AO – Absentee Owner

AO – Administrative Order

AO – Aerial Obscuration

AO – America Outdoors

AO – Artificial Overcast

AOC – Adequate Overstory Cover

AOC – Administrative Order of Consent http://www.wnmu.edu/stewardship/ORGANIZATIONSac.htm

AOCs – Areas of Concern

AOG – Associations Of Government

AOI – Area of Interest

AON – Assessment Of Need (mandatory completion required for states to participate in Forest Legacy Program)

AOP – Annual Operating Plan

AOP – Assess Our Priorities

AP – Advisory Panel

AP – Agricultural Producer

AP – Aluminum Particulate

AP – The Americas Program -- A New World of Ideas, Analysis, and Policy Options -- An IRC Initiative

AP – Annexation Policy

AP – Archetype Perception

AP – Artificial Propagation

AP – Ascertainment and Planning (DOI/USFWS)

AP – The Associated Press http://www.ap.org

AP – Austerity Program

APA – The Adirondack Park Agency

APA – The Administrative Procedures Act

APA – The American Planning Association http://www.planning.org

APA – American Protective Association

APA – American Psychiatric Association

APA – American Pulpwood Association, Inc.

APA – Aquifer Protection Area

APA – Aquifer Protection Association

APA – American Planning Association

APA – Arizona Prospectors Association

Apartheid – Literally "apartness." The Afrikans term given to South Africa's policies of racial separation and the highly segregated socio-geographical patterns they have produced, a system now being dismantled.

APBP – Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals "Ensuring Excellence in an Emerging Profession" http://www.apbp.org/

APC – Alaska Pulp Corporation

APC – American Peanut Council

APC – American Plastics Council

APC – American Policy Center http://www.americanpolicy.org

APC – Area Planning Committee

APCD – Air Pollution Control District

APCP – The Aquatic Plant Control Program (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

APCRP – The Aquatic Plant Control Research Program (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

APD – Advance Planning Document

APD – Aerosol Particle Distribution

APD – Agricultural Policy Division (Farm Bureau)

APD – Application for Permit to Drill (an oil or gas well) (BLM-DOI)

APE – Area of Potential Effect

APE – Area of Potential Effect

APEA – Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment

APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation; APEC is the only inter governmental grouping in the world operating on the basis of non-binding commitments, open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants. Unlike the WTO or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC has no treaty obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis. APEC has 21 members -- referred to as "Member Economies" -- that account for more than a third of the world's population (2.6 billion people), approximately 60% of world GDP (US$19, 254 billion) and about 47% of world trade. It also proudly represents the most economically dynamic region in the world having generated nearly 70% of global economic growth in its first 10 years. APEC's 21 Member Economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Viet Nam. Purpose and Goals APEC was established in 1989 to further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community. Since its inception, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing exports. Key to achieving APEC's vision is what is referred to as the 'Bogor Goals' of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing economies. These goals were adopted by leaders at their 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia. Learn more about the Bogor Goals in the 1994 Leaders' Declaration: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/apec/leaders__declarations/1994.html Source: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/apec/about_apec.html

http://www.undp.org.vn/projects/vie99002/globali.pdf and http://www.apecsec.org.sg/

APEE – The Association of Private Enterprise Education http://www.apee.org

APF – Alaska Permanent Fund

APFAEA – Actual-to-Projected Future Actual Emissions Accounting – EPA

APHIS – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA)

API – The American Petroleum Institute

API – The Animal Protection Institute

API – Application Program Interface

API – The Arizona Preserve Initiative http://www.land.state.az.us/programs/operations/api.htm

http://www.land.state.az.us/alris/htmls/metadata/apibuff.html

APICS – American Production and Inventory Control Society

APIPP – The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program: The Adirondack Park in upstate New York includes six million acres of public and private land incorporating large diverse landscapes, intact ecosystems, and high quality natural communities. These fragile interconnections of landscape, water and the organisms they support, are now threatened by the deleterious effects of invasive, non-native plants and animals. The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program is an initial, region-wide effort to address these concerns. The Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program mission is to document invasive plant distributions and to advance measures to protect and restore native ecosystems in the Park through partnerships with Adirondack residents and institutions. The Program coordinates two projects: the Aquatic Invasive Plant Project and the Terrestrial Invasive Plant Project. http://www.adkinvasives.com/

APL – Adjacent to Public Land

APLE – Average Power Laser Experiment (Boeing)

APLIC – Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (BLM)

APM – Aquatic Plant Management

APM – Asia Paper Markets

APO – See Accountable Property Officer. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

APO – Acquisition Program Officer

APO – Acquisition Project Officer

APO – Administrative Protective Order

APP – See Agency Peculiar Property. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

The Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative (ASCI) – The Clean Streams Program is a broad-based citizen/industry/government program working to eliminate acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines. Using a combination of private and governmental resources, the Program facilitates and coordinates citizen groups, university researchers, the coal industry, corporations, the environmental community, and local, state, and federal government agencies that are involved in cleaning up streams polluted by acid drainage. Begun as an initiative in 1994, this successful program has funded 77 projects in 10 states. http://www.osmre.gov/acsihome.htm

Appalachian Science in the Public Interest (ASPI)

Apparent shoreline – The outer edge of marine vegetation (marsh, mangrove, cypress) delineated on surveys where the actual shoreline is obscured. – NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC) Public Trust Doctrine Glossary http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ptd/glossary.htm

Apparent Trend – An interpretation of the direction of change in vegetation and soil protection over time, based on a single observation. Apparent trend is described in the same terms as measured trend except that when no trend is apparent, it shall be described as none. – BLM

APPD – Airborne Particulate and Precipitation Data

The Appeals Reform Act – The Appeals Reform Act is a 1993 Appropriation Rider (Excerpted from “Information on Forest Service Decisions Involving Fuels Reduction Activities,” A Report by the General Accounting Office). The National Environmental Policy Act provides for three levels of environmental analysis: the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the most rigorous form of environmental analysis; the Environmental Assessment (EA), the middling analysis level; and the Categorical Exclusion, the lowest analysis standard used for projects that are substantially non-obtrusive and insignificant in terms of environmental effects (like cutting Christmas trees and firewood). Under the Appeals Reform Act and its implementing regulations and guidelines, as a rule only projects that are implemented using an EIS and EA are eligible for administrative appeal. As a general matter, hazardous fuels reduction projects involving a mechanical treatment component require an EIS or an EA, and are thus eligible for administrative appeal, while projects involving only a prescribed burn are typically documented under a Categorical Exclusion, and are thus not eligible for appeal This distinction is an important one, as the GAO study includes some discussion of prescribed burn projects covered by a Categorical Exclusion that legally cannot be appealed under the Forest Service appeals statute. http://www.ifia.com/Reports/GAOReport1.htm

Appellant – The party that appeals a decision of a lower court. See appellee. – U.S. Treasury OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision, in charge of banks, savings and loan associations, etc.) http://www.ots.treas.gov/glossary/gloss-n.html

Appellee – The party that is the defendant in an appeal of a lower court decision. See appellant. – U.S. Treasury OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision, in charge of banks, savings and loan associations, etc.) http://www.ots.treas.gov/glossary/gloss-n.html

Appendicularia – A genus of small, free-swimming, pelagic tunicates shaped somewhat like a tadpole and remarkable for their resemblance to larvae of other tunicates. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

Appendix – An emergency operations plan element attached to a functional annex to provide information on special approaches or requirements generated by unique characteristics of specified hazards of particular concern to the jurisdiction.

Applicant – Applicant means a Person who is required to submit a Proposal that is subject to management and regulation under this Compact. Application has a corresponding meaning. – “For the purposes of this Compact, and of any supplemental or concurring legislation enacted pursuant thereto, except as may be otherwise required by the context.” Great Lakes Basin Water Resources Compact, Confidential, Draft, Not for Distribution.

http://www.allianceforlakes.com/conservation/Draft_Compact_2005.pdf (18 pages)

Application – A formal request for rights to use, or obtain eventual title to, public lands or resources. – Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application, DOI/BLM http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/rsfodocs/pit14/DEIS/09chap5-ref-glos.pdf (pages 15-18 of 18)

Application (Oil and Gas) – A written request, petition or offer to lease lands for the purpose of oil and gas exploration and/or the right of extraction. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Application Efficiency – The ratio of the average depth of irrigation water infiltrated and stored in the root zone to the average depth of irrigation water applied, expressed as a percent.

Application Positions – See Spark Arrester.

Application Repository – A repository that lists all interoperable applications that are developed within a COI (Community Of Interest). – GWOB

Applied Research – Applied research is that effort that (1) normally follows basic research, but may not be severed from the related basic research, (2) attempts to determine and exploit the potential of scientific discoveries or improvements in technology, materials, processes, methods, devices, or techniques, and (3) attempts to advance the state of the art. Applied research does not include efforts whose principal aim is design, development, or test of specific items or services to be considered for sale; these efforts are within the definition of the term development.

Applied Water (delivered water) – Water delivered to a user. Applied water may be used for either inside uses or outside watering. It does not include precipitation or distribution losses. It may apply to metered or nonmetered deliveries.

Apportioned Federal Funds – The FHWA [Federal Highway Administration] apportions most Federal-aid funds to each State via statutory formulas. State and local governments decide which projects to advance using these apportioned Federal-aid funds while the Secretary has no discretion on project selection. Apportioned funds account for over 90% of all transportation funds distributed to States. http://www.bywaysonline.org/grants/guidance/glossary

Appraisal (Report) – An appraisal is a written report, independently and impartially prepared by a qualified individual, setting forth an opinion of defined value of an adequately described property, as of a specific date, and supported by the presentation and analysis of relevant market data [Uniform Act, 1993, 49 CFR Part 24.2(b)]. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Manual, Directives and Standards LND 05-01, Appendix C http://www.usbr.gov/recman/lnd/lnd0501c.htm

Appraisal Estimate – An estimate used in an appraisal study as an aid in selecting the most economical plan by comparing alternative features or for determining whether more detailed investigations of a potential project are economically justified. Used to obtain approximate costs in a short period of time with inadequate data. Not to be used for project authorization.

Appraisal Level of Detail – The level of detail necessary to facilitate making decisions on whether or not to proceed with a detailed study and evaluation of any alternative.

Appraisal Options – Appraisal options refer to USPAP's three basic appraisal options, as follows: A. Self-Contained Appraisal has the greatest level of detail of the appraisal options, containing all information significant to the solution of the appraisal problem (USPAP, 1996, pp. 105-107). B. Summary Appraisal has the next level of detail providing a summary of all information significant to the solution of the appraisal problem (USPAP, 1996, pp. 106-107). C. Restricted Appraisal has the least amount of detail of the appraisal options and contains only a brief statement of information significant to the solution of the appraisal problem (USPAP, 1996, pp. 106-107). – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Manual, Directives and Standards LND 05-01, Appendix C http://www.usbr.gov/recman/lnd/lnd0501c.htm

Appraisal Review – Appraisal Review (Review) is a technical review by an appraiser qualified to evaluate the accuracy and validity of the data, analysis, and value conclusions in an appraisal. The review appraiser is equally responsible for the validity and accuracy of the appraisal as the appraiser. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Manual, Directives and Standards LND 05-01, Appendix C http://www.usbr.gov/recman/lnd/lnd0501c.htm

Appraisal Service – Appraisal service refers to the preparation or the review of an appraisal by either a staff or fee appraiser. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Manual, Directives and Standards LND 05-01, Appendix C http://www.usbr.gov/recman/lnd/lnd0501c.htm

The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) – The ASB is an independent board of The Appraisal Foundation, who writes, amends, and interprets USPAP. The ASB is composed of up to seven appraisers appointed by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. The ASB holds public meetings throughout the year to interpret and amend USPAP. In order to help inform Appraisers and others about changes in USPAP each year, the ASB participates in annual USPAP Updates for Instructors and Regulators. In addition, the ASB solicits and accepts many speaking engagements. The ASB is assisted by the staff of The Appraisal Foundation.

http://www.appraisalfoundation.org/s_appraisal/doc.asp?SID=1&DID=155&CID=60&VID=2&

RTID=0&CIDQS=&Taxonomy=False&specialSearch=False

Appraised Stumpage Price (or appraised rate) – On national forests, the Forest Service estimate of the market price for timber to be cut and removed. It cannot be less than the base rates. The appraised price is the advertised minimum for competitive bidding by purchasers.

Appraiser – Appraiser refers to a person who possesses the education, training, and experience necessary to accurately render an opinion of real property value. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Manual, Directives and Standards LND 05-01, Appendix C http://www.usbr.gov/recman/lnd/lnd0501c.htm

Appropriate Management Level (AML) – The optimum number of wild horses that provides a thriving natural ecological balance on the public range. – Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application, DOI/BLM http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/rsfodocs/pit14/DEIS/09chap5-ref-glos.pdf (pages 15-18 of 18) 2.

