The conservation footprint is the collection of acreage in national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, national forests or other lands managed by the federal government. Their purpose is to maintain biological integrity and diversity (Monaghan, 2009). However, the United States (US) has failed to develop an effective policy for the conservation footprint. This policy failure is the result of many factors (Biber, 2009), three of which are land tenure, self-constitution, and orchestrated regionalism. As a result, the very substance of US conservation is eroding.

Since receiving the honor of serving as President of the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), I have taken a good look at what NAEP is doing for our members, what we are proposing for the future, and what is still necessary. In many ways, this analysis is an outgrowth of the NAEP Board of Directors continuing efforts to improve and redefine what NAEP is and what it means to environmental professionals. Having been a part of these tremendous advances, in my new role I am evaluating our efforts from a different perspective to help steer the future of the association.

Much has been written about the effects of climate change on the environment, particularly on the potential effects of climate change on water resources and their management. Despite that plethora of information on the potential effects of climate change on water resources, little has been written to date on the effects of water and land use projects on climate change.

Be it a prehistoric flint-striker for starting fires, a wrench for repairing an engine, or a computer model for simulating ground-water contaminant transport, tool making is one of the paramount traits distinguishing humans from other species. Progress witnessed in most disciplines, the sciences in particular, greatly depends on developing “tools of the trade.” While many environmental disciplines have benefited greatly from development of modern tools, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) has lagged noticeably. Rigorous tools, techniques, and approaches are needed if NEPA is to achieve its full potential.

Political scientist Lynton Keith Caldwell, a principal architect of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) who also is recognized as the “inventor” of the Environmental Impact Statement (or EIS, NEPA's “action forcing” provision), is widely regarded to be one of the twentieth century's most influential scholars in the fields of environmental policy, politics, law, and administration. Indeed, because of his groundbreaking work during the 1960s, he has been credited with founding the new subfield of environmental policy, politics, and administration studies within the wider scope of political science and public administration in the United States. In that period, Robert Bartlett and James Gladden believe that Caldwell “proposed the wholly new field of inquiry now known as environmental policy studies” and that he was “alone in focusing on the distinctive, integrative character of the concept ‘environment’ and its implications for politics, public policy, and public administration.” Harold and Margaret Sprout, the only other political scientists then pursuing a path similar to Caldwell's, share this opinion, writing in 1978, “The long neglect of environmental subjects by academic political scientists [has been] verified … The roster of an interdisciplinary conference, ‘Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth’ (1955), sponsored by the Wenner-Gren and National Science Foundations, included no political scientists. Two years later the conference ‘Future Environments of North America’ sponsored by the Conservation Foundation included only one, Professor Caldwell.”

Restoring, protecting, and managing Illinois's natural infrastructure—our forests, prairies, wetlands, floodplains, streams, rivers, and shorelines—is the responsibility of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). However, over the last seven years, the IDNR has faced significant budget cuts, which severely impair the department's ability to meet its mandate. This was strikingly illustrated in 2008 by the temporary closures of our state parks. This year, to bridge a significant budget deficit, IDNR employees have been laid off and services cut. At the same time, the IDNR is considering an increase in user fees for state parks and license fees for hunting and fishing. However, while periodic fee increases may provide a budgetary stopgap, they are politically unpopular and, in the long-run, not commensurate with the resource needs of the state. Most appropriately, the department should consider a strategy that could generate financial resources using its principal asset: land. We would propose that the department undertake a careful evaluation of the ecosystem services that might be produced by its floodplains and wetlands and the market by which the credits for these services might be sold. The market would be analogous to the markets that operate for atmospheric sulfur or carbon.

Environmental Practice 16: 1–2 (2014)

After the mistakes I discussed in Environmental Practice 12(2), and the gaps I discussed in Environmental Practice 12(3), it may be useful to look at myths that have grown around the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Myths can be defined, as the title suggests, as things we say and believe about NEPA and the NEPA process that are not necessarily true.

As this issue of Environmental Practice goes to press, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has put mercury from coal-fired plants into front-page news. The battle seems simple on the surface: USEPA seeks to reverse a decision made in December 2000 that Section 112 of the Clean Air Act would govern these emissions.

During 2010, Environmental Practice (ENP) focused issues on sustainability, the 40th anniversary of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and water. Last year was an active period for the ENP editorial office at DePaul University. These journal issues were produced by lead editor Dr. James Montgomery in conjunction with Dan Carroll as managing editor and an editorial board with several new members committed to participating in journal operations. The editorial office implemented a revised ENP format for manuscripts and a new cover that has been well received by the readers.

