The purpose of this study was to evaluate a period in the history of the region surrounding Mount Shasta, a sentinel on the surface of the earth and in the minds of ancient as well as modern man. The study presents the area's geologic history, its pre-history and discovery by the white man in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the later exploration and early settlement of the region. The emergence of the U.S. Forest Service and the creation of Shasta Forest as well as the evolution of Federal regulatory policy and control is presented along with a discussion of the area's transition and recent wilderness legislation. It is the writer's hope that this information might be utilized by others who are concerned with the preservation of the Shasta Peak Wilderness Area.

Ecology may be oonsidered as one of the vital parts of botany, since there are two ultimate facts in this science; namely, the plant and its habitat . The habitat is made up of the physical factors that control function. At Timpanogos there are so many different habitats, that the chief problem is not that of finding a problem to study, but rather that of selecting one from the many. The purpose of this paper is to point out some of the interesting features that are found in a study of Timpanogos Creek from Aspen Grove to Wildwood.

No description available.

"September 2002" Bibliography: leaves 77-85. Examines the persistence of the yellow-footed antechinus using live trapping in small, remnant patches and strips of forest, to document autecological sata and the investgate occurrence, breeding activity and inter-patch movements. Radio-tracking was conducted to compare home range properties of lactating females in restricted and unrestricted habitat.

Soil erosion is a persistent problem that requires continued control efforts as agricultural land loses productivity and communities dependent on the land become increasingly vulnerable to decreased food security. The negative effects of soil erosion in Khamopele River catchment, in the Mount Fletcher southern Drakensberg region of South Africa, are manifest in extensive gullying and wetland loss. Soil erosion has resulted in siltation in a recently constructed dam and the alteration of aquatic habitats. This research was undertaken to identify the sources of eroded sediment in the small upper catchments of the Mzimvubu River catchment to inform broader catchment management strategies. The scale of erosion was quantified using field surveys of gully extent and form. Environmental magnetic tracing techniques were used to determine the sources of eroded sediment in Khamopele River and upper Tina River catchments. The radionuclide ¹³⁷Cs was used to determine soil loss over a 55 year period in Khamopele River catchment. The Landscape Connectivity framework was used to describe the sediment source, pathway and sink interactions at sample area level. Results indicated that historical and contemporary land management practices such as uncontrolled grazing, grassland burning and furrows promoted soil erosion in the catchment. Soil erosion was most pronounced in the Taung sample area where there was extensive gullying, tunnelling and subsurface erosion. Environmental magnetic tracing results indicated that there were clear differences in source areas. Despite its prevalence in the area, gully erosion was not shown to be a major source of sediment to downstream sinks. Topsoil and hillslope derived sediment were shown to be mobile in the catchment, suggesting that sheet erosion processes were dominant in the catchment. Radionuclide tracing studies showed that at least 20 cm of soil had been eroded from the Khamopele River catchment surface since 1956. This research has shown that it is possible to distinguish source areas of erosion in the catchment by matching catchment mineral magnetic signatures to those in sink areas. This means that rehabilitation projects can use resources efficiently as the areas needing the most attention can be identified.

Soils from two active earthflows, two earthflow deposits, and three non-earthflow landforms are examined to determine if a connection exists between near-surface soil properties and rates of earthflow movement. The study area is located in the Clackamas Ranger District of the Mt. Hood National Forest in the northern Oregon Cascades. Its geology consists of clay-bearing volcaniclastic formations overlain by unaltered flows of andesite and basalt, a combination that contributed to large-scale landsliding during the late Pleistocene. Deposits from these landslides now cover much of the valley floor, and it is from these deposits that earthflows tend to mobilize. The main hypothesis is that near-surface soil properties reflect earthflow movement and may be used to distinguish between active and inactive earthflows. The results support this hypothesis and indicate that soils in each of the three categories show clear differences in terms of their physical properties. The mean field moisture content of active earthflows is 56 percent, while that of earthflow deposits is 46 percent and that of non-earthflow landforms is 36 percent. All samples from active earthflows exhibit plasticity, whereas 90 percent of samples from earthflow deposits and only 25 percent of samples from nonearthflow landforms exhibit plasticity. The mean liquid limit of active earthflows is 78 percent, compared to 60 percent for earthflow deposits and 46 percent for non-earthflow landforms. The mean plasticity index of active earthflows is 41 percent, compared to only 13 percent for earthflow deposits and non-earthflow landforms. These differences are largely attributed to clay content and clay type. The mean clay content of active earthflows is 46 percent, compared to 24 percent for earthflow deposits and only 5 percent for nonearthflow landforms. In contrast, the mean sand content of active earthflows is 20 percent, while earthflow deposits contain 40 percent and non-earthflow landforms 50 percent. This difference in particle sizes is reflected in friction angle. Active earthflows have a mean friction angle of 15 degrees, compared to 24 degrees for earthflow deposits and 31 degrees for non-earthflow landforms. These results indicate that soil properties can be used to draw distinctions between active and inactive earthflows. However, soil properties are much less effective at distinguishing between active earthflows that move at different rates. For example, Junction earthflow, which moves only a few centimeters per year, is composed of soils that indicate it to be less stable than the Collowash earthflow, which moves approximately 2 meters per year. The reason for this discrepancy is that, in addition to soil properties, the rate of earthflow movement depends on the complimentary effects of hydrology, slope angle, toe erosion, and boundary roughness. Many ancient landslide deposits in the Mt. Hood National Forest are poised for action and may mobilize upon the slightest provocation. Since this is not seen as a "desired future condition" there is a need to differentiate between those deposits with a potential for reactivation and those likely to remain dormant. Examining the physical properties of soils appears to be one way to do this, and the information collected is valuable to land managers and earth scientists alike.

