In July 2016, EPA issued its proposed
interim decision on the registration review for 22 sulfonylurea (SU)
herbicides. Sulfometuron methyl and metsulfuron methyl were among those 22 SU
herbicides. In the interim decision, EPA concluded that there are no human
health risks of concern related to continued use of SU herbicides. The agency
also determined that there are no direct ecological risks for any taxa other
than non-target terrestrial and aquatic plants.
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Systematic
Conservation Planning (SCP) is an approach to protected areas planning that
follows a step-by-step process. In order to determine how well the process has
been applied in conservation programs globally, NCASI and Memorial University
of Newfoundland conducted a review of the literature on SCP. The findings
suggest that protected areas plans varied in how well they considered data
uncertainty, and many used so-called “data free” conservation targets without
clear rationales, which have been shown to under-represent natural features.
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EPA recently released the 2016 version of
its report on indicators of climate change, Climate
Change Indicators in the United States, 2016. It is the fourth edition of a
report first published by EPA in 2010. This document presents data related to
37 indicators that describe changes observed from long-term records related to
the causes and effects of climate change, the significance of changes, and
their possible consequences for people, the environment, and society.
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In Oregon, the Alsea Watershed Study
Revisited has provided a unique opportunity to investigate and compare stream
temperature responses to contemporary forest harvesting practices (e.g.,
retention of riparian vegetation for provision of shade) with the impacts from
historical (1960s) harvesting practices (e.g., no riparian vegetation
retained). A paper recently published in Forest
Ecology and Management presents results from this study.
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