scholarly journals Quantifying development to inform management of Mojave and Sonoran desert tortoise habitat in the American southwest

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 167-184
Author(s):  
SK Carter ◽  
KE Nussear ◽  
TC Esque ◽  
IIF Leinwand ◽  
E Masters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Development Levels

Two tortoise species native to the American southwest have experienced significant habitat loss from development and are vulnerable to ongoing threats associated with continued development. Mojave desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii are listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, and Sonoran desert tortoises G. morafkai are protected in Arizona (USA) and Mexico. Substantial habitat for both species occurs on multiple-use public lands, where development associated with traditional and renewable energy production, recreation, and other activities is likely to continue. Our goal was to quantify development to inform and evaluate actions implemented to protect and manage desert tortoise habitat. We quantified a landscape-level index of development across the Mojave and Sonoran desert tortoise ranges using models of potential habitat for each species (152485 total observations). We used 13 years of Mojave desert tortoise monitoring data (4732 observations) to inform the levels and spatial scales at which tortoises may be affected by development. Most (66-70%) desert tortoise habitat has some development within 1 km. Development levels on desert tortoise habitat are lower inside versus outside areas protected by actions at national, state, and local levels, suggesting that protection efforts may be having the desired effects and providing a needed baseline for future effectiveness evaluations. Of the relatively undeveloped desert tortoise habitat, 43% (74030 km2) occurs outside of existing protections. These lands are managed by multiple federal, state, and local entities and private landowners, and may provide opportunities for future land acquisition or protection, including as mitigation for energy development on public lands.

Enhancing and Restoring Habitat for the Desert Tortoise

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R. Abella ◽  
Kristin H. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Forage Quality ◽  
Desert Tortoise ◽  
Forage Plants ◽  
Nonnative Grasses

AbstractHabitat has changed unfavorably during the past 150 y for the desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii, a federally threatened species with declining populations in the Mojave Desert and western Sonoran Desert. To support recovery efforts, we synthesized published information on relationships of desert tortoises with three habitat features (cover sites, forage, and soil) and candidate management practices for improving these features for tortoises. In addition to their role in soil health and facilitating recruitment of annual forage plants, shrubs are used by desert tortoises for cover and as sites for burrows. Outplanting greenhouse-grown seedlings, protected from herbivory, has successfully restored (>50% survival) a variety of shrubs on disturbed desert soils. Additionally, salvaging and reapplying topsoil using effective techniques is among the more ecologically beneficial ways to initiate plant recovery after severe disturbance. Through differences in biochemical composition and digestibility, some plant species provide better-quality forage than others. Desert tortoises selectively forage on particular annual and herbaceous perennial species (e.g., legumes), and forage selection shifts during the year as different plants grow or mature. Nonnative grasses provide low-quality forage and contribute fuel to spreading wildfires, which damage or kill shrubs that tortoises use for cover. Maintaining a diverse “menu” of native annual forbs and decreasing nonnative grasses are priorities for restoring most desert tortoise habitats. Reducing herbivory by nonnative animals, carefully timing herbicide applications, and strategically augmenting annual forage plants via seeding show promise for improving tortoise forage quality. Roads, another disturbance, negatively affect habitat in numerous ways (e.g., compacting soil, altering hydrology). Techniques such as recontouring road berms to reestablish drainage patterns, vertical mulching (“planting” dead plant material), and creating barriers to prevent trespasses can assist natural recovery on decommissioned backcountry roads. Most habitat enhancement efforts to date have focused on only one factor at a time (e.g., providing fencing) and have not included proactive restoration activities (e.g., planting native species on disturbed soils). A research and management priority in recovering desert tortoise habitats is implementing an integrated set of restorative habitat enhancements (e.g., reducing nonnative plants, improving forage quality, augmenting native perennial plants, and ameliorating altered hydrology) and monitoring short- and long-term indicators of habitat condition and the responses of desert tortoises to habitat restoration.

America's Public Lands and Waters: The Gateway to Better Health?

2004 ◽  
Vol 30 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 237-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gale Norton ◽  
Michael Suk
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Physical Inactivity ◽  
One Health ◽  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Federal State ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Local Agencies

Obesity is the number one health problem facing America today. The connection to physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle has long been recognized, but only recently has it become a focal point for physicians worldwide. Surprisingly, the answer may be as close as America's backyardthe public lands and waters under the management of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior), as well as other federal, state, and local agencies. While traditional efforts to increase physical activity among Americans have focused on exercise-related activities such as calisthenics, treadmills, or stair machines, more recently leisuretime activities like gardening and housework have emerged as additions to the physical activity arsenal. These activities in turn have shifted attention away from individual obstacles and toward barriers to human movement in the built environment.

Late Wisconsin Macrofossil Records of Desert Vegetation in the American Southwest

1983 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Geoffrey Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
Sonoran Desert ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Desert Vegetation ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Vegetation Mosaic ◽  
Desert Scrub

AbstractUntil recently, the oldest-known packrat (Neotoma spp.) midden records of desert scrub vegetation were less than 10,500 yr old and were restricted to altitudes below 300 m in the northern Sonoran Desert. Recent discovery of macrofossil assemblages in the Mojave Desert extends the record of desert vegetation back to 14,800 yr ago and to altitudes as high as 910 m. Although xerophytic conifer woodland was widespread in current desert habitats during the Late Wisconsin and early Holocene, the development of extensive desert vegetation was not delayed until the beginning of the middle Holocene. A regional vegetation mosaic of desert scrub and woodland existed at altitudes below 1000 m in the Mojave Desert during the last part of the Late Wisconsin.

