INTEGRATING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT STREAM NATURALIZATION NEAR CHICAGO,ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: Many urban and suburban communities in the Midwest are seeking to establish sustainable, morphologically and hydraulically varied, yet dynamically stable fluvial systems that are capable of supporting healthy, biologically diverse aquatic ecosystems — a process known as stream naturalization. This paper describes an integrated research program that seeks to develop a scientific and technological framework to support two stream naturalization projects near Chicago, Illinois. The research program integrates theory and methods in fluvial geomorphology, aquatic ecology, hydraulic engineering and social theory. Both the conceptual and the practical challenges of that integration are discussed. Scientific and technical support emphasize the development of predictive tools to evaluate the performance of possible naturalization designs at scales most appropriate to community based projects. Social analysis focuses on place based evaluations of how communities formulate an environmental vision and then, through decision making, translate this vision into specific stream naturalization strategies. Integration of scientific and technical with social components occurs in the context of community based decision making as the predictive tools are employed by project scientists to help local communities translate their environmental visions into concrete environmental designs. Social analysis of this decision making process reveals how the interplay between the community's vision of what they want the watershed to become, and the scientific perspective on what the watershed can become to achieve the community's environmental goals, leads to the implementation of specific stream naturalization practices.     

Seeking,Thinking, Acting: Understanding Suburban Resident Perceptions and Behaviors Related to Stream Quality

Theories in risk, psychology, and communication suggest aiming to inform the public about basic ecological facts may not be enough to influence knowledge of risks or behaviors to mitigate water quality risks. The risk information‐seeking and processing model and the theory of planned behavior suggest several additional variables that are likely to influence risk‐mitigating behaviors. We used data from a survey of watershed residents in Ohio to explore a model of behavioral intentions to positively impact stream health. Residents' informational norms, or the perceived pressure to know about local stream health, strongly predicted their information‐seeking behaviors. Active‐seeking behaviors predicted positive attitudes toward behaviors impacting stream health, which predicted intentions to positively impact stream health. Implications for outreach include couching communication in terms of risk found important to the local community, here wildlife were seen as negatively influenced by water quality, as opposed to plain reports typically provided by utility companies. Increasing social pressure to feel informed by emphasizing the existing knowledge of stream ecology among residents could change the norm for the less informed. A low response rate limits the generalizability of findings here, but leveraging these findings in outreach efforts could prove more successful in engaging the public to improve stream health and support policies to improve stream health.     

Assessing Surface Water Quality and Its Relation with Urban Land Cover Changes in the Lake Calumet Area, Greater Chicago

Urban land use and land cover change significantly affect spatial and temporal patterns of runoff, which in turn impacts surface water quality. With the exponential growth in urban areas over the past three decades, changes in land use and land cover to cater for the growth of cities has been a conspicuous spectacle in urban spaces. The main goal of this study was to assess the impacts of land cover change on runoff and surface water quality using a partial area hydrology framework. The study employed ArcHydro GIS extension and a modified version of Long-Term Hydrologic and Nonpoint Source Pollution model (L-THIA-NPS) in estimating runoff and nonpoint source pollutant concentration around Lake Calumet between 1992 and 2001. Data employed include National Land Cover Data set, rainfall data, digital elevation model (DEM), Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) data, and The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s STORET (storage and retrieval) water quality data. The model was able to predict surface water quality reasonably well over the study period. Sensitivity analysis facilitated a manual calibration of the model. Model validation was executed by comparing simulated results following calibration and observed water quality data for the study area. The study demonstrates that the level of concentration of nonpoint source pollutants in surface water within an urban watershed heavily depends on the spatiotemporal variations in areas that contribute towards runoff compared to the spatial extent of change in major land use/land cover.     

Benchmarking Optical/Thermal Satellite Imagery for Estimating Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture in Decision Support Tools

Generally, one expects evapotranspiration (ET) maps derived from optical/thermal Landsat and MODIS satellite imagery to improve decision support tools and lead to superior decisions regarding water resources management. However, there is lack of supportive evidence to accept or reject this expectation. We “benchmark” three existing hydrologic decision support tools with the following benchmarks: annual ET for the ET Toolbox developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, predicted rainfall‐runoff hydrographs for the Gridded Surface/Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis model developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the average annual groundwater recharge for the Distributed Parameter Watershed Model used by Daniel B. Stephens & Associates. The conclusion of this benchmark study is that the use of NASA/USGS optical/thermal satellite imagery can considerably improve hydrologic decision support tools compared to their traditional implementations. The benefits of improved decision making, resulting from more accurate results of hydrologic support systems using optical/thermal satellite imagery, should substantially exceed the costs for acquiring such imagery and implementing the remote sensing algorithms. In fact, the value of reduced error in estimating average annual groundwater recharge in the San Gabriel Mountains, California alone, in terms of value of water, may be as large as $1 billion, more than sufficient to pay for one new Landsat satellite.     

