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Wildlife disease surveillance and pathogen detection are fundamental for conservation, population sustainability, and public health. Detection of pathogens in snakes is often overlooked despite their essential roles as both predators and prey within their communities. Ophidiomycosis (formerly referred to as Snake Fungal Disease, SFD), an emergent disease on the North American landscape caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, poses a threat to snake population health and stability. We tested 657 individual snakes representing 58 species in 31 states from 56 military bases in the continental US and Puerto Rico for O. ophiodiicola. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola DNA was detected in samples from 113 snakes for a prevalence of 17.2% (95% CI: 14.4–20.3%), representing 25 species from 19 states/territories, including the first reports of the pathogen in snakes in Idaho, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico. Most animals were ophidiomycosis negative (n = 462), with Ophidiomyces detected by qPCR (n = 64), possible ophidiomycosis (n = 82), and apparent ophidiomycosis (n = 49) occurring less frequently. Adults had 2.38 times greater odds than juveniles of being diagnosed with ophidiomycosis. Snakes from Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all had greater odds of ophidiomycosis diagnosis, while snakes from Idaho were less likely to be diagnosed with ophidiomycosis. The results of this survey indicate that this pathogen is endemic in the eastern US and identified new sites that could represent emergence or improved detection of endemic sites. The direct mortality of snakes with ophidiomycosis is unknown from this study, but the presence of numerous individuals with clinical disease warrants further investigation and possible conservation action.

Harvesting traffic may alter soil properties and reduce forest productivity if soil disturbances are not mitigated. Logging operations were conducted during high soil moisture conditions on the South Carolina, USA coast to salvage timber and reduce wildfire potential following Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Long term study sites were established on wet pine flats to evaluate effects of primary skid trails and site preparation on soil properties and loblolly pine productivity. The experiment was analyzed as a split-plot within an unbalanced randomized complete block design having 12 blocks, two levels of traffic (primary skid trail (On), no obvious traffic (Off)) and four levels of site preparation (bedding (Bed), disking with bedding (D/B), disking (Disk), no site preparation (None)). Remeasurement of the study was conducted in 2015 at 25 years after salvage logging (stand age 23 years). Bed and D/B treatments had greater saturated hydraulic conductivity (p = 0.0567) and macro porosity (p = 0.0071) and lower bulk density (p = 0.0226) values than Disk and None treatments. Macroporosity benefits were evident two years after site preparation installation, but bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity were not, suggesting these two measurements were affected over time by differences in rooting activity influenced by initial aeration benefits. Depth to iron depletion (p = 0.0055) was significantly greater and soil carbon (p < 0.0001) was significantly lower in Bed and D/B treatments due to bed elevation above the water table and improved drainage. This implies greater aeration for roots, but trade-offs in aboveground biomass and soil carbon storage. However, above and below ground carbon differences balanced one another between treatments so that combined carbon storage in soil and above ground loblolly pine biomass was not significantly different by site preparation treatment (p = 0.1127). Bed and D/B resulted in approximately double the stand biomass (p < 0.0001) and stand density (p < 0.0001) than Disk and None. Bed and D/B generally created more favorable soil properties and enhanced long term loblolly pine stand productivity. Differences in soil properties and stand productivity between traffic levels, with and without site preparation, were negligible suggesting natural soil recovery mechanisms were mitigated effects of wet site harvesting over 25 years. ; McIntire-Stennis Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA; National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc. (NCASI); USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station Santee Experimental Forest; Virginia Tech Forest Operations and Business Research Cooperative; Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation ; This research received financial and/or logistical support from the McIntire-Stennis Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA; the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc. (NCASI); The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station Santee Experimental Forest personnel; the Virginia Tech Forest Operations and Business Research Cooperative; and the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Flood irrigation on western rangelands is important for diverse social and ecological reasons, providing forage for many agricultural operations and maintaining many critical wetlands across the region. However, recent debate over the efficiency of flood irrigation and resulting transition to other "more efficient" types of irrigation has put many of the working wet meadows sustained by flood irrigation at risk. As the sustainability of these landscapes is primarily dependent on ranchers' management decisions, we sought to gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing ranchers who flood irrigate and how these factors interrelate. We applied the Community Capitals Framework to explore what considerations act as enablers and constraints to maintaining flood irrigation and to evaluate the role of each type of capital in enabling and constraining the coproduction of working wet meadows for ranchers and the environment. Our qualitative analysis of facilitated workshop transcripts and observation notes from two study areas within the Intermountain West showed that ranchers perceived constraining and enabling factors of flood irrigation related to all seven types of community capitals: natural, financial, built, cultural, human, social, and political. The irrigation methods used by ranchers were heavily influenced by environmental components of the landscape rather than reflecting a choice among alternative methods. Other prominent enablers included a commitment toward maintaining the natural history of the landscape and the ranching lifestyle. Primary constraints included the impact of public misperception and the ability to pass their operation on to the next generation. Ranchers weighed multiple considerations simultaneously in a holistic, community-scale approach to management decisions and described how diverse enablers and constraints interacted to determine the viability of flood irrigation and ranching. These results indicate rancher decisions are driven by complex social-ecological considerations and demonstrate the importance of each capital type to rangeland conservation. (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Society for Range Management. ; US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (Oregon State Office); US Fish and Wildlife Service (Mountain-Prairie Region) through the US Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit [RWO 174]; USDA Farm Service Agency ; This work was funded by the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (Oregon State Office) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Mountain-Prairie Region) through the US Geological Survey Cooperative Research Unit RWO 174 to Virginia Tech with a subcontract to University of Montana. In addition, the PI of the project and second author (Dr. Ashley Dayer) has another research project studying agricultural producers outside of the study area funded by the USDA Farm Service Agency.

