The role of agency goals and local context in Great Lakes water resources public involvement programs

As complex social phenomena, public involvement processes are influenced by contextual factors. This study examined agency goals for public involvement and assessed the importance of local context in remedial action planning, a community-based water resources program aimed at the cleanup of the 42 most polluted locations in the Great Lakes Basin. Agency goals for public involvement in remedial action plans (RAPs) were agency-oriented and focused on public acceptance of the plan, support for implementation, and positive agency-public relations. Corresponding to these goals, citizen advisory committees were created in 75% of the RAP sites as a primary means for public input into the planning process. Factors that influenced the implementation of public involvement programs in remedial action planning included public orientation toward the remediation issue, local economic conditions, the interaction of diverse interests in the process, agency and process credibility, experience of local leadership, and jurisdictional complexity. A formative assessment of “community readiness” appeared critical to appropriate public involvement program design. Careful program design may also include citizen education and training components, thoughtful management of ongoing agency-public relations and conflict among disparate interests in the process, overcoming logistical difficulties that threaten program continuity, using local expertise and communication channels, and circumventing interjurisdictional complexities.     

Bacterial water quality: Springs and streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Water samples from streams and springs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were analyzed for fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and total coliform bacteria. Levels of bacteria were found to be highly variable but related to elevation, time of year, type of water source, and water level of the streams. Visitors did not seem to be major contributors to bacterial contamination. Levels of fecal coliform and total coliform in most water samples were unsuitable for drinking without treatment. Tennessee state standards for body contact recreation (swimming and wading) were exceeded in a few samples but none from streams suitable for swimming. As a result of these findings, park managers increased efforts to inform visitors of the need to treat drinking water and removed improvements at backcountry springs which tended to give the springs the image of safe, maintained water sources.     

Agricultural area impacts within a natural area: Cades cove,a case history

Agricultural management in Cades Cove, an historic district in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has affected natural resources both within the district and in the adjoining natural areas. Aquatic impacts of haying and cattle grazing included increases in water temperatures, turbidity, nutrient loading, and bacterial counts and decreases in benthic macroinvertebrate density and fish biomass. Wildlife populations, including groundhogs, wild turkeys, and white-tailed deer, have increased in the open fields and around the periphery of the historic district. Intensive deer foraging has removed deciduous seedlings and saplings from woodlots, lowering species diversity and favoring coniferous reproduction. Cades Cove has limestone habitats unique in the park, and both deer browse and cattle grazing may have disturbed populations of rare plant species. Effects on water quality are detectable at a campground 15 stream km from the agricultural area, and the effects of deer foraging extend about 1 km beyond the open fields.Since historic landscape preservation is presently a goal of the park, managing for open vistas in Cades Cove will require some sort of continuing disturbance. Conversion of cattle pastures to hayfields would reduce aquatic impacts but the deer herd might increase as a result of reduced competition for forage. Retarding old field succession would increase populations of native plant species dependent on sunlight, but would require government-funded mowing. Other options are discussed. Completely eliminating the effects of the historic district on adjoining areas may be impossible, at least under present economic constraints.     

WATER FOR ENERGY: AN APPROACH TO COMPREHENSIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT1

ABSTRACT: The effects of energy development on the water resources of the Colorado River and Great Basin regions is expected to be substantial. Complex physical, economic and institutional interactions may be expected. Most research on these impacts appears single purpose, fragmented, uncoordinated, and often inaccessible to potential users - particularly those with responsibility for energy/water policy and program decisions. A comprehensive, integrative framework for assessing alternative water allocation decisions is outlined, taking a heuristic decision making model for evaluating impacts on maximization of gross (or net) regional product, and regional social welfare, and for assessing the region's contribution to national objectives. The suggested model provides a structure for application and integration of data of various kinds to a range of situations arising from possible impacts from energy proposals. The focus is on water and energy relationships but the model may provide a framework for comprehensive analysis of a variety of environmental actions and resulting system perturbations and effects.     

LAKE SUPERIOR REGULATION EFFECTS

ABSTRACT: The outflows of Lake Superior through the St. Marys River have been modified from natural conditions, initially by the construction of engineering works, such as bridges, and later by the construction of control works and the regulation of the lake. For all practical purposes, the period from 1860 to 1887 represents the natural river conditions. During the period 1888-1900 the regimen was modified by the construction of the International Railroad Bridge and the Chandler-Dunbar Power Canal. In 1901 construction began on the compensating works. Following the completion of the compensating works in August 1921, the Lake Superior outflows were regulated in accordance with the Orders of Approval, 26 and 27 May 1914. A hydrologic response model was developed to simulate the natural Lake Superior regime. The model was run for the 1860–1975 period to simulate natural Lake Superior levels and outflows. The simulated levels were compared with the recorded levels to determine the effect of regulation. It was found that regulation has resulted in a rise in Lake Superior water levels. The simulated natural outflows for the period from 1937 to 1975 were run through the Great Lakes hydrologic response model to analyze the regulation effects on Lakes Michigan-Huron, St. Clair, and Erie. The results show no long-term bias due to regulation.     

REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY PLANNING STUDY FOR NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: The development of a regional water supply system for the six-county area of Northeastern Illinois is presented in this paper, including: 1) the establishment of regional water supply technical planning policies; 2) the development and utilization of a regional water supply computer model to identify the principal and secondary sources of water supply for each entity in the study area, based on an apparent cost-effective source analysis; and 3) utilization of the study results to develop for the year 2010 a suggested preliminary regional water supply system. Using the findings from task 2 above, a proposed plan for overall Lake Michigan water use through the year 2010 was also developed. The effects of the proposed regional water supply system on future water levels in the deep aquifer were also discussed.     

WATER CHEMISTRY OF NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS STRIP MINE AND LIVESTOCK WATER IMPOUNDMENTS1

The water from 34 strip mine and 9 livestock water impoundments on the Northern Great Plains was analyzed. In all areas the water was classified as slightly brackish or saline. The dominant ion sequence for the study ponds was Na>Ca>Mg>K and SO₄HCO₃CO₃Cl, which differs from most freshwater by the transposition of Na and SO₄. Even though mean concentrations of total filterable residue were consistently greater in strip mine ponds, statistically significant differences were not found at the p ≤ 0.05 level between strip ponds and livestock ponds. The macronutrients of nitrogen and phosphorus found in the ponds were neither limiting to primary productivity nor excessive for fresh water. Many ponds contain turbid water. Turbidity restricts light penetration and limits photosynthesis besides making the ponds visually unattractive. The source of water for the pond, whether surface runoff or groundwater, seems to have important bearing on turbidity. The most appropriate use of these strip mine ponds is for waterfowl, warm-water fisheries, and other wildlife associated with prairie wetlands. However, even these uses are jeopardized by detrimental concentrations of trace elements in the water (Anderson and Hawkes, 1984).     

Characteristics of winter backcountry use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Numerous backcountry and wilderness use studies have been conducted over the last decade, but nearly all of them have concentrated on peak season and summer use. This study investigates use patterns and user characteristics of winter campers, and implications for the management of winter backcountry overnight use. Use pattern data were collected from 580 backcountry use permits for both winter and summer campers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). A two-page questionnaire was also mailed to 300 of the winter users to survey their characteristics, past backpacking experience, and reasons for winter camping. Backcountry permit data indicate that use patterns differ significantly between winter and summer campers, with winter campers taking shorter, weekend, destination-type trips. Winter campers engage in backcountry camping nearly twice as often during winter as other seasons of the year, both in and outside GSMNP. They are also experienced hikers that tend to avoid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the summer because of heavy visitor use. This suggests that winter backcountry campers are different enough from peak season campers that management of these two user groups may require different styles.     

维多利亚蓝B与碘在水溶液中的显色反应-吸光光度法测定海产品中的碘

研究了水相中,维多利亚蓝B与碘离子(I~-)的显色反应.当磷酸浓度为1.6mol/L,聚乙烯醇为0.08％时,维多利亚蓝B与碘形成络合比为1∶3的络合物,最大吸收峰位于375nm处,表观摩尔吸光系数为1.02×10~4L/mol·cm,碘在(0～16)μg/ml范围内符合比耳定律.方法可用于海洋生物等样品中的微量碘测定,结果满意.     

Assessment of contamination and biomarker responses in two species of herons on the St. Lawrence river

This study was undertaken to validate potential biomarkers of exposure and effects due to chemical contaminants in breedingcolonies of the Great Blue Heron and the Black-crowned Night-Heron on the St. Lawrence River. Eggs and fledglings from both species were collected from many colonies along theRiver. The fledglings from colonies in freshwater and brackishwater were more contaminated by mercury and PCBs than those from estuarine and gulf colonies. With respect to fledglings ofthe two heron species, some morphometric and blood biochemicalmeasurements, including plasma thyroid hormones and retinol, were significantly different among colonies. Significant differences were also observed in liver retinoids, EROD and porphyrins among colonies. The results of this study suggestthat plasma retinoids and thyroid hormones are good biomarkersof exposure and effects, and are sufficiently sensitive to reflect local and regional variations in contamination. Along with the measure of contaminants in egg and plasma, they constitute non-invasive biomarkers which represent an importantcriteria for long term monitoring of wildlife species. It is concluded that the Great Blue Heron is an appropriate sentinelspecies in the surveillance network for the St. Lawrence River.