Michael S. Quinn

Citizen, science, highways, and wildlife: Using a web-based GIS to engage citizens in collecting wildlife information

Road Watch in the Pass is a citizen-science project that engages local citizens in reporting wildlife observations along a 44-km stretch of Highway 3 through Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta, Canada. The numbers of wildlife vehicle collisions and a recent proposal to expand the highway have raised concerns from both human safety and wildlife conservation perspectives. Through the use of a web-based GIS, interested citizens can contribute information that will be instrumental in making final decisions concerning measures to mitigate the effects of highway expansion. Currently, 58 people have contributed over 713 observations to Road Watch. We performed a preliminary comparison of 11 months of Road Watch observations and wildlife mortality data for the same time period to demonstrate that the use of citizen science not only augments more conventional approaches, but also results in the emergence of new knowledge and insights. A Kappa index of agreement of 14% indicates poor agreement between the data sets, highlighting that wildlife successfully cross the highway in areas not identified by the wildlife mortality data. This has important implications for design and mitigation efforts for Highway 3 and other roadways.

Context and capacity: The potential for performance-based agricultural water quality policy

Current Canadian policy approaches to agricultural water quality encourage the adoption of best management practices through voluntary, incentive-based measures. Despite these measures, concerns about agricultural impacts on water quality persist. Performance-based policy approaches with incentives that are tied to defined outcomes, and not to particular practices, may have an important role in managing water quality. Five performance-based approaches to address water quality in agricultural landscapes were identified: water quality trading/permitting, differentiated payments for ecosystem services, reverse auctions; emissions charges, and cross-compliance (a hybrid measure). The purpose of this paper is to critically assess the institutional and socio-cultural context that facilitated existing performance-based policy instrument adoption. Through this analysis, three key contextual factors were identified as enablers of performance based approaches: (1) social context, (2) institutional capacity and (3) standardized, consistent and robust estimation methodologies. A framework was developed to classify performance based programs and approaches. The application of the findings from this research and the classification framework provide an organized approach to assess the feasibility of implementing performance-based approaches for agri-environmental water quality policy.

Cattle and Carnivore Coexistence in Alberta: The Role of Compensation Programs

On the Ground In Alberta, Canada beef producers share the landscape with large carnivores where interactions can lead to negative outcomes. We had 672 Alberta beef producers complete an online survey in spring 2014 to access the occurrence and outcomes of cattle-carnivore interactions. We found that a majority (64%) reported losses from carnivore depredation. The average rate of calf depredation was reported at 2%, but the rate was highly variable between producers (ranging from 0 to 25% calf loss annually). The direct annual economic loss to depredation for survey respondents was

An assessment of public engagement for access management planning in southwestern Alberta, Canada

2 million. This can be extrapolated with a number of assumptions provincially to

Driving Forces and Barriers for a Sustainable Energy Mix in Fragile Environments: North–South Perspectives

22 million. Albertas Wildlife Predator Compensation Program (WPCP) paid out an average of

Population genetic structure of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in a marine archipelago suggests island-mainland differentiation consistent with dietary niche

220,584 annually from 2011-2013. The WPCP was under-utilized, 64% of producers did not report to the program, and did not adequately address financial burden experienced by producers from 2011 2013. Producers identified a series of challenges with the WPCP including the excessive burden of proof and the effort to value ratio being too low. We provide recommendations to improve the WPCP based on a literature review and our survey findings.

An evaluation of a citizen science data collection program for recording wildlife observations along a highway

This paper describes efforts to bridge the gap between the existing research and proposed recreation access management for public lands in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Recreation access management has been identified as a complex problem and public consultation is one element in addressing the complexity. An Internet-based survey (n = 945) examined the acceptability and desirability of public consultation processes to assist with access management planning. Non-parametric tests indicate significant differences in desirability of public consultation types existed for all variables except gender. Respondents expressed the desire for a diversity of public consultation approaches with a strong preference for face-to-face field visits. Mechanisms for engagement in access management planning should be based on public consultation preferences to ensure broad, on going engagement and subsequent user acceptance and compliance.

Hunting exacerbates the response to human disturbance in large herbivores while migrating through a road network

The Galapagos Islands are a biodiversity hotspot and world-class tourist destination with exponentially increasing visitation. Like other remote fragile environments, the islands face pressing challenges to meet energy needs in a secure, economically efficient, socially acceptable and environmentally appropriate manner. The transition to a lower carbon energy future will require exploration of new mixes of energy production in a way that maintains flexibility in the face of change and uncertainty. This chapter provides and summarizes the drivers and barriers to achieving a more sustainable energy mix. Precedents from other remote, fragile environments are offered as examples of potential approaches.