At the request of Carmel Devco, Inc., Pape-Dawson conducted an intensive archaeological survey of the eastern portion of the proposed Carmel Development Project in northeastern Travis County, Texas. The project involves the construction of a new municipal utility district (MUD 2) within the 341-acre (138.1- hectare [ha]) project area. No impacts are planned adjacent to or within the floodplain of Wilbarger Creek and its tributaries, which composes approximately 70 acres (28.3 ha) of MUD 2. Thus, archaeological investigations were conducted within the remaining 271.4 acres (109.8 ha). The depths of impacts vary, but typically road construction impacts are 4 to 5 feet (ft) (1.22 to 1.52 meters [m]) deep, while underground utility installations may impact up to 12 ft (3.66 m) deep. A MUD is a political subdivision of the State of Texas authorized by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to provide water, sewage, drainage, and other services within the MUD boundaries. Based on MUD 2's status as a political subdivision of the state, compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas is necessary. As no federal funding or permitting is anticipated for this project, compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) will not be necessary. The investigation was conducted in compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas under Antiquities Permit No. 7519. The purpose of the investigations was to identify all historic or prehistoric cultural resources located within the project area and to evaluate the significance and eligibility of identified resources for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). All work was done in accordance with the archaeological survey standards and guidelines as developed by the Council of Texas Archaeologists (CTA) and adopted by the Texas Historical Commission (THC). The investigations included a cultural resources background literature and records review and an intensive pedestrian survey with shovel testing. The background review revealed that portions of the project area have been previously surveyed, and two previously recorded sites (41TV2521 and 41TV2522) are within the project area. In addition, the Pfluger Cemetery (commemorated by an Official Texas Historical Marker) is adjacent to the project area, along with site 41TV2453. Pape Dawson's intensive archaeological survey included pedestrian survey and the excavation of 68 shovel tests on January 28 and 29, February 2 and 3, and June 7, 8, 15, and 16, 2016. The survey encountered extensive agricultural fields affording greater than 30 percent ground surface visibility; therefore, did not meet the CTA/THC standards, which require 1 shovel test per 3 acres for a project of this size. A total of ten shovel tests was positive for cultural material. Two previously recorded sites (41TV2521 and 41TV2522) were revisited and combined along with a third locus into one larger site, 41TV2521. In addition, archaeological site 41TV2527 and one isolated find were newly documented. Investigations found no evidence that adjacent site 41TV2453 extended into the project area. Sites 41TV2521 and 41TV2527 are likely part of the same historic landscape and date from the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Archival research indicates these sites are associated with the Bohls and Dossmann families and their tenants or laborers. Sites 41TV2521 and 41TV2527 were evaluated according to the criteria in 13 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 26.10. Both sites were recorded based upon encountering shallowly buried cultural material in shovel tests or on the surface in a disturbed context and each site lacks intact features. Neither site possesses unique or rare attributes concerning Texas history or has the potential to contribute to a better understanding of Texas history by the addition of new and important information. Archival research did not identify any specific individuals associated with sites 41TV2521 and 41TV2527 that are significant on the local or national level. Based on these criteria, neither site is recommended eligible for designation as an SAL, and Pape-Dawson recommends no further archaeological work at sites 41TV2521 and 41TV2527. Diagnostic artifacts, project records, and photographs will be curated at the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University.

