This thesis is a case study of the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Louisiana court system and the response of the court system to the aftermath of these two hurricanes. Although this thesis focuses on one states court systems response to two natural disasters, the research, conclusions and recommendations are transferable to other states. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 devastating large areas in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. Millions of people, including judges and attorneys, were forced to evacuate their homes, courts and law offices. The Hurricanes caused interruptions to both federal and state courts in Louisiana. Existing literature, both published and unpublished, was reviewed to determine how courts have responded to natural and man-made disasters in the past. Interviews with court personnel in Louisiana were conducted and available publications were reviewed to determine how courts in Louisiana were impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and how these courts responded to the aftermath of these two hurricanes. The broad geographic scope of the damage from the hurricanes created impediments to rapid resumption of court operations; however courts in Louisiana were able to resume most operations within a matter of months. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, both federal and state courts in Louisiana have refined their emergency preparedness plans; however, further improvements are warranted. This thesis examines the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Louisiana court system and concludes with several recommendations for future emergency preparedness of the courts including implementation of electronic filing and record management systems, passage of legislation providing for extra-territorial exercise of jurisdiction in civil proceedings and additional training for stakeholders to better prepare for emergency conditions.

The research examines patterns of likely support for urban wetland restoration in the Greater New Orleans area. Through multi-variate statistical analysis of responses derived from an original survey of homeowners in New Orleans, key factors are identified that explain variation in residents willingness to accept such areas and their perceptions of ecological benefits associated with a theoretical wetlands restoration design for the Gentilly area. Further, the analysis determines the extent to which direct experience with Hurricane Katrina may influence public support for this and other green infrastructure projects. The results of the data collected show that many people in New Orleans understand the beneficial functions of wetlands overall, and in an urban setting. There is a trend that shows citizens would like to live in such created wetland/urban habitats. Those who went through the experience of Hurricane Katrina were more likely to have favorable inclinations toward urban wetlands. Implications of the results can be used by coastal planners and the stakeholders of coastal or flood-prone areas. Planners can design green infrastructure projects based on how the public views wetlands, especially following major disasters when the public may be more likely to support such changes.

The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a rich history of industrial activity, particularly steel manufacturing. This, combined with other urban waste, leaves a legacy of environmental pollution across the landscape. This study compares trace metal concentration data from a Pittsburgh tree to local and national industrial production records and local climatic data. Trace metal concentrations (lead, copper, cadmium, zinc, and nickel) in the annual growth rings of a red oak tree (Quercus rubra) from Schenley Park in Pittsburgh were measured. This metal record was used to explore the consequences of pollution over the 126 year life of this tree (1881-2006). Trace metals and wet deposition sulfate concentrations are related (r2 range of 0.0631 and 0.3458) as are national steel production and regional wet deposition sulfate concentrations (r2 = 0.7670). However, these relationships break down in the 1990s as trace metal concentrations in the tree rings continue to increase and pollution inputs decrease. One potential explanation is the increasing dominance of vehicular traffic in urban systems. Nitrate emissions from vehicles could increase soil acidity and metal bioavailability, facilitating metal uptake by plants. This suggests that Pittsburgh pollution legacy issues should be a continued concern as increased trace metal availability will impact both urban ecosystems and human populations.

<p> Alfalfa Trap Cropping Increases Abundance Of Key Arachnids In An Organic Strawberry Agroecosystem Eighty three percent of the strawberries consumed in North America are grown in California, where the widespread use of insecticides has become hazardous to public health. The intensive use of pesticides for growing strawberries causes serious health risks to farm workers, in addition to contaminating the soil and groundwater. The cost to the environment and public health in the United States is estimated at $12 billion annually. Finding effective nontoxic management strategies for insect pests has become essential for long term sustainability. One strategy strawberry producers can use to promote sustainability is to increase the effectiveness of biological control techniques. Field experiments in other crops suggest that arachnid diversity and abundance may provide such a role in controlling insect pests and that agroecosystem diversification can enhance arachnid populations. This study therefore evaluated the composition, abundance, and pest control potential of arachnid communities in an organic strawberry field in California. The study found that by integrating alfalfa trap crops into organic strawberries, arachnid populations were substantially increased. Results reflected substantial increases in both male and female arachnid populations in and near alfalfa strip crops, with spider and harvestman arachnid families increasing most dramatically. Preliminary data suggest that an increase in alfalfa trap crops may lead to a reduction of the primary strawberry insect pest, <i>Lygus hesperus</i>, which is consumed by arachnids. These results provide useful new information for California farmers.</p>

