Assessing Societal Impacts When Planning Restoration of Large Alluvial Rivers: A Case Study of the Sacramento River Project, California

Studies have shown that ecological restoration projects are more likely to gain public support if they simultaneously increase important human services that natural resources provide to people. River restoration projects have the potential to influence many of the societal functions (e.g., flood control, water quality) that rivers provide, yet most projects fail to consider this in a comprehensive manner. Most river restoration projects also fail to take into account opportunities for revitalization of large-scale river processes, focusing instead on opportunities presented at individual parcels. In an effort to avoid these pitfalls while planning restoration of the Sacramento River, we conducted a set of coordinated studies to evaluate societal impacts of alternative restoration actions over a large geographic area. Our studies were designed to identify restoration actions that offer benefits to both society and the ecosystem and to meet the information needs of agency planning teams focusing on the area. We worked with local partners and public stakeholders to design and implement studies that assessed the effects of alternative restoration actions on flooding and erosion patterns, socioeconomics, cultural resources, and public access and recreation. We found that by explicitly and scientifically melding societal and ecosystem perspectives, it was possible to identify restoration actions that simultaneously improve both ecosystem health and the services (e.g., flood protection and recreation) that the Sacramento River and its floodplain provide to people. Further, we found that by directly engaging with local stakeholders to formulate, implement, and interpret the studies, we were able to develop a high level of trust that ultimately translated into widespread support for the project.     

Evaluation of Risk from Using Poultry Litter to Remediate and Reuse Contaminated Estuarine Sediments

The availability of heavy metals in contaminated sediment evaluated for beneficial reuse, before and after chemical amendment, was evaluated using poultry manure as the amendment. The dredged sediment was only slightly contaminated with heavy metals. Availability tests on the amended sediment showed an increase in heavy metals, most likely because of poultry feed amendments passed to the manure. There would be difficulty finding one chemical amendment to reduce the availability of a number of heavy metals because the metals exhibit different chemical properties. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Impacts of pesticides in a Central California estuary

Recent and past studies have documented the prevalence of pyrethroid and organophosphate pesticides in urban and agricultural watersheds in California. While toxic concentrations of these pesticides have been found in freshwater systems, there has been little research into their impacts in marine receiving waters. Our study investigated pesticide impacts in the Santa Maria River estuary, which provides critical habitat to numerous aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species on the central California coast. Runoff from irrigated agriculture constitutes a significant portion of Santa Maria River flow during most of the year, and a number of studies have documented pesticide occurrence and biological impacts in this watershed. Our study extended into the Santa Maria watershed coastal zone and measured pesticide concentrations throughout the estuary, including the water column and sediments. Biological effects were measured at the organism and community levels. Results of this study suggest the Santa Maria River estuary is impacted by current-use pesticides. The majority of water samples were highly toxic to invertebrates (Ceriodaphnia dubia and Hyalella azteca), and chemistry evidence suggests toxicity was associated with the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos, pyrethroid pesticides, or mixtures of both classes of pesticides. A high percentage of sediment samples were also toxic in this estuary, and sediment toxicity occurred when mixtures of chlorpyrifos and pyrethroid pesticides exceeded established toxicity thresholds. Based on a Relative Benthic Index, Santa Maria estuary stations where benthic macroinvertebrate communities were assessed were degraded. Impacts in the Santa Maria River estuary were likely due to the proximity of this system to Orcutt Creek, the tributary which accounts for most of the flow to the lower Santa Maria River. Water and sediment samples from Orcutt Creek were highly toxic to invertebrates due to mixtures of the same pesticides measured in the estuary. This study suggests that the same pyrethroid and organophosphate pesticides that have been shown to cause water and sediment toxicity in urban and agriculture water bodies throughout California, have the potential to affect estuarine habitats. The results establish baseline data in the Santa Maria River estuary to allow evaluation of ecosystem improvement as management initiatives to reduce pesticide runoff are implemented in this watershed.     

Evaluation by policy makers of a procedure to describe perceived landscape openness

In the last decade policy makers have increasingly recognized the need to include people's perceptions in methods for describing landscape quality. At the same time, a third wave of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has become available that make it technically possible to model landscape quality in a realistic manner. However, as there is often a mismatch between science and policy, it remains unclear to what extent perception-based models developed by scientists can be useful to policy makers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness to policy making of a GIS-based procedure for describing perceived landscape openness. To this end, a workshop was organized which was attended by eight Dutch policy makers who acted as representatives of their province (region). The Group Decision Room (GDR) technique was used to elicit the policy makers' evaluations of the procedure in an anonymous and reliable manner. The procedure was presented to the policy makers using cases from their own province, which they assessed using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. The results show that policy makers rated the procedure as being highly relevant to policy making, scientifically credible, usable by policy makers and feasible to implement in the policy making process. They especially appreciated the flexibility and transparency of the procedure. The policy makers concluded that the procedure would be of most value for monitoring landscape changes and for analysing impacts on landscape openness in land use scenario studies. However, they requested guidelines for proper implementation of the various options in the procedure. In general, the current study shows that explicit and transparent evaluation of the usefulness of GIS-based tools can aid integration at the science-policy interface and help to ensure that both scientists and policy makers are informed of interrelated options and requirements.     

The Aerosol Research and Inhalation Epidemiology Study (ARIES): PM25 Mass and Aerosol Component Concentrations and Sampler Intercomparisons

ABSTRACT

The Aerosol Research and Inhalation Epidemiology Study (ARIES) was designed to provide high-quality measurements of PM₂₅, its components, and co-varying pollutants for an air pollution epidemiology study in Atlanta, GA.