Ch. 1 Why Study Climate Change in Wildlands? / Andrew J. Hansen -- Pt. 1 APPROACHES FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION PLANNING -- Ch. 2 Effectively Linking Climate Science and Management / John E. Gross and S. Thomas Olliff -- Ch. 3 Challenges and Approaches for Integrating Climate Science into Federal Land Management / S. Thomas Olliff and Andrew J. Hansen -- Pt. 2 CLIMATE AND LAND USE CHANGE -- ch. 4Analyses of Historical and Projected Climates to Support Climate Adaptation in the Northern Rocky Mountains / John E. Gross, Michael Tercek, Kevin Guay, Marian Talbert, Tony Chang, Ann Rodman, David Thoma, Patrick Jantz, and Jeffrey T. Morisette -- Ch. 5 Historical and Projected Climates as a Basis for Climate Change Exposure and Adaptation Potential across the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative / Kevin Guay, Patrick Jantz, John E. Gross, Brendan M. Rogers and Scott J. Goetz -- Ch. 6 Assessing Vulnerability to Land Use and Climate Change at Landscape Scales Using Landforms and Physiographic Diversity as Coarse-Filter Targets /David M. Theobald, William B. Monahan, Dylan Harison-Atlas, Andrew J. Hansen, Patrick Jantz, John .E Gross and S. Thomas Olliff -- Pt. 3 ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES AND VULNERABILITIES -- Ch. 7 Potential Impacts of Climate and Land Use Change on Ecosystem Processes in the Great Northern and Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperatives / Forrest Melton, Jun Xiong, Weile Wang, Cristina Milesi, Shuang Li, Ashley Quackenbush, David M. Theobald, Scott J. Goetz, Patrick Jantz and Ramakrishna Nemani -- Ch. 8 Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Vegetation for National Parks in the Eastern United States / Patrick Jantz, William B. Monahan, Andrew J. Hansen, Brendan M. Rogers, Scott Zolkos, Tina Cormier and Scott J. Goetz -- Ch. 9 Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Tree Species and Biome Types in the Northern Rocky Mountains / Andrew J. Hansen, and Linda B. Phillips -- Ch. 10 Past, Present, and Future Impacts of Climate on the Vegetation Communities of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem across Elevation Gradients / Nathan B. piekielek, Andrew J. Hansen and Tony Chang -- Ch. 11 Vulnerability of Tree Species to Climate Change in the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative / Brendan M. Rogers, Patrick Jantz, Scott J. Goetz and David M. Theobald -- Ch. 12 Likely Responses of Native and Invasive Salmonid Fishes to Climate Change in the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains / Bradley B. Shepard, Robert Al-Chokhachy, Todd Koel, Matthew A. Kulp and Nathaniel Hitt -- Pt. 4 MANAGING UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE -- Ch. 13 Approaches, Challenges, and Opportunities for Achieving Climate-Smart Adaptation / S. Thomas Olliff, William B. Monahan, Virginia Kelly, and David M. Theobald -- Ch. 14 Perspectives on Responding to Climate Change in Rocky Mountain National Park / Ben Bobowski, Isabel W. Ashton, and William B. Monahan -- Ch. 15 Case Study: Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem /Karl Buermeyer, Daniel Reinhart, and Kristin Legg -- Ch. 16 Insights from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem on Assessing Success in Sustaining Wildlands / Andrew J. Hansen and Linda B. Phillips -- Ch. 17 Synthesis of Climate Adaptation Planning in Wildland Ecosystems / Andrew J. Hansen, David M. Theobald, S. Thomas Olliff, and William B. Monahan.

