Live shearing free-ranging guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in Patagonia for sustainable use

Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) populations declined after the introduction of domestic sheep and the emerging conflicts with sheep breeders and their livestock. Apart from conflicts with sheep ranching, guanacos have declined due to poaching, legal overhunting, and lack of sound management schemes. Guanacos have been proposed as a key species for rural development in Latin America, so research on tools for their sustainable use is required. We tested a mobile corral trap (MCT) designed for live-trapping and shearing free-ranging guanacos at four ranches along Patagonia. We assessed mortality and injury rates related to our procedures and calculated and compared roundup and capture efficiencies. We captured a total of 55 guanacos (13 females, 38 males, and 4 calves), and live-sheared 30. No mortalities were recorded. Average roundup and capture efficiencies were 11.9 guanacos roundup⁻¹ (range 8–20) and 11% (range 0.3–31.5%), respectively. Mean fleece weight was 307±15 g for females and 338±12 g for males. The MCT employed seems promising for capturing and shearing free-ranging guanacos for their sustainable use. Management implications include: (1) sheep ranches may obtain benefits, generating a positive perception toward guanacos; (2) guanaco populations may increase and even colonize devoid areas due to an increased protection level.     

The politics of barstool biology: Environmental knowledge and power in greater Northern Yellowstone

Critical researchers of underdevelopment have established a well-known record celebrating the environmental knowledges of subsistence communities in contested wildlife conservation zones. Similar battles are being fought over science, uncertainty, and wild animals in the American west, however, with far less attention to local epistemologies. Often dismissed as “barstool biology”, the ecological knowledges of local hunters in the Northern Yellowstone ecosystem are rooted in environmental experience and situated politics. How does local hunter knowledge diverge or converge with that of state officials, environmentalists, ranchers, and other constituencies, and to what effect on wildlife management policy? This paper seeks to answer that question, reviewing recent research amongst local resource users, managers, and activists in Montana. By rendering empirical the question of local knowledge around America’s oldest national park, rather than trying to “read it off” political affiliation, education, or livelihood, a clearer picture of power, knowledge, and conservation emerges. The results suggest that emerging management policies have developed from the discursive alliance of landowners, outfitters, and environmentalists, shifting priorities towards enclosure and exclusion in wildlife at the expense of other silent constituencies.     

A water-budget approach to restoring a sedge fen affected by diking and ditching

A vast, ground-water-supported sedge fen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA was ditched in the early 1900 s in a failed attempt to promote agriculture. Dikes were later constructed to impound seasonal sheet surface flows for waterfowl management. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, which now manages the wetland as part of Seney National Wildlife Refuge, sought to redirect water flows from impounded C-3 Pool to reduce erosion in downstream Walsh Ditch, reduce ground-water losses into the ditch, and restore sheet flows of surface water to the peatland. A water budget was developed for C-3 Pool, which serves as the central receiving and distribution body for water in the affected wetland. Surface-water inflows and outflows were measured in associated ditches and natural creeks, ground-water flows were estimated using a network of wells and piezometers, and precipitation and evaporation/evapotranspiration components were estimated using local meteorological data. Water budgets for the 1999 springtime peak flow period and the 1999 water year were used to estimate required releases of water from C-3 Pool via outlets other than Walsh Ditch and to guide other restoration activities. Refuge managers subsequently used these results to guide restoration efforts, including construction of earthen dams in Walsh Ditch upslope from the pool to stop surface flow, installation of new water-control structures to redirect surface water to sheet flow and natural creek channels, planning seasonal releases from C-3 Pool to avoid erosion in natural channels, stopping flow in downslope Walsh Ditch to reduce erosion, and using constructed earthen dams and natural beaver dams to flood the ditch channel below C-3 Pool. Interactions between ground water and surface water are critical for maintaining ecosystem processes in many wetlands, and management actions directed at restoring either ground- or surface-water flow patterns often affect both of these components of the water budget. This approach could thus prove useful in guiding restoration efforts in many hydrologically altered and managed wetlands worldwide.     

