nr 1020 final

maple surgaring history

a time honored tradition

key feature of cultural identity

link between people and the territory they occupy

an economic driver for the rural northeast

sugar and red maples are most common in Northeastern North America

technology has increased over time

early attempts at tubing used metal and then they experimented with plastic

maple sugar tapping process

multiple species can be tapped but red and sugar maple are most common

tapping allows to extract sap while injuring the free

tap hole dimensions are crucial for the sustainability

want to make sure the tapping locations aren't too close together because it could damage the tree

sugar maple physiology

store start in cells during summer converting it to sugar in late winter and early spring

sugar in sap is the product of photosynthesis form the pervious summer

sugar is stored in the form of starch over the winter

sap flows through sapwood

release of carbon dioxide causes pressure to build in cells

sap flows trhough wound or tap hole when temperatures are above freezing

bird friendly maple

integrate bird conversation with vermont maple syrup industry by promoting sugarbush management practices that support health and sustainable production recognizing maple producers for considering bird habitat in their sugarbush increasing awareness about maple syrup and its natural benefits

proctor maple research center

focuses on research, education, and outreach

currently researching ecosystem health, tree health and productivity, sap collection and transformation, product development and quality

post WWII population growth and economic development

returning GI's and the baby boom

development of interstate highway system, many federal housing administration loands

expansion of opportunity for women, minority groups, and immigrants

post WWII baby boom

Caused much school building in the 1950s, a youth culture in the 1960s, and a growing concern about aging in the 1980s

post WWII interstates

revolutionize US transportation

post WWII FHA loans

housing boom

allowed for low down payments and government insured mortgages that allowed people returning from war to buy houses

post WWII women and minority groups increasingly enter workforce

fueled by economic growth and the need for dual income households

post WWII increasing reliance on chemical pesticides and herbicides

more faith in sicence and technology

rachel carson

biologist and writer for US fish and wildlife service

examined conseuqences of synthetic pesticsed including DDT

helped spark the modern envrionmental movement

reversal of pesticide policy and ban of DDT

helped set the stage for broader govenrment action on environmental problems

limits of common law legal claims

statutes of limitations, doctrine of laches, legislative overriding

growing state of scientific knowledge

combination of exponential increases in publication volume

critique of government and civil rights movement

movements hisotry is often whitewahsed failing to emphasize grassroots organizes over national leaders, while government actions were often graudalist and reactionary

growing awareness of environmental issues

driven by climate change impacts

earth day

itensifying call for government to regulate industry more closely to prevent enviornmental harm

nixon creates environment protection agency (EPA)

EPA would have the capacity to do research on important pollutants and their impact on the environment

EPA would monitor the biological and physical condition of the environment

establish quantitative envionrmental baselines

set and enforce standards for air and water quality and for indivudal pollutants

NEPA

National Environmental Policy Act

CAA

clean air act

CWA

Clean Water Act regulating water pollution.

controversy because 'navigable waters'

ESA

endangered species act

population growth since 1950

population doubles between 1950-1995

vermont since 1950

population doubles between 1950-1995

decline of agriculture

return of forests

increased conservation efforts

interstates, ski resorts

more indigenous abenaki groups start openly acknowledging their heritage

environmental law regulations

federal statutes

executive orders

agency rules

envrionmental law common law

allows indivudals to sue for harm to property or health caused by pollution

public trust doctrine

legal doctrine under which certain natural resources of the state are held in trust for all of the people, the state acts as the trustee to protect those resources for present and future geneations

legal principle establishing that states hold certain natural resources

protects the private exploitation of certain natural resources

ecological law and natural rights

legal paradigm shift that recognizes ecosystems as legal subjects with inherent rights to exist rather than property to be owned

mosaic

overarching pattern of the landscape

matrix

most extensive and most connected element in the landscape

the background land cover type that plays the primary role in how the landscape functions

areas between patches of habitats

corridors

strips of land that differ form the matrix on either side.