The landscape of this book / Janet E. Milne -- An ecosystem approach to mountain resorts / Ross A. Virginia -- Plant communities and vegetation processes in the mountain landscape / G. Richard Strimbeck -- Water quality and quantity in the mountain environment / James B. Shanley and Beverley Wemple -- Effects of mountain resorts on wildlife / Allan M. Strong, Christopher C. Rimmer, Kent P. McFarland, and Kimberley Hagen -- Loon Mountain, New Hampshire : United States federal law and mountain resort development in the national forest / Roger Fleming -- An introduction to Loon Mountain and the Loon Resort -- Legal foundation for the South mountain expansion proposal : the early permits and the forest management planning regime -- The South Mountain expansion : did the national forest planning and environmental impact statement framework cause decision-makers to take an ecosystem-based approach? -- Whether other federal laws can contribute to an ecosystem-based approach to resort development -- Conclusions from the Loon Resort experience -- Whiteface Mountain Ski Center, New York : Olympic legacies and Adirondack Park plans / John S. Banta -- Introducing the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center and the legal framework -- The legal regime affecting Whiteface Mountain : does It take an ecological approach? -- The legal regime affecting private lands around Whiteface : does It take an ecological approach? -- Conclusion -- Killington Resort, Vermont : can a mountain ecosystem be protected when the law protects its parts? : the case of Vermont's act 250 and Killington Resort / Julia LeMense and Jonathan Isham -- An introduction to Killington Resort, its expansion plans, and the issues -- Vermont's act 250 and the early battles at Parker's Gore East -- Expansion in the wake of Parker's Gore East : the Interconnect Project, the Woodward Reservoir, and the Resort Village -- Conclusion -- Mont Tremblant, Quebec : Canadian law and the ecological footprint of a four-season resort / Jane Matthews Glenn -- An introduction to Mont Tremblant and the issues -- Intrawest's development of the Skiable Domain -- Base camps, Golf courses and land protection at the mountain's base -- Legal diversity and legal ecosystems -- The challenge of joining ecology with the law : a vision for the mountains / Janet E. Milne and Ross A. Virginia

Introduction / Michael M. Wagner -- Outbreaks and investigations / Virginia Dato, Richard Shephard, and Michael M. Wagner -- Case detection, outbreak detection, and outbreak characterization / Michael M. Wagner, Louise S. Gresham, and Virginia Dato -- Functional requirements for biosurveillance / Michael M. Wagner, Loren Shaffer, and Richard Shephard -- Governmental public health / Rita Velikina, Virginia Dato, and Michael M. Wagner -- The healthcare system / Michael M. Wagner, William R. Hogan, and Ron M. Aryel -- Animal health / Richard Shephard, Ron M. Aryel, and Loren Shaffer -- Laboratories / Charles Brokopp ... [et al.] -- Water suppliers / Jason R.E. Shepard ... [et al.] -- Food and pharmaceutical industries / Ron M. Aryel and T.V. (Sunil) Anklekar -- Coroners and medical examiners / Ron M. Aryel and Michael M. Wagner -- Other organizations that conduct biosurveillance / Michael M. Wagner ... [et al.] -- Case detection algorithms / Fu-Chiang Tsui ... [et al.] -- Classical time-series methods for biosurveillance / Weng-Keen Wong and Andrew W. Moore -- Combining multiple signals for biosurveillance / Andrew W. Moore, Brigham Anderson ... [et al.] -- Methods for detecting spatial and spatio-temporal clusters / Daniel B. Neill and Andrew W. Moore -- Natural language processing for biosurveillance / Wendy W. Chapman -- Bayesian methods for diagnosing outbreaks / Gregory F. Cooper ... [et al.] -- Atmospheric dispersion modeling in biosurveillance / William R. Hogan -- Methods for algorithm evaluation / Michael M. Wagner and Garrick Wallstrom -- Methods for evaluating surveillance data / Michael M. Wagner -- Sales of over-the-counter healthcare products / William R. Hogan and Michael M. Wagner -- Chief complaints and ICD codes / Michael M. Wagner ... [et al.] -- Absenteeism / Leslie Lenert ... [et al.] -- Emergency call centers / Ron M. Aryel and Michael M. Wagner -- The internet as sentinel / Michael M. Wagner, Heather A. Johnson, and Virginia Dato -- Physiologic and space-based sensors / Ron M. Aryel -- Data NOS (not otherwise specified) / Michael M. Wagner and Murray Campbell -- Decision analysis / Agnieszka Onisko, Garrick Wallstrom, and Michael M. Wagner -- Probabilistic interpretation of surveillance data / Garrick Wallstrom, Michael M. Wagner, and Agnieska [sic] Onisko -- Economic studies in biosurveillance / Bruce Y. Lee ... [et al.] -- Information technology standards in biosurveillance / William R. Hogan and Michael M. Wagner -- Architecture / Jeremy Espino and Michael M. Wagner -- Advancing organizational integration: negotiation, data use agreements, law and ethics / M. Cleat Szczepaniak ... [et al.] -- Other design and implementation issues / Steve DeFrancesco, Kevin Hutchison, and Michael M. Wagner -- Project management / Neil Jacobson, Sherry Daswani, and Per H. Gesteland -- Methods for field testing of biosurveillance systems / Michael M. Wagner

