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Using funds from an NRDAR settlement, FWS obligated $557,810 ($2011) to TNC of Massachusetts for the purchase of permanent conservation easements on approximately 200 acres of riparian lands along the Housatonic River in Salisbury, Connecticut. Conservation of riparian habitat will help to (1) protect water quality; (2) protect nesting habitat for migratory songbirds and other wildlife, including several rare and endangered plants, turtles, salamanders and dragonflies; and (3) maintain the scenic, agrarian character of the region. These efforts provide a beneficial tradeoff from the harm to the river and associated wildlife caused by historical polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination. Economic Impacts of...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Amphibians,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Birds,
Connecticut,
Farmland Preservation,
In October 1996, a coal slurry impoundment associated with a coal processing plant owned by Lone Mountain Processing, Inc., in Lee County, Virginia, failed and released six million gallons of coal slurry into the Powell River watershed. “Blackwater,” a mixture of water, coal fines, clay, and associated contaminants, extended more than 20 miles downstream from the spill site. The Powell River watershed is part of the Upper Tennessee River Basin, which comprises one of the nation’s most biologically diverse aquatic ecosystems (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003). The coal slurry spill affected fish, endangered freshwater mussels, other stream organisms, and supporting aquatic habitat, including designated critical...
Leadville, located in the mountains of Colorado approximately 100 miles west of Denver, was historically a rich mining district. Silver, gold, copper, zinc, manganese, and lead were all mined in the area beginning in the mid-1800s, but mining has since subsided as the main economic driver for the district. Because of environmental contamination from mining activities, the area known as the California Gulch Superfund site was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Priorities List in September 1983. The site covers approximately 18 square miles in and around Leadville, Colorado, and contains thousands of piles of mine waste and drainage sites that discharge into the California Gulch...
Background information.—On July 8, 2012, lightning ignited a fire on Bureau of Land Management-managed land on the Miller Homestead in Harney County, Oregon. High winds combined with unusually hot and dry conditions spread the fire through dry grass and sagebrush and 160,801 acres were burned before the fire was contained on July 24, 2012. In the aftermath, it was determined that ecological restoration was necessary since the majority of the fire occurred within prime habitat for sage-grouse, and the fire had burned with such severity that it removed vegetation down to bare soil. Without rehabilitation efforts, desirable vegetation would be unlikely to reestablish and the site would be open to invasion by noxious...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: BLM,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Fire,
Habitat-based,
Background information.—Historically, the Powell River supported abundant and diverse populations of freshwater mussels. In recent decades, mussel density and species richness have declined and many freshwater mussel species are listed as either State or Federally threatened or endangered species. Environmental degradation from coal mining has been identified as one of the drivers of this decline. An example is the 1996 Lone Mountain slurry spill that directly affected mussel populations, as well as their host fish species. Freshwater mussels feed by filtering small particles from water, thereby improving water quality and providing an essential ecosystem service in rivers and streams. Mussels also serve as a food...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Aquatic,
Aquatic species propagation,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Broadleaf,
Conservation easement,
Background information. The original Canterbury Tunnel began as an idea in 1922 as a way to remove excess water in the mines that honeycomb the mountains near Leadville, Colorado. The objective of reducing the volume of water in these mines was to increase the opportunity for ore extraction. The project’s original plans were never fully realized because of technological limitations and increasingly dangerous conditions that confronted workers, and so the 4,000-foot-long Canterbury Tunnel sat dormant until the early 1960s. Historically, Leadville relied on the nearby Big Evans Reservoir as the primary source of municipal water. The reservoir’s elevation of 10,200 feet above sea level has been particularly problematic...
The Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Crab Orchard NWR) located in southern Illinois is a refuge for humans and wildlife alike, and has a unique history of industry, employment, and restoration. In 1936, the Resettlement Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased land along Crab Orchard Creek to establish the Crab Orchard Lake reservoir as part of a Great Depression era reemployment program. During World War II, the War Department established the Illinois Ordnance Plant on the site to manufacture ammunition and bombs. In 1947, following the war, the land was transferred into the National Wildlife Refuge System. The enabling legislation for the Crab Orchard NWR required the U.S. Fish and...