The number of wild horses and burros suitable for a herd management area as determined through BLM's planning process and evaluation of monitoring data. – BLM

Appropriate Management Response – A management strategy for suppression action (in terms of kind, amount, and timing) on a wildfire, which most efficiently meets fire management direction under current or expected burning conditions. The response strategy may be to confine, contain, or control a fire. Confine: To restrict the fire within predetermined boundaries, established either prior to, or during the fire. These identified boundaries will confine the fire, with no action being taken to put the fire out. Tactics include, but are not limited to: indirect lines with backfiring, extended hose lays, holding along drainage, cold trailing dormant sectors, hot spotting isolated flare-up pockets, aerial retardant pre-treatments, mop up perimeters and extended patrols. Tactical aerial mobility and long distance water distribution systems shall actuate this strategy of time and distance. Contain: To restrict a fire to a defined area, using combination of natural and constructed barriers that will stop the spread of fire under prevailing and forecasting weather conditions, until out. Tactics include, but are not limited to: direct, parallel and indirect lines with limited backfiring, extended hose lays, improved hand lines, mop up to 300 feet into the fire area to secure perimeter from rekindle and firebrand sources. Theoretically, at this level of effort, perimeter can be considered secure more quickly and with fewer resources required for extended mop-up and patrol than compared with the confinement strategy. Control: To aggressively fight a wildfire, through the skillful use of personnel, equipment, and aircraft to establish firelines around a fire to halt the spread and to extinguish all hot spots, until out. Tactics are directed at total suppression of the fire as quickly as possible. The objective is to attain “control” by the advent of the following burning period. In practice, this is the traditional “10 a.m.” policy. With respect to suppression responses to wildfire, this is the most effective and time proven technique to achieve the goal of prompt fire control. – USDI (United States Department of the Interior) Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, 2004 Fire Management Plan. http://www.nm.blm.gov/fire/lcfo_fmp.doc (Page 82-84 of 86) 2. Specific actions taken in response to a wildland fire to implement protection and fire use objectives. – KIPZ – Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forests http://www.fs.fed.us/kipz/documents/reference/glossary.shtml

Appropriation – Amount of water legally set apart or assigned to a particular purpose or use.

Appropriation doctrine – The system for allocating water to private individuals used in most Western states. The doctrine of Prior Appropriation was in common use throughout the arid west as early settlers and miners began to develop the land. The prior appropriation doctrine is based on the concept of "First in Time, First in Right." The first person to take a quantity of water and put it to Beneficial Use has a higher priority of right than a subsequent user. Under drought conditions, higher priority users are satisfied before junior users receive water. Appropriative rights can be lost through nonuse; they can also be sold or transferred apart from the land. Contrasts with Riparian Water Rights. – USGS

Appropriative – Water rights to, or ownership of, a water supply, which is acquired for the beneficial use of water by following a specific legal procedure. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pubs/gloss2.html

Approval Official – An individual who has final authority to approve findings and recommendations; normally used in the approval/disapproval of findings and recommendations of the Survey Officer or Board of Survey on Reports of Survey for lost, damaged, or destroyed property. Also used in approval/disapproval of new acquisitions. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Approved refuge boundary – A project boundary, which the Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approves upon completion of the planning and environmental compliance process. An approved refuge boundary only designates those lands, which the Fish and Wildlife Service has authority to acquire and/or manage through various agreements. Approval of a refuge boundary does not grant the Fish and Wildlife Service jurisdiction or control over lands within the boundary, and it does not make lands within the refuge boundary part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Lands do not become part of the National Wildlife Refuge System unless they are purchased or are placed under an agreement that provides for management as part of the refuge system. – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Glossary of Planning Terms http://www.fws.gov/pacific/planning/gloss1.htm

Approving/approval – The action taken by the BIA to approve a permit. – DOI-BIA Glossary

Approving Official – In the Governmentwide Purchase Card program, the approving official is responsible for, at a minimum, reviewing his/her cardholders' monthly billing statements or statements of account, verifying that all transactions made were proper/necessary to the Government and certifying the billing statement or statement of account for payment. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Appurtenance – Something accessory to another and more important thing. In law, it is a right, privilege or improvement belonging to and passing with a principle property. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Appurtenant – A word employed in deeds, leases, etc., for the purpose of including any easement or other right(s) used or enjoyed with the real property, which are considered to be so much a part of the property that they automatically pass to the grantee under the deed conveying the real property. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

APR – Accessible Pedestrian Route

APR – Agricultural Preservation Restriction

APRIL – Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living

APRO – Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

APS – American Press Syndicate

APS – Annual Program Summary

APSA – American Political Science Association

APSIA – Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/career/global/APSIA%20International%20Career%20Guide.doc

APSMOA – Arizona Prospectors and Small Mine Operators Association

APTR – Appalachian National Scenic Trail http://www.nps.gov/aptr/

APV – All-purpose vehicle

APWA – American Public Works Association http://www.pubworks.org/

APZ – Agricultural Protection Zoning

AQA – Office of Air Quality Assessment (also know as Air Monitoring) - http://www.deq.virginia.gov/regulations/pdf/airimpactfinal2002.pdf

AQCR – Air Quality Control Region

AQD – Air Quality Division (National Park Service)

AQI – Air Quality Index - http://www.deq.virginia.gov/regulations/pdf/airimpactfinal2002.pdf

AQMD – Air Quality Management District (also South Coast AQMD) http://www.aqmd.gov and http://www.aqmd.gov/aqmp/cvves/cvsip_2.doc

AQMP – Air Quality Management Plan

AQN – Aquatic Conservation Network

AQO – Air Quality and Odor

AQRV – Air Quality Related Values http://www.nps.gov/grca/compliance/pdf/forest-EA.pdf

AQS – Aquatic Conservation Strategy (Forest Service)

AQUA – Aquaculture

Aquaculture (AQUA) – Uses of water for aquaculture or mariculture operations including, but not limited to, propagation, cultivation, maintenance, or harvesting of aquatic plants and animals for human consumption or bait purposes. – Report in Support of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Review of California's Continuing Planning Process - State Water Resources Control Board, May 2001. Appendix B, Attachment 1: Standard Beneficial Use Definitions. The following are the beneficial uses for surface and groundwaters that have been adopted by the regional boards in basin plans and have been approved by the State Board. Not all the beneficial use definitions ... are appropriate for each basin. The uses and their definitions and abbreviations are to remain standard for all basins. http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/plnspols/docs/oplans/cpp2001.doc 2. The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 defines aquaculture as 'the propagation and rearing of aquatic species in controlled or selected environments, including ocean ranching.' The Act divides responsibility for most aquaculture research, regulatory and related activities among the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior. Private aquaculture has grown rapidly and diversified in recent years; in the United States, aquaculture is dominated (80%) by catfish production.

Aquatic – Living, growing, or occurring in, on or near water.

Aquatic Biota – Aquatic biota are living things dependent on water. In this document, the term refers to fish and amphibians. – KIPZ – Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forests http://www.fs.fed.us/kipz/documents/reference/glossary.shtml

Aquatic Ecosystem – An ecosystem (biological and physical components and their interactions) in which water is the principal medium. Examples include wetlands, streams, reservoirs and areas with plants or animals [that are] characteristic of either permanently or seasonally inundated soils. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf 2. Any body of water, such as a stream, lake or estuary, and all organisms and nonliving components within it, functioning as a natural system. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Aquatic habitat – Habitat that occurs in free water. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Aquatic Habitats – Habitats confined to streams, rivers, springs, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, oceans, and other water bodies.

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) – Aquatic invasive species are organisms [which are] introducted to marine or freshwater ecosystems to which they are not native and whose introduction causes harm to human health, the environment, or the economy. AIS have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems throughout the United States, costing the nation billions of dollars annually in economic and ecological damages. AIS are considered one of the greatest threats to coastal environments and can significantly affect public water supplies; recreational activities, such as boating; and valuable natural resources, such as fisheries. Major pathways for AIS include: discharge of ships' ballast water; fouling, such as barnacle growth, on commercial and recreational vessels; accidental or intentional release of marine organisms intended for human consumption, aquaculture, bait, horticulture, aquaria, and the pet trade. –

http://www.epa.gov/owow/invasive_species/invasives_management/pdf/Introduction.pdf 2. Aquatic invasive species are often spread in coastal ecosystems through introductions with ballast water, which has been taken in at locations far from the site of subsequent release. The speed of modern ships allows ballast-water organisms from one area to survive interocean voyages and, therefore, facilitates the transfer of viable invasive organisms to a new compatible environment. Nonindigenous invasive species, especially parasites and pathogens, are also spread inadvertently in coastal waters through aquaculture operations and importing of ornamental and pet species. In some cases, invasive species are also introduced and spread intentionally to control pests or for other purposes. A number of recent studies, often based on serendipitous discovery of invasive species, have documented the appearance and spread of such species in U.S. coastal waters, including the Great Lakes. Efforts to identify and track reports of invasive species, however, have only recently started to be coordinated at a national level. Often this coordination is limited to a specific species (e.g., Zebra Mussel), region (e.g., 100th Meridian Initiative), or mode of introduction (e.g., ballast water). A comprehensive monitoring program is clearly needed to (1) detect invasive species, (2) identify their location and mode of initial release, (3) evaluate the spread of such species, (4) evaluate their impacts on biodiversity, and (5) evaluate the success of control and mitigation measures. – EPA/NOAA/USDA/USGS Clean Water Action Plan: Coastal Research and Monitoring Strategy Workgroup, September 2000. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr/H2Ofin.pdf Invasive species means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Invasive species are one of the largest threats to our terrestrial, coastal and freshwater ecosystems, as well as being a major global concern. Invasive species can affect aquatic ecosystems directly or by affecting the land in ways that harm aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species represent the second leading cause of species extinction and loss of biodiversity in aquatic environments worldwide. They also result in considerable economic effects through direct economic losses and management/control costs, while dramatically altering ecosystems supporting commercial and recreational activities. Effects on aquatic ecosystems result in decreased native populations, modified water tables, changes in run-off dynamics and fire frequency, among other alterations. These ecological changes in turn impact many recreational and commercial activities dependent on aquatic ecosystems. Common sources of aquatic invasive species introduction include ballast water, aquaculture escapes, and accidental and/or intentional introductions, among others. http://www.epa.gov/owow/invasive_species/

Aquatic Life Criteria – Water quality criteria designed to protect aquatic organisms, including fish, plants, and invertebrates. Also see "Great Lakes Initiative" and "Clean Water Act." – Great Lakes glossary

Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) – Water-borne plants or animals that pose a threat to humans, agriculture, fisheries, and/or wildlife resources. See "non-indigenous species," "zebra mussel," "Bythotrephes," "Eurasian ruffe," and "Eurasian watermilfoil." – Great Lakes glossary

Aquatic Nuisance Species Great Lakes Panel – A federal organization formed in 1991 by the Great Lakes Commission to advance exotic species research, monitoring, and control activities. The activities conducted are based on federal legislative and budgetary needs and research and management requirements. Activities include Great Lakes-wide education. – Great Lakes glossary

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force – An international organization that develops and implements programs to prevent the introduction and distribution of aquatic nuisance species. Their goal is to monitor, control, and study these species, and to disseminate technical and educational information. Made up of 19 provincial, state, and federal organizations. – Great Lakes glossary

Aquatic Resources – Plants and animals that live within or are entirely dependent upon water to live; living resources of aquatic habitats (fish, invertebrates, amphibians, etc.); aquatic species.

Aquatic resources – All waters of the U.S. and associated sensitive species.

Aquatic sustainability – The inherent capability or existing potential for a watershed system to provide water quality, water bodies (streams, lakes, wetlands, ponds, etc.), riparian environs (wetlands, flood plains, stream banks, lake shores, and other lands including terrestrial lands proximal to water bodies that can directly influence the water), and the biologic organisms that live in or are dependent on the water that are necessary to support the beneficial uses of the water. – KIPZ – Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forests http://www.fs.fed.us/kipz/documents/reference/glossary.shtml

Aquatic Systems – A complete interacting system of organisms (aquatic species) considered together with their environment. – BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Aquatic Toxicity – The potential of a substance to have an adverse effect on aquatic species. Measurement methods for aquatic toxicity can be found in 40 CFR part 797, subpart B. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Aquatic Zone – The aquatic zone of a natural watercourse (as a river) or sometimes of a lake or a tidewater that remains under water the entire year. Plants in this zone have special adaptations that enable them to survive being partially or totally under water. – “What Do You Mean By That? Ever wonder about the meaning of Ecosystem Management (EM) and all the unfamiliar terms associated with it? If so, this is the page for you. We provide you with a dynamic list of EM terms and intend to add terms to it as appropriate and upon request. You can help us with our glossary construction by letting us know what terms you'd like defined. Please submit suggestions to Janie Canton-Thompson [email protected] or 406-542-4150 (Disclaimer – Definitional terms sometimes vary slightly, depending on who is using them and for what purpose. Terms defined here are intended for the general interest reader and will usually suffice for most EM uses.) – Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project Glossary http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/ecopartner/bemrp_glossary.shtml

Aqueduct – Manmade canal or pipeline used to transport water.

Aqueous – Something made up of, similar to, or containing water; watery.

Aquic Conditions – Current soil wetness characterized by saturation, reduction, and redoximorphic features. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 2. A soil-water regime, mostly too wet (reducing conditions, waterlogged) for parts of the year.