The Good Food Box (GFB) program holds a great deal of promise to expand our understanding of Community Food Security (CFS). CFS represents a vision for solving hunger and other problems with the food system through an integrated approach that improves access to good and appropriate food for all while at the same time building community, strengthening local agricultural economies, and maximizing social justice. The GFB, one type of CFS program, is a community-based initiative found across Canada that provides a box of healthy food to customers at near wholesale prices; it has the potential to increase access to healthy food, develop alternative distribution channels, link producers more closely with consumers, build community connections, and more. Yet despite the fact that over 50 unique GFB programs exist across Canada, little research has been done on how these myriad programs are structured and function, how this program model has spread to and been adapted by communities across Canada, and how individual programs operate while balancing multiple goals and priorities. This paper, based on qualitative interviews with managers at 21 GFB programs across Canada, explores the diversity of GFB programs in Canada, and how these programs balance multiple priorities along with day-to-day logistical constraints. GFB programs functioning across Canada have diverse goals, tensions sometimes arise when balancing multiple goals, and programs have found various ways to resolve these tensions. Moreover, GFB programs are educating and empowering people in their communities, as well as networking and learning among themselves. This is one of the first studies describing the breadth of GFB programs across Canada, and some of the findings have not been identified in previous scholarship. I describe the variety of program structures, the main priorities and goals that the programs identify, and some of the tensions and innovations that arise when working to balance the multiple goals and dimensions of CFS. I also discuss how programs communicate and learn from each other, and how the GFB in Canada can help us understand the CFS movement more generally.

Our growing transportation infrastructure in the United States has many direct and indirect impacts to wildlife populations. Humans are also impacted by the interaction of roads and wildlife in terms of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs); which annually result in: hundreds of human fatalities, tens of thousands of human injuries, and billions of dollars in property damage. In response to concerns for wildlife and human safety, road mitigation measures are becoming an increasingly important tool for transportation agencies to minimize the risks of WVCs. The construction of multiple wildlife crossing structures in combination with wildlife fencing have been shown to reduce WVCs by over 80% where extensive continuous wildlife fencing (covering many miles) has been implemented, and by 50-60% in areas where more limited fencing (covering 1-3 miles) has been implemented. In areas where land use is dominated by humans (agriculture, housing, access roads, etc.) such mitigation measures are not always possible or desirable. This results in a push towards more isolated crossing structures with little to no wildlife fencing to provide frequent road access and preserve landscape aesthetics. The effectiveness of isolated crossing structures with short sections of fencing (only a few hundred meters or less) is not well documented in terms of potential WVC reduction or wildlife use of the structures. In this study I investigate: the use of isolated crossing structures and fence ends by target species, the effect of fence length on at-grade crossings, and the ability of short sections of fencing to keep wildlife off the road. Overall, 82% of wildlife used the crossing structures for crossing as opposed to going around fence ends. Over the length of fence lengths sampled (3m-256m) there was no relationship between fence length and the number of crossings at fence ends. Deer were often foraging at fence ends, with nearly half of all foraging events occurring in the right of way (closer to the road than the fence is/would be). Overall, deer generally choose to use the crossing structures to get to the other side of the road, but they will still often be present in the right of way where they are not excluded with fencing. This indicates that while isolated crossing structures with short fencing may provide wildlife safe access to habitat on either side of the road, they may not provide the desired reduction in WVCs.

The status of native fisheries restoration across the National Park Service (NPS) is a generally undocumented topic, in part due to the recentness of these efforts. This paper explores what the NPS is doing to restore native trout, measure the efficacy of such restoration efforts, identifies factors influencing success, and make recommendations to help the agency improve fishery restoration. Efforts to restore native salmonid species including bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii behnkei), westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), and Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) in Glacier National Park (GLAC), Grand Teton National Park (GRTE), and Yellowstone National Park (YELL) were analyzed. While measurable outcomes were hard to identify and success seemingly limited, this analysis highlights that YELL has carried out a disproportionately higher volume of restoration projects and has created more measurable benefits for native trout than the other parks. YELLs Native Fish Conservation Plan, an overarching policy that guides fishery management and sets goals for restoration, seems to be the driving force behind this success. Factors such as long-term funding, staffing, jurisdiction, and partnerships also appear to have a large influence over both the quantity and quality of restoration efforts in these parks. The NPS should mandate fishery restoration in agency-wide policy, conduct large-scale fishery surveys and research, make restoration efforts more integrated and holistic, secure long-term sources of funding, and carry out its mandate without hesitation in order to ensure a healthy future for native trout in the parks.

