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Land & Water Use
Study Guide,Test
March 2
2/21/17
Bellwork - Read about the gray wolf on page 235 and answer the critical thinking.
Lecture - Rangelands & Other Land Use
Video: Bozeman Science, Forestry & Rangelands
HW - pg 354-360
Remember to find your lab notebook for Friday!
Rangelands & Other Land Use
Rangelands
Rangelands are vast natural landscapes in the forms of grasslands, shrublands,
wetlands and deserts
They provide valuable grazing lands, source of high-quality water, clean air, and
open space
A habitat for a diverse wide array of animals and plants
Rangelands are being compromised by overgrazing and desertification
Overgrazing
Occurs when plants are exposed to grazing for too long without recovery periods
Consequences include
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Pastures are less productive
Biodiversity decreases by reducing natural vegetation
Erosion
Negatively impacts watershed
Increases the incidence of disease in native plants
Affects land to point where sustainability is
threatened
Desertification
The conversion of useable land to more desert like, typically losing vegetation and
wildlife
Often caused by overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought, climate change or
overuse of available resources
Steps to desertification
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Overgrazing results from animals eating all available plant life
Rain washed away trampled soil because it can’t hold water anymore
Wells, springs, and other water sources dry up
Vegetation that is left dies from drought or take for firewood
Weeds unsuitable for grazing take over
Wind and dry heat blow away topsoil
Federal Rangeland Management
Method include
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Controlling the number and distribution of livestock so that the carrying
capacity is not exceed
Restoring degraded rangeland
Moving livestock from one area to another to allow plants to recover
Fencing off stream area to reduce damage to waterways
Suppressing the growth of invasive plant species
Replanting barren rangelands with native grass to reduce soil erosion
Providing supplemental feed at selected sites
Locating water holes, water tanks, and salt blocks at points that do not
degrade the environment
Relevant laws
Taylor Grazing Act (1934) - requires grazing permits on federal lands
Renewable Resources Planning Act, 1974 - mandates periodic assessments of
forests and rangelands in US. conducted by U.S. Forest Service.assessment
includes the analyses of wildlife and fish, biodiversity, water, outdoor recreation,
wilderness, urban forests, and the effects of climate change on these resources
Public Rangelands Improvement Act, 1978 - established and reaffirmed a
commitment to manage, maintain, and improve the condition of public rangelands
so that they become as productive as possible
Other Land Use
Urban Land Development
Energy needs of building account for ½ of sulfur dioxide emissions, ¼ of nitrous
oxide emissions, and ⅓ of carbon dioxide emissions
Green Building
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Energy conservation through government and private industry rebates and tax incentives for solar
and other less-polluting forms of energy
Resource efficient building techniques and materials
Indoor air quality
Water conservation through the use of xeriscaping
Designs that minimize waste while utilizing recycled materials
Placing buildings whenever possible near public transportation hubs though a multitude of venues
such as light rail, subways, and park and rides
Creating environments that are pedestrian friendly by incorporating parks, green-belts, and
shopping areas in accessible areas
Providing historical and cultural aspects of the community while at the same time blending into the
natural feeling and aesthetics of a community
Suburban sprawl & Urbanization
Urbanization - movement of people from rural areas to cities and the changes
that accompany it
Suburban sprawl - the outward spreading of a city and its suburbs to low density
rural lands. Causes more car dependence, destruction of habitats, and other
health, environmental and cultural issues
Today more people live in urban communities than rural communities
Reasons for this shift - access to jobs, higher standards of living, easier
access to health care, mechanization of agriculture, and access to education
Urbanization - Pro with Cons
Use less land → less impact on the environment
BUT impact on land is more concentrated and
pronounced (like water runoff and flooding)
Better educational delivery system
BUT schools can become overcrowded
Urbanization - Pro with Cons
Mass transit systems decrease reliance on fossil fuels, so commuting distances
are shorter
BUT commuting times are longer because the infrastructure cannot keep up
with growth
Urbanization - Pro with Cons
They have better sanitation systems
BUT sanitation systems have greater volumes
of waste to deal with
Recycling systems are more efficient
BUT solid waste buildup is more pronounced.