Air pollution epidemiology studies have typically relied on available data on particle mass often collected using filter-based methods. Filter-based PM_2.5 sampling is susceptible to both positive and negative errors in the measurement of aerosol mass and particle-phase component concentrations in the undisturbed atmosphere. These biases are introduced by collection of gas-phase aerosol components on the filter media or by volatilization of particle phase components from collected particles. As part of the ARIES, we collected daily 24-hr PM_2.5 mass and speciation samples and continuous PM_2.5 data at a mixed residential-light industrial site in Atlanta. These data facilitate analysis of the effects of a wide variety of factors on sampler performance. We assess the relative importance of PM_2.5 components and consider associations and potential mechanistic linkages of PM_2.5 mass concentrations with several PM_2.5 components.

For the 12 months of validated data collected to date (August 1, 1998-July 31, 1999), the monthly average Federal Reference Method (FRM) PM_{2 5} mass always exceeded the proposed annual average standard (12-month average = 20.3 ± 9.5 ug/m³). The particulate SO₄ ^2- fraction (as (NH₄)₂SO₄) was largest in the summer and exceeded 50% of the FRM mass. The contribution of (NH₄)₂SO₄ to FRM PM_2.5 mass dropped to less than 30% in winter. Particu-late NO₃ ^- collected on a denuded nylon filter averaged 1.1 ± 0.9 ug/m³. Particle-phase organic compounds (as organic carbon × 1.4) measured on a denuded quartz filter sampler averaged 6.4 ± 3.1 ug/m³ (32% of FRM PM_{2 5} mass) with less seasonal variability than SO₄ ^2-.     

Epidemiology of alcohol and other drug use among motor vehicle crash victims admitted to a trauma center

The objectives of this research were to (1) determine the incidence and prevalence of alcohol and other drug use among motor vehicle crash (MVC) victims admitted to a regional Level-I trauma center, and (2) to examine the utility of using a rapid point-of-collection (POC) drug-testing device to identify MVC patients with drug involvement. Blood and urine specimens were routinely collected per clinical protocol for each MVC victim at the time of admission. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels were determined per standard clinical protocol. Clinical urine specimens were routinely split so that a POC drug-testing device for the detection of commonly abused drugs (Marijuana, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, and Opiates) could be compared to that of the standard hospital laboratory analysis of each urine specimen (which also included Barbiturates and Benzodiazepines). In the six-month period of this study, nearly two-thirds of trauma center admissions were victims of motor vehicle crashes. During this time, blood and urine was collected from 322 MVC victims. Toxicology results indicated that 59.3% of MVC victims tested positive for either commonly abused drugs or alcohol. More patients tested positive for drug use than tested positive for alcohol, with 33.5% testing positive for drug use only, 15.8% testing positive for alcohol use only, and 9.9% testing positive for both drugs and alcohol. Less than half (45.2%) of the substance-abusing patients in this study would have been identified by an alcohol test alone. After alcohol, marijuana and benzodiazepines were the most frequently detected drugs. Point of collection (POC) test results correlated well with laboratory results and provide important information to initiate rapid intervention/treatment for substance use problems among injured patients.     

A new technique to identify and assess the dispersion of eggs of individual brood parasites

Summary A new technique for identifying eggs of brood parasites to individual females is presented. Twenty-six undeveloped brown-headed cowbird eggs were removed from nests on a small study area in eastern Kansas. Proteins from their yolks were subjected to starch gel electrophoresis. Electromorphs are completely of maternal origin, and results from a separate sample from California showed that electromorphs do not differ among eggs from an individual cowbird. Combinations of electromorphs at four polymorphic loci identified eggs to seven hypothetical females. The binomial probability that two or more of eight females (fieldwork suggested no more than 7–8 females laying on the site) share a particular combination was calculated from an off-site, independent sample of eggs. Six of seven of these probabilities were below 5%. Eggs collected directly from two females matched two of the electromorph combinations. Discriminant function analyses on 11 egg variables correctly classified 95.7% of the eggs to the group in which they were placed by electromorph combination. Patterns of dispersion of the eggs of individuals over host species, time and space were assessed. Despite small sample sizes, it is clear that individuals are not host-specific and overlap considerably in their laying areas.     

Passive airborne dust sampling to assess mite antigen exposure in farming environments

The aim of this study was to estimate mite antigen exposure in farming environments by passive sampling of airborne dust. Antigen concentrations were measured with enzyme immunoassays specific for three storage mites (SM): Acarus siro, Lepidoglyphus destructor, Tyrophagus putrescentiae and the house dust mite (HDM) Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. Dust samples were collected with electrostatic dust fall collectors (EDCs) in three different areas of cattle farms. EDCs were placed in cow stables (working area), in changing rooms (transit area) and in different rooms of farmer dwellings (living area). Mite concentrations in the living area of farm homes were compared to those of urban homes. In dust samples from stables, antigens of all four mite species could be detected. The highest exposure level was to L. destructor (median 56.7 μg/m(2)), the lowest to A. siro (median 14.4 μg/m(2)). Mite concentrations of different species showed no correlation within the cow stables. In comparison to stables, the median mite concentrations in farm homes were significantly lower, ranging from below the detection limit to 1.5 μg/m(2). Antigens of SM were predominantly found in changing rooms and kitchens, and HDM antigens were mainly detected in bedrooms. Antigens of all mites were measured the least often in living rooms. T. putrescentiae was the most prevalent mite in all room types, and the exposure levels correlated strongly between different rooms. The number of SM positive samples in farm homes was considerably higher than in urban homes, while the percentage of HDM positive samples did not differ significantly.