goldman 1944). By 1967, Minnesota and nearby Isle Royale National Park in Michigan held the only remaining wolves in the Lower 48 states, prompting the FWS to place the wolf on the Endangered Species List (established by the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966). The wolf then became the list’s poster species, and the timing was ideal: Silent Spring (Carson 1962) had just seeded and fertilized the environmental movement, which blossomed on Earth Day (April 22, 1970) into the environmental revolution. “Save the wolf!” became one of the movement’s rallying cries. And save the wolf we did.

  9. Determinants of Persistence and Tolerance of Carnivores on Namibian Ranches: Implications for Conservation on Southern African Private Lands

    PubMed Central

    Lindsey, Peter Andrew; Havemann, Carl Peter; Lines, Robin; Palazy, Lucille; Price, Aaron Ernest; Retief, Tarryn Anne; Rhebergen, Tiemen; Van der Waal, Cornelis

    2013-01-01

    Changing land use patterns in southern Africa have potential to dramatically alter the prospects for carnivore conservation. Understanding these influences is essential for conservation planning. We interviewed 250 ranchers in Namibia to assess human tolerance towards and the distribution of large carnivores. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), leopards (Panthera pardus) and brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were widely distributed on Namibian farmlands, spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) had a narrower distribution, and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and lions (Panthera leo) are largely limited to areas near source populations. Farmers were most tolerant of leopards and least tolerant of lions, wild dogs and spotted hyaenas. Several factors relating to land use correlated consistently with carnivore-presence and landowner tolerance. Carnivores were more commonly present and/or tolerated where; wildlife diversity and biomass were higher; income from wildlife was higher; income from livestock was lower; livestock biomass was lower; in conservancies; game fencing was absent; and financial losses from livestock depredation were lower. Efforts to create conditions whereby the costs associated with carnivores are lowest, and which confer financial value to them are likely to be the most effective means of promoting carnivore conservation. Such conditions are achieved where land owners pool land to create conservancies where livestock are replaced with wildlife (or where livestock husbandry is improved) and where wildlife generates a significant proportion of ranch income. Additional measures, such as promoting improved livestock husbandry and educational outreach efforts may also help achieve coexistence with carnivores. Our findings provide insights into conditions more conducive to the persistence of and tolerance towards large carnivores might be increased on private (and even communal) lands in Namibia, elsewhere in southern and East Africa and other parts of the world where carnivore conservation is being attempted on private lands. PMID:23326333

  10. Determinants of persistence and tolerance of carnivores on Namibian ranches: implications for conservation on Southern African private lands.

    PubMed

    Lindsey, Peter Andrew; Havemann, Carl Peter; Lines, Robin; Palazy, Lucille; Price, Aaron Ernest; Retief, Tarryn Anne; Rhebergen, Tiemen; Van der Waal, Cornelis

    2013-01-01

    Changing land use patterns in southern Africa have potential to dramatically alter the prospects for carnivore conservation. Understanding these influences is essential for conservation planning. We interviewed 250 ranchers in Namibia to assess human tolerance towards and the distribution of large carnivores. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), leopards (Panthera pardus) and brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were widely distributed on Namibian farmlands, spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) had a narrower distribution, and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and lions (Panthera leo) are largely limited to areas near source populations. Farmers were most tolerant of leopards and least tolerant of lions, wild dogs and spotted hyaenas. Several factors relating to land use correlated consistently with carnivore-presence and landowner tolerance. Carnivores were more commonly present and/or tolerated where; wildlife diversity and biomass were higher; income from wildlife was higher; income from livestock was lower; livestock biomass was lower; in conservancies; game fencing was absent; and financial losses from livestock depredation were lower. Efforts to create conditions whereby the costs associated with carnivores are lowest, and which confer financial value to them are likely to be the most effective means of promoting carnivore conservation. Such conditions are achieved where land owners pool land to create conservancies where livestock are replaced with wildlife (or where livestock husbandry is improved) and where wildlife generates a significant proportion of ranch income. Additional measures, such as promoting improved livestock husbandry and educational outreach efforts may also help achieve coexistence with carnivores. Our findings provide insights into conditions more conducive to the persistence of and tolerance towards large carnivores might be increased on private (and even communal) lands in Namibia, elsewhere in southern and East Africa and other parts of the world where carnivore conservation is being attempted on private lands.

  11. Monitoring Forage Production of California Rangeland Using Remote Sensing Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Dahlgren, R. A.; O'Geen, A. T.; Roche, L. M.; Smith, A. M.; Flavell, D.

    2016-12-01

    Pastures and rangeland cover more than 10 million hectares in California's coastal and inland foothill regions, providing feeds to livestock and important ecosystem services. Forage production in California has a large year-to-year variation due to large inter-annual and seasonal variabilities in precipitation and temperature. It also varies spatially due to the variability in climate and soils. Our goal is to develop a robust and cost-effective tool to map the near-real-time and historical forage productivity in California using remote sensing observations from Landsat and MODIS satellites. We used a Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory: the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) is determined by (i) the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and the (ii) light use efficiency (LUE): ANPP = APAR * LUEmax * f(T) * f(SM), where LUEmax is the maximum LUE, and f(T) and f(SM) are the temperature and soil moisture constrains on LUE. APAR was estimated with Landsat and MODIS vegetation index (VI), and LUE was calibrated with a statewide point dataset of peak forage production measurements at 75 annual rangeland sites. A non-linear optimization was performed to derive maximum LUE and the parameters for temperature and soil moisture regulation on LUE by minimizing the differences between the estimated and measured ANPP. Our results showed the satellite-derived annual forage production estimates correlated well withcontemporaneous in-situ forage measurements and captured both the spatial and temporal productivity patterns of forage productivity well. This remote sensing algorithm can be further improved as new field measurements become available. This tool will have a great importance in maintaining a sustainable range industry by providing key knowledge for ranchers and the stakeholders to make managerial decisions.

  12. Warming in the Northern Great Plains: Impact and Response in the Agricultural Community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seielstad, G.; Welling, L.

    2001-12-01

    Because agricultural production in the northern Great Plains contributes significantly to both domestic and international markets the impacts of climate change, as well as the response strategies undertaken by the region's residents, will be felt throughout the nation and the world. The national assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the United States has pointed out that the northern Great Plains could be favored under global warming scenarios in that future climates could increase crop yields [Reilly, Tubiello, McCarl, and Melillo, 2000]. Yield, though, is only one measure of the consequences that rapid warming might have on this region. Challenges to a changing environment must be met by people. Producers here, as well as in other agricultural regions, already function under multiple stresses that are completely separate from climate variability and change. These include falling prices, globalization, complex trade relations, changes in government policy, environmental constraints, and changing consumer preferences. It is against the backdrop of these stresses that pending climate changes must be considered. Interactions with stakeholders through the NGP Assessment workshops, held in 1997 and 1999, identified key concerns and outlined potential mitigation and optimization strategies for the consequences of climate change in this region. We will present examples of the successful implementation of some of these strategies: actions that farmers and ranchers are employing to 1) increase their awareness of environmental factors, 2) enhance their ability to respond quickly to environmental change, 3) improve their economic returns, and 4) decrease environmental degradation. We will also highlight other "no regrets" actions and policies under consideration that may offer individual producers greater flexibility in their management decisions and provide a healthier environment for society at large.

  13. Federal climate change programs in the water-limited Southwest: intersection of mission, stakeholders and geography to build successful collaboration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elias, E.; Steele, C. M.; Rango, A.; Reyes, J. J.; Langston, M. A.; Johnson, K.

    2016-12-01

    As one of the newest federal programs to emerge in response to climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hubs were established to assist farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in their adaptation and mitigation efforts under a changing climate. The Hubs' mission is to deliver science-based information and tools to agricultural and natural resource land managers, to enable climate-informed decision-making. By facilitating and transferring tools and knowledge, the Hubs also provide value to cooperative extension, land grant institutions, and USDA itself, especially in leveraging existing resource capacity. Various federal agencies (NOAA, USGS, USFWS) have also developed climate change coordination networks: RISAs, CSCs, and LCCs. These regionally-based federal networks can best operate in collaboration with one another. At their programmatic level, however, there are fundamental discrepancies in mission, stakeholder definition and geographic region. In this presentation, we seek to compare and contrast these divergent characteristics by identifying `hot spots' and `hot moments' where definitions, programs, or priorities may intersect due to place-based or event-based issues. The Southwest (SW) region of the United States, which presently operates under warm and dry conditions, is projected to become warmer and drier in the future. On-going drought conditions have presented an opportunity to maintain and build professional networks among these federal climate change coordination networks, as well as within USDA, to better understand impacts and respond to stakeholder needs. Projects in the Rio Grande River Valley and with Tribal nations highlight successful collaboration based on geography and common stakeholders, respectively. Aridity and water scarcity characterize the SW region and provide an overarching theme to better support adaptation and mitigation, as well as create opportunities for collaborative success.

  14. Effects of cattle grazing and haying on wildlife conservation at National Wildlife Refuges in the United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strassmann, Beverly I.

    1987-01-01

    The National Wildlife Refuge System is perhaps the most important system of federal lands for protecting wildlife in the United States. Only at refuges has wildlife conservation been legislated to have higher priority than either recreational or commercial activities. Presently, private ranchers and farmers graze cattle on 981,954 ha and harvest hay on 12,021 ha at 123 National Wildlife Refuges. US Fish and Wildlife Service policy is to permit these uses primarily when needed to benefit refuge wildlife. To evaluate the success of this policy, I surveyed grassland management practices at the 123 refuges. The survey results indicate that in fiscal year 1980 there were 374,849 animal unit months (AUMs) of cattle grazing, or 41% more than was reported by the Fish and Wildlife Service. According to managers' opinions, 86 species of wildlife are positively affected and 82 are negatively affected by refuge cattle grazing or haying. However, quantitative field studies of the effect of cattle grazing and haying on wildlife coupled with the survey data on how refuge programs are implemented suggest that these activities are impeding the goal of wildlife conservation. Particular management problems uncovered by the survey include overgrazing of riparian habitats, wildlife mortality due to collisions with cattle fences, and mowing of migratory bird habitat during the breeding season. Managers reported that they spend 919,740 administering cattle grazing and haying; thus refuge grazing and haying programs are also expensive. At any single refuge these uses occupy up to 50% of refuge funds and 55% of staff time. In light of these results, prescribed burning may be a better wildlife management option than is either cattle grazing or haying.

  15. Shade treatment affects structure and recovery of invasive C4 African grass Echinochloa pyramidalis.

    PubMed

    López Rosas, Hugo; Moreno-Casasola, Patricia; Espejel González, Verónica E

    2015-03-01

    Echinochloa pyramidalis (Lam.) Hitchc. & Chase is an African grass with C4 photosynthesis, high biomass production, and high vegetative propagation that is tolerant to grazing and able to grow in flooded and dry conditions. Thus, it is highly invasive in tropical freshwater marshes where it is intentionally planted by ranchers to increase cattle production. This invasion is reducing plant biodiversity by increasing the invader's aerial coverage, changing wetland hydrology and causing soil physicochemical changes such as vertical accretion. Reducing the dominance of this species and increasing the density of native wetland species is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. We applied a series of disturbance treatments aimed at eliminating E. pyramidalis and recovering the native vegetation of a partially invaded freshwater marsh. Treatments included physical (cutting, soil disking, transplanting individuals of the key native species Sagittaria lancifolia subsp. media (Micheli) Bogin, and/or reducing light with shade mesh) and/or chemical (spraying Round-Up™ herbicide) disturbances. At the end of the experiment, four of the five treatments used were effective in increasing the cover and biomass of native species and reducing that of E. pyramidalis. The combination of these treatments should be used to generate a proposal for the restoration of tropical wetlands invaded by non-native grasses. A promising treatment is using soil disked to soften the soil and destroy belowground structures such as roots and rhizomes. This treatment would be more promising if combined with the use of shade cloth. If it is desirable not to impact the soil or if there is not enough budget to make an effort to include active restoration disking soil, the use of shade cloth will suffice, although the recovery of native vegetation will be slower.

  16. Structural analysis of the Tabaco anticline, Cerrejón open-cast coal mine, Colombia, South America

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cardozo, Néstor; Montes, Camilo; Marín, Dora; Gutierrez, Iván; Palencia, Alejandro

    2016-06-01

    The Tabaco anticline is a 15 km long, south plunging, east-vergent anticline in northern Colombia, close to the transpressional collisional margin between the Caribbean and South American plates. In the Cerrejón open-cast coal mine, systematic mapping of coal seams in the middle to upper Paleocene Cerrejón Formation has yielded an exceptional dataset consisting of 10 horizontal slices (sea level to 90 m elevation, regularly spaced at 10 m intervals) through the anticline. Coal seams and fault traces in these slices are used to construct a 3D model of the anticline. This 3D model shows tighter folds within lower coal seams, NW-vergent thrusts and related folds on the gentler western limb, and strike-slip faults on the steeper eastern limb. Fault slip-tendency analysis is used to infer that these two faulting styles resulted from two different stress fields: an earlier one consistent with thrusting and uplift of the Perijá range, and a later one consistent with strike-slip faulting (Oca, Ranchería and Samán faults). Our preferred interpretation is that the anticline developed its eastern vergence during the early stages (late Paleocene-early Eocene) of tilting of the Santa Marta massif. Later NW-vergent thrusting on the western limb (early to middle Eocene) was related to western propagation of the Perijá thrust system. These results contribute to the understanding of the structural evolution of the area. They are also a good example of the complex interplay between detachment folding, thrusting, and strike-slip faulting during the growth of a km-size fold in a transpressive setting.

  17. Present and potential future distribution of common vampire bats in the Americas and the associated risk to cattle.

    PubMed

    Lee, Dana N; Papeş, Monica; Van den Bussche, Ronald A

    2012-01-01

    Success of the cattle industry in Latin America is impeded by the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, through decreases in milk production and mass gain and increased risk of secondary infection and rabies. We used ecological niche modeling to predict the current potential distribution of D. rotundus and the future distribution of the species for the years 2030, 2050, and 2080 based on the A2, A1B, and B1 climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We then combined the present day potential distribution with cattle density estimates to identify areas where cattle are at higher risk for the negative impacts due to D. rotundus. We evaluated our risk prediction by plotting 17 documented outbreaks of cattle rabies. Our results indicated highly suitable habitat for D. rotundus occurs throughout most of Mexico and Central America as well as portions of Venezuela, Guyana, the Brazilian highlands, western Ecuador, northern Argentina, and east of the Andes in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. With future climate projections suitable habitat for D. rotundus is predicted in these same areas and additional areas in French Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela and Columbia; however D. rotundus are not likely to expand into the U.S. because of inadequate 'temperature seasonality.' Areas with large portions of cattle at risk include Mexico, Central America, Paraguay, and Brazil. Twelve of 17 documented cattle rabies outbreaks were represented in regions predicted at risk. Our present day and future predictions can help authorities focus rabies prevention efforts and inform cattle ranchers which areas are at an increased risk of cattle rabies because it has suitable habitat for D. rotundus.

  18. Closing the Knowledge Gap: Effects of Land Use Conversion on Belowground Carbon near the 100th Meridian

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Waldron, S. E.; Phillips, R. L.; Dell, R.; Suddick, E. C.

    2012-12-01

    Native prairie of the northern Great Plains near the 100th meridian is currently under land use conversion pressure due to high commodity prices. From 2002 to 2007, approximately 303,515 hectares of prairie were converted to crop production in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) from Montana to the Dakotas. The spatiotemporal effects of land-use conversion on soil organic matter are still unclear for the PPR. Effects will vary with management, soil properties and time, making regional experiments and simulation modeling necessary. Grassland conservationists are interested in soil carbon data and soil carbon simulation models to inform potential voluntary carbon credit programs. These programs require quantification of changes in soil carbon associated with land-use conversion and management. We addressed this issue by 1) designing a regional-scale experiment, 2) collecting and analyzing soil data, and 3) interviewing producers about land management practices, as required for regional, process-based biogeochemical models. We selected farms at random within a 29,000 km2 area of interest and measured soil properties at multiple depths for native prairie and adjacent annual crop fields. The cores were processed at six different depths (between 0 and 100 cm) for bulk density, pH, texture, total carbon, inorganic carbon, and total nitrogen. We found that the largest difference in soil organic carbon occurred at the 0-10 cm depth, but the magnitude of the effect of land use varied with soil properties and land management. Results from this project, coupled with regional model simulations (Denitrification-Decomposition, DNDC) represent the baseline data needed for future voluntary carbon credit programs and long-term carbon monitoring networks. Enrollment in such programs could help ranchers and farmers realize a new income stream from maintaining their native prairie and the carbon stored beneath it.

  19. Shade treatment affects structure and recovery of invasive C4 African grass Echinochloa pyramidalis

    PubMed Central

    López Rosas, Hugo; Moreno-Casasola, Patricia; Espejel González, Verónica E

    2015-01-01

    Echinochloa pyramidalis (Lam.) Hitchc. & Chase is an African grass with C4 photosynthesis, high biomass production, and high vegetative propagation that is tolerant to grazing and able to grow in flooded and dry conditions. Thus, it is highly invasive in tropical freshwater marshes where it is intentionally planted by ranchers to increase cattle production. This invasion is reducing plant biodiversity by increasing the invader's aerial coverage, changing wetland hydrology and causing soil physicochemical changes such as vertical accretion. Reducing the dominance of this species and increasing the density of native wetland species is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. We applied a series of disturbance treatments aimed at eliminating E. pyramidalis and recovering the native vegetation of a partially invaded freshwater marsh. Treatments included physical (cutting, soil disking, transplanting individuals of the key native species Sagittaria lancifolia subsp. media (Micheli) Bogin, and/or reducing light with shade mesh) and/or chemical (spraying Round-Up™ herbicide) disturbances. At the end of the experiment, four of the five treatments used were effective in increasing the cover and biomass of native species and reducing that of E. pyramidalis. The combination of these treatments should be used to generate a proposal for the restoration of tropical wetlands invaded by non-native grasses. A promising treatment is using soil disked to soften the soil and destroy belowground structures such as roots and rhizomes. This treatment would be more promising if combined with the use of shade cloth. If it is desirable not to impact the soil or if there is not enough budget to make an effort to include active restoration disking soil, the use of shade cloth will suffice, although the recovery of native vegetation will be slower. PMID:25859337

  20. Characterization of the world's first nuclear explosion, the Trinity test, as a source of public radiation exposure.

    PubMed

    Widner, Thomas E; Flack, Susan M

    2010-03-01

    The world's first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico on 16 July 1945. From 1999 through 2008, scientists working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gathered information relevant to past releases from Los Alamos activities, including the Trinity test. Detonation on a 30.5 m tower enhanced radioactive fallout, and terrain and wind patterns caused "hot spots" of deposition. Several ranchers reported that fallout resembling flour was visible for 4 to 5 d after the blast, and residents living as close as 19 km from ground zero collected rain water from metal roofs for drinking. Pressures to maintain secrecy and avoid legal claims led to decisions that would not likely have been made in later tests. Residents were not warned before the test or informed afterward about potential protective actions, and no evacuations were conducted. Occupied homes were overlooked on the day of the blast. Exposure rates in residential areas were recorded as high as 1.4 microC kg s (20 R h) using instruments that were crude, ill suited to field use, and incapable of effectively measuring alpha contamination from about 4.8 kg of unfissioned plutonium that was dispersed. Vehicle shielding and contamination were recognized but not corrected for. To date, the post-shot field team measurements have not been rigorously evaluated, cross-checked, adjusted, or subjected to uncertainty analysis. Evaluations of Trinity fallout published to date have not addressed internal doses to members of the public following intakes of contaminated air, water, or foods. The closing of these data gaps appears feasible with the information that has been assembled and would support placement of the Trinity event in perspective as a source of public radiation exposure and more defensible evaluation of the potential for human health effects.

  1. Application of European standards for health and quality control of game meat on game ranches in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Van der Merwe, M; Jooste, P J; Hoffman, L C

    2011-09-01

    The health and quality compliance of game carcasses (n = 295) intended for the South African export market and aspiring to comply with the strict hygiene requirements of the European Union were compared with game carcasses (n = 330) available for the local market and currently not subjected to meat safety legislation. Samples were collected in similar seasons and geographical areas in South Africa from 2006 to 2009. Aerobic plate counts (APC) of the heart blood verified that both groups possessed similar ante mortem bacterial status. For health compliance APC, tests for Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were performed on the carcasses. Surfaces of the local carcasses were swabbed using the European Enviro-biotrace sponge technique at 3 and 72 h post mortem. Unskinned but eviscerated export carcasses in the abattoir were skinned and sampled by incision using a corkborer 72 h post mortem. Temperature and pH readings were recorded at 3 and 72 h post mortem from the longissimus dorsi muscle and the readings at 3 h differed (P = 0.035). Temperatures at 72 h were lower for export than local carcasses (P < 0.001) because of earlier introduction and maintenance of the cold chain. The pH readings also differed between groups at 3 and 72 h (P < 0.001). APC results for the local group exceeded the maximum permissible count (< 10(5)). S. aureus results showed differences (P < 0.001), with readings from the local group being higher. The same tendency was exhibited for E. coli (P = 0.008). Imposition of hygiene guidelines for game ranchers producing meat for the local market is therefore recommended.

  2. First Approximations of Prescribed Fire Risks Relative to Other Management Techniques Used on Private Lands.

    PubMed

    Twidwell, Dirac; Wonkka, Carissa L; Sindelar, Michael T; Weir, John R

    2015-01-01

    Fire is widely recognized as a critical ecological and evolutionary driver that needs to be at the forefront of land management actions if conservation targets are to be met. However, the prevailing view is that prescribed fire is riskier than other land management techniques. Perceived risks associated with the application of fire limits its use and reduces agency support for prescribed burning in the private sector. As a result, considerably less cost-share support is given for prescribed fire compared to mechanical techniques. This study tests the general perception that fire is a riskier technique relative to other land management options. Due to the lack of data available to directly test this notion, we use a combination of approaches including 1) a comparison of fatalities resulting from different occupations that are proxies for techniques employed in land management, 2) a comparison of fatalities resulting from wildland fire versus prescribed fire, and 3) an exploration of causal factors responsible for wildland fire-related fatalities. This approach establishes a first approximation of the relative risk of fatality to private citizens using prescribed fire compared to other management techniques that are readily used in ecosystem management. Our data do not support using risks of landowner fatalities as justification for the use of alternative land management techniques, such as mechanical (machine-related) equipment, over prescribed fire. Vehicles and heavy machinery are consistently leading reasons for fatalities within occupations selected as proxies for management techniques employed by ranchers and agricultural producers, and also constitute a large proportion of fatalities among firefighters. Our study provides the foundation for agencies to establish data-driven decisions regarding the degree of support they provide for prescribed burning on private lands.

