Sprawling low density housing and retail developments characterize the growth patterns of many communities nationally. These patterns of development have been associated with impairments in ecosystem services that are critical to the functioning of social and natural systems. In response to the negative implications of these patterns, watershed initiatives are taking place across the U.S. These initiatives are characterized by participatory decision making processes involving diverse community interest groups. Studies have indicated that leadership and social capital contribute to the success of these initiatives. A qualitative assessment of community capacity for sustainable watershed management was conducted in two Lower Kaskaskia River watersheds. The study communities of Belleville and O'Fallon, Illinois are located in the eastern metropolitan region of St. Louis, MO. The primary concerns of community managers and planners are related to managing growth and its negative impacts on economic, social, and natural capitals. Six research questions drove this capacity assessment: (1) How do diverse community managers and residents define community health, (2) What role does the natural environment play in perceptions of community health, (3) What are the perceived effects of urbanization on the study communities, (4) What are community stakeholders' beliefs about the level of environmental protection within their communities, (5) What are stakeholders' perceptions of their communities' ability to solve problems and (6) What are critical indicators of community capacity to engage in sustainable watershed management. Study findings suggest that healthy natural environments are an essential element of healthy communities. Indicators of community capacity for watershed management were identified by participants. This list of indicators can be used as a tool by residents that have identified a need for a watershed initiative in their community. Key findings suggest that developing a sustainable vision, networking between groups, and leadership play important roles in the successful implementation of community based watershed initiatives.

Many grassroots efforts across the U.S. are converging on a balance between ecological systems and cultural backgrounds for watershed management. Watershed planning requires the integration of biophysical, social and economic resources and information. Although research and technology are available with the overall intentions of improving water quality, many stakeholders are hesitant to implement best management practices (BMPs). It is important that human dimensions be incorporated into each phase of the planning process to increase a sense of ownership of the plan and successful implementation of plan conservation practices. Effective management plans are inclusive of resources within the respective watersheds but must also include local stakeholder knowledge and values for successful implementation. The objectives of this study were to identify the motivations for and constraints to adopting conservation practices by agricultural producers in the Rayse Creek watershed and secondly, to address the influence of cost-share programs on the producers' adoption behaviors. The study also examined adoption behaviors when cost-share programs were available. Seventeen Rayse Creek agricultural producers were interviewed between June 14 and September 21, 2005. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit participants. Those interviewed either rented or owned small farms (800 acres or less) or large farms (1000 acres or more) in the watershed. A short survey was administered to gather participant characteristics such as zip code, age, income, and level of education. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and qualitative analysis procedures were used for coding, extracting themes, and developing a conceptual framework for identifying and interpreting meanings (Marshall and Rossman 1999). The findings from this research reflect the perceptions of the agricultural producers from the Rayse Creek watershed in southern Illinois. The primary motivations for adoption were related to the financial, environmental and time-saving benefits perceived to be associated with implementing conservation practices. Participants admitted that they implemented conservation practices because the cost-share programs supplied them with additional money, the program's practices kept soil on their land and also allowed them to finish their work in the fields quicker. The constraints that emerged were associated with perceptions that producers were already doing enough to conserve, that practices were unsuitable for their land and farming systems, and that these practices caused financial burden and were time consuming. Information about the environmental benefits of cost-share programs was available; however, an individual's values and market economics can take precedence when deciding to adopt conservation practices. The implications from this study need to be considered by agency personnel and land managers when developing policies and watershed implementation plans in agriculturally dominated watersheds similar to Rayse Creek. In addition, cost-share programs should emphasize the long-term benefits of conservation practices versus merely touting the short-term financial incentives.

