Drought Vulnerability Assessment to Inform Grazing Practices on Rangelands of Southeastern Colorado’s Major Land Resource Area 69

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Wyndham ◽  
Emile Elias ◽  
Joel R. Brown ◽  
Michael A. Wilson ◽  
Albert Rango

Increased climate variability, including more frequent and intense drought, is projected for the southwestern region of the United States. Increased temperatures and reduced precipitation lower soil water availability resulting in decreased plant productivity and altering species composition which may affect forage quality and quantity. Reduced forage quality and increased heat stress attributable to warmer temperatures could lead to decreased livestock performance in this system, which is extensively used for livestock grazing. Mitigating the effects of increasing drought is critical to social and ecological stability in the region. Reduced stocking rates, change in livestock breeds and/or grazing practices are general recommendations that could be implemented to cope with increased climatic stress. Ecological Sites (ESs) and their associated state and transition models (STMs) are tools to help land managers implement and evaluate responses to disturbances. The projected change in climate will vary depending on geographic location. Vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies are needed at the local level to inform local management decisions and help ameliorate the effects of climate change on rangelands. The USDA Southwest Climate Hub and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce this drought vulnerability assessment at the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) level based on ESs/STMs that will help landowners and government agencies identify and develop adaptation options for drought on rangelands. The assessment illustrates how site-specific information can be used to help minimize the effects of drought on rangelands and support informed decision-making for selecting management adaptations within MLRA 69.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Wyndham ◽  
Emile Elias ◽  
Joel Brown ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
Albert Rango Rango

Increased climate variability, including more frequent and intense drought, is projected for the southwestern region of the United States. Increased temperatures and reduced precipitation lower soil water availability, resulting in decreased plant productivity and altered species composition, which may affect forage quality and quantity. Reduced forage quality and increased heat stress attributable to warmer temperatures could lead to decreased livestock performance in this system, which is extensively used for livestock grazing. Mitigating the effects of increasing drought is critical to social and ecological stability in the region. Reduced stocking rates and/or a change in livestock breeds and/or grazing practices are general recommendations that could be implemented to cope with increased climatic stress. Ecological Sites (ESs) and their associated state-and-transition models (STMs) are tools to help land managers implement and evaluate responses to disturbances. The projected change in climate will vary depending upon geographic location. Vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies are necessary at the local level to inform local management decisions and help to ameliorate the effects of climate change on rangelands. The USDA Southwest Climate Hub and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce this drought vulnerability assessment at the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) level: it is based on ESs/STMs that will help landowners and government agencies to identify and develop adaptation options for drought on rangelands. The assessment illustrates how site-specific information can be used to help minimize the effects of drought on rangelands and to support informed decision-making for selecting management adaptations within MLRA 41.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Wyndham ◽  
Emile Elias ◽  
Joel Brown ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
Albert Rango

Increased climate variability, including more frequent and intense drought, is projected for the southwestern region of the United States. Increased temperatures and reduced precipitation lower soil water availability resulting in decreased plant productivity and altering species composition which may affect forage quality and quantity. Reduced forage quality and increased heat stress attributable to warmer temperatures could lead to decreased livestock performance in this system, which is extensively used for livestock grazing. Mitigating the effects of increasing drought is critical to social and ecological stability in the region. Reduced stocking rates, change in livestock breeds and/or grazing practices are general recommendations that could be implemented to cope with increased climatic stress. Ecological Sites (ESs) and their associated state and transition models (STMs) are tools to help land managers implement and evaluate responses to disturbances. The projected change in climate will vary depending on geographic location. Vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies are needed at the local level to inform local management decisions and help ameliorate the effects of climate change on rangelands. The USDA Southwest Climate Hub and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce this drought vulnerability assessment at the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) level based on ESs/STMs that will help landowners and government agencies identify and develop adaptation options for drought on rangelands. The assessment illustrates how site-specific information can be used to help minimize the effects of drought on rangelands and support informed decision-making for selecting management adaptations within MLRA 69.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Wyndham ◽  
Emile Elias ◽  
Joel R. Brown ◽  
Michael A. Wilson ◽  
Albert Rango