Aquiclude – A geologic formation that is saturated but is incapable of transmitting sufficient quantities of water to a well. Also, this type of formation is not capable of transmitting enough water to be considered as a significant part of the regional ground water system. A layer of clay [that] limits the movement of ground water.

Aquifer – A geologic unit (rock or sediment) that can store and transmit water at rates sufficient to supply reasonable amounts of water to wells and springs. – U.S. Department of Energy (DOI) Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah Draft Environmental Impact Statement http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/docs/deis/eis0355d/vol_1/chap10.pdf 2. A water-bearing rock unit (unconsolidated or bedrock) that will yield water in a usable quantity to a well or spring. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM)

Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) 3. A water-bearing layer of rock, sand and/or gravel, with sufficient density of pores to allow water to move through the layer. A body of rock that is saturated with water or transmits water. When people drill wells, they tap water contained within an aquifer. A geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation capable of storing, receiving and transmitting water. The formation is capable of yielding enough water to support a well or spring. A water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel. A water-bearing formation that provides a ground water reservoir. Underground water-bearing geologic formation or structure. A geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that stores and transmits water and yields significant quantities of water to wells and springs. A natural underground layer of porous, water-bearing materials (sand, gravel) usually capable of yielding a large amount or supply of water. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pubs/gloss2.html 4. A geologic formation or structure that transmits water in sufficient quantity to supply the needs for a water development; usually saturated sands, gravel, fractures, and cavernous and vesicular rock (Soil Conservation Society of America, 1982). – EPA’s Management Measures for Agricultural Sources Glossary http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/MMGI/Chapter2/ch2-3.html and National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf 5. A geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs. – Yosemite National Park, Merced Wild and Scenic River Revised Comprehensive Management Plan and Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Chapter VIII: Glossary http://www.nps.gov/yose/planning/mrp/html/14_rmrp_ch8.htm 6. A water-bearing bed or stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel capable of fielding considerable quantities of water to wells or springs. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 7. An underground geological formation or group of formations, containing usable amounts of groundwater that can supply wells or springs for domestic, industrial, and irrigation uses. Removing more groundwater from an aquifer than is naturally replenished is called overdrafting, and can result in a dropping water table, increased pumping costs, land subsidence (which reduces the future recharge capacity), saltwater intrusion, reduced streamflows in interconnected ground- and surface-water systems, and exhaustion of groundwater reserves. Overdrafting groundwater occurs primarily in the Plains States and the West. Soil or rock below the land surface that is saturated with water. There are layers of impermeable material both above and below it and it is under pressure so that when the aquifer is penetrated by a well, the water will rise above the top of the aquifer. – USGS

Aquifer Recharge Area – The surface area (land or water) through which an aquifer is replenished.

Aquifer (unconfined) – An aquifer whose upper water surface (water table) is at atmospheric pressure, and thus is able to rise and fall. – USGS

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) – A technology for storage of water in a suitable aquifer via a well during times when excess water is available and recovery from the same aquifer when the water is needed to meet peak emergency or long-term water demands. – Everglades Plan glossary

Aquifuge – A geologic formation that is both impermeable and contains no water.

Aquitard – A layer of low-permeability formation immediately above or below an aquifer that retards but does not prevent the flow of ground water to or from the aquifer. It does not readily yield water to wells and springs but may serve as a storage unit for ground water. – U.S. Department of Energy (DOI) Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah Draft Environmental Impact Statement http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/docs/deis/eis0355d/vol_1/chap10.pdf 2. A geologic formation that is saturated but is incapable of transmitting sufficient quantities of water to a well. However, this type of formation is capable of transmitting enough water to be considered as a significant part of the regional ground water system.

AR – Access Road

AR – Acquisition Regulations

AR – Actual Representation (State Governments)

AR – Additional Requirements

AR – Aggregate Resources

AR – American Rivers

AR – Annual Report

AR – Aristocratic Republic (America, as described by Henry Cabot Lodge)

AR – Artificial Refugia

AR – Asset Retitlement

ARA – Agricultural Retailers Association

ARA – American Rental Association

Arable – Arable – Suitable for farming. – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Glossary http://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/eis/navajo/pdfs/deis_glossary.pdf 2. Suitable for farming. Having soil or topographic features suitable for cultivation.

Arable Land – Land, which, when farmed in adequate size units for the prevailing climatic and economic setting, and provided with the essential on-farm improvements of removing vegetation, leveling, soil reclamation, drainage, and irrigation related facilities, will generate sufficient income under irrigation to pay all farm production expenses; provide a reasonable return to the farm family’s labor, management, and capital; and at least pay the operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of associated irrigation and drainage facilities. Land that can be cultivated to grow crops.

A-race/B-race — Terms related to timing and distribution of adult steelhead in the Columbia River System. A-race refers to those summer steelhead that enter the Columbia River in early August and are destined for tributaries throughout the Columbia. B-race refers to those that enter in late August through October and are destined primarily for tributaries of the Snake River. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement, Chapter 10, Glossary http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/lsr/final_fseis/study_kit/Main_Report/chap10.htm

ARAP – Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy

ARAR – Applicable or relevant and appropriate requirement

ARB – Air Resources Board

ARB – Architectural Review Board

Arbitrage – The process of buying something in one geographic market area and selling it at the same time in another so as to take advantage of spatial price differences. Also may be used to refer to speculating on price movements between two different markets over time, such as a spread between feeder cattle and live cattle.

Arbitrary and Capricious – Willful and unreasonable action, without consideration and in disregard of the facts or circumstances of the case; action taken without some basis [that] would lead a reasonable and honest person or entity to such action.

Arbitration – Process in which a neutral third party (arbitrator) hears arguments from disputants, then issues a decision. Whether court-annexed or private, this process tends to be more formal and judicial than other ADR processes, but less formal than a court procedure. Depending on the situation, an arbitrator's decision can be either binding by law or non-binding. The exact nature of the process and decision is usually prescribed beforehand by court rule or a contract. http://www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/terms.htm 2. A process, quasi-judicial in nature, whereby a dispute is submitted to an impartial and neutral third party who considers the facts and merits of a case and decides the matter. To be revised consistent with 5 U.S.C. 588, et seq. – DOI – alternative dispute resolution glossary

Arboreal – Living in the canopies of trees. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm 2. Resembling a tree, or inhabiting or frequenting trees. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

ARC – Abalone Restoration Consortium

ARC – Agricultural Research Council

ARC – Alaska Rainforest Campaign

ARC – American Recreation Coalition

ARC – American Recreation Council

ARC – American Rights Coalition

ARC – Animal Rights Coalition

ARC – Appalachia Regional Council http://arc.gov/infopubs/appalach/

ARC – The Appalachian Regional Commission http://www.arc.gov

Arc – Agency [that] provides services to people who have developmental disabilities.

ARCADIA – The Axelon Research, Collation and Access of Data Institute's Archives

Arcadian Landscape – The manmade landscape [that] has altered a natural landscape in a way [that] appears to be natural, but tamed.

ARC Export – EXPORT creates an ARC/INFO interchange file to transfer coverages, INFO data files, text files, and other ARC/INFO files between various computer systems. An interchange file contains all coverage information and appropriate INFO file information in a fixed length, ASCII format. It can be fully or partially compressed as well as uncompressed ASCII depending upon the given EXPORT option. – USDA glossary

ARCG – Aquatic Resource Conservation Group

Arch – A natural opening through a narrow wall or plate of rock. – BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Archaebacteria – A taxonomic kingdom of bacteria, including sulphur-dependent bacteria, methane-producing bacteria, and halophilic bacteria. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

Archaic – In American archeology, a cultural stage following the earliest known human occupation in the New World (about 5,500 B.C. to A.D. 100). this stage was characterized by a generalized hunting and gathering lifestyle and seasonal movement to take advantage of a variety of resources.

Archaelogical District – An area that provides a concentration of cultural properties in a discrete, definable location. – BLM

Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act (1974) – Directs the preservation of historic and archaeological data in Federal construction projects.

Archaeological and Historical Site – A site that contains either objects of antiquity or cultural values relating to history and/or prehistory that warrant special protection. – Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Pit 14 Coal Lease-by-Application, DOI/BLM http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/rsfodocs/pit14/DEIS/09chap5-ref-glos.pdf (pages 15-18 of 18)

Archaeological Intrinsic Quality – Archaeological Quality involves those characteristics of the byway corridor that are physical evidence of historic or prehistoric human life or activity that are visible and capable of being inventoried and interpreted. The byway corridor's archeological interest, as identified through ruins, artifacts, structural remains, and other physical evidence have scientific significance that educate the viewer and stir an appreciation for the past. http://www.bywaysonline.org/grants/guidance/glossary

Archaeological Resource – Material remains of past human life or activities that include, but are not limited to, pottery, basketry, bottles, weapons, weapon projectiles, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion or piece of the foregoing items that are at least 100 years of age. These resources can be included in the National Register. – SPRPMA

Archeological Resources – The physical evidence or remains of known historic or prehistoric human life, activity or culture in Florida. For example, significant ruins, artifacts, inscriptions, structural and/or human remains may all be considered archeological resources. These resources differ from historic resources in that they may have existed before written records were kept in an area. DOI/NPS

Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1979) – As amended: Protects materials of archaeological interest from unauthorized removal or destruction and requires Federal managers to develop plans and schedules to locate archaeological resources.

The Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 – Establishes mechanisms for identifying and protecting sites having archeological value.

Archaeological site – A geographic locale that contains the material remains of prehistoric and/or historic human activity. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Archeology – Study of human cultures through the recovery and analysis of their material relics.

Architectural Barriers Act (1968) – Requires federally owned, leased, or funded buildings and facilities to be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Archeological Resource – Any physical remains of past human life or activities. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Archaeological Site – A discrete location that provides physical evidence of past human use. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM)

Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) 2. A geographic locale that contains the material remains of prehistoric and/or historic human activity. – BLM

Archaelogy – The scientific study of the life and culture of past, especially ancient, peoples, as by excavation of ancient cities, relics, artifacts, etc. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005. http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM)

Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282)

Archaic – The Archaic period in the region is typified by a change from a big-game hunting emphasis to the hunting of smaller, modern game and the intensive collection of plant foods. Most sites of this period date between 8000 and 2000 BP (before present). – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Glossary http://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/eis/navajo/pdfs/deis_glossary.pdf

Archaic Period – An archeological period of about 8,000 years ago, and continuing to about A.D. 500. – BLM

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) – Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is one of the world’s largest agricultural processors of soybeans, corn, wheat and cocoa. We work with farmers across the world to turn these crops into soymeal and oil, corn sweeteners, flour, cocoa and chocolate, ethanol and biodiesel, as well as a wide portfolio of other value-added food ingredients, animal nutrition and industrial products. http://www.admworld.com

ARC/INFO – A geographic information system (GIS) used to automate, manipulate, analyze, and display geographic data in digital form. ARC/INFO is a proprietary system developed and distributed by the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., in Redlands, California. – USDA glossary

ArcInfo [also spelled ARC/INFO] – A software package designed by Environmental Systems Research Institute, ESRI Inc.; "ArcInfo is the most complete and extensible GIS available. It includes all the functionality of ArcView and ArcEditor and adds advanced geoprocessing and data conversion capabilities. Professional GIS users use ArcInfo for all aspects of data building, modeling, analysis, and map display for screen and output. A complete GIS out of the box, ArcInfo provides all the functionality for creating and managing an intelligent GIS. This functionality is accessible via an easy-to-use interface that is customizable and extensible through models, scripting, and applications. With ArcInfo you can: Build powerful geoprocessing models for discovering relationships, analyzing data, and integrating data. Perform vector overlay, proximity, and statistical analysis. Generate events along linear features and overlay events with other features. Convert data to and from many formats. Build complex data and analysis models and scripts to automate GIS processes. Publish cartographic maps using extensive display, design, printing, and data management techniques.

http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcinfo/index.html

Architectonic – Resembling architecture in manner and organization – NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Architectural character – The distinguishing appearance of a building or structure’s architectural features, such as roof slope, materials, openings, massing, color, and scale. The character is based on ecological and cultural influences. – Forest Service FS-710, The Built Environment Image Guide for the National Forests and Grasslands, glossary. http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/beig/beig6d.htm

Architectural character type – Based on ecological and cultural influences, the architectural character definition for a distinctive and broad geographic area. An architectural character type with distinct and distinguishing features is defined for each of eight provinces. – Forest Service FS-710, The Built Environment Image Guide for the National Forests and Grasslands, glossary. http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/beig/beig6d.htm

ARCM – Asymmetric Regulation of Converging Markets

ARCMP – Atlantic Rim Coalbed Methane Project

ARCS – Administrative Records Classification System

ARC Second – 1/3600th of a degree (1 second) of latitude or longitude. – USDA glossary

Arctic – (Of) the north polar regions. – UNEP Children's Glossary

ArcUSA – Designed by ESRI, ArcUSA is a general-purpose database used to generate thematic maps of the conterminous United States at the State and county levels. The database contains cartographic information, tabular information, and indices and is designed for a wide range of applications. – USDA glossary

ARD – Acid rock drainage

ARD – Agricultural Rural Development (UNDP) http://www.gefweb.org/Documents/Work_Programs/wp_Jul03/Project_Brief2.pdf

ARD – Associates in Rural Development (U.S.-based company administering a Nicaraguan ‘protected area’ and ‘reserve.’)

