Designing a framework for evaluating the impacts and outcomes of Forest Service appeals

USDA Forest Service administrative appeals have recently been a focus of considerable political debate. Congressional legislation and new administrative rules to change the appeals process and exclude certain fuel reductions projects from environmental review and appeal are under consideration. Meanwhile, there has been little systematic analysis of the claims and counterclaims being put forward about the ecological, social, economic, and administrative impacts of appeals. The workshop, Designing a Framework for Evaluating the Impacts and Outcomes of Forest Service Appeals, engaged researchers, agency representatives, and various affected interests who use appeals, or are affected by their use, to discuss development of a framework by which the impacts and outcomes of Forest Service appeals can be systematically documented and analyzed. Participants identified what is important to evaluate about the appeals process, and discussed how to realistically conduct such evaluations so that results are credible to all. The purpose of the workshop was to focus research and analysis on critical issues surrounding the appeals process to better inform ongoing policy debates

Analyzing USDA Forest Service Appeals: Phase I, the Database

A full accounting of the current administrative appeals process would begin with some basic questions: who, what, where, and when. The database we have compiled begins to answer some of these questions, especially 1) who files appeals, 2) what types of projects are appealed, 3) where the most appeals are filed, and 4) when most appeals are decided. It is important to note that there really was no easy way to answer these questions prior to construction of this database

Moving Toward Ecosystem Management: Examining a Change in Philosophy for Resource Management

Federal agencies, scientists, and others are increasingly calling for ecosystem management as a new approach to resource management. This approach represents a change in philosophy for resource management that will require changes in how we view nature, science and politics. This paper draws upon critical theory to examine this shift in philosophy. The paper focuses on the influence of Enlightenment thought on U.S. Western resource policy and examines four dimensions including the relationship between humans and nature; the concept of rationality; the nature of science; and social relations among humans. Alternative theoretical principles suggested by ecosystem management are discussed. Examples of natural resource management projects that reflect ecosystem management in practice are also presented. Keywords: natural resource policy, political thory, ecosystem management, U.S. west land management, critical theory, enlightenment thought

Challenges and opportunities for the adoption of integrated farming systems: lessons from Brazil and beyond.

Brazil's rural landscapes are critically important for global climate, economic development, and food security. The integration of crop and animal production within a single farm (ICLS) is a promising agricultural innovation to improve livelihood and environmental outcomes in these landscapes. Here we synthesize recent work examining the drivers of ICLS adoption in Brazil, as well as the economic, environmental and social tradeoffs associated with these systems, with a focus on the Legal Amazon region. Our research finds that ICLS are largely an economic and environmental win-win compared to existing extensive cattle management practices and other pasture intensification alternatives. Adopters of ICLS are well aware of the economic benefits of these systems - improved income, greater adaptability, and reduced environmental impact, while non-adopters are less aware of the benefits. High upfront costs, greater managerial intensity, existing lifestyle preferences, as well as limited access to markets, credit, and technical information remain key barriers to diffusion. Given these diverse barriers to adoption, a comprehensive mix of positive and negative financial incentives is needed to both push and pull further intensification innovations from their current niche to widespread adoption. On the push side, there is a need to vastly increase the number of demonstration farms and training seminars on successful ICLS practices. On the pull side, agricultural policies need to be re-oriented to accommodate the longer-term benefits of ICLS, including longer payback periods on loans and positive incentives for intensification via stringent restrictions on deforestation for additional land clearing and payments for environmental services. Finally, joint efforts by the private sector and government are needed to promote cattle value chain upgrading, including improved infrastructure and machinery access to enable pasture renovation and crop production in more remote regions, and better transparency about cattle origin and management practices to signal the sustainability of the sector.Editors: Mariana de Aragão Pereira, João Augusto Rossi Borges, Carla Heloisa Faria Domingues

Sistemas integrados lavoura e pecuária: ciência e políticas para promover a intensificação sustentável da agricultura brasileira: [desafios].

bitstream/item/206992/1/PB-Short-cs5.pdfPolicy brief

Acquisition of biologically relevant gene expression data by Affymetrix microarray analysis of archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumours

Robust protocols for microarray gene expression profiling of archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPET) are needed to facilitate research when availability of fresh-frozen tissue is limited. Recent reports attest to the feasibility of this approach, but the clinical value of these data is poorly understood. We employed state-of-the-art RNA extraction and Affymetrix microarray technology to examine 34 archival FFPET primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas. Nineteen arrays met stringent QC criteria and were used to model prognostic signatures for metastatic recurrence. Arrays from two paired frozen and FFPET samples were compared: although FFPET sensitivity was low (∼50%), high specificity (95%) and positive predictive value (92%) suggest that transcript detection is reliable. Good agreement between arrays and real time (RT)–PCR was confirmed, especially for abundant transcripts, and RT–PCR validated the regulation pattern for 19 of 24 candidate genes (overall R(2)=0.4662). RT–PCR and immunohistochemistry on independent cases validated prognostic significance for several genes including RECQL4, FRRS1, CFH and MET – whose combined expression carried greater prognostic value than tumour grade – and cmet and TRKB proteins. These molecules warrant further evaluation in larger series. Reliable clinically relevant data can be obtained from archival FFPET, but protocol amendments are needed to improve the sensitivity and broad application of this approach

Partners No More: Relational Transformation and the Turn to Litigation in Two Conservationist Organizations

The rise in litigation against administrative bodies by environmental and other political interest groups worldwide has been explained predominantly through the liberalization of standing doctrines. Under this explanation, termed here the floodgate model, restrictive standing rules have dammed the flow of suits that groups were otherwise ready and eager to pursue. I examine this hypothesis by analyzing processes of institutional transformation in two conservationist organizations: the Sierra Club in the United States and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI). Rather than an eagerness to embrace newly available litigation opportunities, as the floodgate model would predict, the groups\u27 history reveals a gradual process of transformation marked by internal, largely intergenerational divisions between those who abhorred conflict with state institutions and those who saw such conflict as not only appropriate but necessary to the mission of the group. Furthermore, in contrast to the pluralist interactions that the floodgate model imagines, both groups\u27 relations with pertinent agencies in earlier eras better accorded with the partnership-based corporatist paradigm. Sociolegal research has long indicated the importance of relational distance to the transformation of interpersonal disputes. I argue that, at the group level as well, the presence or absence of a (national) partnership-centered relationship determines propensities to bring political issues to court. As such, well beyond change in groups\u27 legal capacity and resources, current increases in levels of political litigation suggest more fundamental transformations in the structure and meaning of relations between citizen groups and the state