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We capitalized on a regional-scale, anthropogenic experiment?the reduction of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) towns across the Great Plains of North America?to test the hypothesis that decline of this species has led to declines in diversity of native grassland vertebrates of this region. We compared species richness and species composition of non-volant mammals, reptiles and amphibians at 36 prairie dog towns and 36 paired sites in the Panhandle Region of Oklahoma during the summers and falls of 1997, 1998 and 1999. We detected 30 species of mammals, 18 species of reptiles and seven species of amphibians. Comparisons between communities at prairie dog towns and paired sites in the adjacent landscape...
Every production practice, including conservation tillage, has positive or negative environmental consequences that may involve air, land, water, and/or the health and ecological status of wildlife. The negative impacts associated with agricultural production, and the use of conventional tillage systems in particular, include soil erosion, energy use, leaching and runoff of agricultural chemicals, and carbon emissions. Several of these impacts are quantified. The conclusions suggest that the use of conservation tillage does result in less of an adverse impact on the environment from agricultural production than does conventional tillage by reducing surface water runoff and wind erosion. Additionally, wildlife habitat...
Energy subsidies are widespread around the world but they vary greatly in importance and type of fuel and country. The fossil fuel consumption rate is growing every year and in about 50 years we will have depleted most of our fossil fuel reserves, so it is necessary to find alternative sources of energy before that happens. However, the only solution to this challenge is through investment on energy conservation programmes and renewable energy source. In line with this challenge and confusion on fund appropriate for energy. This paper is aimed at examining the effect of energy subsidy on energy conservation and renewable energy in developing countries. The study intends to quantify and analysis a case study of Trinidad...
Implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has resulted in the restoration of >2 million ha of wetland and grassland habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Restoration of habitats through these programs provides diverse ecosystem services to society, but few investigators have evaluated the environmental benefits achieved by these programs. We describe changes in wetland processes, functions, and ecosystem services that occur when wetlands and adjacent uplands on agricultural lands are restored through Farm Bill conservation programs. At the scale of wetland catchments, projects have had positive impacts on water storage,...
Our demands on natural systems outweigh the capacity of those systems to support us. This paper calls for an approach to development that consistently delivers ‘net benefit’ for biodiversity or ‘ecological enhancement’. Examples of enhancement are presented through four case studies in India undertaken between 2005 and 2010. Actions focus on improving the overall ecological structure, composition and functions of sites; strengthening ecological networks by creating new habitats and buffer areas; and improving the services provided by the ecosystems, without jeopardizing biodiversity. While recognizing the importance of quantitative metrics of impacts and mitigation measures to determine outcomes, such measures were...
The purpose of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) cropland national assessment is to quantify the environmental benefits of conservation programs at the regional and national levels, which include both onsite and instream water quality benefits. Modeling is an effective tool for environmental assessment at the regional and national scale due to the complexities in nature at this scale. Two simulation models, the Agricultural Policy Environmental extender (APEX) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), were used for the CEAP cropland national assessment. A subset of National Resources Inventory (NRI) sample points was selected to serve as "representative fields" for the CEAP cropland survey...
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The Yukon North Slope is an arctic “hot spot” of climate change-induced effects with profound significance for the Inuvialuit and the larger region. In 1984, the Inuvialuit entered into a land claim agreement – the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA) – with the governments of Canada, Yukon and Northwest Territories. A co-management body formed to make a plan, which was developed in 2003 but never ratified and is now considered out-of-date. Round River Conservation Studies is assisting WMAC(NS) in the collection, development and synthesis of spatial data, models and analyses of cultural and ecological values of the YNS.The project is a collaboration among the NWB LCC, Round River Conservation Studies, and the Arctic...
Springsnails of the genus Pyrgulopsis are the most diverse group of freshwater gastropods in North America and current estimates show that Pyrgulopsis contains ~120 different species, many of which are at risk of extinction. Some factors contributing to their exceptional diversity include poor dispersal ability and extreme habitat specificity based on water availability, chemistry and depth. Most taxa exhibit high degrees of endemism, with many species occurring only in a single spring or seep, making springsnails ideal for studies of speciation and population structure. Here I present data from a survey of genetic variation at the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I from 37 populations and over 1000 individuals...
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was launched in 2007 in response to concerns about threats to the State s world class wildlife resources, especially the threat posed by rapidly increasing energy development in southwest Wyoming. The overriding purpose of the WLCI is to assess and enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale, while facilitating responsible energy and other types of development. The WLCI includes partners from Federal, State, and local agencies, with participation from public and private entities, industry, and landowners. As a principal WLCI partner, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides multidisciplinary scientific and technical support to inform decisionmaking...