ARDA – American Resort Development Association

ARDAC – Animal Rights Direct Action Coalition

ARDOR – Agency Records Disposition Online Resource (Federal Register)

Are – A metric unit of land measuring 10 meters by 10 meters, or 100 square meters. An are is also 0.1 of a hectare and is 119.60 square yards. – U.S. Treasury OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision, in charge of banks, savings and loan associations, etc.) http://www.ots.treas.gov/glossary/gloss-n.html

AREA – Alliance for Responsible Environmental Alternatives

Area 2A includes all waters off the States of California, Oregon, and Washington. – MFCMA

Area-capacity curve – A graph showing the relation between the surface area of the water in a reservoir and the corresponding volume. – USGS

Area Capacity Table – A table giving reservoir storage capacity, and sometimes surface areas, in terms of elevation increments.

Area drain – A surface drainage inlet to convey and disperse water. – NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Area frame – A sampling frame wherein the sampling units are portions of land, called segments. – FAO UN Glossary

Area measurement – The operation of measuring the size of fields (i) on the ground, using measuring tapes and other instruments such as compass, clinometer, etc. or (ii) using remote sensing (aerial or satellite) images. – FAO UN Glossary

Area of Concern – "Area of Concern" means a geographic area that fails to meet the General or Specific Objectives of the Agreement where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use or of the area's ability to support aquatic life. – EPA Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 1978. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glwqa/1978/annex.html

Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) – An ACEC is a designation that highlights areas where special management attention is needed to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural and scenic values; fish, wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes; or to protect human life and safety from natural hazards. The designation is a record of significant values that must be accommodated when BLM considers future management actions and land use proposals. ACECs differ from other special designations, such as Wilderness Study Areas, in that designation by itself does not automatically prohibit or restrict other uses in the area. While WSAs are managed to a standard that excludes surface disturbing activities and permanent structures that would diminish the areas’ natural character, the management of ACECs is focused on the resource or natural hazard of concern. This varies considerably from area to area, and in some cases may involve surface disturbing actions.

Through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Congress mandated that BLM give priority to ACEC designations in land use planning. Private lands and lands administered by other agencies may be located within the boundaries of ACECs, but are not subject to the prescribed management of the ACEC. http://www.ut.blm.gov/vernalrmpguide/acec_1.htm 2. On January 18, 1973, Senator Henry M. Jackson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, introduced S. 425, the Surface Mining Reclamation Act of 1973. (S. 425, 93rd Cong., 1st Session, 119 Cong. Rec. 1357 (1973)) He called the bill a "working document" to be considered in early hearings. Section 215(a)(3) stated that, "Areas may be designated unsuitable for surface mining operations...if the area is an area of critical environmental concern." The first definition of "areas of critical environmental concern" was given as: "...areas where uncontrolled or unplanned development -- mining or otherwise -- could result in irreversible damage to important historic, cultural, environmental or esthetic values, or natural systems or processes, which are of more than local significance, or could unreasonably endanger life and property as a result of natural hazards of more than local significance." (Id. at 1372) http://www.osmre.gov/coalex/coalex85.htm 3. A BLM designation pertaining to areas where specific management attention is needed to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historical, cultural, and scenic values, fish or wildlife resources, or other natural systems or processes, or to protect human life and safety from natural hazards. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM)

Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) 4. An area within public lands where special management attention is required (1) to protect and prevent irreparable damage to fish and wildlife; important historic, cultural, or scenic values; or other natural systems or processes or (2) to protect life and safety from natural hazards. 5. Areas within the public lands where special management attention is required to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or scenic values, and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life from natural hazards. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf 6. The management objective for an area designated as an ACEC would be to protect that particular resource, potentially at the exclusion of conflicting resource values. An ACEC designation can apply to visual resources, wildlife resources, etc. – Bioenergy Glossary 7. Bureau of Land Management lands where special management attention is needed to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or scenic values, fish, and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes or to protect life and provide safety from natural hazards. (See Potential ACEC.) – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Area of critical mineral potential – An area nominated by the public as having mineral resources or potential importance to the local, regional, or national economy. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Area of low pest prevalence – An area, whether all of a country, part of a country, or all or parts of several countries, as identified by the competent authorities, in which a specific pest occurs at low levels and which is subject to effective surveillance, control or eradication measures. – UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary

Area of occupancy (Criteria A, B and D) – Area of occupancy is defined as the area within its 'extent of occurrence' (see point 9 above), which is occupied by a taxon, excluding cases of vagrancy. The measure reflects the fact that a taxon will not usually occur throughout the area of its extent of occurrence, which may contain unsuitable or unoccupied habitats. In some cases (e.g. irreplaceable colonial nesting sites, crucial feeding sites for migratory taxa) the area of occupancy is the smallest area essential at any stage to the survival of existing populations of a taxon. The size of the area of occupancy will be a function of the scale at which it is measured, and should be at a scale appropriate to relevant biological aspects of the taxon, the nature of threats and the available data (see point 7 in the Preamble). To avoid inconsistencies and bias in assessments caused by estimating area of occupancy at different scales, it may be necessary to standardize estimates by applying a scale-correction factor. It is difficult to give strict guidance on how standardization should be done because different types of taxa have different scale-area relationships. – The IUCN 2001 Red List definitions http://www.redlist.org/info/categories_criteria2001.html#definitions

Area of Potential Effects – The geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may cause changes in the character or use of historic properties, if any such properties exist. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Area of Stewardship – An area, most often a watershed, for which a level of ecosystem integrity has been established as a goal and where an integrated, multi-organizational initiative or partnership is actively working to achieve that goal. Examples of such areas include the Chicago Wilderness, the Kalamazoo Multi-Jurisdictional Watershed Agreement, and the work in Grand Traverse Bay and Door County. – Great Lakes glossary

Area Reclaim – An area difficult to reclaim after the removal of soil for construction and other uses. Revegetation and erosion control are extremely difficult. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) and USDA

Area regulation – A method of scheduling timber harvest based on dividing the total acres by an assumed rotation. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Area Utilization Officer (AUO) – Area Utilization Officers (AUOs) are FSSB field representatives serving a particular geographical area. They are responsible for: local screening of non-reportable property and making it available for transfer to Federal agencies, assisting in the donation and sales processes for surplus property. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Areal – Relating to or involving an area. – USDA glossary

Areal Functional Organization (AFO) – Consists of a set of five interrelated factors that help explain the evolution of regional organization. Human activity has a spatial focus in that it is concentrated in some locale. Such focal activity is carried on in particular places that every establishment has a location relative to other establishments and activities. Interconnections develop among the various establishments. The farmers send crops to market buying equipment at service centers, while mining companies buy gasoline from oil companies, lumber from saw mills and send ores to refineries. These units of areal organization (regions) evolve as a result of human "creative imagination.” People apply their total cultural experience as well as technological know-how when they decide how to organize and rearrange their living space. It is possible to recognize levels of development in areal organization, a ranking or hierarchy based on type, extent and intensity of exchange. These levels of development include: subsistence, transitional and exchange types, and a hierarchy of urban centers ranging from the largest cities to tiniest hamlets.

Areas of Biodiversity Significance (ABS) – Also known as "conservation areas:” places that have the highest biological value in the ecoregion. http://www.conserveonline.org/2002/02/b/en/SRMgoals.pdf and http://www.conserveonline.org/2003/04/s/en/ERP_standards_final_14mar03.doc

Areas of Concern (AOCs) – Specific areas of 42 tributaries to or bays in the Great Lakes where degraded environmental conditions have created an impairment to human or ecological use of the water body. Areas of the Great Lakes identified by the International Joint Commission as having serious water pollution problems requiring remedial action and the development of a Remedial Action Plan. AOCs are defined in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement as: "a geographic area that fails to meet the general or specific objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, or where such failure has caused or is likely to cause impairment of beneficial use or of the areas ability to support aquatic life." Initially, there were 43 AOCs in the Great Lakes Basin. See "Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement" and "Remedial Action Plans." – Great Lakes glossary

ARF – Amazon Rain Forest

ARG – Alliance for Redesigning Government

ARG – Aquatics Resource Group

ARG – Asturias Regional Government (Europe)

Argillic Horizon – A subsoil horizon characterized by an accumulation of illuvial clay. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WV

McDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 2. A diagnostic of clay accumulation often designated as Bt.

ARI – American Rivers, Incorporated

ARI – American Reporters, Inc.

ARI – Ayn Rand Institute

Arid – A relatively dry climate in which annual precipitation is less than 10 inches, which generally is insufficient for crops to be grown without irrigation. Such areas usually are the focus of debate over federal water policies. A term describing a climate or region in which precipitation is so deficient in quantity or occurs so infrequently that intensive agricultural production is not possible without irrigation.

Arid Region – A region where precipitation is insufficient to support most plant life except that which is adapted to drought conditions.

ARL – Air Resources Laboratory

ARL – The Association of Research Libraries http://www.arl.org

ARM – Administrative Rules of Montana

ARMA – Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association

ARMCANZ – Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, Canberra. Allocation and Use of Groundwater. A National Framework for Improved Groundwater Management in Australia, Occasional Paper No. 2, Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand, Canberra. http://www.rpdc.tas.gov.au/soer/source/736/index.php

Armoring (shoreline hardening) – The installation of artificial shoreline structures designed to prevent erosion and protect properties from being washed away. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/solec/96/landbylakes/glossary.html and http://iaspub.epa.gov/trs/search$.startup

Army for a Clean Environment http://www.armyforacleanenvironment.org

ARN – Animal Rights Network, Inc.

AROPL – Abundant Recreation Opportunities on Public Lands

ARP – Acquisition of Real Property

ARPA – Advanced Research Projects Agency

ARPA – Archeological Resources Protection Act

ARPA – Arizona Rock Product Association

ARPMC – The Booneville, Arkansas, Plant Materials Center, providing plant solutions for the rugged terrain of the Ozarks to the western coastal plain since 1987. The Center is working on projects to help reduce erosion on highways, reclaim mining sites and assess switchgrass biomass production potential. NRCS/USDA http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/arpmc/

ARRA – Americans for Responsible Recreational Access http://www.responsiblerecreation.com

ARRI – Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative

Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) – One of several regional development commissions located throughout Minnesota, this one serves seven counties in northeastern Minnesota. Through its mission to provide local leadership it is involved in many issues related to the environment in the Lake Superior basin. – Great Lakes glossary

Arroyo – A term applied in the arid and semiarid regions of the southwestern United States to the small, deep, flat-floored channel or gully of an ephemeral stream or of an intermittent stream usually with vertical or steeply cut banks of unconsolidated material at least 2 feet (60 centimeters) high; it is usually dry, but may be transformed into a temporary watercourse or short-lived torrent after heavy rainfall. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM) Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) 2. A gully or channel cut by an intermittent stream. A water-carved channel or gully in an arid area, usually rather small in cross section with steep banks, dry much of the time due to infrequent rainfall and the depth of the cut which does not penetrate below the level of permanent ground water.

Arroyo – A watercourse (such as a creek) or a water-carved gully or channel in an arid region. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

ARS – The Accomplishment Reporting System DOI/USFWS

ARS – Agricultural Research Service USDA http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs.htm

ARS – The Alliance for Regional Stewardship

Arsenic (As) – Arsenic is one of 11 pollutants of concern addressed in the LaMPs. It is an inorganic pollutant, which is naturally occurring in the environment as well as being used for the hardening of copper, lead, and alloys. The major use of arsenic in the U.S. is as a wood preservative. – Great Lakes glossary

ARSHP – Allegheny Ridge State Heritage Park (Pennsylvania)

ARTBA – American Road and Transportation Builders Association

Arterial – A major thoroughfare of both local and regional significance designed to provide perimeter access to smaller local street systems.

Arterial Highway – A highway designed for high-speed travel between or within communities or to and from collectors and expressways. These highways provide mobility as a primary function and access as a secondary function.

Arterial Road – (See "Road Functional Classification.")

Arterial roads – Classified roads that provide service to large land areas; arterial roads are usually developed and operated for long-term land and resource management purposes and constant service. – USDA Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) "Source documents for these definitions include: proposed Road Policy, proposed Planning Regulations, Interim Roads Rule Environmental Assessment, and Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Planning Guide." http://roadless.fs.fed.us/documents/feis/glossary.shtml

Artesian (aquifer or well) – Water held under pressure in porous rock or soil confined by impermeable geologic formations. An artesian well is free flowing. See confined aquifer. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pubs/gloss2.html

Artesian aquifer – A geologic formation in which water is under sufficient hydrostatic pressure to be discharged to the surface without pumping. – USGS

Artesian water – Ground water that is under pressure when tapped by a well and is able to rise above the level at which it is first encountered. It may or may not flow out at ground level. The pressure in such an aquifer commonly is called artesian pressure, and the formation containing artesian water is an artesian aquifer or confined aquifer. See flowing well artificial recharge -- an process where water is put back into ground-water storage from surface-water supplies such as irrigation, or induced infiltration from streams or wells. – USGS

Artesian Well – Water held under pressure in porous rock or soil confined by impermeable geologic formation. An artesian well is free flowing. A well in which water from a confined aquifer rises above the regional water table of the aquifer.

