The VISualization of Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems (VISTAS) software development project began with the proposition that visualization would increase the ability of scientists to explore and communicate their data, especially complex datasets that span multiple spatial and temporal scales. A case study of VISTAS articulates how and why scientists intend...
The working hypothesis for this study is that the introduction of GIS technology into the ancient procedures of map-making has changed the map-making context sufficiently to require a revision of the way we think about, learn from, and use maps, specifically in the public involvement process in natural resource management....
The U.S. Forest Service has been forced to adapt to numerous changes over the last three decades. These include a dramatic reduction in workforce, a declining budget, and controversial lawsuits. Moreover, recent agency wide studies suggest that within the Forest Service a new resource management paradigm has emerged that differs...
Hardrock mining is associated with severe environmental and economic costs. Of particular concern is acid mine drainage which has contaminated several thousand kilometers of streams across the United States representing a formidable danger to watershed health. Given the high risks of this activity, ensuring high regulatory standards may be an...
Social vulnerability is often thought of as a culmination of social factors influencing the susceptibility of various groups to harm and govern their ability to respond. In an effort to identify communities that may be susceptible to social impacts from changes to fishery policies or fishing conditions, NOAA Fisheries is...
This study explores the role of classroom use of live organisms as a pathway for the spread of invasive species. The overall guiding research question is “Are behavioral changes necessary to reduce the spread from the classroom pathway?” Using focus groups comprised of key educators, this study seeks to identify...
Local Perceptions of Social-Ecological Change on the McKenzie: Implications for Resilience
This study sought to catalog local knowledge of long-term residents of the McKenzie River Valley as it pertains to landscape and community change and provide a general assessment of factors affecting the local social-ecological system’s resilience. Residents interviewed indicated...
The complexity of modern environmental problems has increased appeals for including scientific research and findings in natural resource policy decision making. Though scientists, resource managers, interest groups, and the general public support more science-based environmental policy, these preferences have been accompanied by growing calls for decentralization and democratization of policy...
The language of water policy both suggests and enforces the relationship that the public should have with water. Differences in language use between policy institutions and the public suggest that the understanding of water promoted through policy may be incongruent with the understanding of water held by the public. Semi-structured...
Wild salmon populations are in decline in the Pacific Northwest. In the region populations and runs of Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytsha), Chum (Oncorhynchus keta), Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Sockey (Oncorhynchus nerka), and Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) have been listed as threatened and/or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the U.S. and/or...