Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, MPB) is a forest pest endemic to the Rocky Mountain West. Since the late 1990s, millions of hectares of lodgepole pine forest have experienced extensive tree mortality due to MPB disturbance and this may have significant implications for forested mountain water supplies. MPB disturbance may affect the amount of moisture that enters and leaves the forest hydrologic system, through changes in snowpack accumulation, snowmelt timing, transpiration and subsequently soil water content. The cumulative effect of these changes is that soil moisture is expected to be higher in disturbed forests as the hydrologic system responds to increased inputs and the cessation of canopy transpiration that accompanies tree mortality. This research examined how MPB-disturbance affects the forest water balance in three plots in western Montana using direct observation and modeling methods. Peak SWE, snowmelt and post-snowmelt water balance parameters were measured in three study plots: a non-disturbed lodgepole pine plot, a plot consisting of lodgepole pine trees in the advanced stage of MPB disturbance, and a nearby clear cut. No significant differences in peak SWE and snowmelt timing were measured between the MPB-disturbed and non-disturbed due to the higher stand density and basal area. However, post-snowmelt measurements of soil moisture, rainfall, understory evapotranspiration and canopy transpiration indicated higher net precipitation and understory evapotranspiration in the MPB-disturbed plot. Additionally, soil moisture was higher in the MPB-disturbed plot, which was likely explained by the absence of canopy transpiration fluxes. Additionally, beyond the factors quantified in this initial study, it is likely that topography and variability in stand characteristics played an important role for observed differences in soil water content. This study provides first steps towards assessing the implications of MPB for changes in mountain water supplies in forested catchments. Future work should seek to use additional study plots with more similar stand characteristics and local topography.

Estimates of long-term forest site productivity are required to inform multiple forest management objectives including growth and yield assessments, silvicultural planning, and biomass/carbon projections. Estimates traditionally have been quantified in the form of site index by measuring the average height-age relationships of dominant and codominant trees or using regional site index equations. Site index implementation requires that trees are free from suppression and that height growth results from the integration of the biological determinants of growth. While useful in even-aged stands, early age height growth suppression is common in uneven-aged forest structures making existing site indices difficult to assess. Additionally, the individual biological determinants of growth are not identified and do not provide a basis for site index to be mapped across the landscape or predicted under alternative climate scenarios. This research aims to characterize the major physiographic and climatic determinants of growth. We obtained site index estimates for 203 ponderosa pine, 343 Douglas-fir, 232 lodgepole pine and 99 western larch trees throughout the state of Montana using regional equations (Milner 1992). Terrain descriptors (slope, aspect and elevation), climate normals (min/max temperatures, vapor pressure deficit), and climatic water balance (actual evapotranspiration and deficit) were derived for each site index tree at various resolutions (list range of resolutions ). Regression analysis was performed using a hierarchy of terrain, climate and mixed models. Slope, aspect, and elevation were able to explain approximately half the variation in site index for ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine and western larch. Geographically localizing the model increased the variance explained by the terrain models for all species except western larch. A simple climatic water balance interaction model (AET x DEF) was unable to explain much of the variation in site index. However, when climatic water balance was added to the terrain model the variance explained increased for all species. A biophysical model utilizing only water balance and climate variables explained more of the variation in site index than terrain based models for all species. Implications of spatial accuracy of the climatic data products and fine scale variation in tree data are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

<p>Evolution is a central underlying concept to a significant number of discourses in civilized society, but the complexity of understanding basic tenets of this important theory is just now coming to light. Knowledge about evolution is constructed from both formal and "free-choice" opportunities, like television. Nature programs are commonly considered "educational" by definition, but research indicates the narratives often promote creationist ideas about this important process in biology. I explored how nature programs influenced knowledge construction about evolutionary theory using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Because misconceptions about evolution are common, I examined how students` conceptual ecologies changed in response to information presented in an example of a particularly poor nature film narrative. Students` held a diversity of misconceptions, proximate conceptions, and evolutionary conceptions simultaneously, and many of their responses were direct reflections of the nature program. As a result, I incorporated the same nature program into an experiment designed to examine the effects of narrative and imagery on evolution understanding. After completing an extensive pre-assessment that addressed attitudes and beliefs about science knowledge, students viewed one of four versions of the nature program that varied in the quality of science and imagery presented. The effect of watching different versions was only vaguely apparent in students with a moderate understanding of evolution. The relationship was much more complex among students with a poor understanding of evolution but suggested a negative effect that was more influenced by public discourses about this "controversial" subject than conceptual understanding. The relationships warranted examining learning from the perspective of the consumers of these programs. I surveyed audience beliefs about the educational value of nature programs and found that an overwhelming majority believed the programs were "educational" and designed to teach about nature. The results were particularly alarming because beliefs about the educational value may strongly impact learning outcomes. An informal survey of nature programs aired during a "sweeps" month indicated that poor presentation of science, and specifically evolutionary theory, was indeed the norm. Indeed, nature programs may be contributing to the "deconstruction" of knowledge about evolution both in and out of the classroom.</p>

