The overall purpose of this research is to assess the Oregon public's capacity to address water resources disturbances through civil society. According to scientists and resource managers, Oregon's water resources are over taxed and at risk, with future projections placing additional stress from climate change and population growth. Oregon's 2009...
In the United States, many of the thorniest natural resource conflicts occur on private lands. This is especially true in the Willamette Valley of Western Oregon where the hallmark habitat type, Oregon white oak woodland and savanna, is imperiled. Almost exclusively found on private land, Oregon white oak is threatened...
Oregon is a state with great social and ecological diversity. Unfortunately however, Oregon's water-rich reputation is more rumor than reality. As with many Western states, Oregon struggles with water scarcity, especially during dry summer months. Recent efforts by the state to develop an integrated water resource strategy (IWRS) to manage...
To increase the knowledge needed to successfully implement the ecosystem-based approach to fishery management, this dissertation investigates important issues within the economics of choice and the economics of displacement. In particular, a discrete choice model of the fishing location decision in the Newport, Oregon bottom trawl groundfish fishery is estimated...
There is a perceived trade-off between fire risk reduction and northern spotted owl habitat protection in dry-conifer forests in southwestern Oregon. Management options for balancing this trade-off need to be sought at the landscape level. Applied landscape ecology suggests three important features to consider are (1) patch size and configuration...
The federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is the focus of intensive conservation efforts that have led to much forested land being reserved as habitat for the owl and associated wildlife species throughout the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Recently, however, a relatively new threat to spotted...
This dissertation examines learning driven adaptations in salmon recovery efforts and water resources management in Oregon. The case study utilizes a framework highlighting the connections between human and natural systems. Semi-structured interviews are used to analyze interactions between rural riparian landowners and watershed council staffs living and working in Oregon’s...