  3. First Approximations of Prescribed Fire Risks Relative to Other Management Techniques Used on Private Lands

    PubMed Central

    Twidwell, Dirac; Wonkka, Carissa L.; Sindelar, Michael T.; Weir, John R.

    2015-01-01

    Fire is widely recognized as a critical ecological and evolutionary driver that needs to be at the forefront of land management actions if conservation targets are to be met. However, the prevailing view is that prescribed fire is riskier than other land management techniques. Perceived risks associated with the application of fire limits its use and reduces agency support for prescribed burning in the private sector. As a result, considerably less cost-share support is given for prescribed fire compared to mechanical techniques. This study tests the general perception that fire is a riskier technique relative to other land management options. Due to the lack of data available to directly test this notion, we use a combination of approaches including 1) a comparison of fatalities resulting from different occupations that are proxies for techniques employed in land management, 2) a comparison of fatalities resulting from wildland fire versus prescribed fire, and 3) an exploration of causal factors responsible for wildland fire-related fatalities. This approach establishes a first approximation of the relative risk of fatality to private citizens using prescribed fire compared to other management techniques that are readily used in ecosystem management. Our data do not support using risks of landowner fatalities as justification for the use of alternative land management techniques, such as mechanical (machine-related) equipment, over prescribed fire. Vehicles and heavy machinery are consistently leading reasons for fatalities within occupations selected as proxies for management techniques employed by ranchers and agricultural producers, and also constitute a large proportion of fatalities among firefighters. Our study provides the foundation for agencies to establish data-driven decisions regarding the degree of support they provide for prescribed burning on private lands. PMID:26465329

  4. Mapping Erosion Risk in California's Rangelands Using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salls, W. B.; O'Geen, T. T.

    2015-12-01

    Soil loss constitutes a multi-faceted problem for agriculture: in addition to reducing soil fertility and crop yield, it compromises downstream water quality. Sediment itself is a major issue for aquatic ecosystems, but also serves as a vector for transporting nutrients, pesticides, and pathogens. Rangelands are thought to be a contributor to water quality degradation in California, particularly in the northern Coast Range. Though total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) have been imposed in some watersheds, and countless rangeland water quality outreach activities have been conducted, the connection between grazing intensity recommendations and changes in water quality is poorly understood at the state level. This disconnect gives rise to poorly informed regulations and discourages adoption of best management practices by ranchers. By applying the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) at a statewide scale, we highlighted areas most prone to erosion. We also investigated how two different grazing intensity scenarios affect modeled soil loss. Geospatial data layers representing the USLE parameters—rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, and cover—were overlaid to model annual soil loss. Monitored suspended sediment data from a small North Coast watershed with grazing as the predominant land use was used to validate the model. Modeled soil loss values were nearly one order of magnitude higher than monitored values; average soil loss feeding the downstream-most site was modeled at 0.329 t ha-1 yr-1, whereas storm-derived sediment passing the site over two years was calculated to be 0.037 t ha-1 yr-1. This discrepancy may stem from the fact that the USLE models detached sediment, whereas stream monitoring reflects sediment detached and subsequently transported to the waterway. Preliminary findings from the statewide map support the concern that the North Coast is particularly at risk given its combination of intense rain, erodible soils, and relatively steep terrain, though there is a fair degree of variability statewide.

  5. Social movement heterogeneity in public policy framing: A multi-stakeholder analysis of the Keystone XL pipeline

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wesley, David T. A.

    In 2011, stakeholders with differing objectives formed an alliance to oppose the Keystone XL heavy oil pipeline. The alliance, which came to be known as "Tar Sands Action," implemented various strategies, some of which were more successful than others. Tar Sands Action was a largely heterogeneous alliance that included indigenous tribes, environmentalists, ranchers, landowners, and trade unions, making it one of the more diverse social movement organizations in history. Each of these stakeholder categories had distinct demographic structures, representing an array of racial, ethnic, educational, occupational, and political backgrounds. Participants also had differing policy objectives that included combating climate change and protecting jobs, agricultural interests, water resources, wildlife, and human health. The current dissertation examines the Tar Sands Action movement to understand how heterogeneous social movement organizations mobilize supporters, maintain alliances, and create effective frames to achieve policy objectives. A multi-stakeholder analysis of the development, evolution and communication of frames concerning the Keystone XL controversy provides insight into the role of alliances, direct action, and the news media in challenging hegemonic frames. Previous research has ignored the potential value that SMO heterogeneity provides by treating social movements as culturally homogenous. However, diversity has been shown to affect performance in business organizations. The current study demonstrates that under some circumstances, diversity can also improve policy outcomes. Moreover, policy frames are shown to be more effective in sustaining news media and public interest through a process the author calls dynamic frame sequencing (DFS). DFS refers to a process implementing different stakeholder frames at strategically opportune moments. Finally, Tar Sands Action was one of the first SMOs to rely heavily on social media to build alliances, disseminate information, and mobilize support. This study adds to a growing body of research that considers the emerging role of social media in protest movements.

  6. Hydrology and Conservation Ecology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Narayanan, M.

    2006-12-01

    Responses to change in the behavior of ecological systems are largely governed by interactions at different levels. Research is essential and is to be necessarily designed to gain insights into various interactions at the community level. Sustainable resource management is only possible if conservation of biodiversity can be accomplished by properly using the knowledge discovered. It is well known that the United States Department of Agriculture provides technical information, resources, and data necessary to assist the researchers in addressing their conservation needs. Conservation aims to protect, preserve and conserve the earth's natural resources. These include, but not limited to the conservation of soil, water, minerals, air, plants and all living beings. The United States Department of Agriculture also encourages farmers and ranchers to voluntarily address threats to soil and water. Protection of wetlands and wildlife habitat has been on the radar screen of conservation experts for a very long time. The main objective has always been to help farmers and landowners conform and comply with federal and state environmental laws. During the implementation phase, farmers should be encouraged to make beneficial, cost-effective changes to methods of irrigation systems. In some cases, the hydrologic regime of the project area can be thought of as principally an issue of river flow regimes for floodplain forests. In this presentation, the author tries to focus on the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology on global warming. He also discusses the impact of hydrology and conservation ecology global air concerns such as greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. References: Chow, V. T, D. R. Maidment, and L. W. Mays. 1988. Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill, Inc. U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Technical Release 55: Urban Hydrology for Small Watersheds. USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). June 1986. Lehner, B. and P. Döll (2004). Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. Journal of Hydrology 296/1-4. 1-22. http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov http://www.ceh-nerc.ac.uk http://www.usda.gov

  7. Diné (Navajo) parents' and community leaders' perceptions of agriculture-related injury risk to youth: a social narrative.

    PubMed

    Shumway, K; Pate, M L; McNeal, L G

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to provide a formative needs assessment of Diné (Navajo) parents for the prevention of childhood injuries resulting from livestock and horses. The research objectives were to identify parents' perceived livestock and horse related injury risks to Diné children and describe Diné community stakeholder input on prevention interventions for reducing injury risks to children associated with livestock and horse related activities on farms or ranches. The assessment used a survey constructed of closed and open-response questions to gauge Diné farmers' and ranchers' perceptions of injury risks to children who live or work on agricultural operations. Additional questions were asked to gauge Diné acceptance of an online training program as a prevention intervention to reduce livestock and horse related injuries to children. A total of 96 individuals agreed to participate in the survey and provided usable responses. A total of 53.2% (f = 50) of participants were female. Sixty-three percent of participants (f = 58) perceived that youth who work with intact male livestock were at high risk for injury. A total of 25 individuals perceived that youth who ride horses without equestrian helmets were at high risk for injury. Approximately 96% (f = 89) of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they would use an online training program to promote agricultural health and safety for Diné youth. When participants were asked if there were safety issues associated with having youth working on a farm or ranch, a very large portion felt that the biggest issue was a lack of education and instruction from elders. A recommendation for an injury prevention practice included developing a user-friendly online network, giving parents and community leaders access to resources to assist in educating youth in local agricultural traditions integrated with safety training.

  8. USDA Southwest Regional Hub for Adaptation to and Mitigation of Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rango, A.; Elias, E.; Steele, C. M.; Havstad, K.

    2014-12-01

    The USDA Southwest (SW) Climate Hub was created in February 2014 to develop risk adaptation and mitigation strategies for coping with climate change effects on agricultural productivity. There are seven regional hubs across the country with three subsidiary hubs. The SW Climate Hub Region is made up of six states: New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California and Hawaii (plus the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands). The SW Climate Hub has a subsidiary hub located in Davis, California. The Southwest region has high climatic diversity, with the lowest and highest average annual rainfall in the U.S.(6.0 cm in Death Valley, CA and 1168 cm at Mt. Waialeale, HI). There are major deserts in five of the six states, yet most of the states, with exception of Hawaii, depend upon the melting of mountain snowpacks for their surface water supply. Additionally, many of the agricultural areas of the SW Regional Hub depend upon irrigation water to maintain productivity. Scientific climate information developed by the Hub will be used for climate-smart decision making. To do this, the SW Regional Hub will rely upon existing infrastructure of the Cooperative Extension Service at Land-Grant State Universities. Extension service and USDA-NRCS personnel have existing networks to communicate with stakeholders (farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners) through meetings and workshops which have already started in the six states. Outreach through the development of a weather and climate impact modules designed for seventh grade students and their teachers will foster education of future generations of rural land managers. We will be synthesizing and evaluating existing reports, literature and information on regional climate projections, water resources, and agricultural adaptation strategies related to climate in the Southwest. The results will be organized in a spatial format and provided through the SW Hub website (http://swclimatehub.info) and peer-reviewed articles.

  9. Structure, agency, and the transformation of the Sonoran Desert by buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare): An application of land change science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brenner, Jacob C.

    A regional land transformation is underway in the Sonoran Desert of southwestern North America as a result of the conversion of native rangeland to exotic pasture. In northwestern Sonora, Mexico the process involves clearing native vegetation for cultivation of buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare). Southern African buffelgrass was introduced to Sonora through the United States in the 1950s with generous support from the Mexican federal and Sonoran state governments. The ascendance of buffelgrass as a range management tool in Sonora has been conditioned by an international political economy of beef production. However, land use decisions regarding buffelgrass are also conditioned by factors internal to the ranch household. This research examines the expansion of buffelgrass in the Sonoran Desert, addressing its extent and drivers. Through the use of systematic interviews with ranchers, key informant interviews with government officials, and an examination of northern Mexico's cattle ranching history and policy, the dissertation documents why buffelgrass has spread as a policy program and management choice. This part of the work addresses a "structure-agency debate" in human-environment geography. Next the research turns to landscape impacts of buffelgrass cultivation, through vegetation plot and transect sampling. The extent, cover, and density of buffelgrass inside and outside fenced pastures are examined, confirming the hypothesis that disturbance facilitates invasion from pastures onto surrounding lands. Finally, the research employs novel methods of remote sensing and geographic information science using a 1973-2006 time series of Landsat imagery to characterize the patterns and temporal trajectories of land change by buffelgrass across the site. Object-based image processing techniques are combined with traditional maximum likelihood techniques and classification tree analysis to address the difficult task of distinguishing buffelgrass from other prevalent land covers. Together, these topics and methods constitute an application of "land change science," which merges traditional methods from the social, biophysical, and geospatial sciences to arrive at an integrated characterization and explanation of landscape change in coupled human-environment systems.

  10. Varying geospatial analyses to assess climate risk and adaptive capacity in a hotter, drier Southwestern United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Elias, E.; Reyes, J. J.; Steele, C. M.; Rango, A.

    2017-12-01

    Assessing vulnerability of agricultural systems to climate variability and change is vital in securing food systems and sustaining rural livelihoods. Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners rely on science-based, decision-relevant, and localized information to maintain production, ecological viability, and economic returns. This contribution synthesizes a collection of research on the future of agricultural production in the American Southwest (SW). Research was based on a variety of geospatial methodologies and datasets to assess the vulnerability of rangelands and livestock, field crops, specialty crops, and forests in the SW to climate-risk and change. This collection emerged from the development of regional vulnerability assessments for agricultural climate-risk by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Hub Network, established to deliver science-based information and technologies to enable climate-informed decision-making. Authors defined vulnerability differently based on their agricultural system of interest, although each primarily focuses on biophysical systems. We found that an inconsistent framework for vulnerability and climate risk was necessary to adequately capture the diversity, variability, and heterogeneity of SW landscapes, peoples, and agriculture. Through the diversity of research questions and methodologies, this collection of articles provides valuable information on various aspects of SW vulnerability. All articles relied on geographic information systems technology, with highly variable levels of complexity. Agricultural articles used National Agricultural Statistics Service data, either as tabular county level summaries or through the CropScape cropland raster datasets. Most relied on modeled historic and future climate information, but with differing assumptions regarding spatial resolution and temporal framework. We assert that it is essential to evaluate climate risk using a variety of complementary methodologies and perspectives. In addition, we found that spatial analysis supports informed adaptation, within and outside the SW United States. The persistence and adaptive capacity of agriculture in the water-limited Southwest serves as an instructive example and may offer solutions to reduce future climate risk.

  11. The Zambian wildlife ranching industry: scale, associated benefits, and limitations affecting its development.

    PubMed

    Lindsey, Peter A; Barnes, Jonathan; Nyirenda, Vincent; Pumfrett, Belinda; Tambling, Craig J; Taylor, W Andrew; t'Sas Rolfes, Michael

    2013-01-01

    The number and area of wildlife ranches in Zambia increased from 30 and 1,420 km(2) in 1997 to 177 and ∼6,000 km(2) by 2012. Wild ungulate populations on wildlife ranches increased from 21,000 individuals in 1997 to ∼91,000 in 2012, while those in state protected areas declined steeply. Wildlife ranching and crocodile farming have a turnover of ∼USD15.7 million per annum, compared to USD16 million from the public game management areas which encompass an area 29 times larger. The wildlife ranching industry employs 1,200 people (excluding jobs created in support industries), with a further ∼1,000 individuals employed through crocodile farming. Wildlife ranches generate significant quantities of meat (295,000 kg/annum), of which 30,000 kg of meat accrues to local communities and 36,000 kg to staff. Projected economic returns from wildlife ranching ventures are high, with an estimated 20-year economic rate of return of 28%, indicating a strong case for government support for the sector. There is enormous scope for wildlife ranching in Zambia due to the availability of land, high diversity of wildlife and low potential for commercial livestock production. However, the Zambian wildlife ranching industry is small and following completion of field work for this study, there was evidence of a significant proportion of ranchers dropping out. The industry is performing poorly, due to inter alia: rampant commercial bushmeat poaching; failure of government to allocate outright ownership of wildlife to landowners; bureaucratic hurdles; perceived historical lack of support from the Zambia Wildlife Authority and government; a lack of a clear policy on wildlife ranching; and a ban on hunting on unfenced lands including game ranches. For the wildlife ranching industry to develop, these limitations need to be addressed decisively. These findings are likely to apply to other savanna countries with large areas of marginal land potentially suited to wildlife ranching.

  12. Teasing Apart the Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition from Grazing and Drought in Vernal Pool Wetlands and Adjacent Grassland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fogel, M. L.; Araiza, D. N.; Nakamoto, B. J.; Vega, M. C.; Bradley, C. J.; Swarth, C. W.

    2014-12-01

    The remaining vernal pools flanking California's Central Valley may be protected from development, but they are not pristine environments. At UC Merced's Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve, dairy cattle grazing is a fact of life, needed to keep non-native grasses from encroaching on and dominating these low lying, ephemeral pools. In addition to grazing, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen from adjacent agricultural farms and dairies has affected the biogeochemical cycling here, in particular because the area has never been ploughed and is essentially a terminal, interior catchment with almost no outputs. For the past two years, the region has been subjected to extreme drought resulting in altered patterns in vernal pool development and nutrient exchange. We are using stable nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen isotopes in organic and inorganic reservoirs to understand which of the three stressors (e.g. N loading, grazing, or drought) affects the ecosystem functioning the most. Simple measurements of residual dry matter (the rancher's standard) coupled with soil analyses and plant distribution, isotopic composition, and productivity will be presented at a landscape scale. Atmospheric deposition, as rain in winter and early spring and as dust in summer and fall, delivers substantial ammonium and nitrate to the Reserve and could be traced back to nearby hotspots, as well as from major storm systems. Concentrations and compositions of N in precipitation were highly variable depending on when the last storm event had occurred. Ammonia/ammonium in rainwater ranged from δ15N= -24 to +7‰, probably explaining the large range in the δ15N of plant tissues collected in winter/spring (-4.3 to +10.9‰,) and that of extractable ammonium from surface soils (δ15N = -7 to +13‰). Interior grassland and vernal pool ecosystems, with substantial inputs and little to no outputs, host biogeochemical processes that amplify heterogeneity on relative small scales.

  13. Consequences of buffelgrass pasture development for primary productivity, perennial plant richness, and vegetation structure in the drylands of Sonora, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Franklin, Kimberly; Molina-Freaner, Francisco

    2010-12-01

    In large parts of northern Mexico native plant communities are being converted to non-native buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) pastures, and this conversion could fundamentally alter primary productivity and species richness. In Sonora, Mexico land conversion is occurring at a regional scale along a rainfall-driven gradient of primary productivity, across which native plant communities transition from desert scrub to thorn scrub. We used a paired sampling design to compare a satellite-derived index of primary productivity, richness of perennial plant species, and canopy-height profiles of native plant communities with buffelgrass pastures. We sampled species richness across a gradient of primary productivity in desert scrub and thorn scrub vegetation to examine the influence of site productivity on the outcomes of land conversion. We also examined the influence of pasture age on species richness of perennial plants. Index values of primary productivity were lower in buffelgrass pastures than in native vegetation, which suggests a reduction in primary productivity. Land conversion reduced species richness by approximately 50% at local and regional scales, reduced tree and shrub cover by 78%, and reduced canopy height. Land conversion disproportionately reduced shrub species richness, which reflects the common practice among Sonoran ranchers of conserving certain tree and cactus species. Site productivity did not affect the outcomes of land conversion. The age of a buffelgrass pasture was unrelated to species richness within the pasture, which suggests that passive recovery of species richness to preconversion levels is unlikely. Our findings demonstrate that land conversion can result in large losses of plant species richness at local and regional scales and in substantial changes to primary productivity and vegetation structure, which casts doubt on the feasibility of restoring native plant communities without active intervention on the part of land managers. © 2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

  14. The effect of low larkspur (Delphinium spp.) co-administration on the acute toxicity of death camas (Zigadenus spp.) in sheep.

    PubMed

    Welch, K D; Green, B T; Gardner, D R; Stonecipher, C A; Panter, K E; Pfister, J A; Cook, D

    2013-12-15

    In most cases where livestock are poisoned by plants in a range setting, there is more than one potential poisonous plant in the same area. Two poisonous plants that are often found growing simultaneously in the same location are death camas (Zigadenus spp.) and low larkspur (Delphinium spp.). Sheep are known to be susceptible to death camas poisoning while they are thought to be resistant to larkspur. The objective of this study was to determine if co-administration of low larkspur would exacerbate the toxicity of death camas in sheep. A dose finding study was performed to find a dose of death camas that caused minimal clinical signs of poisoning. Sheep were observed for clinical signs of poisoning as well as changes in heart rate and muscle fatigue. Sheep dosed with 1.14 g of death camas per kg BW showed slight frothing and lethargy, whereas sheep dosed with death camas and low larkspur showed slightly more noticeable clinical signs of poisoning. Sheep dosed with only low larkspur, at 7.8 g/kg BW, showed no signs of poisoning. Although we observed a qualitative difference in clinical signs of intoxication in sheep co-treated with death camas and low larkspur we did not detect any quantitative differences in heart rate, exercise-induced muscle fatigue, or differences in serum zygacine kinetics. Consequently, the results from this study suggest that low larkspur does not affect the toxicity of death camas in sheep. The results from this study increase knowledge and understanding regarding the acute toxicity of death camas and low larkspur in sheep. As combined intoxications are most likely common, this information will be useful in further developing management recommendations for ranchers and in designing additional experiments to study the toxicity of death camas to other livestock species. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Using Spatial, Economic, and Ecological Opinion Data to Inform Gray Wolf Conservation

    PubMed Central

    Berry, Meredith S.; Nickerson, Norma P.; Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli

    2018-01-01

    Public opinion can be an influential factor in wildlife management decisions. Evaluating public opinions can help legitimize, or delegitimize, management and facilitate long-term conservation goals. This is especially true for the controversial issues surrounding the management of predators. We surveyed Montana, USA, residents during summer of 2013 to measure public opinion regarding economic and ecological impacts of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), and current management of this species. Although opinions were polarized in some areas, a greater percentage of Montanans think that wolves negatively affect the economy, but impact tourism (which contributes to the economy) positively. These differences may reflect the belief that rancher economic losses from wolf predation of cattle is greater than overall tourism gains related to wolves (e.g., wolf-watching), in addition to the perception of wolves negatively affecting big game (e.g., elk [Cervus canadensis]). Results also show that a slightly greater percentage of Montanans feel that wolves positively rather than negatively affect the ecosystem. Regarding specific practices, more Montanans than not have a positive opinion of maintaining wolves on the landscape and also support hunting of wolves. More Montanans hold negative rather than positive opinions, however, regarding wolf trapping. This result was most evident in western Montana as assessed by a spatial distribution of opinions by county and has implications for current wolf management and nontarget species. Results of ordinal regression analyses revealed that big game hunters, males, and those who held negative opinions of the effect of wolves on the Montana ecosystem and economy were significantly more likely to support both hunting and trapping practices. Living in western Montana predicted positive opinions of hunting, but alternatively, negative opinions of trapping. These results provide an understanding of public opinion of wolf management by county as well as statistical inferences that can be useful for informing more regionally oriented management practices. PMID:29706677

  16. Using Spatial, Economic, and Ecological Opinion Data to Inform Gray Wolf Conservation.

    PubMed

    Berry, Meredith S; Nickerson, Norma P; Metcalf, Elizabeth Covelli

    2016-09-01

    Public opinion can be an influential factor in wildlife management decisions. Evaluating public opinions can help legitimize, or delegitimize, management and facilitate long-term conservation goals. This is especially true for the controversial issues surrounding the management of predators. We surveyed Montana, USA, residents during summer of 2013 to measure public opinion regarding economic and ecological impacts of the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ), and current management of this species. Although opinions were polarized in some areas, a greater percentage of Montanans think that wolves negatively affect the economy, but impact tourism (which contributes to the economy) positively. These differences may reflect the belief that rancher economic losses from wolf predation of cattle is greater than overall tourism gains related to wolves (e.g., wolf-watching), in addition to the perception of wolves negatively affecting big game (e.g., elk [ Cervus canadensis ]). Results also show that a slightly greater percentage of Montanans feel that wolves positively rather than negatively affect the ecosystem. Regarding specific practices, more Montanans than not have a positive opinion of maintaining wolves on the landscape and also support hunting of wolves. More Montanans hold negative rather than positive opinions, however, regarding wolf trapping. This result was most evident in western Montana as assessed by a spatial distribution of opinions by county and has implications for current wolf management and nontarget species. Results of ordinal regression analyses revealed that big game hunters, males, and those who held negative opinions of the effect of wolves on the Montana ecosystem and economy were significantly more likely to support both hunting and trapping practices. Living in western Montana predicted positive opinions of hunting, but alternatively, negative opinions of trapping. These results provide an understanding of public opinion of wolf management by county as well as statistical inferences that can be useful for informing more regionally oriented management practices.