1. Connectivity among stream fish populations allows for exchange of genetic material and helps maintain genetic diversity, adaptive potential and population stability over time. Changes in species demographics and population connectivity have the potential to permanently alter the genetic patterns of stream fish, although these changes through space and time are variable and understudied in small-bodied freshwater fish. 2. As a spatially widespread, common species of benthic freshwater fish, the variegate darter (Etheostoma variatum) is a model species for documenting how patterns of genetic structure and diversity respond to increasing isolation due to large dams and how scale of study may shape our understanding of these patterns. We sampled variegate darters from 34 sites across their range in the North American Ohio River basin and examined how patterns of genetic structure and diversity within and between populations responded to historical population changes and dams within and between populations. 3. Spatial scale and configuration of genetic structure varied across the eight identified populations, from tributaries within a watershed, to a single watershed, to multiple watersheds that encompass Ohio River mainstem habitats. This multiwatershed pattern of population structuring suggests genetic dispersal across large distances was and may continue to be common, although some populations remain isolated despite no apparent structural dispersal barriers. Populations with low effective population sizes and evidence of past population bottlenecks showed low allelic richness, but diversity patterns were not related to watershed size, a surrogate for habitat availability. Pairwise genetic differentiation (F-ST) increased with fluvial distance and was related to both historic and contemporary processes. Genetic diversity changes were influenced by underlying population size and stability, and while instream barriers were not strong determinants of genetic structuring or loss of genetic diversity, they reduce population connectivity and may impact long-term population persistence. 4. The broad spatial scale of this study demonstrated the large spatial extent of some variegate darter populations and indicated that dispersal is more extensive than expected given the movement patterns typically observed for small-bodied, benthic fish. Dam impacts depended on underlying population size and stability, with larger populations more resilient to genetic drift and allelic richness loss than smaller populations. 5. Other darters that inhabit large river habitats may show similar patterns in landscape-scale studies, and large river barriers may impact populations of small-bodied fish more than previously expected. Estimation of dispersal rates and behaviours is critical to conservation of imperilled riverine species such as darters. ; Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch ProgramUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA); U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and AgricultureUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA); U.S. Geological SurveyUnited States Geological Survey; Virginia Tech; Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy ; Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch Program; Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy; U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute for Food and Agriculture; U.S. Geological Survey; Virginia Tech ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Context Understanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements. Aims We aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a seasonal wetland specialist, in three large, isolated wetland complexes in Virginia, USA. Methods We used VHF radio-transmitters to radio-locate adult and juvenile turtles, and estimated movement and space-use during their active and aestivation seasons (March–August). We then used generalised linear mixed models to examine how movement and space-use varied, based on intrinsic turtle characteristics and extrinsic wetland and climatic factors. Key results We show that, on average, individual spotted turtles used five wetlands per year (range 3–13), and that their inter-wetland movement and movement distance varied seasonally in accordance with wetland availability and breeding phenology. Spotted turtle movement and space-use was influenced by the arrangement and size of the wetland complexes, with turtles moving further and occupying larger home-ranges as size and distance between wetlands increased. Inter-wetland movement was not influenced by intrinsic turtle effects but larger adult turtles moved further, used more wetlands, and had larger home-ranges than smaller turtles. Conclusions Turtle responses to variation in season and wetland configuration highlight the need for complex and dynamic landscapes required to sustain this species. Implications This study has important conservation implications showing that spotted turtles rely on a large number of diverse wetlands, as well as upland habitat, to fulfil their resource needs – and that these habitat associations vary seasonally. Results from our study can aid the understanding of spatial and temporal variation in patch characteristics (e.g. quality and extent) and inter-patch movement by organisms, which is critical for the conservation and management of semi-aquatic species and other organisms that occupy patchy habitat complexes.

