The Class is Environmental Science SC1100…2
The Class is Environmental Science SC1100 Learning Plan 8 Assignments LP8 Assignment: Land Owner vs. Prairie Dog Case Study The U.S. has about 319 million hectare (ha) or 788 million acres of rangeland, and about 60 percent of this is privately owned. Prairie dogs also use this land, but their activities can destroy the land's use and make it unusable for grazing livestock. Prairie dogs and the holes they build are environmentally important and create burrows for many other species of animals, among other things. Range owners, though, use the land to graze their livestock and feel that the prairie dogs threaten their livelihoods, careers, and means for supporting their families. Range owners use various methods of removal to save their land for grazing. What do you think? Who has more right to the land? Can land use be mitigated to serve all parties? Use the following links to learn more about this current environmental controversy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Blahttp://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/btprairiedog/ck-Tailed Prairie Dog White-Tailed Prairie Dog http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wtprairiedog/ Sierra Club http://www.sierraclub.org/lewisandclark/species/prairiedog2.asp Society of Rangeland Management Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Blhttp://www.rangelands.org/wildlifehabitat/newsletters/WHC904.pdfack-Tailed Prairie Dog National Geographic Prairie Dog Poisoning http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1026_041026_prairie_dogs.html Create a stakeholder matrix from the supplemental instructional materials in Learning Plan 8 and consider the needs of the following: • Range and livestock owners • US Fish and Wildlife agents • Environmentalists • Other concerned citizens, include one or more, such as the butcher who sells the meat bought from the range land owner or the mother who is concerned about the poisons the range land owners use to kill the prairie dogs, etc. Choose one of the stakeholders from your matrix and create a one page speech, based on that perspective, to present at the town meeting described in the following scenario. Scenario The local range land owners are distraught by the destruction of their land from prairie dogs that come over from protected lands onto their land. They have started to use measures for eliminating the prairie dogs, such as guns and poison. Local citizens are either for or against this, depending on who they are. Local and distant environmentalists are against this and point out the important ecosystem functions of the prairie dogs for maintaining local biodiversity, and have issue with poisons being indiscriminately used on the land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents want to help create a policy that would serve all parties, and the town mayor and committee just want to help mitigate the political unrest and protesting that is occurring in their town. The town meeting is to determine what to do about this issue. Stakeholder’s Matrix There are many sides and perspectives to environmental problems, and each one should be considered when evaluating a given environmental situation or issue. Stakeholders are all the people involved and affected by a given situation or event. For example, let’s say a preliminary research study suggests that the pesticides used on a local golf course "might" be contaminating a town’s water supply and "may be" causing increased cancer rates in citizens’ children. There are many stakeholders in this issue. This isn’t an easy situation to remedy. There are so many factors to think about when trying to create a solution and potential course of action in dealing with environmental issues such as this. What about the local environment and the animals? What rights do they have? Or are human economic needs more important? How do we solve these kinds of issues when there are so many perspectives to consider? Recall from Learning Plan 1 that one method for evaluating all stakeholders’ concerns and desires in an issue that can be done by making a matrix as follows: Stakeholders What position do they hold? Why do they hold this position? Are there specific values beneath their positions? What outcome would they prefer to see? Local citizens Land Owners Prairie Dogs Black footed ferret Grazing animals Scientists/Conservationists Town committee and mayor Local ecosystem Fill in this chart before you write your speech. After filling in this chart, it’s easier to develop potential solutions. You can create a matrix like this for any environmental issue, and it helps to clearly outline who is being affected and what can be done about it. There are two extra spaces provided if you would like to add any additional stakeholders. You are not required to do so. You may copy and paste this chart into the same word document in which you write, or you may use the template provided. Submit this assignment to your instructor via the dropbox “LP8: Land Owner vs. Prairie Dog.” This assignment is worth 50 points and will be graded using the scoring guide below. Scoring Guide (50 Points) Rating Scale 5 Work meets or exceeds criterion at a high level of competence. 4 Work reflects an understanding of criterion with minor misunderstandings/misconceptions. 3 Criterion partially met, but one or more important concepts/skills are missing or flawed. 2 Work reflects an attempt to meet criterion, but significant misunderstandings/misconceptions are apparent. 1-0 Criterion not met or work is absent. Criteria 1. Paper is centered around a topic on which there is a disagreement. 2. Includes the description of two or more opposing positions. 3. Includes the errors or holes in the reasoning for each of the opposing positions. 4. Includes the description of the stakeholder's position. 5. Includes a rationale for the stakeholder's position. 6. Paper is well-organized and formatted. 7. Paper evidences correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. 8. Includes evidence of preparation. (citations from assigned articles, etc.) 9. Includes concepts from the instructional and/or supplemental materials. 10. Includes a stakeholder matrix. Additional Requirements Min Words: 500 Min Pages: 3 Other Requirements: References is included