The American marten (Martes americana) is an endangered species in Vermont and a Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the northeastern United States. Though historically widespread in northeastern forests, their range presumably contracted to northern Maine and the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks by the early 1900s. Regionally, populations appear to be in recovery. Natural recolonization is believed to have occurred in New Hampshire, northeastern Vermont and the western Adirondacks. A reintroduction effort in southern Vermont that was originally declared unsuccessful is now believed to be the source of a recently detected population in the area. However, our current knowledge of distribution, population history and population connectivity relies primarily on occurrence data from harvest records, which are limited in scope and resolution. In Vermont, where population size is estimated to be extremely low, more robust estimates of population status may be critical to continued recovery. I genotyped individuals from Maine, New York, New Hampshire, northeastern Vermont and southern Vermont at ten microsatellite loci and amplified a 320 base pair segment of the control region of mtDNA to estimate the source(s) of the two Vermont populations using statistical tests of genetic differentiation. I also used Bayesian and stochastic genetic clustering methods to estimate population genetic structure in the northeastern United States. Genetic structure exists at multiple scales in the region as a result of natural barriers to gene flow, human-mediated gene flow, and lineage sorting in relic populations. My results suggest that New Hampshire is a major source of colonization of northeastern Vermont and the population in southern Vermont is either a remnant of the reintroduction or a pre-reintroduction relic that has experienced introgression from the reintroduction stock. I identified three regions where relic populations perceived to be extirpated in the 1900s may have persisted. I also developed an occupancy model for American marten in the northeastern United States using mixed-effects logistic regression based on expert opinion data. Eighteen experts from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York with backgrounds in trapping, wildlife management, and wildlife science participated in the survey. Experts were asked to estimate the probability of marten occupancy at 30 sites in the northeastern United States. Three top models described the data. Habitat covariates in those models were 1) percent canopy cover, 2) percent spruce-fir forest cover, 3) winter temperature, 4) elevation, and 5) road density. An AIC-weighted average of these three models had significant predictive ability (area under an ROC curve = 0.88) with respect to occurrence records in the northeastern United States. In addition, the model predicted that high quality habitat existed patchily along the central and northern Green Mountain spine in Vermont – where no occurrence records exist for at least a century. Top-scoring movement corridors between southern Vermont and nearby populations in northeastern Vermont/New Hampshire and New York occurred in the northern and central Green Mountains and across high resistance movement barriers in the Champlain valley. Corridors to New York were considered strong movement barriers and are unlikely to facilitate gene flow.

Globally, habitat fragmentation has had a major impact on the conservation and management of many species and is one of the primary causes of species extinction. Habitat fragmentation is loosely defined as a process in which a continuous habitat is reduced to smaller, disconnected patches as the result of habitat loss, restriction of migration or the construction of barriers to movement. Aquatic systems are particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation, and today an estimated 48% of rivers are fragmented worldwide. My dissertation evaluates how habitat fragmentation has influenced the populations of four different species of fish in the Lake Champlain basin. In chapter 1 I summarize the current state of habitat fragmentation research, I broadly describe habitat fragmentation, review how habitat fragmentation pertains to population genetics, and describe the legacy of habitat fragmentation in the Lake Champlain basin. In chapters 2, 3 and 4 I evaluate and discuss the impact of nine lake causeways on the population structure of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). The genetic effects of causeways are limited. However, causeways appear to have had a significant influence on rainbow smelt demographics, and the genetic structure observed in lake whitefish may be a product of reduced effective population size resulted from commercial harvest in the late 1800s. In chapter 5 I evaluate how the basin-wide population of tessellated darters (Etheostoma olmstedi) is naturally structured throughout Lake Champlain and three different major tributaries and evaluates the effect that different types of habitat fragmentation (dams, causeways, and natural fall lines) have on tessellated darter populations. Tessellated darters appear to be highly structured by river drainage but not by dams, causeways or fall lines. My dissertation highlights how comparative population genetic studies can be used to identify patterns of isolation within large populations. My results stress the value of reporting both the presence and absence of barrier induced population sub-structuring.

