Guidelines for the conservation and restoration of seagrasses in the United States and adjacent waters

Seagrass ecosystems are protected under the federal "no-net-loss" policy for wetlands and form one of the most productive plant communities on the planet, performing important ecological functions. Seagrass beds have been recognized as a valuable resource critical to the health and function of coastal waters. Greater awareness and public education, however, is essential for conservation of this resource. Tremendous losses of this habitat have occurred as a result of development within the coastal zone. Disturbances usually kill seagrasses rapidly, and recovery is often comparatively slow. Mitigation to compensate for destruction of existing habitat usually follows when the agent of loss and responsible party are known. Compensation assumes that ecosystems can be made to order and, in essence, trades existing functional habitat for the promise of replacement habitat. While ~lant ingse agrass is not technically complex, there is no easy way to meet the goal of maintaining or increasing seagrass acreage. Rather, the entire process of planning, planting and monitoring requires attention to detail and does not lend itself to oversimplification.

Habitat Use Patterns of Bobolinks and Savannah Sparrows in the Northeastern United States

In the northeastern United States, grassland birds regularly use agricultural fields as nesting habitat. However, birds that nest in these fields regularly experience nest failure as a result of agricultural practices, such as mowing and grazing. Therefore, information on both spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use is needed to effectively manage these species. We addressed these complex habitat use patterns by conducting point counts during three time intervals between May 21, 2002 and July 2, 2002 in agricultural fields across the Champlain Valley in Vermont and New York. Early in the breeding season, Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) used fields in which the landscape within 2500 m was dominated by open habitats. As mowing began, suitable habitat within 500 m became more important. Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) initially used fields that contained a high proportion of suitable habitat within 500 m. After mowing, features of the field (i.e., size and amount of woody edge) became more important. Each species responded differently to mowing: Savannah Sparrows were equally abundant in mowed and uncut fields, whereas Bobolinks were more abundant in uncut fields. In agricultural areas in the Northeast, large areas (2000 ha) that are mostly nonforested and undeveloped should be targeted for conservation. Within large open areas, smaller patches (80 ha) should be maintained as high-quality, late-cut grassland habitat.

An Introduction to Conservation Easements in the United States: A Simple Concept and a Complicated Mosaic of Law

The idea of a conservation easement – restrictions on the development and use of land designed to protect the land’s conservation or historic values – can be relatively easily understood. More significant and more challenging is the complex body of state and federal laws that shapes the creation, funding, tax treatment, enforcement, modification, and termination of conservation easements. The explosion in the number of conservation easements over the past four decades has made them one of the most popular land protection mechanisms in the United States. The National Conservation Easement Database estimates that the total number of acres encumbered by conservation easements exceeds 40 million.Because conservation easements are both novel and ubiquitous, understanding how they actual work is essential for practicing lawyers, policymakers, land trust professionals, and students of conservation. This article provides a “quick tour” through some of the most important aspects of the developing mosaic of conservation easement law. It gives the reader a sense of the complex inter-jurisdictional dynamics that shape conservation transactions and disputes about conservation easements. Professors of property law, environmental law, tax law, and environmental studies who wish to cover conservation easements in the context of a more general course can use the article to provide their students with a broad but comprehensive overview of the relevant legal and policy issues.

BPA in promoting energy conservation and renewables : hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session to receive testimony on the role of the Bonneville Power Administration in promoting energy conservation and renewables, August 13, 2001, Seattle, WA.

"Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources."

Revision of title 16, U.S. code, "conservation and reclamation." [Proposed] report to accompany H.R., a bill to revise, codify, and enact into law, title 16, of the United States code, entitled "Conservation and reclamation."

At head of title: Committee print. 83d Cong., 2d sess. House report no.

Waterfowl decline in the Mississippi Flyway [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on the decline of waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway and the loss of wintering habitat in the Mississippi Flood Plain, September 22, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-91."

Wildlife and range research needs in northern Mexico and southwestern United States : workshop proceedings, April 20-24, 1981, Rio Rico, Arizona.

"September 1983."

Timber harvesting [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Environment, Soil Conservation and Forestry of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 22, 1979.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Farmland protection act [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Environment, Soil Conservation, and Forestry of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, on S. 795 ... July 10, 1979.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act [microform] : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, on Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act, March 30, 1981.

"Serial no. 97-17."

Resource conservation and development [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Environment, Soil Conservation, and Forestry of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, March 20, 1979.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Soil conservation [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Soil and Water Conservation of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, Congress, first session, August 31, 1981--Burlington, Iowa.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 82 S161-1

Oversight on proposed modifications in soil and water conservation policy [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Soil and Water Conservation of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, Tuesday, March 30, 1982.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 82 S161-21