Artesian well – A water well drilled into a confined aquifer where enough hydraulic pressure exists for the water to flow to the surface without pumping. – USGS

Artesian zone – A zone where water is confined in an aquifer under pressure so that the water will rise in the well casing or drilled hole above the bottom of the confining layer overlying the aquifer. – USGS

Arthropods – The animal phylum comprised of crustaceans, spiders, mites, centipedes, insects, and related forms. The largest of the phyla, containing more than three times the number of all other animal phyla combined. – UNDP/WRI

Articulation – The amount of horizontal and vertical offset required in the design of building facades, as prescribed in Corridor Overlay Zone District Plans.

Artifact – A human-made object. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM)

Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) also http://www.usbr.gov/uc/envdocs/eis/navajo/pdfs/deis_glossary.pdf

Artificial and modified surfaces – A General cover category consisting of roads and right-of-ways, buildings, parking lots, farmsteads and ranch headquarters, urban and built-up areas, small built-up areas, rural transportation, and any other buildings that have a surface area greater than 1,000 square feet. – National Resources Inventory

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – A subset of computer science [that] seeks to approach the results of human reasoning by organizing and manipulating factual and heuristic knowledge. AI also refers to the capability of a device to perform functions normally associated with human intelligence such as reasoning, learning, and self-improvement. The AI market has four main segments: 1. Knowledge-based systems (KBS) – Computer programs which use inference capabilities and substantial knowledge of a specific area of expertise to solve problems in that field. Export systems, which make up the majority of KBS and are the most sophisticated KBS programs, approach the performance level of human experts when solving complex problems in their specializations. Natural language processors: is a technology, which understands the natural language of the user, whether typed as text, in electronic form, or spoken. It includes such technologies as machine-translation systems, database interfaces, and voice-input devices. 2. Neural Networks – Computing systems, which mimic the brain through a network of highly interconnected, processing elements, which give them learning capabilities and enable them to recognize, and to understand, subtle or complex patterns. Neural networks have been used in character recognition, industrial applications, real estate appraisals, and financial analyses. 3. Fuzzy Logic – Recognizes that statements are not necessarily only true or false, but also can be very unlikely or more or less certain. Fuzzy logic allows computers to emulate the human reasoning process, which makes decisions based on vague or incomplete data, by assigning values of degree to all the elements of a set. The use of fuzzy logic in products reduces time-to-market, lowers development costs, and improves product performance. 4. Aseptic Processing – Aseptic processing and packaging is the continuous procedure in which a product first passes through a heat-hold-cold process with subsequent filling and sealing in a sterile package and environment. This technology may save energy, packaging, and distribution costs while maintaining, and even improving, product quality and nutritive value. Successful development and implementation of this technology requires knowledge of the interrelations between product components, process conditions, and the post-process environment.

Artificial Recharge – Addition of surface water to a ground water reservoir by human activity, such as putting surface water into spreading basins.

Artificial Regeneration – Regeneration of a forest by planting or seeding. http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/fsfedus/www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/projects/darroch-

eagle/ea/glossary.pdf

ARTIST – Artists Response To Illegal State Tactics (New York City)

ARU – Appropriate Refuge Uses

ARUP – Appropriate Refuge Uses Policy

Arts and Crafts Movement – A building and design period from approximately 1890 to 1929 that is best characterized by the Craftsman style structure. The movement, which essentially is a style of simplicity and lack of fanciful ornamentation, included design of structures, furniture, textiles, and pottery. Popular architects of this period and design included John Ruskin, Gustave Stickley, Charles Limbert, and Frank Lloyd Wright. – Forest Service FS-710, The Built Environment Image Guide for the National Forests and Grasslands, glossary. http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/beig/beig6d.htm

ARV – Allotment Resource Values

AS – Activism Skills

AS – Altered State

AS – Aquatic Species

AS – American Sovereignty

AS – American System

AS – Anglo-Saxon

AS – Area Source

AS – Armed Services

AS – Assistance Strategy (World Bank)

AS – Audubon Society

ASA – Agricultural Security Area

ASA – The American Society of Agronomy

ASA – American Society of Appraisers

ASA – American Soybean Association

ASA – American Sportfishing Association

ASA (CW) – Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works

ASAP – Age Structured Assessment Program

ASAP – Applied Site Assessment Protocol

ASAP – As Soon As Possible

ASAT – Agriculture Sector Assessment Team (The U.S. National Assessment – Climate Change)

ASB – The Appraisal Standards Board

ASBE – American Society of Bakery Engineers

ASBPA – The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association http://www.asbpa.org

ASBS – Areas of Special Biological Significance

ASC – Atlantic Slope Consortium http://www.asc.psu.edu/

ASCE – American Society of Civil Engineers http://www.asce.org/

Ascending Node – Direction satellite is traveling relative to the Equator. An ascending node would imply a northbound Equatorial crossing. - USDA glossary

ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange – 8-bit code for character representation (7 bits plus parity).

ASCM – Alternative Sediment Control Measures

ASCS – The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (now known as the Farm Services Administration) USDA

AsDB – Asian Development Bank

ASDWA – Association of State Drinking Water Administrators

ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations http://www.aseansec.org http://www.undp.org.vn/projects/vie99002/globali.pdf

ASEH – American Society for Environmental History

ASET – Advocates for Safe & Efficient Transportation

ASETS – Americans for Sensible Estate Tax Solutions

ASF – Areas Subject to Flooding (as defined by the Wetlands Protection Act)

ASFMRA – American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers

ASFPM – Association of State Floodplain Managers http://www.floods.org/home

ASG – Advocates for Self-Government

ASHE – Active Students for a Healthy Environment

Ash-flow tuff – A tuff deposited by an ash flow or gaseous cloud; a type of ignimbrite. It is a consolidated but not necessarily welded deposit. – USDA

ASI – Analytical Services, Inc. – EPA glossary preparation assistance

ASIA – American Sheep Industry Association http://www.sheepusa.org

Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Established in 1966, the ADB assists in economic development and promotes growth and cooperation in developing member countries. Membership includes both developed and developing countries in Asia and developed countries in the West. – World Bank

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum – Established in 1989, APEC is a formal institution with a permanent secretariat located in Singapore. Its original 12 members include Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei. In 1991, APEC admitted China, Taiwan (admitted as Chinese Taipai), and Hong Kong. Mexico and Papua New Guinea joined in 1993 and Chile was admitted in 1994. APEC provides a forum for ministerial level discussion and cooperation on a range of economic issues including trade, investment, technology transfer, and transportation.

ASIL – American Society of International Law http://www.asil.org/

ASIOF – Always Spell It Out First!

"As Is" Process Model – A model that portrays how a business process is currently structured. In process improvement efforts, it is used to establish a baseline for measuring subsequent business improvement actions and progress. – Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

ASIWPCA – Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators

ASLA – The American Society of Landscape Architects – http://www.asla.org

ASLE – Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment

ASLPT – Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust (New Hampshire)

ASM – American Society for Microbiology

ASME – American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASMI – Arizona State Mine Inspector

ASP – Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

ASPA – American Sun Protection Association

ASPA – Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors

ASPA – At-Sea Processors Association

ASPC – Association of Sugar Producers of Colombia

Aspect – The direction in which a slope faces. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005. http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM) Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282) 2. 1) The visual first impression of vegetation or a landscape at a particular time or as seen from a specific point. 2) The predominant direction of slope of the land. 3) The seasonal changes in the appearance of vegetation. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf 3. The direction a slope faces with respect to the cardinal compass points. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm 4. (1) The visual first impression of vegetation at a particular time or as seen from a specific point. (2) The predominant direction of slope of the land. A hillside facing east has an eastern aspect. 4. The direction in which a slope faces. Generally, cool aspects are north- to east-facing and warm aspects are south- to west-facing. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 5. The direction (North, South, East, West) of reference or the direction of exposure to elements such as wind. – NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary 5. The direction (north, south, east, west) toward which a slope faces. – Forest Service, Big Sky Fire Management Strategy, Big Sky, Montana, February 2000. http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/fire/bigsky_management_strategy/documents/bigsky_management_

strategy.pdf

Aspect Species – A vegetation species that appears to be dominant in the landscape, although it may be only a small percent of the total vegetation composition. – BLM

ASPI – Appalachian Science in the Public Interest

ASPIS – Awareness Strategies for Pollution from Industries http://www.aspis.uoa.gr/

ASPPT – Association for Suppliers of Printing and Publishing Technologies

ASQ – Allowable Sale Quantity

ASR – Annual Status Report http://www.blm.gov/surveyandmanage/

ASR – Applied Scientific Research

ASR – Aquifer Storage and Recovery; ASR is a ‘viable water resource management tool.’ http://snre.ufl.edu/publications/NRF_01/abstract&program.pdf

ASS – Archaeological Site Survey

ASSC – The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition

Assay Zone – The portion of a treated wood product to which the minimum quantity standards apply. – EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Assemblage – See "Community." – UNDP/WRI

Assembly plant – A U.S.-owned assembly plant in Mexico is called a maquiladora. Workers make about five dollars per day in wages.

Assessment – An impartial analysis of a conflict situation conducted with an eye towards determining potential paths by which parties may reach a resolution of their conflict. This usually includes personally interviewing the parties, researching the history of the conflict, and attempting to find agreement as to the core issues around which the conflict has evolved. The assessment sometimes leads to the involvement of a facilitator, the design of a means by which the parties may work with each other directly, or a decision that there is an adversarial nature to the conflict that can't be dealt with appropriately by ADR techniques. In mediation, assessment refers to the process used to screen a case -- the intake phase of a mediation where a case is assessed regarding its appropriateness and/or readiness for mediation. http://www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/terms.htm 2. The act of evaluating and interpreting data and information for a defined purpose. – BLM 3. Generally an automatic or mandatory deduction from a producer's marketing receipts used to fund activities that promote or otherwise support a particular farm product. Under certain agricultural marketing orders or commodity promotion programs, assessments may be applied against receipts to help pay for generic advertising.

Assessment Cadastre – The inventory of real property, cadastral maps, map records, appraisal records, ownership lists, assessment roll, statements of value, etc.; used for the purpose of justly apportioning ad valorem taxes on such property. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Assessment (water resources) – An examination of the aspects of the supply and demand for water and of the factors affecting the management of water resources. – World Bank

Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments Program – The 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act added Section 118(c)(3), authorizing the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) to coordinate and conduct a five year study and demonstration project related to the appropriate treatment of toxic pollutants in the sediments of the Great Lakes. ARCS was an integrated program which examined new and innovative ways to both assess and treat contaminated sediments. Five sites were given priority for study, including Sheboygan Harbor, Wisconsin and the Grand Calumet River, Indiana. Information from the ARCS Program will be used to guide the development of remedial action plans and lakewide management plans. – Great Lakes glossary

Asset – A single item of property held/owned by a government organization. 2. Tangible or intangible items owned by the Federal Government which would have probable economic benefits that can be obtained or controlled by a Federal Government entity. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System 2. Control over the future economic benefits by a firm resulting from past transactions or other previous events. Assets are property owned which has a monetary value. Assets may be either tangible, such as buildings and equipment. However, assets may be intangible also, such as licenses, contracts, or intellectual property. Assets are recorded on the financial statement (balance sheet).

Asset Center Representative (ACR) – See Property Custodial Officer (PCO) – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Asset Sale (related to public-private partnerships) – An asset sale is the transfer of ownership of government assets to the private sector. Usually legislation or an Executive Order defines the transfer price distribution and recoupment priorities. In general, the government has no role in the financial support, management, or oversight of the asset after it is sold. However, if the asset is sold to a company in an industry with monopolistic characteristics, the government may regulate certain aspects of the business, such as utility rates. - General Accounting Office (GAO) Public-Private Partnerships Glossary http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/Gg99071.pdf

Asset Visibility – A systems approach which reports location and status of property on hand/in use and may also report location and status of property in the distribution pipeline (sometimes referred to as intransit visibility). Asset visibility can enhance property utilization and redistribution. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Asset Volume – Asset volume, with respect to an entity's actual Personal Property & Equipment (PP&E), generally refers an entity's validated count of (PP&E) items recorded in the subsidiary ledger. The validation is generally accomplished by executing an annual inventory of the entire PP&E record. Usually, the accuracy of the subsidiary ledger is confirmed via the completion of an annual audit executed by an Independent Accounting/Auditing effort by a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm as called for in the CFO Act of 1990. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

ASSHTO – American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

Assign/assignment – An agreement between a permittee and an assignee, whereby the assignee acquires all of the permittee's rights, and assumes all of the permittee's obligations under a permit. – DOI-BIA Glossary

Assignee – The person to whom the permit rights for use of Indian land are assigned. – DOI-BIA Glossary 2. The person to whom an assignment has been made. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Assignment – The transfer of the interest one has in real estate. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Assignment drawings – Drawings used as to record tenant space and locations in a building. – GSA

Assignor – The party making the assignment. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Assigns – The party to whom the property should have been transferred. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Assistance – See International assistance, Preparatory assistance, Emergency assistance, Technical co-operation, Training – Glossary of World Heritage Terms

ASSMR – American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation

Associated Financing – The combination of Official Development Assistance, whether grants or Loans, with any other funding to form finance packages. Associated Financing packages are subject to the same criteria of concessionality, developmental relevance and recipient country eligibility as Tied Aid Credits – Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) Glossary

Associated sensitive species – Sensitive species, which inhabit or depend on waters of the U.S. habitat for portions of their life cycle.

