Sustaining Ecosystems

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Sustaining Ecosystems

• Land Use, Conservation, Management
  Deforestation, Biodiversity and Forest Management

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• We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity
  belonging to us. When we see land as a community
  to which we belong we may begin to use it with
  love and respect.
• Aldo Leopold

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5 Reasons Forests are Commercially Important

• Lumber for housing
• Biomass for fuelwood
• Pulp for papers
• Medicines
• Food (agriculture)

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5 Reasons forests are ecologically important

• Slow down runoff/erosion
• Water recharge for surface/groundwater
• Influence climate (water cycle, photosynthesis,
  cellular respiration)
• Vital to global carbon cycle
• Air purification

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Why is Biodiversity considered a key
environmental problem?

• A biological wealth vital to all life economies
• The ecological processes associated with
  biodiversity such as matter cycling, energy flow,
  and species interactions is vital to all life and
  economies
• Biological consequences of biodiversity loss
  through environmental degradation impact lives
  and economies.

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• The ecological health of an area are described in
  terms of biodiversity richness and ecological
  integrity which is the conditions and natural
  processes that generate and maintain biodiversity
  and allow evolutionary change as a key mechanism
  for adapting to changes in environmental
  conditions.
• Conservation Biology
• maintaining earths life support system

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Age of Conservation

• Between 1872-1927 increased involvement of
  federal government
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Persuaded Congress to give him power to designate
  public land as federal wildlife refuges.
• Established first wildlife refugee, 1903 at
  Pelican Island, Florida for preservation of the
  endangered brown pelican
• Tripled the size of the forest reserves and
  transferred administration from DOI to Dept of
  Agriculture
• 1905 US Forest Service created
• Gifford Pinchot as its first chief
• Used principles of sustainable yield and multiple
  use

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Public Lands in the US

• USA largest area public lands
• Mostly Alaska (73) West US (22)
• Classified as
• multiple use lands
• Moderately restricted lands
• Restricted-use lands

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Multiple Use Lands

• Grasslands Forests managed by US Forest Service
• Principles of Management
• Sustainable yield (cutting trees no faster than
  they could regenerate)
• Multiple use (timber harvesting, grazing,
  recreation, wildlife conservation)
• Actual uses
• Logging
• Mining
• livestock grazing
• oil extraction
• Recreation
• sport/commercial fishing
• Hunting
• watershed, soil wildlife conservation

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Multiple Use Lands

• National Resource Lands Alaska are managed by
  the Bureau of Land Management managed under
  multiple use principal with an emphasis on
  providing secure domestic supply of energy and
  strategic minerals and on preserving rangelands
  for livestock under a permit system.

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Moderately Restricted-Use Lands

• 508 National Wildlife Refuges managed by USFWS
• Protect habitats and breeding areas for waterfowl
  and big game to provide a harvestable supply for
  hunters, protect endangered species
• Some permittable uses include
• Sport hunting
• Trapping
• Sport/commercial fishing
• Oil gas development
• Mining
• Logging
• Grazing
• Military activities
• Farming
• DOI must find these uses compatible with the
  purpose of each refuge

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Restricted Use Lands

• Permitted Uses camping, hiking, sport fishing,
  boating, sport hunting, mining, and oil/gas
  drilling
• 49 of the National Park System is designated as
  wilderness area.
• Managed by National Park Service, FWS, Bureau of
  Land Management (BLM)
• 375 National Parks include major parks,
  recreational areas, monuments, memorial,
  battlefields, historic sites, parkways, trails,
  rivers, seashores, and lakeshores
• Example Fire Island National Seashore

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Restricted Use Lands

• T. Roosevelt set up initial system
• Carter made most additions, especially Alaska in
  1980
• Clinton added a new national monument area the
  size of Yellowstone in 1996.

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Property Rights Controversy

• Paralyze government regulation of public lands
• Local regulations would take precedence over
  federal regulations
• Ultimately limit environmental degradation
• Private industry using public lands would pursue
  court battles. Would sue federal government for
  losses ? compensation
• Eminent Domain force a citizen to sell property
  needed for public good. (5th Amendment)
  compensation for property loss is debatable.
• If ALL properties including wetlands had to be
  compensated for eminent domain property takings
  there would be no money left for regulatory
  branch.
• Pay me and I wont pollute, develop this land,
  build an incinerator or landfill here, or fill in
  this wetland!

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Managing Sustaining Rangelands

• Rangeland land that supplies forage or
  vegetation for grazing (grass-eating) and
  browsing (shrub-eating) animals.
• They act as watershed areas habitat for wildlife
• Supports ruminants digest cellulose in grasses
  and convert it to meat milk
• Cows, sheep, goats (domesticated)
• Rangelands also provide areas for hiking,
  camping, and hunting

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Managing Sustaining Rangelands

• Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze
  for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of
  a grassland area
• Impacts from overgrazing
• Decrease biodiversity
• Soil compaction ? decrease water holding capacity
• Increase erosion because it becomes drier,
  prickly pear cactus and mesquite (shrub) dominate
  ? desertification
• Impacts adjacent riparian zones
• Riparian Zone thin strips of lush vegetation
  along streams which prevent floods by absorption
  of flood waters
• Overgrazing causes increased soil erosion along
  banks of stream/rivers ? mud down streams
  (turbidity increases, decrease in dissolved
  oxygen) ? degraded water quality

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How should rangelands by managed?

