Wildlife-Associated Recreation Trends in the United States A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the Nation’s renewable natural resources. In this report, we document recent and historical trends in hunting and wildlife watching to fulfill RPA requirements. Using data from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation we present historical trends back to 1955 as well as recent changes from the past 10 to 20 years to evaluate changes in recreation since the 2000 RPA Assessment. We report on several attributes of wildlife recreation, including number of participants, days participating, recreation on public and private land, and economic expenditures. We found that participation in wildlife-associated recreation continues to change, with fewer Americans taking part in hunting and wildlife watching over the past 20 years. Total days devoted to recreation have declined along with number of participants, but the annual expenditures per participant and days of recreation per participant have generally risen or remained stable. We discuss variation in participation among types of hunting and across RPA Regions of the United States. Documenting and understanding these changes in wildlife-associated recreation is essential to ensure the continued successful management of wildlife resources

Wildlife-Associated Recreation Trends in the United States A Technical Document Supporting the Forest Service 2010 RPA Assessment

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) of 1974 requires periodic assessments of the condition and trends of the Nation’s renewable natural resources. In this report, we document recent and historical trends in hunting and wildlife watching to fulfill RPA requirements. Using data from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation we present historical trends back to 1955 as well as recent changes from the past 10 to 20 years to evaluate changes in recreation since the 2000 RPA Assessment. We report on several attributes of wildlife recreation, including number of participants, days participating, recreation on public and private land, and economic expenditures. We found that participation in wildlife-associated recreation continues to change, with fewer Americans taking part in hunting and wildlife watching over the past 20 years. Total days devoted to recreation have declined along with number of participants, but the annual expenditures per participant and days of recreation per participant have generally risen or remained stable. We discuss variation in participation among types of hunting and across RPA Regions of the United States. Documenting and understanding these changes in wildlife-associated recreation is essential to ensure the continued successful management of wildlife resources

Population and Harvest Trends of Big Game and Small Game Species

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends reported here were derived from State Wildlife Agency biologists and supplemented with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for those bird species that are commonly sought by upland game hunters. Big game populations and harvests have generally increased over the 1975-2000 period. Small game populations and harvests, particularly those associated with grassland and agricultural systems, show strong patterns of decline. However, population and harvest trends for both groups need to be interpreted with caution because: (1) not all state agencies reported both population and harvest statistics for all species that are commonly sought by recreational hunters, and (2) there were cases of inconsistent reporting at the species level within RPA reporting regions that necessitated aggregating across species. The trends documented here are consistent with trends documented in past RPA reports completed in 1989 and 1999, although those data were also qualified by the same interpretational caveats that apply to the current report. Trends observed generally among big game species were encouraging, but the continual decline in small game populations and harvest remains an important wildlife resource management issue. Until population and harvest monitoring is improved among institutions that share the stewardship responsibility for recreationally important wildlife, national and regional trends will have to be interpreted carefully

Population and Harvest Trends of Big Game and Small Game Species

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends reported here were derived from State Wildlife Agency biologists and supplemented with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for those bird species that are commonly sought by upland game hunters. Big game populations and harvests have generally increased over the 1975-2000 period. Small game populations and harvests, particularly those associated with grassland and agricultural systems, show strong patterns of decline. However, population and harvest trends for both groups need to be interpreted with caution because: (1) not all state agencies reported both population and harvest statistics for all species that are commonly sought by recreational hunters, and (2) there were cases of inconsistent reporting at the species level within RPA reporting regions that necessitated aggregating across species. The trends documented here are consistent with trends documented in past RPA reports completed in 1989 and 1999, although those data were also qualified by the same interpretational caveats that apply to the current report. Trends observed generally among big game species were encouraging, but the continual decline in small game populations and harvest remains an important wildlife resource management issue. Until population and harvest monitoring is improved among institutions that share the stewardship responsibility for recreationally important wildlife, national and regional trends will have to be interpreted carefully

Correlates of Northern Bobwhite Distribution and Abundance with Land-Use Characteristics in Kansas

