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An Analysis of Inconsistencies in Environmental Protection Standards Pertaining to Forest Management Activities in Maine

Problem Addressed: Environmental protection standards inconsistencies pertaining to forest management activities in Maine.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Provide an overview of the legislative process in Maine, identify a process for analyzing comparable laws and regulations, present the findings of the analysis, and suggest future courses of action.
Key Findings: ) a brief history of the evolution of this paper, 2) a literature review of policy formulation processes, 3) a procedural look at how laws move through the Maine Legislature, 4) a summary of how policy formulation and the legislative process combine to result in incremental growth of regulatory inconsistencies, and finally, 5) a review of the state laws and agencies.
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Birds and the Conservation Reserve Program: A Retrospective Study

Problem Addressed: U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program on bird populations.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Investigate the U.S. Department of Agriculture's CRP on bird populations.
Key Findings: Four species, Western Meadowlark, Ring-necked Pheasant, Brown-headed Cowbird, and Northern Bobwhite showed evidence of positive population responses after the introduction of the CRP.
Views: 1241
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Avian Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and the Core-Satellite Species Hypothesis

Problem Addressed: Avian abundance and distribution patterns for New England using data from the U.S.G.S. Biological Resources Division's Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Test predictions of Hanski's core-satellite hypothesis, Brown's ecological specialization hypothesis and Wright's sampling hypothesis to determine which best explained the observed patterns in the three distinct avifaunal regions within New England.
Key Findings: Classification and regression tree analyses indicated no correlation between the spatial exponents and natural history correlates; only 15-25% of the mean deviance of the temporal exponents was explained by life history correlates.
Views: 1244
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Harbor Seal Population Trends and Habitat Use in Maine

Problem Addressed: Harbor seals
Goal(s)/Objective(s): To document abundance and distribution of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Maine.
Key Findings: Characteristics of size, distance to mainland, and distance to boat launch were measured of potential haulout sites using a geographic information system (GIS).
Views: 1200
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Overstory Canopy Influences on Height Development of Red Spruce and Balsam Fir Saplings

Problem Addressed: Effects of overstory canopy structure on height development of red spruce and balsam fir saplings is critical for managing multi-cohort forests in Maine.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Use predictive models to develop and examine the relationships between gap fraction and pine overstory basal area, crown projection area, and projected leaf area, and height increment of open-grown and understory red spruce and balsam fir sapling and gap fraction.
Key Findings: On fair sites, spruce and fir height growth can be maximized if grown beneath approximately 65 percent gap fraction, which is equivalent to a pine leaf area index of 1.0 (m2/ha/ha), or a basal area of 10 (m2/ha). In addition, spruce and fir saplings growing beneath 30 percent gap fraction, a pine leaf area index of 2.0 (m2/ha/ha), or a basal area of 25 (m2/ha), will not suffer in decreased height growth compared with open-grown trees.
Views: 1055
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Evaluation of a GIS Rule-Based Model to Map Forested Wetlands in Maine

Problem Addressed: Forested wetlands in Maine.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Analyze, revise, and test a Geographic Information System (GIS) rule-based model to improve the mapping of forested wetlands in Maine.
Key Findings: Evaluation of new variables in the model (e.g. topographic position) and the effect of spatial error propagation in developing the GIS data base need to be investigated further.
Views: 1198
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Simulating Volatile Preservative Movement in Spruce Poles

Problem Addressed: Pressure treatment of transmission poles.
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Develop a mathematical model to simulate the movement of fumigants in spruce poles in service. The model is designed to be used in planning for proper re-treatment schedules and for comparing different fumigant formulations and application methods.
Key Findings: Diffusion coefficients and effective transfer coefficients of two commonly used fumigants, methyl isothiocyanate and chloropicrin, in red spruce wood were measured.
Views: 1247
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Genetic Variance of Height Growth and Cone Production in Progeny of Black Spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) in Maine

Problem Addressed: Black Spruce variance
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Identify the families and individuals having the best height growth at age 13 and estimate the heritability of the trait, to determine whether the genotype-environment interaction is significant, to determine if there are significant differences in height between progeny of fast-growing parent trees and progeny of slower-growing parent trees, or among different stands, to determine whether selection is effective at early ages, to determine if family differences affect cone production and to estimate heritability for this trait, and to determine if family differences affect seed viability.
Key Findings: These 13-year-old black spruce progeny tests provide valuable information useful in determining proper strategies for growth improvement for the next generation of this species.
Views: 1127
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Relationships among Prey Abundance, Habitat, and American Marten in Northern Maine

Problem Addressed: American marten
Goal(s)/Objective(s): Examine marten food habits and habitat features associated with small mammal captures to evaluate the hypothesis that marten select habitat in response to differences in macro- and micro- habitat selection by their principal prey.
Key Findings: Small animals did not seem to select habitat based on coarse woody debris, perhaps because dead woody material was sufficient in all of the stand types.
Views: 1208
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