Road decommissioning is increasingly recognized as a critical first step in the restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. In the past two years alone, the United States Congress has appropriated $90 million for road removal and watershed restoration. Despite this relatively large public investment, little is known about the efficacy or ecological effects of road-removal practices. One particularly important issue is the impact of post-road-removal revegetation strategies. This study evaluated 1) short-term effects of road decommissioning on plant community composition, 2) effects of seed-mix seed origin (native vs. nonnative), species diversity, and seeding density on vegetative establishment, and 3) impact of overstory canopy and coarse woody debris on revegetation success on recently decommissioned roads. Total vegetative cover declined by 60% one-year after decommissioning, with nonnative plants showing the greatest declines (ca. 90%). Although managers often justify the use of nonnative seed mixes by the need for rapid establishment of plants on disturbed sites, we did not find significant differences in percent cover of total vegetation between plots seeded with native versus nonnative species, one year after treatment. Furthermore, cover of native species was significantly higher on plots seeded with natives compared to other treatment plots (12.3% vs. 7.8%, respectively). On treatments seeded with nonnative species, 18% of total vegetative cover was due to cover of seeded species; in comparison, seeded species accounted for 43% of total vegetative cover on native treatments. These findings suggest that native seed mixes actually may outperform nonnative ones in terms of vegetative establishment after disturbance associated with road removal.

Wastewater treatment plants rank second to agricultural runoff in the top ten major pollution sources to U.S. surface waters. Such nutrient-rich inputs can degrade aquatic ecosystems by accelerating eutrophication events, especially in summer months when surface water flows are low. Alternative treatment practices, modeled after natural ecosystem processes, could reduce nutrient inputs to surface waters while accumulating biomass and sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide. I designed and implemented an alternative treatment strategy, using effluent to fertilize trees at the Missoula Wastewater Treatment Facility. The objectives of this work were to assess: 1) environmental impacts of effluent application; 2) tree survivorship; and 3) growth effects. A two acre plantation was established in May 2009 by planting 316 dormant, unrooted stem cuttings of two hybrid poplar species, Populus deltoides X Populus trichocarpa and Populus deltoides X Populus nigra, and the native Black Cottonwood, Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa. The effects of effluent fertilization on poplar growth, soil and ground water nutrient contents were monitored throughout the first growing season of this pilot project. Effluent fertilization nearly doubled poplar growth, and as suspected, had no major impacts on soil or ground water nutrient concentrations. Continued research at this site is necessary to observe environmental impacts as effluent loading rates increase. Our initial results suggest that surface application of wastewater effluent offers a valuable strategy for decreasing effluent input rates to the Clark Fork River. Moreover, this project offers smaller communities a "blue print" from which to design similar projects that remediate nutrient-rich effluent in a cost-effective way.

A unique opportunity exists to create instream water rights on national forest lands in Montana as a result of the US Forest Service Reserved Water Rights Compact between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the state of Montana, which went into law in 2007. Instream water rights on national forest lands are important because they have the potential to protect streamflows that support many vital ecosystem functions in our forests from water development pressures. Montana Trout Unlimited has an interest in advancing and accelerating this effort by providing stream recommendations to the USFS for the establishment of future water rights. The primary purposes of this paper are to offer recommendations to Montana Trout Unlimited for streams in Montana that would benefit the most from a US Forest Service instream water right and why, to develop an effective process for doing so, and to identify how Montana Trout Unlimited can help in this larger effort. Through the solicitation of stream recommendations from biologists and fisheries manager across the state and the development of a ranking worksheet to prioritize these recommendations, the final product of this research was a ranked stream list to help guide future efforts to establish USFS instream water rights. The USFS need to act on these recommendations and increase their investment in this effort before new water development pressures adjacent to national forests occur. Establishing water rights will enable the USFS to be a legal stakeholder in the water resources on national forest lands in Montana and ensure the long term health of our forests in the state.

