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This article questions the traditional interpretations of how the Wilderness, a forest some sixty miles south of Washington, D.C., affected strategy and combat during the Battle of the Wilderness, 4–6 May 1864. It argues that other factors besides the Wilderness determined the Federal and Confederate commanders’ strategies. It also undermines the contentions that the Confederates held a tactical edge in the Wilderness and that the Wilderness was a unique landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) has developed a modeling platform to simulate the formation of haze-causing particles that impact federally-protected lands in the western United States. To assist state air quality planners in determining which emission sources are likely candidates for future mitigation, several source apportionment scenarios were evaluated, and two sets of results for the year 2028 are presented here: 1) a "high-level important regional sources" version, with broad emission categories (i.e. U.S. anthropogenic, international anthropogenic, natural, and fires), and 2) a "low-level anthropogenic emission sources within individual states" version, which refines the U.S. anthropogenic contribution to specific emission sectors within individual WRAP region states. Eight examples are discussed, which reflect the variation in source apportionment results at national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges in the western U.S. and suggest which emission sectors are candidates for mitigation to improve future visibility. In 2028, the contribution of domestic anthropogenic emissions at the eight sites ranges from 17% to 58%, with significant impacts from oil and gas production, fossil fuel electric generation, and federally-regulated mobile sources. The contribution from international anthropogenic sources can also be considerable, and ranges from 17% to 43%. Most sectors that are emitting sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are the two most likely particle precursors to be curtailed in the states' Regional Haze plans, are declining. For example, in the 13 contiguous WRAP region states, NOx emissions from on-road mobile sources and electric generating units (EGUs) declined by 738 kton/yr (29% decrease) and 65 kton/yr (31% decrease), respectively, in 2028 as compared to current emission estimates, and SO2 emissions from EGUs declined by 42 kton/yr (29% decrease). NOx emissions from oil and gas development also declined by 25 kton/yr (9% decrease) but rose for SO2 emissions by 12 kton/yr (20% increase). Implications: The goal of the Regional Haze Rule (RHR) is to improve visibility at federally-protected areas, and to eventually arrive at natural conditions by the year 2064. Source apportionment tools within regional air quality models are useful for identifying which emission regions and sectors are contributing to haze-causing particles and can indicate to air quality planners where additional emission controls may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many measures of international policies and support have dictated developing countries to upscale land areas of intact forestry, special biodiversity conservation site, and other wild reserves to half the land territory of the nation by 2050 for resulting environmental, and other benefits to global societies. The international initiations and work urged scholars to assess the potential impacts of the aggressive policy on forest-based communities and especially those living in institutionally and geo ecologically vulnerable areas. This study compiled the impacts of such international policy interventions on diverse affairs of the local community and national economies in Nepal and drew some conclusions on the well-being future of such forest-based communities. It explained that the international interventions in managing community-based resources induced serious disturbances in many local systems and resulted in vicious circles of emigration, income losses, social problems, psychological stresses, and food insecurities. The interventions have placed some communities and especially indigenous ethnic groups in the position either to be displaced from their ancestors' homelands or suffer for generations. This study also explained some reinforcing phenomena that emerged from the external interventions which have placed situations of the resource impacting local communities adversely for years. It also investigated whether support of international agencies in policy formation and implementation for resource management safeguards the well-being of the resource-based communities. The agencies resulted in the best environmental and other benefits to foreign societies which have aggravated the misery of local communities, particularly the poor people, women, and indigenous ethnic communities. The adverse impacts on the local societies are not repercussions (accidentally or unknowingly happened). All these findings infer that the international policies of upscaling forests and wilderness areas or making conservation areas in half of their land territory, especially in developing societies for the global benefit, may place the lives of the forest-based communities in peril of suffering for generations or extirpating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Himalayan sector is well known to support the diversified bryophyte species and communities due to varied phytoclimatical conditions met within different dissected topographical zones. Many potential wilderness areas are still waiting to be explored in terms of their exuberant bryodiversity. During a bryoexploratory survey of an unexplored high-altitude area in the Garhwal Himalayan region, we came across an interesting rheophytic moss Bryocrumia L. E. Anderson. The genus Bryocrumia is