Increased climate variability, including more frequent and intense drought, is projected for the southwestern region of the United States. Increased temperatures and reduced precipitation lower soil water availability, resulting in decreased plant productivity and altered species composition, which may affect forage quality and quantity. Reduced forage quality and increased heat stress attributable to warmer temperatures could lead to decreased livestock performance in this system, which is extensively used for livestock grazing. Mitigating the effects of increasing drought is critical to social and ecological stability in the region. Reduced stocking rates and/or a change in livestock breeds and/or grazing practices are general recommendations that could be implemented to cope with increased climatic stress. Ecological Sites (ESs) and their associated state-and-transition models (STMs) are tools to help land managers implement and evaluate responses to disturbances. The projected change in climate will vary depending upon geographic location. Vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies are necessary at the local level to inform local management decisions and help to ameliorate the effects of climate change on rangelands. The USDA Southwest Climate Hub and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce this drought vulnerability assessment at the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) level: it is based on ESs/STMs that will help landowners and government agencies to identify and develop adaptation options for drought on rangelands. The assessment illustrates how site-specific information can be used to help minimize the effects of drought on rangelands and to support informed decision-making for selecting management adaptations within MLRA 41.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Wyndham ◽  
Emile Elias ◽  
Joel Brown ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
Albert Rango

Increased climate variability, including more frequent and intense drought, is projected for the southwestern region of the United States. Increased temperatures and reduced precipitation lower soil water availability, resulting in decreased plant productivity and altering species composition, which may affect forage quality and quantity. Reduced forage quality and increased heat stress attributable to warmer temperatures could lead to decreased livestock performance in this system, which is extensively used for livestock grazing. Mitigating the effects of increasing drought is critical to social and ecological stability in the region. Reduced stocking rates, change in livestock breeds and/or grazing practices are general recommendations that could be implemented to cope with increased climatic stress. Ecological Sites and their associated state–and-transition models (STMs) are tools to help land managers implement and evaluate responses to disturbances. The projected change in climate will vary depending upon geographic location. Vulnerability assessments and adaptation strategies are needed at the local level to inform local management decisions and help ameliorate the effects of climate change on rangelands. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southwest Climate Hub and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) worked together to produce this drought vulnerability assessment at the Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) level, based on ecological sites and state-and-transition models that will help landowners and government agencies to identify and develop adaptation options for drought on rangelands. The assessment illustrates how site-specific information can be used to help minimize the effects of drought on rangelands and support informed decision-making for the selection of management adaptations within MLRA 69.


Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Eva Martin-Fuentes ◽  
Sara Mostafa-Shaalan ◽  
Juan Pedro Mellinas

There is a lack of comprehensive international studies on accommodations for people with disabilities; only small, local-level studies exist. This study aims to show the status of the tourist accommodation sector through the online distribution channel in terms of accessibility to offer more inclusive tourism. A descriptive analysis has been carried out with more than 31,000 hotels from the online travel agency Booking.com, in the 100 most touristic cities in the world. For the first time, an accurate picture of adaptation in the hotel sector for people with disabilities is presented. Results show that the adapted hotel infrastructures by countries are uneven. The main adaptations are those that help to avoid mobility barriers, and in contrast, hotels offer very few adaptations for sensory disabilities such as visual disabilities. Moreover, this study shows that, worldwide, countries with the highest income per capita, such as the United States of America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, have the highest degree of hotel adaptation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Koehn

At present, progress in mitigating global GHG emissions is impeded by political stalemate at the national level in the United States and the People's Republic of China. Through the conceptual lenses of multilevel governance and framing politics, the article analyzes emerging policy initiatives among subnational governments in both countries. Effective subnational emission-mitigating action requires framing climatic-stabilization policies in terms of local co-benefits associated with environmental protection, health promotion, and economic advantage. In an impressive group of US states and cities, and increasingly at the local level in China, public concerns about air pollution, consumption and waste management, traffic congestion, health threats, the ability to attract tourists, and/or diminishing resources are legitimizing policy developments that carry the co-benefit of controlling GHG emissions. A co-benefits framing strategy that links individual and community concerns for morbidity, mortality, stress reduction, and healthy human development for all with GHG-emission limitation/reduction is especially likely to resonate powerfully at the subnational level throughout China and the United States.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Fearon