allow widlife and/ or nutrients to move safely through the landscape

edges

transition zones or boundaries where two different land cover types meet

patches

relatively homogenous areas that differ from their surroundings

often discrete islands of habiat

landscape connectivity

permits movement between patches

corridors can function as travel lanes for indivudals moving within their home range, dispersal routes for indivudals traveling between habitats

corridors can- encourage gene flow among subpopulations, help reestablish species in habitats where they have gone locally extinct

habitat fragmentation

the separation of a landscape into various land-uses resulting in numerous small, disjunct habitat patches left for use by wildlife

developed land in vermont has greatly increased

island biogeography

study of factors affecting species richness and diversity in isolated natural communities

patch size sensitivtiy

about toal space needed

species that are less common or that have trouple reproducing in small patches

forest interior species

proximity to habitat edges

species which breed in the interior of large forest tracts, away from edges

ex- ovenbird, wood thrust

edge effects

a change in species composition physical conditions or other ecological factors at the boundary between two ecosystems

ecological edges provide differences in- sunlight, moisture, temp, wind, predators, vegetation

ex- american robin

conversation since 1950

political transformation, tension between development and environmental preservation

state and federal action since 1950

focused on landmark land use regulation, envrionmental protection and pioneering civil rights

rise of private conservation and land trust since 1950

evolving from a few small scale efforts into robust movements

conservation easements

voluntary legally binding agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permantely restricts development on a property to protect its natural value

deed that gets recorded in the local land records but does not transfer ownerhsip of the land

tax incenstives under IRC section 170

allows individuals and corporations to deduct donations or cash from their taxable income

landscape ecology principles application to conversation planning

enhancing connectivity between habitats, creating wildlife corridors, managing patch size for edge effects

new civics of sustainability

state mandated climate action, legal accountability for polluters

ecological desgn

integrates living processes and environmental considerations into development to minizmise destructive impacts over a products or structures life

two groups of evironmentalists prior to 1960

preservation of wilderness areas

sustainable conservation of resources

dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane

DDT

widely used de-lousing agent after WWII

considerded a miracle discovery, saving lives by reducing malaria and typhus

silent spring

book by rahcel carson that told the story of how bird populations suffer from DDT exposure

very influencial

the precautionary principle

a principle based on the belief that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard

when an activity raises threats of harm to human health of the environment precautionary measures should be tkaen even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically

the development paradox

contradictory relations that question the claims of, and express the various social inequalities, environmental impacts, rights conflicts, cultural/aesthetic outcomes and practices crystallized in, the development process

negative relationship between a nations wealth and its citizens reported sense of meaning and purpose

act 250

Preserve VT's natural beauty

Ten Review Criteria

* Natural Environment (air, water, etc.)

* Social Environment (traffic, town resources, etc.)

* Community impacts

pine street barge canal area

plant wastewater, residual oil, and other discharge were put into the adjacent wetland

compounds were found seeping into the canal

love canal

most dramatic environmental contamination in US history

birth defects and miscarriages

superfund

A fund created by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites. Money for the fund comes from taxing chemical products.

ecological law

seeks to protect the environment and reduce pollution but balanced against economic costs, parcticability, and technological feasibility

winooski abenaki home

winooski abenaki fled north when european settlers came to the river

the dam messed up the natural flow of things and impacted their hunting

winooski mill town

ira allen built a damn in the winooski

located here because geology drove economics

textile production began and became a dominant industry

champlain mill working conditions and child labor

slowly worsened as mills competed against each other

mill owners responded to strikes by hiring new immigrants who would work for less money

flood of 1927

One of the worst natural disasters in the nations history

countless homes, buildings and infrastructure was destoryed

fish elevator

mechanical system used to transport migrating fish over high dams or barriers

law

statutes

regulations

court decisions

international law

environmental law

protects people and places

imposes precaution

balances protections with costs

pushes cleaner technology

internalizes an externality

authorizes, allocates, or prevents development

the commerce clause

The clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.