• Goal maximize livestock productivity without
  overgrazing rangeland vegetation
• Methods
• Stocking rate most widely used. Control the
  number of each kind of animal/unit area so an
  areas carrying capacity is not exceeded
  resource partitioning by ranchers
• Continuous grazing occurs throughout the year
  and requires little rancher intervention.
  Problem they tend to overgraze flat areas and
  riparian zones
• Deferred-Rotation Grazing moving livestock
  between 2 or more range areas to allow perennial
  grasses to recover from grazing
• Ranchers must also consider predator control
  coyotes, grey wolf, grizzly bear
• Solution penning young lambs/cattle together
  for 30 days ? allow them to graze together.
  Cattle kicking predators, protecting sheep

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Grazing on public lands

• Big Business pay very low fees for permits
• How can it become more sustainable?
• Limit grazing in riparian areas
• Ban grazing on stressed rangeland
• Competitive bidding for grazing permits
• Allow environmental groups to purchase grazing
  permits, even if they choose not to graze the
  land
• Raise grazing fees to fair market value
• Abolish rancher-dominated advisory boards

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Managing Sustaining National Parks

• 54 Nationally,1100 Globally
• Parks are threatened by
• Natural resources in developing countries
• Poachers
• popularity increases, but budget cuts to park
  service (1 park ranger 84,000 visitors)
• Plagued with litter, noise, traffic jams
• Increased crime
• Invasion of non-native species
• Yellowstone 1000 snowmobiles/day
• Tailpipe admissions of 1.7 million cars/year!
• Vanishing predators (wolves, bear, coyotes)

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Developing Countries

• Integrated Management Plans (IMP)
• Combine conservation practices with sustainable
  development of resources in and adjacent to parks
• Core Protection Areas
• Buffer Areas (surrounding the core)
• Commercial logging, sustainable grazing by
  livestock, sustainable hunting/fishing
• Involve residents in developing management and
  restoration plans for the park
• IMPs need adequate funding to be successful and
  inner core areas must be large enough to sustain
  larger animals

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How can US National Parks be improved?

• Presently managed under natural regulation as
  if they were wilderness ecosystems that would
  sustain themselves if left alone.
• Annual budget 1.5 billion
• 6 billion backlog of maintenance, repairs high
  priority construction to accommodate increase
  visitors numbers
• 92 budget to spent on visitor services
• 7 spent on natural resources protection
• 1 spent on environmental research for ecological
• management strategies

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How can US Nat. Parks be improved?

• All entrance fees used for management, upkeep and
  repair instead of going into national treasury
• Require IMPs for all parks and nearby federal
  lands.
• Increase new parkland near the most threatened
  parks
• Increase budget for buying private lands within
  parks
• Identify all available visitor parking
• Increase private concession fees to 22 presently
  pay 6.7 of gross income
• Concessionaires should lease, not own the land
• Increase entrance fees
• Restrict numbers of visitors
• Encourage volunteers to give lectures/tours NOT
  National Park Service personnel
• Encourage donations from individuals/corporations
  fo public maintenance/repair

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Biodiversity Sanctuaries

• Set up Biosphere Reserves worldwide (presently
  300)
• Goal large enough to support species and
  combine conservation and sustainable use of
  natural resources
• Conservation biologists believe that in order to
  protect biodiversity and ecological integrity is
  through a worldwide network of reserves, parks,
  wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness and other
  protected areas.
• Minimum 10 of globes land area!
• Based on theory of Island Biogeography (habitat
  islands)
• Many countries cant set aside large tracts of
  land
• Establish wildlife corridors connecting
  small-medium sized bioreserve areas. (allows for
  migration and genetic diversity)

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1996 World Wildlife Fund

• Identified 217 terrestrial, marine, and
  freshwater eco-regions in greatest need of
  protection (Earths most bio-diverse countries)
  Australia, North S America, Mexico, India, China,
  Parts of Africa
• Most economists, developers, and miners disagree
  with protecting these areas!

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Why preserve Wilderness Areas?

• US Wilderness Act of 1964
• Act authorized the government to protect
  undeveloped tract of public land as part of
  National Wilderness System unless Congress later
  decides they are needed for the national good.
  Land in this system is to be used only for
  nondestructive forms of recreation such as hiking
  and camping.
• Why preserve them?
• Aesthetic Value
• Psychological value
• Preserve biodiversity and ecological integrity
• Preserve for scenic/recreational purposes
• Protect areas from exploitation and degradation

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US National Wild Scenic Rivers System

• 1968 National Wild Scenic Rivers Act
• Protected if have outstanding scenic,
  recreational, geological, wildlife, historical
  or cultural value
• Free of development
• Only 0.2 of rivers listed
• Urge for 1500 more to be added

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US National Trails System

• 1968 Protects scenic and historic hiking trails
• Low priority, receives little funding