P factor. See Practice factor. - National Resources Inventory

P.L. 566 - Public Law 83-566 (August 4, 1954), Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954.

P wave - Primary, longitudinal, irrotational, push, pressure, dilatational, compressional, or push-pull wave. P waves are the fastest body waves and arrive at stations before the S waves, or secondary waves. The waves carry energy through the Earth as longitudinal waves, moving particles in the same line as the direction of the wave. P waves can travel through all layers of the Earth. P waves are generally felt by humans as a bang or thump. - USGS Earthquake glossary

PA - Parkland Acquisition

PA - Partnering Agencies

PA - Partnership Agreement

PA - Passive Annihilation (a link on the VHEMT Links page) "Passive Annihilation is an existential form of anti-procreation. The principle goes like this: If you can't gain informed consent from a child before bringing him/her into the world, you don't have the authority to do so. It follows that NOBODY has the right to procreate. That's the nutshell; it's more intricate than that. Passive Annihilation is a cousin to VHEMT, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, which has a more environmental slant."

PA - Pedestrian Access

PA - Personal Accountability

PA - Pilot Area (Protected Area - UN-USAID)

PA - Political Activism

PA - Political Agenda

PA - Port Authority

PA - poverty alleviation

PA - Power Authority

PA - Preferred Alternative

PA - Production Agriculture (NOT a synonym for farmland preservation!)

PA - Program Amount

PA - Program of Action

PA - Programmatic Accessibility

PA - Project Area

PA - Protected Area(s)

PA - Public Access

PA - Public Awareness

PAA - Primary Analysis Area (DOI - USFWS)

PAA - Priority Abatement Area

PAA - Proposed Abatement Area

PA.com - Pro Activist.com

PAC - Planning And Compliance

PAC - Public Awareness Campaign

PAC - Political Action Committee

PAC - Provincial Advisory Committee

PAC - Provincial Advisory Council

PACE - Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements

PACE - Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act

PACE - Personal Achievement through Computer Education

PACE - Program for the Autonomy and Communication for the Elderly

Pace - A measure of length 2.5 feet long; the ordinary length of a step. A geometric pace is five feet long. - Cadastral Data glossary

Pachamama - A word meaning 'Mother Earth' in the Inca culture. UNEP

PACIFICMPA - Pacific Coast Marine Protected Areas "A Public Clearinghouse for Planning Information." http://www.pacificmpa.org/

Pacific bluefin tuna - The subspecies of bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus orientalis that is found in the Pacific Ocean. - MFCMA

Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) - The Pacific Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 and the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (now called the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act). The Pacific Council has developed fishery management plans for salmon, groundfish and coastal pelagic species in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and recommends Pacific halibut harvest regulations to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

Pacific HMS - Pacific Highly Migratory Species

Pacific Rim - A far flung group of countries and parts of countries (extending clockwise from New Zealand to Chile) sharing the following criteria: they face the Pacific Ocean, they evince relatively high levels of economic development, industrialization, and urbanization, their imports and exports mainly move across Pacific waters.

Paid Diversion - A program repealed by the FAIR Act of 1996, under which farmers were paid to voluntarily take acreage out of production. The diverted land was devoted to approved conservation practices. Unlike acreage reduction and set-aside programs, participation in a paid diversion program was not normally a condition of eligibility for other support program benefits.

PACP - Planning And Compliance Process

PADETES - Participatory Demonstration and Training Extension System (Ethiopia)

PADU - Protected Area Data Unit - World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). These data sheets are used as the basis for monitoring natural properties (IUCN 1995: 3). - UNESCO World Heritage Glossary

PAE - Preservation And Enhancement

PAE - Protect And Enhance

PAF - Political Action Funds

PAG - Political Advocacy Group

PAG - Precautions for All Government

PAGP - Preservationists Against the Greenways Project

PAH - Poly-nuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PAHO - Pan-American Health Organization

PAI - Protectable As Items (UN)

PAJE - People's Alliance for Jobs and the Environment

Palatability - The relish with which a particular plant species or part of a plant is consumed by an animal.

Pale - Excessive soil development, usually very old.