  17. The Tribal Lands Collaboratory: Building partnerships and developing tools to support local Tribal community response to climate change.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, K. D.; Wee, B.; Kuslikis, A.

    2015-12-01

    Response of Tribal nations and Tribal communities to current and emerging climate change challenges requires active participation of stakeholders who have effective access to relevant data, information and analytical tools. The Tribal Lands Collaboratory (TLC), currently under development, is a joint effort between the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The vision of the TLC is to create an integrative platform that enables coordination between multiple stakeholders (e.g. Tribal resource managers, Tribal College faculty and students, farmers, ranchers, and other local community members) to collaborate on locally relevant climate change issues. The TLC is intended to facilitate the transformation of data into actionable information that can inform local climate response planning. The TLC will provide the technical mechanisms to access, collect and analyze data from both internal and external sources (e.g. NASA's Giovanni climate data portal, Ameriflux or USA National Phenology Network) while also providing the social scaffolds to enable collaboration across Tribal communities and with members of the national climate change research community. The prototype project focuses on phenology, a branch of science focused on relationships between climate and the seasonal timing of biological phenomena. Monitoring changes in the timing and duration of phenological stages in plant and animal co­­­­mmunities on Tribal lands can provide insight to the direct impacts of climate change on culturally and economically significant Tribal resources . The project will leverage existing phenological observation protocols created by the USA-National Phenology Network and NEON to direct data collection efforts and will be tailored to the specific needs and concerns of the community. Phenology observations will be captured and managed within the Collaboratory environment where these data may then be correlated with regional climate data to investigate interactions between large-scale environmental changes and local impacts. Esri's Story Maps is a candidate mechanism for sharing of those findings among Tribal stakeholders.

  18. The Zambian Wildlife Ranching Industry: Scale, Associated Benefits, and Limitations Affecting Its Development

    PubMed Central

    Lindsey, Peter A.; Barnes, Jonathan; Nyirenda, Vincent; Pumfrett, Belinda; Tambling, Craig J.; Taylor, W. Andrew; Rolfes, Michael t’Sas

    2013-01-01

    The number and area of wildlife ranches in Zambia increased from 30 and 1,420 km2 in 1997 to 177 and ∼6,000 km2 by 2012. Wild ungulate populations on wildlife ranches increased from 21,000 individuals in 1997 to ∼91,000 in 2012, while those in state protected areas declined steeply. Wildlife ranching and crocodile farming have a turnover of ∼USD15.7 million per annum, compared to USD16 million from the public game management areas which encompass an area 29 times larger. The wildlife ranching industry employs 1,200 people (excluding jobs created in support industries), with a further ∼1,000 individuals employed through crocodile farming. Wildlife ranches generate significant quantities of meat (295,000 kg/annum), of which 30,000 kg of meat accrues to local communities and 36,000 kg to staff. Projected economic returns from wildlife ranching ventures are high, with an estimated 20-year economic rate of return of 28%, indicating a strong case for government support for the sector. There is enormous scope for wildlife ranching in Zambia due to the availability of land, high diversity of wildlife and low potential for commercial livestock production. However, the Zambian wildlife ranching industry is small and following completion of field work for this study, there was evidence of a significant proportion of ranchers dropping out. The industry is performing poorly, due to inter alia: rampant commercial bushmeat poaching; failure of government to allocate outright ownership of wildlife to landowners; bureaucratic hurdles; perceived historical lack of support from the Zambia Wildlife Authority and government; a lack of a clear policy on wildlife ranching; and a ban on hunting on unfenced lands including game ranches. For the wildlife ranching industry to develop, these limitations need to be addressed decisively. These findings are likely to apply to other savanna countries with large areas of marginal land potentially suited to wildlife ranching. PMID:24367493

  19. Drought in the Klamath River Basin

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2002-01-01

    For more than 100 years groups in the western United States have fought over water. During the 1880s, sheep ranchers and cattle ranchers argued over drinking water for their livestock on the high plains. In 1913, the city of Los Angeles began to draw water away from small agricultural communities in the Owen Valley, leaving a dusty dry lake bed. In the late 1950s, construction of the Glen Canyon Dam catalyzed the American environmental movement. Today, farmers are fighting fishermen, environmentalists, and Native American tribes over the water in the Upper Klamath River Basin. A below-average winter snowpack and low rainfall throughout the year have caused an extreme drought in the area along the California/Oregon border. In April 2001 a U.S. District Court stopped water deliveries to farms in the Klamath Irrigation District to preserve adequate water levels in Upper Klamath Lake to protect two endangered species of Mullet fish (called suckers). Water was also reserved for the threatened Coho Salmon which need enough water to swim downstream from their spawning grounds to the ocean. In addition, several Native American tribes have rights to Klamath River water. Further complicating the situation are a handful of wildlife refuges which usually receive enough irrigation wastewater to support upwards of a million migratory birds and 900 Bald Eagles. This year, however, several of the refuges may not have enough water for the birds which begin arriving in early fall. The severity of this year's drought is underscored by the town of Bonanza, Oregon. Famous for its natural springs, and entirely dependent on wells for drinking water, the town's water supply is now contaminated with pesticides, fertilizer, and manure. The water quality is so bad it's not even safe to bathe in, much less drink. The problem stems from a very low water table. The drop in underground water levels is caused directly by the drought, and indirectly from the increased irrigation from underground aquifers to compensate for the lack of water from Upper Klamath Lake. As the water table drops, clean water stops flowing from the springs and wells, and dirty water from fields flows into the water beneath Bonanza. Area farmers, many of them entirely dependent on irrigation, immediately launched protests when the court's decision to stop irrigation flows was announced, leading to national media coverage. On July 24 the Department of the Interior approved the release of some irrigation water from Upper Klamath Lake, but the flow lasted only until August 23. The water was enough to save some fields growing winter feed for livestock, but some other crops were unsalvageable, and water didn't reach every farmer who needed it. The Klamath Project dates back to 1903, when the Reclamation Service (now the Bureau of Reclamation, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior) investigated the possibility of converting rangeland, wetlands, and natural lakes into irrigated farmland. Construction began in 1906, the first water deliveries were made in 1907, and the project was completed in 1924. The Bureau of Reclamation supplies water to the farmers at the cost of delivery, without charging for the water. Fodder, barley, oats, potatoes, and wheat are the principal crops on the 225,000 acres of irrigated land. In addition, the irrigation dams control floodwaters, and the Link River Dam supplies hydroelectric power. The images above show the northeast portion of the Klamath Basin in 2000 (top) and 2001 (lower). These true-color images were acquired by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus sensor aboard the Landsat 7 satellite, launched by NASA and operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. Upper Klamath Lake, with its endangered sucker fish, is at the upper left, with the town of Klamath falls immediately below it. Bonanza is to the right of Klamath Falls. Tule Lake, which has been partially converted to farmland, is at the lower right and is surrounded by the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. To the left of Tule Lake are the remains of Lower Klamath Lake and the marshes of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Farms left dry by the water shortage appear brown in this year's image. Most of the farms without irrigation water are between Upper Klamath Lake and Tule Lake. The land immediately surrounding Tule Lake did receive irrigation water this year, and as a result is greener than the fields to the north. Some farms rely on wells and not Klamath Project water, and many of these remained green, as well. Images courtesy USGS EROS Data Center and the Landsat 7 Science Team

  20. 2012 Groundwater Monitoring and Inspection Report Gnome-Coach, New Mexico, Site

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

    None

    2013-03-01

    Gnome-Coach was the site of a 3-kiloton underground nuclear test conducted in 1961. Surface and subsurface contamination resulted from the underground nuclear testing, post-test drilling, and a groundwater tracer test performed at the site. Surface reclamation and remediation began after the underground testing. A Completion Report was prepared, and the State of New Mexico is currently proceeding with a conditional certificate of completion for the surface. Subsurface corrective action activities began in 1972 and have generally consisted of annual sampling and monitoring of wells near the site. In 2008, the annual site inspections were refined to include hydraulic head monitoringmore » and collection of samples from groundwater monitoring wells onsite using the low-flow sampling method. These activities were conducted during this monitoring period on January 18, 2012. Analytical results from this sampling event indicate that concentrations of tritium, strontium-90, and cesium-137 were generally consistent with concentrations from historical sampling events. The exceptions are the decreases in concentrations of strontium-90 in samples from wells USGS-4 and USGS-8, which were more than 2.5 times lower than last year's results. Well USGS-1 provides water for livestock belonging to area ranchers, and a dedicated submersible pump cycles on and off to maintain a constant volume in a nearby water tank. Water levels in wells USGS-4 and USGS-8 respond to the on/off cycling of the water supply pumping from well USGS-1. Well LRL-7 was not sampled in January, and water levels were still increasing when the transducer data were downloaded in September. A seismic reflection survey was also conducted this year. The survey acquired approximately 13.9 miles of seismic reflection data along 7 profiles on and near the site. These activities were conducted from February 23 through March 10, 2012. The site roads, monitoring well heads, and the monument at surface ground zero were in good condition at the time of the site inspection. However, it was reported in September 2012 that the USGS-1 well head had been damaged by a water truck in April 2012.« less

  1. Assessing Wildlife Habitat And Range Utilization in Arizona Using Satellite Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hutchinson, C. F.; Marsh, S. E.; Krausman, P. R.; Enns, R. M.; Howery, L. D.; Trobia, E.; Wallace, C. S.; Walker, J. J.; Mauz, K.; Boyd, H.; Salazar, H.

    2001-05-01

    Since their reintroduction in 1914, elk (Cervus elaphus) have grown to be a major issue in the western United States. Most land is controlled by federal or state agencies, but individual ranchers have agreements that permit them to graze cattle on much of this land. Elk often compete with cattle for forage, and damage infrastructure (i.e. fences, watering points, and crops). Conversely, environmentalists and hunters also have an interest in the management of elk populations. As a result, consequence of these conflicting interests, there is little agreement about the size of the elk population or the nature, location, and timing of conflicts that elk might cause. This study was intended to provide information that might help managers understand the distribution of elk in Arizona as a consequence of seasonal variation and in response to extreme climatic events (i.e. El Niño and La Niña). The first task involved modeling elk populations over time. There are no long term or large-scale studies of elk movements through continuous observation (i.e. radiocollars). A technique for modeling elk population has been developed that is based on harvest data, gender ratios, and estimates of male mortality. This provided estimates of elk populations for individual game management units (areas for which harvest is reported and within which elk are managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department). The second task involved the use of satellite data to characterize vegetation responses to seasonal and interannual climate variation among vegetation associations within game management units. This involved the use of NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) time series data to describe temporal vegetation behavior, Landsat and Ikonos data to describe spatial vegetation distribution in conjunction with U.S. Forest Service vegetation maps. Elk population estimates were correlated with satellite-derived vegetation measures by vegetation association through time. The patterns of elk distribution that this revealed were complex. Not surprisingly, animals appear to respond to differences in vegetation availability - both seasonally and interannually - as portrayed by satellite data.

  2. Demographic crisis and recovery: a case study of the Xavante of Pimentel Barbosa.

    PubMed

    Flowers, N

    1994-03-01

    This case study of the Xavante of Pimentel Barbosa is an example of an Amazonian Indian group that, when exposed to White society, experienced the common history of diseases and social disruption, and then eventually, recovered from the demographic shock, increased fertility, and reduced mortality. Early contact for the Xavante was during the early 18th century in Goias state, Brazil; by the end of the 19th century the Xavante had migrated west into Mato Grosso in isolation. Brazilian government interests (1940s) and a research expeditionary group (1962) resulted in health posts and extensive genetic, epidemiologic, and demographic studies. The results showed good physical and nutritional status, but stress from epidemic disease and social disruption. Conditions had improved by 1976, and the battle was with encroaching ranchers. Strong indian political action led to the securing of boundaries within the Pimentel Barbosa reservation by 1977. The population doubled from 249 in 1977 to 411 in 1988, and increased to 3 villages. There was evidence of a return to more traditional practices. Data collection for this analysis occurred during 1976-77 and 1988 and 1990. Results were provided for recent demographic change, recent births and deaths, factors affecting fertility, fertility change, parity and infant mortality, life expectancy changes, infanticide, population growth, marriage patterns, and health changes. Fertility histories were collected from 71 women in 1971 and 109 women in 1990. Difficulties were encountered due to Xavante differences in enumeration of children. In the comparison of the surveys in 1977 and 1990, there was close correspondence of reported births, and discrepancies of 4-9 births and in age at death. The difficulties encountered were attributed to problems with interpreters. The demographic analysis showed evidence of introduced diseases, which increased infant mortality and threatened population replacement, followed by decreased infant mortality and a large cohort of reproductive age women increasing population growth. The history of this and similar populations is one of a rise and fall in population since colonial times. The seminomadic nature of this group may have saved them from extinction.

  3. Applying the Science of Science Communication to Climate Change and Clean Energy: Lessons Learned from the NSF- and PBS-supported "Earth: The Operators' Manual"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines-Stiles, G.; Akuginow, E.; Sanford, C.

    2014-12-01

    Yale legal scholar and professor of psychology Dan Kahan has criticized the climate change science community for not applying what's known about effective communications strategies to topics with potentially controversial content. "Earth: The Operators' Manual," funded by NSF's Informal Science Education program and appearing on PBS was hosted by Penn State geoscientist Richard Alley. From the initial proposal forward into airing on public television in 2011 and 2012, ETOM aimed to be authoritative and apolitical while still being engaging to general audiences. Based on social scientific insights from project Advisor, Suzanne Moser, and others, ETOM aimed to avoid "climate porn" scare tactics and over-used footage, and to enlist a diverse group of "messengers" in addition to Alley. An important design criterion was to give equal time to clean energy solutions while pulling no punches as to the consensus findings of leading climate scientists. With the ETOM project now completed and final reports submitted to NSF, what results can be shared to inform future efforts? And how did ETOM compare in audience impact with other major media efforts such as Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" or Showtime's more recent "Years of Living Dangerously"? Results reported draw on the external evaluation by Rockman Et Al, and include both quantitative and qualitative data. Key findings are the importance of including Texan ranchers enthusiastic about wind power alongside Navy Admirals adamant that climate change is human-caused and Marines implementing solar energy to reduce casualties incurred while transporting fossil fuels. In-person presentations by Alley and others at science centers served as de facto focus groups for scripting the TV programs, along with actual focus groups convened by Rockman. The 3rd program, ENERGY QUEST USA, documented 5 quite different communities, from Alaska to Forth Worth, Baltimore, Portland and Kansas, all using competition, local values, and economic incentives to move ahead. Might a more political approach have generated larger audiences? Perhaps, but at the cost of generating materials that have proven potential for long-lived use in both secondary and tertiary education.

  4. CoCoRaHS: A Community Science Program Providing Valuable Precipitation Data to Guide Decision Making

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robinson, D. A.; Doesken, N.

    2017-12-01

    CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. It is long-running, community-based network of volunteers working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow). Precipitation is an ideal element for public engagement because it affects everyone, it is so variable in time and space and it impacts so many things. By using a standard precipitation gauge, stressing training and education, utilizing an interactive website, and having observations undergo quality assurance, the CoCoRaHS program provides high-quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. The program currently operates in all states, Canada and the Bahamas. It originated with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998 due in part to the Fort Collins flood a year prior. Upwards of 12,000 observers submit observations each day. Observations meet federal guidelines and are archived at the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information. Because of excellent spatial coverage, data quality, practical relevance, and accessibility, CoCoRaHS observations are used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. The U.S. National Weather Service, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, storm water), insurance adjusters, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, engineers, mosquito control commissions, ranchers and farmers, outdoor and recreation interests, teachers and students are just some examples of those who use CoCoRaHS data in making well-informed, meaningful decisions. Some examples of community applications and the science utility of CoCoRaHS observations include storm warnings, water supply and demand forecasts, disaster declarations (drought, winter storm, etc.), drought and food production assessments, calibration/validation of remote sensing, infrastructure evaluation and potential redesign (ice and snow loading, bridge, storm and sewer design), recreation planning, and environmental education. This presentation will demonstrate a growing trust in volunteered data and that the CoCoRaHS program succeeds in striking a balance between education, local interest, community service and service to science.

  5. Reconciling Scale Mismatch in Water Governance, Hydro-climatic Processes and Infrastructure Systems of Water Supply in Las Vegas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia, M. E.; Alarcon, T.; Portney, K.; Islam, S.

    2013-12-01

    Water resource systems are a classic example of a common pool resource due to the high cost of exclusion and the subtractability of the resource; for common pool resources, the performance of governance systems primarily depends on how well matched the institutional arrangements and rules are to the biophysical conditions and social norms. Changes in water governance, hydro-climatic processes and infrastructure systems occur on disparate temporal and spatial scales. A key challenge is the gap between current climate change model resolution, and the spatial and temporal scale of urban water supply decisions. This gap will lead to inappropriate management policies if not mediated through a carefully crafted decision making process. Traditional decision support and planning methods (DSPM) such as classical decision analysis are not equipped to deal with a non-static climate. While emerging methods such as decision scaling, robust decision making and real options are designed to deal with a changing climate, governance systems have evolved under the assumption of a static climate and it is not clear if these methods are well suited to the existing governance regime. In our study, these questions are contextualized by examining an urban water utility that has made significant changes in policy to adapt to changing conditions: the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) which serves metropolitan Las Vegas. Like most desert cities, Las Vegas exists because of water; the artesian springs of the Las Vegas Valley once provided an ample water supply for Native Americans, ranchers and later a small railroad city. However, population growth has increased demands far beyond local supplies. The area now depends on the Colorado River for the majority of its water supply. Natural climate variability with periodic droughts has further challenged water providers; projected climate changes and further population growth will exacerbate these challenges. Las Vegas is selected as a case study due to the combined challenges of population growth and climate change, common in the arid west, and due its cooperative institutional response to these challenges, unprecedented in the arid west. To begin to disentangle this question we have analyzed the institutional arrangements and rules which govern water decision making in the Las Vegas Valley and evaluated the existing DSPM used by the SNWA and partner utilities. Presented here are the preliminary results from an ongoing project.

  6. New Technologies for Dealing with CO2 Emission and Carbonate Discharge Control Issues Associated with Energy Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tuwati, Abdulwahab

    Carbonates and bicarbonates as two water contaminants and CO2 as an air pollutant are the byproducts of a number of fossil fuel based energy production processes. It is well known that the eco-environmental impacts of the carbon based compounds are rather negative. Discharge of co-produced waters containing carbonates and bicarbonates can lead to the significant increase of alkalinity and sodicity and eventual degradation of the quality of soils. In addition, many studies have indicated that huge CO2 emission into the atmosphere can result in disastrous climate changes in the future. Therefore, people are increasingly interested in controlling these carbon compounds. A number of technologies such as ion exchange and electrodialysis have been developed for removal of carbonates and bicarbonates from co-produced waters. However, they are too expensive to be widely used by energy producers, farmers and ranchers. Although many approaches including membrane filtration have been explored for CO2 emission control, their costs are not acceptable to fossil fuel generating companies at all. Therefore, searching cost-effective methods for control of the carbon compounds have attracted many researchers' attentions. New technologies have been developed in this research to overcome the abovementioned challenges. For example, a regenerable solid sorbent (KTi) synthesized with K2CO3 and nanoporous TiO(OH)2 can be used to capture CO2. The CO2 sorption capacity of KTi is about 36 times higher than that of conventional K2CO3. The highest CO2 sorption capacity achieved with KTi is 1.69 mmol-CO2/g-KTi. It should be noted that the theoretical sorption capacity of the KTi can be as high as 3.32 mmol-CO 2/g-KTi. Therefore, the potential and improvement in CO2 sorption capacity with the use of nanoporous TiO(OH)2 is significant. Moreover, nanostructured KTi based CO2 separation (from flue gas) does not need additional high specific-heat capacity and high vaporization-enthalpy H2O. This creates a favorable condition for considerable decrease in energy consumption of CO2 capture in coal-fired power plants. It is expected that all the technologies developed in this research could significantly benefit energy producers, although many works need to be done before they can be commercialized.

  7. Characterization of Stream Channel Evolution Due to Extensional Tectonics Along the Western Margin of North Boulder Basin (Bull Mountain), SW Montana with the Use of Geologic Mapping and Thermochronologic (U-Th/He) Dating.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cataldo, K.; Douglas, B. J.; Yanites, B.

