Water in the U.S. West faces considerable challenges and uncertainties. Climate change has intensified weather extremes, threatening the water sources that support the region’s many stakeholders. Urban water providers are among the stakeholders contending with the challenge of providing reliable water supplies to their growing populations. Recognizing the critical role...
The Columbia River Treaty (CRT), signed in 1964, is known widely as a successful transboundary river treaty between the United States and Canada. It was designed with a basic dual functional purpose, to increase flood prevention in the lower basin and to maximize hydroelectric power output between the two nations....
Wildfires across the Western United States, specifically in California have increased in size and intensity in recent decades. These fires are encroaching on California’s Wildland Urban-Interface (WUI), often with devastating results. Most recently, these destructive results were displayed in the 2018 fire season in the Camp and Carr Fires and...
With too many demands placed on too little water, the Klamath Basin and itsresidents - human and otherwise - are in dire need. There exists a significant opportunityfor mitigation in the purposeful conversion of seasonal wetlands to permanent wetlandsmanaged to increase baseline water storage levels in the Upper Basin. A...
One of the greatest challenges in the West is the sustainable management of limited water resources. In recognition of localized responses to natural resource challenges, there has been considerable work in the area of adaptive capacity and collaborative governance to help understand a community’s capacity to manage change. This study...
Collaborative governance strives to address complex environmental problems by building cooperation and consensus among stakeholders. While there are many successful examples of collaborative governance, all too frequently collaborative groups come to an agreement in the meeting room only to struggle to bring their plans to fruition. What are the factors...
This research explores how an agriculture-based community in the Crooked River Watershed of Central Oregon responds to a series of water resource and environmental challenges, some associated with projected climate change, amid increasing pressure to change management practices to better accommodate environmental needs. A key part of this research assesses...
Several distinctive environmental movements of the past century have had major influence on public policies in the United States. More generally, social movements that push environmental issues into the limelight have the potential for significantly altering public perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, thus driving big policy changes. This thesis examines the...
This study investigates the barriers faced by fats, oil, and grease (FOG) as an energy feedstock in the state of Oregon. FOG, which typically originates in food service establishments (FSEs), historically has been treated as waste, yet it also has the chemical make up to be an energy feedstock in...
Some evidence suggests a connection between outdoor recreation participation and
stronger environmental worldviews. This study finds little evidence supporting
participation in outdoor recreation activities and stronger environmental worldviews and
some evidence supporting a weak connection between appreciative outdoor recreation
and stronger environmental worldviews. Additionally, the study documents greater
participation in...