HIV diagnostic testing has come a long way since its inception in the early 1980s. Current enzyme immunoassays are sensitive enough to detect antibody as early as one to two weeks after infection. A variety of other assays are essential to confirm positive antibody screens (Western blot, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), provide an adjunct to antibody testing (p24 antigen, PCR), or provide additional information for the clinician treating HIV-positive patients (qualitative and quantitative PCR, and genotyping). Most diagnostic laboratories have complex testing algorithms to ensure accuracy of results and optimal use of laboratory resources. The choice of assays is guided by the initial screening results and the clinical information provided by the physician; both are integral to the laboratory's ability to provide an accurate laboratory diagnosis. Laboratories should also provide specific information on specimen collection, storage and transport so that specimen integrity is not compromised, thereby preserving the accuracy of laboratory results. Point of Care tests have become increasingly popular in the United States and some places in Canada over the past several years. These tests provide rapid, on-site HIV results in a format that is relatively easy for clinic staff to perform. However, the performance of these tests requires adherence to good laboratory quality control practices, as well as the backup of a licensed diagnostic laboratory to provide confirmation and resolution of positive or indeterminate results. Laboratory quality assurance programs and the participation in HIV proficiency testing programs are essential to ensure that diagnostic laboratories provide accurate, timely and clinically relevant laboratory results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Meghna Tare

In 2003, in response to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability launched a global multi-stakeholder network of Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on education for sustainable development (ESD). RCEs facilitate multi-sector collaboration and utilize formal, non-formal, and informal education to address sustainable development challenges in local and regional communities. In essence, RCEs are a tool for transformation to a more sustainable society, combining education and action for sustainable development. As we enter the new "ESD for 2030" decade, RCEs will continue to construct platforms for cross-sectoral dialogue between regional stakeholders and actors to promote and strengthen ESD at the local level. RCEs have committed to helping advance the five priority areas of action established in the Global Action Program on ESD and the new UN decade "ESD for 2030": advancing policy by mainstreaming ESD, transforming learning and training environments using whole-institution approaches, building capacities of educators and trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at the local level. RCEs are uniquely positioned to serve as shepherds in the realization of the new "ESD for 2030" decade. As of January 2019, 174 RCEs have officially been acknowledged by UNU worldwide, with eight RCEs in the United States: Georgetown, South Carolina; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Greater Atlanta, Georgia; Greater Burlington, Vermont; Greater Portland, Oregon; North Texas, Texas; Salisbury, Maryland; and Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. RCEs serve an essential role in the achievement of "ESD for 2030" goals by translating global objectives into the local contexts of our communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-436
Author(s):  
Sean McCaskill

This project examines municipal animal control in Los Angeles between 1880 and 1909. It traces the emergence of municipal animal control from the confluence of animal welfare reform and progressive state expansion. The animal welfare movement in the United States began in the Colonial Era, but soon reflected the influence of changing attitudes in Europe and the rise of anti-cruelty reform movements after the Civil War. As Americans sought to create a better world out of the ashes of that war, many looked towards animal welfare. This movement occurred first on the East Coast, beginning with Henry Bergh’s founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 1866, and reached Los Angeles by the end of the century. Many in that growing city viewed the dawn of the twentieth century with optimism, hoping for L.A.’s ascendancy into the ranks of the nation’s great metropolises. As a result, they began to look at the city’s problems through an increasingly progressive lens. Newspapers had covered the animal impoundment system’s brutality since the 1880s, but by the end of the century, they carried dramatic exposés of cruelties and corruption at the pound that emphasized connections to larger social issues. Citizens, including an impressive number of women, became activists for animal welfare. The municipal government responded by passing an ordinance that put animal control in the hands of the Humane Animal League, a private animal welfare organization. When the League failed to handle the city’s burgeoning animal population humanely and efficiently, the city assumed responsibility for animal control and created a municipal system. The emergence of municipal animal control in Los Angeles demonstrates a city turning to the extension of state power at the local level to create a more humane and efficient world for both its human and animal inhabitants.


1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (x) ◽  
pp. 263-275
Author(s):  
Richard Balme ◽  
Jeanne Becquart-Leclercq ◽  
Terry N. Clark ◽  
Vincent Hoffmann-Martinot ◽  
Jean-Yves Nevers

In 1983 we organized a conference on “Questioning the Welfare State and the Rise of the City” at the University of Paris, Nanterre. About a hundred persons attended, including many French social scientists and political activists. Significant support came from the new French Socialist government. Yet with Socialism in power since 1981, it was clear that the old Socialist ideas were being questioned inside and outside the Party and government—especially in the important decentralization reforms. There was eager interest in better ways to deliver welfare state services at the local level.


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