Species co-occurrence patterns inform the selection of surrogate species in conservation planning because co-occurrence is often a non-random process. Probabilistic models can determine whether a species co-occurrence is significant (i.e., non-random) where significant positive co-occurrence indicates potential mutualisms and negative co-occurrence indicates competition (1). One challenge is that co-occurrence is dynamic over time (2), especially in successional habitats or seasonally with migratory species. In complex landscapes, habitat quality may be related to the composition and complexity of available cover types (3) because species may benefit from exploiting resources in multiple cover types. This is known as landscape complementation, when non-substitutable resources, such as food and nest sites, are acquired in different cover types to meet requirements across the annual cycle. Species that rely on landscape complementation may be ideal surrogate species because their varied habitat requirements may lead to co-occurrences with a diverse set of species. This project focuses on Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus, hereafter RHWO), a species of conservation concern, at an active military base in Virginia, USA where prescribed fire and timber harvests are common. RHWO has experienced a 68% range-wide population loss over the last 45 years and is designated as near threatened by the IUCN. Our objectives were to (1) determine if RHWO prefer areas with multiple rather than one homogenous cover type and (2) if they are effective surrogates for cavity nesting species. We compared RHWO abundance in sites with varying amounts of closed canopy forest, savanna and wetland. We also assessed species co-occurrence in the nonbreeding and breeding seasons as well as in homogenous (closed canopy forest) and heterogeneous (mix of closed canopy, savanna and wetland) habitats. Our results indicate that sites with a mix of cover types have higher RHWO abundance in both summer and winter. We also found more significant positive species associations among cavity nesting birds in the winter than in the breeding season, and in heterogeneous habitats. Specifically, 25% of species co-occurrences in winter were non-random compared with only 7% in the breeding season. None of the co-occurrence patterns were significant in closed canopy forests whereas 5-9% were significant in sites that had a mix of closed canopy forest and wetland or closed canopy and savanna habitat. White-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), a weak excavator, was positively associated with more species than any other, and RHWO had the second most significant positive species co-occurrences. Our preliminary results indicate that managing for a mosaic of suitable habitats is important for sustaining declining RHWO populations across the annual cycle, and that this species may be a viable surrogate for other cavity nesting species. ; peerReviewed

The rapid growth of the natural gas extraction industry in Pennsylvania and neighboring states has stirred concerned citizens to seek ways to collect data on water quality impacts from the extraction activities. As a response to requests from community members, the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) developed a volunteer-friendly protocol in 2010 for early detection and reporting of surface water contamination by shale gas extraction activities in small streams. To date, ALLARM has trained more than 2,000 volunteers in Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia to monitor water quality (conductivity, barium, strontium, and total dissolved solids) and physical parameters (stream stage and visual observations) prior to, during, and after shale gas wells have been developed. This paper documents the operational models of Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR) used by ALLARM, describes the volunteer monitoring protocol developed, and examines three years of water quality results from hundreds of monitoring sites in Pennsylvania and New York. The majority of watersheds monitored are small, forested, headwater streams. Results indicate that mean conductivity in streams is strongly and positively related to the percentage of development and the percentage of limestone in the watersheds. Mean conductivity is not significantly related to number or density of drilled wells, although the dataset did not lend itself to finding a signal from shale gas activities because only 20% of the watersheds had wells drilled at the time of sampling. This fact enables the use of these data as baseline data for future documentation of shale gas impacts on water quality. Volunteers have reported multiple cases of visual pollution related to shale gas activities, but have not identified water contamination events based on stream water chemistry. The results of the volunteer dataset are compared with results from the scientific literature, affirming the credibility and usefulness of the data. Some lessons learned from this project include: The importance of strong and timely support to volunteers to ensure accurate reporting in real-time; the unique role that citizen scientists can play in a rural landscape where well sites are remote and government oversight is not practical; and the importance of customizing a PPSR operational model to fit the goals and scale of the project.Recommendations for continued collection and analysis of data include: 1) develop and implement an intentional study design to monitor those watersheds that now have baseline data once drilling begins, 2) target watersheds whose characteristics are under-represented in this dataset, 3) consider the analysis of additional parameters and the monitoring of high risk systems, 4) develop a central, user-friendly database for volunteers to submit their own data and receive preliminary analyses, and 5) partner with other volunteer data collectors to collaborate with data analysis and interpretation.