Paleomagnetism - The natural magnetic traces that reveal the intensity and direction of Earth's magnetic field in the geologic past. Also, the study of these magnetic traces. - USGS Earthquake glossary

Paleontological Resource - Remains of any ancient organism, including fossilized plants, invertebrates (hard or soft bodied animals without a skeletal structures such as insects, crabs, clams, and snails) and vertebrates (including dinosaurs, mammals, sharks and fish, or any animal with a skeletal structure). - SPRPMA

Paleontology - The branch of geology that deals with life forms from the past, especially prehistoric life forms, through the study of plant and animal fossils. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Paleoseismology - The study of ancient (prehistoric) earthquakes. - USGS Earthquake glossary

Paleosol - A term used by archeologists and some geologists to refer to an ancient soil deposit.

Paleosols are particularly important because they often contain evidence about some of the earliest cultures to inhabit North America. BLM-DOI

Pallid - Deficient in color. (NPS Rare Plant glossary)

PALMM - Publication of Archival, Library and Museum Materials. PALMM is a digital library of the Florida university libraries project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

PALs - Plantwide Applicability Limits - EPA

Palustrine system - All non-tidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergent mosses, or lichens, and all such wetlands that occur in tidal areas where salinity due to ocean derived salts is below 0.5 percent [U.S.FWS] - NRI Glossary

Palustrine Wetland - Wetlands occurring in the Palustrine System, one of five systems in the classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats (see Wetlands, Cowardin et al. 1979). Palustrine wetlands include all nontidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergent plants, or emergent mosses or lichens, as well as small, shallow open water ponds or potholes. Palustrine wetlands are often called swamps, marshes, potholes, bogs, or fens. - National Resources Inventory

PAM - Planning And Management

PAM - Protected Area Management (USDA/FS)

Pampas - Pampa is a subregion of Argentina. It is noted for food production. While it represents only about 20% of the land area of Argentina, two-thirds of the population lives in the Pampa. The word Pampa means plain.

Pan - A compact, dense layer in a soil that impedes the movement of water and growth of roots. For example, hardpan, fragipan, claypan, plowpan, and traffic pan. - USDA

Pan - To wash (in a metal, bowl-like pan) gravel and sand or rock samples that have been ground to small particles, in order to separate gold or other valuable metals.

PANS - Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences

PAO - Pedestrian Access Only

PAOT - Persons at one time (persons at one time capacity) - USDA Forest Service

PAP - Pre Arranged Plan(s)

PAP - The Preferred Alignment Plan

PAP - Professional Appraisal Practice

PAP - Public Access Point

PAR - Parks And Recreation

PAR - Preliminary Area Reconnaissance

PAR - Prior Authorization Review

Parallel Flow Paths - Layers of ground water flow moving at such slow speeds that significant mixing between layers does not occur.

Parataxonomists - Field-trained biodiversity collection and inventory specialists recruited from local areas. - UNDP/WRI

Parcel - In land ownership mapping for assessment purposes, a parcel is usually held to be a tract of land under one identical ownership. It may be a combination of two or more tracts acquired by separate deeds. - Cadastral Data glossary

Parcel Identifier - A sequential, numeric, alphabetic or alphanumeric system used as shorthand for referring to a particular parcel in lieu of its full, legal description. - Cadastral Data glossary

Parcelling (verb) - The act of plotting ownership boundaries on a map whether in subdivisions or metes and bounds. - Cadastral Data glossary

PARD - Programmatic Assistant Regional Director (FWS)

Parent material - The unconsolidated organic and mineral material in which soil forms. - USDA

Parent Material - The mineral or organic matter from which the upper layers of soil are formed.