Master of Arts / Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / Kansas watershed projects have been responsible for reducing floodwater damage across the state since the formation of watershed districts, following the Kansas Watershed District Act of 1953. A total of 80 organized watershed districts now take on the responsibilities associated with watershed management and protecting the land uses within them. Today, Kansas watershed districts face challenges in completing nearly half of the 3,000 structures proposed since 1953. Insufficient funding, burdensome policy changes, and a declining interest from local board members and landowners are key challenges boards must overcome in addition to managing rapidly aging infrastructure and dealing with projects that have exceeded their life expectancy. Research methods used for this report include content analysis of general work plans, relevant federal and state policies, and interviews with local stakeholders. In order to understand the economic, political, social and geographic impacts of watershed development, the following issues are addressed: cost-benefit ratios using monetary and non-monetary benefits, differences between federal and state funding in regards to rehabilitation and best management practices, local perceptions of watershed development, and spatial factors that exist among watershed districts. This study found that watershed projects have the potential to provide up to $115 million each year in monetary and flood damage reduction benefits in Kansas protecting over 35,000 miles of transportation routes while providing recreation opportunities and enhancing environmental conservation efforts. Political and social impacts were identified through in-person interviews with 21 local stakeholders that include landowners, board members and state representatives, representing 21 different watershed districts. Perceptions of political and social issues indicate that when government assistance is available, watershed districts are more willing to deal with increased regulations. However, a lack of financial support that has existed in Kansas watershed districts over the last eight years has contributed to a general opposition of increased federal regulations and reluctance to continue building watershed structures. Spatial factors among watershed districts illustrate the spatial and temporal differences in district development, watershed structure construction, and precipitation gradients that influence land use and ecoregions between western and eastern Kansas.

Watershed restoration has in recent years received a great deal of attention from policy makers and other stakeholders in British Columbia. Two hundred twenty seven watershed restoration projects were approved for funding by Forest Renewal British Columbia during the 1995-1996 fiscal year, with an approved budget of $22.2 million dollars. Despite this attention, there is no clear agreement on what watershed restoration is or how it should be evaluated. There is a pressing need for a watershed restoration evaluation process to be developed and implemented at the program level. The purpose of this research is to develop an evaluative framework for watershed restoration initiatives generally, and apply it to the Squamish River Watershed Restoration Project as a means of testing and improving the framework. In the process an evaluation of the Squamish River Watershed Restoration Project is conducted. The methods used to conduct this research included: (1) a comprehensive review of project reports, proposals and other relevant literature, (2) the design and application of a structured evaluative framework and (3) informational interviews with individuals representing legitimate interests in the case study. The evaluative framework appeared to be successful at measuring the performance of the case study, and may have great potential as a program evaluation tool. Application of this evaluative framework to other watershed restoration initiatives may help advance the goals of ecological restoration and sustainable development through investment in natural capital. It is recommended that future initiatives could benefit by: • Utilizing an ecosystem approach to natural resource management, one that emphasizes investment in natural capital, the establishment and maintenance of self sustaining social and ecological systems. • Utilizing a commonly recognized definition of ecological restoration, as promoting: (1) ecologically and socially desirable ecosystem values; (2) identifies functional and structural elements essential to self-sustaining systems; (3) facilitation of ecosystem recovery. • Applying the principles of decision analysis, and the use of the fundamental objectives that have been developed as a part of this work throughout the different phases of the project. • Incorporating the principles and practice of Adaptive Management. • Incorporating a collaborative approach to problem solving and, decision making when appropriate. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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No description available.

Master of Science / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin / Sediment is considered as one of the important pollutant of concern in the U.S. In order to develop watershed management plans that address sediment pollution, it is essential to identify all sources of sediment in a watershed. The overall goal of this research is to quantify the total sediment from a watershed by integrating the outputs of three types of sediment sources: sheet and rill erosion, ephemeral gully erosion, and streambank erosion, that each operates at different spatial and temporal scales. This approach will be demonstrated in Black Vermillion River Watershed using AnnAGNPS (overland flow/erosion model), REGEM (ephemeral gully erosion model) and field measured values of streambank erosion. The study area includes three subwatersheds (Irish Creek, the Black Vermillion River Main Stem, and North Fork of the Black Vermillion), each monitored for continuous stream flow, base flow and event-based suspended sediment subwatershed export, annual streambank erosion, for 2 years. NASS land use, SSURGO soils data, 30-m DEMs, and local weather data were used to generate input data needed by the models. Stream monitoring data were used to calibrate the models. This paper will present results from independently calibrated and validated combinations of AnnAGNPS, REGEM, and filed measured streambank erosion. Our hypothesis is that use of separate models to simulate sediment load contributions for each sediment source will improve model agreement with measured watershed sediment yield data.