    2017-12-01

    Landscape response to active tectonics, such as fault motion or regional uplift, can be recorded in river profiles as changes in slope (i.e. knickpoints) or topography. North Boulder basin region (SW Montana), experienced two separate phases of extension, from 45 - 35 Ma and again beginning 14 Ma to the present, producing basin-and-range style fault-blocks. Focusing on the Bull Mountain region, located on the western margin of the North Boulder basin, data is collected to test the hypothesis that Bull Mountain is located on the hanging wall of a half-graben. Our objective is to elucidate the active tectonics of the study area within a regional context by utilizing river profile analysis and thermochronometric data. High-resolution (< 5cm) river profile data is obtained from five of the main tributaries of Bull Mountain. Comprehensive geologic mapping along the main tributaries and topographic highs of the region allowed for the identification and measurement of knickpoints, composition of detailed lithologic descriptions, and analysis of key structural features. The absence of knickpoints within the four tributaries mapped on east Bull Mountain are consistent with a lack of tectonic activity. In contrast, Dearborn Creek, on western Bull Mountain, is located along an active normal fault and presents several knickpoints. Geologic mapping confirms that the primary lithologies of the region belong to the Elkhorn Mountain Volcanics. At lower elevations, there are massive plutonic intrusions of Quartz Monzonite and Diorite, both constituents of the Boulder batholith. These lithologies contain minerals suited for low-temperature thermochronology (U-Th/He) to constrain the timing of tectonic activity (i.e. uplift and exhumation) and erosion rates in the region. High-resolution stream profiles and a 10m DEM are used to delineate watersheds and produce steepness and concavity maps of major tributaries to investigate changes in slope or topography. The effects of extensional tectonic events can reshape drainage patterns of streams and their distribution of water, which is an important commodity in SW Montana for ranchers and farmers. Thus, the ability to discern the probability of recurring tectonic events and the effects on the regional watersheds, could help facilitate solutions before these events take place.

  8. Geologic history of natural coal-bed fires, Powder River basin, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Heffern, E.L.; Coates, D.A.

    2004-01-01

    Coal-bed fires ignited by natural processes have baked and fused overlying sediments to form clinker, a hard red or varicolored rock, through much of the northern Great Plains of the United States (USA). The gently dipping coal beds in the region burn when regional downwasting brings them above the local water table. The resulting clinker forms a rim along the exposed edge of the coal bed in an ongoing process through geologic time. The resistant clinker is left capping buttes and ridges after the softer unbaked strata erode away. Clinker outcrops cover more than 4100 km2 in the Powder River basin (PRB), which lies in Wyoming (WY) and Montana (MT). The clinker in place records tens of billions of tons of coal that have burned, releasing gases into the atmosphere. The amount of clinker that has eroded away was at least an order of magnitude greater than the clinker that remains in place. Fission-track and uranium-thorium/ helium ages of detrital zircon crystals in clinker, and paleomagnetic ages of clinker, show that coal beds have burned naturally during at least the past 4 million years (Ma). The oldest in-place clinker that has been dated, collected from a high, isolated, clinker-capped ridge, has a fission track age of 2.8??0.6 Ma. Evidence of erosion and downcutting is also preserved by clinker clasts in gravel terraces. One clinker boulder in a terrace 360 m above the Yellowstone River has a fission track age of 4.0??0.7 Ma. Coal-bed fires are caused by lightning, wildfires, spontaneous combustion, or human activity on coal outcrops and in mines. Miners, government agencies, and ranchers have extinguished thousands of coal bed fires, but natural ignition continues where fresh coal has access to air. At any given time, hundreds of fires, mostly small, are burning. In the Powder River basin, the total amount of coal burned by natural fires in the last 2 Ma is one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total amount of coal removed by mining in the past century. However, current annual rates of coal mining are three to four orders of magnitude greater than estimated prehistoric annual rates of coal consumption by natural fires. ?? 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. The acute toxicity of the death camas (Zigadenus species) alkaloid zygacine in mice, including the effect of methyllycaconitine coadministration on zygacine toxicity.

    PubMed

    Welch, K D; Panter, K E; Gardner, D R; Stegelmeier, B L; Green, B T; Pfister, J A; Cook, D

    2011-05-01

    Death camas (Zigadenus spp.) is a common poisonous plant on foothill rangelands in western North America. The steroidal alkaloid zygacine is believed to be the primary toxic component in death camas. Poisonings on rangelands generally occur in the spring when death camas is abundant, whereas other more desirable forage species are limited in availability. In most cases where livestock are poisoned by plants in a range setting, there is more than one potential poisonous plant in that area. One common poisonous plant that is often found growing simultaneously in the same area as death camas is low larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum). Consequently, the objectives of this study were to conduct acute toxicity studies in mice and to determine if coadministration of low larkspur will exacerbate the toxicity of death camas. We first characterized the acute toxicity of zygacine in mice. The LD(50) of zygacine administered intravenously (i.v.) and orally was 2.0 ± 0.2 and 132 ± 21 mg/kg, respectively. The rate of elimination of zygacine from whole blood was determined to be 0.06 ± 0.01/min, which corresponds to an elimination half-life of 13.0 ± 2.7 min. The i.v. LD(50) of total alkaloid extracts from a Utah and a Nevada collection were 2.8 ± 0.8 and 2.2 ± 0.3 mg/kg, respectively. The i.v. LD(50) of methyllycaconitine (MLA), a major toxic alkaloid in low larkspur, was 4.6 ± 0.5 mg/kg, whereas the i.v. LD(50) of a 1:1 mixture of MLA and zygacine was 2.9 ± 0.7 mg/kg. The clinical signs in mice treated with this mixture were very similar to those of mice treated with zygacine alone, including the time of onset and death. These results suggest that there is an additive effect of coadministering these 2 alkaloids i.v. in mice. The results from this study increase knowledge and understanding regarding the acute toxicity of death camas. As combined intoxications are most likely common, this information will be useful in further developing management recommendations for ranchers and in designing additional experiments to study the toxicity of death camas to livestock.

  10. Ecosystem services from converted land: the importance of tree cover in Amazonian pastures

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Barrett, Kirsten; Valentim, Judson; Turner, B. L.

    2013-01-01

    Deforestation is responsible for a substantial fraction of global carbon emissions and changes in surface energy budgets that affect climate. Deforestation losses include wildlife and human habitat, and myriad forest products on which rural and urban societies depend for food, fiber, fuel, fresh water, medicine, and recreation. Ecosystem services gained in the transition from forests to pasture and croplands, however, are often ignored in assessments of the impact of land cover change. The role of converted lands in tropical areas in terms of carbon uptake and storage is largely unknown. Pastures represent the fastest-growing form of converted land use in the tropics, even in some areas of rapid urban expansion. Tree biomass stored in these areas spans a broad range, depending on tree cover. Trees in pasture increase carbon storage, provide shade for cattle, and increase productivity of forage material. As a result, increasing fractional tree cover can provide benefits land managers as well as important ecosystem services such as reducing conversion pressure on forests adjacent to pastures. This study presents an estimation of fractional tree cover in pasture in a dynamic region on the verge of large-scale land use change. An appropriate sampling interval is established for similar studies, one that balances the need for independent samples of sufficient number to characterize a pasture in terms of fractional tree cover. This information represents a useful policy tool for government organizations and NGOs interested in encouraging ecosystem services on converted lands. Using high spatial resolution remotely sensed imagery, fractional tree cover in pasture is quantified for the municipality of Rio Branco, Brazil. A semivariogram and devolving spatial resolution are employed to determine the coarsest sampling interval that may be used, minimizing effects of spatial autocorrelation. The coarsest sampling interval that minimizes spatial dependence was about 22 m. The area-weighted fractional tree cover for the study area was 1.85 %, corrected for a slight bias associated with the coarser sampling resolution. The pastures sampled for fractional tree cover were divided between ‘high’ and ‘low’ tree cover, which may be the result of intentional incorporation of arboreal species in pasture. Further research involving those ranchers that have a higher fractional tree cover may indicate ways to promote the practice on a broader scale in the region.

  11. Drill baby drill: An analysis of how energy development displaced ranching's dominance over the BLM's subgovernment policymaking environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Forbis, Robert Earl, Jr.

    Academic literature analyzing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land-use subgovernment stops at the Taylor Grazing Act and concludes that the historical development of administering grazing on public lands led to the capture of the BLM by ranching interests. Using a two-pronged methodological approach of process tracing and elite interviews this dissertation seeks to advance our collective knowledge of subgovernment theory by (a) clarifying the impact executive decision-making has on subgovernments and (b) identifying the conditions under which strategically competitive behavior between two competing subgovernment actors occurs. The dissertation seeks to update the literature by explaining what has caused the BLM to shift from a rancher-dominated agency to an energy dominated agency by identifying conditions under which subgovernment actors strategically respond to a political conflict. The research poses two questions: (1) how have executive actions disrupted an existing balance of power in a so-called "strong corner" of an entrenched subgovernment system and (2) what happens when conflict and competition break out between allied members of the system? Analysis indicates that as the BLM responded to Executive actions emphasizing domestic energy production, a conflict emerged between traditional allies: ranching and energy. Triggered by the unintended consequence of awakening long-dormant legislation, split-estate energy development---where property rights are severed between private surface and federal mineral estates---expanded across the West. In turn, this expansion helped establish the conditions for conflict and in doing so disrupted the balance of power between large public resource use interests in the relatively stable land-use subgovernment of the BLM. Indicative of energy's emerging dominance of the BLM's subgovernment, split-estate energy development led ranching interests to seek the protection of their Western state legislatures. This shift in domination led to a series of fiercely competitive political responses between the formerly allied interest groups. I argue that as political conflict intensified it is clear that the BLM's land-use policies are no longer dominated by ranching interests, but are now dominated by energy development interests. The analysis concludes that this shift in domination disproves the long accepted conclusion that the BLM is forever an agency captured by ranching interests.

  12. U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: 2011 annual report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bowen, Zachary H.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Assal, Timothy J.; Biewick, Laura; Blecker, Steven W.; Boughton, Gregory K.; Carr, Natasha B.; Chalfoun, Anna D.; Chong, Geneva W.; Clark, Melanie L.; Diffendorfer, Jay E.; Fedy, Bradley C.; Foster, Katharine; Garman, Steven L.; Germaine, Stephanie; Hethcoat, Matthew G.; Holloway, JoAnn; Homer, Collin G.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Keinath, Douglas; Latysh, Natalie; Manier, Daniel J.; McDougal, Robert R.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Miller, Kirk A.; Montag, Jessica; Olexa, Edward M.; Potter, Christopher J.; Schell, Spencer; Shafer, Sarah L.; Smith, David B.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Sweat, Michael J.; Tuttle, Michele L.W.; Wilson, Anna B.

    2013-01-01

    This is the fourth report produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) to detail annual work activities. In FY2011, there were 37 ongoing, completed, or new projects conducted under the five major multi-disciplinary science and technical-assistance activities: (1) Baseline Synthesis, (2) Targeted Monitoring and Research, (3) Data and Information Management, (4) Integration and Coordination, and (5) Decisionmaking and Evaluation. The four new work activities were (1) development of the Western Energy Citation Clearinghouse, a Web-based energy-resource database of references for literature and on-line resources focused on energy development and its effects on natural resources; (2) a study to support the Sublette County Conservation District in ascertaining potential water-quality impacts to the New Fork River from energy development in the Pinedale Anticline Project Area; (3) a study to test the efficacy of blending high-frequency temporal data provided by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors and high-resolution Landsat data for providing the fine-resolution data required to evaluate habitat responses to management activities at the landscape level; and (4) a study to examine the seasonal water chemistry of Muddy Creek, including documenting salinity patterns and providing a baseline for assessing potential effects of energy and other development on water quality in the Muddy Creek watershed. Two work activities were completed in FY2011: (1) the assessment of rancher perceptions of energy development in Southwest Wyoming and (2) mapping aspen stands and conifer encroachment using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis for effectiveness monitoring. The USGS continued to compile data, develop geospatial products, and upgrade Web-based products in support of both individual and overall WLCI efforts, including (1) ranking and prioritizing proposed conservation projects, (2) developing the WLCI integrated assessment, (3) developing the WLCI 5-year Conservation Action Plan, and (4) continuing to upgrade the content and improve the functionality of the WLCI Web site. For the WLCI FY2012 annual report, a decision was made to greatly reduce the overall length of the annual report, which will be accomplished by simplifying the report format and focusing on the take-home messages of each work activity for WLCI partners.

  13. The construction of feelings of justice in environmental management: An empirical study of multiple biodiversity conflicts in Calakmul, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Lecuyer, Lou; White, Rehema M; Schmook, Birgit; Lemay, Violaine; Calmé, Sophie

    2018-05-01

    A failure to address social concerns in biodiversity conservation can lead to feelings of injustice among some actors, and hence jeopardize conservation goals. The complex socio-cultural and political context of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, has historically led to multiple biodiversity conflicts. Our goal, in this case study, was to explore perceptions of justice held by local actors in relation to biodiversity conflicts. We then aimed to determine the following: 1) people's definitions of their feelings of justice; 2) the criteria used in this assessment; 3) variability in the criteria influencing them; and 4) implications for environmental management in the region and beyond. We worked with five focus groups, exploring three examples of biodiversity conflict around forest, water and jaguar management with a total of 41 ranchers, farmers and representatives of local producers. Our results demonstrated that people constructed their feelings of justice around four dimensions of justice: recognition (acknowledging individuals' rights, values, cultures and knowledge systems); ecological (fair and respectful treatment of the natural environment), procedural (fairness in processes of environmental management), distributive (fairness in the distribution of costs and benefits). We identified a list of criteria the participants used in their appraisal of justice and sources of variation such as the social scale of focus and participant role, and whom they perceived to be responsible for resource management. We propose a new framework that conceptualizes justice-as-recognition and ecological justice as forms of conditional justices, and procedural and distributive justices as forms of practical justice. Conditional justice allows us to define who is a legitimate source of justice norms and if nature should be integrated in the scope of justice; hence, conditional justice underpins other dimensions of justice. On the other hand, procedural and distributive address the daily practices of fair processes and distribution. We propose that the perception of justice is a neglected but important aspect to include in integrative approaches to managing biodiversity conflicts. Addressing demands of justice in environmental management will require us to consider more than the distribution of costs and benefits among actors. We also need to respect the plurality of fairness perspectives and to recognize the benefits of dialogical approaches to achieve more successful environmental management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Estimating Rangeland Forage Production Using Remote Sensing Data from a Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Devine, S.; Dahlgren, R. A.; Covello, S.; Larsen, R.; O'Geen, A. T.

    2017-12-01

    California rangelands cover 23 million hectares and support a $3.4 billion annual cattle industry. Rangeland forage production varies appreciably from year-to-year and across short distances on the landscape. Spatially explicit and near real-time information on forage production at a high resolution is critical for effective rangeland management, especially during an era of climatic extremes. We here integrated a multispectral MicaSense RedEdge camera with a 3DR solo quad-copter and acquired time-series images during the 2017 growing season over a topographically complex 10-hectare rangeland in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Soil moisture and temperature sensors were installed at 16 landscape positions, and vegetation clippings were collected at 36 plots to quantify forage dry biomass. We built four centimeter-level models for forage production mapping using time series of sUAS images and ground measurements of forage biomass and soil temperature and moisture. The biophysical model based on Monteith's eco-physiological plant growth theory estimated forage production reasonably well with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.86 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 424 kg/ha when the soil parameters were included, and a R2 of 0.79 and a RMSE of 510 kg/ha when only remote sensing and topographical variables were included. We built two empirical models of forage production using a stepwise variable selection technique, one with soil variables. Results showed that cumulative absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and elevation were the most important variables in both models, explaining more than 40% of the spatio-temporal variance in forage production. Soil moisture accounted for an additional 29% of the variance. Illumination condition was selected as a proxy for soil moisture in the model without soil variables, and accounted for 18% of the variance. We applied the remote sensing-based models to map daily forage production at 30-cm resolution for the whole study area during the 2017 growing season. The forage maps captured similar seasonal and spatial patterns of forage production as ground measured dry biomass. This study demonstrated a near real-time monitoring tool for ranchers to estimate forage production with sUAS technology and improved watershed-scale rangeland management.

  15. Opening up the solar box: Cultural resource management and actor network theory in solar energy projects in the Mojave Desert

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gorrie, Bryan F.

    This project considers the ways that Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can be brought to bear upon Cultural Resource Management (CRM) practices on renewable energy projects. ANT is a way of making inquiry into scientific knowledge practices and as CRM is intended to preserve environmental, historic, and prehistoric resources, it necessarily involves certain kinds of knowledge generation about regions in which projects are being developed. Because the practice of CRM is complex, involving a range of actors from developers to biologists, native peoples to academics, private landholders to environmental and cultural activists, it is imperative to account for the interests of all stakeholders and to resist devolving into the polemical relations of winners and losers, good and bad participants, or simple situations of right and wrong. This project intends to account for the "matters of concern" of various actors, both primary and secondary, by examining the case study of a single solar installation project in the Mojave Desert. A theoretical description of ANT is provided at the beginning and the concerns of this theory are brought to bear upon the case study project through describing the project, discussing the laws governing CRM on federal lands and in the state of California, and providing the points of view of various interviewees who worked directly or indirectly on various aspects of CRM for the solar project. The creators of ANT claim that it is not a methodology but it does speak to ethnomethodologies in that it insists that there is always something more to learn from inquiring into and describing any given situation. These descriptions avoid generalizations, providing instead various points of entry, from diverse perspectives to the project. There is an invitation to avoid assuming that one knows all there is to know about a given situation and to choose instead to continue investigating and thus give voice to the more obscure, often marginalized, voices in the network of actors. With Thomas F. King, I recommend ongoing work that brings the theories ANT provides to bear on specific "matters of concern," which are necessarily contingent and situated, to build acceptance and to "respect the legitimacy of [any given] small group's cultural values -- whether the group is made up of American Indians, cattle ranchers in Montana, or Southern Baptists" (King 2002:xvii) so that cultural resource management work can actualize the meaningful contribution to political and cultural systems that it was intended to facilitate.

  16. Establishing Radiological Screening Levels for Defense-related Uranium Mine (DRUM) Sites on BLM Land Using a Recreational Future-use Scenario.

    PubMed

    Brown, Steven H; Edge, Russel; Elmer, John; McDonald, Michael

    2018-06-01

    Thousands of former uranium mining sites in the United States, primarily in the southwestern states of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, are being identified and evaluated to assess their potential for causing public and environmental impacts. The common radiological contaminant of concern that characterizes these sites is naturally occurring uranium ore and associated wastes that may have been left behind postmining. The majority of these sites were abandoned and in general, are referred to as abandoned uranium mines, regardless of the government authority currently managing the land or in some cases, assigned responsibility for the oversight of assessment and remediation. The U.S. Department of Energy has identified over 4,000 defense-related uranium mine sites from which uranium ore was purchased by the U.S. government for nuclear defense programs prior to 1970. U.S. Department of Energy has established a program to inventory and perform environmental screening on defense-related uranium mine sites. The focus of this paper is the approximately 2,400 defense-related uranium mine sites located on federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. This paper presents the results of an analysis to develop radiological screening criteria for U.S. Department of Energy's defense-related uranium mine sites that can be used as input to the overall ranking of these sites for prioritization of additional assessment, reclamation, or remedial actions. For these sites managed by Bureau of Land Management, public access is typically limited to short-term use, primarily for recreational purposes. This is a broad category that can cover a range of possible activities, including camping, hiking, hunting, biking, all-terrain vehicle use, and horseback riding. The radiological screening levels were developed by calculating the radiological dose to future recreational users of defense-related uranium mine sites assuming a future camper spends two weeks per year at the site engaged in recreational activities. Although a number of possible exposure pathways were included in this analysis (inhalation and ingestion of dust and soil, radon and progeny inhalation, and gamma radiation exposure from the soil), it is desirable as a practical matter to determine what gamma exposure rate would ensure that the annual acceptable exposure as determined by the regulatory authority will not be exceeded in the future. Because these sites are generally remote and located in semiarid environments, traditional exposure scenarios often applied in these types of analyses (e.g., subsistent farmers and ranchers), including exposure pathways for the ingestion of locally grown food products and water, were not considered relevant to short-term recreational use.

  17. Concentration and Distribution of Well Drilling in the Amargosa Desert Area of Southern Nevada

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, M. P.; Gross, A. J.; Coleman, N. M.

    2002-05-01

    The earliest sources of fresh water supply in the Amargosa Desert area of Southern Nevada were the abundant, naturally occurring (cold) springs. They initially sustained the indigenous Native American populations and later, Euro-American miners, farmers, and ranchers. Prior to 1900, the many local springs and a few (mostly shallow) hand-dug wells were the principal sources of water supply. The first hand-dug well in the area was the Franklin well; it was dug in 1852 for workers performing a survey of the California-Nevada State line. The first mechanically bored wells were drilled for local railroads, along their respective alignments, sometime between 1905-07. About 1917, the first irrigation well in the Amargosa Desert area was drilled for an experimental farm operated by the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. In the late 1940s-early 1950s, permanent interest in the area was established, in large measure because of a Federally sponsored desert reclamation program. For the period 1900-1999, a preliminary evaluation of publicly available information (collected principally by the State Engineer) indicates that more than 950 boreholes were drilled in the Amargosa Desert area. Almost half of these boreholes were drilled in the last 20 years. Forty-two percent of the boreholes were drilled to supply fresh drinking water; 26 percent were in support of irrigated agriculture; 21 percent of the wells were drilled for some non-water supply related purpose - ground-water monitoring and testing; and 11 percent were drilled to supply water for commercial or unspecified applications. Most of the well drilling has been concentrated in a parcel of land about 30-40 kilometers south of the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Most wells have been generally drilled to depths less than 30 meters (100 feet), although deeper wells are uncommon. The main reason is that drilling is expensive and the profitability of finding and extracting potable water, in sufficient quantity, generally declines with depth. However, during the last two decades, there has been a general decline in drilling for irrigation. Designation of local aquifers in the area as "protected" in 1979 has favored new well-permitting for residential or commercial uses. Moreover, in the 1990s, local farmers were required to forfeit unused water rights and these rights have been reallocated to new, non-farming residents by the State Engineer in Nevada's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Nevertheless, the general decline in irrigation permitting for farming over the last several decades most likely has more to do with the physical and/or economic factors that have historically controlled local farming rather than with recent water availability issues.

  18. Food resources of the California condor

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilbur, S.R.