Associated species – A species found to be numerically more abundant in a particular forest successional stage or type compared to other areas. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Association – A stable grouping of two or more plant species that characterize or dominate a type of biotic community. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

Association of Boards of Certification – An international organization representing over 150 boards, which certify the operators of waterworks and wastewater facilities. For information on ABC publications regarding the preparation of and how to study for operator certification examinations, contact ABC, 426 1/2 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 786, Ames, Iowa 50010-0786. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pubs/gloss2.html

Association, soil – A group of soils or miscellaneous areas geographically associated in a characteristic repeating pattern and defined and delineated as a single map unit. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115)

Associations (also known as relationships) – In data modeling, descriptions of how data entities relate to each other. The associations in the data model for this Standard are: one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many. – Cadastral Data glossary http://www.fairview-industries.com/standardmodule/glossary.htm

Associative cultural landscape – Associative cultural landscape is one of the three main categories of cultural landscapes adopted by the World Heritage Committee at its sixteenth session in December 1992 (UNESCO 14 December 1992: 54-55) and included in the Operational Guidelines (UNESCO February 1996: 11, Paragraph 39). Paragraph 39 (iii) of the Operational Guidelines refers to associative cultural landscapes in the following way: 39. (iii) The final category is the associative cultural landscape. The inclusion of such landscapes on the World Heritage List is justifiable by virtue of the powerful religious, artistic or cultural associations of the natural element rather than material cultural evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent(UNESCO February 1996: 11, Paragraph 39). Tongariro National Park in New Zealand and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia were included in the World Heritage List as associative cultural landscapes in 1993 and 1994 respectively (UNESCO 4 February 1994: 39 and UNESCO 31 January 1995: 52). In April 1995 Australia ICOMOS held an "Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Associative Cultural Landscapes" (von Droste et al 1995: Annex VI). See Clearly defined landscape, Continuing landscape, Cultural landscape, Organically evolved landscape, Relict (or fossil) landscape – Glossary of World Heritage Terms

Assumption sets — When running the lifecycle model to generate future salmon population levels, several choices must be made regarding the magnitude of particular sources of mortality, routes of fish passage, flow rates, and so on. A complete set of these assumptions, used to generate 4,000 replicate Monte Carlo simulations of the effect of an alternative hydrosystem management action, is called an assumption set. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement, Chapter 10, Glossary http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/lsr/final_fseis/study_kit/Main_Report/chap10.htm

AST – Aboveground Storage Tank

ASTA – American Seed Trade Association http://www.amseed.com

ASTER – Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (USGS)

ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials

Astrodynamics – The dynamics of celestial bodies including the motion and gravitation of natural and artificial objects in space. – USDA glossary

Astronomic – Pertaining to the science of astronomy. Astronomy is the science of the heavenly bodies (fixed stars, planets, satellites, and comets) their nature, distribution, magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution, eclipses, etc. – USDA glossary

ASW – Ancient Silent Witness (earth)

ASWM – The Association of State Wetland Managers, Inc. – “The Association of State Wetland Managers is a nonprofit membership organization established in 1983 to promote and enhance protection and management of wetland resources, to promote application of sound science to wetland management efforts and to provide training and education for our members and the public. Membership is open to anyone who is involved with wetland resources. OUR GOALS: Help states develop and implement wetland regulatory and management programs. Improve the coordination of wetland programs and policies at all levels of government. Provide training and capacity building for state wetland programs. Facilitate the integration of wetlands into water resources and watershed management. Build conservation and restoration partnerships among states, tribes, local governments, not-for-profits, and other interested parties. Translate wetland science into fair and reasonable government policies. Encourage minority participation in wetland protection, restoration and management. Integrate wetlands into broader landscape and resource management initiatives.” http://www.aswm.org/index.htm

ASWM – Association of State Wetland Management

Asymmetric – Not similar in size, shape, form or arrangement of parts on opposite sides of a line, point, or plane.

Asymmetric Warfare – Exploit an adversary's vulnerabilities by using unconventional concepts of operations or technologies that create disproportionate affects. (A Homeland Defense Program Term)

AT – Acoustic Testing

AT – Agri-Tourism

AT – Analysis Team

AT – Appalachian Trail

At-risk fish stocks – Stocks of anadromous salmon and trout that have been identified by professional societies, fish management agencies, and in the scientific literature as being in need of special management consideration because of low or declining populations. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

ATA – Association for Temperate Agroforestry

ATAC – Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee

ATB – All-Terrain Bicycle

ATBCB – Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

ATBI – The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory http://www.aqd.nps.gov/pubs/yir/yir2001/03_laboratories/03_3_nichols.html

http://www.discoverlife.org/ATBI_brochure.html http://www.discoverlife.org/pa/or/polistes/ The Polistes Foundation/Corporation, served by the University of Georgia, United States and the Agricultural Research Council, South Africa: "Our mission is to assemble and share knowledge about nature in order to improve education, health, agriculture, economic development, and conservation throughout the world." 10-year Business Plan Draft - John Pickering & Kevin Weick, September 2002: How can we improve our interactions with nature? Our health, food supply, economic well being, environmental security, and ultimately, our happiness, depend on how we manage the planet's vast diversity of life -- a double-edged sword. Beneficial species provide us with sustenance, fuel, shelter, medicine, and other natural products that better our lives. Harmful ones kill us, destroy our crops, and blight our forests. Pests and pathogens plague our farms; pollinators make our crops bountiful. Infectious diseases take their toll, but other microbes help purify our drinking water and provide other critical ecosystem services. What will it take to better manage the land and oceans for ourselves and for those species that we wish to prosper? Knowledge. For the first time in history, empowered by Web-based technology, we can work together on a global scale. We can collect and disseminate the biological knowledge that society needs to reduce human disease, increase agricultural production, control destructive invasive species, protect endangered ones, and enjoy rather than struggle with nature. Despite centuries of intense interest, science knows relatively little about life on Earth. Of the planet's estimated 5 -10 million or more species, only 1.7 million species are scientifically described and named. The biology, ecological interactions, and environmental requirements of most species, even the named ones, are largely unknown. Three great challenges impede assembling and sharing the information needed to improve public health and natural resource management: (1) our inability to identify things, (2) the magnitude of biological diversity and complexity, and (3) the inaccessibility of essential information to most people. Here we propose how to overcome these problems. Discover Life showcases state-of-the-art technical solutions that provide users with powerful tools (for 4th grade and up) to overcome all such impediments. Among these, the ID nature Guides enable users to identify species, to map and report their observations, and to access and assemble information from across the Web. The Global Map Browser, developed in partnership with http://www.Topozone.com, allows users to build and display world maps and then overlay data, such as plant distributions from Missouri Botanical Garden's database. By expanding the capacity and content of Discover Life and our partners' Websites, our 10-year goals are to enable Web users to identify one million species, to provide the research protocols, K-16 curricula, training courses, and wherewithal to empower and encourage participants from all walks of life to discover, study, and monitor species, to establish a network of one million long-term ecological study sites around the world that contribute sufficient real-time, high-quality data to help public health workers, farmers, foresters, conservation biologists, gardeners, and others protect desirable species and control unwanted ones, and to provide an easy and freely available gateway to query an up-to-date electronic encyclopedia of life that includes everything from a network of virtual museums and herbaria to recommendations on how to control pests and disease vectors, diagnose and treat infections, and grow crops, trees, and flowers. Partners: Discover Life is served from the University of Georgia, Athens, under the auspices of The Polistes Foundation, a non-profit think tank whose team of advisors include world leaders in science, education, conservation, and technology. Through these advisors we are building a global network of partners that will provide the expertise, resources, and infrastructure to accomplish the above goals. This network already includes: African Pollinator Initiative / All Species Foundation / BioNet International / Buffalo Zoo / Cornell Lab of Ornithology / EcoPort / First Hand Learning/Buffalo Museum of Science / FishBase / Great Smoky Mountains National Park's All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory / Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology and Peabody Museum / Jane Goodall Institute / Massachusetts' Biodiversity Days /Mexico's CONABIO / Missouri Botanical Garden / Nature Mapping / NatureServe / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute / Southern Africa's SAFRINET / Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program / Topozone.com / US Department of Agriculture's Bee Lab / U.S. Forest Service in Georgia / US National Biological Information Infrastructure / US National Council for Science and the Environment / US Geological Survey / US National Park Service. We continue to contact foundations, corporations, agencies, and individuals for financial and other support. For example, Sun Microsystems may sponsor our computing needs. Discover Life's software is licensed in perpetuity from The Polistes Corporation at no cost. If at some point we are unable to continue running the site, our contract with the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) states that we will transfer it to a non-profit organization or government agency. To achieve the above goals we propose to Establish 100 regional identification nodes that will build Web-based guides for 1,000,000 species by 2012. We intend to provide the computers, digital cameras, scanners and other equipment needed to allow an average of 10 taxonomic experts at each node to build and illustrate guides efficiently. We will staff each node with a computer expert who will give local technical support to the taxonomists. We will start each node by giving a local training course and provide technical support from our principal node at the University of Georgia. We will give additional training and get feedback during scientific meetings attended by the taxonomists. We will build guides to the most important and charismatic species first, as determined by our users, partners, and sponsors. Our 10-year goal is to produce guides that include all vascular plants, vertebrates, butterflies, bees and other pollinators, insect vectors, biological control agents, invasive species, endangered species, and disease causing agents of humans, crops, livestock, and other species we care about. In November 2002, we will set up a node for SAFRINET in Pretoria, South Africa. In 2003, as funding permits, we propose to set up nodes in Costa Rica (INBio), Mexico (CONABIO), Panama (STRI), Philippines (FiseBase), The Netherlands (Zoological Museum Amsterdam), and the United States (Missouri Botanical Garden, University of California at Santa Barbara). BioNet International, the Global Taxonomic Initiative, and our other partners will determine when and where best to locate additional identification nodes. Develop, test, and evaluate Web-based research protocols and K-16 curricula to enable guide users to discover, study, and monitor species and report their findings. In addition to collecting data to improve our scientific understanding and management of nature, our mission is to encourage nature based learning and discovery research. Once our vision is implemented, students and teachers will learn science and information technology as they design and participate in studies of their schoolyards, gardens, parks, and other local areas. For examples of classroom activities see Training Guides & Protocols and Explore Your School Yard under Education. As funding permits, we will produce additional educational material and give training courses to increase participation by schools and outreach organizations. This year First Hand Learning and teachers in New York and Georgia propose to start developing and evaluating lesson plans for bees, butterflies, birds and trees. The Buffalo Zoo will help evaluate and improve our guides at a new Identification Center for the public run by docents. Establish a global network of one million long-term ecological study sites. There are simply not enough professional biologists and land managers to collect fine-grained, real-time, detailed information on life's diversity. We must involve schools and the general public in citizen science and monitoring. Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Biodiversity Days in Massachusetts, Cornell's Big Backyard Bird Count, FrogWatch, the GLOBE program, Journey North, Nature Mapping, and the USGS Breeding Bird Survey are all successful programs that serve as models of how to harness the energy of thousands of individuals to collect scientific information. As our ID nature Guides and research protocols come on-line, we propose to train teachers, park interpreters, land managers, and volunteers how to start study sites and involve others in discovery research and reporting. Our initial focus is to develop and evaluate our methods in the United States. We will work with the interpreters and scientists of the National Park Service to enable any park visitor to report their observations. We will set up sites run by the schools working with First Hand Learning, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Great Smokies' ATBI, Nature Mapping, and the U.S. Forest Service in Georgia. We will work with the USGS to set up a system to report and map invasive species. As we develop guides for other countries, we will work with The Jane Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots program and other organizations to expand the network globally. Eventually, we envision a network of sites that will be run by a wide array of individuals and organizations, ranging from farmers and gardeners to schools, nature centers, zoos, museums, herbaria, botanical gardens, libraries, cooperative extension, and other community groups. Our initial effort in the US is to enable users to report bees, birds, butterflies, caterpillars, invasive species, trees, and wildflowers. Except for the exact locations of some species, such as endangered ones, we will make all data globally available through the Web and also export them to databases used by land managers, scientists, and policy makers. For example, reports on rare and endangered species will be exported to NatureServe, invasive species to the USGS, and data collected within national parks to the NPS's central database to be distributed in turn to individual parks. Filtering algorithms will help ensure that we present only the highest quality information possible to users. Provide a gateway and query tools to a distributed encyclopedia of life. Our philosophy is to provide links to our partners' Websites and collect data for them, rather than to assemble a giant database at Discover Life. Experts at our partner sites maintain and update their information. The 20q software we use allows Discover Life to assemble and present data from multiple Websites into a single dynamic HTML page … this link displays images served from Discover Life and Missouri Botanical Garden and a link to maps powered by Topozone.com. Thus, we can provide information more rapidly than a centralized system by distributing computing and bandwidth across our partner sites. Use has been doubling about every 6 months. In August 2002, we served 423,516 pages and images. Budget: We seek support to expand the function of the central node in Georgia as a coordination, development, training, and technical support center. We propose to staff this node with a business manager (in Boston), a Ph.D. level biologist responsible for coordinating training and the development of research protocols and school curricula, a B.S/M.S. level biologist to coordinate building guides, a Webmaster/graphic designer to coordinate development and functionality across Websites, a computer programmer responsible for maintaining computer systems and linking databases across Websites, a map browser developer (at Topozone.com), a scientific illustrator, and teams of graduate and undergraduate students who will photograph specimens, build guides, and provide technical support. Based on the following assumptions, costs and schedule, we can establish a total of 39 nodes in developed nations and 61 in developing nations and have guides to over 1,000,000 species completed in 2012 for a total direct cost of $22,965,000 as follows (dollar values in thousands): Assumptions: Annual cost per node in Developed Nations – $40,000 / Annual cost per node in Developing Nations – $25,000 / Initial cost of equipment/node – $10,000 / Each node puts 1700 species annually into guide. Each node improves reporting capability 10% after first year / Principal node: $500,000 annually as follows (dollar values in thousands): Business manager $65 / Ph.D. level biologist $40 / BS/MS level biologist $28 / Programmer/systems manager $45 / Webmaster/graphic designer $38 / Scientific illustrator $30 / Map developer $30 / Undergraduate students (hourly) $42 / Graduate students (2) $32 / Summer salary $20 / Travel and Expenses $50 / Staff benefits $80 http://www.discoverlife.org/pa/or/polistes/business_plan.html#Partners

