Anadromous fish populations in the Pacific Northwest have
undergone substantial change throughout the past century.
Historical periods of over-harvest and the construction of
numerous dams throughout the region have contributed to declines
in the runs of naturally spawning stocks. Management efforts to
rebuild fish populations have focused on the restriction...
In recent years we have seen increasing debate over
the allocation of PNW water resources. In particular there
are conflicts over using the river system for irrigation
vs. electricity production. Denying the hydroelectric
system water implies higher costs to electricity consumers
as producers substitute more expensive nonhydro resources.
This research...
The crop rotation decision is important to farmers because of its
impact on profitability, financing and risk exposure. This thesis
addresses the problem of farm level crop rotation selection under perfect
and imperfect knowledge of prices, yields and costs. The problem
is addressed by first estimating production functions for irrigated...
Tropospheric ozone is a pollutant which has detrimental effects on crop yields. The level of ambient ozone can be reduced by environmental policy changes and enforcement. The purpose of this study was to estimate the welfare effects of such changes in ambient ozone using recently available plant response data and...
A model of agricultural decision making is developed and tested in this thesis. The expected value of utility evaluated under alternative outcomes is directly maximized in a nonlinear programming model. Two features of the model distinguished it from traditional risk programming models. First, alternative attitudes towards the assumption of risk...
Soil erosion is a major source of pollution in the
United States. Erosion can cause both on-site and off-site
damages. It has been argued that off-site damages are a
significant component of soil conservation benefits and are
currently not well known.
Off-site effects of soil erosion are uncompensated
externalities. Given...
Ocean acidification affects all organisms that incorporate calcium carbonate into their structure, including coralline algae. Coralline algae are a key component of the intertidal ecosystem on the Oregon coast which is why it is important that we understand how the potential loss of coralline algae to ocean acidification will impact...
Understanding and predicting how regional to global scale processes affect macroalgal populations and communities requires elucidating the mechanisms underlying observed patterns. This dissertation identifies some of the underlying mechanisms that produce complex multi-scale responses of macroalgae across space and time by delineating the role of key local environmental drivers and...
Human actions are pushing natural systems into states that have no historical precedent. In response, empirical and theoretical researchers are increasingly focused on developing ways to predict the responses of ecological systems to change. However, significant knowledge gaps remain, often leading to “ecological surprises” where observed impacts of global change...
Historically, rural economic development has focused on attracting outside firms or increasing exploitation of natural resources, often without equitable or lasting returns to the community. The Rural Wealth Creation framework was developed as a systems-based approach to assessing and leveraging local assets for the creation of lasting wealth in communities....