Ecotourism has been proposed as a viable economic activity that can minimize negative human impacts on wildlife habitat and provide an incentive to preserve natural areas. The potential of ecotourism as a wildlife conservation strategy is limited by its inability to insure the long-term protection of environmental assets and by its tendency to contribute directly to environmental degradation. Ecotourism is a proxy market designed to align consumers' preferences for recreation with the protection of environmental assets. Because it does not necessarily address the direct protection of those assets, it is prone to market failure. Pressures on governments and firms involved in providing ecotourism services will impair...
Although various studies have shown that corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by displacing fossil fuel use, many of these studies fail to include how land-use history affects the net carbon balance through changes in soil carbon content. We evaluated the effectiveness and economic value of corn and cellulosic ethanol production for reducing net GHG emissions when produced on lands with different land-use histories, comparing these strategies with reductions achieved by set-aside programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Depending on prior land use, our analysis shows that C releases from the soil after planting corn for ethanol may in some cases completely offset C gains attributed...
Managing ecosystems for resilience and sustainability requires understanding how they will respond to future anthropogenic drivers such as climate change and urbanization. In fire-dependent ecosystems, predicting this response requires a focus on how these drivers will impact fire regimes. Here, we use scenarios of climate change, urbanization and management to simulate the future dynamics of the critically endangered and fire-dependent longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem. We investigated how climate change and urbanization will affect the ecosystem, and whether the two conservation goals of a 135% increase in total longleaf area and a doubling of fire-maintained open-canopy habitat can be achieved in the...
Recent extreme floods on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers have motivated expansion of floodplain conservation lands. Within Missouri there are more than 85,000 acres of public conservation lands in large-river floodplains. Floodplain lands are highly dynamic and challenging to manage, particularly as future climatic conditions may be highly variable. These lands have the potential to provide valuable ecosystem services like provision of habitat, nutrient processing, carbon sequestration, and flood-water storage that produce economic values in terms of recreational spending, improved water quality, and decreased flood hazards. However, floodplain managers may need tools to help them understand nonstationary conditions...
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Conservation Opportunity Areas are places in Wisconsin that contain ecological features, natural communities, or Species of Greatest Conservation Need habitat for which Wisconsin has a unique responsibility for protecting.
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The Gopher Tortoise Focal Area represents an area of interest pertaining to the gopher tortoise under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).Working Lands for Wildlife is a partnership between NRCS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to use agency technical expertise and financial assistance from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program to combat the decline of seven specific wildlife species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other species with similar habitat needs. The WLFW project will target species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other species with...
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GIS Metadata notes for AMJV Bird Habitat Conservation Areas (BHCA)Kirsten Luke GIS Specialist, Atlantic Coast Joint VentureCreated October 18, 2007Updated December 28, 2007Updated March 20, 2008Base data:a) Meeting Maps and excel spreadsheets from the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture Technical Committee Meeting August 7- 9th 2007 b) National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001c) ESRI Street Map d) Federal Land : National Atlas Federal Lands Layer (2004) - these I believe are proclamation boundaries not actual fed land ownership boundariese) Protected Areas: Conservation Biology Institute Protected Areas Database (CBI -PAD) version 4. Land ownership boundaries - not proclamation boundaries.f) Audubon IBA's (2007)BHCA...
Information about geographic distributions is required for species conservation and management. Ultimately, this information is derived from records of occurrence. However, the reliability and availability of occurrence records are variable. A conceptual framework for evaluating the reliability of occurrence records is provided. Only records associated with physical evidence, especially a museum voucher specimen, are considered verified. However, errors in species identification or location are possible even for verified records. In addition, biases exist in occurrence records because they generally are collected haphazardly. Other sources of bias include sampling error associated with small areas or range limits...
map background search result map search result map Gopher Tortoise Focal Area (WLFW) Wisconsin - Conservation Opportunity Areas (Terrestrial and Aquatic) Ohio - AMJV Bird Habitat Conservation Areas UMRGLR JV - Wetland Breeding Bird Habitat Priorities Yukon North Slope Wildlife Management Plan Ohio - AMJV Bird Habitat Conservation Areas Yukon North Slope Wildlife Management Plan Wisconsin - Conservation Opportunity Areas (Terrestrial and Aquatic) Gopher Tortoise Focal Area (WLFW) UMRGLR JV - Wetland Breeding Bird Habitat Priorities