    1972-01-01

    Conclusions and Recommendations: Although much of the above information is imprecise and inconclusive, it is evident that the condors foraging habitat is diminishing. Food supply probably is still adequate for free-ranging nonbreeding birds, but could become limited if current land use trends continue. Congregating condors on fewer and fewer acres could be detrimental in other ways. It seems the needs of condors can best be met by maintaining a continuous band of :foraging country throughout the species' horseshoe-shaped range. Public needs for open space and livestock agriculture can also be served by land use zoning, cooperative agreements, easements or other land controls implemented with consideration :for the condors' welfare. Of immediate concern is the declining food situation in the general vicinity of the active condor nests in the Sespe-Piru region. Reproduction is definitely depressed, and the reduced local food supply is the only apparent cause. Predicted future developments can only worsen the situation. A concerted effort should be made immediately to slow the loss of food and foraging area closest to the Sespe Condor Sanctuary including: (1) the Big Mountain-Newhall Ranch regions of southern Ventura County; (2) the arc of grassland around the southern and eastern boundaries of the Sespe Sanctuary; and (3) the Tejon Ranch. Within these areas efforts should be made to increase the amount of condor food by: (1) increasing the amount of livestock, if compatible with proper land use; (2) modifying procedures for disposal of dead livestock, so that more are available to condors; (3) encouraging (subsidizing) ranchers to sacrifice livestock for condor food at certain times o:f the year; and (4) developing a state or Federal supplemental feeding program utilizing cattle, deer or other carrion regularly distributed at close, protected feeding sites. If a convenient food supply is as important to reproduction as it appears, those nest sites closest to the best food source may become most productive and significant in the preservation of this species. These sites, which are in the Piru Creek area, are outside the boundaries o:f the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, but are recognized by the U.S. Forest Service (1971) as extremely important to condor survival. Protective measures recommended in the Forest Service plan should be implemented as soon as possible to preserve this area's usefulness as condor nesting habitat. Food may not be the factor currently limiting condor reproduction. However, the reproductive rate is inadequate to sustain the condor population for long. As food shortage has been shown to limit breeding in many species (Lack 1954, 1966), and as it is something which can be manipulated, it is a logical factor for further study and experimentation.

  19. Watershed Restoration on Black Drake Ranch: Humility vs. hubris in applying incomplete scientific information to real world applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bulkley, G. B.; Mattenberger, S.

    2009-12-01

    Black Drake Ranch comprises ~1000 acres of Klamath Basin high desert in S. Central OR, containing 2.5m reaches each of the North Fork Sprague River (NFSR) and its major tributary, Five Mile Creek, a meandering meadow spring creek anchoring 26m of upstream habitat for several species of concern, including native redband trout. Decades of unenlightened management had resulted in substantial watershed degradation: channelization and diking by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (hubris), massive stream bank head cuts and erosion by cattle hooves, complete blockade of fish passage by two irrigation diversion dams, loss of eggs and fry in irrigation runoff, upland juniper overgrowth from fire suppression, and extensive infestation of noxious weeds. After in depth analysis by the Working Landscapes Alliance, Klamath Watershed Partnership, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and adjacent landowners, the landowner, a retired cellular biologist, collaborated with an United States Fish & Wildlife Service hydrologist to formulate a comprehensive Long Term Strategic Plan (LTSP) to restore a functioning ecosystem compatible with an economically viable cattle/hay ranching operation. The LTSP is based upon current best practices (CPBs) recommended by experts in relevant, but relatively young scientific fields, with the recognition that these CPBs are constantly evolving as new information becomes available, particularly relevant to this particular site. Consequently, the LTSP remains flexible, and is repeatedly revised as new information is culled from the literature, but mostly from on-site experience and errors. This LTSP entails: 1. Rotational cattle grazing and riparian fencing to allow the re-establishment of bank-stabilizing native plant populations; 2. At diversion dams, installation of fish screens and 3. re-establishment of fish passage using paleochannels revealed by aerial contour mapping; 4. Selective stream bank head cut repair to retain and thereby reduce irrigation water diversions; 5. Riparian planting of alders, willows, aspens and Ponderosa pines and 6. placement of instream large wood mass to provide cooling shade and refuge from predators; 7. Placement of spawning gravel; 8. Management of noxious weeds along stream banks; 9. Thinning of upland junipers to conserve surface water for runoff instream; and 10, Establishment of a formal program to monitor bank morphology and riparian plant populations (photomonitoring), water temperatures and fish census. After 4.5 years this LTSP has been ~80% implemented. Striking recovery of stream bank morphology and riparian plant species are seen, with ranching economics sustained. Changes in stream fish, invertebrate, and mammal populations will be evaluated as effects thereupon are anticipated. Perhaps most remarkable, this positive experience, and especially the open-minded flexibility of the project managers, has served to recruit traditionally resistant neighboring cattle ranchers to institute synergistic restoration programs along a contiguous 12m stretch of the NFSR. The key component of this project has been its substantial flexibility, based upon a realistic appreciation of the limits of current knowledge; ie: true Adaptive Management.

  20. Milk amyloid A as a biomarker for diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in cattle

    PubMed Central

    Hussein, Hany Ahmed; El-Razik, Khaled Abd El-Hamid Abd; Gomaa, Alaa Mohamed; Elbayoumy, Mohamed Karam; Abdelrahman, Khaled A.; Hosein, H. I.

    2018-01-01

    Background and Aim: Mastitis is one of the most vital noteworthy monetary risks to dairy ranchers and affects reproductive performance in dairy cattle. However, subclinical mastitis (SCM) negatively affects milk quality and quantity and associated with economic losses as clinical mastitis. It is recognizable only by additional testing. Somatic cell count (SCC) is currently used worldwide for the screening of intramammary infection (IMI) infections. However, somatic cells (SC) are affected by numerous factors and not always correlate with infection of the udder. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the milk amyloid A (MAA) in the milk of normal and SCM cows and compare the sensitivity of both MAA secretion and SCC in response to mammary gland bacterial infection. Materials and Methods: A total of 272 quarter milk samples collected from 68 Friesian cows after clinical examination for detection of clinical mastitis were employed in this study. All quarter milk samples (272) were subjected to bacteriological examination, while SCs were assessed in samples (220). Following SCC estimation and bacteriological examination, the apparently normal quarter milk samples were categorized into 7 groups and MAA concentration was estimated in normal and subclinical mastitic milk samples. Results: Prevalence of clinical mastitis was 19.12 % (52 quarters), while 80.88 % (220 quarters) were clinically healthy with normal milk secretion. Of those 220 clinically healthy quarter milk samples, 72 (32.73%) showed SCM as detected by SCC (SCC ≥500,000 cells/ml). The most prevalent bacteria detected in this study were streptococci (48.53%), Staphylococcus aureus (29.41%), Escherichia coli (36.76%), and coagulase-negative staphylococci (11.76%). Results of MAA estimation revealed a strong correlation between MAA secretion level and SCC in agreement with the bacteriological examination. Interestingly, there was a prompt increase in MAA concentration in Group III (G III) (group of milk samples had SCC ≤200,000 cells/ml and bacteriologically positive) than Group I (G I) (group of milk samples with SCC ≤500,000 cells/ml and bacteriologically negative), as MAA concentration in G III was about 4 times its concentration in G I. Conclusion: Our study provides a strong evidence for the significance of MAA measurement in milk during SCM, and MAA is more sensitive to IMI than SCC. This can be attributed to rapid and sensitive marker of inflammation. The advantage of MAA over other diagnostic markers of SCM is attributed the minute or even undetectable level of MAA in the milk of healthy animals, it is not influenced by factors other than mastitis, and could be estimated in preserved samples. Therefore, we recommend that estimation of MAA concentration in milk is a more useful diagnostic tool than SCC to detect SCM and to monitor the udder health in dairy cattle. PMID:29479155

  1. Reaching Out Beyond The "Usual Suspects" And Traditional Media: Re-Branding Climate Change As A Problem With Feasible Solutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines-Stiles, G.; Akuginow, E.; Alley, R. B.

    2012-12-01

    "Earth: The Operators' Manual" (ETOM) was an experiment, funded by NSF, to see how combining PBS TV broadcasts, online resources including both website and social media, plus on-site events at science centers could engage and inform large public audiences about both the science of climate change and renewable energy solutions. ETOM was structured to address the findings of social science researchers indicating that scaring audiences into changed behavior through doom and gloom scenarios was unlikely to work. While the three primetime broadcasts were relatively traditional in approach—classic public TV hours presented by noted geoscientist, Richard Alley—focus groups tested the impact of introducing him as a "church-going, registered Republican." Findings indicated this would engage a wider audience. Alley's key science arguments were also repackaged into a series of nine "How to Talk to an Ostrich" videos, complete with actual ostrich sounds, and encouraging viewers to ASK ETOM further questions about common misperceptions. The ClimateBite blog said, "Simply the best short videos on climate. Ever… each segment a clear, concise and compelling climate story, in everyday language, with great visuals." In addition, web-exclusive videos profiled diverse "Energy Heroes" such as West Texas rancher Steve Oatman, Fort Worth solar enthusiast, German Vasquez, and Baltimore "Energy Captain," Robbyn Lewis. Understanding that who says what is as important as what is said, ETOM featured an unusual and diverse set of "messengers." Houston's Mayor, Annise Parker, explained why she wanted her city to be America's renewable energy capital, and Marine Brigadier General Bob Hedelund argued that cutting back on fossil fuel could save soldiers' lives. West Texas cotton farmer Cliff Etheredge participated in outreach events in Washington DC, and high-ranking former military men were part of MILITARY GOES GREEN events in Raleigh NC and San Diego. Surveys and focus groups showed audiences responding positively to this strategy. ETOM analyzed surveys of website usage gathered as part of project evaluation and consulted with social marketing experts, including some who had developed the TRUTH campaign that proved effective in cutting teen tobacco usage. Based on their input, ETOM developed a "brand"—emphasizing a positive response to the undoubted reality of climate change through an emphasis on the practicality of renewable energy. ETOM relaunched its website and social media pages to support the Earth Day/April 2012 premieres of the three PBS specials, back to back on Earth Day. Numbers of Facebook "Likes" grew quickly, sometimes surpassing similar climate change education projects that had begun years earlier. Lessons learned (from online surveys and focus groups) included the critical importance of compelling visuals, although with stills performing better than short videos. However, contrary to the expectations of our social media consultants, factual information, often no more than 3 short sentences with a memorable statistic (such as Germany one day getting 50% of its total electricity from solar) proved even more popular than "Energy Heroes" and personal profiles. At AGU, for the first time, we will report qualitative and quantitative findings from the Summative Evaluation indicating both successes and challenges.

  2. ';EXPERIMENTING with a Small Planet' as AN Experiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hay, W. W.

    2013-12-01

    Communicating science to the American public is difficult. The book ';Experimenting with a Small Planet' is a radical but sucessful departure from tradition. My background has been in study of the warm climate of the Cretaceous using numerical climate models -- not directly with modern climate change. The Arctic sea-ice meltback of 2007 was a startling event; it wasn't expected before the end of this century. Earth had gone past a tipping point toward an ice-free pole condition. I decided to try to write a book for the general public explaining the basics of climate and the significance of what is happening to our planet. Over 50 years I had written more than 200 technical papers in the peer-reviewed literature. I had also written 27 annual reviews on Geology for the high-school level World Book Encyclopedia. I had experience in communicating with the general public as Director of the University of Colorado Museum. Using my retirement community neighbors (businessmen, hedge fund manager, rancher, doctors, engineer, grade school teacher) as initial reviewers, I learned that: 1) the metric system is totally foreign and unintelligible - metric measurements must also be given in US feet, pounds, Fahrenheit temperatures, etc.; 2) readers stop if they encounter references to papers scattered in the text; 3) mathematics beyond arithmetic is feared; 4) scientific terminology is unknown; as is 5) the history of how we have come to understand physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. The average level of scientific knowledge of a successful retired American today is at best that of about 40 years ago; of our pubic school teachers, about 20 years old. Members of the US Congress have mostly law degrees, and at best took a few freshman-level courses in science when they were in college 30 years or more ago. Most Americans believe in the dogma of some religion, not in science. I discovered that most geologists know nothing about climatology, and most climatologists know next-to-nothing about Earth history. The book 'Experimenting with a Small Planet - A Scholarly Entertainment' assumes that the reader knows nothing except how to read. The 900 + pages have over 400 illustrations to break up the text into short self-contained segments. Through informal storytelling it builds up the background necessary to understand our sophisticated science. It introduces mathematics, Newtonian and quantum physics, chemistry, and some basic biology, then goes on to explain how the atmosphere, ocean and climate system work, and how human activies are affecting them. Each of the chapters on science is followed by an ';Intermezzo' of personal stories from my life experiences, covering topics such as being present when the Berlin Wall went up, assisting in the defection of an important scientist from a communist country, becoming a close friend of Nikita Khrushchev's science advisor, and my involvement in scientific ocean drilling since its inception. To my great surprise, the book, intended for the general public, is being used as a college text at both the undergraduate and graduate level - in Europe as well as in the US. The publisher, Springer Verlag, was very cooperative in helping to bring out this innovative approach to science education.

  3. Late Holocene coastal stratigraphy of Sitkinak Island reveals Aleutian-Alaska megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis southwest of Kodiak Island

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nelson, A. R.; Briggs, R. W.; Kemp, A.; Haeussler, P. J.; Engelhart, S. E.; Dura, T.; Angster, S. J.; Bradley, L.

    2012-12-01

    Uncertainty in earthquake and tsunami prehistory of the Aleutian-Alaska megathrust westward of central Kodiak Island limit assessments of southern Alaska's earthquake hazard and forecasts of potentially damaging tsunamis along much of North America's west coast. Sitkinak Island, one of the Trinity Islands off the southwest tip of Kodiak Island, lies at the western end of the rupture zone of the 1964 Mw9.2 earthquake. Plafker reports that a rancher on the north coast of Sitkinak Island observed ~0.6 m of shoreline uplift immediately following the 1964 earthquake, and the island is now subsiding at about 3 mm/yr (PBO GPS). Although a high tsunami in 1788 caused the relocation of the first Russian settlement on southwestern Kodiak Island, the eastern extent of the megathrust rupture accompanying the tsunami is uncertain. Interpretation of GPS observations from the Shumagin Islands, 380 km southwest of Kodiak Island, suggests an entirely to partially creeping megathrust in that region. Here we report the first stratigraphic evidence of tsunami inundation and land-level change during prehistoric earthquakes west of central Kodiak Island. Beneath tidal and freshwater marshes around a lagoon on the south coast of Sitkinak Island, 27 cores and tidal outcrops reveal the deposits of four to six tsunamis in 2200 years and two to four abrupt changes in lithology that may correspond with coseismic uplift and subsidence over the past millennia. A 2- to 45-mm-thick bed of clean to peaty sand in sequences of tidal sediment and freshwater peat, identified in more than one-half the cores as far inland as 1.5 km, was probably deposited by the 1788 tsunami. A 14C age on Scirpus seeds, double 137Cs peaks at 2 cm and 7 cm depths (Chernobyl and 1963?), a consistent decline in 210Pb values, and our assumption of an exponential compaction rate for freshwater peat, point to a late 18th century age for the sand bed. Initial 14C ages suggest that two similar extensive sandy beds, identified in eight cores at higher tidal and freshwater sites, date from about 1.5 ka and 2.0 ka, respectively. A younger silty sand bed, <10 cm beneath the now-eroding low marsh around the lagoon, may record the 1964 tsunami. Correlations of two to three other sandy beds are too uncertain to infer their deposition by tsunamis. Stratigraphic contacts found only in cores and outcrops of the <0.8- to 1-ka tidal section fringing the lagoon may mark coseismic uplift (peat over tidal mud, sometimes with intervening sand) or subsidence (tidal mud over peat, sometimes with intervening sand). We collected samples of modern tidal foraminifera along three elevational transects for the baseline dataset needed to use fossil assemblages to measure the amount of uplift or subsidence recorded by contacts. Foraminiferal assemblages above and below one contact confirm rapid uplift a few hundred years before the 1788 tsunami, but cores are too few to correlate this contact with any of the sandy beds that we infer were deposited by tsunamis farther inland. These initial results demonstrate the promise of this previously unexplored island and similar sites for using stratigraphic evidence of sudden land-level changes and high tsunamis to map prehistoric ruptures of the Aleutian-Alaskan megathrust.

  4. Why 'Science + Solutions' Is An Effective & Essential Climate Communications Strategy (Invited)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haines-Stiles, G.; Alley, R. B.; Akuginow, E.

    2013-12-01

    Success in the Second World War was enabled in large part through advances in science and technology such as radar and the Manhattan Project, and the subsequent growth of the US economy endowed scientists with unrivaled influence in society and policy-making. But climate science has not been immune to criticism, and attacks on what 97% of expert climate scientists regard as well-established have continued. However, as shown in Leiserowitz et al's series of SIX AMERICAS studies, the vast majority of citizens are neither firmly committed against accepting the reality of human-caused climate change, nor 100% certain of the cause. The question, then, is how to reach 'the movable middle.' Richard Alley's 'Earth: The Operators' Manual'-a 3-part series aired nationally on PBS, and supported by the National Science Foundation-was an attempt to improve the understanding of consensus climate science, and showcase examples of clean energy innovations in the United States and worldwide. A fundamental design principle for the series, derived from close reading of social science studies, was to include solutions along with solid science. In addition, the producers enlisted a diverse cast of on-camera personalities alongside Alley: Texas ranchers, Republican senators and Kansan bankers, CEOs and academics, a Navy rear admiral in dress whites, and 'energy captains' in inner city Baltimore. An NSF-mandated Summative Evaluation documented the success of these approaches, and the first two programs reached some 3.6 million viewers on PBS. However, the rapidly-evolving media landscape has meant that national primetime exposure is only part of how climate information is 'sent' and 'received' today. ETOM structured its Facebook page to embody the same solutions-oriented philosophy, and has secured an 'Engagement Index' higher than Buzzfeed, and more than most other environment- and climate-oriented pages. ETOM programs can be downloaded in HD for watch parties, and many schools, universities and church groups have used the project in this way. Alley is working with Penn State and Coursera on a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) focused on energy, economics and the environment and linking to several ETOM YouTube videos. As important as new media, however, is the core message-featured most prominently in the third ETOM program, 'Energy Quest USA'-that regardless of national policies states and cities are moving ahead on clean energy solutions with consequent beneficial impacts on climate change. By cutting demand through conservation and efficiency, Baltimore has avoided a new coal-fired generating plant. Through 30 years of wise urban planning and the support of mass transit, Portland, Oregon, has reduced an average family's transportation costs by some $2,500, while improving health by encouraging cycling and walking. There are proven ways both to adapt to a changing climate and to begin to mitigate its most severe impacts. The ETOM project shows that when presented in a wide and diverse set of media, and in an authoritative and apolitical framework, those messages are received and appreciated by large public audiences. This presentation will report on the success of several of the strategies adopted by the ETOM project, and how they contrast with, or complement, other communications efforts on clean energy and climate change.

  5. PBS Plus Facebook: The Old And New Communication Of Climate Science (Please "Like" And "Share" This Abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alley, R. B.; Haines-Stiles, G.; Akuginow, E.

    2012-12-01

    Traditional and innovative communications strategies were combined in "Earth: The Operators' Manual" (ETOM; writer & director Geoff Haines-Stiles, producer Erna Akuginow, presenter Richard Alley). We attempted both a clear and accessible presentation of some key essentials of current climate science and an experiment in new messaging and new media for outreach and education. ETOM is a 3-part TV series broadcast by PBS ("…one of the more interesting documentary series to come along in years", said the New York Times) and a 320 plus page tradebook, with 110 pages of footnotes referencing peer-reviewed science, published by Norton. But it's also a lively and growing Facebook page with a clear voice sharing positive examples of how renewable energy can reduce polluting emissions here in the US and worldwide, alongside headlines of climate science, and a website—relaunched for the 2012 Earth Day PBS broadcasts—where all three programs can be streamed, and teachers can register to download HD segments for classroom use. The TV programs were designed to offer a highly accessible statement of core climate science, literally explaining how ice cores show us today's climate is changing in ways not seen in the last 800,000 thousand years and why physics and chemistry let us know "It's Us" who are changing CO2 levels in the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels. But the project's outreach components also includes a "Science Pub" in a converted theater in Portland, where the audience consumes food, drink and climate science, and "Adventures of a Climate Scientist in the Age of Politics and Punditry," a dynamic live performance recorded for TV and the web. Messaging includes a Navy Rear Admiral in dress whites explaining why the Pentagon believes climate change is real, and scenes showing Marines and Army implementing solar technologies to enhance mission security and reduce their carbon bootprint. Similarly, outreach events at the North Carolina Museum of Natural History and Sciences and on board the USS Midway in San Diego brought active military of various ranks to share their clean energy rationales. Supported by NSF, ETOM was shaped by social science research on public attitudes towards climate science from proposal through production and delivery. Solid science was coupled with successful solutions, avoiding "doom and gloom", reflecting work by Moser, Dietz, Stern, Roser-Renouf, Nisbet and others. The project consciously included on-camera statements by "unusual suspects" committed to clean and renewable energy, such as the Mayor of Houston, Texas, and plain-spoken West Texas farmers and ranchers welcoming wind energy. The third program, "Energy Quest USA", showed five geographically and demographically diverse communities (Alaska, Kansas, Baltimore MD, Fort Worth and Portland OR) taking positive steps towards sustainability through new approaches to energy conservation and efficiency, and newer, less polluting energy sources. As part of extensive project evaluation by Rockman Et Al, focus groups tested this strategy before the programs were finalized, and audience responses through online surveys and other methods indicate both the novelty and success of this approach. The evaluations show the success of "both/and" rather than "either/or", combining innovative elements with traditional elements of broadcast television and the tradebook.