Parent Parcel - An indefinite term used in reference to a parcel of land as it existed at a specific time, or as it existed under a specific owner. It is often used in reference to a parcel as it was patented, subdivided or mapped. - Cadastral Data glossary

Paris Club - The Paris Club is the name govern to the ad hoc meetings of Western - creditor government that, since 1956, have arranged, when necessary, for the renegotiation of debt wowed to official creditors or guaranteed by them. (Debts to commercial banks are renegotiated with committees of the banks involved.) Neither the world Bank nor the IMF is a member of the Paris Club although the IMF has played an increasingly important role in putting together debt restructuring packages with commercial banks. To reschedule debt, both the Paris Club and commercial banks require the debtor country to have agreed on a stabilization program with the IMF. - WB

Parity-based support prices - Commodity support prices (such as loan rates or commodity program purchase prices) whose level in a given year is mandated to be calculated in a way that will maintain its purchasing power at the level it had in the 1910-14 base period. Under "permanent provisions," of farm legislation (provisions that would automatically apply in the absence of current farm acts that suspended the permanent provisions) prices of some commodities would be supported at 50 to 90 percent of parity through direct government purchases or non-recourse loans. - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

Parity Price - A measurement of the purchasing power of a unit of a particular commodity. Originally, parity was the price per bushel, bale, pound, or hundredweight that would be necessary for a unit of a commodity today to buy the same quantity of other goods (from a standard list) that the commodity could have purchased in the 1910-14 base period. Under permanent law, prices of some commodities would be supported at 50 to 90% of parity through direct government purchases or non-recourse loans. In 1948, the parity price formula was revised to make parity prices dependent on the relationship of farm and non-farm prices during the most recent 10-year period for non-basic commodities. Basic commodities, including wheat, corn, rice, peanuts, and cotton use the higher of the historical or the new formula.

Parity Ratio - An aggregate measure of the relative purchasing power of farm products; the ratio between the index of prices received by farmers for all farm products and the index of prices paid by farmers for commodities and services used in farm production and family living. The parity ratio measures relative price relationships (prices received versus prices paid). Over time the parity ratio has declined due to greater efficiency gains in agriculture. Compared to a parity ratio of 100 in the 1910-14 time period, the 1995 annual parity ratio was 45.

Park - The terms national park or park refer to any unit of the national park system. Although national park system designations formally categorize units as national parks, national preserves, national monuments, national historic sites, national historical parks, national memorials, national recreation areas, national lakeshores, national seashores, national rivers, national battlefields, or national cemeteries, all units of the national park system are managed under a single set of laws and policies with the only distinctions being special mandates included in the specific legislation applying to each particular unit. (DOI/NPS)

Parkland/Recreational Landscape - Those areas of open space with recreational facilities and infrastructure that typically have maintained lawns.

Park-Like Structure - Stands with large scattered trees and open growing conditions, usually maintained by ground fires.

Park purpose - The reasons why a park is so important that it has been set aside as a unit of the national park system. The terms purpose and mission are generally the same concepts. (DOI/NPS)

Park significance - The relative international, national, or regional importance of the resources that contributed to the park's addition to the national park system. (DOI/NPS)

PARR - Protect America's Rights and Resources

PARR - Protect Americans' Rights & Resources

Partial Cut - Term to relate harvest units where many trees are left and forested appearance is retained. Partial cutting usually provides no long-term benefits to forest health and productivity.

Partial Retention - A visual quality objective which, in general, means man's activities may be evident but must remain subordinate to the characteristic landscape.

Partial Taking - Florida Rock Industries, Inc. v. United States (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 1994) The federal court of appeals saw no logical distinction between (1) a taking of private property by physical occupation for the public use as a park and (2) a regulatory imposition to preserve the property as a wetland for public uses. The case was remanded to the Court of Claims to determine how much of the value of the 98 acres had been taken by government regulation. In 1995, Oregonians In Action stated, "The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to review Florida Rock is a major breakthrough; the high court implies it favors paying landowner compensation for 'partial takings' by regulatory use restrictions as well as total takings."(1) "Looking Forward," Oregonians In Action. March 1995 - Zoning (Case Law) Glossary - Zoning (Case Law) Glossary

Partially Untied Aid - Official Development Assistance (or Official Aid) for which the associated goods and services must be procured in the donor country or among a restricted group of other countries, which must however include substantially all developing countries (substantially all CEEC/NIS countries in the case of Official Aid). Partially untied aid is subject to the same disciplines as Tied Aid Credits and Associated Financing. - Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) Glossary

Particle Density - The mass per unit volume of the soil particles.

Particulate Matter - Small particles found in emissions from motor vehicles and industrial processes. These very small particles can be harmful to the respiratory system. (UNESCO)

Participating Interest - A company's interest in a mine, which entitles it to a certain percentage of profits in return for putting up an equal percentage of the capital cost of the project.