Landfill spaces becomes scarce and costly
Urbanization - Pro with Cons
Large numbers of people generate high tax
revenue
BUT large numbers of poor people place
strains on social services. This results in
wealthier people moving from urban areas into
suburbs and decreasing the tax base
Urbanization - Pro with Cons
Urban areas attract industry due to availability of raw materials, distribution
networks, customers, and labor pool
BUT higher population densities increase crime rates and population increase
can be greater than job growth
Much of the pollution comes from point sources, enabling focused remediation
techniques
BUT since population densities are high, pollution levels are also high (urban
heat islands, ozones levels → smog, and water/soil pollution)
Transportation Infrastructure
Transportation can be via roadways or water channels
Areas without transportation infrastructure suffer an ecosystem impact
Federal Highway System
Contains approximately 160,000 miles of roadway
important to the nation’s economy, defense, and
mobility
The systems serves all major U.S. cities, so
unlike most industrialized countries, interstates go
through downtown areas and facilitate urban
sprawl
Federal Highway System
As efficient and well-maintained federal highway system can have the following
impacts on the environment
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Less pollutants
Reduce greenhouse gases
Improve fuel economy and reduce foreign oil dependence
Improve economy
Improve quality of life
Canals and Channels
Channels - a relatively narrow body of water than connects two larger bodies of
water. Channels can occur naturally or be constructed
The two largest canals in the world of major economic value are the Panama
Canal, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and Suez Canal, connecting
the Red Sea and the Mediterranean
Roadless Areas & Ecosystem Impacts
Roadless areas are places where no roads have been built and where, as a result,
no logging or other development can occur
The areas are havens for fish and wildlife whose habitats in many other forest
areas have been fragmented or entirely destroyed
Roadless Area Conservation Rule (2001)
Establishes prohibitions on road (re)construction and timber harvesting on 58.5
million acres of inventoried roadless areas on National Forest System lands. The
intent is to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the
National Forest System in the context of multiple-use management
Public and Federal Lands
The federal government manages public lands. It sets aside area as national
parks, wildlife refuges, and wetlands
Management
The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for managing 262 million acres of
land, about ⅛ of the land in the US
It manages a wide variety of resources and uses; and minerals, timber, forage,
wild horse and burro populations, fish and wildlife habitats, wilderness areas, and
archaeological, paleontological, and historical sites
National Parks
Over 1,100 national parks in the world today, however,
many of them do not receive proper protection from
poachers, loggers, miners, or farmers
U.S. National Parks are threatened by high demand by
large numbers of visitors, which lead to congestion, eroded
trails, noise that disrupts wildlife, and pollution from autos
and visitors
Relevant Laws
Yellowstone National Park Act (1872) - preserves the watershed of the
Yellowstone River, “for the benefit and the enjoyment of the people”. For the first
time, public lands were preserved by the federal government
Relevant Laws
National Park Service Act (1916) - established that
national parks are to be maintained in a manner that
leaves them unimpaired for future generations and
established the National Park Service to manage the
parks
Relevant Laws
Outdoor Recreation Act (1963) - Laid out the Interior Department’s role as
coordinator of all federal agencies for programs affecting the conservation and
development of recreation resources
Relevant Laws
Wilderness Act (1964) - wilderness was
defined by its lack of noticeable human
modification or presence. Federal officials
are required to manage wilderness areas
in a manner conducive to retention of
their wilderness character
Relevant Laws
Land & Water Conservation Fund Act (1965) established a fund, administered by the National Park
Service, to assist the states and federal agencies in
meeting present and future outdoor recreation
demands and needs of the American people
Relevant Laws
National Trails System Act (1968) established a national system of
recreational, scenic, and historic trails
Relevant Laws
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1966) established a system of areas distinct from the
traditional park concept to ensure the protection
of each river’s unique environment. It also
preserves certain selected rivers that possesses
outstanding scenic, recreational, geological,
cultural, or historic values and maintains their
free-flowing condition
Wildlife Refuges
System created by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 as response to wildlife
crisis
Early refuges were established primarily to protect wildlife and in later years also
protected waterways
National Wildlife Refuge System, consisting
today of 547 refuges encompassing more than
93 million acres and is managed by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Wetlands
Wetlands - areas that are covered by water and support plants than can grow in
water saturated soil. High plant productivity supports a rich diversity of animal life.