Cannabis Revisited

2020 ◽  
pp. 346-362
Author(s):  
Russell Crandall
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Federal State ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Source Countries ◽  
The U.S

This chapter details the launch of the U.S. federal, state, and local anti-drug agencies' two-month effort called Operation Mountain Sweep in late August 2012, which targeted large illegal marijuana cultivations on public land in several Western states. It describes marijuana cultivation on public lands, especially in the American West, that had grown immensely during the previous few years, making aggressive responses from anti-drug elements unsurprising. It also discusses how the United States emerged as one of the largest marijuana producers in the Americas, with Mexico supplying about half of all the cannabis consumed in the United States. The chapter elaborates that concerns about the environmental impact of cannabis cultivation on delicate ecosystems served as a major catalyst for Operation Mountain Sweep. It points out how cultivation-driven environmental degradation in the United States was similar in cocaine source countries, where growers slashed virgin rainforest to make way for coca plantings.

Improving Speech and Language Services through Effective Time Management

1983 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara W. Travers
Keyword(s):  
Time Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
School Based ◽  
Work Area ◽  
Paper Work ◽  
Areas Of Concern ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Therapeutic Services

This paper presents strategies for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the school-based speech-language pathologist. Various time management strategies are adapted and outlined for three major areas of concern: using time, organizing the work area, and managing paper work. It is suggested that the use of such methods will aid the speech-language pathologist in coping with federal, state, and local regulations while continuing to provide quality therapeutic services.

Is This the Care We Need?: An Examination of Childcare Policy in Pennsylvania

Commonwealth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie Sweet-Cushman ◽  
Ashley Harden
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Child Care ◽  
Current System ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Women And Politics ◽  
Richard Nixon ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Childcare Policy

For many families across Pennsylvania, child care is an ever-present concern. Since the 1970s, when Richard Nixon vetoed a national childcare program, child care has received little time in the policy spotlight. Instead, funding for child care in the United States now comes from a mixture of federal, state, and local programs that do not help all families. This article explores childcare options available to families in the state of Pennsylvania and highlights gaps in the current system. Specifically, we examine the state of child care available to families in the Commonwealth in terms of quality, accessibility, flexibility, and affordability. We also incorporate survey data from a nonrepresentative sample of registered Pennsylvania voters conducted by the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics. As these results support the need for improvements in the current childcare system, we discuss recommendations for the future.

ARNOVA's Symposium on Public Policy for Nonprofits

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Jeavons
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Public Charities ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Levels

There are serious gaps in our knowledge and understanding of how public policy at the federal, state, and local levels affects the work of a wide array of nonprofit organizations. On October 4th and 5th, 2010, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Organizations (ARNOVA), with the support and encouragement of the Bill and Melinda Gates, Kresge and C.S. Mott foundations, convened a group of thirty nonprofit scholars and leaders to explore what we know about the impact of public policy on the nonprofit sector. The conference focused on how public policy helps or harms the ability of nonprofit organizations, particularly but not exclusively public charities, to fulfill their missions.

scholarly journals Concordance and Patient-Centered Care in Medicaid Enrollees’ Care Experience With Providers

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352110340
Author(s):  
Iwimbong Kum Ghabowen ◽  
Neeraj Bhandari
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Patient Centered Care ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Care Experience ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Privately Insured

Patient-centered care is at the nexus of several overlapping institutional reforms to improve health care system performance. However, we know little regarding Medicaid patients’ experience with their doctors along several key dimensions of patient-centered care, and how their experience compares with Medicare and privately insured patients. We studied 4 outcomes using the 2017 National Health Interview Survey: patient–provider concordance on racial/sexual/cultural identity, respectful provider attitude, solicitation of patient opinion/beliefs during the care encounter, and patient-centered communication (PCC). The primary independent variable was Medicaid enrollee status. We dichotomized responses and ran multivariate logistic regressions for each type of care experience outcome, controlling for sociodemographic factors, health care access, and health care utilization of respondents. Compared to Medicare and privately insured enrollees, Medicaid enrollees reported much lower odds of seeing providers who treated them with respect (OR = 1.91, P < .001; OR = 1.62, P < .01) and who offered PCC (OR = 1.35, P < .05; OR = 1.35, P < .01), but similar odds of seeing concordant providers (OR = 0.78, P = .96; OR = 0.96, P = .72). Importantly, Medicaid enrollees reported higher odds of seeing providers who solicited their opinion/beliefs/preferences than their Medicare or privately insured counterparts (OR = 0.82, P < .05; OR = 0.87 P < .10). Medicaid enrollees report less patient-centered experiences in some important facets of their provider interaction than their Medicare or privately insured counterparts. Federal, state, and local policies and practices directed at improving these facets of patient–provider interaction are needed and should be aimed squarely at Medicaid providers, especially those working in geographic areas and settings with a disproportionate number of racial, gender, cultural, and linguistic minorities.

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