Mapping eastern equine encephalitis virus risk for white-tailed deer in Michigan

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is often fatal to humans and horses. Some species including white-tailed deer and passerine birds can survive infection with the EEE virus (EEEV) and develop antibodies that can be detected using laboratory techniques. In this way, collected serum samples from free ranging white-tailed deer can be used to monitor the presence of the virus in ecosystems. This study developed and tested a risk index model designed to predict EEEV activity in white-tailed deer in a three-county area of Michigan. The model evaluates EEEV risk on a continuous scale from 0.0 (no measurable risk) to 1.0 (highest possible risk). High risk habitats are identified as those preferred by white-tailed deer that are also located in close proximity to an abundance of wetlands and lowland forests, which support disease vectors and hosts. The model was developed based on relevant literature and was tested with known locations of infected deer that showed neurological symptoms. The risk index model accurately predicted the known locations, with the mean value for those sites equal to the 94th percentile of values in the study area. The risk map produced by the model could be used refine future EEEV monitoring efforts that use serum samples from free-ranging white-tailed deer to monitor viral activity. Alternatively, it could be used focus educational efforts targeted toward deer hunters that may have elevated risks of infection.     

Fisheries management at the tri-national border between Belize,Guatemala and Honduras

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System has considerably changed after a series of natural disturbances, especially hurricanes and extreme coral bleaching, and is further impacted by anthropogenic threats. Located at a tri-national border between Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, the Sapodilla Cayes Range is specifically impacted by tourism, commercial fishing and other anthropogenic activities occurring in the three countries and by the fact that Belize only claims 3 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone in the south pending a settlement to a border dispute with Guatemala. This area represents a source of income and food to several coastal communities and to Belize's economy. Key fisheries products harvested in the area by the three countries are the same but fisheries legislations and the number of fishermen are different, creating conflicts between fishermen. This paper summarizes the key problems that arise in southern Belizean fishing waters and the efforts made by the three countries to ensure the sustainability of the fishery.     

The Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act: Transparency of the environmental management of the offshore oil and gas industry

This paper considers the overall outcome of a “public environmental audit” of the government management of the oil and gas offshore industry in eastern Canada. Five requests for data sets were placed using the Access to Information Act; all five requests were denied by the Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board. This lack of access to environmental monitoring data significantly hinders the ability of independent scientific inquiry and/or public involvement in the environmental assessment process.     

Building resilience through interlocal relations: Case studies of polar bear and walrus management in the Bering Strait

Arctic coastal communities in the Bering Strait region of Alaska (USA) and Chukotka (Russia) share a close relationship with their natural environments that can be characterized as a social–ecological system. This system is complex, featuring changing ecosystem conditions, multiple jurisdictions, migratory animal populations, and several cultures. We argue that linkages between communities in both countries enhance the effectiveness of transborder polar bear and walrus conservation. We find that locally embedded bilateral institutions can provide effective management venues that persist despite slow or lacking processes of international law because they provide a better fit between rules for managing and the true system state.     

Tanzanite as conflict gem: Certifying a secure commodity chain in Tanzania

Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that al Qaeda sympathizers were using an obscure gemstone commodity known as tanzanite to raise funds for terrorist activities. Despite subsequent disclaimers by the US State Department, this allegation effectively marked tanzanite as a “conflict gem,” and set in motion a complex set of political maneuvers designed to rehabilitate the tanzanite industry’s reputation. This paper analyzes the immediate fallout from the Wall Street Journal article and the subsequent effects of anti-terrorist rhetoric on the tanzanite industry. I explore the origins of the “conflict gem” discourse and the political movement that has taken shape over the past decade to reform gemstone mining. Drawing on theories developed by critics of the fair trade movement, I examine a series of steps taken by the main corporate miner active in the tanzanite industry to re-brand and certify tanzanite as “conflict-free.” I underscore the degree to which these efforts have been inflected by new security provisions embodied in the USA Patriot Act.     

我国温泉旅游存在的问题及对策

近年来我国的温泉旅游发展比较迅速,然而关于温泉旅游的研究却不多,温泉旅游地已经出现了一些令人担忧的问题。文章在对温泉地诸多问题进行梳理的基础上,就如何解决问题进行了多层次的对策性论述,文章指出:呼吁出台温泉法,同时先行建设地方性资源管理条例,着手温泉村镇的自治性建设,开展区域性温泉地功能再布局研究,充分挖掘温泉地的展示效应,从而达到保护资源环境、发展温泉旅游的目的。文章还就如何建设"公益性"成分、关注开发资本结构问题进行了有建设性的阐述。