in a long–standing conflict over voyageurs national park in northern minnesota, proponents of motorized use have battled environmentalists for decades—each side repeatedly using litigation to advance its concerns. the conflict, which began in the early 1960s over the location and management of a national park on the border of minnesota and ontario, resembles a protracted game of hearts in which each side temporarily trumps the other by winning a victory in the courts. most of these victories have been short–lived, however, because of reversals on appeal or changing political circumstances. so who has won? certainly not the national park service, which has continually been buffeted from both sides of the debate. the environmentalists, who want to ensure that the park and its native species are protected from abuse, have not been victorious. nor do the proponents of motorized use declare themselves victors, claiming instead that they have made concession after concession (e.g., giving up desirable snowmobiling trails and floatplane access) in the interest of wildlife preservation.

Between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2006, 53 federal executive branch entities made available to the public 2,236 final environmental impact statements (EISs). The US Forest Service, the Federal Highway Administration, and the US Army Corps of Engineers prepared 51% of these documents. We evaluated the individual performances of these three entities and that of all other EIS-producing entities combined. The number of final EISs made available annually from 1998 through 2006 was comparable to the 20-year average calculated from US Environmental Protection Agency data. We determined the time required to prepare 2,095 of the final EISs made available during our study period. The time to prepare an EIS ranged from 51 days to 6,708 days (18.4 years). The average time for all federal entities was 3.4 years. Average times differed significantly by year and by entity. The time for all entities to prepare their EISs increased during our study period by an average of 37 days per year; most of this increase was associated with the preparation of draft EISs. The percentage of EISs completed within three years or less from publication of the Notice of Intent decreased throughout the study period. The decrease was matched by an increase in the percentage of EISs completed within four to eight years from publication of the Notice of Intent. Our data indicate that various attempts to “streamline” the EIS preparation process have either failed or have yet to take effect.

Environmental Practice 10:164–174 (2008)

The environmental review process and the required federal and state permits for wetlands and endangered species impacts have been blamed for delays in the development of critical infrastructure projects. Many of the delays are a result of negotiations surrounding the compensatory mitigation that is included as a part of the environmental review and included in the subsequent regulatory permits. Various programs around the nation are using proactive planning and advance compensatory mitigation to reduce delays and increase the environmental benefits associated with mitigation for infrastructure development. In this article, we provide case studies of four programs that illustrate how various agencies are incorporating advance mitigation into their infrastructure planning and implementation, and provide a critical examination of the attributes and status of these programs, along with the opportunities and challenges associated with advance mitigation. We have chosen these case studies to reflect a range of advance compensatory mitigation approaches toward endangered species and wetlands at various scales from four different regions of the nation. We contend that advanced mitigation offers a more effective and efficient approach. However, challenges exist in the need for up-front capital investment, the current lack of regulatory certainty, and lack of incentives to go beyond project-level mitigation. These challenges are significant, but are being addressed in some progressive ways across the nation. We believe that advance mitigation is the most cost-effective method for streamlining regional unavoidable impacts and should be explored and in any future federal surface transportation reauthorization.

Environmental Practice 12:227–236 (2010)

In Israel, the same governmental bodies and environmental organizations appear repeatedly as environmental disputants. Irrespective of the conflict, they usually hold consistent perspectives and positions. This research offers a methodology for identifying values frames and creating stakeholder profiles to assist negotiators and disputants in finding common ground or trade-offs in resolving disputes. The profiles enable stakeholders to couch their interests and arguments in language (or frames) understandable to other stakeholders. They enable interveners to steer discussions toward trade-offs or reframing of issues. The research is based on interviews with 160 stakeholders in nine Israeli environmental disputes at national, regional, and local levels.

Existing studies have demonstrated a lack of consensus on the relationships between what the public sees when viewing a river, the actual ecological quality of that river, and a perceived need for management measures for that river. More specifically, there is insufficient information available about public perceptions of high-quality rivers. Therefore, this study, conducted in North Carolina, assessed public perceptions of a high-quality river, including links between perceptions of how attractive or how natural the river appeared and perceptions of specific ecological conditions on the river. The study also assessed the public’s perceived need for flood protection or river rehabilitation. The study’s results show that public perception of the river studied is complex and, in some ways, aligns well with available monitoring data collected from that river, but simultaneously reflects the public’s lack of knowledge about what constitutes a high-quality river, which influenced a perceived need for flood control and rehabilitation.