The Public Trust Doctrine placed wildlife in trust, via state control and regulation, for the benefit of the people. Managing agencies that lose sight of the importance of public acceptance of predator policies and management actions may find themselves legislatively or judicially subverted. This study examines how the Montana public wolf hunting and trapping seasons have affected tolerance and acceptance of gray wolves (Canis lupus) among rural resident ranchers, hunters, and trappers. Twenty residents from the Blackfoot, Bitterroot, and Ninemile Valleys were qualitatively interviewed over the summer and fall of 2013. Potential participants were initially identified using purposive sampling, with subsequent interviewees located through snowball sampling. The presence or absence of the public wolf hunting and trapping seasons is not the sole determining factor of tolerance or intolerance of wolves in this sample population. The pattern of determinant factors instead more closely represents a web of influence than a direct line of cause and effect. Eight main nodes, or themes, were identified in interview transcription data identified based on frequency of occurrence in interview data and how essential they seemed in shaping attitudes of interviewees: 1) the consequences of political maneuvering (frustration, perceived inequity, and mistrust); 2) the need for management and control of the wolf population; 3) wolf-related impacts to interviewees livelihood and way of life; 4) personal beliefs, affects, and attitudes; 5) previous interactions with predators; 6) cultural influences; 7) the place and impact of wolves in the ecosystem; and 8) noted changes in opinion. Most themes were further divided into subthemes, and the connections between all themes and subthemes were examined from there. While the impacts of the seasons have not yet been great or entirely consistent across the sample population, statements made by interviewees suggest that removal of public wolf hunting and trapping liberties would greatly reduce tolerance and acceptance in these interest groups and increase an overall polarization of public opinions. Interview data reveal complex relationships between stakeholders, interest groups, and impacts from wolf re-establishment, as well as complex attitudes towards wolves that often incorporate some level of awe and admiration. Individuals trust in managing agencies may be critical in moving forward. Data also shows that there will likely be more changes to come in this sample populations acceptance and tolerance of wolves. Wolf tolerance and acceptance levels should be further monitored in Montana rural resident ranchers, trappers, and big game hunters, the stakeholder groups that are the most directly impacted by and most necessary for continued wolf management and recovery.

Womens presence in agriculture as farmers, consumers, advocates, and activists has become ever more apparent over the last two decades as census data, popular media, and academic literature increasingly reflect their work. Many of the farmers in western Montana practicing sustainable agriculture are women and have built relationships with other women farmers in the region through existing agriculture-focused organizations like Homegrown and the Western Montana Growers Cooperative. Even with the strong presence of these organizations, some women farmers feel there is potential for the formalization of a women farmer network in western Montana that would increase the opportunities for socialization among farmers and provide space to discuss gender-specific experiences of farming. This project describes interviewees experiences as women in agriculture, existing communication among women farmers, and explores the potential for a women farmer network in western Montana.

It is generally recognized that in order to make informed federal land management decisions, such decisions need to be based on information gathered from monitoring of those lands. While some monitoring is being conducted by federal land management agencies, it is happening too infrequently and is often inadequate for properly informing land management decisions. In an attempt to fill this gap non-agency groups have begun monitoring federal public lands themselves. It appears that through recent congressional authorizations, policy reforms, and agency initiatives monitoring by non-agency groups is being supported at every government level. While theoretically this transfer of responsibility from the federal agencies to non-agency groups looks good on paper in reality there are considerable barriers. This has many groups gathering data that ends up never being used in the decision making process. Despite this barrier, however, non-agency groups continue to monitor while the topic itself garners increased attention. As it stands, our understanding of how non-agency monitoring can affect land management decision making is seen as fairly black and white; data from monitoring is either used by the agency to make decisions or it is not. This study suggests that such a view of monitoring by non-agency groups is too narrow. The values associated with monitoring on federal public lands can be seen as having an internal or external benefit. Internal benefits, such as engaging youth or leveraging funding, are those that primarily only affect the monitoring group. External benefits, such as filling in gaps of agency monitoring or informing adaptive management within the agency, are those that may lead to either directly or indirectly influencing land management decision making. Ultimately, directly influencing federal land management decision making is difficult and may be out of reach for many non-agency groups. However those benefits that affect the group itself may be easier to achieve and could act as a starting point for groups wanting to start monitoring. Over time external benefits can be realized such as building relationships with agency staff, building public support, or informing NEPA reports that can lead to indirectly influencing federal land management decision making. Furthermore, there are differences between how single-interest groups and multi-interest groups value monitoring. Combined, these insights can assist groups in focusing their monitoring goals in order to increase the longevity and success of monitoring activity.