NR 1020 Final Exam

History of Maple Sugaring in VT

Europeans learned from the Abenaki how to tap trees and make maple products. Became major VT industry in late 1800s.

Tapping Process

tap into the sapwood ring of the tree by drilling a hole 1.5 inches deep. Only tap into tree where bark is white, dark bark is damaged.

Sugar Maple Physiology

at night, when the temperature falls below freezing, negative pressure develops in the tree. As the tree freezes, the sap is sucked up the tree. During the day as the temperatures warm, pressure pushes the sap down the tree and out the spouts. Cycle continues.

Bird Friendly Maple

Birds need a diverse set of trees in a sugarbush and a healthy forest ecosystem with snags and and understory.

post war population growth and economic development

Post WW2 baby boom with returning GI's and subsequent population growth-- leading to the development of suburbs and interstate highway system. White flight to the suburbs with loans from the federal housing administration.

Federal Housing Administration

provided loans for homeownership, created redlined neighborhoods-- and federal subsidized housing (the projects).

Expansion of opportunity

for women, minorities, and immigrants

increased faith in science and technology post WW2

rapid expansion of the use of chemicals

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

told the story of how bird populations suffer from DDT exposure. Very influential and controversial.

limits of common law legal claims

relies on past rulings and can become outdated-- limits make court rulings more modern.

state of scientific knowledge post ww2

more scientific research is being done and people are putting more trust into science

critique of government and civil rights movement.

people began to put less trust in the government and take matters into their own hands (protests/movements).

civil rights movement is an example of a time when protests and movements of citizens led to real change in the government.

growing awareness of environmental issues

people are more aware of environmental issues due to books like Silent Spring and disasters like the Cuyahoga River catching fire due to industrial pollution and oil spills in CA killing marine life.

This led to the creation of Earth Day in 1970.

Nixon creates EPA

in 1970 nixon creates EPA in response to growing awareness of environmental issues.

EPA does-

research on pollutants and their impact

monitor biological and physical condition of environment

establish environmental baselines

set and enforce environmental standards

Congress passes environmental statues

Clean Water Act

Clean Air Act

Endangered Species Act

National Environmental Policy Act

Vermont population growth

since 1950s Vermont's population has been increasing

The decline of agriculture

the 19th-century decline in agriculture continues after the 1950s with the return of the forests and increased conservation efforts.

tourism

with the development of interstate and ski resorts, Vermont has become a tourist destination and place people own second homes. Act 250 controls how Vermont has developed.

The development paradox

because Vermont has prioritized keeping VT largely undeveloped to maintain the sense of place, it has threatened to make Vermont a place for the wealthy and elitist.

Functions of government branches

legislative- makes laws, approves presidential appointments,

Executive- administers laws, pardons people, appoints federal judges

judicial- decides if laws are constitutional.

sources of environmental law

legislation, regulations, court decisions, common law, constitutions, international treaties, and foreign regulations

environmental law regulates:

what: products, pollutants, facilities, parcels of land, animals, activities.

who: industries, companies, individuals, governments

social-ecological systems approach

understanding the connections between natural ecology and human culture.

nature- biological patterns and physical processes entwined in vegetation, wildlife, populations, species richness, wind, water, wetlands, and aquatic communities.

Culture -diverse human dimensions of economics, aesthetics, community social patterns, recreation, transportation, and sewage/waste handling.

the mosaic

tying together land, water, wildlife, and people in a mosaic of patches and corridor networks

corridors

a strip of natural habitat that connects separated populations

patches

patches of trees for animals to live

edges

edges of forests next to patches

matrix

the dominant land use

island biogeography

the size of an island and the distance from the mainland will determine the number of species on the islands. Where the colonization rate and extinction rate intersect is the number of species.

habitat fragmentation

separation of a landscape into various land-uses (e.g., development, agriculture, etc.), resulting innumerous small, disjunct habitat patches left for use by wildlife.

patch size sensitivity and forest interior species

species that are less common or have trouble reproducing in small habitats are patch-sensitive. They are forest interior species and breed in large interior of large forest tracts, away from an edge.

edge effects

small tracts of forest are unusable by forest interior species that need to be a certain distance from the edge. They cannot live in the edge habitat

conservation since 1950

state and federal gov have steadily bought land for conservation purposes.

rise in private, nonprofit conservation groups.

public-private partnerships with gov funding and incentive programs.

land trusts

non-profit land conservation organization

use conservation easements- permanently restricting development

use interdisciplinary knowledge with staff from an array of backgrounds.

conservation easement

an easement is a nonpossessory interest in someone else's land

a conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values.

Internal Revenue Code section 170 incentives

individuals may deduct from their taxable income the amount of any charitable contribution

civics of sustainability

need for civic capacity to do good conservation work- the ability to leverage all of the collective resources available in a given community toward achievement of public work

landscape ecology application to conservation planning

principles of landscape ecology (patches, corridors, edges, etc) can be applied to conservation planning to have a more positive result.

pileated wood pecker

forest birds that require large standing snags and downed wood. Live in evergreen or deciduous, and mixed forests.

drill holes in rotten wood to get food, the holes provide habitat for other species.

scarlet tanager

sensitive to habitat fragmentation- breed in deciduous/conifer mixed forests.

they eat insects and are strong fliers.

Chesnut-sided Warbler

live in young deciduous regrowth after a disturbance. also in stunted highland oak forests

eat insects

Black-throated Blue Warbler

live in large tracts of hardwoods and mixed forests with a shrubby understory

males sing to defend their breeding territory and chase away rival males.

common loon

breed on quiet remote freshwater lakes- sensitive to human disturbance

dive for fish in water

hermit thrush

forest understories, around edges or openings

forage on the ground for insects.

peregrine falcon

perch and next on skyscrapers, water towers, cliffs, and other tall structures. commonly along coasts. aerial dive to eat other smaller birds.

bobolink

bird of grassland, meadows, uncut pastures, and prairies. marshes and agricultural fields.

ground forage for seeds.

wood duck

found in wooded swamps, streams, beaver ponds, and small lakes. stay in wet areas with trees or cattails.

stick head below water to eat aquatic plants.

blackburnian warbler

breed in conifers and mixed forests. migrants are attracted to smaller habitats but can live in any environment with trees.

look on foliage for insects to eat.

planetary health

individual health (one person), public health (health of the population as a whole), global health (health and equity for all people), one health (connections between human health, animal health, and environment), planetary health (human civilization health and state of natural systems on which it depends.)

nine planetary boundaries

climate change, novel entities (chemical pollution), stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, ocean acidification, biogeochemical flows, freshwater change, land system change, biosphere integrity

nature contact

humans need nature contact for stress reduction, attentive restoration, and child development. Affects the way we feel, the way we think, and the actions we take.

how many birds in vermont?

396 species observed in Vermont--> 205 species breed in Vermont

wildlife watching

birds are good for the economy because of the birdwatching industry-- generates $54 billion a year.

do all snake bites excrete venom?

25% of snake bites are dry bites with no venom

environmental remediation

the removal of pollution or contaminants from the environment

ecosystem restoration

assisting in the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed

Urban stream syndrome

- concrete wall instead of streambank

- stream bank erosion- hearer to interact with riparian and floodplain

-full of pollutants (sediment, nutrients, pesticides, metals, organics, oil/grease)

principles of eco design

-solutions grow from a place

-ecological accounting informs design

-design with nature

-everyone is a designer

-make nature visible

social - ecological thinking

Social-ecological systems are linked systems of people and nature, emphasizing that humans must be seen as a part of, not apart from, nature.