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Results for “The Reclamation ERA”

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3 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1953

Irrigation and water quality: Part 1--how dissolved solids increase in irrigation water

Do you have water-logged areas and alkali spots on your land? How about similar areas and spots on your neighbor's land upstream? The way water is used upstream from your intake, with the possible exception of that used for power development and navigation, has a great deal to do with the quality of water which reaches your farm. The way you use water on your own farm for irrigation may change the water quality in relatively short stretches of a river. Growing plants require large quantities of water, but as they grow they do not use much of the minerals which are dissolved and carried in irrigation water. As a result, these dissolved solids become concentrated in the water which remains unused. Drainage from unimproved and irrigated areas (as desirable as this may be for the lands drained) will increase the dissolved solids content of the stream into which these drainage waters flow.

The Reclamation ERA↗
USGS1953

Irrigation and water quality: Part 2--quality of water in selected basins

Practically all streams show a progressive increase in dissolved solids concentration from the headwaters to the mouth. Much of the increase is due to water coming in contact with natural, calcareous, or gypsiferous soils and dissolving large quantities of this material, thus increasing the hardness of the water.

The Reclamation ERA↗
USGS2019

Factors promoting the recolonization of Oahu, Hawaii, by Bristle-thighed Curlews

Suitable habitat for Arctic-breeding migratory shorebirds is decreasing at their traditional wintering islands and atolls in the Central Pacific Flyway (i.e., Oceania) due to habitat degradation, reclamation, and sea-level rise. To maintain the size and resiliency of their populations, migratory shorebirds will need to expand their winter ranges by either colonizing new sites or recolonizing old sites from which they were extirpated. Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) are long-distance migratory shorebirds that breed only in Alaska and winter across a vast region of the Central Pacific, typically on remote, unpopulated islands and atolls. Historically, Bristle-thighed Curlews were considered uncommon transients on the main Hawaiian Islands, but in the mid-1990s, curlews became regular visitors to Oahu and subsequently began wintering at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu Island in Hawaii. Curlew numbers at this site grew steadily from <5 birds in the mid-1990s to an estimated 126 winter residents (95%CI 108–147) in 2013–2014. Timing of the recolonization event coincided with the establishment of a fenced pond complex that was managed for endangered waterbirds by maintaining areas of shallow water and low vegetation. High rates of apparent annual survival exhibited by adults and subadults (0.86–0.95) confirmed the suitability of the Refuge to curlews. Our results suggest that curlews in Oceania can naturally recolonize wintering islands, a trait that may be key to the survival of this species of conservation concern in an era of rising sea levels.

Hawaii↗