As human land uses continue to expand rapidly across the landscape, the management practices of private landowners are an essential part of effective conservation of biodiversity. Conservation of early successional habitats (ESH) and the species that depend on them is a priority in the eastern United States, and efforts to create more ESH on private lands has primarily focused on forest landowners and the harvesting of timber. Private lands with significant pasture cover in a forested landscape present an additional opportunity to create and maintain ESH, yet our understanding of landowner values and attitudes about management strategies in pastures (i.e., modifying mowing or grazing practices, use of herbicides to control invasive species) is lacking. This study implemented a survey of private landowners in five western Virginia counties who own at least 25 acres that are at or above 2000 ft elevation. This region was selected due to its high priority for declining bird species and its mix of heavily forested ridges and extensive pastureland in its valleys. Our primary objective was to understand what influences private landowner intentions to carry out seven different ESH management strategies (i.e. modified mowing, modified grazing, timber harvests within forest, timber harvests at filed-forest border, prescribed fire, use of machinery, and use of herbicides to control invasive species) for the benefit of wildlife in the next five years. General linear models (GLM) were developed to determine whether landowner values, barriers to management, perceived norms, past experience, organizational membership, and demographics predicted the intention to carry out each management strategy in the next five years. Models explained 22-49% of the variation in landowner intention and predictors of intention differed across the seven management strategies. What landowners’ value about their property significantly predicted behavioral intention but was not consistent across the different management strategies. For example, those most likely to modify mowing and grazing tend to value ecological aspects of their land (i.e., pollinator habitat and water quality) whereas those most likely to harvest timber value hunting and revenue from production on their land. Landowner’s past experience with land management was a strong predictor of likelihood to modify mowing and grazing and to harvest timber. Lastly, members of non-hunting conservation organizations are nearly 7 times more likely to modify grazing practices than non-members, and members of hunting conservation organizations were 2.6 times more likely to use prescribed fire for the benefit of wildlife. These results suggest that expanding outreach efforts to include additional management options for creating ESH (i.e., modification of mowing and grazing practices) and the inclusion of images and verbiage about the benefits to pollinator species, non-game species, and water quality would likely recruit landowners who may not have been recruited with current methods.

Watersheds are often managed without direct knowledge of how salmonid species use spatially-distinct spawning habitats within their watersheds, and rarely take into account the relationship between fish movement and potential population structure when making management decisions. The population of native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki utah) within the Logan River is the largest documented population remaining for this imperiled species, and still maintains extremely high densities of native fish in the upper river. Currently, fishing is not allowed in the upper 20 kilometers of the Logan River watershed during spawning, based on the assumption that cutthroat trout migrate to and spawn primarily in this section. I redetected cutthroat trout tagged (2,271) during years 2008-2012 in seven mainstem and tributary reaches of the Logan River during spawning months (April-June) of 2013 using a combination of stationary detection systems and mobile scanning techniques. Cutthroat trout in both mainstem and tributary reaches exhibit a leptokurtic movement distribution, indicating most fish spawn near to their original tagging site; however, small percentages of trout moved long distances to seek out spawning sites throughout the watershed. Growth, length, and condition estimates between mobile and non-mobile tagged fish demonstrate that while mobile fish tend to growth faster, be slightly larger, and in some cases be in relatively poorer condition, these differences are often biologically insignificant and dependent on site location within the watershed. A genetic microsatellite DNA analysis conducted on trout sampled from each study site confirms the assumption of panmixia, and I observed very little evidence of sub-population structure. Using River Styles® to assess geomorphically distinct reaches, I created a large-scale population estimate of spawning individuals, which found approximately 61% of spawning cutthroat trout are not subject to angling during the spawning season, while 39% could be susceptible to harvest in the lower basin and its tributaries. Most trout within the Logan River likely spawned very close to initial tagging locations and microsatellite analyses confirmed the population is genetically well-mixed, indicating conservation efforts should promote risk-averse management throughout the watershed, rather than focus heavily on any one section of the river.

Visitors to parks and protected areas within the United States and worldwide often visit these areas with a particular destination in mind, such as seeing Old Faithful erupt in Yellowstone National Park or standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park. These visitor use destinations, and the pathways leading to them, such as trails and roadways, see high levels of use, and as a result, impacts to soil, vegetation, air, water, soundscapes, and night skies that result from this use. The field of recreation ecology studies these impacts to park and protected area resources resulting from recreation use. Research conducted by recreation ecologists helps park and protected area managers prevent and minimize these impacts and preserve park resources for future generations. However, not all recreation use and impacts occur along designated pathways and at visitor destinations. The impacts that result outside of these designated areas often cause more damage to park resources such as vegetation and soil. The studies presented in this dissertation examine what factors are influencing visitor behavior outside of these destinations and pathways, such as when visitors travel off of designated trails. The results provide managers with a set of factors that may influence visitor behavior outside of visitors’ intended destinations. These factors will enable managers to better understand existing visitor spatial behavior patterns and associated resource impacts, and also predict where resource impacts may be likely to occur due to visitor recreation use, enabling prevention of future impacts from occurring.