This dissertation consists of two research projects in the area of Environmental Economics: water-recycling technology adoption and its cost-effectiveness in the U.S. horticulture industry (in Chapter 2), and urban tree cover's impact on residential location decision making in Milwaukee, WI (in Chapter 3). Chapter 2 evaluates the economic effects of labeling plants grown with water-recycling technology (WRT) practices in selected nursery operations in the Mid-Atlantic region of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Partial budgeting, whole enterprise-level budgeting, sensitivity and break-even analyses are conducted to determine whether consumer premiums for plants grown with recycled water are sufficient to make WRT economically feasible combined with plant eco-labeling, and how such a labeling program would affect greenhouse/nursery production costs, gross revenues and net revenues. It is concluded that consumer premiums for plants grown with recycled water could offer nursery growers a method to improve their net returns while reducing pollution runoff and improving irrigation water usage efficiency. Chapter 3 focuses on non-market valuation of environmental (dis)amenities. Specifically, this chapter investigates the impact of urban tree cover on residential property location decision in the housing market of Milwaukee, WI. Residential sorting model embedded with "horizontal preference structure" is established to estimate the heterogeneous preferences for tree cover and other land cover attributes that vary by household socio-economic characteristics and then to identify the housing property owners' demand for these land cover attributes. The first part of this chapter mainly recovers the demand for "community trees" at the census block group level combined with 10 years property transaction data and neighborhood characteristics where the median income is aggregated to represent the household annual income. It is found that "community trees" are positively valued by the housing property owners and have a positive impact on housing price due to its positive externalities. Furthermore, income is found to be a strong exogenous demand shifter, leading to heterogeneous preference for the tree cover. The second part of Chapter 3 further investigates the impacts of both nearby trees and distant trees on residential property location decision using different spatial scales of land covers measurements. Instead of aggregating block group level median income, this study matches and merges disaggregated individual household annual incomes from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) dataset to mitigate the potential aggregation bias. It is found that different spatial scales of land cover measurement result in varying willingness to pay estimates, implying that housing property owners have heterogeneous demands for nearby trees and distant trees. In other words, preferences for urban tree cover not only vary by household annual income, but also differ across spatial scales of the tree cover measurement. ; Doctor of Philosophy ; This dissertation contains two research projects related to researches on environmental economics. Chapter 2 talks about how adoption of water-recycling technology affects nursery growers finance (i.e., production cost, gross revenue, profit) and operation management in Mid-Atlantic region of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is found that consumers are willing to pay more money for horticultural plants produced with recycled water and these additional moneys would be sufficient for the growers to compensate the extra costs after adopting the water-recycling technology in the production. This study helps nursery growers and policy makers assess WRT adoption to improve crop water productivity and to reduce pollution of off-site surface waters. Chapter 3 discusses the impact of urban tree cover on housing price in the area of Milwaukee, WI. It is assumed that households with different socio-economic characteristics (e.g., household annual income) would have varying preferences for tree cover and other key characteristics when they make decisions on choosing their residential property locations. The first part of this chapter mainly focuses on community trees, namely the trees and forest within given census block groups. The second part of this chapter further takes nearby trees into consideration besides the distant trees so as to determine how trees on/near the residential properties affect the housing prices and whether the housing property owners prefer more trees on/near their properties. It is found that urban tree cover is valued by housing property owners and households with different income levels have diverse preferences for both nearby and distant trees. The research presented in this chapter not only makes academic contributions to the literatures of residential sorting model related to landscape (dis)amenities, but also facilitates the policy making of local governments and practitioners when it comes to urban and community trees and forestry programs.

Chapter 1. Sustainable Relationships Are the Foundation of Tribal and Clan Perspectives; James C. Spee, Adela McMurray and Mark McMillan Theme 1: Civilisations and Sustainability Chapter 2. Sustainable Indigenous Water Rights; Deborah Wardle Chapter 3. Indigenous Ontologies in 'Caring for Country'; Indigenous Australia's Sustainable Customs, Practices and Laws; Virginia Marshall Theme 2: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Chapter 4. Indigenous Entrepreneurs in Australia: Past, Present, and Future; Bella L. Galperin, Meena Chavan and Salahudin Muhidin Chapter 5. Māori Social Enterprise: A Case Study; Ruth Hephzibah Orhoevwri Theme 3: Leadership in Tribes and Clans Chapter 6. Quechua/Aymara Perspective of Social, Economic and Environmental Sustainability in the Bolivian Andes: Sustainability and Contradictions in Bolivia's Royal Quinoa Heartland; Tamara Stenn Chapter 7. Leadership Lessons in Sustainability from Elders and Events in Historical Clan Survival Stories; Andrew Creed, Ambika Zutshi and Brian Connelly Theme 4: Politics and Policy in Tribal and Clan Organisations Chapter 8. Jirga, Its Role and Evolution in Pakistan's Pashtun 'Tribal' Society: Pashtun Jirga in Pakistan; Farooq Yousaf Chapter 9. Effectiveness of 'Traditional' Conflict Resolution and Transformation Strategies: Traditional Conflict Resolution; Farooq Yousaf Chapter 10. The Resolution by the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation to Protect the Inherent Rights of Wild Rice; Lawrence W. Gross Theme 5: Tribal and Clan Views on Health and Well Being Chapter 11. Therapeutic Landscapes and Indigenous Culture: Māori Health Models in Aotearoa/New Zealand; Jacqueline McIntosh, Bruno Marques and Rosemary Mwipiko Chapter 12. Fire, Stories and Health; Deborah Wardle, Faye McMillan and Mark McMillan, Chapter 13. Ubuntu Identity, the Economy of Bomvana Indigenous Healers, and their Impact on Spiritual and Physical Wellbeing of an African Indigenous Community; Chioma Ohajunwa.

