Guidelines and Techniques for Improving the NEPA Process

/ The Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) principal aims in implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are (1) to reduce paperwork, (2) to avoid delay, and most importantly (3) to produce better decisions that protect, restore, and enhance the environment. This paper presents four strategies for improving the NEPA process along with tools that can be used to implement each strategy. The tools include guidelines for project management and problem definition, tips for acquiring existing information and identifying issues of public concern, worksheets on how to identify and analyze potential impacts on resources, ideas for enhancing NEPA documents, and a NEPA process checklist. The tools can be used at various stages of the NEPA process and provide a toolbox of guidelines and techniques to improve implementation of the NEPA process by focusing the pertinent information for decisionmakers and stakeholders. KEY WORDS: National Environmental Policy Act; NEPA; Environmental impact assessment; Ecosystem management     

Atmospheric deposition of pesticides to an agricultural watershed of the Chesapeake Bay

The Choptank River watershed, located on the Delmarva Peninsula of the Chesapeake Bay, is dominated by agricultural land use, which makes it vulnerable to runoff and atmospheric deposition of pesticides. Agricultural and wildlife areas are in close proximity and off-site losses of pesticides may contribute to toxic effects on sensitive species of plants and animals. High-volume air samples (n = 31) and event-based rain samples (n = 71) were collected from a single location in the watershed representing regional background conditions. Surface water samples were collected from eight stations in the tidal portion of the river on five occasions during 2000. Chlorothalonil, metolachlor, atrazine, simazine, endosulfan, and chlorpyrifos were frequently detected in the air and rain, with maximal concentrations during the period when local or regional crops were planted. The wet deposition load to the watershed was estimated at 150 +/- 16, 61 +/- 7, and 51 +/- 6 kg yr(-1) for chlorothalonil, metolachlor, and atrazine, respectively. The high wet deposition load compared with the estimated annual usage for chlorothalonil (13%) and endosulfan (14-90%) suggests an atmospheric source from outside the watershed. Net air-water gas exchange fluxes for metolachlor varied from -44 +/- 19 to 9.3 +/- 4.1 ng m(-2) d(-1) with negative values indicating net deposition. Wet deposition accounted for 3 to 20% of the total metolachlor mass in the Choptank River and was a more important source to the river than gas exchange. Estimates of herbicide flux presented here are probably a low estimate and actual rates may be significantly higher in areas closer to pesticide application.     

Evaluating Ecosystem Management Capabilities at the Local Level in Florida: Identifying Policy Gaps Using Geographic Information Systems

Because ecosystem approaches to management adhere to ecological systems rather than human-defined boundaries, collaboration across jurisdiction, agencies, and land ownership is often necessary to achieve effective management of transboundary resources. Local natural resource and land use planners increasingly recognize that while ecosystem management requires looking beyond specific jurisdictions and focusing on broad spatial scales, the approach will partly be implemented at the local level with the coordination of local policies across larger landscapes. This article evaluates the collective capabilities of local jurisdictions to manage large transboundary ecological systems in Florida. Specifically, it combines plan evaluation with geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to map, measure, and analyze the existing mosaic of management across selected ecosystems in the southern portion of the State. Visual and statistical results indicate significant gaps in the management framework of southern Florida that, if filled, could achieve a greater level of consistency and more complete coverage of ecosystem management policies. Based on the spatial distribution of 58 ecosystem management indicators, notable gaps persist in the southwest coast, southeast coast, and central Everglades ecosystems, particularly for wildlife corridors and collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions. We also test for spatial autocorrelation of ecosystem planning scores and find that local jurisdictions with strong ecosystem management capabilities tend to cluster within specific ecosystems. Based on the findings, we make recommendations on how and where local plans can be strengthened to more effectively attain the objectives of ecosystem approaches to management.     

Postfire regeneration in Pinus pinea L. and Pinus pinaster aiton in Andalucia (Spain)

The objective of this study was to examine postfire regeneration of tree, shrub, and dwarf shrub species, in relation to levels of damage in four planted pine forests (Pinus pinea, Pinus pinaster) in Andalusia. A prefire vegetation map was used for detailing species composition, vertical structure, and density and another for detailing the extent and intensity of fire damage. Between 3 and 7 years after the fires, an inventory was made of the vegetation in each area, using the step-point method. The information thus obtained was used to determine the amount of cover in the dwarf/shrub and tree layers, the frequency of species in each of the layers, floristic richness, and diversity (Shannon index). The botanical composition of the dwarf and shrub layer was analyzed using TWINSPAN. Variables were poorly correlated with level of fire damage, which suggests that the forests in this study followed the autosuccession model. Because of the artificial origin or seminatural condition, regeneration of the dominant tree species is poor, and it seems unlikely that forests will recover to their prefire state. Therefore action is recommended to restore these ecosystems.     

