Perceptions of NRCS Assistance with Prescribed Fires on U.S. Private Lands: A Regionally Stratified Case Study

The benefits of prescribed fires are recognized throughout the United States, but the ability to assist with prescribed fire application on private land by government agencies has many possible constraints and challenges. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a federal agency, is mandated to assist private landowners with meeting land management objectives, but the ability of employees to utilize prescribed fire as a management tool is complex. We conducted a regionally stratified online survey of NRCS employees across the United States to determine the barriers inhibiting their ability to assist private landowners with prescribed fire application. In January of 2020, we recruited 101 NRCS rangeland and grazing land specialists to participate in the survey with 50 completing the survey (regional sample size: Central n = 14, Northeast n = 5, Southeast n = 12, West n = 19). A majority (82%) of respondents thought prescribed fires were staying the same or increasing in number. Regional differences in assistance types were significant for conducting burns and providing technical education, but not for other assistance types. Regional differences for perceived constraints were also significant for how the public understands the risks of prescribed fire and the ecological constraints but not for state policy, federal policy, liability, or public understanding of prescribed fire benefits. Overall and across regions, the NRCS survey participants perceived federal policies, liability, and private landowners’ lack knowledge of prescribed fire limits their ability to assist in the utilization of prescribed fire. Creating a national policy that allows a streamlined process for NRCS employees to assist with prescribed fire implementation and collaborative initiatives to improve private landowner knowledge gaps has the potential to improve prescribed fire application across the United States.

The Watchdog of the Lakefront

This chapter discusses the role of the Michigan Avenue property owners (or the Prairie Avenue owners) in opposing the ambitions of the Illinois Central Railroad on the lakefront. It examines how they became instrumental in blocking plans to locate the World's Columbian Exposition in Lake Park, and helped scuttle any number of settlement possibilities that would have allowed an expansion of the railroad's harbor facilities in the lake. The chapter highlights the Michigan Avenue owners' efforts to preserve the value of their property, and introduces the antagonists they had to contend with as Lake Park began to grow through additional landfilling and proposals proliferated to fill the lakefront with exhibition halls, armories, libraries, and museums. It investigates how the Michigan Avenue owners employed a legal tool called public dedication doctrine against proposed buildings in the park. The chapter refers to the public dedication doctrine as the right of a private landowner to enforce statements on publicly recorded plats and maps that certain lands will be devoted to public uses, such as streets, public squares, or parks. Ultimately, the chapter describes a growing number of precedents endorsing the public dedication doctrine from other jurisdictions — including several prominent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Benchmark for the ESA: Having a Backbone Is Good for Recovery

To forestall the current rate of global extinction, we need to identify strategies that successfully recover species. In the last decade, the recovery record for the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) has improved. Our aim was to review federal delisting documents for recovered species and quantify patterns in taxonomy, history of threats, policy, funding and actions that are associated with species recovery. In comparison to species still listed, the average recovered species was a vertebrate, had been listed longer under the ESA, was exposed to a lower number of threats at the time of listing, and received relatively higher levels of funding. Based on our review, we suggest the following strategies to improve species recovery: provide more time for ESA protection, allocate more funding for recovery, maintain environmental regulations that facilitate recovery, establish more private landowner agreements, and increase the area of protected lands.

Pine Straw Raking and Growth of Southern Pine: Review and Recommendations

Pine straw, the uppermost forest floor layer of undecayed, reddish-brown pine needles, is raked, baled, and sold as a landscaping mulch throughout the southeastern United States. Loblolly (Pinus taeda, L.), longleaf (P. palustris, Mill.), and slash (P. elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) pine are the three southern pine species commonly raked for pine straw. The value of pine straw as a forest product is large. Private landowner pine straw revenues have steadily increased throughout the southeastern United States over the past two decades and now total more than USD 200 million. Information is limited on the short- or long-term effects of pine straw removal on foliage production or stand growth in southern pine stands. Results from most published studies suggest that annual pine straw raking without fertilization on non-old-field sites reduces straw yields compared to no raking. Old-field sites often do not benefit from fertilization with increased pine straw or wood volume yields. Though fertilization may be beneficial for pine straw production on some sites, understory vegetation presence and disease prevalence may increase following fertilization. This review addresses pine straw removal effects on pine straw production and stand growth parameters based on recent studies and provides fertilization recommendations to maintain or improve pine straw production and stand growth and yield.

Multispecies and Watershed Approaches to Freshwater Fish Conservation

<em>Abstract</em>.—A collaborative group of fisheries managers and researchers (Cherry Creek Working Group) took advantage of an 8-m waterfall, 100 km of upstream habitat, and a 3 ha-lake to eradicate nonnative trout and introduce native Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WCT) <em>Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi </em>in Cherry Creek, a tributary to the Madison River. This project was part of a larger, broadscale effort to restore WCT within the Madison River basin. The project was logistically and politically complex and required long-term commitments by state and federal agencies, a private landowner, nongovernmental partners and university researchers. We describe and discuss the social, legal, and logistical challenges that arose during this project and provide our perspective on why this project succeeded in spite of these challenges. Administrative and legal challenges delayed implementation of the project for several years, but all challenges were resolved in favor of the project’s collaborators. Over a 12-year period, nonnative trout occupying the area were eradicated using piscicides, and more than 39,000 WCT eyed eggs and fry were introduced into four geographic areas (phases) that were separated by natural or temporary fish barriers. Population recovery, measured by comparing pre- and post-treatment trout densities and mean sizes, appeared to occur in 3–4 years. We summarize research that documents the effects of piscicides on nontarget species and the expansion of introduced WCT and their progeny to fill all available habitats, along with lessons learned that are helpful to others designing species conservation efforts of similar scale and complexity.