The debate on global warming is over (Stix, 2006 p24). The global community must now find ways to reduce greenhouse emissions, particularly from energy generation. Wind energy provides one of the potential solutions to generate renewable energy without creating harmful greenhouse gases. Wind energy is the fastest growing energy generation industry globally (‘Operating wind power capacity' 2006a). This rapid growth is being driven by increasing global energy demand, commitment from governments globally to international agreements including the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC 1997) to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as individual country commitments to mandatory renewable energy targets. Australia, whilst being a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has so far failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. In Australia, wind energy development to date has been driven primarily by the development of the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. This requires a commitment to 2% of total electricity generation (9,500GW) to be derived from renewable energy sources by the year 2010 (Warwryk, undated). It is now understood, that the current federal obligation to renewable energy is now oversubscribed, and consequently the likelihood of further wind energy projects being developed is highly limited (Brazzale 2005). External to the government commitment to renewable energy, the development of wind energy projects requires a range of inputs including, but not limited to; an understanding of the wind resource, security of land, access to suitable electricity transmission grid, a market for the electricity, access to suitable technology and a level of community support. Whilst the literature related to project management and risk management is extensive, the literature related to the risks associated with wind energy development in Australia is limited. This research then seeks to fill a void that asks the question; How can project managers minimise the risk associated with wind energy developments in Australia? To investigate this research problem, comparative case study analysis was adopted as a methodology utilising a structured interview process of project managers responsible for the development of 8 Australian wind energy projects. This research shows that the greatest risk to Australian projects is the lack of security associated with the current federal legislation and the consequent loss of market value of the power from wind energy projects. A number of additional primary and secondary risks are identified by the interview participants, and the research is able to draw out three common themes of risk management strategies. These three themes were categorised as conservatism, due diligence and proactivism. This study contributes to the research associated with project management, risk management and wind energy development. This insight into the Australian wind energy industry provides policy makers, educators and stakeholders with information to assist in improving the political, economic and social environment for further wind energy development, in order to mitigate against further greenhouse gas emission and combat global warming.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2006. / Abstract. "April 2006." Includes bibliographical references. Also available online in PDF format.

Regenerating oak (Quercus spp.) is a problem on most intermediate to high-quality sites throughout the eastern US. Oak is often present in the overstory and abundant in the understory, but is absent from the midstory due to increased competition from less-valuable mesic species such as Liriodendron tulipifera and Acer rubrum. Red maple has expanded its range dramatically since fire suppression began in the 1930s, and is an important competitor of oak. To study relationships between oak and silvicultural treatments, an experiment was initiated in 1990 that included three northern red oak (Quercus rubra)-dominated stands and three red pine (Pinus resinosa) plantations in northern Lower Michigan. Areas of each stand were thinned to four levels of canopy cover in 1991: clearcut, 25% residual canopy, 75% residual canopy, and uncut control, with caged and uncaged northern red oak seedlings planted within each treatment. A thick midstory of red maple developed over the subsequent ten years, hindering development of advance oak regeneration. Low-intensity, early-spring prescribed fires were conducted on all stands in 2002 and 2008 in an effort to control red maple. Heights of planted red oak and naturally occurring red maple and oak regeneration in three size classes were measured before and after each fire with the objectives to: 1) Test the hypothesis that oak sprouts would have greater height growth after the 2008 prescribed burn than after the 2002 prescribed burn; 2) Test the hypotheses that (a) red maple stems would be reduced to a greater degree following the 2008 burn than following the 2002 burn, and that (b) the number of natural oak stems would be increased to a greater degree following the 2008 burn than following the 2002 burn; and 3) Evaluate the relationships between post-burn planted oak sprout height and pre-burn planted oak sprout height, fire temperature, and canopy cover. Following the second fire, planted oak sprouts increased in height rapidly in pine stands, where there was little red maple competition, but grew less rapidly in oak stands. Red maple densities decreased more following the first fire than the second fire. The hypothesis that natural oak regeneration stem densities would increase to a greater degree following the 2008 burn than following the 2007 burn was not supported. Pre-burn planted oak height was the best predictor of post-burn planted oak height.

The characterization of neustonic plastic found in the Los Angeles River was completed in this study. 3 water samples were collected from the river on April 30, 2011 in Long Beach, CA using a 0.5 mm manta trawl. The plastic was separated from organic material, divided into 3 class sizes (0.5 mm, 1.4 mm, and 2.44 mm), and identified and sized under a microscope. Plastic was found in all three samples and categorized into seven categories. Paper, plastic, and styrofoam were present in all three samples. Styrofoam contributed the greatest percentage of the plastic found among the samples. Plastic film had the largest mean size.

In this thesis I examine the limits of community involvement in accomplishing the conservation goals of biodiversity and ecosystem function in resource management by analyzing the multiple interest groups that compose community. Two case studies are presented to accomplish this goal. The first case study is the West Hawaii Fisheries Management Area, where a group of community stakeholders provide management recommendations that are then implemented by the state. The second case study is the Ka’u forest reserve, where community involvement is invited into the management decision-making process but is also limited in its ultimate political power by the state. Through an examination of these cases I find that the ability of community involvement to accomplish conservation goals is limited when powerful interest groups within the community oppose these goals.