Several lakes located in the blast zone of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens were studied to determine if the plankton in the lakes were limited in their growth by nitrogen or phosphorus availability. Long term nutrient enrichment experiments were performed on lake water from five lakes and measures of chlorophyll-a, carbon fixation, and nutrient uptake were used to evaluate the extent of limitation. Nutrient concentrations, ratios, and uptake from 14 lakes provided additional evidence for limitation by nitrogen and/or phosphorus. The physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the lakes were also examined to monitor the return of these lakes to pre-eruption conditions. Lakes heavily impacted by the 1980 eruption (Ryan, Fawn, and Hanaford Lakes) and newly formed Castle Lake produced positive responses to nitrogen additions, reflecting the continuing importance of nitrogen in these lakes. Evidence for colimitation by phosphorous was apparent in some of the lakes. Venus Lake, located near the fringe of the blast zone received less organic debris and responded only with phosphorus additions. Evaluations of nutrient depletion from the photic zones of these lakes during the growing season supported the results from the bioassays. Two measures of growth (chlorophyll-a and carbon fixation) often responded differently to enrichment, suggesting active algal and bacterial communities in some of the lakes. Qualitative measures of alkaline phosphatase activity normalized to chlorophyll-a indicated that those lakes which contained the highest dissolved organic carbon and bacterial counts following the eruption had higher alkaline phosphatase activities than less impacted lakes, suggesting bacterial enzyme production. Alkaline phosphatase activity confirmed that phosphorus limitation was more severe in lakes having less soluble reactive phosphorus. Most of the lakes appear to be similar to other Cascade Mountain lakes, although many have reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations in the bottom waters during stratification. Incomplete mixing of these lakes during periods of circulation may regulate the decomposition of the organic material and hence, full recovery of these lakes.

Dilution and ash weathering are the most important processes controlling the ion chemistry of lakes in the Mount St. Helens blast zone. Gibbs' models indicated total dissolved solids were decreasing as a result of dilution from high precipitation and runoff and the lakes plot in the rock weathering dominated region. Plots of theoretical dilution curves indicated a decline in ion concentrations as a result of dilution. Ion concentrations followed the exponential decline predicted by the dilution curve, although concentrations were higher than predicted by the curve. Increased concentrations were a result of the rapid weathering of ash in basins and on lake bottoms. Rapid weathering of ash in lake watersheds and on lake bottoms continues to influence the ionic concentrations of the lakes. In general, sodium and potassium have declined at a much faster rate than calcium or magnesium. Slower relative declines in concentrations of calcium and magnesium were a result of more rapid rate of leaching of calcium and magnesium from the ash. Ash in the watersheds will continue to be a major contributor to the overall ion chemistry of the lakes until such time as the watersheds are stabilized by vegetation and a permanent soil layer. Ash on lake bottoms will be unavailable as sources of ionic constituents when it becomes buried within deep sediment layers. Ion concentrations observed in study lakes affected by the eruption were similar to those observed in control lakes with few exceptions. Although ion concentrations in affected lakes have declined to values observed in control lakes, most were at higher concentrations than the regional means. Several functions of the ion chemistry were used to correlate planktonic community structure to lake ion chemistry. The data suggested ion chemistry was not influencing biological community structures as no patterns emerged. Analysis of diatom populations with respect to monovalent:divalent cation ratios showed no correlation.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-102)

Ten high mountain ponds in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, were studied from June through September 1992 to investigate the influences of fluctuating pond volumes on zooplankton communities. A temporary pond of short wet phase duration was inhabited by zooplankton taxa with short generation times and a crustacean taxa with the ability to encyst as drought-resistant resting bodies at immature stages of development. Relative to permanent ponds, rotifer densities typically were low in temporary ponds, although Brachionus urceolaris was abundant shortly before the ponds dried. High volume loss was associated with declining populations of crustaceans. Daphnia rosea was not present in the crustacean communities of temporary ponds after fall recharge. Deep-permanent ponds had slower copepod development and two additional large bodied crustacean taxa relative to shallow-permanent ponds. Because of their small sizes and sensitivity to environmental change, ponds such as these may provide an early signal of changes in aquatic systems from global warming. / Graduation date: 1994