Particulate Matter - A category of air pollutants that refers to small, solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the air, including soot, fumes, dust, pollen and spores, smoke, and spray. Particles vary in biological effect depending on their size and composition. Two National Ambient Air Quality Standards have been set for particulates: One, in effect since 1987, regulates particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), a size range that includes fugitive dust from construction and tilling the soil. A 1997 change in how compliance with the PM10 standard is measured somewhat reduces the stringency of the standard, which will make it easer for areas not in compliance (41 in early 1997) to attain the standard. The second PM standard, promulgated in July 1997, regulates particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), a size range dominated by combustion products, but which can include very fine fugitive dust and ammonia that can come from agricultural sources. Because of the need to develop monitoring and assess ambient levels of PM2.5, it will be the mid-2000s before pollution levels are established and any control programs might be instituted.

Particulates - Small particles suspended in the air and generally considered pollutants.

Parting Fire - Assay procedure for separating gold from other metals.

Paratransit - Forms of public passenger transportation that can operate over the highway and street system, but without a fixed route. Examples of paratransit include shared-ride taxis, carpools, rental cars, and subscription bus clubs.

Partial Correlation/Correspondence - Occurs where a category of one classification can be coded to two or more categories of other classifications. (UN)

Partial Log Suspension - During yarding operations, suspension of one end of the log above the ground. (BLM)

Partially Developed - Areas where nearly all of the development opportunities are through development other than redevelopment. (See Development and Redevelopment)

Partners for Wildlife - A voluntary partnership program administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service to provide financial and technical assistance to private landowners who wish to protect or restore wetlands. This program has been widely used by rural landowners, including farmers.

PAS - Pan-African Symposium, also known as PAS1 and PAS2. (UN/IUCN) http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/susg/pas1.html

PAS - Personal Assistance Services

Passerine Birds - Birds of the order Passeriformes, which includes perching birds and songbirds such as blackbirds, jays, finches, warblers, and sparrows. More than half of all known birds belong to this order. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Passive Recreation - Recreational activity, usually unstructured, requiring little use of physical facilities.

Pastoralism - A form of agricultural activity that involves the raising of livestock. Many peoples described as herders actually pursue mixed agriculture, in that they may also fish, hunt, or even grow a few crops, but pastoral peoples' lives do revolve around their animals. (UN)

Pasture - (1) Land that is separated from other areas by a fence or natural barriers. (2) The act of letting livestock graze on land for forage.

Pastureland - Land used primarily for the production of domesticated forage plants for livestock (in contrast to rangeland, where vegetation is naturally occurring and is dominated by grasses and perhaps shrubs). Rotation pasture or cropland under winter cover crops is not included in this definition. The 1992 national resources inventory recorded 126 million acres of pastureland, 9% of all nonfederal rural lands.

Pastureland - Land used primarily for the production of adapted, introduced or native species in a pure stand, grass mixture or a grass-legume mixture. Cultural treatment in the form of fertilization, weed control, reseeding or renovation is usually a part of pasture management in addition to grazing management. In 1982, 32 percent of pastureland in the United States was considered good, 40 percent fair and 19 percent poor. [source: USDA-SCS 1982 NRI] 2. A Land cover/use category of land managed primarily for the production of introduced forage plants for livestock grazing. Pastureland cover may consist of a single species in a pure stand, a grass mixture, or a grass-legume mixture. Management usually consists of cultural treatments: fertilization, weed control, reseeding or renovation, and control of grazing. For the NRI, includes land that has a vegetative cover of grasses, legumes, and/or forbs, regardless of whether or not it is being grazed by livestock. - National Resources Inventory

Pastureland and Native Pasture - A Land Cover/Use category of land managed primarily for the production of introduced or native forage plants for livestock grazing. Pastureland may consist of a single species in a pure stand, a grass mixture or a grass-legume mixture. Management usually consists of cultural treatments-fertilization, weed control, reseeding, or renovation and control of grazing. (For the NRI, includes land that has a vegetative cover of grasses, legumes, and/or forbs, regardless of whether or not it is being grazed by livestock.) [NRI-97] - NRI Glossary

PAT - Parents As Teachers

PAT - Power Acquisition Tool

Patch - An area of homogeneous vegetation, in structure and composition.

