Treesearch

Twentieth-century forest management practices of fire exclusion have caused a buildup of forest fuels that, combined with current weather patterns, threaten the ecological health of the Colorado Front Range. The year 2002 clearly demonstrated the potential for catastrophic wildfire in the area. During that year's fire season, the Hayman fire moved across 13 8,000 acres of the Pike National Forest, located south and west of Denver. The South Platte River watershed coincides with much of the Pike National Forest, and the urban and suburban populations of Denver - currently in an apparently...

Once again, the IJW has ventured into new territory. In previous issues, the Journal has featured various countries (such as Finland, Canada, and South Africa), continents (such as Antarctica and South America), and topics (such as wild rivers and monitoring). One issue even had a focus on the state of Alaska in the United States, but this is the first issue concentrated on one place. Denali National Park and Preserve is that place. Whereas one issue of the IJW could never communicate all of the information of interest about this place, several articles were developed specifically to...

Coleogyne ramosissima Torr. (blackbrush) and Atriplex confertifolia [Torr. & Frem.] Wats. (shadscale) are cold desert shrubs from different families that often grow together in the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau in the life zone between 800 and 2000 m elevation. Tissue and seeds from the two species were collected from several localities. Metabolic heat and carbon dioxide production rates were measured with calorespirometry on tissue from field-grown plants and on seedlings at temperatures from 5 to 35°C at 5°C intervals. Blackbrush adapts to higher temperatures earlier than does...

Historically, Wyoming toads (Bura baxteri) were abundant in the vicinity of Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming (Baxter, 1952; Corn, 1991), where they were found in the flood plains of the Big and Little Laramie rivers (Stebbins, 1985), an area of only 2,330 km2 (Lewis et aI., 1985). A rapid decline was observed in the mid-1970s (Lewis et al., 1985) when they disappeared from most of their range. Surveys in the early 1980s yielded few animals, and Lewis et a1. (1985) reported their possible extinction in 1983. Wyoming toads were listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act in February...

There is wide agreement that sustainability has multiple dimensions, but substantially less agreement on the appropriate balance among those dimensions. This occurs because peoples' vision of a sustainable future, their goals for sustainable development, and their objectives for resource management are reflections of their values, culture, and life experiences. Even assuming agreement about the objectives of sustainable resource management can be reached; there is still a need for policy and decision makers to choose from among alternative courses of action, each of which has its own set...

Disturbance from wildland recreation is widespread, extending even to many remote and protected areas, and its effects have important ramifications for wildlife. Yet, many wildlife scientists and managers do not receive training to assess and manage this disturbance. Unlike many topics in this book, wildland recreation has not been a traditional subject of analysis or concern in wildlife curricula. Recreational activity and disturbance occurs in many natural areas near suburbs and cities, but wildlands typically are larger and more complex, provide more living space for wildlife, and are...

The large parks and preserves in Alaska, the wildest places that keep our nation’s legacy of wilderness character for future generations, are not immune from onslaughts such as trans-oceanic air pollutants, non-native species, and global climate change. No manager today doubts or questions the need for reliable and accurate information as a basis for preserving the natural heritage and character of Alaska’s wilderness. Science is the principal means for deriving such information and has indisputably improved both park and wilderness stewardship (e.g., Peterson 1996, Graber 2002). However,...

Boreal toads (Bufo b. boreas) are widely distributed over much of the mountainous western United States. Populations in the Southern Rocky Mountains suffered extensive declines in the late 1970s through early 1980s (Carey, 1993). At the time, these mass mortalities were thought to be associated with a bacterial infection (Carey, 1993). Although the few populations that survived the mass die-offs were not systematically monitored until at least 1993, no mass mortalities had been observed until 1996 when die-offs were observed. A mycotic skin infection associated with a chytrid fungus is now...

Tubifex tubifex is the definitive host for Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease in salmonid fish. Several mitochondrial lineages of T. tubifex exhibit resistance to M. cerebralis infection. Release of the triactinomyxon form of the parasite from T. tubifex varies with water temperature; however, little is known about the interactive effects of temperature and photoperiod on the susceptibility of T. tubifex lineages to M. cerebralis infection. In addition, the environmental effects on the growth, reproduction, and survival of T. tubifex lineages are unknown....

In recent years, the demand has grown for information on how to conserve bat populations in forested ecosystems. Many researchers have responded with studies of bats in forests, but few have studied bat communities in arid-adapted forest types, such as pinyon-juniper woodlands, which are widespread and abundant throughout the west. In this study, I evaluated the relative use and importance of pinyon-juniper woodlands to bats in west-central New Mexico by comparing bats captured in pinyon-juniper woodlands with those captured in ponderosa pine forest. I compared species richness and...