Environmental Practice 18: 44–52 (2016)

We compare the environmental voting behavior of Hispanic congressional members with those of White and African American members, seek to explain disparities in long-term voting trends, and discuss the implications for future environmental policy development. We analyzed congressional members' voting behavior from 1995 to 2006. Multivariate regression models were employed to determine what factors explain racial disparities in voting. Hispanic members were more likely than White, but less likely than African American, to vote proenvironmentally throughout the period. Results show political party increasingly explains this difference. This is because Democrats and Republicans have become increasingly polarized around environmental issues while at the same time racial disparities in party membership in Congress, largely due to increasing Hispanic membership, have also widened. Although oil-and-gas PAC contributions, region, and other variables are also significant predictors of proenvironmental voting, these variables are secondary to party. Our results add to the building evidence that racial/ethnic minorities are as supportive, if not more supportive, of environmental protection policies as their White counterparts. There has been little research on environmental voting behaviors of Hispanic congressional members. Although the number of Hispanic representatives has to date been relatively small (N = 24 in the 109th Congress), our results lend insight into the changing demographics of the Congress and how this may affect American environmental policy development in the future.

Environmental Practice 13:302–313 (2011)

This study systematically examined environmental effects during and after Dez Dam Reservoir flushing operations. The study focused on potential upstream sources of pollution, sediment concentrations, water-quality parameters, and uses of water downstream of the dam, particularly emphasizing the presence of fish and macroinvertebrates as well as their habitats. The study was conducted from June 16–18, 2003 in the Dez Dam Reservoir, which is located in the southern part of Iran. The Dez Dam Reservoir is facing a serious sedimentation problem, and its dead volume will be quite full in the coming 10 years. Therefore, performing flushing operations through the three irrigation gates of the dam has received much more attention in recent years. The results of this study helped determine the hydraulic conditions that could decrease the negative environmental effects of the Dez Dam Reservoir flushing operations on downstream aquatic conditions.

Environmental Practice 17: 211–232 (2015)

imagine two cities similar in many respects—size, socio–economic status, location—faced with an environmental challenge. in one city, a fractious battle is observed among interest groups, while in the other, parties seem very effective at engaging in deliberations that yield possible solutions to the challenge. all else being similar, the difference might be the level of civic capacity in the two cities. this civic capacity is the focus of this article.

One main theme in the Rio+20 Conference was how to facilitate the growth of green industries. How can politicians more specifically promote renewable green industries such as wind turbines or solar energy? How can we get prices right in the market? Prices can be adjusted by the use of economic instruments such as taxes and subsidies. In this way, renewable energy sources and green industries become more competitive, thus enhancing the transition from brown to green economy. Not only can these economic incentives accelerate the so-called switch point in time from fossil fuel–based energy sources to those not based on fossil fuel, they also encourage innovation. An illustrative example of this logic in practice is the case of Danish wind energy production.

Environmental Practice 15:72–78 (2013)

As the environmental, social, and economic problems associated with heavy reliance on pesticides become more apparent, many national and international organizations are promoting integrated pest management (IPM) as a way of reducing pesticides without sacrificing yields. IPM, which has been rapidly implemented in Indonesian rice production, is currently the most successful United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-sponsored national IPM program in existence (United Nations, 2002). The integration of government policy with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-supported farmer education points to the success and sustainability of a bottom-up approach in IPM, and is an important lesson to all practitioners involved in efforts that necessitate community participation.

