Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Fish from Western U.S. and Alaskan National Parks — Spatial Distribution and Health Thresholds

Remote national parks of the western U.S. and Alaska are not immune to contaminants of emerging concern. Semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) such as pesticides and PCBs can selectively deposit from the atmosphere at higher rates in cold, high‐elevation and high‐latitude sites, potentially increasing risk to these ecosystems. In the environment, SOCs magnify up food chains and are known to increase health risks such as cancer and reproductive impairment. One hundred twenty‐eight fish in 8 national parks in Alaska and the western U.S. were analyzed for contaminant concentrations, assessed by region, and compared to human and wildlife health thresholds. SOC concentrations from an additional 133 fish from a previous study were also included, for a total of 31 water bodies sampled. PCBs, endosulfan sulfate, and p,p′‐DDE were among the most frequently detected contaminants. Concentrations of historic‐use pesticides dieldrin, p,p′‐DDE, and/or chlordanes in fish exceeded USEPA guidelines for human subsistence fish consumers and wildlife (kingfisher) health thresholds at 13 of 14 parks. Average concentrations in fish ranged from 0.6‐280 ng/g lipid (0.02‐7.3 μg/g ww). Contaminant loading was highest in fish from Alaskan and Sierra Nevada parks. Historic compounds were highest in Alaskan parks, while current‐use pesticides were higher in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada. This study provides a rigorous analysis of CECs in fish from national parks and identifies regions at potential risk.     

国家公园分区管控的实践总结与制度进阶

分区管控是实现国家公园严格保护与合理利用双重目的的基础制度,也是保障原住居民发展权益的有效途径。梳理总结各试点公园的分区管控制度,本文发现存在实体规范各行其是、程序规范先天不足、责任规范流于形式的问题,难以实现保护优先、兼顾利用之间的关系。国家公园法应统一分区标准,采取二阶结构的分区管控制度,首先以世界自然保护联盟提出的"三圈层"模式划分严格保护区、缓冲区、一般控制区,进而将一般控制区划分为游憩展示区和传统利用区,并将生态保育修复区作为特别的"动态分区"。同时,提高国家公园规划及变更的审批权限并完善分区管控的法律责任,以实现实质的差别化管控和严格规范的管理。     

美国环境产业相关政策及启示

本文将美国的环境产业发展过程划分为三个阶段，并对后两个阶段的政策特点进行了分析。最后，借鉴美国环境产业相关的政篆并结合我国国情，提出了针对我国环境产业发展的建议。     

An Assessment of Road Impacts on Wildlife Populations in U.S. National Parks

Current United States National Park Service (NPS) management is challenged to balance visitor use with the environmental and social consequences of automobile use. Wildlife populations in national parks are increasingly vulnerable to road impacts. Other than isolated reports on the incidence of road-related mortality, there is little knowledge of how roads might affect wildlife populations throughout the national park system. Researchers at the Western Transportation Institute synthesized information obtained from a system-wide survey of resource managers to assess the magnitude of their concerns on the impacts of roads on park wildlife. The results characterize current conditions and help identify wildlife-transportation conflicts. A total of 196 national park management units (NPS units) were contacted and 106 responded to our questionnaire. Park resource managers responded that over half of the NPS units’ existing transportation systems were at or above capacity, with traffic volumes currently high or very high in one quarter of them and traffic expected to increase in the majority of units. Data is not generally collected systematically on road-related mortality to wildlife, yet nearly half of the respondents believed road-caused mortality significantly affected wildlife populations. Over one-half believed habitat fragmentation was affecting wildlife populations. Despite these expressed concerns, only 36% of the NPS units used some form of mitigation method to reduce road impacts on wildlife. Nearly half of the respondents expect that these impacts would only worsen in the next five years. Our results underscore the importance for a more systematic approach to address wildlife-roadway conflicts for a situation that is expected to increase in the next five to ten years.     

