Resolving Range Conflict in Nevada? The Potential for Compensation via Monetary Payouts and Grazing Alternatives

In response to environmental pressure, public land agencies in Nevada have reduced animal unit months (AUMs) of grazing on public lands. This has resulted in economic losses to ranchers, increased conflict between ranchers and the public land agencies, and general unrest in the ranch community. One approach to resolving the problems might be to compensate ranchers for lost grazing privileges. In this study, we employ the results of the Nevada Ranch Survey to examine ranchers’ willingness to accept a one-time payment to retire grazing rights, as well as three other means of “compensating” ranchers that enable them to earn a living from the public lands despite reduced access to public forage. The results suggest that ranchers are not keen on being compensated in any form, expressing a desire to continue ranching. However, those most amenable to compensation and a reworking of the social contract are those who have the best relationship with the public land manager and view the public agencies in a positive light.range economics, environmental services from public land, compensation for grazing rights, social capital and trust

Resolving Range Conflict in Nevada? Buyouts and Other Compensation Alternatives

To mitigate adverse effects on ranchers from reduced access to public forage, financial or other forms of ‘compensation’ may be required. In this paper, we use results from a survey of Nevada ranchers to examine ranchers’ willingness to sell grazing permits and participate in other schemes that enable them to continue ranching in spite of declining access to public forage. On average ranchers demand $255 per AUM to sell grazing permits, while support for other programs, some of which are performance based, depends on whether respondents trust public agencies and intend to pass their ranch on to an heir.Compensation for grazing rights, environmental services, range economics

Social Dilemmas and Public Range Management: Results from the Nevada Ranch Survey

Since the late 1960s, the Nevada ranch community has come under increasing pressure from environmental groups regarding their use of public lands for livestock grazing, thus increasing tension between ranchers and public land managers and potentially reducing the social capital that facilitates action and cooperation in range management. In this paper, we use responses to a survey of all public grazing permit holders in Nevada to investigate the changing relationships between ranchers and the public land agencies, and its potential implications. In particular, we investigate factors that affect ranchers’ trust in the public land agencies, and then factors that influence the nature of the relationship between ranchers and the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Low levels of trust between ranchers and public managers were most significantly related to previous disagreements and the belief in a poor future for ranching. The occurrence of wildfire on grazing land contributed most signifcantly to increased disagreement between ranchers and public agencies. Finally, as a response to conflict in the ranch community, community based initiatives, such as grass banking, are examined for their potential to bring stakeholders together to realize and address common goals. Community involvement in decision making may increase levels of social capital, reduce transaction costs, and thus allow for more effective and efficient use of the range resources.Institutions and social capital, effectiveness of range management policies

A proposed new policy for planetary protection

A critical review of the present policy was conducted with emphasis on its application to future planetary exploration. The probable impact of recent data on the implementation of the present policy was also assessed. The existing policy and its implementation were found to: be excessive for certain missions (e.g., Voyager), neglect the contamination hazard posed by the bulk constituent organics of spacecraft, be ambiguous for certain missions (e.g., Pioneer Venus), and treat all extraterrestrial sample return missions alike. The major features of the proposed policy are planet/mission combinations, a qualitative top level statement, and implementation by exception rather than rule. The concept of planet/mission categories permits the imposition of requirements according to both biological interest in the target planet and the relative contamination hazard of the mission type

Viking on Mars: The carbon assimilation experiments

A fixation of atmospheric carbon, presumably into organic form, occurs in Martian surface material under conditions approximating the actual Martian ones. The reaction showed the following characteristics: The amount of carbon fixed is small by terrestrial standards; highest yields were observed in the light, but some dark activity was also detected; and heating the surface material to 90°C for nearly 2 hours had no effect on the reaction, but heating to 175°C for 3 hours reduced it by nearly 90%. New data from Mars do not support an earlier suggestion that the reaction is inhibited by traces of water. There is evidence of considerable heterogeneity among different samples, but different aliquots from the same sample are remarkably uniform in their carbon-fixing capacity. In view of its thermostability it is unlikely that the reaction is biological

Venus - Preliminary science objectives and experiments for use in advanced mission studies

Mission planning and experiment design for future Mariner-type Venus space probe

Live to cheat another day: bacterial dormancy facilitates the social exploitation of beta-lactamases

The breakdown of antibiotics by β-lactamases may be cooperative, since resistant cells can detoxify their environment and facilitate the growth of susceptible neighbours. However, previous studies of this phenomenon have used artificial bacterial vectors or engineered bacteria to increase the secretion of β-lactamases from cells. Here, we investigated whether a broad-spectrum β-lactamase gene carried by a naturally occurring plasmid (pCT) is cooperative under a range of conditions. In ordinary batch culture on solid media, there was little or no evidence that resistant bacteria could protect susceptible cells from ampicillin, although resistant colonies could locally detoxify this growth medium. However, when susceptible cells were inoculated at high densities, late-appearing phenotypically susceptible bacteria grew in the vicinity of resistant colonies. We infer that persisters, cells that have survived antibiotics by undergoing a period of dormancy, founded these satellite colonies. The number of persister colonies was positively correlated with the density of resistant colonies and increased as antibiotic concentrations decreased. We argue that detoxification can be cooperative under a limited range of conditions: if the toxins are bacteriostatic rather than bacteridical; or if susceptible cells invade communities after resistant bacteria; or if dormancy allows susceptible cells to avoid bactericides. Resistance and tolerance were previously thought to be independent solutions for surviving antibiotics. Here, we show that these are interacting strategies: the presence of bacteria adopting one solution can have substantial effects on the fitness of their neighbours

Optimal functional outcome measures for assessing treatment for Dupuytren's disease: A systematic review and recommendations for future practice

This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright © 2013 Ball et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Background: Dupuytren's disease of the hand is a common condition affecting the palmar fascia, resulting in progressive flexion deformities of the digits and hence limitation of hand function. The optimal treatment remains unclear as outcomes studies have used a variety of measures for assessment. Methods: A literature search was performed for all publications describing surgical treatment, percutaneous needle aponeurotomy or collagenase injection for primary or recurrent Dupuytren’s disease where outcomes had been monitored using functional measures. Results: Ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-two studies reported outcomes using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) ranging from validated questionnaires to self-reported measures for return to work and self-rated disability. The Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score was the most utilised patient-reported function measure (n=11). Patient satisfaction was reported by eighteen studies but no single method was used consistently. Range of movement was the most frequent physical measure and was reported in all 91 studies. However, the methods of measurement and reporting varied, with seventeen different techniques being used. Other physical measures included grip and pinch strength and sensibility, again with variations in measurement protocols. The mean follow-up time ranged from 2 weeks to 17 years. Conclusions: There is little consistency in the reporting of outcomes for interventions in patients with Dupuytren’s disease, making it impossible to compare the efficacy of different treatment modalities. Although there are limitations to the existing generic patient reported outcomes measures, a combination of these together with a disease-specific questionnaire, and physical measures of active and passive individual joint Range of movement (ROM), grip and sensibility using standardised protocols should be used for future outcomes studies. As Dupuytren’s disease tends to recur following treatment as well as extend to involve other areas of the hand, follow-up times should be standardised and designed to capture both short and long term outcomes