The global Slow Movement, a response to negative effects of speed on everyday life, seeks to reconnect people and their social and ecological environments. Slow Food and Cittaslow (Slow Cities) are allied Slow Movement networks operating in over 150 countries, including the United States (US). These two networks involve the interrelationship of numerous place-based factors important to social-ecological resilience: local and regional food markets, recovery and protection of biodiversity and local ecologies, support for cultural traditions, agricultural policy reform, climate adaptation planning, economic development, social inclusion, quality of life in the built environment, and the politics of land development. This article presents the philosophical underpinnings of Slow Food and the associated membership requirements of Cittaslow by using the example of Sonoma Valley, California, the first certified Cittaslow in the US (2009). The article then describes Sonoma Valley's Cittaslow Pollinator Stewardship Collaborative to show how the nascent organization has begun its work by facilitating the participation of environmental professionals in community life. In its first year, Cittaslow Sonoma Valley has used a combination of pleasure and responsibility to increase both the visibility of environmental concerns and the opportunities for diverse residents to act locally and globally on issues integrating environmental and economic support. Because it offers a different approach to environmental responsibility, the Slow Movement may be of particular interest to environmental professionals who are concerned about societal response to the complexity and uncertainty of global environmental change.

Environmental Practice 14:130–142 (2012)

Aerial photographs are a type of remote sensing data that are especially valuable for rangeland applications. Advantages of these data include relative ease of interpretation and acquisition, affordability, high resolution (1–2 meters), and provision of a common reference for communication among those involved in rangeland management. Additionally, air photos are especially well suited for analysis of historical rangeland remediation treatments because acquisition of widespread aerial photographic coverage began during the 1930s. Several types of treatments can be easily identified and monitored over time, including contour terraces, brush water spreaders, rootplow seeding, water ponding dikes, shrub removal by grubbing, and grazing restrictions. The use of archived aerial photographs allows the opportunity to recreate the management history of rangeland, as well as to serve as a point of departure for involvement in more sophisticated satellite-based remote sensing systems.

This research considers acculturation by Mexican and Chinese groups in the United States and how participation in five nature-based outdoor recreation activities may be an indicator of acculturation to American society. We argue that the greater incidence of professional human capital among Chinese immigrants helps this group acculturate more quickly than Mexicans, who are more likely to be labor immigrants and that as a result, Chinese immigrants will be more likely than Mexican immigrants to participate in nature-based outdoor recreation activities. We also posit that US-born Chinese have a greater likelihood of participation compared to US-born Mexicans. Results show Chinese immigrant participation is distinguished only slightly from Mexican immigrant participation; no differences were found between US-born Chinese and US-born Mexicans. Within-group comparisons show immigrant Chinese participation to be more aligned with US-born Chinese participation than immigrant Mexican participation to US-born Mexican participation. Results from this study are intended to help raise awareness among environmental professionals of the different ways nature may be perceived by various cultural groups and also to alert managers of the important role natural resources can play in acculturating immigrants to US society.

Racialized space has been used to explain the emergence of environmental racism and injustice. Central to this hypothesis is the history of uneven development in cities, coupled with persistent racial residential segregation. Beginning in the late 1930s, the federal Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) surveyed over 200 midsized American cities to create comprehensive records of mortgage risk, commonly referred to as redlining maps. Many scholars acknowledge their significance in shaping early home and urban development policy. However, there has been relatively little work done using these maps, primarily because of their limited access. This article presents a methodology for an efficient digitization of redlining maps and provides an overview of variables within the HOLC risk map survey, called Security Area Descriptions. Work is based on a pilot study of seven central New York cities: Binghamton, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Elmira, Rome, and Buffalo. Key steps include the overlay and georeferencing of high-resolution copies of the original HOLC maps by using contemporary street maps, and the construction of a comprehensive database by using information derived from the Security Area Descriptions. Here we present this methodology and our initial findings in the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and marginalized space. This research contributes to the literature on historical geography and urban development.

Environmental Practice 13:325–339 (2011)

Executive Order 12898 requires federally sponsored transportation projects to evaluate environmental justice criteria. These federal requirements for transportation studies have proven difficult to evaluate because of the wide range of potential scenarios that can disproportionately affect sensitive populations (either low-income or minority groups). Therefore, environmental justice assessments typically have been conducted in geographically broad areas without refined resolution for the populations closest to the transportation route. This study uses geographic information systems technology with statistical methods to provide for a more refined analysis at the census block level. The study centers on a proposed commuter rail project in the Interstate 35 corridor in the eastern Kansas/Kansas City, Missouri, area. The project involves construction of five new commuter rail stations, and the study aims to ascertain whether construction and operation of the rail system would have disproportionate impacts on low-income people. Comparisons of the median incomes in census blocks in the county with the census blocks within a one-mile radius of the five proposed stations are provided as the basis for a quantitative environmental justice assessment. The environmental justice parameter of low-income level was evaluated using analysis of variance. Results of the study indicated that the mean of the median incomes in census blocks around one rail station differed significantly from the mean of median incomes in the census blocks around the other four stations, and from the blocks in the rest of the county. The study is useful for demonstrating the importance of using a quantitative method as a tool for environmental justice assessment.

The majority of humans now live in cities where access to usable open space is often limited, causing a reexamination of current practices and values related to reuse of available urban lands. Closed landfills offer an unprecedented opportunity to convert large underutilized land into usable urban open space, as well as habitat for multiple species. However, existing landfill regulations and closure practices do not allow optimal ecological restoration designs for these underutilized properties to be realized, because current regulations focus on methods that protect required caps and prevent water infiltration. Through the exploration of two design case studies, the authors illustrate the opportunities to increase habitat diversity on closed landfills and to more closely approximate a natural topographic/vegetation interaction. Although initially a more costly restoration, unique restoration design elements enhance both long-term environmental and socio-economic values associated with the reuse of closed urban landfills, which are currently underutilized.

Environmental Practice 18: 106–115 (2016)

The USDA Forest Service is sued more often than any other federal agency under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This analysis examines Forest Service land management cases initiated from 1989 to 2008 to understand how the agency fared in NEPA cases. Of the 1,064 completed cases, 671 (63.1%) involved a NEPA challenge. The agency won the final outcome of 343 cases (51.1%), lost 176 (26.2%), and settled 152 (22.7%). Case characteristic analyses indicate that case decisions peaked at the end of the 1990s, occurred mostly in the Ninth Circuit, and predominately involved vegetative management, forest planning, roads, recreation, and wildlife management activities. In addition to these general case outcomes, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the 411 cases where a judge or panel of judges specifically ruled on a NEPA challenge. The agency won the NEPA claim in 69.3% of these cases. The Forest Service was most successful litigating supplemental environmental impact statement cases and least successful in categorical exclusion cases. Most challenges to Forest Service NEPA implementation were based on environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs). The agency was more likely to win a direct and indirect effects EA challenge and a range of alternatives EIS challenge. Since the Forest Service accounts for a large portion of all NEPA litigation, this research enhances understanding of legal challenges to NEPA's implementation.

Environmental Practice 12:116–126 (2010)

This article presents the results of a two year pilot case study of alternative weed control in a northern Canadian community. Investigators tested the efficacy of acetic acid (vinegar) and a domestic herbivore (goats) as invasive weed control alternatives to the use of commercial herbicides in a north central British Columbian municipal setting. Results were positive for using an 8% concentration of vinegar as a control for Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) scop.), although these results were significant only in the second year of applications. Domestic goats demonstrated significant interest in thistle, as well as hawkweed, (Hieracium spp.), two species of horsetail (Equisetum arvense and Equisetum pratense), oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), and the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Cost estimates suggest that over a five year period, both methods are as cost effective as single application herbicides, while posing fewer concerns over impacts on human and ecosystem health. Both are simple solutions easily implemented, with some planning, even by small municipalities and communities.

Environmental Practice 11:3–16 (2009)

This issue of Environmental Practice (June 2004) focuses on mercury (Hg) pollution and remedial procedures. Six of the seven full-length articles in this special issue were presented at the 6th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, which was held in Minamata, Japan, from October 15 to 19, 2001. These articles describe mercury emissions from artisanal gold mines in two important countries (China and Brazil), show a critical review of the use of bioaccumulation factors in stream monitoring, and demonstrate how different procedures can be applied to remove mercury from contaminated soils/sediments.

The main concept in this article is that the federal government has fallen behind in implementing its basic law for protecting the environment, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, Public Law 91-190, as amended. This idea is not new, as pointed out in our overview. This report is a broad-brush approach to a series of critical NEPA implementation issues. Any one of these issues warrants more in depth research and analysis. Our dual purpose is to broach these issues to spur further discourse so that NEPA can be strengthened.

Environmental Practice 13:1–11 (2011)