ATC – Air Traffic Control

ATC – Air Traffic Controller

ATC – Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

ATC – Appalachian Trail Conference

ATCA – The Atlantic Tuna Convention Act

ATD – Atmospheric Technology Division (NCAR)

ATEC – The U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center

ATI – Alexis deTocqueville Institution

ATI – Appropriate Technologies International

ATIP – Area Transportation Improvement Program

ATLMP – Appalachian Trail Local Management Plan

Atmospheric Deposition – The addition of elements or substances found in the air to the surface of the earth. – USDA/FS

Atmospheric Deposition – Pollution that travels through the air and falls on land and water. Also see "Clean Air Act" and "Great Lakes Toxic Reduction Effort." – Great Lakes glossary

Atmospheric Exchange Over Lakes and Oceans Study (AELOS) – AELOS was a monitoring and modeling study initiated in 1993 by five universities conducted in and downwind of Baltimore and Chicago areas for nitrogen and toxics, respectively. The objectives of the study were (1) dry depositional fluxes of critical urban contaminants to northern Chesapeake Bay off Baltimore and southern Lake Michigan off Chicago; (2) the contribution of urban source categories to measured atmospheric concentrations and deposition; and (3) air-water exchange of contaminants and their partitioning into aquatic phases. The monitoring in Lake Michigan included mercury, PCBs, PAHs, and trace metals. – Great Lakes glossary

ATMP – Air Tour Management Plan (DOI/NPS)

ATMS – Automated Training Management System

Atolls – Low islands made of coral that usually have an irregular ring shape around a central lagoon.

Atomic-Absorption Spectrophotometry – This destructive analytical technique is used to determine concentrations of specific chemical elements based on their emission or absorption of specific wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. – USDA glossary

ATP – Area Transportation Partnership

ATPO – Appalachian Trail Project Office

ATR – Americans for Tax Reform

ATR – Association Technology Resource

Atrazine – Atrazine is one of three emerging pollutants addressed by the LaMPs. It is a widely used herbicide for the control of broadleaf and grassy weeds in corn, sorghum, rangeland, sugarcane, macadamia orchards, pineapple, turf grass sod, forestry, grasslands, grass crops, and roses. It has been used in the Great Lakes basin since 1959 and most heavily used in 1987-89. – Great Lakes glossary

ATRI – ATR Institute

ATS – Alternative Transportation System/s (DOI/FWS)

ATSDR – The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) – As the lead Agency within the Public Health Service for implementing the health-related provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is charged under the Superfund Act to assess the presence and nature of health hazards at specific Superfund sites, to help prevent or reduce further exposure and the illnesses that result from such exposures, and to expand the knowledge base about health effects from exposure to hazardous substances.

ATSDR-HazDat – "HazDat,” the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database, is the scientific and administrative database that provides access to information on both the release of hazardous substances from Superfund sites or from emergency events, and on the effects of hazardous substances on the health of human populations.

ATSSA – American Traffic Safety Services Association

ATSTSB – American Traffic Safety and Transportation Services Board

Attainment (Air) – Designation of a geographical area by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where the air quality is deemed to be better than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This designation is based on the measured ambient criteria pollution data available for the geographic area. Areas where the measured ambient criteria pollution data are worse than the NAAQS are identified as non-attainment. An area can be designated as unclassified when there are insufficient ambient criteria pollutant data for the EPA to form a basis for attainment status. – McGregor Range Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement, Prepared for United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces (New Mexico) Field Office, January 2005.

http://www.nm.blm.gov/lcfo/mcgregor/docs/Draft%20RMPA_EIS_01_05_low.pdf (DOI/BLM) Glossary (Pages 259-268 of 282)

Attenuation – Decrease in amplitude of the seismic waves with distance dues to geometric spreading, energy absorption and scattering.

Atterberg Limits – Atterberg limits are measured for soil materials passing the No. 40 sieve. They include the liquid limit (LL), which is the moisture content at which the soil passes from a plastic to a liquid state, and the plasticity index (PI), which is the water content corresponding to an arbitrary limit between the plastic and semisolid states of consistency of a soil. – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 2. Water content of manipulated soil at different consistency.

ATTRA – Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (USDA)

Attractive nuisance – A structure or object on a property that might entice others, especially young children, into danger, such as a vacant building or swimming pool. – U.S. Treasury OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision, in charge of banks, savings and loan associations, etc.) http://www.ots.treas.gov/glossary/gloss-n.html

Attribute Survey – Survey to determine the important components of the recreational experience.

Attributes – Any living or nonliving feature or process of the environment that can be measured or estimated and that provide insights into the state of the ecosystem. The term Indicator is reserved for a subset of attributes that is particularly information-rich in the sense that their values are somehow indicative of the quality, health, or integrity of the larger ecological system to which they belong (Noon 2002). See also Vital Sign. – DOI/NPS Long-Term Monitoring Plan – National Capital Region Network, September 30, 2005. Submitted by: Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Capital Region Network, Center for Urban Ecology, 4598 MacArthur Boulevard NW, Washington, D.C. 20007.

http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor/plans/NCRN_MonitoringPlan.pdf (Pages G-1 through G-8 - Glossary – or pages 150 through 156 of 156 pages) 2. Attributes, also called feature codes or classification attributes, are used to describe map information represented by a node, line, or area. For example, an attribute code for an area might identify it to be a lake or swamp; an attribute code for a line might identify a road, railroad, stream, or shoreline. – USDA glossary

ATU – American Temperance Union

ATU – American Trade Union

ATV – All-terrain vehicle

ATVG – Association of Tennessee Valley Governments http://www.atvg.org

ATW – Animal Trails and Walkways

ATWSA – Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area, which (at 85,710 acres) is the largest Wilderness Study Area in Wyoming (NPS)

Atypical – Not typical.

ATZ – American Trade Zone

AU – Altered Upland

AU – Animal Unit

AU – Appropriate Use

AU – Arbitrary Units

Auction – In Government auctions, traditional auction methods are used. Prospective buyers are given a description of the property to be auctioned and bidding instructions. The auctioneer "crying" the sale offers the property item-by-item and "knocks down" each item to the highest bidder. This method is used when there is a sizeable accumulation of property with commercial market appeal. Examples are vehicles, machine tools, heavy equipment, etc. Auctions should be held in the market area for the type of property offered. Some considerations when planning an auction include: the nature and extent of the demand for the property to be sold, location of the property in relation to potential buyers, adequacy of facilities, availability of auctioneers, and administrative support personnel. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Audit – Professional examination and verification of an organization's accounting documents and supporting data for the purpose of rendering an opinion as to their fairness, consistency and conformity with the Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS). – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Audit Trail – Literally, a trail of data that can be used to reconstruct an occurrence at a later date. (A Homeland Defense Program Term)

Audited Statements – Evaluations by independent auditing firms of non-profit organizations’ financial positions.

Augmentation – Increasing the size of a population by translocating individuals between populations. – DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

AUM – Animal Unit Month (BLM)

AUO – See Area Utilization Officer. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

AUSCS – Americans United for Separation of Church and State

AUT – Appropriate Upland Treatments

Authentication – The term "authentication" refers to the procedure whereby the text of a treaty is established as authentic and definitive. Once a treaty has been authenticated, states cannot unilaterally change its provisions. If states, which negotiated a given treaty, do not agree on specific procedures for authentication, a treaty will usually be authenticated by signature, signature ad referendum or the initialing by the representatives of those states. [Art.10, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969] (UN)

Authenticity – Also known as Test of authenticity and Conditions of authenticity. Paragraph 24 of the Operational Guidelines requires that a cultural property nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List be considered for inclusion only if it meets one or more of the cultural heritage criteria and the test of authenticity. Paragraph 24 (b) (i) of the Operational Guidelines as reproduced below refers to the test of authenticity. 24. ... (b) (i) meet the test of authenticity in design, material, workmanship or setting and in the case of cultural landscapes their distinctive character and components (the Committee stressed the reconstruction is only acceptable if it is carried out on the basis of complete and detailed documentation on the original and to no extent on conjecture) (UNESCO February 1996: 7). The text concerning groups of urban buildings included in the Operational Guidelines also refers to the need to meet the test of authenticity (UNESCO February 1996: 8, Paragraph 27). Paragraphs 57 and 58 of the Operational Guidelines state that cultural properties nominated for inclusion in the World Heritage List should satisfy the conditions of authenticity and that the determination as to whether these conditions are met will be carried out by ICOMOS (UNESCO February 1996: 18). Paragraph 64 (e) of the Operational Guidelines states that "indications as to the authenticity of the property" should be included in the completed nomination form under the heading of "Justification for inclusion in the World Heritage List" (UNESCO February 1996: 20). Paragraphs 64 (f) (iv) and 78 of the Operational Guidelines refer to the undefined concept of "historical authenticity" (UNESCO February 1996: 20 and 28). It is generally acknowledged that the concept of authenticity is a vague one and may be subject to different cultural and social interpretations. Authenticity and its application in relation to the World Heritage Convention was the subject of a conference held in Nara, Japan in November 1994 (Nara Conference on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage Convention). A preparatory workshop was held in Bergen in Norway from 31 January to 2 February 1994. The proceedings of the preliminary workshop are published in Larson and Marstein (1994). The Nara Conference resulted in the adoption of a declaration known as The Nara Document on Authenticity. The proceedings of the Nara Conference and the Nara Document on Authenticity are published in Larson (1995). In March 1996 an Inter-American Symposium on Authenticity in the Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage was held in San Antonio Texas, U.S.A. The Symposium was co-sponsored by US/ICOMOS, the Getty Conservation Institute and the San Antonio Conservation Society. – See Conservation, Information sources

Authority – The power to take actions or approve actions of others. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Authorization – An authorization is a statutory provision that establishes or continues a Federal agency, activity, or program for a fixed or indefinite period of time. Most authorizations have been multi-year bills such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) enacted in 1991, and the latest bill [which is] the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) was enacted in 1998. http://www.bywaysonline.org/grants/guidance/glossary 2. An act by Congress [that] authorizes use of public funds to carry out a prescribed action.

