Browsing by Subject "Wisconsin"
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Item A 15 and 20-Year Summary of Breeding Bird Trends in National Forests of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2010) Niemi, Gerald J; Howe, Robert; Danz, Nicholas P; Etterson, MatthewThe breeding bird communities of the western Great Lakes region have among the richest diversity of breeding bird species in North America (Robbins et al. 1987; Green 1995, Rich et al. 2004). The importance of this diversity and concerns with potential declines of some species has led to a strong interest in monitoring forest bird populations in the region. The relatively heavily forested landscapes of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin are considered to be population 'sources' for many forest bird species and may be supplementing population 'sinks' in the agricultural landscapes of the lower Midwest (Robinson et al. 1995, Temple and Flaspohler 1998). Analysis of population trends is used as an 'early-warning system' of potential problems in a species population and serves as a measure of the ecological condition of the environment (Niemi and McDonald 2004). Large-scale population monitoring programs such as the U.S. Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provide important information on trends at a continental scale. However, limited coverage in some areas can make it difficult to use BBS data to characterize population trends at smaller geographic scales (Peterjohn et al. 1995). Continental trends also have the potential to mask regional population trends (Holmes and Sherry 1988), thus there is a need for regional monitoring programs that can provide more localized information (Howe et al. 1997). In response to the need for regional population data, a long-term forest breeding bird monitoring program was established in 1991 in the Chippewa and Superior NFs, and in 1992 in the Chequamegon NF. The Forest Service is mandated to monitor certain management indicator species (Manley 1993), and our monitoring program expands beyond indicator species to include all forest songbird species that we can adequately sample. Currently, approximately 420 stands (1,271 points) within the three national forests are surveyed during the breeding season (June 1 to July 10). The primary objective of this report is to update U.S. Forest Service personnel on results of the forest bird monitoring program. Here we focus on relative abundance trends of individual species. Because we slightly changed our point count methodology in 1995 by including unlimited point counts, here we focus on a comparison of the results from three different distance radii x time categories: 1) 100 m radius distance for 1991-2009, 2) 100 m radius distance for 1995-2009, and 3) unlimited distance for 1995-2009. Our intent here is to summarize the most important results and to provide detailed information in appendix form for those who need more specific results.Item American Woodcock Singing-ground Surveys in the western Great Lakes region: assessment of woodcock counts, forest cover types along survey routes, and landscape cover type composition.(2010-10) Nelson, Matthew RoyOverview: Counts of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) on the annual Singing-ground Survey (SGS) have undergone long-term declines in both the Eastern and Central Management Regions. However, interpreting these trends is confounded by a lack of information regarding the relationship between counts and habitat. Therefore, I assessed the relationship between woodcock counts and land-cover composition along survey routes using an Information-Theoretic modeling framework. The amount of early successional forest, open space, and a landscape metric Interspersion and Juxtaposition Index (IJI) best explained counts in Wisconsin; in Minnesota, the amount of mature forest, water and models that included open space, wetlands, and early successional forest together best explained counts. These results are, in general, consistent with woodcock-habitat relations described in published literature, and suggest that woodcock counts along SGS survey routes in Minnesota and Wisconsin reflect the amount and composition of land cover along routes, especially the amount and juxtaposition of early successional forest and open space, which were the variables included in competing models for both states. Key Words: shorebird, American Woodcock, Scolopax minor, Central Management Region, Minnesota, Wisconsin, land cover.Item An Assessment of the Safety and Efficiency of Log Trucks with Increased Weight Limits on Interstate Highways in Minnesota and Wisconsin(University of Minnesota, 2023) Carson, Michael T.; Blinn, Charles R.; Timothy, J. O'HaraDesign standards for the Interstate Highway System in the US are generally higher than those on other roads within most states, making it the safest road system in the US. Federal law prevents states from enforcing vehicle weight limits on interstate highways that deviate from established Federal weight limits or state-specific grandfathered weight limits or exceptions. While state gross vehicle weight (GVW) limits for trucks that haul logs exceed federal interstate highway limits in all major timber-producing states that don’t have grandfathered limits, state-legal weight log trucks are not allowed to travel fully loaded on the interstate Trucks hauling logs at legal state limits must travel on state, county, township and local roads. On these routes trucks pass through towns/cities, school zones and encounter on-coming traffic and intersections. All these encounters increase the risk of an accident. This study compared the relative importance of the transport of raw forest products by trucks to the top five non-timber commodities and the fatality rates of log trucks to other heavy trucks in the lower 48 states, compared available national road damage cost estimates for interstate and non-interstate roads and assessed the impact of relaxing interstate weight limits on hauling distance, travel