This article is part 2 of a two-part series. Part one, which was published in the June 2008 edition of Environmental Practice,1 focused on the context for considering climate change in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses and reviewing the case law and other legal developments on the topic. The article briefly explained the phenomenon of climate change and the key climate change science findings and predictions from the most credible global and United States (US) sources. The article also briefly described some important state and local climate change policy initiatives, and provided an overview of the state of NEPA climate change case law.

Canada has seen some community approaches to watershed management similar to network governance, citizen advisory boards, and participatory action mechanisms. These collaborative approaches are highlighted in scholarship, but are limited by context as implementation is not utilized well beyond local situations. The successes of Nova Scotia wetlands are generalizable, as they provide applicable knowledge about natural resource governance with limited federal guidelines, numerous exclusionary authorities, and new regional development tactics that are beneficial for many. In practice, this case study specifically explains the role of earnest, local, and inclusive participation that is well coordinated with multiple civic agencies.

Environmental Practice 14:143–153 (2012)

Regardless of how one might feel about the science of climate change, the prevailing public perception is that climate change is real and that humanity's use of fossil fuels is the primary cause. At this juncture, the finer points of the debate (i.e., planetary cycles versus man-made carbon emissions) are being drowned out by the waves of media coverage about shrinking polar ice caps, breakaway ice fields, and the addition of polar bears to the endangered species list. So, for all practical purposes, climate change is now a political reality.

As people around the globe pay increasing attention to environmental issues, the controversial topic of pesticide use resurfaces again and again. Scientists and policy makers continue to pour money into researching possible ill effects of pesticides, and, as a result, many dangerous pesticides have already been banned. These days, very few pesticides even make it onto the market; one reason is that they must undergo approximately 100 health and environmental tests.

When looking at brownfields, there is no single “European” way of dealing with the issue. The complexity of the problem, the differences in industrial development, and varying political and legal frameworks have hindered a uniform approach. This incoherence, however, has led to a range of methods and expertise that can be turned into a resource if brought together, evaluated, and fed into the development of an overall strategy. Such efforts have been made in recent years.

Over the last couple of years, the toxic metals spotlight in the United States has shifted from lead to mercury. Today it seems that mercury is in everything, from contact lens solution to lab chemicals, medical equipment, fluorescent light bulbs, cars, McDonald's toys, and fish. The latter finding has now taken this industrial chemical closer to home. Are we poisoning our children and ourselves with a powerful neurotoxin by eating fish, breathing air, and perhaps even getting our cavities filled at the dentist's office? Is mercury a truly serious problem?

No one within the National Association of Environmental Professionals is unfamiliar with the timely and growing issues involving global warming. But there is another, newer phenomenon that has received considerably less media attention. This bizarre occurrence has been labeled “global dimming,” among other names. To date, the mainstream media largely has not picked up on this story.

Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future. O. H. Pilkey and L. Pilkey-Jarvis. 2007. Columbia University Press, New York. 230 pp. $29.95 paperback.

Humankind has a long history of seeking definitive answers to explain the complex systems operating on our home planet. Our tremendous success in calculating phenomena like atomic behavior and planetary movement has given us a false sense of confidence in our ability to calculate any and all phenomena. Our quest for definitive solutions to perceived problems has generated a sense of “physics envy” and driven many disciplines toward math-based predictive models. Orrin Pilkey and Linda Pilkey-Jarvis thoroughly discuss that our confidence in such models is misplaced. As a result, we are potentially increasing risk from natural hazards and have created a venue for ludicrous policy-based demands, such as certifying safety for tens of thousands of years at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Duck Creek watershed, a small watershed in east-central Texas, experienced an influx of broiler growing operations in the later half of the 1990s. Preliminary results indicated that year 2000 levels of broiler litter land application do not pose a water quality concern but that a significant expansion of broiler production would more than double ambient phosphorus loads in the watershed. Environmental and economic modeling were used to assess the effects of phosphorus control measures designed to proactively mitigate the environmental impacts from further broiler industry expansion. Results of best management practice (BMP) simulations indicate that ambient phosphorus loads from broiler litter can be reduced by reducing the rate of litter application, by hauling off litter, by adding phytase to broiler feed, and by amending broiler litter with aluminum sulfate (alum). Reduced-rate scenarios were substantially more cost-effective than haul-off scenarios. Simulations of the phytase and alum BMPs produced net economic benefits in addition to reducing phosphorus loads. Model results thus indicated that relatively low-cost BMP options or ones yielding net monetary benefits (e.g., phytase and alum) would protect water quality in Duck Creek in the event of a low, moderate, or even a very significant expansion of the regional broiler industry. Subsequent to this research, the broiler integrator conducted field trials that confirmed the economic benefits of phytase but not alum. Alum addition did not produce the expected economic benefits, primarily because of the regional climate, which differed from that assumed in the analysis.