represented in India by two species, viz. B. vivicolor (Broth. et Dixon) W. R. Buck and B. malabarica Manju, Prajitha, Prakashkumar et W. Z. Ma. Both of these pleurocarpous species are known to be confined in the southern part of the country. From the Indian Himalayan sector, this moss genus has never been documented earlier. Recently, B. vivicolor has been reported for the first time from the Tungnath area (2,100–3,000 m above sea level) in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand state as a new addition to the Western Himalayan moss flora, indicating its new distributional range. This hypnaceous moss was found colonising the slopy, wet, submerged rock surfaces along small streams and seepages in mixed oak forests on way to Tungnath. The key characteristics include its rheophilic habit, stem lacking central strand, variable leaf forms, indistinct double costa and round to obtuse leaf apex with prorate tip cells. The present paper provides taxonomic details of this rare moss, representing its wide geographical distribution in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crocodiles are cultured in large numbers in Asia and other places in order to protect wild resources and meet the needs of human life. In this study, crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) meat proteins were extracted and hydrolyzed into peptides, their antioxidant peptides were isolated and purified by silica gel chromatography and identified by LC/MS. Crocodile meat proteins were optimally extracted with water and hydrolyzed by papain based on the degree of hydrolysis and antioxidant activity. The hydrolysates were fractionated by ultrafiltration into 3 kDa, 3–30 kDa, and ≥ 30 kDa fractions. The 3 kDa fraction showed most antioxidant activity of the hydrolysates. Its active peptides were separated by silica gel column chromatography and purified by silica gel TLC, based on TLC bio-autographic assays of the activity. Four highly active peptides were identified by LC/MS as SSLTIQFVEGQFVDSYDPTIENTFTK, VPPHIY, VAPEEHPVLLTEAPLNPK, and RNGLPGPIGPAG. The identified peptides were synthesized and showed 50% free radical scavenging activities at 1.0 mg/mL, equal or higher to ascorbic acid at 0.5 mg/mL, in both DPPH and ABTS assays. The results indicated that the 3 kDa hydrolyzed peptides of crocodile meat had high antioxidant activity and the active peptides can be effectively separated and purified by silica gel column chromatography and TLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While advances in modelling are crucial to adapting ecosystem-based management in response to ongoing GHG threats, there is no doubt that existing science is already sufficient for the Antarctic Treaty System to appeal to the global community for action to mitigate GHG threats in order to save this important Southern Polar Region. 7 Constable, A. J., Melbourne-Thomas, J., Trebilco, R., Press, A. J., & Haward, M. (2017). The Southern Polar Region (Antarctica and the Southern Ocean) is threatened by climate change, and ocean warming and acidification. [Extracted from the article]

Freshwater lake soundscapes yield crucial information regarding biological, geological, and anthropogenic activity, yet is a relatively unexplored area of study. These soundscapes are particularly important to aquatic life that may use sound to navigate, find food, avoid predators, and communicate. Further research is required to understand how aquatic species, such as native fishes, are impacted by increased anthropogenic interference. Many wilderness lakes restrict the use of motorized boats and equipment, providing an opportunity to compare fish behavior in the presence and absence of anthropogenic sound. Underwater videos and passive acoustic monitoring were used to evaluate fish behavior under different soundscapes in the upper Midwest United States: John Lake (nonmotorized, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN), Rush Lake (nonmotorized, Huron Mountain Club, MI), and Caribou Lake (motorized, Duluth, MN). Intermittent short and long anthropogenic sound playback experiments showed behavioral changes in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus, centrarchids), bluntnose minnows (Pimephales notatus, cyprinids), mimic shiners (Notropis volucellus, cyprinids), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens, percids). Overall, cyprinids in wilderness lakes were the most responsive to boat sound 36–52 dB above ambient sound levels, with bluegills in the public lake more likely to remain in the area during longer duration sound stimuli. Taken together, these results indicate that behavioral responses are species specific and depend on environmental variables such as anthropogenic exposure and fishing pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area with its 226,445 acres is the third largest Wilderness Area in Colorado. It spans areas of the northern Sangre de Cristo Range in the southern Rocky Mountains, with elevations extending from 8,000 to 14,000 feet and vegetation ranging from piñon/juniper woodlands to alpine tundra. Over 7,000 vouchered specimens largely housed at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium in Laramie, Wyoming (RM) [4,322], and the University of Colorado Herbarium in Boulder, Colorado (COLO) [2,133] were consulted for report. Seven hundred twenty (720) taxa are reported from the study area, with 75 families and 310 genera represented. Predominantly a Western North American flora 40.6% with 292 spp., it is followed by 13.1% of the taxa being native to North America with 94 spp. The Southern Rockies contribute an additional 13.1% with 94 spp. (10 of these taxa being restricted to Colorado). Fifteen species fully tracked by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP 2011) were documented from the study area with four of