Patch (dynamics) - An area of uniform composition (homogeneous). Patch dynamics is the relationship between homogenous areas in a heterogeneous landscape. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary 2. An area of relatively homongenous habitat that is different from its surroundings. Example: a patch of forest surrounded by cropland. 3. A stand of similar-aged forest that differs in age from adjacent patches by more that 20 years. When used in the design of landscape patterns, the term refers to the size of either a natural disturbance opening that led to even-aged forests or an opening created by cutblocks. - Biodiversity Guidebook Glossary

Patch Cut - A clear-cut that creates small openings in a stand of trees, usually between fifteen and forty acres in size. On the Dixie National Forest and elsewhere, patch cuts are used to provide the disturbance needed to regenerate aspen.

Patent - The ultimate stage of holding a mineral claim, after which no more assessment work is necessary; determines that all mineral rights, both surface and underground have been earned.

Patent - A government grant of temporary monopoly rights on innovative processes or products. - UNDP/WRI 2. A legally enforceable right granted by a country's government to an inventor. (UN) 3. The title conveyed by the government describing land disposed of by the government is called a patent. - Cadastral Data glossary 2. The instrument by which the Federal Government conveys title to the public lands. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Patented Lands - Lands conveyed by the United States to private persons. - Cadastral Data glossary

PATH - Partners for Advanced Transit & Highways

PATH - Peoples Action for Threatened Habitat

PATH - Plan for Analyzing & Testing Hypotheses (Bonneville Power Administration) http://www.efw.bpa.gov/PATH/index.html

PATH - Program for Advanced Transit and Highway

Pathogen - A specific causative agent of disease, such as a virus.

PATHWAI - People Against Treating Humans Worse than Animals, International. Countering animal rights nonsense. http://www.pathwai.org/

Patriarchal Inheritance Customs - Where land ownership, wealth and material possessions is passed down the family lineage always from father to son or grandson. (UNESCO)

PAW - People for the American Way

PAYD - Pay-As-You-Drive (car insurance) On Thursday, June 19, 2003, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2043, a bill designed to encourage automobile insurance companies to offer cents-per-mile premiums. The bill is now before the governor, who has not decided whether or not he will sign. Known as mileage-based or Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD), the policies are beneficial to those persons who use their vehicles rarely. The risk of accident is substantially dependent on how long the vehicle is on the road, so those who drive less often pay more per mile under the current system. That results in a disincentive to use other means of transportation, since drivers have unlimited miles for their premium term -- the more they drive, the more they get out of their insurance policy. PAYD premiums, on the other hand, create an incentive to use alternate means of transportation, such as mass transit, bicycles, or carpooling. In addition to driver benefits, PAYD insurance will result in improved air and water quality, reduced congestion, mitigation of our impact on the climate, and resource conservation. Auto insurers are interested in offering the policies, but bear the costs of setting up the system and tracking mileage. House Bill 2043 provides the incentive to create such infrastructure through tax credits to insurance companies for PAYD policies issued. Source: OEC (Oregon Environmental Council - http://www.orcouncil.org )

Pay Layer - Ore, a mineral deposit of high enough quality to be mined at a profit. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Pay Streak - A layer or channel within a gravel deposit that contains a much higher average gold content that the surrounding gravels.

Pay Streak - The areas of concentration of gold in placer deposits. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Payment-in-Kind (PIK) - In general, a payment made in the form of Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) -owned commodities (or title to them) in lieu of cash. This form of payment was widely used during the 1980s for paid diversion, deficiency payments, and export subsidy payments as a means of disposing of or avoiding the acquisition of commodity inventories. PIK certificates entitled the holder to specific quantity of commodities.

