Shellfish Conflict in Baynes Sound: A Strategic Perspective

The shellfish aquaculture industry (SAI) has operated in Baynes Sound, British Columbia (BC) since the early 1900s. Recognizing the economic potential of the area, the industry has requested additional farming opportunities. However, Baynes Sound upland residents and many other stakeholders have expressed concerns that SAI activities are having a negative impact on the environment, quality of life, and other nonaquaculture resource uses in the area. In order to address these issues, the Action Plan was initiated by a BC government interagency project team in November 2001. To assist in assessing the strategic aspects of this conflict, the decision support system GMCR II is employed here to apply a new methodology, the graph model for conflict resolution, to systematically analyze the ongoing conflict over shellfish aquaculture development in Baynes Sound within a social, economic, and environmental framework. Valuable insights are procured to guide decision-makers toward sustainability of the shellfish industry.     

Grassland Management Activity Data: Current Sources and Future Needs

Estimates of potential and actual C sequestration require areal information about various types of management activities. Forest surveys, land use data, and agricultural statistics contribute information enabling calculation of the impacts of current and historical land management on C sequestration in biomass (in forests) or in soil (in agricultural systems). Unfortunately little information exists on the distribution of various management activities that can impact soil C content in grassland systems. Limited information of this type restricts our ability to carry out bottom-up estimates of the current C balance of grasslands or to assess the potential for grasslands to act as C sinks with changes in management. Here we review currently available information about grassland management, how that information could be related to information about the impacts of management on soil C stocks, information that may be available in the future, and needs that remain to be filled before in-depth assessments may be carried out. We also evaluate constraints induced by variability in information sources within and between countries.It is readily apparent that activity data for grassland management is collected less frequently and on a coarser scale than data for forest or agricultural inventories and that grassland activity data cannot be directly translated into IPCC-type factors as is done for IPCC inventories of agricultural soils. However, those management data that are available can serve to delineate broad-scale differences in management activities within regions in which soil C is likely to change in response to changes in management. This, coupled with the distinct possibility of more intensive surveys planned in the future, may enable more accurate assessments of grassland C dynamics with higher resolution both spatially and in the number management activities.     

The Impact of Conifer Harvesting on Stream Water Quality: A Case Study in Mid-Wales

A 12-year record of water quality data for runoff from a spruce forested hillslope with podzolic soils shows the impacts of conifer harvesting and replanting in relation to nitrate generation and its influence on surface water acidification. With felling, nitrate increases from a background of 18 Eq/l to about 50 Eq/l after 1 to 2 years and then declines to background levels over the next 1 to 2 years and to lower concentrations thereafter. This change is mirrored by an acidification process as manifest by a change in Gran alkalinity, acid neutralization capacity (ANC) and aluminium concentrations as well as pH. For example, Gran alkalinity and ANC, which start at negative concentrations prior to felling (about –20 and –50 Eq/l, respectively), become more negative (–30 and –100 Eq/l, respectively) at high nitrate concentrations. Correspondingly, pH decreases from about 4.7 to 4.5 and aluminium concentrations increase from about 14 to 16 M. Subsequently, the acidification is reversed as nitrate concentrations decline and after five years post-felling the system has higher pH, Gran alkalinity and ANC together with lower aluminium concentrations than even before the felling took place (the post-felling values are about 4.9, -15 Eq/l, –20 Eq/l and 7 M/l, respectively).Other determinands show clear changes over time. For example, there is a marked increase in sodium and chloride prior to and around the time of felling (200 to 300 and 230 to 400 Eq/l, respectively), with a subsequent decline in concentration to pre-felling and to lower values of around 160 and 170 Eq/l, respectively, thereafter. This change is probably associated with abnormally high inputs of sea-salts from the atmosphere during the first quarter of the year of felling, and dilution thereafter, rather than a direct consequence of the felling activity itself: this change in sea salt loading has had an impact on stream acidity. Dissolved organic carbon and iron also change with concentrations increasing over time (60 to 200 and 1.0 to 1.5 M/l, respectively) and this mirrors a general pattern observed across the Plynlimon catchments irrespective of whether or not there has been felling activity.The implications of the findings are discussed in relations to environmental management and hydrochemical processes.     

Book reviews

What Time is This Place?

Kevin Lynch

The MIT Press, Cambridge and London, England 1972, VIII and 277 pp, $5.95.