Agriculture is important to the historical identity of and current economic activity within the WLCI region. Understanding the social and economic values derived from agriculture helps policy planners and decision-makers to better assess the effects of landscape planning and conservation efforts in a broader (societal) context. Our study seeks to add more value to the WLCI Integrated Assessment (IA) by providing insights on the productivity and historical, ecological, and socioeconomic importance of agriculture across the WLCI landscape. Overall, this project will add another dimension to the WLCI IA’s inventory of integrated data and the WLCI data clearinghouse as a whole. In FY2014, scientists with the USGS, the...
The Anacostia Watershed lies within the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, and is one of the most urban watersheds within the basin. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the watershed spans over 175 square miles between Maryland and the District of Columbia and is considered by many to be one of the most degraded waterways in the United States. Watts Branch is a tributary stream of the Anacostia River, and flows into the Potomac River which eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay. In 2010, several partnerships were formed to restore a section of the Watts Branch stream and riparian area. The restoration efforts were focused on a highly polluted 1.8 mile stretch of the stream, running from the border of Prince...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Amphibians,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Birds,
Channelization,
D.C. Water and Sewer Authority,
Background information.— The Powell and Clinch Rivers provide vital habitat for many forms of wildlife and are inhabited by one of the world’s richest and most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003). The rivers are also multiple-use recreation areas and a valuable water source that supplies water for the residents of Lee County, Virginia. The Lone Mountain coal slurry spill released sediment and hazardous substances affecting water quality and impacting 12 Federally listed mussels and critical habitat for 2 Federally listed fish. Fish and mussel habitat depends on the riparian habitats surrounding the river. In order to recover lost fish and mussel habitat, the Lone Mountain...
Background information. The South Canyon project area consists of 121,000 acres within the Upper Sevier River Watershed in southern Utah. This watershed is ranked as a high priority for restoration because of degraded riparian and upland vegetation and erosion, the presence of hazardous fuels placing communities at increased risk of wildfire, and degraded greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat because of the expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper. In particular, this project was designed to reestablish and maintain sagebrush semi-desert habitat, open travel corridors, and provide benefits to sage-grouse and mule deer within and immediately adjacent to the...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Bureau of Land Management,
Conifer,
Fuels reduction project,
Habitat-based,
Herbaceous fuels management,
Background information.—The Long Draw fire was ignited by a lightning strike on July 8, 2012 on land southwest of Burns Junction, Oregon. Within 2 hours, the fire had burned several thousand acres. By the time of containment on July 16, 2012, the fire had burned a total of 558,198 acres of land that had previously provided forage for livestock and wild horses and habitat for sage-grouse and other wildlife. As a consequence of this fire, the burned area faced the immediate risks of erosion and invasion by noxious weeds. The Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District responded to this threat with the Long Draw Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan, which is designed to ensure recovery and protection...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Built (human-based structures and roads),
Bureau of Land Management,
Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Fire,
Habitat-based,
Background information. This fuels reduction project, which was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Rio Puerco Field Office, consisted of woodland habitat restoration in the Zuni Mountains approximately 45 miles south of Grants, New Mexico. Topography of the landscape includes mesas and canyons, with north-facing slopes dominated by stands of ponderosa pine with an open, grassy understory. Like other places in the American West, pinyon and juniper have encroached into open meadows and stands of ponderosa pine, which is most likely because of the lack of a natural fire regime. This change to the wooded landscape has dramatically increased hazardous fuels buildup and the associated risk of wildfire,...