these considered globally imperiled (G1 or G2) with the majority of these having an alpine distribution. Non-native species accounted for 4.0% of the flora (29 spp.), a reflection of the high elevation environment and wilderness qualities of the region. There are no species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is the focus of many important land management issues, such as wildfire, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and human–wildlife conflicts. Wildfire is an especially critical issue, because housing growth in the WUI increases wildfire ignitions and the number of homes at risk. Identifying the WUI is important for assessing and mitigating impacts of development on wildlands and for protecting homes from natural hazards, but data on housing development for large areas are often coarse. We created new WUI maps for the conterminous United States based on 125 million individual building locations, offering higher spatial precision compared to existing maps based on U.S. census housing data. Building point locations were based on a building footprint data set from Microsoft. We classified WUI across the conterminous United States at 30‐m resolution using a circular neighborhood mapping algorithm with a variable radius to determine thresholds of housing density and vegetation cover. We used our maps to (1) determine the total area of the WUI and number of buildings included, (2) assess the sensitivity of WUI area included and spatial pattern of WUI maps to choice of neighborhood size, (3) assess regional differences between building‐based WUI maps and census‐based WUI maps, and (4) determine how building location accuracy affected WUI map accuracy. Our building‐based WUI maps identified 5.6%–18.8% of the conterminous United States as being in the WUI, with larger neighborhoods increasing WUI area but excluding isolated building clusters. Building‐based maps identified more WUI area relative to census‐based maps for all but the smallest neighborhoods, particularly in the north‐central states, and large differences were attributable to high numbers of non‐housing structures in rural areas. Overall WUI classification accuracy was 98.0%. For wildfire risk mapping and for general purposes, WUI maps based on the 500‐m neighborhood represent the original Federal Register definition of the WUI; these maps include clusters of buildings in and adjacent to wildlands and exclude remote, isolated buildings. Our approach for mapping the WUI offers flexibility and high spatial detail and can be widely applied to take advantage of the growing availability of high‐resolution building footprint data sets and classification methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visitation to parks and protected areas (PPAs) has become increasingly widespread in the United States. This increased visitation is especially concerning within congressionally designated wilderness areas where federal agencies are tasked with the dual mandate of preserving wilderness character while simultaneously providing high-quality outdoor recreation experiences. This study investigated the influence of social, situational, and ecological factors on outdoor recreation visitor behaviors and decision making within the Lye Brook Congressionally Designated Wilderness (LBW) area in Vermont, USA. An on-site intercept survey (n = 576) was employed to collect data from LBW visitors in the summer of 2021. Descriptive and multi-variate statistics (e.g., binary logistic regression, structural equation modeling) indicated that visitor behaviors (e.g., coping, substitution) and decision-making (e.g., intention-to-return) were significantly influenced by social (e.g., conflict), situational (e.g., litter, access), and ecological (e.g., trail conditions, weather) impacts. Moreover, the presence of various weather conditions was found to significantly influence the severity of perceived social, situational, and ecological impacts. Study results indicated that outdoor recreation experiences are multifaceted, necessitating a suite of social, situational, and ecological considerations, especially when examining the relationship between visitor coping behaviors and intention-to-return. This research advances the coping framework, provides empirical support for future examination of social–ecological system (SES) theory, and emphasizes the utility of employing an adaptive systems approach for sustainable PPA management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilderness is an important resource for tourism but it is very sensitive to overuse. In order to maintain their attraction, wilderness destinations need to be planned and managed carefully. For that purpose, several models have been developed, one of which is the so-called purism scale model. It is used for segmenting visitors based on their preferences and attitudes towards wilderness destinations. Visitors are asked to rank particular items relating to the management and qualities of wilderness areas along a purism scale and are given a score describing their attitudes. A few studies have used quantitative methods with the aim of improving purism scales. The novelty of this study is adopting a qualitative approach to explore the practicality of purism scales for managing wilderness destinations. It is based on semi-structured interviews in a wilderness area in Iceland, Landmannalaugar, with the aim of investigating the reasoning that visitors have for ranking purism items. The results highlight which purism items are useful to divide visitors into different segments and which ones are not. The study identifies several aspects which question the practicality of purism scales, including differences in the perceived meaning of items and the perspective adopted when ranking the items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]