  6. The dynamical interactions of Amazon deforestation, intensification of cattle ranching and technology adoption: insights from a socio-ecological model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Müller-Hansen, Finn; Heitzig, Jobst; Donges, Jonathan F.; Cardoso, Manoel F.; Kurths, Jürgen; Thonicke, Kirsten

    2017-04-01

    Deforestation in the tropics - with vast consequences for the ecosystem and climate - is mainly driven by subsequent land use, which is not only determined by environmental and economic constraints but also influenced by the use of different production technologies. Inefficient production technologies can lead to excessive use of land, especially in areas where land is easily available and accessible. Here, the adoption of new technologies could help to use already converted land more intensively and ease pressures on ecologically valuable areas. In this study, we take the Brazilian Amazon as a prominent example region to explore the interplay of land-use decisions with environmental and economic dynamics in the process of land-use intensification and frontier expansion. Expansion of pasture land for cattle ranching to satisfy increasing domestic and international demands is one of the important drivers for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Pasture run-down and following land abandonment further drive the expansion of deforestation frontiers into pristine forests. Therefore, intensification of livestock production, especially better pasture management, could potentially reduce deforestation. However, a number of reasons including the large spatial extent of the region make the process of comparing the effectiveness of different management techniques, technologies and policies in the region difficult. Therefore, the effectiveness and possible outcomes of policies to foster intensification are highly debated in the literature. Some authors deny that intensification policies are a viable option to spare forests as long as they are not a scarce resource [1] while others insist that intensification has an effect if only supported by the right policies [2]. In this presentation, we introduce a concise agent-based model to study conditions under which intensification can reduce deforestation and explore the trade-offs between intensified and extensive land uses. While most agent-based models in land science are developed for small study regions, our approach is scalable also to regional levels and for this purpose abstracts from many local specificities. In the proposed model, a collection of cattle ranchers interacts with the local environment via decisions to convert forest into pasture land and manage this pasture. Deforestation and land abandonment is traced by simple land-cover succession equations and ecological dynamics consider the evolution of pasture productivity depending on pasture management, deforestation and tree regrowth. Agent decisions are captured by heuristic strategies depending on economic and ecological constraints. Agents can follow either an extensive strategy, corresponding to traditional cattle ranching with fallow periods and slash-and-burn fertilization, or an intensive strategy, i.e. cattle ranching with high inputs such as machinery and industrial fertilizers. The choice of the production strategy is modeled as a social learning process: Agents are located on a geometric network representing neighborhood and acquaintance relations and imitate the successful strategies of their neighbors. We will present a comprehensive analysis of the model and discuss conditions that foster sustainable land use. Finally, we will give an outlook at possible extensions of the model and applications to issues such as compliance with Brazil's Forest Code and feedbacks from changes in climate. References: [1] Kaimowitz, David and Arild Angelsen (2008). "Will Livestock Intensification Help Save Latin America's Tropical Forests?" In: Journal of Sustainable Forestry 27.1-2, pp. 6-24. [2] Cohn, Avery S, Aline Mosnier, Petr Havlík, Hugo Valin, Mario Herrero, Erwin Schmid, Michael O'Hare, and Michael Obersteiner (2014). "Cattle ranching intensification in Brazil can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by sparing land from deforestation." In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111.20, pp. 7236-7241.

  7. Floods in Colorado

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Follansbee, Robert; Sawyer, Leon R.

    1948-01-01

    The first records of floods in Colorado antedated the settlement of the State by about 30 years. These were records of floods on the Arkansas and Republican Rivers in 1826. Other floods noted by traders, hunters and emigrants, some of whom were on their way to the Far West, occurred in 1844 on the Arkansas River, and by inference on the South Platte River. Other early floods were those on the Purgatoire, the Lower Arkansas, and the San Juan Rivers about 1859. The most serious flood since settlement began was that on the Arkansas River during June 1921, which caused the loss of about 100 lives and an estimated property loss of $19,000,000. Many floods of lesser magnitude have occurred, and some of these have caused loss of life and very considerable property damage. Topography is the chief factor in determining the location of storms and resulting floods. These occur most frequently on the eastern slope of the Front Range. In the mountains farther west precipitation is insufficient to cause floods except during periods of melting snow, in June. In the southwestern part of the State, where precipitation during periods of melting snow is insufficient to cause floods, the severest floods yet experienced resulted from heavy rains in September 1909 and October 1911. In the eastern foothills region, usually below an altitude of about 7,500 feet and extending for a distance of about 50 miles east of the mountains, is a zone subject to rainfalls of great intensity known as cloudbursts. These cloudbursts are of short duration and are confined to very small areas. At times the intensity is so great as to make breathing difficult for those exposed to a storm. The areas of intense rainfall are so small that Weather Bureau precipitation stations have not been located in them. Local residents, being cloudburst conscious, frequently measure the rainfall in receptacles in their yards, and such records constitute the only source of information regarding the intensity. A flood resulting from a cloudburst rises so quickly that it is usually described as a 'wall of water.' It has a peak duration of only a few minutes, followed by a rapid subsidence. Nearly 90 cloudburst floods in Colorado are described in varying detail in this report. The earliest recorded cloudburst--called at that time a waterspout--occurred in Golden Gate Gulch, July 14, 1872. The 'wall of water' was described as a 'perpendicular breast of 10 or 12 feet.' A cloudburst flood on Kiowa Creek in May 1878 caused the loss of a standard-gage locomotive, and although search was made by means of long metallic rods, the locomotive was never recovered, as bedrock was about 50 feet below the creek bed. All available information relative to floods in Colorado, beginning with the flood of 1826 on the Arkansas River, is presented in this report, although for many of the earlier floods estimates of discharge are lacking. Floods throughout a large part of the State have occurred in 1844, June 1864, June 1884, May 1894, and June 1921. The highest floods of record were on the larger streams and occurred as follows: South Platte River, June 1921; Rio Grande, June 1927; Colorado River, June and July 1884; San Juan River, October 1911. The greatest floods on the plains streams occurred during May and June 1935 and were caused by cloudbursts. Ranchers living in the vicinity noted rainfalls as high as 24 inches in a 13-hour period, measurements being made in a stock tank. The effect of settlement on channel capacities can be clearly traced. When settlement began, and with it the beginning of the livestock industry, the plains were thickly covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses. With the development of the livestock industry the grass cover was grazed so closely that it afforded little protection against erosion during the violent rains and resulting floods. The intensive grazing packed the soil so hard as to increase greatly the percentage of rainfall that entered the streams. This co

  8. Evaluating detection and monitoring tools for incipient and relictual non-native ungulate populations

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Judge, Seth W.; Hess, Steve; Faford, Jonathan K.J.; Pacheco, Dexter; Leopold, Christina R.; Cole, Colleen; Deguzman, Veronica

    2016-01-01

    Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) encompasses 1,308 km2 on Hawai‘i Island. The park harbors endemic plants and animals which are threatened by a variety of invasive species. Introduced ungulates have caused sharp declines of numerous endemic species and have converted ecosystems to novel grazing systems in many cases. Local ranchers and the Territorial Government of Hawai‘i had long conducted regional ungulate control even prior to the establishment of HAVO in 1916. In 1995 the park’s hunting team began a new hunt database that allowed managers to review hunt effort and effectiveness in each management unit. Target species included feral pigs (Sus scrofa), European mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini musimon), feral goats (Capra hircus) and wild cattle (Bos taurus). Hunters removed 1,204 feral pigs from HAVO over a 19-year period (1996‒2014). A variety of methods were employed, but trapping, snaring and ground hunts with dogs accounted for the most kills. Trapping yielded the most animals per unit effort. Hunters and volunteers removed 6,657 mouflon from HAVO; 6,601 of those were from the 468 km2 Kahuku Unit. Aerial hunts yielded the most animals followed by ground hunt methods. Hunters completed eradications of goats in several management units over an 18- year period (1997‒2014) when they removed the last 239 known individuals in HAVO primarily with aerial hunts. There have also been seven cattle and five feral dogs (Canis familiaris) removed from HAVO. Establishing benchmarks and monitoring the success of on-the-ground ungulate removal efforts can improve the efficiency of protecting and restoring native forest for high-priority watersheds and native wildlife. We tested a variety of methods to detect small populations of ungulates within HAVO and the Hō‘ili Wai study area in the high-priority watershed of Ka‘ū Forest Reserve on Hawai‘i Island. We conducted ground surveys, aerial surveys and continuous camera trap monitoring in both fence-enclosed units and unenclosed units where populations of introduced mouflon and feral pigs threatened sensitive native plants and forest bird habitats. Beginning in June 2014, twenty infrared camera traps were positioned in areas occupied by ungulates. The cameras were active for at most 198 days, and then half of the cameras were baited with oats and salt blocks for 126 days. There were a total of 1,496 observations of mouflon captured on camera, totaling 2,592 individuals: 1,020 ewes, 900 rams, 276 lambs, and 396 sheep of unknown sex. There were no detections of the illegally introduced axis deer (Axis axis). There were 11 observations of feral pigs and 109 observations of other animals (birds, rats, and other small mammals), including one detection of the federally endangered Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius). Mouflon detection rates did not increase near baited cameras until three months after the initial baiting. Ground-based surveys for ungulate presence were conducted along six transects in Kahuku in October 2014. Evidence of ungulates were detected in 27.5% of plots surveyed within an unenclosed unit, while an enclosed unit had sign in only 3.6% of plots surveyed. An aerial survey by helicopter was conducted in October 2014. A total of 378 mouflon were detected during the survey: 192 in the Kahuku Paddocks, 186 in the Kahuku East unit and no mouflon were detected in the actively controlled Mauka unit. Two baseline ungulate surveys have been completed at the Hō‘ili Wai study area in the highpriority watershed of Ka‘ū Forest Reserve adjacent to Kahuku prior to the completion of an exclusionary ungulate fence. Ground-based surveys were conducted on four transects within a 4.99 km2 area on 5 August and 5–6 November 2014. In August, 20.71% of 565 plots surveyed 2 had fresh or intermediate ungulate sign. In November, 17.41% of 557 plots surveyed had fresh or intermediate ungulate sign. These surveys represent baseline levels of ungulate activity prior to management; therefore comparative inferences can be made about ungulate distribution and relative abundance, but inferences about absolute abundance cannot be made until all ungulates have been removed from the enclosed area. Additional ground-based surveys will be conducted when the fenced area has been fully enclosed, and until ungulate removals have been completed.

  9. Evaluation and proposed study of potential ground-water supplies, Gallup area, New Mexico

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hiss, William L.

    1975-01-01

    The ground-water potential of 5 areas in central-western New Mexico within 85 miles (135 km) of Gallup, N. Mex. was evaluated by reviewing the published literature, inspecting aerial and space photographs, and interviewing ranchers and personnel employed by well-drilling and mineral-exploration companies by telephone. The San Andres Limestone and underlying Glorieta Sandstone of Permian age are the oldest aquifers capable of yielding water of a quality suitable for municipal use. Extreme local variations in hydraulic conductivity and water quality reflect a karstic topography developed on the San Andres Limestone prior to burial by Upper Triassic sediments. The San Andres Limestone and Glorieta Sandstone form an important aquifer in the Grants-Bluewater area where yields of as much as 2,200 gallons per minute (140 l/s) have been obtained. Yields from wells completed in the San Andres-Glorieta aquifer on the Chaco slope and in the Gallup sag-Mogollon slope on the northeast and southeast flanks, respectively, of the Zuni uplift will be much less than those prevailing in the Grants-Bluewater area. Water quality in the San Andres Limestone and Glorieta Sandstone deteriorates with distance away from the axis of the Zuni uplift. Sandstones of Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous age are potential aquifers wherever they are present. Yields to wells tapping these aquifers are generally less than 200 gallons per minute (13 l/s) due to the relatively low hydraulic conductivity. Wells tapping alluvium of Late Cenozoic age along the Rio San Jose and Puerco River and interbedded volcanics and alluvium elsewhere in the area generally yield less than 100 gallons per minute (6 l/s) of water. Tributaries ,of the Rio San Jose that have eroded canyons into Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks east of the Continental Divide and south of the eastern part of the Zuni uplift have been repeatedly displaced and (or) covered by Quaternary volcanic rocks. The exact location, extent, and depth of buried alluvium in the Late Tertiary valleys is unknown. Water enters the volcanic rocks as rainfall and snowmelt and probably passes quickly into and through, the underlying alluvium into Jurassic and Cretaceous strata. The Gallup Sandstone in the lower part of the Mesaverde Group and the San Andres Limestone and Glorieta Sandstone (combined) are potential sources of water in the North Plains-Malpais area. Sustained yields of 500 to 800 gallons per minute (30 to 50 l/s) can be expected from wells completed in the Gallup Sandstone of Cretaceous age in areas west and north of the Zuni uplift. Properly completed wells tapping the Dakota Sandstone of Cretaceous age and the Westwater Canyon Sandstone Member of the Morrison Formation of Jurassic age locally yield 100 to 250 gallons per minute (6 to 15 l/s) north and east of Gallup. Additional supplies of ground water could be developed from these aquifers. However, arrangements to purchase or lease the water would probably need to be made before these resources could be exploited. Approximately 3,000 gallons per minute (190 l/s) of ground water is being pumped from the Westwater Canyon Member of the Morrison Formation at two uranium mines located about 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Gallup in the Church Rock mining district. The water is pumped into settling ponds at the surface. Effluent from the ponds is allowed to flow into arroyos draining into the Puerco River. Some of the waste water will be used in an ore-processing mill that is expected to be constructed near the mines. However, additional waste water will probably be available from other mines that reportedly will be located in the same mining district. Water salvaged from the current mining operations and (or) pumped from abandoned uranium mines constitutes the most readily available and dependable source of new ground-water supplies for the city of Gallup. The water contains dissolved uranium but is otherwise of better quality than that now avai

  10. Characterization of salinity loads and selenium loads in the Smith Fork Creek region of the Lower Gunnison River Basin, western Colorado, 2008-2009

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Richards, Rodney J.; Linard, Joshua I.; Hobza, Christopher M.

    2014-01-01

    The lower Gunnison River Basin of the Colorado River Basin has elevated salinity and selenium levels. The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of June 24, 1974 (Public Law 93–320, amended by Public Law 98–569), authorized investigation of the Lower Gunnison Basin Unit Salinity Control Project by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are responsible for assessing and implementing measures to reduce salinity and selenium loading in the Colorado River Basin. Cost-sharing programs help farmers, ranchers, and canal companies improve the efficiency of water delivery systems and irrigation practices. The delivery systems (irrigation canals) have been identified as potential sources of seepage, which can contribute to salinity loading. Reclamation wants to identify seepage from irrigation systems in order to maximize the effectiveness of the various salinity-control methods, such as polyacrylamide lining and piping of irrigation canals programs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Reclamation, developed a study to characterize the salinity and selenium loading of seven subbasins in the Smith Fork Creek region and identify where control efforts can be maximized to reduce salinity and selenium loading. Total salinity loads ranged from 27.9±19.1 tons per year (t/yr) to 87,500±80,500 t/yr. The four natural subbasins—BkKm, RCG1, RCG2, and SF1—had total salinity loads of 27.9±19.1 t/yr, 371±248 t/yr, 2,180±1,590 t/yr, and 4,200±2,720 t/yr, respectively. The agriculturally influenced sites had salinity loads that ranged from 7,580±6,900 t/yr to 87,500±80,500 t/yr. Salinity loads for the subbasins AL1, B1, CK1, SF2, and SF3 were 7,580±6,900 t/yr; 28,300±26,700 t/yr; 48,700±36,100 t/yr; 87,500±80,900 t/yr; and 52,200±31,800 t/yr, respectively. The agricultural salinity load was separated into three components: tail water, deep percolation, and canal seepage. Annual tail-water salinity loads ranged from 48.0 to 2,750 tons in the Smith Fork Creek region. The largest tail-water salinity load was in subbasin SF3, and the lowest salinity load from tail water was in subbasin R1. The remaining four agricultural subbasins—AL1, B1, CK1, and SF2—had tail-water loads of 285 t/yr, 180 t/yr, 333 t/yr, and 1,700 t/yr, respectively. The deep percolation component of the agricultural salinity load ranged from 3,300 t/yr in subbasin AL1 to 51,800 t/yr in subbasin SF2. Subbasins R1, B1, CK1, and SF3 had deep percolation salinity loads of 4,940 t/yr, 15,200 t/yr, 21,200 t/yr, and 23,600 t/yr, respectively. The canal seepage component of the agricultural salinity load ranged from 1,100 t/yr in subbasin AL1 to 15,300 t/yr in subbasin CK1. Subbasins B1, R1, SF2, and SF3 had canal seepage salinity loads of 6,610 t/yr, 3,890 t/yr, 9,430 t/yr, and 12,100 t/yr, respectively. Four natural subbasins—RCG1, RCG2, SF1, and BkKm—were used to calculate natural salinity yields for the remaining subbasins. The appropriate salinity yield was applied to the corresponding number of acres and resulted in a natural salinity load for each subbasin. The annual salinity yields for the Dakota Sandstone and Burro Canyon Formation, Mancos Shale, and crystalline geologies are 0.217 tons per acre (t/acre), 0.113 t/acre, and 0.151 t/acre, respectively. Three of the four natural subbasins had little to no selenium load based on the measured data and calculated selenium loads. Subbasins RCG1 and RCG2 had surface-water selenium loads of 0.106±0.024 pounds (lb) and 0.00 lb, respectively. Subbasin BkKm did not have an estimated surface-water selenium load because of the lack of any water-quality samples during the study period. The subbasin designated by site CK1 had the highest selenium load with 135±38.7 lb, and the next highest subbasins in decreasing order are B1, SF3, AL1, SF1, and R1 with selenium loads of 69.6±28.4 lb, 56.5±23.8 lb, 30.5±16.6 lb, 26.8±6.95 lb, and 15.6±27.7 lb, respectively.

  11. Main Parameters of Soil Quality and it's Management Under Changing Climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    László Phd, M., ,, Dr.