time, safety, pavement damage and CO2 emissions for hauling timber along three travel corridors in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Logs are an important commodity in many states but generally represent a minor percentage of the tonnage of commodities hauled by trucks. On a per load basis, log trucks have a lower fatality rate than other heavy trucks in 83% of the lower 48 states, including in those states that have higher GVW allowances on the interstate due to grandfathering. Due to the higher design standards, pavement damage costs are lowest on interstate highways as compared to other road types. Allowing state-legal, loaded log trucks access to federal interstate highways would improve the overall safety and efficiency of timber transportation while reducing pavement damage costs and CO2 emissions along the three travel corridors. The safety benefits generally exceeded the efficiency gains. Overall, study findings suggest that allowing state-legal, loaded log trucks to operate on interstate highways would improve the safety and efficiency of timber transportation in Wisconsin and Minnesota.Item Attitudes and Characteristics of Selected Wisconsin Indians.(Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota., 1968) Harkins, Arthur M.; Woods, Richard G.Item Before we teach it, We Have to learn it": Wisconsin Act 31 compliance within public teacher preparation programs(2013-09) Moody, Heather AnnWisconsin Act 31 was established for the purpose of addressing American Indian history, culture, and sovereignty within K-12 schools as a response to treaty rights issues in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet, in the 21st century there remain issues with compliance throughout not only K-12 schools but also institutions of higher education. The research addresses how public institutions of higher education factor into compliance with regard to teacher preparation programs. Through a mixed methods approach, instructors from nine University of Wisconsin System institutions were surveyed regarding their professional and personal background in relation to American Indian Studies as well as their understanding of Wisconsin Act 31. In addition, a document analysis was performed on the syllabi from teacher-licensing certified courses. The results provided an overall understanding of the issues within teacher preparation programs that affect future educators. A distinction became apparent between courses that are education-related and those that are discipline specific. Majority of the courses are education-related and provide an emphasis on the general human diversity elements of Wisconsin Act 31. Alternatively, discipline specific courses address the foundational topics of Wisconsin Act 31 including culture, history, sovereignty, and contemporary issues. The differences between the types of courses that fulfill the Wisconsin Act 31 teacher-licensing requirement signify a need for further investigation into bringing together University of Wisconsin institutions, the Department of Public Instruction, and American Indians to fully address Wisconsin Act 31 requirements.Item Biogeochemistry of southwestern Lake Superior and watershed, 2017-2021(2023-09-28) Sterner, Robert W.; Lafrancois, Brenda M; stern007@d.umn.edu; Sterner, Robert W.; Large Lakes Observatory, University of MinnesotaBetween 2017 and 2021, 1368 water samples were collected from Lake Superior and its watershed in the region generally between Duluth-Superior and Ashland, WI. Parameters include forms of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, along with total suspended solids, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin.Item Border Wars: Taxes, Jobs, and the Economy in Minnesota and Wisconsin(2013-10-07) Frans, Myron; Chnadler, Richard; Jacobs, LawrenceItem Breeding Bird Inventory of the St. Louis River, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 1999(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2000) Niemi, Gerald J; Solin, Jeremy; Watters, Deborah; Wolter, Peter T.An inventory of breeding birds associated with wetlands and upland habitats in the St. Louis River system from Duluth and Superior to Jay Cooke State Park was completed during the summer of 1999. A total of 39 wetland areas, each a minimum size of 1 hectare, and 9 forest areas consisting of a total of 79 point samples, were inventoried. Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Yellowthroat, Song Sparrow, and Yellow Warbler (in rank order of decreasing abundance) were the most common species observed in the wetlands. Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, White-throated Sparrow, Ovenbird, American Redstart, Song Sparrow, Veery, and Yellow Warbler (also in rank order) were the most common species observed in the upland habitats. Colonial nesting birds within the St. Louis River system include the Ring-billed Gull (12,343 nests, Pearson 1999), Herring Gull (13 nests, Pearson 1999), Common Tern (215 nests, Pearson 1999), and Great Blue Heron (14 nests). Species of interest to The Nature Conservancy (Ewert 1999) that were found in the inventory included the following: primary focus species included Peregrine Falcon (1 occasional individual), Bald Eagle (frequently observed, one possible nesting pair in Jay Cooke State Park), Sedge Wren (15), Wood Thrush (2), and Black-and-White Warbler (16). Secondary focus species of interest that were observed include Wood Duck (5), Black-billed Cuckoo (3), Belted Kingfisher (7), Eastern Wood Pewee (14), Least Flycatcher (25), Marsh Wren (18), Veery (72), Brown Thrasher (3), Warbling Vireo (12), Chestnut-sided Warbler (26), Black-throated Green Warbler (14), Mourning Warbler (16), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (8), Clay-colored Sparrow (11), Baltimore Oriole (1 ), and Purple Finch (1 ). The following species of primary focus have historically been found in the area, but none were observed in 1999: American Bittern, Piping Plover, and Black Tern. Of the primary focus species, the Sedge Wren is found in highest