I investigated interactions between the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and its two main ophiostomatoid fungal associates,Grosmannia clavigera and Ophiostoma montium, as well as interactions between the two fungi. The main research questions were: What drives bark beetle fungal interactions? What is the nature of the interaction between the two species of fungi? I tested the hypothesis that the fungi provide nutritional benefits to the bark beetles. Evidence suggests a nutritional role of fungi in the diet of bark beetles because beetles emerging from attacked trees carrying G. clavigera were larger than beetles carrying O. montium, which in turn were larger than beetles without either fungus. Larval choice feeding experiments indicate that the two fungi may actually provide complimentary benefits. To address the second question, I tested for competition between the two fungi on artificial media. Growth of each species slowed when it encountered media occupied by the other species, indicating competition; however, both species eventually invaded media occupied by the other species. Although G. clavigera colonized unoccupied media the fastest, O. montium was more effective in colonizing media occupied by G. clavigera when their relative growth rates were considered. In another study, the relative abundances of the two fungi were sampled in beetle-attacked trees in the field over the one year life cycle of the insect. I found no evidence of interference competition, but exploitation competition was prevalent after a year when the fungi co-occurred in the phloem. Finally, I examined whether the two fungi are differentially transported in the mycangia and on the exoskeleton of the beetle using scanning electron microscopy and isolating fungi from the mycangia and elytra. I found no evidence of differential transport of G. clavigera or O. montium in the mycangia and on the exoskeleton from isolation data. There was also no evidence that one fungus was more likely to be transported on the exoskeleton than the other species using electron microscopy. The fungi appear to exist in the mycangium in an altered, yeast or yeast-like state rather than as conidia.

The Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was applied to the Eightmile Creek watershed in western Montana. The purpose of this research was primarily to assess the applicability of the model as a cumulative effects assessment tool in the post-fire landscape of a forested watershed in this region. The model was first calibrated to the pre-fire watershed conditions using six years of historic streamflow data. DHSVM was able to accurately simulate the general shape of the measured hydrograph for each of the six simulated water years, and the normalized median absolute error statistics were below the target threshold of 50% for each year simulated. This relative success of the calibration efforts is particularly surprising when one considers the significant limitations presented by the lack of any sub-daily or high-elevation meteorological data for use in driving the calibration simulations. Because the accuracy of DHSVM simulations were greatly improved through rigorous calibration, this research demonstrates the need for model calibration to a watershed of interest, prior to hydrologic simulations of different landscape scenarios. Next, two different calibrated versions of DHSVM, including DHSVM version 2.0.1 and the DHSVM fire model, were each used to simulate runoff in the Eightmile Creek watershed following a near catchment-wide stand-replacing forest fire. Due to weather anomalies and limited, discontinuous streamflow data, no decisive conclusions could be made regarding the performance of either version of the model in the validation efforts. Results do suggest, though, that the DHSVM fire model has the potential to outperform the standard model version in fire-affected landscapes. Further research utilizing the DHSVM fire model with more substantial post-fire streamflow records for model validation is warranted.

Public participation can fundamentally improve natural resources planning and decision-making. On an ad hoc basis, it has been shown that public participation improves the durability and sustainability of plans and decisions; it increases the technical, consensus-building, and decision-making capacity of the public; it increases levels of trust; and it improves relationships between agency personnel and members of the public. Despite the proliferation of these new tools and strategies and their successful implementation, innovative and inclusive public participation methods have still not become widely integrated into the natural resources planning and administrative decision-making processes of federal agencies. Utilizing the Bureau of Land Management's Western Oregon Plan Revision process as a case study, this paper considers barriers to the regular inclusion of innovative and inclusive public participation methods in agency's planning and decision-making processes and provides some prescriptions for overcoming those barriers. Through analysis of this case study, I identify eight potential roadblocks to integrating innovative forms of public participation in natural resources planning and decision-making, including: 1) political context, 2) the purpose and need of the planning effort, 3) false expectations for public involvement, 4) geographic scope of the planning area, 5) the plan timeline, 6) federal budgetary pressure, 7) agency culture and individual attitudes towards public participation, and 8) the limitations of leadership

The HIV/AIDS pandemic permeates all aspects of southern African civil society including the ability of organizations to practice conservation. The purpose of this research is to understand how management perceives HIV/AIDS influencing southern African conservation agencies workforce capacity to meet their missions. Research goals include: (1) identifying perceptions of the impacts of HIV/AIDS on workforce capacity; (2) elucidating barriers to addressing these impacts; and (3) exploring mitigation strategies. Data collection involved two stages: (1) semi-structured interviews of managers and scientists (n=23) to better understand impacts and barriers; and (2) a panel of key experts (n=30) within southern African conservation agencies ranked impacts according to their perceived severity, using an iterative, Delphi approach. Impacts identified include loss of experience-based knowledge, difficulty in planning for the future, and increases in human resource costs. Barriers to addressing these impacts include gender issues, lack of awareness, staff housing and stigma associated with the disease. Mitigation strategies must address impacts and barriers within a southern Africa context. This research provides perspectives from current conservation management and human resources to direct and catalyze mitigation strategies.