The Role of Local Government in Environmental Action in Slovakia

In the period of transition from communism, the countries of central and eastern Europe have made considerable efforts to adopt new environmental legislation and to create new institutions. However, the implementation of these powers, particularly at the level of local government, remains problematic. This article reviews the arguments for developing capacity for taking environmental action at the municipal level, and then examines the actual experience of one such country, the Slovak Republic. While Slovakia displays many of the features of policy making familiar to other transitional countries, it has faced some particular political problems. Recent legislation has given formal competencies in the field of environmental protection to local government, but it remains fragmented and relatively poorly resourced. Nevertheless, there is evidence that, through a combination of mutual support through national associations and the establishment of international links, local authorities are adopting a number of innovative approaches and strategies which should be better able to address the changing character of environmental problems.     

A course in Environmental Planning and Management

Summary This paper describes a 13-weeks, third-year course in Environmental Planning and Management developed and taught by the authors. Initiated in 1969, the course consists of a mix of lectures, seminars, workshop/laboratory sessions and field-based projects. The objectives of the course are for students: to become aware of the need for, and the complexities of, environmental management; to be able to criticise constructively work done by environmental agencies and consultants, managers and decision makers; and to learn and apply some of the methods and techniques used in environmental management.Topics covered by the current syllabus are: concepts of resource and environment; constitutional aspects; international law and the environment; Australian and Canadian environmental legislation and agencies; human manipulation of ecosystems; energy subsidies; modification of biogeochemical cycles; population dynamics and cropping; fisheries; national parks and reserves—policies in different countries; international heritage areas; environmental assessment (including impact assessment, land evaluation, land capability and land suitability assessment); and regional, integrated land-use and environmental planning and management. Techniques taught include: field surveys and interviewing; laboratory analysis of selected water quality, sediment and soil parameters including nutrient concentrations, heavy metal and pesticide residues; and for some students, applications of geographic information systems (GIS) technology following preceding GIS courses.A major problem is selecting the most appropriate mix between the social and natural sciences—appropriate, first in terms of students' heterogeneous skills and backgrounds, and second, in terms of understanding the causes of environmental problems and issues, and devising practicable solutions.     

Toward an applied phenomenology: The case of abandoned pier use in Hoboken,New Jersey,USA

This research demonstrates the contribution of phenomenological inquiry within the realm of geographic and environmental planning. The contention is that a focus on the wide range of individual meanings and values ascribed to landscapes, a marginalized element in many planning assessments, can bring out data to more substantively inform decision making, A case study of user meanings imparted to residual waterfront land in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, suggests that such property provides an array of amenities to residents. Most importantly, it expands the range of recreational activities, creates visual relief from the monotonous urban milieu, and provides scenic vistas to promote an awareness of the quality of life still possible in cities. The study concludes that planners can use phenomenology to generate data for more judicious decision making.     

Garnering input for recycling communication strategies at a Big Ten University

With increasing environmental challenges confronting our planet, colleges and universities are trying different approaches for minimizing their adverse environmental impacts. Among the approaches being used to revitalize campus sustainability efforts, new waste management strategies have included attempts to improve campus-recycling programs. This paper presents select findings from a comprehensive study at a large, Tier I university aimed at, among other things, informing university administration and decision makers working on the planning and implementation of a new campus-wide recycling facility and program. The researchers used a mixed-method approach to help them develop an understanding of the campus community's (1) perceived barriers to recycling, (2) recycling knowledge, (3) program preferences, and (4) environmental attitudes. The results from a web-based survey (n = 3896, RR1 = 24.9%) suggest, communication efforts for recycling programming should focus more on messages concerning what, how, and where to recycle rather than messages on why to recycle. Furthermore, the results suggest recycling-related publicity approaches should differentiate their mode and content for different segments of the community.