A presentation of findings from the ethnographic study of commercial fishing in the Isle Royale National Park. The complete report, which can be found in this collection, is titled 'The Isle Royale Folkefiskerisamfunn: Familier Som Levde Av Fiske: An Ethnohistory of the Scandinavian Folk Fishermen of Isle Royale National Park.'

A presentation on the cultural interpretation by American Indian ethnic groups connected with Sunset Crater of volcanic events and products of such. The complete report, which can be found in this collections, is titled 'Traditional Resource Use Of The Flagstaff Area Monuments.'

A presentation on the historic and prehistoric use of resources at Isle Royale National Park. The complete report, which can be found in this collection, is titled 'The Isle Royale Folkefiskerisamfunn: Familier Som Levde Av Fiske: An Ethnohistory of the Scandinavian Folk Fishermen of Isle Royale National Park.'

The Petroglyph National Monument Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Project had two primary goals. One was the identification of those American Indian Tribes, Pueblos, and Spanish heritage groups who wanted to participate in a long -term consultation process with the National Park Service about the management of the new Petroglyph National Monument located outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The second goal was to document the cultural resource concerns of the Native Americans and the Spanish heritage people, so that protection of these cultural resources could be put into the General Management Plan the National Park Service (NPS) is developing for the Petroglyph National Monument.

No description available.

This dissertation examines changing relationships among natural landscapes and state agencies, as these relationships intersect in transboundary protected wildlands and in debates about natural resource protection and U.S.-Mexico border policy. Recent increases in undocumented migration, smuggling, and border enforcement along the Arizona-Sonora border impact ecology and public land management practices. In this dissertation, I analyze how natural and national spaces and boundaries are produced through institutional and individual practices and discourses in border wildlands. Further, I consider how different productions of space restrict or create opportunities for collaborative responses to ecological impacts resulting from migration, smuggling, and border enforcement. This research builds on anthropological scholarship on conservation, borders, and the production of space through an ethnography of conservation institutions as they face dramatic political and ecological changes in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

No description available.

Through examples of ecological or living systems this research project introduced selected systems concepts to a purposely-selected sample of environmental communicators within Banff National Park. Participants’ individual reflections and collective discussions of the systems concepts led them to develop an expanded understanding of what constitutes effective environmental communication. Subsequent changes occurred to the system within which the project took place, including changes to participants, between participants, between participants and their environment, and to the researcher. Research project design reflected the systems concepts being discussed and encouraged participants to freely construct their own experiences. Content analysis enabled examination of qualitative data collected through web-based questions and discussion. Conclusions support that a systems thinking approach can enhance understandings of effective environmental communication, including increasing awareness of looping processes such as feedback, promoting collective action and a sense of community, and developing understandings of connections between ecological systems and social systems.

No description available.

Fire plays an important role in structuring and maintaining savanna grassland ecosystems. Although regular fires are a characteristic feature of savannas, the effects of fire frequency on these systems are less well known, particularly with respect to how frequency of fire influences large herbivore distribution and behaviour. The expectation is that large herbivores should be attracted to frequently burned sites as a consequence of changes in forage quality and quantity, and/or vegetation structure and composition. The former could be driven by alterations in soil nutrients, such as N and P. Alterations in vegetation also could be important in determining risk of predation. For example, an increase in woody vegetation could decrease predator visibility making large herbivores more vulnerable to predation. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of long-term alterations in fire frequency on herbivore distribution and behaviour, as well as the mechanisms (soil nutrients, vegetation structure and composition, and forage quality and quantity) potentially driving the distribution of large herbivores. To address these objectives, I conducted large herbivore surveys on a bi-weekly basis from 2009-2010 in a series of plots in the Experimental Burn Plots (EBPs) burnt at different frequencies (annual, triennial and unburnt) over the last five decades at three study sites in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Surveys also were conducted on new plots that were established adjacent to the long-term plots. These new plots have a fire return interval of 4 years which is similar to the triennially burned plots of the EBPs. They were established in the landscape adjacent to the EBPs to assess whether the responses of herbivores to fire observed in the EBPs reflected was at landscape level. The distribution of all large herbivore species combined and of grazers (e.g. zebra) or browsers (e.g. kudu) only were not affected by fire frequency. In contrast, the abundance of mixed-feeders, such as impala, was significantly higher in the unburnt (control) and annually burned plots than the triennially burned plots. Although season did not have a significant impact on the distribution of browsers and mixed-feeders, overall more grazers were recorded across all burn treatments in the dry season compared to the wet season. Similar patterns of herbivore distribution were observed between the new plots and the triennially burned EBP plots, suggesting that responses observed to the long-term fire frequency treatments reflects herbivore responses at the landscape level. The long-term fire frequency treatments significantly affected soil nutrients (N, organic C, P, and K were significantly lower with annual burning), vegetation structure (abundance of woody plants were greater in unburned plots), and forage quantity (unburned plots had higher biomass) but not quality. More frequent fires improved visibility by reducing tree height and density and herbaceous biomass, thereby potentially reducing predation risk, when compared to less frequent burning. As a result, herbivores selected sites with more frequent fires. The behaviour of the herbivore species investigated was predominantly influenced by seasonal-induced changes to their environment rather than fire frequency. In the wet season irrespective of the burning treatment visibility was low due to high rainfall that increases plant biomass, whereas in the dry season visibility was improved because there is little to no rainfall. This potential alteration in predation risk likely resulted in herbivores being more vigilant in the wet season than the dry season. Overall, results from this study suggest that the combination of fire frequency and season drive herbivore distribution and behaviour by altering mainly the vegetation structure which can influence predation risk. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.