densities in the sedge/grass wetlands in Allouez Bay, the Oliver Bridge area, and at Boy Scout Landing. These areas, along with Spirit and Mud Lake would also provide potentially excellent habitat for American Bittern and, especially Allouez Bay, for the Black Tern where the species has historically nested. The primary focus species associated with forests were found in highest abundance in the forested regions on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River system and in scattered locations in Fond du Lac. High relative abundance for many of these species would also be found in the Jay Cooke State Park area which was not sampled because of the limited time and it is already a protected area. For the secondary focus species, the Marsh Wren was found in highest abundance in the Spirit and Mud Lake areas where extensive patches of cattail wetlands are found. The forest associated species that were identified as secondary focus species were also found most abundantly in the forested regions on the Wi~consin side of the river, Fond du Lac, and they would also be found commonly at Jay Cooke State Park. Clay-colored Sparrows were found commonly in the brush/grass open areas on the Wisconsin side of the river where the Bong Bridge enters Superior.Item Characterization of Sphagnum Top Moss: Ecology and Market: Final Progress Report(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1995-02) Johnson, Kurt WThe final progress and financial report on this project is to evaluate the feasibility of commercializing sphagnum top moss production in Minnesota.Item City as Theatre: an architecture of passage, the center for innovative art Milwaukee, Wisconsin(2013-03) Blank, Scott AllenThis thesis explores the inherent relationship between program type and architecture, hypothesizing that type is made up of unique principles, patterns, and sequences that serve as influntial reference towards architectural form, expression, and solution. The program focuses on experimental art and performance, examining the ritual of theater and the fundamental relationship betwen performer and public. While traditional performing arts provide formal divisions in the ritual, experimental art serves as counterpoint in that it requires the public to enter the performer's realm for participation as part of the experimentation process. The project explores the convergence and interaction of the two realms, and focuses on the celebration of movement through the component sequence of passage, threshold, and exchange. Architectural resolution comes through emphasizing certain and bridge as ordering elements that assemble the physical building into a stage set, facilitating connections and overlaps of the participants as the catalyst for the event ritual.Item Coaches' Perspectives: High School Sport Participation of Middle School Students(2017-08) Schalow, Jacob MThis thesis is a thoughtful look at athletic scholarship opportunities based on the years of high school experience received. It attempts to answer if students are at an advantage by being allowed to play high school level competition while still academically being in middle school. It also attempts to answer what is all required for a middle school student-athlete to be moved up based on player qualities, program requirements, and coach's philosophies.Item Community and aggregation in the Upper Mississippi River Valley: the Red Wing Locality.(2009-06) Fleming, Edward PaulThe Red Wing Locality is a cluster of Late Precontact villages located in the Upper Mississippi valley of the Midwestern United States. It has long been interpreted as a monolithic presence within the broad regional context of Late Precontact times. While these studies place Red Wing into a broader context relative to a presumed dominant, Mississippian culture and other cultural entities, they have been at the expense of addressing cultural relationships within the Red Wing region itself. The research presented in this dissertation is a community-based, inside-out approach to understanding how the Red Wing Locality functioned for the populations it served. The core focus is the nature of the relationship of Red Wing Locality villages to one another and to their hinterlands. For decades, scholars have recognized the Red Wing Locality as a locale of intense social interaction, and the processes of social aggregation at central places provide an explanatory model for this phenomenon. A diverse range of materials are examined that highlight similarities and differences among villages in the Red Wing Locality. These data demonstrate that contemporary villages on opposite sides of the river had different hinterland contacts and access to resources. One conclusion of this research is that interactions and mobility patterns into and out of the Locality were structured by the Mississippi River. Finally, the Red Wing Locality is examined in the light of a three-tiered non-hierarchical community conceptual framework that at once separated individual settlements, combines the settlement cluster, and ties individual settlements to a broader region that included supporting hinterland populations that aggregated at Red Wing villages. A major contribution of this research is that it provides a new, holistic perspective of the archaeology of the Red Wing Locality and the Upper Mississippi River valley.Item The Cost of Pursuing Victory: A Study on the Relationship between Sportsmanship and Winning(2010) Peck, Shawn; Ryan, Cindy; Hyman, RandyThe purpose of this study was to examine whether or not coaches who employ win-at-all costs attitudes actually tend to win more games. As a result of the pressure coaches feel to win, some may turn to more ruthless strategies because they believe this will enhance the on-field success of their teams. The goal of this study was to examine the legitimacy of this practice. A total of 272 varsity baseball coaches from Minnesota and Wisconsin participated in a quantitative investigation designed to uncover any existing relationships between attitudes concerning sportsmanship and on-field success. Analysis of participant responses did not support the viewpoint that coaches who promote sportsmanlike values are automatically at a competitive disadvantage to coaches who utilize more unethical methods. On the contrary, data from this study appeared to reveal a link between a strong belief in sportsmanlike ideals and increases in career winning percentage. In addition, data analysis showed older coaches and coaches with more years of experience in coaching tend to view sportsmanship with a heightened degree of importance.Item Development of a Model of Archaeological Sensitivity for Landforms in the Red Wing Locality, Pierce County, Wisconsin.