    2009-04-01

    Reviewing Paper Introduction: Malcolm summarised the topic of soil quality and it's management in a well synthetized form in 2000. So, the soils are fundamental to the well-being and productivity of agricultural and natural ecosystems. Soil quality is a concept being developed to characterize the usefulness and health of soils. Soil quality includes soil fertility, potential productivity, contaminant levels and their effects, resource sustainability and environmental quality. A general definition of soil quality is the degree of fitness of a soil for a specific use. The existence of multiple definitions suggests that the soil quality concept continues to evolve (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton, 2005; Márton et al. 2007). Recent attention has focused on the sustainability of human uses of soil, based on concerns that soil quality may be declining (Boehn and Anderson, 1997). We use sustainable to mean that a use or management of soil will sustain human well-being over time. Lal (1995) described the land resources of the world (of which soil is one component) as "finite, fragile, and nonrenewable," and reported that only about 22% (3.26 billion ha) of the total land area on the globe is suitable for cultivation and at present, only about 3% (450 million ha) has a high agricultural production capacity. Because soil is in large but finite supply, and some soil components cannot be renewed within a human time frame, the condition of soils in agriculture and the environment is an issue of global concern (Howard, 1993; FAO, 1997). Concerns include soil losses from erosion, maintaining agricultural productivity and system sustainability, protecting natural areas, and adverse effects of soil contamination on human health (Haberern, 1992; Howard, 1993; Sims et al., 1997). Parr et al. (1992) state, "...soil degradation is the single most destructive force diminishing the world's soil resource base." Soil quality guidelines are intended to protect the ability of ecosystems to function properly (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Cook and Hendershot, 1996; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton, 2005; Márton et al. 2007). The Hungarian Ministry of Environment and Water (HMEW, 2004) suggests that the Hungarian Regions should adopt a national policy "...that seeks to conserve and enhance soil quality...". Useful evaluation of soil quality requires agreement about why soil quality is important, how it is defined, how it should be measured, and how to respond to measurements with management, restoration, or conservation practices. Because determining soil quality requires one or more value judgments and because we have much to learn about soil, these issues are not easily addressed (Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Cook and Hendershot, 1996; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000). Definitions of soil quality have been based both on human uses of soil and on the functions of soil within natural and agricultural ecosystems. For purposes of this work, we are showing soil quality within the context of managed agricultural ecosystems. To many in agriculture and agricultural research, productivity is analogous to soil quality. Maintaining soil quality is also a human health concern because air, groundwater and surface water consumed by humans can be adversely affected by mismanaged and contaminated soils, and because humans may be exposed to contaminated soils in residential areas (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 2005; Cook and Hendershot, 1996; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton et al. 2007). Contamination may include heavy metals, toxic elements, excess nutrients, volatile and nonvolatile organics, explosives, radioactive isotopes and inhalable fibers (Sheppard et al., 1992; Cook and Hendershot, 1996). Soil quality is not determined by any single conserving or degrading process or property, and soil has both dynamic and relatively static properties that also vary spatially (Carter et al., 1997). Gregorich et al. (1994) state that "soil quality is a composite measure of both a soil's ability to function and how well it functions, relative to a specific use." Increasingly, contemporary discussion of soil quality includes the environmental cost of production and the potential for reclamation of degraded soils (Várallyay, 2005). Reasons for assessing soil quality in an agricultural or managed system may be somewhat different than reasons for assessing soil quality in a natural ecosystem. In an agricultural context, soil quality may be managed, to maximize production without adverse environmental effect, while in a natural ecosystem, soil quality may be observed, as a baseline value or set of values against which future changes in the system may be compared (Várallyay, 1994; Cook and Hendershot, 1996; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton et al. 2007). Soil quality has historically been equated with agricultural productivity, and thus is not a new idea. Soil conservation practices to maintain soil productivity are as old as agriculture itself, with documentation dating to the Roman Empire (Jenny, 1961). The Storie Index (Storie, 1932) and USDA Land Capability Classification (Klingebiel and Montgomery, 1973) were developed to separate soils into different quality classes. Soil quality is implied in many decisions farmers make about land purchases and management, and in the economic value rural assessors place on agricultural land for purposes of taxation. Beginning in the 1930s, soil productivity ratings were developed in the United States and elsewhere to help farmers select crops and management practices that would maximize production and minimize erosion or other adverse environmental effects (Huddleston, 1984). These rating systems are important predecessors of recent attempts to quantitatively assess soil quality. In the 1970s, attempts were made to identify and protect soils of the highest productive capacity by defining "prime agricultural lands" (Miller, 1979). An idea related to soil quality is "carrying capacity". Carrying capacity is the number of individuals that can be supported in a given area (Budd, 1992). Soils with high productivity have high carrying capacity, and are considered to be high quality. Sustainability implies that a system does not exceed its carrying capacity over time. Recent attempts to define soil quality and develop indices to measure it have many of the properties of the earlier soil productivity ratings (Doran and Jones, 1996; Snakin et al., 1996; Seybold et al., 1997). Cox (1995) calls for national goals for soil quality that "... recognize the inherent links between soil, water and air quality." Haberern (1992) suggests that the decade of the 1990s is the time to study the soil as we have recognized and studied air quality and water quality in the preceding two decades. Air and water quality standards are generally based on maximum allowable concentrations of materials hazardous to human health. They are specified and enforced by regulators according to public uses of these resources. The result is that changes in air and water quality are now monitored to protect human health. With few exceptions, soil quality standards have not been set, nor have regulations been created regarding maintenance of soil quality (Várallyay, 2005; Cook and Hendershot, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton et al. 2007). To the extent that soil has been the disposal site of hazardous wastes, as well as a pathway by which contamination or other applied chemicals may present a human health risk, sporadic 40 regulations of soil quality (in terms of contamination) does exist in the 27 European Union (EU) countries for not just new ones but an estimated 30 000 existing chemicals, today. These regulations are in the form of laws regulating hazardous waste, toxic substances, and pesticides. However, these standards are often contradictory, inconsistent with each other and with current methods of assessing risk. For example, in the United States, federal regulations supporting CERCLA (40 CFR) is a list of "hazardous substances" and the levels in various media (e.g., soil, water) to which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must respond with a cleanup effort. However, EPA has fielded considerable controversy about contaminant levels and chemical forms that legitimately constitute a human health risk. Target cleanup levels have also been subject to debate and legislation. Soil quality assessment requires definition of a "clean" soil (Sims et al., 1997). From this point of view, good quality soil has been defined as posing "...no harm to any normal use by humans, plants or animals; not adversely affecting natural cycles or functions; and not contaminating other components of the environment" (Moen, 1988). The parallel to air and water quality is easy to draw on a conceptual level, but designation of soil quality standards is significantly complicated by soil variability and heterogeneity (Smith et al., 1993). Among the authors (Merker, 1956; Odell et al. 1984; Johnston et al., 1986; Reganold et al., 1990; Granatstein and Bezdicek, 1992; Kádár, 1992; Beke et al., 1994; Jenkinson et al., 1994; Schjenning et al., 1994; Murata et al., 1995; Biederbeck et al., 1996; Lindert et al., 1996; Romig et al., 1995; Warkentin, 1995; Carter et al., 1997; Gerzabeck et al., 1997; Seybold et al., 1997; Malcolm, 2000; Várallyay, 2005) and organizations defining soil quality are Larson and Pierce (1991), Karlen et al. (1997). The next section reviews some of the definitions and soil characteristics used to define soil quality. The reader should understand that the definition of soil quality and selection of soil characteristics needed to quantify soil quality are continuing to evolve. For example, Bouma (1989) recognized that an essential problem with definitions that produce carefully limited suitability classes is that empirical decisions must be made to separate the classes along what is essentially a continuum. That is, if soil organic matter is part of a soil quality definition, where on the continuum of soil organic matter content does one draw the line between a high quality and low quality soil? Does high organic matter content always indicate high soil quality? These are non-trivial questions under discussion by the soil science community. Carter et al. (1997) suggest a framework for evaluating soil quality that includes: 1. describing each soil function on which quality is to be based, 2. selecting soil characteristics or properties that influence the capacity of the soil to provide each function, 3. choosing indicators of characteristics that can be measured, and 4. using methods that provide accurate measurement of those indicators. The following soil functions appear frequently in the soil science literature: 1. soil maintains biological activity/productivity (Karlen et al., 1997), serves as medium for plant/crop growth (Arshad and Coen, 1992), supports plant productivity/yield (Arshad and Coen, 1992), supports human/animal health (Karlen et al., 1997); 2. partitions and regulates water/ solute flow through environment (Larson and Pierce, 1991; Arshad and Coen, 1992); 3. serves as an environmental buffer/filter (Larson and Pierce, 1991), maintains environmental quality (Arshad and Ccen, 1992); 4. cycles nutrients, water, energy and other elements through the biosphere (Anderson and Gregorich, 1984). Clearly, these functions are interrelated. Later in this chapter, discussion focuses on the first and third functions (productivity and environmental buffering) as encompassing those aspects of soil quality most debated in the literature. Larson and Pierce (1991) defined soil quality as "the capacity of a soil to function within the ecosystem boundaries and interact positively with the environment external to that ecosystem." Three soil functions are considered essential: provide a medium for plant growth, regulate and partition waterllow through the environment, and serve as an effective environmental filter. Arshad and Coen (1992) define soil quality as "the sustaining capability of a soil to accept, store and recycle water, minerals and energy for production of crops at optimum levels while preserving a healthy environment." They discuss terrain, climate and hydrology as site factors that contribute to soil quality and suggest that socioeconomic factors such as land use, operator and management should be included in a soil quality analysis. This approach is consistent with the FAO approach to land quality analysis (FAO, 1997). Karlen et al. (1992) define soil quality as "the ability of the soil to serve as a natural medium for the growth of plants that sustain human and animal life." Their definition is based on the role of soil quality in the long-term productivity of soil and maintenance of environmental quality. Doran and Parkin (1994) defined soil quality as "the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health." Gregorich et al. (1994) define soil quality as "a composite measure of both a soil's ability to function and how well it functions relative to a specific use" or "the degree of fitness of a soil for a specific use." The Soil Science Society of America Ad Hoc Committee on Soil Health proposed that soil quality is "the capacity of a specific kind of soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and support human health and habitation" (Karlen et al., 1997). This definition requires that five functions must be evaluated to describe soil quality: 1. sustaining biological activity, diversity, and productivity; 2. regulating and partitioning water and solute flow; 3. filtering, buffering, degrading, immobilizing and detoxifying organic and inorganic materials, including industrial and municipal byproducts and atmospheric deposition; 4. storing and cycling nutrients and other elements within the earth's biosphere; and 5. providing support of socioeconomic structures and protection for archeological treasures associated with human habitation. No soil is likely to successfully provide all of these functions, some of which occur in natural ecosystems and some of which are the result of human modification. We can summarize by saying that soil quality depends on the extent to which soil functions to benefit humans. Thus, for food production or mediation of contamination, soil quality means the extent to which a soil fulfills the role we have defined for it. Within agriculture, high quality equates to maintenance of high productivity without significant soil or environmental degradation. The Glossary of Soil Science terms produced by the Soil Science Society of America (1996) states that soil quality is an inherent attribute of a soil that is inferred from soil characteristics or indirect observations. To proceed from a dictionary definition to a measure of soil quality, a minimum dataset (MDS) of soil characteristics that represents soil quality must be selected and quantified (Papendick et al., 1995). The MDS may include biological, chemical or physical soil characteristics [Organic matter (OM), Aggregation (A), Bulk density (BD), Depth to hardpan (DH), Electrical conductivity (EC), Fertility (F), Respiration (R), pH, Soil test (ST), Yield (Y), Infiltration (I), Mineralizable nitrogen potential (MNP), Water holding capacity (WHC)]. For agriculture, the measurement of properties should lead to a relatively simple and accurate way to rank soils based on potential plant production without soil degradation. Unfortunately, commonly identified soil quality parameters may not correlate well with yield (Reganold, 1988). In the next section, we consider these four points concerning the selection and quantification of soil characteristics: 1. soil characteristics may be desirable or undesirable, 2. soil renewability involves judgment of the extent to which soil characteristics can be controlled or managed, 3. rates of change in soil characteristics vary, and 4. there may be significant temporal or spatial variation in soil characteristics. Components of soil quality definitions may include desirable and undesirable characteristics. Desirable soil characteristics may either be the presence of a property that benefits soil productivity and/or other important soil functions, or the absence of a property that is detrimental to these functions. A soil characteristic may include a range of values that contributes positively to quality and a range that contributes negatively. Soil pH, for example, may be a positive or negative characteristic depending on its value. Larson and Pierce (1991) suggest that ranges of property values can be defined as optimal, suboptimal or superoptimal. A pH range of 6 to 7.5 is optimal for production of most crops. Outside of this range, pH is suboptimal and soil quality is lower than at the optimal pH range. The complexity of the soil quality concept is illustrated by the fact that the choice of optimal pH range is crop or use dependent. Letey (1985) suggested that identification of a range of water content that is nonlimiting to plant productivity might be a good way of assessing the collective effect of soil physical characteristics that contribute to crop productivity. For soils of decreasing quality, the width of the nonlimiting water range decreases. Undesirable soil characteristics may be either the presence of contaminants or a range of values of soil characteristics that contribute negatively to soil quality. The presence of chemicals that inhibit plant root growth or the absence of nutrients that result in low yields or poor crop quality are examples of undesirable soil characteristics that lower soil quality. The extent to which soil is viewed as a renewable resource shapes our approach to soil quality. "Soil" in this context is the natural, three-dimensional, horizonated individual, not something created by earth moving machinery. For the purpose of assessing human impact on sustainability of soil quality, it may be appropriate to use only those soil properties that are slowly or nonrenewable. Shorter term assessments may be based on those properties that change rapidly and are subject to easy management. Willis and Evans (1977) argued that soil is not renewable over the short term based on studies that suggest that 30 to more than 1,000 years are required to develop 25 mm of surface soil from parent material by natural processes. Jenny (1980) also argued that soil is not renewable over the time scale to which humans relate. Howard (1993) suggests defining soil quality based on undisturbed natural soils and to set quality standards based on changes in soils which cannot be reversed naturally or by ecological approaches. The renewability of soil depends on the soil property considered. For example, once soil depth is reduced by wind or water erosion so that it is too shallow to support crops, it is not renewable within a human or management time frame. Some important soil characteristics are slowly renewable. Organic matter, most nutrients and some physical properties may be renewed through careful long-term management. Certain chemical properties (pH, salinity, N, P, K content) may be altered to a more satisfactory range for agriculture within a growing season or two, while removal of unwanted chemicals may take much longer. No soil property is permanent, but rates and frequency of change vary widely among properties. Soil properties also vary with ecosystem, arguably depending most on climate. In rangelands, for example, temporal variability is high and relatively unpredictable due to the strong dependence of soil properties on soil wetness (Herrick and Whitford, 1995). Variability in soil wetness is not restricted to rangelands and may be an especially important determinant of microbial community structure and function in both irrigated and rainfed agricultural systems. Arnold et al. (1990) suggest that changes in soil properties can be nonsystematic, periodic, or trend. Nonsystematic changes are short term and unpredictable. Periodic are predictable and trend changes tend to be in one direction over time. Carter et al. (1997) distinguish between dynamic soil properties that are most subject to change through human use and are strongly influenced by agronomic practices, and intrinsic or static properties that are not subject to rapid change or management. Examples of dynamic soil characteristics are the size, membership, distribution, and activity of a soil's microbiological community; the soil solution composition, pH, and nutrient ion concentrations, and the exchangeable cation population. Soils respond quickly to changes in conditions such as water content. As a result, the optimal frequency and distribution of soil measurements vary with the property being measured. Soil mineralogy, particle size distribution and soil depth are static soil quality indicators. Although changes occur continuously, they are slow under natural conditions. Organic matter content may be a dynamic variable, but the chemical properties of organic matter may change only over periods on the order of 100 to 1,500 years depending on texture. Soil properties that change quickly present a problem because many measurements are needed to know the average value and to determine if changes in the average indicate improvement or degradation of soil quality. Conversely, properties that change very slowly are insensitive measures of short-term changes in soil quality. Papendick et al. (1995) argue that the MDS required for soil quality analysis includes a mix of "dynamic" and relatively "static" properties. A soil quality assessment must specify area. One could use the pedon (the three-dimensional soil individual) as the unit of measure, or a soil map unit, a landscape, a field or an entire watershed. The choice will depend to some degree on what property is of interest and the spatial variability of the property. Karlen et al. (1997) propose that soil quality can be evaluated at scales ranging from points to regional, national and international. They suggest that the more detailed scales provide an opportunity to "understand" soil quality while larger scale approaches provide interdisciplinary monitoring of soil quality and changes in soil quality. Pennock et al. (1994) discuss scaling up data from discrete sampling points to landscape and regional scales. Soil physical characteristics [Aeration (A), Aggregate stability (AS), Bulk density (BD), Clay mineralogy (CM), Color (C), Consistence (dry (CD), moist (CM), wet (CW)), Depth to root limiting layer (DRLL), Hydraulic conductivity (HC), Oxygen diffusion rate (ODR), Particle size distribution (PSD), Penetration resistence (PR), Pore connectivity (PC), Pore size distribution (PSD), Soil strength (SS), Soil tilth (ST), Structure type (STY), Temperature (T), Total porosity (TP), Water-holding capacity (WHC)] are a necessary part of soil quality assessment because they often cannot be easily improved (Wagenet and Hutson, 1997). Larson and Pierce (1991) summarize the physical indicators of soil quality as those properties that influence crop production by determining: 1. whether a soil can accommodate unobstructed root growth and provide pore space of sufficient size and continuity for root penetration and expansion, 2. the extent to which the soil matrix will resist deformation, and 3. the capacity of soil for water supply and aeration. Factors such as effective rooting depth, porosity or pore size distribution, bulk density, hydraulic conductivity, soil strength and particle size distribution capture these soil functions (Malcolm, 2000; Várallyay, 2005). Reganold and Palmer (1995) use texture, color, dry and moist consistence, structure type, a structure index, bulk density of the 0-5 cm zone, penetration resistance of 0 to 20 and 20 to 40 cm zones and topsoil thickness as physical determinants of soil quality. Letey (1994) suggests that structure, texture, bulk density, and profile characteristics affect management practices in agriculture but are not directly related to plant productivity. He proposes that water potential, oxygen diffusion rate, temperature, and mechanical resistance directly affect plant growth, and thus are the best indicators of the physical quality of a soil for production. Soil tilth, a poorly defined term that describes the physical condition of soil, also may be an indicator of a soil's ability to support crops. Farmers may assess soil tilth by kicking a soil clod. More formal measurements to describe soil ti]th include bulk density, porosity, structure, roughness and aggregate characteristics (Karlen et al., 1992). Many of the processes that contribute to soil structure, aggregate stability, bulk density and porosity are not well understood, making soil tilth a difficult parameter to quantify. Soil depth is an easily measured and independent property that provides direct information about a soil's ability to support plants. Effective soil depth is the depth available for roots to explore for water and nutrients. Layers that restrict root growth or water movement include hard rock, naturally dense soil layers such as fragipans, petrocalcic and, petroferric horizons, duripans, and human-induced layers of high bulk density such as plow pans and traffic pans. Effective soil depth is a problem for agricultural use of over 50% of soils in Africa (Eswaran et al., 1997). Soil depth requirements vary with crop or species. Many vegetable crops, for example, are notably shallow rooted while grain crops and some legumes like alfalfa are deep rooted. Variation will be even greater in unmanaged, natural systems. Wheat yield in Colorado was shown to decrease from 2,700 to 1,150 kg ha' over a 60-yr period of cultivation primarily due to decrease in soil depth (Bowman et al., 1990). Assessment of soil quality based on soil chemistry, whether the property is a contaminant or part of a healthy system, requires a sampling protocol, a method of chemical analysis, an understanding of how its chemistry affects biological systems and interacts with mineral forms, methods for location of possible contamination, and standards for soil characterization (Várallyay, 2005; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000). Some soil chemical properties suggested as soil quality indicators are: Base saturation percentage (BSP), Cation exchange capacity (CEC), Contaminant availability (CA), Contaminant concentration (CC), Contaminant mobility (CM), Contaminant presence (CP), Electrical conductivity (EC), ESP, Nutrient cycling rates (NCR), Ph, Plant nutrient availability (PNA), Plant nutrient content (PNC) and SAR. Nutrient availability depends on soil physical and chemical processes, such as weathering and buffering, and properties such as organic matter content, CEC and pH (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton, 2005; Márton et al. 2007). At low and high pH, for example, some nutrients become unavailable to plants and some toxic elements become more available. Larson and Pierce (1991) chose those chemical properties that either inhibit root growth or that affect nutrient supply due to the quantity present or the availability. Reganold and Palmer (1995) used chemical parameters related to nutrient availability as measures of soil quality, including CEC, total N and P, pH and extractable P, S, Ca, Mg and K. Karlen et al. (1992) suggest that total and available plant nutrients, and nutrient cycling rates, should be included in soil quality assessments. Soil properties may be severely compromised by intended or unintended human additions of chemical compounds and soil productivity reduced if unwanted chemicals exceed safe thresholds. Data are required to determine whether or not a site is significantly polluted and if it requires clean-up (Sims et al., 1997). International standard methods have been created to maintain the quality of measurements (Hortensius and Welling, 1996). A difficult determination is the level of each chemical that is considered an ecological risk. Beck et al. (1995) provide a list of levels for organic chemicals adopted by The Netherlands and Canada. EPA uses similar lists for compounds considered hazardous (e.g., 40 CFR). Sims et al. (1997) argue that clean and unclean are two extremes of a continuum and that it is more appropriate to define the physical, chemical and biological state of the soil as acceptable or unacceptable. In The Netherlands, soil quality reference values have been created for heavy metals and organic chemicals based on a linear relationship with soil clay and organic matter content. The Dutch Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment has used the maximum of a range of reference values for a given substance as a provisional reference value for good soil quality (Howard, 1993). The focus of many soil quality definitions is soil biology [Organic carbon (OC), Microbial biomass (MB), C and N, Total bacterial biomass (TBB), Total fungal biomass (TFB), Potentially mineralizable N (PMN), Soil respiration (SR), Enzymes (Dehydrogenase, Phosphatase, Arlysulfatase), Biomass C/total organic carbon, Respiration/biomass, Microbial community fingerprinting (MCF), Substrate utilization (SU), Fatty acid analysis (FAA), Nucleic acid analysis (NAA)]. Soil supports a diverse population of organisms, ranging in size from viruses to large mammals, that usually interacts positively with plants and other system components (Paul and Clark, 1996). However, some soil organisms such as nematodes, bacterial and fungal pathogens reduce plant productivity. Many proposed soil quality definitions focus on the presence of beneficial rather than absence of detrimental organisms, although both are critically important. Various measures of microbial community viability have been suggested as measures or indices of soil quality. Community level studies consider species diversity and frequency of occurrence of species. Visser and Parkinson (1992) found that diverse soil microbiological criteria may be used to indicate deteriorating or improving soil quality. They suggested testing the biological criteria for soil quality at three levels: population, community and ecosystem. Microorganisms and microbial communities are dynamic and diverse, making them sensitive to changes in soil conditions (Kennedy and Papendick, 1995). Their populations include fungi, bacteria including actinomycetes, protozoa, and algae. Soil microorganisms form crucial symbiotic relationships with plants, including mycorrhizal infection for P and N acquisition and bacterial infection for fixation of atmospheric N. Authors emphasizing use of biological factors as indicators of soil quality often equate soil quality with relatively dynamic properties such as microbial biomass, microbial respiration, organic matter mineralization and denitrification, and organic matter content (Yakovchenko et al., 1996; Franzluebbers and Arshad, 1997), or soil microbial C, phospholipid analyses and soil enzymes (Gregorich et al., 1997), or total organic C and N (Franco-Vizcaino, 1997). Visser and Parkinson (1992) question the suitability of enzyme assays for microbial activity and soil quality assessments. Waksman (1927), who studied measurements of soil microorganisms that could indicate soil fertility, found that physical and chemical factors as well as soil biology were needed to predict soil fertility. Meso- and macrofauna populations have also been considered as part of soil quality definitions (Berry, 1994). One could choose to use presence or absence of a particular species or population of a particular species as a measure of soil quality. Stork and Eggleton (1992) discuss species richness as a powerful indicator of invertebrate community and soil quality, although determining the number of species is a problem. They suggest that keystone species, taxonomic diversity at the group level, and species richness of several dominant groups of invertebrates can be used as part of a soil quality definition. Measuring soil fauna populations involves decisions about which organisms to measure and how to measure them. An example is the earthworm population, the size of which is frequently mentioned as an important measure of soil quality. Measurement choices include numbers of organisms per volume or weight of soil, number of species, or a combination of numbers of organisms and species. Reganold and Palmer (1995) use total earthworms per square meter, total earthworm weight (g m-') and average individual earthworm weight as biological indicators of soil quality. Measurement of one or more components of the N cycle including ammonification, nitrification and nitrogen fixation, may be used to assess soil fertility and soil quality (Visser and Parkinson, 1992). Presumably, high rates of N turnover may infer a dynamic and healthy soil biological community. In contrast, low soil quality or poor soil health may be inferred from lack of N turnover. The interpretation of N turnover rates is highly dependent on the kinds of substrates added to soils and climate variables such as soil temperature and moisture. One needs to be careful when comparing N turnover rates within soils and among different soils to be sure that the cause of differences is a soil quality parameter and not natural variability. Presence of pesticide residues, for example, may reduce N turnover rate. In such an instance, both the presence of the pesticide and the N turnover rate would be needed to determine that the soil quality had been impaired. Production incorporates use of and need for functioning soil resources in agriculture, and environmental buffering incorporates the direct and indirect effects of human use on ecosystem function and human health (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton, 2005; Márton et al. 2007). Worldwide agriculture is the most extensive human land use, and soil characteristics are a critical determinant of agricultural productivity. Agriculture includes irrigated and rainfed cultivated cropland, permanent crops such as orchards and vineyards, irrigated pasture, range, and forestry. Each cropping system has distinct soil and soil management conditions for optimal production. It has been suggested that soil productivity is the net resultant of soil degradation processes and soil conservation practices (Parr et al., 1990). An appropriate definition of soil quality and the criteria necessary to evaluate and monitor soil quality is a step toward "the development of systematic criteria of sustainability". Issues to be considered when discussing soil quality for agriculture include: 1. How are productivity and sustainability related? 