Wetlands serve as natural water purification systems removing sediments,
nutrients, and toxins from water
U.S. has lost half of its wetlands
90% of wetland habitat loss is due to conversion
of the land to agriculture, the rest of the loss is
due to urbanization
February 22, 2017
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Bellwork: Science Focus, pg 253
Today’s topic: Fishing
Tonight’s hw: pg 360 - 367
Guiding question:
What kind of fishing technique was this?
Fishing
Review Questions
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What does HIPPCO stand for? pg 250-254
Draw pictures of the following fishing techniques - bottom trawling, drift net,
long line, and purse-seine (they don’t have to be good drawings) pg 256-257
What is overfishing and why is it bad? pg 254-255
What is aquaculture? pg 285
What are pros and cons of aquaculture? pg 293
Fishing Techniques - Bottom Trawling
Funnel shaped net dragged across the ocean bottom
Fishing Techniques - Drift Nets
Long nets hand downs that traps many species, including turtles and dolphins
(1992 voluntary ban on driftnets longer than 1.5 miles has had some success)
Fishing Techniques - Long line
Contains thousands of baited hooks on longlines
Fishing Techniques - Purse Seine
Surrounds large schools of fish spotted by aircraft or sonar, then net is drawn tight
Overfishing
Oceans have been looked on as unlimited resources, as a result people are
fishing so much that the fish cannot sustain their population
Oceans provide 1% of the world’s food and 10% of the world’s protein
Need to manage fisheries more sustainably
Aquaculture
Known as fish farming
Involves stock, feeding, protection from predators, and harvesting
Aquaculture - The Good
On small local scales, it provides sustainable protein-rich food and economic
development to local communities and cheaper than raising livestock
Aquaculture - The Bad
On a large industrial scale, creates dense monoculture, reduces biodiversity, wide
scale destruction of natural habitats, escape of non-native species into waters
Can you figure out now what kind of fishing this is?
February 23
Bellwork - Answer the Critical Thinking on page 362
Today - Mining!
Tomorrow - Cookie Mining Lab (they will sadly not be eaten).
Bring your lab notebook!
HW - None!! (although you should be working on your study guide)
Mining
Review Questions
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What’s a mineral resource? List some examples
What’s an ore? Distinguish high grade and low grade.
Define → a) reserves, b) surface mining, c) subsurface mining, d)
overburden, e) spoils, f) open-pit mining, g) strip mining, h) area strip mining,
i) contour strip mining, j) mountaintop removal, k) smelting, l) gangue
What are environmental effects of mining nonrenewable mineral and energy
resources?
What are environmental effects of processing nonrenewable mineral and
energy resources?
What are environmental effects of using nonrenewable mineral and energy
resources?
Types of Mining
Surface mining - the soil and rock overlaying the mineral deposit is removed and
stored
Subsurface (Underground) Mining - large shafts are dug into the Earth,
produces less waste and is less destructive than surface mining but unsafe
In Situ Leaching - small holes are drilled and water based chemical solvents are
used to extract resources. Less destructive and less expensive but fluids used are
toxic.
Global Economics
Global Economics
The economy and the environment are intrinsically linked as the environment
contains all the resources than can be used in the economy
Global Economics
People in the wealthiest countries are 15% of the global population, on average
have incomes 20x greater than 85% of the world, thus consume 20x as much
If the income of the poorest 85% were only ⅓ of the richest countries, the world’s
total production and consumption would double
As living standards in poor standards increase, so will the pressure on the carrying
capacity of the planet
We need a more sustainable way to live
World Bank
The World Bank is a source of financial and technical assistance to developing
countries
In 2001 the World Bank endorsed an environment strategy to guide their
environmental actions
Their strategy emphasizes improving quality of life, quality of growth, protecting
quality of regional and global commons through
“greening”
Tragedy of the Commons
Garret Hardin wrote “Tragedy of the Commons” in 1968 that’s a very influential
economics theory
It parallels what is happening worldwide in regard to resource depletion and
pollution
The commons are natural resources like air, water, animals, and minerals.
Commons are for human use, and those that exploit them become rich
The tragedy comes from this selfish use of the commons, as resources will
eventually be depleted