美国环境保护与环境技术产业发展的主要经验和启示

随着经济和社会的发展，保护人类赖以生存的环境，走可持续发展之路，已成为世界范围内人们的共识，环境污染问题已日益成为人们关注的焦点。美国环境保护发展的历史与现状，揭示出一些促进环境保护和环境技术产业发展的经验，值得我们借鉴。     

The influence of satellite populations of emerald ash borer on projected economic costs in U.S. communities, 2010-2020

The invasion spread of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is characterized by the formation of satellite populations that expand and coalesce with the continuously invading population front. As of January 2010, satellite infestations have been detected in 13 states and two Canadian provinces. Understanding how newly established satellite populations may affect economic costs can help program managers to justify and design prevention and control strategies. We estimate the economic costs caused by EAB for the 10-yr period from 2010 to 2020 for scenarios of fewer EAB satellite populations than those found from 2005 to 2010 and slower expansion of satellite populations found in 2009. We measure the projected discounted cost of treatment, removal, and replacement of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) growing in managed landscapes in U.S. communities. Estimated costs for the base scenario with the full complement of satellites in 2005-2010 and no program to mitigate spread is $12.5 billion. Fewer EAB satellites from 2005 to 2010 delay economic costs of $1.0 to 7.4 billion. Slower expansion of 2009 satellite populations delays economic costs of $0.1 to 0.7 billion. Satellite populations that are both distant from the core EAB infestation and close to large urban areas caused more economic costs in our simulations than did other satellites. Our estimates of delayed economic costs suggest that spending on activities that prevent establishment of new satellite EAB populations or slow expansion of existing populations can be cost-effective and that continued research on the cost and effectiveness of prevention and control activities is warranted.     

中日农村环境管理对比及对中国的启示

日本与我国在历史上同属传统的东亚小农经济国家,在社会、经济、文化等方面的发展历程和存在的问题具有共通性。日本的农村生态环境管理随社会经济发展不断调整适应,政府也数次推动乡村振兴。对比研究中日两国农村环境管理及其背后的社会经济因素,虽然两国在农村环境管理上有相似性,但也有较大不同,我国不能完全照搬日本的农村环境管理体制机制,必须走一条适应我国国情的特色道路,循序渐进推进农业农村污染防治。在开展农村环保工作的具体举措上,日本也有较多可借鉴之处:一是以完善的法规政策体系保障农村环境管理;二是以精准的财政补贴支撑农村环境管理;三是以科学的规划和技术标准体系服务农村环境管理;四是以规范的行业和市场服务体系推动农村环境管理;五是以亲民务实的环境宣传教育助力农村环境管理。     

Effects of Climate and Land Cover on Hydrology in the Southeastern U.S.: Potential Impacts on Watershed Planning

The hydrologic response to statistically downscaled general circulation model simulations of daily surface climate and land cover through 2099 was assessed for the Apalachicola‐Chattahoochee‐Flint River Basin located in the southeastern United States. Projections of climate, urbanization, vegetation, and surface‐depression storage capacity were used as inputs to the Precipitation‐Runoff Modeling System to simulate projected impacts on hydrologic response. Surface runoff substantially increased when land cover change was applied. However, once the surface depression storage was added to mitigate the land cover change and increases of surface runoff (due to urbanization), the groundwater flow component then increased. For hydrologic studies that include projections of land cover change (urbanization in particular), any analysis of runoff beyond the change in total runoff should include effects of stormwater management practices as these features affect flow timing and magnitude and may be useful in mitigating land cover change impacts on streamflow. Potential changes in water availability and how biota may respond to changes in flow regime in response to climate and land cover change may prove challenging for managers attempting to balance the needs of future development and the environment. However, these models are still useful for assessing the relative impacts of climate and land cover change and for evaluating tradeoffs when managing to mitigate different stressors.     