County-level agricultural statistics were correlated with Rural Mail Carrier Survey reports and Breeding Bird Survey data for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in Kansas. Results indicate statewide analysis is feasible when temporally congruent data exist for both agricultural land-use characteristics and bobwhite distribution and abundance. Interpretations of these results can be useful in state or regional analysis and in the development of habitat management strategies for bobwhite. The Multiple Response Permutation Procedure identified 16 land-use variables, 3 soil variables, and 1 spatial variable that were significantly different in counties where bobwhite were present from counties where they were absent. Sixteen land-use variables, 5 soil variables, and 3 spatial variables distinguished between counties where bobwhite abundance was classified as high or low. Spearman\u27s rank correlation identified 8 soil variables, 14 land-use variables, and 3 spatial variables that were significantly correlated with bobwhite abundance. Least absolute deviation regression analysis revealed 4 land-use variables that were significantly correlated (Agreement= 0.48, P = 0.0001) with bobwhite abundance

Combined effects of heat waves and droughts on avian communities across the conterminous United States

Increasing surface temperatures and climatic variability associated with global climate change are expected to produce more frequent and intense heat waves and droughts in many parts of the world. Our goal was to elucidate the fundamental, but poorly understood, effects of these extreme weather events on avian communities across the conterminous United States. Specifically, we explored: (1) the effects of timing and duration of heat and drought events, (2) the effects of jointly occurring drought and heat waves relative to these events occurring in isolation, and (3) how effects vary among functional groups related to nest location and migratory habit, and among ecoregions with differing precipitation and temperature regimes. Using data from remote sensing, meteorological stations, and the North American Breeding Bird Survey, we used mixed effects models to quantify responses of overall and functional group abundance to heat waves and droughts (occurring alone or in concert) at two key periods in the annual cycle of birds: breeding and post-fledging. We also compared responses among species with different migratory and nesting characteristics, and among 17 ecoregions of the conterminous United States. We found large changes in avian abundances related to 100-year extreme weather events occurring in both breeding and post-fledging periods, but little support for an interaction among time periods. We also found that jointly-, rather than individually-occurring heat waves and droughts were both more common and more predictive of abundance changes. Declining abundance was the only significant response to post-fledging events, while responses to breeding period events were larger but could be positive or negative. Negative responses were especially frequent in the western U.S., and among ground-nesting birds and Neotropical migrants, with the largest single-season declines (36%) occurring among ground-nesting birds in the desert Southwest. These results indicate the importance of functional traits, timing, and geography in determining avian responses to weather extremes. Because dispersal to other regions appears to be an important avian response, it may be essential to maintain habitat refugia in a more climatically variable future

Effects of drought on avian community structure

Droughts are expected to become more frequent under global climate change. Avifauna depend on precipitation for hydration, cover, and food. While there are indications that avian communities respond negatively to drought, little is known about the response of birds with differing functional and behavioral traits, what time periods and indicators of drought are most relevant, or how response varies geographically at broad spatial scales. Our goals were thus to determine (1) how avian abundance and species richness are related to drought, (2) whether community variations are more related to vegetation vigor or precipitation deviations and at what time periods relationships were strongest, (3) how response varies among avian guilds, and (4) how response varies among ecoregions with different precipitation regimes. Using mixed effect models and 1989–2005 North American Breeding Bird Survey data over the central United States, we examined the response to 10 precipitation- and greenness based metrics by abundance and species richness of the avian community overall, and of four behavioral guilds. Drought was associated with the most negative impacts on avifauna in the semiarid Great Plains, while positive responses were observed in montane areas. Our models predict that in the plains, Neotropical migrants respond the most negatively to extreme drought, decreasing by 13.2% and 6.0% in abundance and richness, while permanent resident abundance and richness increase by 11.5% and 3.6%, respectively in montane areas. In most cases, response of abundance was greater than richness and models based on precipitation metrics spanning 32-week time periods were more supported than those covering shorter time periods and those based on greenness. While drought is but one of myriad environmental variations birds encounter, our results indicate that drought is capable of imposing sizable shifts in abundance, richness, and composition on avian communities, an important implication of a more climatically variable future

Economic evaluation of complete revascularization for patients with multivessel disease undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of complete revascularisation at index admission compared to infarct-related artery (IRA) treatment only, in patients with multi-vessel disease undergoing Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) for ST-segment elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Methods: Economic evaluation of a multi-centre randomised trial comparing complete revascularisation at index admission to IRA-only P-PCI in patients with multi-vessel disease (12 month follow-up). Overall hospital costs (costs for P-PCI procedure(s), hospital stay and any subsequent readmissions) were estimated. Outcomes were major adverse cardiac events (MACE, a composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, heart failure, and ischemia-driven revascularisation) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) derived from the EQ-5D-3L. Multiple imputation was undertaken. The mean incremental cost and effects, with associated 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and the cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) were estimated. Results: Based on 296 patients, the mean incremental overall hospital cost for complete revascularisation was estimated to be –£215.96 (–£1,390.20 to £958.29), compared to IRA-only, with a per-patient mean reduction in MACE events of 0.170 (0.044 to 0.296) and a QALY gain of 0.011 (-0.019 to 0.041). According to the CEAC, the probability of complete revascularisation being cost-effective was estimated to be 72.0% at willingness to pay of £20,000 per QALY. Conclusions: Complete revascularisation at index admission was estimated to be more effective (in terms of MACE and QALYs) and cost-effective (overall costs were estimated to be lower and complete revascularisation thereby dominated IRA-only). There was, however, some uncertainty associated with this decision

