The measurement of animal populations is a most important phase of wildlife management. The initiation of systematic management of any unit of specific game habitat usually involves the measurement of the stock on hand as a primary step. In practice game inventory performs a twofold function; namely, as a medium determining the efficacy of past managment practices as a basis for future manipulations and as an aid in the establishment of game protective or removal policies. A census, in the sense applied in this study, is best defined as the enumeration of a population on a given area at a given time. Varied methods and proceducres have been developed and applied in this and other countries as aids in the determination of actual and relative pheasant numbers. No one method yet devised may be considered of adequate flexibility to confrom to all variances in habitat inherent in the range of bionomical relationships tolerated by the ringnecked pheasant. Geographical location, meterological factors, agricultural practices, and topographical features are gross causations requiring institutive investigations of a basic character as a requisite to accurate determination of population numbers on any specific area. Investigators are cognizant of the necessity for adapting techniques to the variations in pheasant habitat appropriate for different locales: the roadside count as applied in Ohio was not considered to be the best method in Oregon and the quadrat census as applied in Oregon was not considered to be the best in Ohio. In addition to the limitations imposed by the major causation factors are other less general considerations; i.e., the specificity of data required and the economical expenditure of time and personnel. With but two exceptions-California valley quail, (Lephortyx californica), and Gambel's quail, (Lephortyx gambeli),-the ringnecked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus tercustus Onelin) is the sole upland game bird present in Utah in sufficient numbers to be legally hunted. The sporting qualities attributed to the pheasant and its adaptability to agrarian habitat have resulted in the expenditure of thousands of dollars by state authorities and private individuals to produce breeding and hunting stock. Management, however, has not kept pace with production. Laxity is notably evident in the development and application of sound inventory methods based on a program of fundamental, objective research. The determination of the effect of climatological factors on observed bird populations has too often been based upon casual and infrequent observations without support of quantitative evidence. A similar condition exists in other ecological relatinoships: i.e., interaction between agricultural practices, climatic conditions, and nesting period and the effect of minor climatic aberrations upon observed pheasant numbers tabulated during census counts. The wildlife technician recognizes the presence of such biotic influences but often because of duties of a broader nature the intesive investigation that is required in a basic research study is denied him. In order to formulate improved census techniques for the pheasants in Utah, the Utah Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit has felt the need for intesive study whereby graphical and statistical analysis of the concomitant variables inherent in present inventory techniques would provide basic information and a foundation for improvement of existing pheasant census methods.

The major purpose of this study is to present selected empirical results of a study employing decision-making theory as a framework for considering decision making under risk. The part icular problem involves choices between alternative crop rotations for Sevier County farmers. The study demonstrates the usefulness of the Bayesian theory that gives more than a point estimation. A multiple regression mod e l using two linear terms was employed to determine the influence of s now pack and reservoir storage on water availability for irrigation purposes during July, August , and September. The Bayesian approach was employed. The optima l action or decision was first determined where only the knowledge of the~ priori probabiities of the states of nature was available. Optimal strategies were then determined where run-off observation was available and the~ poster iori probabilities of the states of nature were determined. Study results indicate that the expected va lue of the additional information is substantial and come out very close to the expected value of a perfect predictor and higher than the expected value of t he "no data" problems . It means that the Bayesian approach gives more than a point estimation a nd is us eful for farm management decision making under risk.

Historical topographic maps are valuable resources for studying past landscapes, but they are unsuitable for geospatial analysis. Cartographic map elements must be extracted and digitized for use in GIS. This can be accomplished by sophisticated image processing and pattern recognition techniques, and more recently, artificial intelligence. While these methods are generally effective, they require high levels of technical expertise. This study presents a straightforward method to digitally extract historical topographic map elements from within popular GIS software, using new and rapidly evolving toolsets. A convolutional neural network deep learning model was used to extract elevation contour lines from a 1940 United States Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle in Sevier County, TN, ultimately producing a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The topographically derived DEM (TOPO-DEM) is compared to a modern LiDAR-derived DEM to analyze its quality and utility. GIS-capable historians, archaeologists, geographers, and others can use this method in research and land management.

During the 1890s, a series of extra-legal and illegal activities known as "whitecapping" occurred in Sevier County, Tennessee. While the early episodes were based on traditional responses to deviant behavior in rural communities, whitecapping reflected the loss of community within the county. This study examines the relationship of whitecapping and community in Sevier County and how it changed during the 1890s. The several, often contradictory, social conditions which affected the life of every Sevier Countian are also examined to show the decline of community consensus during this period. Finally, the events galavanizing public opinion against the whitecaps are analyzed to understand their enduring effect on community in Sevier County.

During the 1890s, a series of extra-legal and illegal activities known as "whitecapping" occurred in Sevier County, Tennessee. While the early episodes were based on traditional responses to deviant behavior in rural communities, whitecapping reflected the loss of community within the county. This study examines the relationship of whitecapping and community in Sevier County and how it changed during the 1890s. The several, often contradictory, social conditions which affected the life of every Sevier Countian are also examined to show the decline of community consensus during this period. Finally, the events galavanizing public opinion against the whitecaps are analyzed to understand their enduring effect on community in Sevier County.