(1994) Mrachek, Michele C; Sullivan, James E; Mooers, Howard DItem Economic and Ecological Effects of Forest Practices and Harvesting Constraints on Wisconsin's Forest Resources and Economy(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2016) Evans, Alexander M; Lynch, Michael; Clark, Fred; Mickel, Genesis M; Chapman, Kim; Haynes, Monica; Tiller, Elizabeth R; Mahaffey, AmandaItem The Economic Impact of Constructing Five Electric Power Lines in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, 2012-2015(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2010) Skurla, James A; Jacobson, Jean; Kasim, Taha; Resch, Brian; Genest, Tanner; Almquist-Minko, VickieItem The Economic Impact of Declines in Forestry-Related Industries in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and a Three-State Region, 2006(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2008) Skurla, James A; Jacobson, Jean; Faridi, Salman; Solem, Lyle; Jafri, Faraz; Miller, Chris; Kasim, Taha; Almquist-Minko, VickieItem The Economic Impact of Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Mining On the State of Minnesota and on the Arrowhead Region and Douglas County, WI(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Skurla, James A; Jacobson, Jean; Kasim, Taha; Solem, Lyle; Almquist-Minko, VickieItem Effects of Winter Hypoxia on Fish Communities in Northern Wisconsin(2023-07) Ellman, MarkHypoxia is a significant source of winter mortality for freshwater fish in north-temperate lakes and has the potential to alter fish communities. A multi-year dataset on Buckskin Lake, a shallow, productive drainage lake in northern Wisconsin with a history of winterkill, allowed the investigation of the effects of periodic winter hypoxia on fish communities. An aeration system was installed in 1984, which raised winter oxygen levels to levels sufficient for higher fish survival. In the winter of 2007-2008, the aerator system failed, causing an extensive winterkill. The lake was sampled from 2002-2005, before the aerator failure, and in 2008-2009, after the winterkill event. In addition, 16 similar lakes in the area with no winterkill history were sampled using similar methods. Using the combined datasets, two hypotheses were tested with non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and PERMANOVA analyses. We hypothesized that (1): after 18 years of aeration, the Buckskin Lake fish community from 2002-2005 would be similar to the non-winterkill lakes due to the recolonization of species from connected lakes, and (2): the fish community changed significantly in the lake due to the 2007-2008 winterkill event. The first hypothesis was not supported, as NMDS and PERMANOVA analyses showed that Buckskin Lake retained a fish community distinct from the non-winterkill lakes. Our findings were consistent with the second hypothesis: an incomplete winterkill occurred in 2007-2008 due to lack of aeration, causing changes in fish abundances, including the reduction of game fish species and centrarchids, with no notable extinctions. Together, our findings indicate that winter aeration may improve gamefish survival and allow lakes with winterkill tendency to support sport fish communities with healthy piscivore populations such as walleye and largemouth bass, which would be otherwise greatly reduced.Item ELF Communications System Ecological Monitoring Program: Bird Species and Communities Wisconsin Test Facility: Final Report(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1990) Hanowski, JoAnn M; Blake, John G.; Niemi, Gerald J; Collins, Patrick TThis report summarizes work completed in our study that was designed to isolate effects of electromagnetic (EM) fields produced by extremely low frequency (ELF) antenna systems on bird species breeding in or migrating through Wisconsin. Specifically, we wanted to determine if bird species richness and abundance differed between areas that were close to the antenna and those that were far enough away to be unaffected by the antenna. Characteristics examined included total species richness and abundance, abundances of common bird species, and abundances of birds within selected guilds. Vegetation was measured to identify differences and similarities between control and treatment areas and habitat variables were used in analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to compare abundant bird species’ numbers between control and treatment areas after they were adjusted for habitat differences. We found no consistent patterns that would demonstrate that birds were either attracted to or repelled by EM fields produced by the antenna. Most differences in abundance between control and treatment areas could be attributed to habitat differences (both in ANCOVA and guild analysis). Based on tests of transects paired by habitat similarities, the presence of the antenna ROW may have affected abundance of some bird species in the study areas. Abundance of species related to edges was higher in treatment areas particularly during May and June. Differences in abundance of individuals that require forest interiors between control and treatment areas were not as pronounced. Because we have no before data in Wisconsin, we cannot exclude the possibility that these differences between control and treatment existed before the ROW was cut, such comparisons, however will be possible in Michigan.