Interactive effects of impression management and organizational politics on job performance

The purpose of this research was to explore the interactive effect of organizational politics and impression management on supervisor ratings of employee performance. We hypothesized that the negative relationship between organizational politics and supervisor‐rated performance is weaker among employees who are high in impression management than among those low in impression management. Data were collected from a matched sample of 112 white‐collar employees and their supervisors. Results indicated that the interaction of organizational politics and impression management explained a significant incremental amount of variance in supervisor ratings of employee performance. These findings demonstrated that the extent to which an individual engaged in impression management in a non‐political atmosphere may have been a key component to receiving favorable performance ratings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

State wetlands and riparian area protection programs

The protection of wetlands and riparian areas has emerged as an important environmental planning issue. In the United States, several federal and state laws have been enacted to protect wetlands and riparian areas. Specifically, the federal Clean Water Act includes protection requirements in Sections 301 and 303 for state water quality standards, Section 401 for state certification of federal actions (projects, permits, and licenses), and Section 404 for dredge and fill permits. The Section 401 water quality state certification element has been called the “sleeping giant” of wetlands protection because it empowers state officials to veto or condition federally permitted or licensed activities that do not comply with state water quality standards. State officials have used this power infrequently. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effectiveness of state wetland and riparian programs. Contacts were established with officials in each state and in the national and regional offices of key federal agencies. Based on interviews and on a review of federal and state laws, state program effectiveness was analyzed. From this analysis, several problems and opportunities facing state wetland protection efforts are presented.     

WETLAND BOUNDARY DETERMINATION IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP USING WEIGHTED AVERAGES1

ABSTRACT: A weighted average method was used to analyze transition zone vegetation in the Great Dismal Swamp to determine if a more uniform determination of wetland boundaries can be made nationwide. The method was applied to vegetation data collected on four transects and three vertical layers across the wetland-to-upland transition zone of the swamp. Ecological index values based on water tolerance were either taken from the literature or derived from local species tolerances. Wetland index values were calculated for 25-m increments using species cover and rankings based on the ecological indices. Wetland index values were used to designate increments as either wetland, transitional, or upland, and to examine the usefulness of a provisional wetland-upland break-point. Most increments were designated wetland or transitional when all species were used. Removal of three or five ubiquitous species either gave a wider range of wetland index values with a more variable designation of increments or caused designation of increments to be similar for all layers. The use of locally-derived rankings showed the sensitivity of the weighted averages method to ecological indices of species with large importance values. The weighted average method did not provide for an objective placement of an absolute wetland boundary, but did serve to focus attention on the transitional boundary zone where supplementary information is necessary to select a wetland-upland breakpoint.     

What is Type A? A cognitive social learning model

In the past ten years or so, attempts have been made to understand better the essential nature of Type A. Yet, important questions remain as to exactly what the behaviour pattern is, how we can measure it reliably, and how we can help persons change their Type A behaviour as a means, it is hoped, of reducing their risk of CHD. Lack of a theoretically-based conceptual model of Type A is cited as one of the important reasons why serious conceptual; assessment, and treatment problems persist in this field. A recently developed model of Type A based on cognitive social learning theory is presented. The model focuses on the interplay among cognitive, behavioural, physiological, and environmental factors in the acquisition and maintenance of Type A behaviour. Personal beliefs and the fears they spawn are seen as forming the core of the behaviour pattern. Several of these beliefs are discussed. For instance, believing that one's personal worth is tied to one's tangible accomplishments is shown to explain the presence of many behaviours traditionally considered to constitute Type A. Environmental factors associated with the workplace are also discussed in terms of how they contribute to the persistence of Type A behaviour throughout adult life.     

Shearwater diet during migration along the coast of Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil

The coastline of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) is used annually as a migratory route by a number of seabird species. Thirteen surveys were carried out between July 1997 and July 1998 to obtain information on the diet of Puffinus gravis, Puffinus griseus, and Puffinus puffinus along the coast of Rio Grande do Sul. Sampling efforts focused on dead beach-cast specimens. One hundred twenty-one stomach content analyses were performed on P. gravis from a total of 238 specimens; 17 stomach content analyses were performed on P. griseus from a total of 54 specimens; and 25 stomach content analyses were performed on 25 P. puffinus from a total of 61 dead specimens. Cephalopods were the main prey found in the stomachs of the three species and were present in 96% of the P. gravis stomachs. The following cephalopods were observed: Ommastrephidae, Gonatus antarcticus, Gonatus sp., Lycoteuthis lorigera, Lycoteuthis sp., Histioteuthis sp., Cycloteuthis sp., Loligo plei, Loligo sanpaulensis, Sepiidae, and Argonauta nodosa. The latter was the most abundant species in the three species of Puffinus. The following fish were identified from otoliths: Porichthys porosissimus, Ctenosciaena gracilicirrhus, Paralonchurus brasiliensis, Cynoscion guatucupa, and Trichiurus lepturus. There was also a high incidence of synthetic materials such as plastic, polyethylene and rubber.