Group utility indifference and resource management decision making

Natural resource managers often rely on the advice of specialists to aid decision making. However, disagreement among these specialists about the relative value of particular management objectives or the risks associated with implementing certain management strategies may complicate the decision effort. Multiattribute utility analysis can facilitate decision making by indicating how attributes of a problem are weighed by individual specialists. This information can then be used to outline bands of potential problem solutions that are acceptable to the advising group and may allow management to further its own objectives (possibly increased efficiency).An example is presented that relates to fire management planning efforts on national forests. Multiattribute utility functions developed from a survey of fire management professionals are used to identify utility-maximizing fire management strategies based on each strategy's level of economic efficiency and risk. Bands of utility-indifferent potential solutions are outlined based on measures of group consensus. It is pointed out that a subset of these would further management's goal (increased efficiency) without significantly altering the value assigned to the risk attribute by the specialists. Finally, the robustness of the technique is discussed with particular reference to environmental management problems and the role that proxy information often plays in decision making.     

Compensation for risks: host community benefits in siting locally unwanted facilities

This article analyzes the recent negotiations connected with siting 24 solid-waste landfills in Wisconsin. We examine the association between the type and amount of compensation paid to host communities by facility developers and the size of facilities, certain facility characteristics, the timing of negotiated agreements, the size of the host community, and the socioeconomic status of the host area. Our findings suggest that the level of compensation after adjusting for landfill capacity is positively associated with the percentage of total facility capacity dedicated to host community use, positively associated with the percentage of people of the host area who are in poverty, and larger for public facilities that accept municipal wastes. Other explanatory variables we examined, whose association with levels of compensation proved statistically insignificant, were facility size, facility status (new vs expansion), facility use (countyonly vs multicounty), timing of negotiation, host community size, and the host area education level, population density, and per capita income. We discuss the policy implications of our principal findings and future research questions in light of the persistent opposition surrounding the siting of solid-waste and other waste-management facilities.     

DOWNSTREAM CHANNEL GEOMETRY FOR USE IN PLANNING-LEVEL MODELS1

ABSTRACT: There is considerable potential for use of channel dimension data in planning-level models for resource and impact assessment. The channel dimension data is used to route flows and sediment through the basin. The cost of obtaining actual surveyed data for large watersheds is typically prohibitive. Predictive equations have been developed based on 674 stations from watersheds across the United States which encompass a wide variety of channel types and sizes. These equations were tested against an independent data set and found to be adequate for use in planning-level models. Future research is advocated which would include data from regions and stream types not included in this study.     

Evaluation of tidal marsh restoration: Comparison of selected macroinvertebrate populations on a restored impounded valley marsh and an unimpounded valley marsh within the same salt marsh system in Connecticut,USA

Macroinvertebrates were examined on an impounded valley marsh in Stonington, Connecticut, that has changed from aTypha-dominated system to one with typical salt-marsh vegetation during 13 years following the reintroduction of tidal exchange. Animal populations on this restored impounded marsh were evaluated by comparing them with populations on a nearby unimpounded valley marsh of roughly the same size. Populations of the high marsh snail,Melampus bidentatus Say, were quantitatively sampled along transects that extended from the water-marsh edge to the upland; those of the ribbed mussel,Geukensia demissa Dillwyn, were sampled in low marsh areas on transects along the banks of creeks and mosquito ditches. The occurrence of other marsh invertebrates also was documented, but their abundance was not measured. The mean density ofMelampus was 332±39.6 SE/m² on the restored impounded marsh and 712±56.0 SE/m² on the unimpounded marsh. However, since snails were larger on the restored impounded marsh, the difference in snail biomass was less pronounced than the difference in snail density. MeanMelampus biomass was 4.96±0.52 SE g dry wt/m² on the restored impounded marsh and 6.96±0.52 SE g dry wt/m² on the unimpounded marsh. On the two marshes, snail density and biomass varied in relation to plant cover and other factors. The density and biomass ofGeukensia at the edge of the marsh were comparable on the restored impounded and unimpounded marshes. Mean mussel densities ranged from 80 to 240/m² and mean mussel biomass varied from 24.8–64.8 g dry wt/m² in different low marsh areas. In contrast, below the impoundment dike, meanGeukensia density was 1100±96.4 SE/m² and meanGeukensia biomass was 303.6±33.28 SE g dry wt/m². A consideration of all available evidence leads to the conclusion that the impounded marsh is in an advanced phase of restoration.     

Indonesia's developing forest industry

Indonesia is a major exporter of tropical hardwoods. The country's goal is to establish integrated wood industries by reducing the export of unprocessed sawlogs. The value of hardwood sawlog exports has decreased by twothirds in 1986 dollars since 1978, while the value of hardwood sawnwood and plywood exports has increased sixfold. Sawlog exports are now banned. This article contrasts the official governmental policy on forest industry development with the operational realities of doing business in Indonesia.     

ERODIBILITY OF URBAN BEDROCK AND ALLUVIAL CHANNELS,NORTH TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: Major erosion of urban stream channels is found in smaller basins in the North Texas study area with contributing drainage areas of less than ten square miles. Within these basins, four basic channel types are identified based on bed and bank lithologies: alluvial banks and bottoms, alluvial banks and gravel bottoms, alluvial banks with rock bottoms, and rock banks with rock bottoms. Most channels (75 percent) have alluvial banks with gravel or rock bottoms. Channel slopes are steep (.38 to.76 percent). Rock consists predominantly of shale and limestone. Channel cross sections are divided into the following four zones based on weathering, scour and entrainment mechanisms: soil zone, slake zone, rock zone and bed material zone. Erodibility of the channels is determined using multiple techniques including reach hydraulics and stream power computations, submerged jet testing, slab entrainment thresholds, and slake durability rates. Procedures are based on both empirical and modeled time series estimates of channel erosion. Field and modeled results support rates of erosion of up to four inches per year. Rates are tied to flow regime, climate, and type of channel bed and banks.     

Field testing of particulate matter continuous emission monitors at the DOE Oak Ridge TSCA incinerator. Toxic Substances Control Act

A field study to evaluate the performance of three commercially available particulate matter (PM) continuous emission monitors (CEMs) was conducted in 1999-2000 at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Incinerator. This study offers unique features that are believed to enhance the collective US experience with PM CEMs. The TSCA Incinerator is permitted to treat PCB-contaminated RCRA hazardous low-level radioactive wastes. The air pollution control system utilizes MACT control technology and is comprised of a rapid quench, venturi scrubber, packed bed scrubber, and two ionizing wet scrubbers in series, which create a saturated flue gas that must be conditioned by the CEMs prior to measurement. The incinerator routinely treats a wide variety of wastes including high and low BTU organic liquids, aqueous, and solid wastes. The various possible combinations for treating liquid and solid wastes may present a challenge in establishing a single, acceptable correlation relationship for individual CEMs. The effect of low-level radioactive material present in the waste is a unique site-specific factor not evaluated in previous tests. The three systems chosen for evaluation were two beta gauge devices and a light scattering device. The performance of the CEMs was evaluated using the requirements in draft Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Performance Specification 11 (PS11) and Procedure 2. The results of Reference Method 5i stack tests for establishing statistical correlations between the reference method data and the CEMs responses are discussed.