The Ecological Benefits of Protected Areas in California Funded Through Local Direct Democracy

Recent research shows current conservation funding falls short of what is required to meet conservation targets. However the expansion of conventional funding sources to bridge this shortfall is not likely to occur. Conservation organizations may be able to leverage unconventional funding sources and protection mechanisms, such as protected areas (PAs) funded through the local ballot box, to fill the gap. However, there are concerns that such PAs may be biased in their protection. Additionally, before other forms of conservation can be included in planning, the quality of the benefit provided must be confirmed. In Chapter 1, we show how the protection of species and habitat types by ballot box PAs compares to two PA types funded by more conventional means in the state of California. We make these comparisons using two different data types for species and habitat types: presence and proportion of range covered. We find that ballot box PAs do not protect a different number of habitat types than would be expected from random nor do they represent habitat types disproportionally different than are found across the entire state of California. We find mixed results for species that are affected by the data type (presence vs. range) and species class (e.g. amphibian, bird, mammal, reptile). In Chapter 2, we show how the condition of PAs funded through action by local communities at the ballot box compares to protected areas funded by a state public agency as estimated by coverage by exotic species. We then show if properties of the PAs or human-mediated onsite disturbance are able to predict the coverage by exotic species. We find that exotic species coverage does not differ between PA types. In our sample, elevation was the only significant predictor of exotic species coverage. Our findings suggest that ballot box PAs protect representative habitat types, but may disproportionately protect more common species and that ballot PAs are in no poorer condition than a conventional PA type funded by a state public agency

Groundwater Modeling of the West Plains, WA

Located in Eastern Washington in the West Plains Region sits a plateau of Columbia River Basalts between Deep Creek, Hangman Creek, and south of the Spokane River. Primarily in Airway Heights, the amount of drinking water as well as the quality of the water has affected residents in the area. The most recent issue is PFAS contamination, which is thought to negatively affect human health and is found in drinking water wells across the West Plains. We can interpret subsurface geology using new well logs from Fairchild Air Force Base and in the Palisades area. When using ArcGIS PRO, well information can then be interpreted and projected as various data points. After this, it can be interpolated to predict multiple geological horizons and can be used to estimate the flow direction of groundwater. We will also use real PFAS results from across the West Plains to estimate if contamination can be linked to possible sources, including airports, fire stations, car washing facilities, or dumps. These models can help residences in the West Plains Region understand the possible sources of contamination as well as create a safer environment for them and their families. This research could put worried residents at ease and help them find clarity in this difficult situation

Citizens of local jurisdictions enhance plant community preservation through ballot initiatives and voter-driven conservation efforts

Open space areas protected by local communities may augment larger scale preservation efforts and may offer overlooked benefits to biodiversity conservation provided they are in suitable ecological condition. We examine protected areas established by local communities through ballot initiatives, a form of direct democracy, in California, USA. We compare ecological conditions of wooded habitats on local ballot protected sites and on sites protected by a state-level conservation agency. Collectively, we found few differences in ecological conditions on each protected area type. Ballot sites had greater invasive understory cover and larger trees. Community dissimilarity patterns suggested ballot sites protect a complementary set of tree species to those on state lands. Overall, geographic characteristics influenced onsite conditions more than details of how sites were protected. Thus, community-driven conservation efforts contribute to protected area networks by augmenting protection of some species while providing at least some protection to others that might otherwise be missed