The black-footed ferret is a meso-predator within the Great Plains region of North America. Before the 1900s, black-footed ferret populations were self-sustaining in large ecological patches throughout the geographical range of the Great Plains. During the 1900s, various factors such as the systematic extermination of prairie dogs (the primary food...
In Oregon perennial and annual grass seed cropping systems conservation management practices and their impacts on soil health and soil microbial community is not well understood. There is strong motivation to employ conservation tillage and other conservation practices to curb atmospheric carbon levels and improve soil health. However, the few...
Null networks are a type of random graph that is favored for the analysis of a wide variety of real-world networks, including gene-regulatory networks, food webs, and species co-occurrence matrices. As a hypothesis-generating tool, null networks are invaluable because they can reveal network motifs and unusual large-scale properties of networks...
The Upper Klamath Basin is an ecologically significant watershed that supports millions of migratory waterbirds along the Pacific Flyway in addition to an agricultural economy and a tribal fishery. This literature review and annotated bibliography is the basis for a capstone project to address the history, evolution, impacts, and responses...
There is a growing body of research that describes the benefits of place-based environmental education (EE) within the schools, including improved competencies, better interpersonal skills, decreased gaps in social divides, increased pupil engagement in learning, increased community awareness, and increased environmental stewardship. Though the benefits are many, few schools utilize...
The woodlands of New York City's Central Park have seen varying levels of management and neglect since the creation of the park over 150 years ago. The Central Park Conservancy has aimed to restore, enhance, and elevate the stewardship of the park, including its woodlands and other Natural Areas, since...
In his July 31, 1996 remarks on welfare reform, President Clinton signaled his intent to sign into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), bipartisan legislation aimed at reforming federal welfare policy. During the press conference, Clinton framed welfare as necessary but ultimately temporary relief, stating its...
The Altar Valley is an important working landscape that supports biodiversity and vulnerable species in Pima County, Arizona (Huckelberry 2000). This semi-desert grassland, alluvial valley and 713,807-acre watershed composed of 39 subbasins serves as an aquifer to a portion of southwestern Tucson. This region of Southern Arizona has been identified...
At a time of rapid global change, a socio-ecological system (SES) approach can provide a framework through which to quantify and communicate the risks and uncertainties of coupled human-natural systems. Islands, and tropical coral reef islands in particular, can be excellent models for SES research since they may be considered...
Energy security is a vital but often unmet requirement for community resiliency. Electricity availability is essential to the functioning of the economy, individual households, and the collective essential services that provide health, safety, and the basic human needs to sustain life. Coastal communities in Oregon face special vulnerability because they...