The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Strategic Plan for fiscal year (FY) 2010–2015 targets the restoration of watershed and forest health as a core management objective of the national forests and grasslands. To achieve this goal, the Forest Service, an agency of USDA, is directed to restore degraded watersheds by strategically focusing investments in watershed improvement projects and conservation practices at landscape and watershed scales. The Forest Service formed the National Watershed Condition Team and tasked it with developing a nationally consistent, science-based approach to classify the condition of all National Forest System (NFS) watersheds and to develop outcome-based performance measures for watershed restoration. The team evaluated alternative approaches for classifying watersheds (USDA Forest Service 2007) and developed the watershed condition classification (WCC) system described in this technical guide. The team designed the WCC system to—Classify the condition of all NFS watersheds; Be quantitative to the extent feasible; Rely on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology; Be cost effective; Be implementable within existing budgets; Include resource areas and activities that have a significant influence on watershed condition. National forests are required to revise the classification on an annual basis. The WCC system is a national forest-based, reconnaissance level evaluation of watershed condition achievable within existing budgets and staffing levels that can be aggregated for a national assessment of watershed condition. The WCC system offers a systematic, flexible means of classifying watersheds based on a core set of national watershed condition indicators. The system relies on professional judgment exercised by forest interdisciplinary (ID) teams, GIS data, and national databases to the extent they are available, and on written rule sets and criteria for indicators that describe the three watershed condition classes (functioning properly, functioning at risk, and impaired function). The WCC system relies on Washington Office and regional office oversight for flexible and consistent application among national forests. The WCC system is a first approximation of watershed condition, and we will revise and refine it over time. The expectation is that we will improve and refine individual resource indicators and that we will develop databases and map products to assist with future classifications. The WCC information will be incorporated into the watershed condition framework, which will ultimately be employed to establish priorities, evaluate program performance, and communicate watershed restoration successes to interested stakeholders and Congress. The watershed condition goal of the Forest Service is “to protect National Forest System watersheds by implementing practices designed to maintain or improve watershed condition, which is the foundation for sustaining ecosystems and the production of renewable natural resources, values, and benefits” (FSM 2520). U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack reemphasized this policy in his “Vision for the Forest Service” when he stated that achieving restoration of watershed and forest health would be the primary management objective of the Forest Service (USDA 2010). This Watershed Condition Classification Technical Guide helps to implement this policy objective by—1. Establishing a systematic process for determining watershed condition class that all national forests can apply consistently; 2. Improving Forest Service reporting and tracking of watershed condition; 3. Strengthening the effectiveness of the Forest Service to maintain and restore the productivity and resilience of watersheds and their associated aquatic systems on NFS lands.

Since 1997, the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) system has been used around the world to support environmental analysis and planning in many different application areas, and it has been applied over a wide range of geographic scales, from forest stands to entire countries. An extensive sampling of this diversity of applications is presented in section 2, in which EMDS application developers describe the varied uses of the system. These accounts, together with the requisite background in section 1, provide valuable practical insights into how the system can be applied in the general domain of environmental management.

This book is a guide to the research, findings, and discussions of US and international experts on climate change and respiratory health. Since the publication of the first edition, climate change has been increasingly acknowledged as being directly related to the prevalence and incidence of respiratory morbidity. Evidence is increasing that climate change does drive respiratory disease onset and exacerbation as a result of increased ambient and indoor air pollution, desertification, heat stress, wildfires, and the geographic and temporal spread of pollens, molds and infectious agents. This second edition is fully updated to include the latest research by international experts on topics such as heat waves causing critical care-related diseases, climate-driven air pollution increases, and high-level ozone and ozone exposure linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infection. Seven new chapters have also been added on extreme weather and agricultural safety in California; desert dust effects on lung health; climate policy and the EPA; California's integrated approach to air quality and climate change; integrating climate change, the environment, and sustainability themes into professional health science courses; and the role of the physician as climate advocate. This is an ideal guide for all pulmonologists and health professionals treating patients with pulmonary disease.

In this book, award-winning art educator Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt offers user-friendly, approachable strategies for STEAM planning, instruction, and assessment to help cultivate PK-12 students’ full potential, and draws from wide-ranging artists and designers to help you develop inspired, creative approaches to teaching STEAM in your classroom. Beginning with the basics and best practices of STEAM planning, instruction, and assessment, Sickler-Voigt then encourages readers to move full steam ahead with chapters based around diverse contemporary and historical artists and designers. In helping you to explore the interdisciplinary connections between Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, Sickler-Voigt identifies strategies to build off from STEM subjects to form authentic, well-designed, and age-appropriate learning tasks that encourage your students to make deep connections and learn subject matter in context through art media and technologies. Each chapter includes flexible, choice-based classroom resources—with tips for adapting to different grade levels—and STEAM amplifiers, which fuse contextual learning on artists and designers with real-world STEAM topics to spark student learning and ignite creative approaches to planning, instruction, and assessment. Featuring 150 visually stunning, full-color images, this book fuses tried-and-true best practices with highly applicable instructional models inspired by artists and STEAM professionals, ideal for PK-12 teachers and STEAM specialists.

Wetland and Stream Rapid Assessments: Development, Validation, and Application describes the scientific and environmental policy background for rapid wetland and stream assessments, how such assessment methods are developed and statistically verified, and how they can be used in environmental decision-making—including wetland and stream permitting. In addition, it provides several case studies of method development and use in various parts of the world. Readers will find guidance on developing and testing such methods, along with examples of how these methods have been used in various programs across North America. Rapid wetland and stream functional assessments are becoming frequently used methods in federal, state and local environmental permitting programs in North America. Many governments are interested in developing new methods or improving existing methods for their own jurisdictions. This book provides an ideal guide to these initiatives. - Offers guidance for the use and evaluation of rapid assessments to developers and users of these methods, as well as students of wetland and stream quality - Contains contributions from sources who are successful in academia, industry and government, bringing credibility and relevance to the content - Includes a statistically-based approach to testing the validity of the rapid method, which is very important to the usefulness and defensibility of assessment methods

21st Century Homestead: Sustainable Agriculture II contains the second part of everything you need to stay up to date on sustainable agriculture, farming, and natural resources.

Recognizing the importance of wetland protection, the Bush administration in 1988 endorsed the goal of "no net loss" of wetlands. Specifically, it directed that filling of wetlands should be avoided, and minimized when it cannot be avoided. When filling is permitted, compensatory mitigation must be undertaken; that is, wetlands must be restored, created, enhanced, and, in exceptional cases, preserved, to replace the permitted loss of wetland area and function, such as water quality improvement within the watershed. After more than a dozen years, the national commitment to "no net loss" of wetlands has been evaluated. This new book explores the adequacy of science and technology for replacing wetland function and the effectiveness of the federal program of compensatory mitigation in accomplishing the nation's goal of clean water. It examines the regulatory framework for permitting wetland filling and requiring mitigation, compares the mitigation institutions that are in use, and addresses the problems that agencies face in ensuring sustainability of mitigated wetlands over the long term. Gleaning lessons from the mixed results of mitigation efforts to date, the book offers 10 practical guidelines for establishing and monitoring mitigated wetlands. It also recommends that federal, state, and local agencies undertake specific institutional reforms. This book will be important to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the "no net loss" issue: policy makers, regulators, environmental scientists, educators, and wetland advocates.