2. Is the cropping system in question cultivated or non-cultivated? 3. Is the cropping system in question an irrigated or dryland system? Sustainability of agricultural systems is critical to human welfare and is an a subject of research and debate (Letey, 1994). High productivity and sustainability must be converging goals if the growing human population is to be fed without destroying the resources necessary to produce food. Sustainability implies that a system is at a desirable steady state. Thermodynamically, soil is an open system through which matter and energy flow and a steady state is characterized by a minimum production of entropy (Andiscott, 1995). Ellert et al. (1997) review related literature on ways of assessing soil function on an ecosystem scale, commenting that the complexity and organization of living systems, which seem to defy the second law of thermodynamics (increasing disorder/entropy), may provide a means to broadly assess ecosystem function. The purpose of agriculture is to provide products for human sustenance and by definition is not sustainable unless the nutrients removed in the products are returned to the soil. Many of the arguments about the sustainability of agricultural systems relate to the form in which nutrients are most sustainably returned. No agricultural system will be sustainable in the long run without management that considers nutrient cycling and energy budgets. The more intense the agricultural system, the more energy and resources must be expended to maintain the system. The relative quality of a soil for agriculture can depend on the resources available to farmers. In the United States, resources may be readily available for management of dynamic soil properties such as nutrient or water status. In other countries, farmers may be resource poor, and agricultural systems are generally low input, meaning that large-scale irrigation is absent, use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides is minimal, and high energy, mechanized equipment is not available (Eswaran et a1.,1997). This means, for example, that soil quality for agriculture will be more dependent on climate than if the same soils were part of a highly managed, irrigated system. Similarly, sustainability is more dependent on maintenance of dynamic soil properties because resources may not exist to remedy losses (Várallyay, 2005; Malcolm, 2000; Márton et al. 2007). It is difficult to overstate the importance of irrigation to food production. One-third of the total global harvest of food comes from the 17% (250 million ha) of the world's cropland that is irrigated (Hoffman et al., 1990); three-quarters of which are in developing countries (Tribe, 1994). India, China, the former Soviet Union, the United States and Pakistan have the greatest area of irrigated land. Should soil quality criteria be the same for irrigated and dryland agriculture? Sojka (1996) suggests that the arid and semi-arid soils that support most irrigated agriculture have thin erodible surfaces, characteristics that would classify such soils as having poor quality. Yet under irrigation, they feed much of the world. Without irrigation, for example, in many African soils, moisture stress becomes a significant factor limiting production, and the water-holding capacity of a soil becomes crucial (Eswaran et al., 1997). This suggests that a standard set of criteria based on potential productivity is not a sufficient definition of soil quality. Soils that are not cultivated are a much larger component of agriculture, broadly defined, than those that are cultivated. About 65% of the land in the United States is forest (284 million ha) or range land (312 million ha), with only about 284 million hacultivated (NRC,1994). Herrick and Whitford (1995) suggest that range land soils, which often serve multiple uses, present unique challenges and opportunities for assessing soil quality because spatial and temporal variability are higher than in cropped systems. On range lands and forest lands, food, fiber, timber production, biomass for fuel, wildlife, biodiversity, recreation, and water supply are all potential uses that may have diverse criteria for quality soils. Herrick and Whitford (1995) give the example of a thick O horizon that may be an indicator of good timber production but has no predictive value of soil quality for the rancher. The National Research Council (NRC, 1994) recommends that range land health be determined using three criteria: degree of soil stability and watershed function, integrity of nutrient cycles and energy flows, and presence of functioning recovery mechanisms. Soil erosion by wind and water and infiltration or capture of precipitation were selected as processes that could be used as indicators of soil stability and watershed function. Specific indicators or properties need to be related to these two broad processes. The amount of nutrients available, the speed with which nutrients cycle, and measures of the integrity of energy flow through the system were considered fundamental components of range land health. Finally, the capacity of range land ecosystems to react to change depends on recovery mechanisms that result in capture and cycling of nutrients, capture of energy, conservation of nutrients, energy and water, and resilience to change. Specific indicators include status of vegetation, age class and distribution (Kádár, 1992; Várallyay, 1992, 1994, 2005; Németh, 1996; Malcolm, 2000; Márton et al. 2007). The evaluation of land quality for forestry is a well-known practice. Indices range from quantitative through semi-quantitative to qualitative. Quantitative evaluations, such as site index, use regression equations to predict tree height at a predetermined tree age based on soil and climate data. Qualitative evaluations assign land to classes based on soil and climate properties. In soil science, the term "buffer" refers collectively to processes that constrain shifts in the dissolved concentration of any ion when it is added to or removed from the soil system (Singer and Munns, 1996). Soils "buffer" nutrients as well as contaminants and other solutes, via sorption to or incorporation into clay and organic materials. The extent to which a soil immobilizes or chemically alters substances that are toxic, thus effectively detoxifying them, reflects "quality" in the sense that humans or other biological components of the system are protected from harm. This is the basis for the European concept of soil quality (Moen, 1988; Siegrist, 1989; Denneman and Robberse, 1990). Lack of soil function in this category is reflected as direct toxicity or as contamination of air or water. Identifying substances that qualify as "contaminants" can be challenging because some, such as nitrates and phosphates, are important plant nutrients as well as potential water pollutants. An example is agricultural runoff containing N03 or soluble P (Yli-Halla et al., 1995). This chapter does not attempt a comprehensive review of research in this area, which is covered in an earlier chapter, but instead presents a few sample articles pertinent to this aspect of soil quality. Holden and Firestone (1997) define soil quality in this context as "the degree to which the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil serve to attenuate environmental pollution." Howard (1993) defines the ecological risk of a chemical in the environment as "the probability that a random species in a large community is exposed to a concentration of the chemical greater than its no-effect level." The extent to which a soil is capable of reducing the probability of exposure is a measure of its quality. A well-studied example of a common soil contaminant is Pb (McBride et al., 1997). Although legislated limits may be on a concentration basis in soil (e.g., 500 ftg kg-'), risk assessment techniques have attempted to account for the chemical form of Pb present, as well as the observed relative relationship between the amount of Pb present in soil and blood levels in local residents (Bowers and Gauthier, 1994). Critics have questioned analytical techniques used to determine bioavailable levels of Pb in soil, as well as the degree to which toxicity data account for its chemical fate and ecologically damaging properties (Cook and Hendershot, 1996). Natural variability of soils and variation within a soil series make average values or average background values inadequate for soil quality assessments. In addition, bioaccumulation and toxicity need to be considered when establishing levels of toxicants that may not be exceeded in a "high quality" soil for a given use (Traas et al. 1996). Another example is the effect of heavy metals such as Cr(VI) on soil biological properties. Based on a study of three New Zealand soils of contrasting texture, organic matter content, and CEC, Speir et al. (1995) propose an "ecological dose value" that represents the inhibitory effects of a heavy metal (in this case, Cr(VI)) on the kinetics of soil biological properties, and serves as a generic index for determination of permissible concentration levels for heavy metals in soils. A single soil characteristic is of limited use in evaluating differences in soil quality (Reganold and Palmer, 1995). Using more than one quantitative variable requires some system for combining the measurements into a useful index (Halvorson et al., 1996). The region, crop, or general soil use for which an index was created will likely limit its effectiveness outside the scope of its intended application. Even an index designed only to rate productivity is not likely to be useful for all crops and soils, leading Gersmehl and Brown (1990) to advocate regionally targeted systems. Rice is a good example of a crop requiring significantly different soil properties than other crops. It is a food staple for a large proportion of the world population. Approximately 146 million ha were in rice production in 1989 (FAO, 1989) mainly (90%) in Asia. High quality soils for paddy rice may be poor quality for most other irrigated and dryland crops because they may be saline or sodic, and high in clay with slow infiltration and permeability. These physical and chemical properties often constrain production of other crops. Although they are not reviewed here, various land suitability classifications specifically for rice have been developed since the turn of the century (Dent, 1978). Examples of several soil quality indexing systems are presented in the following sections. To some extent, recent attempts to enumerate the factors of soil quality resemble Jenny's (1941) introduction of the interrelated factors of soil formation. An index is categorized here as nonquantitative if it does not combine evaluated parameters into a numerical index that rates soils along a continuous scale. Examples are the USDA Land Capability Classification and the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Irrigation Suitability. The purpose of the Land Capability Classification (LCC) was to place arable soils into groups based on their ability to sustain common cultivated crops that do not require specialized site conditioning or treatment (Klingebiel and Montgomery, 1973). Nonarable soils, unsuitable for long-term, sustained cultivation, are grouped according to their ability to support permanent vegetation, and according to the risk of soil damage if mismanaged. The LCC combines three rating values at different levels of abstraction: capability class, subclass, and unit. At the most general level, soils are placed in eight classes according to whether they (a) are capable of producing adapted plants under good management (classes I to N), (b) are capable of producing specialized crops under highly intensive management involving "elaborate practices for soil and water conservation" (classes V to VII), or (c) do not return on-site benefits as a result of management inputs for crops, grasses or trees without major reclamation (Klingebiel and Montgomery, 1973). The four possible limitations/hazards under the subclass rating are erosion hazard, wetness, rooting zone limitations and climate. The capability unit groups soils that have about the same responses to systems of management and have longtime estimated yields that do not vary by more than 25% under comparable management. The issue of critical limits is a difficult one in soils because of the range of potential uses and the interactions among variables (Arshad and Ccen, 1992). Several studies have shown that lands of higher LCC have higher productivity than lands of lower LCC (Patterson and Mackintosh, 1976; van Vliet et al., 1979; Reganold and Singer, 1984). In a study of 744 alfalfa, corn, cotton, sugar beet and wheat growing fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California, those with LCC ratings between 1 and 3 had significantly lower input/output ratios than fields with ratings between 3.01 and 6 (Reganold and Singer, 1984). This suggests that use of the LCC system provides an economically meaningful assessment of soil quality for agriculture. This was a frequently used system of land evaluation for irrigation in the Western US during the period of rapid expansion of water delivery systems (McRae and Burnham, 1981). It combines social and economic evaluations of the land with soil and other ecological variables to determine if the land has the productive capacity, once irrigated, to repay the investment necessary to bring water to an area. It recognizes the unique importance of irrigation to agriculture and the special qualities of soils that make them irrigable. Quantitative systems result in a numerical index, typically with the highest number being assigned to the best quality soils. Systems may be additive, multiplicative or more complex functions. They have two important advantages over nonquantitative systems: 1. they are easier to use with GIS and other automated data retrieval and display systems, and 2. they typically provide a continuous scale of assessment. No single national system is presently in use but several state or regional systems exist. Although he considered the productivity of the land to be dependent on 32 soil, climate and vegetative properties [Surface conditions: Physiographic position, Slope, Microrelief, Erosion deposition, External drainage, runoff. Soil physical conditions: Soil color, Soil depth, Soil density and porosity, Soil permeability, Soil texture, Stoniness, Soil structure, Soil workability-consistence, Internal drainage, Water-holding capacity, Plant-available water. Soil chemical conditions: Organic matter, Nitrogen, Reaction, Calcium carbonate, bases, Exchange capacity, Salts: Cl, SO Na, Toxicities, e.g., B, Available P, Available K, Minor elements, e.g., Zn, Fe, Fertility. Mineralogical conditions: Mineralogy. Climate: Precipitation Temperature Growing season Winds. Vegetativé cover: Natural vegetation], only nine properties were used in the SIR, because incorporating a greater number of factors made the system unwieldy. The nine factors are soil morphology (A), surface texture (B), slope (C), and six variables (X.) that rate drainage class, sodicity, acidity, erosion, microrelief and fertility; rated from 1% to 100%. These are converted to their decimal value and multiplied together (Storie, 1964). Values for each factor were derived from Storie's experience mapping and evaluating soils in California, and in soil productivity studies in cooperation with the California Agricultural Experiment Station cost-efficiency projects relating to orchard crops, grapes and cotton. In describing the SIR (SIR= [AxBxCxIIXi]x100), Storie (1932, 1964) explicitly mentioned "soil quality". Soils that were deep, had no restricting subsoil horizons, and held water well had the greatest potential for the widest range of crops. The usefulness of the SIR as a soil quality index would be greatest if there was a statistically significant relationship between SIR values and an economic indicator of land value. Reganold and Singer (1984) found that area-weighted average SIR values between 60 and 100 for 744 fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California had lower but statistically insignificant input/output ratios than fields with indices < 60. The lack of statistical significance does not mean that better quality lands could not be farmed at economically lower cost or at higher cost and higher output than the lower quality lands. We productivity index model (PI) was developed to evaluate soil productivity in the top 100 cm, especially with reference to potential productivity loss due to soil erosion (Neill, 1979; Kiniry et al., 1983). The PI model rates soils on the sufficiency for root growth based on potential available water storage capacity, bulk density, aeration, pH, and electrical conductivity. A value from zero to one is assigned to each property describing the importance of that parameter for root development. The product of these five index values is used to describe the fractional sufficiency of any soil layer for root development. Pierce et al. (1983) modified the PI to include the assumption that nutrients were not limiting and that climate, management and plant differences are constant. A number of authors found that it is useful to various degrees (Gantzer and McCarty, 1987; Lindstrom et al., 1992). Parr et al. (1992) suggest that a SQI could take the form of Equation: SQI = f (SP, P, E, H, ER, BD, FQ, MI) where SQI is a function of soil properties (SP), potential productivity (P), environmental factors (E), human and animal health (H), erodibility (ER), biological diversity (BD), food quality and safety (FQ) and management inputs (MI). Determination of the specific measurable indicators of each variable and the interactions among these diverse variables is a daunting task. Moreover, the mathematical method of combining these factors, as well as the resulting value that would indicate a high quality soil, is not specified. The inclusion of variables BD, FQ and MI make this a land quality index as suggested by FAO (1997). Larson and Pierce (1991) defined soil quality (Q) as the state of existence of soil relative to a standard or in terms of a degree of excellence. They argue that defining Q in terms of productivity is too limiting and does not serve us well. Rather, Q is defined as the sum of individual soil qualities q. and expressed as Equation: Q=f(qi ...qn). These authors do not identify the best subset of properties or their functional and quantitative relationship, but do suggest that a MDS should be selected from those soil characteristics in which changes are measurable and relatively rapid (i.e., "dynamic" properties), arguing that it is more important to know about changes in soil quality (dQ) than the magnitude of Q (Larson and Pierce, 1991). Changes in soil quality are a function of changes in soil characteristics (q) over time (t): dQ = f[(qi.t - qit0 )... (qn.t-qnt0)]. If dQ/dt is ≥0, the soil or ecosystem is improving relative to the standard at time to. If dQ/dt <0, soil degradation is occurring. Time zero can be selected to meet management needs or goals. If there is a drastic change in management, time zero can be defined as prior to the change. If a longer time period of comparison is considered more appropriate, properties of an uncultivated or pristine soil could be used. The MDS recommended by Larson and Pierce (1991) includes N mineralization potential or P buffering capacity, total organic C, labile organic C, texture, plant-available water capacity, structure (bulk density is recommended as a surrogate variable), strength, maximum rooting depth, pH and EC. In instances when data are unavailable, pedotransfer functions (Bouma, 1989) can be used to estimate values of soil characteristics. These estimates can then be used as part of the minimum dataset to estimate soil quality or changes in soil quality brought about by management. Although this is a quantitative system, some qualitative judgments are needed to make decisions about changes in soil quality. In particular, interpretation of the meaning of magnitude of changes in a characteristic or the number of characteristics to change from time zero to the time of the measurement is qualitative. The authors do not address how large a change in pH, soil depth, bulk density or organic C represents serious soil degradation, or the values that define soil as high or low quality. Karlen et al. (1994) developed QI based on a 10-year crop residue management study. QI is based on four soil functions: (1) accommodating water entry, (2) retaining and supplying water to plants, (3) resisting degradation, and (4) supporting plant growth. Numerous properties were measured and values normalized based on standard scoring functions. One function is based on the concept that more of a property is better, one that less is better and the third that an optimum is better. Lower threshold values receive a score of zero, upper threshold values receive a score of one, and baseline values receive a score of one-half. Priorities are then assigned to each value. For example, aggregate stability was given the highest weight among factors important in water entry. After normalizing, each value is then multiplied by its weighting factor (wt) and products are summed Equation: QI=qwe (wt) + qwt (wt)+qrd (wt) + qspg (wt). Subscripts refer to the four main functions described earlier. It should also be noted that resisting degradation (rd) and sustaining plant growth (spg) are assigned secondary and tertiary levels of properties that themselves are normalized and weighted before a final value is calculated and incorporated into Equation. The resulting index resulted in values between zero and one. Of the three systems in the study, the one with the highest rate of organic matter return to the soil had the highest index value, and the soil with the lowest had the lowest value. The authors suggest that this demonstrates the usefulness of the index for monitoring the status and change in status of a soil as a function of management. They also suggest that the index and the soil characteristics that go into the index may change as the index is refined (Karlen et al. 1994). Snakin et al. (1996) developed an index of soil degradation that assigns three separate values from one to five reflecting the degree to which a soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties are degraded, as well as the rate of degradation. The Canadian soil capability classification system is similar to the older US systems and is quantitative. In a study in southwestern Ontario, Patterson and Mackintosh (1976) found that high gross returns per ha were three times as likely if the productivity index of land, based on the soil capability classification, was between 90 and 100 than if it fell between 80 and 89. Smith et al. (1993) and Halvorson et al. (1996) propose a multiple-variable indicator transform procedure to combine values or ranges of values that represent the best estimate of soil quality. Their system converts measured data values into a single value according to specified criteria. They do not attempt to define soil quality or specify what soil characteristics are to be used. They combine this procedure with kriging to develop maps that indicate the probabilities of meeting a soil quality criterion on a landscape level. Critical threshold values must be known, assumed, or determined in order to separate different soil qualities. Numerous additive productivity rating systems have been developed for specific states, as reviewed by Huddleston (1984). In these systems, soil properties are assigned numerical values according to their expected impact on plant growth. The index is usually calculated as the sum of the values assigned to each property with 100 the maximum value. Huddleston (1984) notes advantages and disadvantages to such a system which are similar to those for many of the soil quality indices previously discussed. Additive systems become complex as the number of factors, cropping systems, and soil and climatic conditions increases. A unique problem of subtractive systems (one in which 100 is the starting point and values are deducted for problem conditions) is that negative values result when multiple factors are less than satisfactory. Soil quality is a concept being developed to characterize the usefulness and health of soils, because soils are fundamental to the well-being and productivity of agricultural and natural ecosystems. It is a compound characteristic that cannot be directly measured. Many definitions of soil quality can be found in the literature and no set of soil characteristics has been universally adopted to quantify definitions. Soil quality is often equated with agricultural productivity and sustainability. An approach toward developing soil quality definitions is one that assesses soil quality in the context of a soil's potential to perform given functions in a system; e.g., maintains productivity, partitions and regulates water and solute flow through an ecosystem, serves as an environmental buffer, and cycles nutrients, water, and energy through the biosphere. Air and water quality standards are usually based on maximum allowable concentrations of materials hazardous to human health. A definition of soil quality based on this concept would encompass only a fraction of the important roles soils play in agriculture and the environment but could be essential to soil remediation. To proceed from a definition to a measure of soil quality, a minimum dataset of soil characteristics that represent soil quality must be selected and quantified. Many soil physical, chemical and biological properties have been suggested to separate soils of different quality. These include desirable and undesirable properties. Desirable soil characteristics may either be the presence of a property that benefits crop productivity and environmental buffering and/or other important soil functions, or the absence of a property that is detrimental to these functions. In particular, absence of contaminants is an important soil quality characteristic. In selecting characteristics, it is necessary to recognize that some soil properties are static, in the sense that they change slowly over time and others are dynamic. In addition, spatial and temporal variability of soil properties must be considered when selecting the properties used to assess soil quality. A single soil property is of limited use in evaluating soil quality. Qualitative and quantitative soil quality indices have been suggested that combine quantitative values of soil properties. Quantitative systems may be additive, multiplicative or more complex functions. Regardless of the definition or suite of soil variables chosen to define and quantify soil quality, it is critical to human welfare that soils be managed to provide for human health and well-being while minimizing soil and environmental degradation. References Anderson, D.W., E.G. Gregorich. 1984. Effect of soil erosion on soil quality and productivity. p. 105-113. In Soil erosion and degradation. Proc. 2nd Ann. Western Prov. Conf. Rational. Water Soil Res. Manag. Sask., Saskatoon, Canada. Andiscott, T.M. 1995. Entropy and sustainability. Europ. J. Soil Sci. 46:161-168. Arnold, R.W., I. Zaboles., V.C. Targulian (ed.). 1990. Global soil change. Report of an IIASA-ISSS-UNEP task force on the role of soil in global change. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxanberg, Austria. Arshad, M-A., G.M. Coen. 1992. Characterization of soil quality: Physical and chemical criteria. Am. J. Altern. Agr. 725-3 I . Beck, A.J., S.C. Wilson., R.E. Alcock., K.C. Jones. 1995. Kinetic constraints on the loss of organic chemicals from contaminated soils: Implications for soil-quality limits. Critical Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 25:1-43. Beke, G.J., H.H. Janzen., T. Entz. 1994. Salinity and nutrient distribution in soil profiles of long-term crop rota-tions. Can. J. Soil Sci. 74:229-234. Berry, E.C. 1994. Earthworms and other fauna in the soil, p. 61-90. In J.L. Hatfield and B A. Stewart (ed.) Soil biology: effects on soil quality. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. Biederbeck, V.O., C.A. Campbell., H.U. Krainetz., D. Curtain., O.T Bouman. 1996. Soil microbial and biochemical properties after ten years of fertilization with urea and anhydrous ammonia. Can. J. Soil Sci. 76:7-14. Boehn, M.M., D.W. Anderson. 1997. A landscape-scale study of soil quality in three prairie farming systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 61:1147-1159. Bouma, J. 1989. Land qualities in space and time. p. 3-13. In J. Bouma and A.K. Bregt (ed.) Land qualities in space and time. Pudoc, Wageningen, Netherlands. Bouma, J., A.K. Bregt (ed.). 1989. Land qualities in space and time. Pudoc, Wageningen, Netherlands. Bowers, T.S., T.D. Gauhier. 1994. Use of the output of a lead risk assessment model to establish soil lead cleanup levels. Environ. Geochem. Health 16:191-196. Bowman, R.A., J.D. Reeder., G.E. Schuman. 1990. Evaluation of selected soil physical, chemical and biological parameters as indicators of soil productivity. Proc. Int. Conf. on Soil Quality in Semi-arid Ag. 2:64-70. Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Budd, W.W. 1992. What capacity the land? J. Soil Water Conserv. 47:28-31. Carter, MR., E.G. Gregorich., D.W Anderson., J.W. Doran., H.H. Janzen., F.J. Pierce. 1997. Concepts of soil quality and their significance: /n E.G. Gregorich and M. Carter (ed.) Soil quality for crop production and ecosys-tem health. Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Cook, N., W.H. Hendershot. 1996. The problem of establishing ecologically based soil quality criteria: The case of lead. Can J. Soil Sci. 76:335-342. Cox, C. 1995. Soil quality: Goals for national policy. J. Soil Water Conserv. 50:223. Denneman, C.A.J., J.G. Robberse. 1990. Ecotoxicological risk assessment as a base for development of soil quality criteria. p. 157-164. In F Arendt, M. Hinsenveld and W.J. van den Brink (ed.) Contaminated soil '90. Proc. Intl. KfK/I'NO Conf. on Contaminated Soil, Karlsruhe, Germany, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Neth-erlands. Dent, F.J. 1978. Land suitability classification. p. 273-293. In Soils and rice. International Ri

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