Authorized Forest Officer – The Forest Service employee delegated the authority to perform specific duties, which is generally a regional forester, forest supervisor, district ranger or minerals staff officer. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service) http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Authorized Officer – Any person authorized by the Secretary of the Interior to administer BLM’s rangeland management program. – BLM Rangeland Program Glossary http://www.nv.blm.gov/range/Glossary.htm

Authorized Official's Determination – A report signed by an Authorized Official and mailed to the Claimant evaluating each element of the claim as stated in the Proof of Loss and determining the compensation, if any, due to the Claimant. – FEMA Sec. 295.50

The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) – The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the new U.S. trade processing system that will eventually replace the Automated Commercial System (ACS), the current import system for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The CBP transition to ACE began in October 2003 with the launch of the ACE Secure Data Portal. This customized web page provides a single, user-friendly gateway to access CBP information via the Internet for CBP, the trade community and Participating Government Agencies. ACE provides a solid technology foundation for all border security initiatives within CBP and will: Expedite legitimate trade by providing CBP with tools to efficiently process imports/exports; Improve communication, collaboration, and compliance efforts between CBP and the trade; and Provide an information-sharing platform for trade data throughout government agencies. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/trade/ace_overview/ace_carriers.xml http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization//

The Automated Commercial System (ACS) – See The Automated Commercial Environment

Automated resource data (ARD) – Computerized map data used for the management of resources. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Automatic Data Processing – See Information Technology

Automatic Data Processing Equipment – Computers and related devices, commonly referred to as ADPE. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Automatic Information Technologies (AIT) – The family of technologies that improves the accuracy, efficiency and timeliness of material identification and data collection. AIT media and devices include, but are not limited to, linear and two dimensional bar code symbols and their readers, magnetic stripe cards, integrated cards (i.e. smart cards), optical memory cards, radio frequency identification (active and passive), contact memory (bottom memory) devices and magnetic storage media. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

AUV – Agricultural Use Value (also known as CAUV)

AUWG – Americans United for World Government

AV – American Voices

AV – Appalachian Voices

Availability (Oil and Gas) – Availability of National Forest System lands, including national grasslands, for oil and gas leasing. Availability refers to lands that have not been formally prohibited from oil and gas leasing activities. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Available Capacity – The amount of water held in the soil that is available to the plants.

Available chlorine – A measure of the amount of chlorine available in chlorinated lime, hypochlorite compounds, and other materials that are used as a source of chlorine when compared with that of elemental (liquid or gaseous) chlorine. http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pubs/gloss2.html

Available Forage – That portion of the forage production that is accessible for use by a specified kind or class of grazing animal. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf 2. Forage that can be grazed and still allow sustained forage production on rangeland. Available forage may or may not be authorized for grazing. (Also see forage)

Available forest land – That portion of the forested acres for which timber production is planned and included within the acres contributing to the allowable sale of quantity. This includes both lands allocated primarily to timber production and lands on which timber production is a secondary- objective. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

Available Lands – Those portions of the national forest or national grassland not administratively excluded from timber harvest or livestock grazing. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Available Lands (Oil and Gas) – Any lands subject to oil and gas leasing under the Minerals

Leasing Act. – National Grassland Plan (USDA Forest Service)

http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/draft/plan/pdf_plan_draft/Dakota_Prairie_Plan/Appendices/appendix_g.pdf

Available moisture capacity – See Available water capacity

Available water capacity (available moisture capacity) – The capacity of soils to hold water available for use by most plants. It is commonly defined as the difference between the amount of soil water at field moisture capacity and the amount at wilting point. It is commonly expressed as inches of water per inch of soil. The capacity, in inches, in a 40-inch profile or to a limiting layer is expressed as: Very low: 0 to 2.4 Low: 2.4 to 3.2 Moderate: 3.2 to 5.2 High: more than 5.2 – Soil Survey of McDowell County, West Virginia, Issued 2004. http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/WV047/1/WVMcDowell9_2005.pdf (page 69 of 115) 2. The capacity of soils to hold water available for use by most plants, usually defined as water between -33 kPa and -1500 kPal. In a 2 meter profile, or a more shallow limiting layer, the values are as following: Very low 0-3 in 0-7.5 cm. Low 3-6 in 7.5-15 cm. Moderate 6-9 in 15-23 cm. High 9-12 in 23-30 cm. Very high More than 12 in More than 30 cm.

Avens – Any of a genus of perennial herbs of the rose family with white, purple, or yellow flowers. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

Average Annual Harvest – The volume of timber harvested in a decade, divided by ten. http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/fsfedus/www.fs.fed.us/r1/gallatin/projects/darroch-

eagle/ea/glossary.pdf

Average Annual Mortality – Average annual volume of trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger that died from natural causes during the intersurvey period. - USDA/FS

Average annual recharge – Amount of water entering the aquifer on an average annual basis. Averages mean very little for the Edwards because the climate of the region and structure of the aquifer produce a situation in which the area is usually water rich or water poor. – USGS

Average Annual Removals – Average annual volume of trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger removed from the inventory by harvesting, cultural operations (such as timber-stand improvement), land clearing, or changes in land use during the intersurvey period. – USDA/FS

Average Annual Runoff - For a specified area, the average value of annual runoff amounts calculated for a selected period of record that represents average hydrologic conditions.

Average Daily Traffic Volume (ADT) – The average number of vehicles that travel on a road during the day. To calculate the ADT, traffic engineers take the total traffic volume during a given time period in whole days (24-hour periods) and divide it by the number of days in that time period.

Average discharge – In the annual series of the Geological Survey's reports on surface-water supply -- the arithmetic average of all complete water years of record whether or not they are consecutive. Average discharge is not published for less than 5 years of record. The term "average" is generally reserved for average of record and "mean" is used for averages of shorter periods, namely, daily mean discharge. – USGS

Average megawatt (aMW) — The average amount of energy (in megawatts) supplied or demanded over a specified period of time; equivalent to the energy produced by the continuous operation of one megawatt of capacity over the specified period. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement, Chapter 10, Glossary http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/lsr/final_fseis/study_kit/Main_Report/chap10.htm

Average Net Annual Growth – Average annual net change in volume of trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger in the absence of cutting (gross growth minus mortality) during the intersurvey period. – USDA/FS

Average Year Water Demand – Demand for water under average hydrologic conditions for a defined level of development.

AVI – Automated Vehicle Identification

Avian – Of, relating to, or derived from birds. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm

Avian Toxicity – The potential of a substance to have an adverse effect on avian species. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Avifauna – The birds of a specific region or period. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/zy198.htm 2. All the birds of a specific region or time division.

AVL – Automatic Vehicle Location

AVMA – American Veterinary Medicine Association

AVMA – Atlantic Vegetation Management Association

Avoidance Areas – Areas on public lands where future rights-of-way may be granted only when no feasible alternative route or designated right-of-way corridor is available. DOI/BLM

Avoided costs – An investment guideline describing the value of a conservation or generation resource investment by the cost of more expensive resources that a utility would otherwise have to acquire. – Bioenergy Glossary

Avulsion – The loss of lands by sudden or violent action of the elements, perceptible while in progress; a sudden and rapid change in the course and channel of a boundary river. – NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC) Public Trust Doctrine Glossary http://www.csc.noaa.gov/ptd/glossary.htm

AW – Altered Wetland

AW – American Wildlands

AW – Animal Welfare

AWA – Adjacent Wetland Area

Award Document – The official document (GSA Form 27, OF 16 or equivalent, used to advise a bidder of the item(s) for which he/she was the successful bidder and for which the Contracting Officer accepted on behalf of the Government. – Glossary is a feature of Know Net, a knowledge management, e-learning and performance support system sponsored by the Government of the United States of America. Know Net can be accessed at http://www.knownet.hhs.gov http://knownet.hhs.gov/log/propmanDR/PPMGloss/definitions.htm#Property%20Management%20

Information%20System

Awarded sales – Federal timber sales that have been let to the successful bidder through a formal contract. – The Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT) http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/ Chapter 9 Glossary http://pnwin.nbii.gov/nwfp/FEMAT/Chapter_9.htm

AWARE – Agricultural Watershed Awareness Resource Evaluation Program – County Agricultural Ecology Coordinator

AWC – Average Winter Consumption (water) – In the AWC method, it is assumed that there is little to no seasonal use in the winter months of December, January and February (or other non-irrigation months, depending on the region and climate). EPA Water Efficiency, Chapter 3: Research Methods, Approach and Procedures (Page 55 of 64) “Water is a finite resource and only 0.3 percent is available for the world’s population to share for agricultural, residential, manufacturing, community, and personal needs. While both world population and the demand on freshwater resources are increasing, supply remains constant. Water efficiency is the long-term ethic of conserving water resources through the employment of water-saving technologies. Through these practices, we will ensure that water will be available for future generations.” http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/pdf/chapter3.pdf http://www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency/

AWDS – Automated Wildlife Data Systems http://www.iafwa-awds.com

AWI – Automotive Wholesalers of Illinois

AWIPS – The Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (National Weather Service, NWS, and NOAA) http://www-md.fsl.noaa.gov/eft/AWIPS.html

AWL – American Wildlands, originator of the WCT (Western Cutthroat Trout) campaign http://www.wildlands.org

AWMI – Association of Women in the Metal Industries http://www.awmi.com

AWP – Annual Work Plan http://nevada.fws.gov/lctrit/FinalWRIT.pdf

AWPI – American Wood Preservers Institute http://www.awpi.org

AWPR – Air/Water Pollution Report http://www.newsletteraccess.com/display.php?id=2839

AWR – Alliance for the Wild Rockies; securing the ecological integrity of the Wild Rockies bioregion through citizen empowerment and the application of conservation biology, sustainable economic models and environmental law. http://www.wildrockiesalliance.org

AWRA – American Water Resources Association http://www.awra.org

AWS – Animal Welfare Screen, also known as Calvert’s Animal Welfare Screen “Calvert's animal welfare screen is multi-dimensional, covering a number of animal-related issues across a variety of industries. Calvert screens against companies that conduct unnecessary and inhumane tests, and prefers those that use alternative methods and keep animal testing to a minimum. Calvert requires that companies in the food industry treat animals with care and avoid unnecessary distress. In addition, Calvert holds companies that deal with animal husbandry -- pet stores, factory farms, and the like -- to stringent standards, and screens against negative or violent images in the media.” Member of NASD (The National Association of Security Dealers) http://www.calvert.com/sri_ib_8.html

AWSNA – Abundant Wildlife Society of North America http://www.aws.vcn.com

AWSRA – [American] Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, P.L. 90-542, as amended, 16.U.S.C. 1271-12887 http://www.nps.gov/rivers/wsract.html also known as WSRACT

AWW – The Allagash Wilderness Waterway (Maine) http://www.mainerec.com/allabook.asp?Category=11&PageNum=11

AWW – The Aspen Wilderness Workshop, now known as the Wilderness Workshop (Aspen, CO) http://www.wildernessworkshop.org See Wilderness Workshop

AWWA – American Water Works Association http://www.awwa.org/

Ayers v. Board of Adjustment for the Town of Robersonville, 113 N.C. App. 528, disc. rev. denied, 336 N.C. 71 (1994) Interpretation of forestry to exclude timber activities that are industrial in nature from a residential-agricultural area effectuates intent of ordinance. Petitioner, who operates a timber weighing and grading business in the RA-20 residential-agricultural district in the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction, challenged the board of adjustment's determination that his use of the land does not fall within the definition of forestry and is therefore not a permitted use in the district. Petitioner's business consists of receiving truckloads of cut timber, which are unloaded, weighed and graded, then reloaded onto trucks for shipment to other locations. The town's zoning ordinance does not define the term forestry, but the board of adjustment interpreted it to mean the development, management and harvesting of growing timber. On certiorari review, the superior court adopted a more expansive definition of forestry that included the harvesting and transportation of timber to the first point of processing; that is, the point at which the wood is actually converted to some type of useable product, and concluded that petitioner's business did constitute a permitted use in the RA-20 zone. Applying a de novo standard of review, however, a unanimous panel of the Court of Appeals reversed the superior court and reinstated the decision of the board of adjustment. In attempting to ascertain the intent of the ordinance, the Court gave weight to ordinance language indicating that the purpose of the RA-20 provisions is to establish a district in which the principal use of the land is for low-density residential and agricultural use, and to the fact that the RA-20 permitted uses are uniformly non-industrial. The Court concluded that the ordinance manifests an intent that the district be free from non-agricultural commercial operations, and that the board of adjustment's limitation of forestry to the development, management and harvesting of timber is consistent with this intent. The superior court's expansive definition, on the other hand, would permit ancillary timber activities of an industrial nature that are incompatible with residential and agricultural purposes, such as large rail and truck depots and industrial operations performing intermediate but not final processing of timber. The Court bolstered its conclusion by reference to dictionary definitions of forestry, finding the town's approach to more closely resemble the plain and ordinary meanings of the term embodied in these definitions. http://128.121.172.88/Legal/Digest/93-94cl.html [Land Use; Definitions; Forestry]

AYW – Adopt Your Watershed http://www.epa.gov/adopt/

AZA – American Zinc Association http://www.zinc.org

AZAPO – Azania People's Organization (Africa) http://www.gobelle.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_n2_v21/ai_9067727/pg_2?pi=gbl

AZFIRE – Fighting Irresponsible Radical Environmentalism In ARIZONA! http://www.azfire.org/

Azimuth – Azimuth is the angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing from a standard direction. – (USGS) http://edcsgs9bb.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/glossary/a_b

AZPMC – The Tucson, Arizona, Plant Materials Center has provided plant solutions for the unique environment of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mohave deserts since 1935. The Center has released a variety of conservation shrubs and grasses including ‘Santa Rita’ fourwing saltbush, ‘Loetta’ Arizona cottontop and ‘Stevan’ plains bristlegrass, and worked on issues ranging from wildfire rehabilitation, mining reclamation and riparian improvement to low water landscaping and improved range forage production. NRCS/USDA http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc/