1. What is the term for:
Natural Grasslands: Rangelands
Managed Grasslands: Pastures
2. How do we sustain rangeland productivity?
We can sustain rangeland productivity by controlling number and distribution of livestock by restoring degraded rangeland.
3. When does overgrazing occur?
Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a grassland area.
4. What are ways that people are trying to preserve the grasslands on cattle ranches?
People are trying to preserve the grasslands on cattle ranches by paying ranchers conservation easments and pressuring the government to zone the land to prevent development of ecologically sensitive areas.
5. What were some of the causes of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930’s?
Causes of the Dust Bowl in the 1930's is poor farming practices, overgrazing, farming arid lands, and ignoring the ideas of John Wesley Powell.
6. What are some of the reasons to establish National Parks and Reserves?
Reasons to establish National Parks and Reserves are monumentalism (conserving areas with beautiful or unusual features), recreation, protection of areas with utilitarian benefits and preservation of biodiversity.
7. What is the Antiquities Act of 1906?
It is an act that says the president can declare a selected public land as a national monument.
8. Who established the National Wildlife Refuges? When?
President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Wildlife Refuges in 1903.
9. What are wilderness areas?
Wilderness areas are areas off limits to development of any kind. It is open to the public for hiking, nature study, etc.
10. What is the wise-use movement?
The wise-use movement is a coalition of individuals and industries that oppose environmental protection
11. Which president has weakened wilderness protection? How?
President George W. Bush weakened the wilderness protection by shifting enforcement and policies of federal agencies.
12. What is a land trust?
Land trusts are local or regional organizations that purchase land to protect it.
13. Define the following:
Transboundary Park: An area of protected land overlapping national borders.
Peace Park: transboundary reserves that help ease tensions by acting as buffers between nations.
Biosphere Reserves: Land with exceptional biodiversity.
14. What is habitat fragmentation?
Is when a contagious habitat is chopped into small pieces.
15. What is a corridor?
A protected land that allows animals to travel between islands of protected habitat.
16. What are some of the ways that National Parks are threatened?
National parks are threatened by human activity such as logging, mining and wildlife poaching.
17. What are some solutions to protecting our National Parks?
Some solutions to protecting National Parks are adding new parks next to threatened parks, survey wildlife in parks, limit number of visitors to crowded areas.
18. How much of the Earth’s land is currently protected nature reserves?
12% of Earth's land is currently protected nature reserves.