Wildlife and America : contributions to an understanding of American wildlife and its conservation /

Cosponsored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Observations on Fisheries Activities at Navassa Island

Unmanaged and unquantified artisanal fishing is ongoing at Navassa Island, a small oceanic island about 70 km west of Haiti that is part of the U.S. Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Concern has been expressed regarding the possible impact of these fishing activities on reef resources, and no quantitative catch or effort data are available. However, informal qualitative observations made during a cruise in November 2002 suggest that escalation in fishing activity (and impact) has occurred since previous observations made in April 2000. Namely, size structure of fish was markedly reduced and the adoption of net fishing has allowed the exploitation of queen conch, Strombas gigas, and hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata.

Refuge Update – January/February 2010, Volume 7, Number 1

Table of Contents: Encouraging Kids to Look Closely A falconer and a Friend connect young people with nature. Page 5 FOCUS: Citizen Science Citizens of all ages engage with refuges by collecting data about buds and birds or raising turtle hatchlings. Pages 8 to 13 Protected Stopovers Help Restore Shorebirds Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, MA, plays a key role in researching and restoring red knots. Page 16 Leaders on the Move Relocation. Incentives. Motivations. Page 18

Refuge Update – September/October 2007, Volume 4, Number 5

Table of Contents: Searching for Japanese MIAs in Alaska – page 3 Japanese and Americans look for burial sites on Attu Island in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The Job of a Lifetime – pages 6-7 Meet a 90-year old volunteer and a 31-year old tractor driver. Crocs Come Back – page 27 American crocodiles are threatened but no longer endangered.

Refuge Update – November/December 2009, Volume 6, Number 6

Table of Contents: Tufted Puffin Released A rehabilitated puffin gingerly tests freedom at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. FOCUS: Stories of Hope From cemeteries to woodpeckers, to newspaper columns and support at the ballot box, refuges represent stories of hope as they pursue their mission. Bats in the Barn Scientists and volunteers wrap a barn in plastic and count the bats inside. Sense of Wonder Award Jim Burkhart shares the joy and mysteries of the natural world with visitors to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, GA.

Refuge Update – September/October 2004, Volume 1, Number 5

Table of Contents: Prairie Science Class Celebrates Anniversary, page 16 Program integrates environmental education into routine public school curriculum. Focus on Hunting, page 8-15 While the National Wildlife Refuge System has been shaped by a variety of public concerns, hunters were among the early, substantive voices. Texas Brochures Turned Some Heads, page 17 South Texas Refuge series of brochures are notable for their beauty and more. Forty Years for the Wilderness Act, Page 18 National Wilderness Preservation System protects more than 105.7 million acres, including more than 20 million acres on 65 refuges.

Refuge Update – November/December 2007, Volume 4, Number 6

Table of Contents: Celebrating 20 Years of Science on the M/ V Tiglax, page 5 Kevin Bell is honored as Captain of the largest ship operated by the National Wildlife Refuge System. Focus on…A River Runs Through It, pages 8-15 Rivers on refuges are managed for recreation, habitat restoration, water rights and sheer beauty. The Fight Against Giant Salvinia, page 18 Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Texas is fighting a weed that can travel three-quarters of a mile in 24 hours. Awards, page 21 From protecting the land to going “green,” awards recognize excellence.

Refuge Update – November/December 2006, Volume 3, Number 6

Table of Contents: Least Bell’s Vireos Are Back, page 3 San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge hosted totally unexpected residents last year. Managing Ocean Wildlife, page 5 A new agreement should help in managing marine resources. Focus on . . . Endangered Species, pages 10-21 Whether it’s the fastest land mammal or the tiniest mussel, refuges work on behalf of endangered species. Peeping at Peeps, page 24 Shorebirds can be tough to identify. Classroom and fields trips helped.

Evolving Bird Management Research at the USDA Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Research Center

As the methods-development arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program, the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is charged with developing tools and information for protecting agriculture, human health and safety, and property from problems caused by wildlife, including birds. Increasingly the NWRC is being asked to provide basic ecological information on the population status of various bird species, and its role is expanding from a reactive one of providing management options to that of predicting long-term implications of various management actions. This paper describes several areas of research by NWRC scientists to address population-level questions in support of WS mission.