Conservation of Forest Birds: Evidence of a Shifting Baseline in Community Structure

Quantifying changes in forest bird diversity is an essential task for developing effective conservation actions. When subtle changes in diversity accumulate over time, annual comparisons may offer an incomplete perspective of changes in diversity. In this case, progressive change, the comparison of changes in diversity from a baseline condition, may offer greater insight because changes in diversity are assessed over longer periods of times. Our objectives were to determine how forest bird diversity has changed over time and whether those changes were associated with forest disturbance.We used North American Breeding Bird Survey data, a time series of Landsat images classified with respect to land cover change, and mixed-effects models to associate changes in forest bird community structure with forest disturbance, latitude, and longitude in the conterminous United States for the years 1985 to 2006. We document a significant divergence from the baseline structure for all birds of similar migratory habit and nest location, and all forest birds as a group from 1985 to 2006. Unexpectedly, decreases in progressive similarity resulted from small changes in richness (<1 species per route for the 22-year study period) and modest losses in abundance (-28.7 - -10.2 individuals per route) that varied by migratory habit and nest location. Forest disturbance increased progressive similarity for Neotropical migrants, permanent residents, ground nesting, and cavity nesting species. We also documented highest progressive similarity in the eastern United States.Contemporary forest bird community structure is changing rapidly over a relatively short period of time (e.g., approximately 22 years). Forest disturbance and forest regeneration are primary factors associated with contemporary forest bird community structure, longitude and latitude are secondary factors, and forest loss is a tertiary factor. Importantly, these findings suggest some regions of the United States may already fall below the habitat amount threshold where fragmentation effects become important predictors of forest bird community structure

Cyclo-oxygenase-2 selective inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: balancing gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Differences between gastrointestinal and cardiovascular effects of traditional NSAID or cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor (coxib) are affected by drug, dose, duration, outcome definition, and patient gastrointestinal and cardiovascular risk factors. We calculated the absolute risk for each effect.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We sought studies with large amounts of information to calculate annualised rates for clearly defined gastrointestinal (complicated upper gastrointestinal perforations, ulcers, or bleeds, but not symptomatic or endoscopic ulcers) and serious cardiovascular outcomes (antiplatelet trial collaborators – APTC – outcome of fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke, or vascular death).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Meta-analyses and large randomised trials specifically analysing serious gastrointestinal bleeding or cardiovascular events occurring with five different coxibs had appropriate data. In total there were 439 complicated upper gastrointestinal events in 49,006 patient years of exposure and 948 serious cardiovascular events in 99,400 patient years of exposure. Complicated gastrointestinal events occurred less frequently with coxibs than NSAIDs; serious cardiovascular events occurred at approximately equal rates. For each coxib, the reduction in complicated upper gastrointestinal events was numerically greater than any increase in APTC events. In the overall comparison, for every 1000 patients treated for a year with coxib rather than NSAID, there would be eight fewer complicated upper gastrointestinal events, but one more fatal or nonfatal heart attack or stroke. Three coxib-NSAID comparisons had sufficient numbers of events for individual comparisons. For every 1000 patients treated for a year with celecoxib rather than an NSAID there would be 12 fewer upper gastrointestinal complications, and two fewer fatal or nonfatal heart attacks or strokes. For rofecoxib there would be six fewer upper gastrointestinal complications, but three more fatal or nonfatal heart attacks or strokes. For lumiracoxib there would be eight fewer upper gastrointestinal complications, but one more fatal or nonfatal heart attack or stroke.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Calculating annualised event rates for gastrointestinal and cardiovascular harm shows that while complicated gastrointestinal events occur more frequently with NSAIDs than coxibs, serious cardiovascular events occur at approximately equal rates. For each coxib, the reduction in complicated upper gastrointestinal events was numerically greater than any increase in APTC events.</p