Background information. The Duncan Creek restoration area is located in Iron County, Utah. This area provides important habitat for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and an increasing number of homes are located in the wildland-urban interface. Restoration efforts are focused on both habitat improvement and fire/fuels reduction. Restoration in this area is ongoing; this case study focuses on restoration activities that occurred primarily in 2012. During this period, restoration was accomplished on 2,080 acres of public and private lands. The project was funded by a variety of private, State, and Federal cooperators, including the Bureau of Land Management, Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Bureau of Land Management,
Bureau of Land Management,
Debris addition,
Fire,
Background information.—The Pioche/Caselton Wildland-Urban Interface Project (WUI Project) was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management’s Ely District to reduce the threat of wildfire to the towns of Pioche and Caselton in southeastern Nevada. From 1980 to 2008, 149 wildfires were recorded near Pioche and Caselton and 9 of these fires each burned approximately 3,000 acres. In 2005, the Nevada Community Wildfire Risk/Hazard Assessment for Lincoln County determined that the risk of wildfire for the two towns was “extreme” (Resource Concepts, Inc., 2005). That report recommended implementing large fuels reduction treatments in order to reduce the risk of wildfire to Pioche and Caselton. In response, the Ely District...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: BLM,
Bureau of Land Management,
Conifer,
Fuels reduction project,
Habitat-based,
When evaluating resource tradeoffs, natural resource planners, field staff, and socioeconomic analysts often require economic value estimates and other information related to resources that are not priced in conventional markets. Benefit Transfer is one methodological approach used to estimate the economic value of those non-market goods and services. Benefit Transfer uses value estimates of non-market goods and services reported in previously conducted primary studies to estimate the value of that same good or service in a policy-relevant area where a primary study has not been conducted. The Benefit Transfer Toolkit is designed to facilitate the economic valuation of multiple recreation uses and other ecosystem...
Tags: Efforts
Background information. In the late 1800s through the early 1900s, nearly all of the area that is now the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Crab Orchard NWR) was either logged for timber or cleared and converted to other uses, particularly agriculture. By the 1930s, soils in the area were depleted and severely eroded. Additional clearing and development ensued with the establishment of the Illinois Ordnance Plant during World War II. In 2014, as part of the effort to restore Crab Orchard NWR lands to benefit wildlife, the refuge undertook the Hampton native prairie restoration project to convert a 62-acre nonnative cool-season hay field into a native warm-season grassland. The primary benefit of this restoration...
Background information. Settlement funds from the California Gulch Superfund site have been used to improve instream aquatic habitat and increase brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations in the Arkansas River. The upper Arkansas River Basin is a high-elevation mountain river that supports trout populations. Historically characterized by a relatively narrow channel with fast moving water, recent degradation of the upper Arkansas River due to historic land-use practices have contributed to an altered river channel and a decrease in important habitat features for trout, such as deep-water pools. This restoration project was designed to address three major issues: bank erosion, altered river channel morphology, and degraded...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Amphibians,
Aquatic,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Colorado,
Colorado Mountain College,
Background information. The Dinero Tunnel, which extends approximately 3,000 feet from the surface to the Dinero Shaft, was used in the late 1800s to mine primarily for silver. In more recent years, the tunnel, located approximately five miles west of Leadville, Colorado, began to discharge acid mine drainage into Sugarloaf Gulch, a tributary to the Lake Fork River which ultimately drains into the upper Arkansas River. Consequently, acid mine drainage from the Dinero Tunnel has significantly affected downstream waters, including a wet meadow and beaver pond complex. Occasionally, the Dinero Tunnel experienced blowouts that developed when temporary pressure would build up behind a blockage in the tunnel, which would...
The Lower Truckee River originates in the Sierra Nevada and flows through public, private, and tribally owned lands, including 31 miles of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (PLPT) reservation, terminating in Pyramid Lake within the reservation. Once remarkably productive, a century of man-made changes have heavily degraded the river system, leaving it inundated with invasive weeds. Significant damage occurred as part of a 1960s flood control project, including river downcutting, depression of the groundwater table, and lowering of Pyramid Lake by as much as 81 vertical feet. By the 1970s, the river had lost roughly 90% of its forest canopy, 40% of its resident bird species, and had no resident Kooeyooe (also spelled...
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