In eastern North America, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can have profound influences on forest biodiversity and forest successional processes. Moderate to high deer populations in the central Appalachians have resulted in lower forest biodiversity. Legacy effects in some areas persist even following deer population reductions or declines. This has prompted managers to consider deer population management goals in light of policies designed to support conservation of biodiversity and forest regeneration while continuing to support ample recreational hunting opportunities. However, despite known relationships between herbivory intensity and biodiversity impact, little information exists on the predictability of herbivory intensity across the varied and spatially diverse habitat conditions of the central Appalachians. We examined the predictability of browsing rates across central Appalachian landscapes at four environmental scales: vegetative community characteristics, physical environment, habitat configuration, and local human and deer population demographics. In an information-theoretic approach, we found that a model fitting the number of stems browsed relative to local vegetation characteristics received most (62%) of the overall support of all tested models assessing herbivory impact. Our data suggest that deer herbivory responded most predictably to differences in vegetation quantity and type. No other spatial factors or demographic factors consistently affected browsing intensity. Because herbivory, vegetation communities, and productivity vary spatially, we suggest that effective broad-scale herbivory impact assessment should include spatially-balanced vegetation monitoring that accounts for regional differences in deer forage preference. Effective monitoring is necessary to avoid biodiversity impacts and deleterious changes in vegetation community composition that are difficult to reverse and/or may not be detected using traditional deer-density based management goals. ; Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program [WE99, 2012-13694] ; This work was financially supported by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, Project WE99, Contract 2012-13694 to Virginia Tech. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

In recent years, several significant train derailments involving the transportation of crude oil have dotted the North American landscape. Each resulted in environmental and social harm to some degree which was extensive in many instances. Oil train derailments have occurred in places such as Lac-Mégantic, Canada (July 2013), Casselton, North Dakota (December 2013 and November 2014), and Mount Carbon, West Virginia (February 2015). Following derailments, communities have faced substantial environmental damage, human death and injury, and overall disruption from the explosions and subsequent oil spills that characterize these events. This project specifically examined the April 30, 2014 derailment in Lynchburg, Virginia. A CSX-operated train containing 104 oil tank cars derailed which caused 17 cars to leave the tracks; 3 of these cars plunged over the bank of the James River and became submerged. The derailment resulted in a large explosion and subsequent fire that burned for over an hour after one tank car ruptured and lost its contents. It was estimated that nearly 30,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled (NTSB 2016). Serious environmental and human health concerns resulted, particularly fears that downstream cities, including the state capitol of Richmond, would have contaminated water. Through a lens of green criminology, victimology, and securitization, this dissertation examines perceptions of criminality, victimization, and ecological harm as a result of the oil train derailment among members of the Lynchburg community. The environmental and social consequences of the Lynchburg train derailment are considered through a case study approach that is situated within the politics surrounding oil extraction and transportation within the US and Canada where dramatically expanded rail transport of oil has resulted in an influx in derailments in recent years. Interviews with 22 individuals—officials, environmentalists, witnesses, and members of the Lynchburg community—were used to examine the extent and nature of harm to the environment, community, and individuals as a result of the oil train derailment including the aftermath of the event. Official documents and media representations supplement the in-depth interviews. This case study reveals an array of victimizations and differing ideas about responsibility and criminality in the wake of the event. Security has been inserted into the realities of oil train shipment by the railroad industry which has problematized the dissemination of information about these volatile shipments to communities who experience them. Significant identities with both the James River and the railroad within the community have served to help make sense of the derailment, framed ideas about responsibility and culpability, and determined the conceptualization of the environment as a victim.