美加跨境大气污染防控合作体制机制对粤港澳大湾区的启示

加强区域大气污染联防联控、加快改善空气质量、早日对标世界先进水平是粤港澳大湾区生态环境建设的重要任务。本文总结了美国和加拿大的跨境大气污染防控合作体制机制建设方面的经验，基于粤港澳大湾区"一国两制三法域"特征下的区域大气污染协同防控需求和不足，从建立区域性权威管理机构和技术支撑机构，联合开展跨界科研、中长期政策制定和实施情况跟踪评估等方面提出深化粤港澳大湾区区域大气污染防控合作体制机制建设，进一步推进区域大气污染协同改善的策略建议，为粤港澳大湾区的大气污染防治提供借鉴。     

An Assessment of U.S. Stream Compensatory Mitigation Policy: Necessary Changes to Protect Ecosystem Functions and Services

Compensatory mitigation of impacted streams and wetlands has increased over the past two decades, with the associated industry spending over US$2.9 billion in aquatic restoration annually. Despite these expenditures, evaluations by the National Research Council and U.S. Government Accountability Office have provided evidence that compensatory mitigation practices are failing to protect aquatic resource functions and services, and vague federal policy and inadequate evaluation of compensatory mitigation projects are to blame. To address these weaknesses, an update to federal regulations on compensatory mitigation was released in 2008. Additionally, the 2012 Reissuance of Nationwide Permits, some of which affects compensatory stream mitigation, was recently published. Current policy, as reflected in these documents, still uses nonspecific language to direct compensatory stream mitigation leaving most implementation decisions to the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district. The majority of federal mitigation policy has focused on wetland compensation, with other aquatic resources receiving less attention (e.g., streams). In this article, weaknesses of current policy are discussed, as are suggested policy changes to minimize the loss of stream ecosystem functions and services. Compensatory mitigation policy should clearly define key terms, incorporate adaptive management procedures, and provide guidelines for determining mitigation costs and compensation ratio requirements.     

“Guardianship” and the “Rural Workshop”—The First Quarter-century of U.K. Experience in Nature Conservation

In the U.K., the Countryside Act of 1968 represented the first “updating” of the pioneering National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. Through the archival material that survives for the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Conservancy, the paper commemorates that first quarter-century of post-war adjustment to the needs of farming and wildlife conservation. It does so through a case study of the documented discussion, both inter-agency and within separate counsels, of whether agricultural improvement grants should be paid for land scheduled as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The post-war assumptions of both parties were shattered by clashes over the SSSIs of Cavenham Heath (Suffolk) and Waddingham Common (Lincolnshire). Characterized as a “cold” war, there was a point beyond which antipathy served no one's interests. Fully aware of the options available to policy-makers, both parties recognized the Countryside Bill as an opportunity to obtain greater protection for SSSIs without prejudicing the larger notions of guardianship of the rural resource and the importance that continued to be given to the countryside as the farmer's “workshop”.     

Costs of Arsenic Treatment for Potable Water in California and Comparison to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Affordability Metrics1

Hilkert Colby, Elizabeth J., Thomas M. Young, Peter G. Green, and Jeannie L. Darby, 2010. Costs of Arsenic Treatment for Potable Water in California and Comparison to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Affordability Metrics. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(6):1238–1254. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00488.x Abstract: The United States (U.S.) federal standard for arsenic in potable water systems is only the second water quality standard in which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) administrator used “discretionary authority to establish a less stringent standard” based on the results of cost-benefit analyses. Based on the findings that a “standard of 3 μg/l would be feasible but not justified,” the revised maximum contaminant level (MCL) lowered the allowable arsenic concentration from 50 to 10 μg/l in 2002. In 2009, approximately 145 systems in California were out of compliance. The objectives were to gather performance and cost data from arsenic treatment systems in California to compare with data from the USEPA demonstration sites as well as with the USEPA affordability metrics for drinking water. The median cost of compliance with the revised arsenic MCL for the 36 surveyed systems was $1.95/1,000 gallons (2008 dollars), which is 69% of the average cost of delivered tap water in the U.S. in 2008 ($2.81/1,000 gallons). Additionally, 22% of the surveyed systems in California paid more than the maximum predicted cost of compliance with the revised arsenic MCL ($5.05/1,000 gallons). The largest variation in cost was seen in the systems that treated <500 gpm. For the systems utilizing adsorption, systems obtained between 20 and 80% of the expected bed volumes prior to breakthrough, indicating the need for better prediction of performance.