AECN 357 Exam 2 Short Answer

Briefly describe the impact of NEPA on federal agencies.
NEPA has revolutionized federal agency environmental attitudes—it has fundamentally

changed how federal environmental decisions are made (no small feat, considering that
prior to NEPA, the original federal environmental awareness was nearly zero). NEPA
requires federal agencies to consider environmental-friendly options as a standard part
of the agency decision-making process. While NEPA does not literally require federal
agencies to select the best environmental alternative identified in the EIS, the NEPA
process does as a practical require agencies to mitigate the worst environmental
impacts in all but a very few cases. Many of the NEPA-delayed projects, provided
mostly by citizen suit provisions, were modified to reduce adverse environmental
impacts. All federal agencies have in-house environmental analysts to prepare EISs.
Much of the land in the US is agricultural land, and most of the land in
Nebraska is farm land or ranch land. Briefly discuss the significance or
implication of these land ownership patterns for habitat managers
While 45.5% of the total U.S. is private agricultural land, at least half of the 39% of
public land is also farmland or ranchland. So, about 65% of all land in the U.S. is
agricultural land. This leaves less than 10% of the total land in the U.S. for Parks, etc.
About 93% of the land in Nebraska is used for agriculture, and only about 3% is
publicly/privately owned wildlife habitat (most owned by the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission and the U.S> Fish and Wildlife Service). This leads to the challenge for
habitat managers of how to persuade private landowners to allow their land to be used
for habitat. Persuasion? Direct payments (bribes?)? Direct regulation under the
endangered species act? The best way is by land purchase-then the land can be
managed specifically for habitat purposes, but this is the most expensive option. The
most practical way is a combination of persuasion and payments, such as CRP.
Briefly discuss how conservation easements may be used to preserve open

space
A special kind of easement where the state, a conservation group, et. Pays a landowner
to agree not to develop his/her land in order to keep the land in an open space use
(habitat friendly). If the restriction is permanent, then the conservation easement is a
permanent easement, or it may be limited to e.g. 15 years, or whatever the parties
negotiate. Owners of land subject to a conservation easement may be entitled to
reduced property valuation on their real estate taxes. Landowners who donate
conservation easements may be entitled to an income tax deduction. If Nebraska
farmland is worth $2,000 an acre as farmland, but $8,000 an acre for real estate
development then the value of development rights are $6,000/acre. A lot of times the
purchaser of the easement pays $4,000/acre and the landowner donates the rest to get
a $2,000/acre charitable deduction, which offsets the capital gains taxes from the
$4,000 per acre easement. So if the farmer sells 160 acres worth of easements they
would receive $640,000 in easements and $320,000 in charitable contribution
deductions.
Briefly describe how overlay districts may be used to protect environmental

resources.
Overlay districts are zoning techniques used to deal with environmental factors.
Overlay districts are a great way to accomplish environmental protection objectives
without having to rewrite all the existing affected zoning requirements—you just
superimpose the environmental protection requirements on your existing zoning map
and districts through your overlay zoning district and just take it from there. Once
created these districts contain language to the effect that whenever the regulations
conflict with other districts, the most strict regulation would be the one that would be
utilized.
Briefly discuss (1) what the Hetch Hetchy controversy was and (2) how it led
to the creation of the NPS.
(1) San Francisco applied to the DOI to construct a major water reservoir in the Hetch
Hetchy valley located in Yosemite National Park, following a major earthquake in 1906.
This provoked a seven-year nation-wide environmental debate with the Sierra Club, led
by John Muir, opposing dam construction. The United States Forest Service, led by
Gifford Pinchot, was a proponent of building the dam on the Tuolymme River. Because
the Hetch Hetchy valley was within Yosemite an act of Congress was needed to start
the dam construction project, so the government ended the dispute in 1913, with the
passage of legislation authorizing dam construction.
(2) In response to losing the fight to preserve Hetch Hetchy and prevent dam
construction, Muire and the Sierra Club led the fight to legislatively establish the
National Park Service in 1916. The administration of the national parks wwas taken
away from the development-oriented Pinchot and the USFS and given to the NPS.
(1) Briefly discuss how Congressional Republicans have limited the ESA
program without amending the law. (2) Why was this particular strategy
pursued; i.e. why did that strategy work better than the more obvious
strategy?
(1) Congressional Republicans have cut FWS funding for ESA administration to try to
force the FWS to cut back on the ESA program. Only species listed by the FWS as
threatened or endangered are entitled to ESA protection. The habitat critical to the
species survival must be identified by the FWS within a year of T & E designation. The
FWS must propose a recovery plan to bring the species back, but the FWS usually lacks
funding to prepare one.
(2) The ESA is nearly a political sacred cow that Congressional Republicans haven’t
taken on directly, in part because the 9/11 attacks have pushed environmental
rollbacks to the political back burner. Congressional Republicans have done the next
best thing by cutting funding. Reduced Funding has meant less ESA activity by the
FWS.
1. Define what NRD is an acronym for. Briefly describe (2) what kind of agency
NRDs are and (3) what NRDs do.
(1) NRD is the acronym for natural resource district.

(2) NRDs are governed by a locally elected board of directors. NRDs replace the
smaller, more fragmented local natural resource-type agencies such as county soil and
water conservation districts, drainage districts, mosquito abatement districts, flood
control districts, etc. that exist in other states. NRDs are a true natural resource
political innovation that we as Nebraskans can justly be proud of.
(3) Ground water regulation in Nebraska is primarily by local NRDs: “local ground water
control.” NRDs have broad ground water management authorities—historically broader
than the DNR. NRDs also have broad soil and water conservation authorities.
1. define the acronym in HC ground water 2. define what HC ground water is

(what its hydrologic function is) and/or what its significance is.
(1) Hydrologically connected ground water.

(2) Hydrologically connected ground water relates to the physical connection between
surface water and HC ground water. For example, if all the ground water in Nebraska
were red, Nebraska Rivers would be various shades of pink because they are all fed by
HC ground water. This can be a problem because things such as HC well withdrawals
reduce stream flow.

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Briefly describe the impact of NEPA on federal agencies.

NEPA has revolutionized federal agency environmental attitudes—it has fundamentally

Briefly discuss how conservation easements may be used to preserve open

Briefly describe how overlay districts may be used to protect environmental

(1) NRD is the acronym for natural resource district.

1. define the acronym in HC ground water 2. define what HC ground water is

(1) Hydrologically connected ground water.

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