The new realism: coöperative studies in philosophy by Edwin B. Holt,

Introduction.--The emancipation of metaphysics from epistemology, by W. T. Marvin.--A realistic theory of independence, by R. B. Perry.--A defense of analysis, by E. G. Spaulding.--A realistic theory of truth and error, by W. P. Montague.--The place of illusory experience in a realistic world, by E. B. Holt.--Some realistic implications of biology, by W. B. Pitkin.--Appendix: Program and first platform of six realists (reprinted from the J. of phil., psychol., etc., 1910, 7, 393) Montague on Holt; Holt on Montague; Pitkin on Montague and Holt.

Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex : comprehensive conservation plan and environmental assessment /

Cover title.

Decadal Change in Vegetation and Soil Phosphorus Pattern across the Everglades Landscape

Wetlands respond to nutrient enrichment with characteristic increases in soil nutrients and shifts in plant community composition. These responses to eutrophication tend to be more rapid and longer lasting in oligotrophic systems. In this study, we documented changes associated with water quality from 1989 to 1999 in oligotrophic Everglades wetlands. We accomplished this by resampling soils and macrophytes along four transects in 1999 that were originally sampled in 1989. In addition to documenting soil phosphorus (P) levels and decadal changes in plant species composition at the same sites, we report macrophyte tissue nutrient and biomass data from 1999 for future temporal comparisons. Water quality improved throughout much of the Everglades in the 1990s. In spite of this improvement, though, we found that water quality impacts worsened during this time in areas of the northern Everglades (western Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge [NWR] and Water Conservation Area [WCA] 2A). Zones of high soil P (exceeding 700 mg P kg−1 dry wt. soil) increased to more than 1 km from the western margin canal into the Loxahatchee NWR and more than 4 km from northern boundary canal into WCA-2A. This doubling of the high soil P zones since 1989 was paralleled with an expansion of cattail (Typha spp.)-dominated marsh in both regions. Macrophyte species richness declined in both areas from 1989 to 1999 (27% in the Loxahatchee NWR and 33% in WCA-2A). In contrast, areas well south of the Everglades Agricultural Area, including WCA-3A and Everglades National Park (ENP), did not decline during this time. We found no significant decadal change in plant community patterns from 1989 and 1999 along transects in southern WCA-3A or Shark River Slough (ENP). Our 1999 sampling also included a new transect in Taylor Slough (ENP), which will allow change analysis here in the future. Regular sampling of these transects, to verify decadal-scale environmental impacts or improvements, will continue to be an important tool for long-term management and restoration of the Everglades.

Saving Coquille Point: a year of citizen action in Bandon

This article gives a detailed account of the 1989 grassroots campaign which preserved the scenic Coquille Point headland from commercial development and led to its acquisition by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as part of its national wildlife refuge system. For source material, I have relied heavily on local newspaper and city hall archives, supplemented by interviews with some of the local people who participated in the controversy. The article preserves the events of 1989 as a record for future historians and/or environmental activists. (Document has 33 pages - from references issue date assumed to be 2008))

Rapid recreation assessment: a tool to assess visitor use and associated impacts at coastal and marine protected areas

As more people discover coastal and marine protected areas as destinations for leisure-time pursuits, the task of managing coastal resources while providing opportunities for high quality visitor experiences becomes more challenging. Many human impacts occur at these sites; some are caused by recreation and leisure activities on-site, and others by activities such as agriculture, aquaculture, or residential and economic development in surrounding areas. Coastal management professionals are continually looking for effective ways to prevent or mitigate negative impacts of visitor use. (PDF contains 8 pages) Most coastal and marine protected area managers are challenged with balancing two competing goals—protection of natural and cultural resources and provision of opportunities for public use. In most cases, some level of compromise between the goals is necessary, where one goal constrains or “outweighs” the other. Often there is a lack of clear agreement about the priority of these competing goals. Consequently, while natural resource decisions should ultimately be science-based and objective, such decisions are frequently made under uncertainty, relying heavily upon professional judgment. These decisions are subject to a complex array of formal and informal drivers and constraints—data availability, timing, legal mandate, political will, diverse public opinion, and physical, human, and social capital. This paper highlights assessment, monitoring, and planning approaches useful to gauge existing resource and social conditions, determine feasibility of management actions, and record decision process steps to enhance defensibility. Examples are presented from pilot efforts conducted at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in South Florida.