This Ph.D. project aims to aquire a better understanding of sedimentological and ecological processes within the immediate vicinity of Large Igneous Province (LIP) activity and of the effects that LIP volcanism may have on the environment. The Miocene Columbia River Flood Basalt Province (CRBP) comprises an up to 4500 m thick succession of basaltic lavas intercalated with fluvio-lacustrine siliciclastic and volcaniclastic sediments. Detailed field-based studies (logging of 47 interbed sites) and the generation of geochemical (XRF, SEM, and microprobe) and palynological data provide an integrative study of characterising and modeling sedimentological and ecological processes within the lava field. The generation of a sedimentary facies scheme allowed a reconstruction of the intra-lava drainage system through time. Drainage system evolution is largely controlled by CRBP volcanism which is capable of forcing fluvial systems to the margin of the lava field during the phases of high volcanic activity, while phases of waning effusion frequencies and volumes allow the fluvial environment to migrate back into the central part of the lava field. The composition of the siliciclastic sediments suggests external source areas mainly located in the Cascade Range west and north of the CRBP. High plant diversity and late successions occurred during the early stage of CRBP evolution, and were affected by the increased deposition of ash derived from Cascade Range volcanoes and the Yellowstone hot spot during the late stage of CRBP evolution. Interbed sites distal to the volcanic source are generally colonized by late-successional plants and suggest a relationship between nutrient flux, sedimentary environment and volcanism. Palaeoclimate reconstructions based on soil chemistry and floral composition suggest that climatic changes within the CRBP reflect the global trend of the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum. The present work allows to model sedimentological and ecological processes within the CRBP and considers the various effects that volcanic activity has on the environment. The complexity and differences in the geology and igenous evolution of individual LIPs need to be considered when applying this model to other LIPs.

This research develops an interactive algorithm for solving a class of multi-objective decision problems. These problems are characterized by a set of objective functions to be satisfied subject to a set of nonlinear constraints with continuous policy variables and stochastic parameters. The existence of a decision situation is postulated in which there are N resources to be allocated so that P satisfactory objective levels may be attained. A probabilistic tradeoff development algorithm, labeled PROTRADE, is developed to provide a framework in which the decision maker can articulate his preferences, generate alternative solutions, develop tradeoffs among these, and eventually arrive at a satisfactory solution provided it exists. As the decision maker arrives at a vector-valued solution, with a value for each objective function, he also generates the probabilities of achieving such values. Then, as his preferences are articulated, he is able to trade-off objective function values against one another, and directly against their probabilities of achievement. A central assumption of this research is that there is not an "optimal" solution to the problem, but only "satisfactory" solutions. The reason for this is that the decision maker is allowed to have a dynamic preference structure that changes as the various tradeoffs are generated and new information is made available to him. The algorithm is developed in the context of parameters normally distributed. Several theorems are presented which extend the applicability of the algorithm to nonnormal random variables, specifically exponential, uniform, and beta random variables. A case study of the Black Mesa region in northern Arizona is provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the algorithm. This region is being strip-mined for coal and the managing agency must decide on the extent of several management practices. The practices or objective functions considered in the study are: (1) livestock production, (2) augmentation of water runoff, (3) farming of selected crops, (4) control of sedimentation rates, and (5) fish pond-harvesting. Finally, conclusions are presented and areas for future investigation are suggested.

This project has explored the implementation of an integrative and collaborative policy _ vision in a real world setting - the emerging relationship between the river basin management planning (RBMP) and development planning regimes in Scotland. This relationship fits comfortably with some of the latest paradigms in the fields of water management and land use planning. Both fields espouse the need for greater integration and collaboration, particularly within and between public sector organisations. Such approaches are often portrayed as key to achieving ambitions for sustainability. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) places particular emphasis on building linkages between water management and land use planning systems. There is growing understanding that such linkages can emerge as a patchwork of overlapping and interrelated institutions. However, there is still limited empirical understanding of such institutional relationships and what they mean in practical terms for those involved. This project's approach is based in interpretive policy analysis, and it has explored how various public bodies have constructed different understandings of this emerging relationship - what it is, how it works, and why it is needed. Methods included analyses of key documents, as well as in-depth interviews, primarily with RBMP and planning staff from local authorities, SEPA and other agencies. The findings show that the locus of the relationship is 'downshifting' towards lower levels of the planning regime - i.e. local development plans, and development management. In keeping with this, some higher level issues - such as the wider tradeoffs between enabling new development and ensuring the protection and improvement of the water environment - are not being discussed in this context. This pattern is shaped by wider socio-political aims, such as the government's central purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. These findings support the need for higher-level interactions in which these wider aims can be discussed and debated.