Planning and Profit in the Urban Economy

T. A. Broadbent (1977)

London: Methuen & Co.

"Sociology in Planning: a redefinition"

G. McDougall, J. Foulsham and J. Porter.

S.I.P. Paper No. 3, 1977, 27pp. Price 50p. Published by the organisation of Sociologists in Polytechnics and Cognate Institutions.

"Urban Freight Transport: problems and some possible solutions"

Alan R. Boyland

Working Papjer No. 26, Oxford Polytechnic Department of Town Planning.

A Critique of Urban Modelling

R. A. Sayer

Progress in Planning Series, edited by D. Diamond and J. B. McLoughlin, Volume 6, Part 3.

The Communications Factor in Office Decentralisation

J. B. Goddard and D. Morris

Progress in Planning Series edited by D. Diamond and J. M. McLoughlin, Vol. 6, Part 1.

Spatial Population Analysis

P. H. Rees and A. G. Wilson

Arnold, London, 1977. £27.50.

The Design Guidance Survey

Llewelyn‐Davies, Weeks, Forestier‐Walker and Bor. London 1976.     

REDUCING THE RISK OF FISHERY RESOURCE DISASTERS: A BIOECONOMIC APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT1

Abstract: Recognition is growing that fisheries must be both ecologically and commercially sustainable. The bioeconomic models proposed herein constitute an analytic framework capable of integrating the ethics and Societal values associated with fisheries preservation. Specifically, we focus on the normalized optimal (equilibrium) fish population, z*, a dimensionless variable representing biomass as a proportion of environmental capacity. We model z* as a function of (a) the dimensionless "bionomic growth ratio", γ, which is the ratio of the discount rate to the intrinsic population growth rate, and (b) the preservation coefficient, Ω, which is the ratio of the preservation value (a measure of Society's value for the stock) to price, assuming that the population growth rate and intrinsic growth rate are fixed. It is shown that increasing Ω significantly impacts z*, particularly for moderate values of γ (2 γ 4). Finally, stochastic population models are used to analyze the risk of a fish stock collapse due to harvesting pressures. The bioeconomic models and simulations herein described improve the accuracy and reliability of maximum sustainable yield management.     

THE IMPACT OF FLOODPLAIN REGULATIONS ON RESIDENTIAL LAND VALUES IN OREGON1

ABSTRACT: The impact of floodplain regulations on mean appreciation rates of residential land values was tested at six study areas in five counties in western Oregon. The study hypothesis that such regulations significantly depress appreciation rates of regulated lands relative to those of similar unregulated lands was in most cases rejected. When the hypothesis was accepted circumstances would render conclusions tenuous. The problems and issues facing this type of research are presented in case studies of two of the research study areas. The following factors challenge investigators seeking to resolve questions about the relationship between land use regulations and land values: varying degrees of stringency with which regulations are enforced; unequal assessment procedures between counties; influences external to floodplain regulations that may affect appreciation rates, including denial of permits for septic tanks, flood damages, and amenity values associated with waterfront locations; and the uncertain effect that the availability of flood insurance, which accompanies floodplain regulations, has on land values.     

Forest-user attitudes toward alternative fire management policies

The formulation and implementation of new fire policies in the national forests depend upon public acceptance. A national survey of organized groups of forest users indicates that, contrary to the concern of many forest managers, considerable support exists for flexible fire suppression policies. Forest users are also willing to accept the risk associated with the manager's use of prescribed fire. However, important intergroup differences do exist. Such variation is discussed in relation to a number of socioeconomic variables, general fire knowledge, specific knowledge about the effects of low-intensity fires, and risk preference levels.     

TIME SERIES ANALYSIS IN PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT: By employing a set of criteria for classifying the capabilities of time series models, recent developments in time series analysis are assessed and put into proper perspective. In particular, the inherent attributes of a wide variety of time series models and modeling procedures presented by the authors of the 18 papers contained in this volume are clearly pointed out. Additionally, it is explained how these models can address many of the time series problems encountered when modeling hydrologic, water quality and other kinds of time series. For instance, families of time series models are now available for modeling series which may contain nonlinearities or may follow nonGaussian distributions. Based upon a sound physical understanding of a problem and results from exploratory data analyses, the most appropriate model to fit to a data set can be found during confirmatory data analyses by following the identification, estimation and diagnostic check stages of model construction. Promising future research projects for developing flexible classes of time series models for use in water resources applications are suggested.