ramifications for how CWA dispute gets resolved

lots of people need permits

time and money

confusion about what is jurisdicational has persisted for a long time

epa conform with Sackett

todays final rule removes the signficant nexus test from consideration when identifying tributaries and other waters a federally protected

social ecological systems approach

understanding the interconnections between natural ecology and human culture

landscape ecology and conservation

tying together land,water, wildlife and people

wood thrush

during breeding season prefer mature deciduous or mixed forests with tall trees and a dense undersotry for foraging and nesting

eats mostly invertebrates from forest floor

declining in vermont

landscape

kilometers wide mosaic over which local ecosystems and land uses recur

landscape ecology

the study of how spatial patterns interact with ecological processes across a landscape

habitat fragmentation causes in Vermont

escalating property values

escalating land prices

increased property taxes

conveyance of land from aging landowners

exurbanization

umbrella species

generally require large areas to forage and/or breed successfully

protecting enough habitat to ensure a viable population of these species helps preserve other species with more limited ranges

conservation since 1950

state and federal governments have steadily bought up land for conservation purposes

rise in importance of private, non-profit conservation groups

public-private partnerships with gvoernment funding and incentive programs

growth of conservation commissions

land trust

non profit land conservation organization

work to conserve land with a legal tool called conservation easemnt

different legal entities used to manage land for conservation development or investment purposes

easement

nonpossessory interest in someone else's land

acquired nonpossessory interest in land owned by another part

affirmative easement

non possessory right to use land that belonds to another

negative easement

restriction that the owner places on her own land to benefit another person or the land itself

promise not to do something with a certain piece of property

internal revenue code section 170

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

conservation atlas

to make conservation data more accessible and to foster transparency in town land use decisions

vermont conservation design

natural community and habitat features- natural communities, young and old forests, aquatic habitats

landscape features- interior forest blocks, surface waters and riparian areas

bioremediation

use of microorganisms or plants to clean up polluted envrionments such as oil spills by breaking down or neutralizing hazardous pollutants into non toxic subtances

mycoremediation

form of bioremediation that uses fungi to degrade, squester, or break down environmental pollutants such as oil

ecosystem restoration

process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed

intervention ecology

covers a wide range of active interventions in ecosystem dynamics that are increasingly required in order to ensure the continuation of ecosystem service provision and biodiversity conservation

interventions

include altering the biological, physical, and chemical structures and processes within ecosystems and changing human behavior and policy

can be aimed at leverage points, both within ecosystems and in the broader social system

design

the intentional shaping of matter, energy, and processes to meet a perceived need or desire

ecologcial design

any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes

5 principles of ecological design

solutions grow from place

ecological accounting informs design

design with nature

everyone is a designer

make nature visible

carrying capacity

maximum number of species a habitat can sustain indefinitely

natural sound

increases cognitive restoration

improves mood

promotes stress recovery

anthropogenic sound

impairs cognitive performance

increaes annoyance

releases stress hormones

soundscape research at muir woods

created quiet zones and found that people were more annoyed by certain sounds

sound impact on birds

bird detections decreased during the day with increased sound level

bird vocalizations decreased in evening during quiet treatment

key parts of field naturalist training

communication

ecological research

land conservation

education

conservation science

environmental consulting

translational ecology

bioregionalism

seeks harmony with natural characteristics of a specific region defined by its ecological and topographical features rather than political boundaries

emphasizes local self sufficiency, sustainability and the development of a culture deeply connected to its local enviromnet

focuses local food and materials promoting local economies, and encouraging a sense of place and responsibility for the environment

environmental movement that holds that local populations should be self sustaining based on the resoucres of their surrounding biogregions and largley sef governing

ahupua'a

Sections of land; self-sufficient ecosystems in Hawaii, , land division-. Division of land in Hawaii into pie shapes. Each pie shap had all the differenct geographic/economic typles -sea./fishing, -plains/farming-tarro root, sugar canes, pineapples, etc. Hawaii economy based on trade not $$$, cheifts would manage trade amogst commoners.

ecological extension service

connects and empowers communities to develop resilience in the face of climate change and other destabilizing forces

ecological planning lab

field naturalist program and UVM extension

ecological extension service

integrated emphasis at the watershed scale