The Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) is a multidisciplinary environmental study that is designed to provide timely inputs which are needed for decisions on off-shore oil and gas development. Approximately 100 projects in the Program address six tasks that are universal to environmental prediction and assessment. These include determination of predevelopment contamination, anticipation of future contaminants, transport of contaminants through the environment to receptors, location and character of biological populations, and the effects on organisms of exposure to a contaminant. The sixth task identifies and characterizes the various physical hazards which the environment poses to human safety, installations, and oil and gas operations.

Bermuda's caves have proven to be extremely valuable from the scientific, economic, and recreational, viewpoints. Significant studies in geology, palaeontology, and biology, have been conducted in these caves, which are also an important asset as tourist attractions in a country whose economy is almost wholly dependent upon tourism. Caves and other karst landforms contribute much to the scenic beauty of Bermuda. However, a number of these caves have been destroyed or severely damaged by Man. The four primary threats to Bermuda's caves have been (1) filling and quarrying activities, (2) water pollution, (3) dumping and littering, and (4) vandalism.

The Great Central Lake story from British Columbia provides an interesting microcosm which touches on a variety of Man's activities. Other aspects which have not been discussed but were touched upon during the course of the experiment include logging, mining, hydroelectric power, recreational activities, and drinking-water. These ‘resources’ are also part of Man's use of the Great Central Lake system.

There exists no current inventory of how much of the United States is occupied by natural vegetation, nor how much area is covered by particular plant communities. In this study, the potential existing vegetation-cover of the United States was determined by using a computer algorithm that was developed to subtract extant landuse data from the potential natural vegetation. This was done on a county-by-county basis for the 48 conterminous States.

A comparative study of institutional arrangements for the implementation of environmental policies serves several purposes. First, it provides a better understanding of the governmental systems of the respective countries which are examined. Second, it provides a basis for the potential formulation of more effective environmental protection policies; this can be accomplished through a detailed analysis of the implementation efforts of countries which experience similar environmental problems, but may use different implementation strategies to deal with such problems. Third, it prompts the analyst to consider the effect of varying political cultures on the policy implementation process (Enloe, 1975). Fourth, such study often identifies the need for greater harmonization of environmental laws between different countries (Lutz, 1975). In sum, such study can reveal the key relationships between governmental structures and environmental policies which account for successful policy implementation (Lundqvist, 1974).

The Great Plains Forest Shelter-belt Project began in 1935 and was the largest tree-planting programme ever attempted in the Great Plains. Its goals included soil-moisture conservation, enhancement of a seemingly featureless environment, improvement of crop yields, preservation of the soil resource, and climatic amelioration. The first four proved realistic, and quickly became the prime rationale for the programme. Millions of trees were planted, from the Dakotas to Texas, and some planting still continues under two federal cost-sharing arrangements. In many instances, the total number of hectares that have been planted exceeds the natural forest vegetation.

Successful management of marine turtles in Seychelles will depend on the solution of a variety of general problems as follows:

1 Availability of information—basic biological data, particularly on the status and distribution of the two common species, must be gathered, so that up-to-date information is available for decision-makers and Government. It is essential that the information gathering programme be recurrent, in order to monitor changes in the populations and their habitats. The Republic of Seychelles has neither the finances nor the expertise to execute such programmes, so that international support is essential.

The dynamics of a Pinyon Pine-Utah Juniper woodlands community were studied to determine the baseline conditions and the annual variation in the major plant components. Understanding the normal baseline community status and its annual variation is paramount to evaluating the possible impact of an air pollutant on the system. Environmental impact assessments rarely concern data from more than one or two years, yet results of the present study show that annual variation is such that data from several years are necessary to establish a valid baseline for community structure.

From early in August 1976 to late in July 1977, monthly surveys were carried out of the total recreational use of an area comprising 42 km2 of unenclosed moorland in the North York Moors National Park, England. Data were recorded on the following five variables for every person who was not either in or on a moving vehicle, with the exception of pedal cyclists and motor-cycle scramblers: location, age and sex, recreational activity, site type, and distance from the nearest road. A total of 2,506 individuals were recorded. Data from the surveys were grouped to represent the four seasons.