Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Standing Rock Sioux’s effort to enjoin the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting of an oil pipeline was stifled by the United States District Court of the District of Columbia. In denying the preliminary injunction, the court held that the Tribe failed to show that the Corps violated the National Historic Preservation Act, and that the Tribe’s belated effort to litigate was futile after failing to participate in the consultation process

Riparian Restoration, Success Criteria, and Application to the BART Sabrecat Creek Riparian Restoration Project in Fremont, California

Riparian restoration is a complex, inter-disciplinary field that is open to interpretation by its practitioners. This research reviews some of the critical elements of riparian restoration, including the watershed, surrounding land use, adjacent habitat, and riparian buffers; special-status species, endangered species, and habitat type and structure; invasive species control; water quality and hydrology; and soil and soil microbial communities. Three methods of evaluating restoration projects are discussed, including the Society for Ecological Restoration International Primer, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual and CDFW permitting, and the California Rapid Assessment Method. Finally, the BART Sabrecat Creek Riparian Restoration Project is evaluated using the SER Primer

Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Jewell

In Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Jewell, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a wind-energy development on inaccurate scientific analysis. In negating the BLM’s action, the court held that flawed data and indefensible reasoning were discordant with NEPA’s central tenets. Furthermore, the court did not hold the BLM responsible for addressing a distinct environmental issue that was not brought to its attention during the public comment period

Denitrification drives total nitrate uptake in small Puerto Rican streams

An intensive study that was part of the Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment II (LINX II) project was conducted to determine nitrogen transformations in nine low-order streams with contrasting land use. Short term (24-hour) additions of K15NO3 and NaBr were performed on a gradient of anthropogenically impacted streams in Puerto Rico. Nitrate uptake was determined from longitudinal decline in 15NO3 and denitrification rates were determined from the longitudinal pattern of 15N 2 and 15N2O. Several physical, chemical, and biological variables were also measured to determine controlling factors. I performed these experiments to investigate: (1) the mechanisms for NO3 uptake and denitrification in tropical streams, (2) how tropical streams differ from temperate streams in their rates and controls on NO3 uptake and denitrification and (3) the functional responses of these streams as NO3 concentrations increase due to anthropogenic impacts. Background nitrate concentrations ranged from 105 to 997 mug N L -1 and stream nitrate uptake length varied from 315 to 8480 m (median of 1200 m). Uptake length was mainly predicted by specific discharge (L s -1 m-1) and ecosystem respiration rate (multiple regression analysis; r2 = 0.71, p \u3c 0.05). The other nitrate uptake parameters (Vf, cm/s and U, mug N m-2 s -1) were primarily predicted by gross primary production and respiration, indicating strong biological control on nitrate uptake. Denitrification rates ranged from 0.01 to 2.20 mug N m-2 s-1 (median = 0.25) and the strongest predictors were respiration and fine benthic organic matter (r2 = 0.89, p \u3c 0.05). Denitrification accounted for 1 to 97% of nitrate uptake with 5 of 9 streams having 35% or more of nitrate uptake via denitrification showing that denitrification is a substantial sink for nitrate in tropical streams. In comparison to rates in other regions, nitrate uptake was low and denitrification was high. Whole stream nitrate uptake more closely followed Michealis-Menten kinetics than in other regions, indicating that high N streams are approaching nitrate saturation. The efficiency with which these streams assimilate and remove nitrate (through denitrification) generally declines with increasing nitrate concentrations and loading

Great Basin Resource Watch v. Bureau of Land Management

In Great Basin Resource Watch v. Bureau of Land Management, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a mining project on unsupported reasoning, inaccurate information, and deficient analysis. In negating the action, the court held that the BLM failed to take the hard look required by the National Environmental Policy Act

CIDR: A Small Service Firm Within a Research University

Basic Assumptions Underlying CIDR\u27s Instructional Development Program Must Help Faculty Goals of the Center For Instructional Development and Research CIDR as a Small Service Firm Meeting the Needs of Clients Creating the Service Encounter -- CIDR Staff and Instructors Establishing High Visibility Monitoring Client Satisfaction CIDR\u27s Instructional Improvement Model Appendix A Appendix B Appendix

In situ determination of strength and stiffness of structural lumber and composite products

Wood is prone to deterioration that reduces its load bearing capabilities. Periodically, older wooden members need to be inspected to ensure the strength and stability of the structure. Historically these inspection methods have consisted of visual inspections lacking scientific basis.;Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods were investigated by this research for the possibility of evaluating modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity of built-in wooden members. Methods included stress wave timing for dynamic MOE determination and screw withdrawal force (SWF) for MOR and density prediction. Standard ASTM testing procedures were used to determine the actual properties and statistical relationships between these variables identified. Using the developed relationships, simple prediction models were developed to estimate actual properties.;Results of this investigation revealed that stress wave timing is a reliable predictor of the actual MOE of the material. Investigation results also indicated that SWF is a reliable indicator of both density and MOR

Impact of United States Corn-Based Ethanol Production on Land Use

This study measures the impact of corn-based ethanol production in the United States on land use in other countries, or indirect land use. Indirect land use is a change from non-cropland to cropland (e.g. deforestation) that may occur in response to increasing scarcity of cropland. As farmers worldwide respond to higher crop prices in order to maintain the global food supply and demand balance, pristine lands are cleared and converted to new cropland to replace the crops for feed and food that were diverted elsewhere to biofuel production. The results show that increasing ethanol production in the US has a positive and significant relation to U.S corn price. However, U.S. corn price does not have a significant impact on changes in corn acreage in Brazil and other countries such as Canada, Japan and China. Although many authors have hypothesized that increased ethanol production in the U.S. will increase corn prices, which will result in increased change in land use in other countries, these results suggest that the effect is minimal at best. This is important because although production of ethanol for fuel is often criticized for negatively impacting the environment because of indirect land use, this study was unable to prove the existence of indirect land use.ethanol, indirect land use, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Land Economics/Use, Marketing,