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The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a small, diving seabird inhabiting inshore waters of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. This species feeds on small, schooling fishes and zooplankton, and nests primarily on the moss-covered branches of large, old-growth conifers, and also, in some parts of its range, on the ground. We reviewed existing information on this species to evaluate its current status in the northern part of its range Alaska (U.S.) and British Columbia (Canada). Within the southern part of its range (Washington, Oregon, and California, U.S.), the Marbled Murrelet was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1993, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) needed information on the species throughout its range for ESA deliberations. We compiled published information on the conservation status, population biology, foraging ecology, population genetics, population status and trends, demography, marine and nesting habitat characteristics, threats, and ongoing conservation efforts for Marbled Murrelets in Alaska and British Columbia., Prepared in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC; University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, Alaska. The original document contains color images.

Each year, the U.S. Army experiences over 2,000 materiel handling accidents. For the four-year period from FY 1983 to 1986, over 9,000 materiel handling accidents occurred with a total of almost 100,000 lost workdays and a total direct cost to the Army of almost 19 million dollars in injuries and property damage (excluding accidents of conventional motor vehicles involved in materiel handling). The purpose of this study was to analyze Army materiel handling accident data to identify the causes and system inadequacies that lead to such accidents; to perform a field study to verify the accident causes and system inadequacies noted; and to develop recommendations to reduce the incidence and severity of material handling accidents. Manual materiel handling accounts for the majority of the cases reported as materiel handling accidents with approximately a third of these being back injuries. During the four-year study period noted above, Army civilians had four times the materiel handling incidence rate of that for military personnel. Specific jobs and specific work locations have higher materiel handling accident incidence rates. The organizations with the highest military incidence rates were HQDA, AMC and USAEUR; those with the highest civilian incidence rates were HQDA, AMC and the Army National Guard. The overall Army materiel handling accident incidence rate was 0.202 accidents per 100 staff years, which is an order of magnitude less than some of the organizations with the highest rates.