Payment limitation - The maximum amount of commodity program benefits a person can receive by law. "Persons," as defined by payment limitation regulations established by the Secretary of Agriculture, are individuals; members of joint operations; or entities such as limited partnerships, corporations, associations, trusts, and estates that are actively engaged in farming. The 1996 Act sets payment limits at $40,000 per person per fiscal year for payments on production flexibility contracts. The Food Security Act of 1985, as amended by the 1996 Act, established limits at $75,000 per person per crop year for the total amount received from marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments for one or more crops of contract commodities or oilseeds, during 1996-2002. However, the agriculture budget appropriations acts for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 established a $150,000 payment limitation for the total of marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments for the 1999 and 2000 crops of contract commodities and oilseeds (and honey for 2000 crop). - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) - A program administered by the Department of Interior to compensate counties for the tax-exempt status of federal lands; the fixed payments per entitlement acre (on most but not all federal lands) are adjusted for low county populations and for other revenue-sharing payments (e.g., Forest Service county payments) in a complicated formula.

PB - Plate Boundary (tectonic)

PB - Population Biology

PB - Postponed Benefits

PB - Prescribed Burn

PB - Protection Buffer

PB - Pro Bono

PBA - Poland Business Association

PBA - Policy, Budget and Administration (DOI)

PBEMAC - Pensacola Bay Ecosystem Management Advisory Council

PBI - Pacific Biodiversity Institute

PBM - Print and Broadcast Media

PBPL - Particle Beam Physics Laboratory

PBLUP - Preservation Based Land Use Policy (Policies)

PBR - Performance-Based Regulation

PBS - Public Broadcasting Station

PC - P-Code (GPS)

PC - Personal Computer

PC - The Pinelands Commission (New Jersey) (UN-directed)

PC - Planning Commission

PC - Point of Contact

PC - Political Challenges

PC - Political Climate

PC - Politically Correct

PC - Pollution Credits

PC - Population and Consumption

PC - Private Conservation

PC - Probable Cause

PC - Professional Critic

PC - Public Charity

PC - Public Citizen (an organization that is pro 'sustainable development')

PCA - Petro-Chemical Affiliates

PCA - Plant Conservation Alliance (National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) http://www.plantconservation.org

PCA - Predator Conservation Alliance (Bozeman, MT)

PCA - Priority Corridor Areas

PCA - Private Cause of Action

PCA - Problematic Cause-and-Effect

PCAO - President's Commission on Americans Outdoors

PCB - Polychlorinated Biphenyls

PCB's - Polychlorinated biphenyls. A group of organic compounds, PCB's are highly toxic to aquatic life. They persist in the environment for long periods of time and are bioaccumulants. - Bioenergy Glossary

PCCW - Public Citizens Congress Watch

PCD - Pollution Control District

PCD - Project Control Document

PCDC - Permanent Committee for Drought Control (IUCN)

PCFFA - Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations

PCI - Parents and Children's Initiative (the Ad Council)

PCM - Patented Coal Mine

PCM - Pivotal Commercial Market

PCMCIA - International standards body and trade association with over 500 member companies founded to establish standards for Integrated Circuit cards

PCO - Personal Contact Opportunities

PCO - Plant Conservation Officer (NCCPG) http://www.nccpg.com/Show.Asp?Code=452

PCO - Pork Checkoff

PCOA - President's Commission on Americans Outdoors

PCP - Pollution Contingency Plan

PCP - Public Comment Period

PCPWM - The Park City Principles for Water Management (Utah)

PCR - Panama Canal Railway (NAFTA Railway)

PCR - Partnering for Community Renewal (EZEC)

PCR - Pollution Control Regulations

PCR - Pollution Control Requirements

PCRP - Post Conservation Reserve Program

PCSD - Presidents Commission on Sustainable Development

PCSDCP - The Pima County Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (Arizona, known by those who are victimized by it as The Pima County Sonoran Desert Confiscation Plan)

PCT - Pew Charitable Trust

PCT - Plum Creek Timber Company

PCT - Private Conservation Traditions

PCWAC - Promote Cooperation While Avoiding Conflict

PD - Permitted Discharges

PD - Policy Directive

PD - Political Destabilization

PD - Political Dissident

PD - Population Density

PD - Prime Directive

PD - Public Domain Lands

PDC - Planning District Commission

PDC - Professional Designation Certificate

PDD - Presidential Decision Directive

PDER - Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources

PDF - Planet Drum Foundation

PDF - Portable Document Format

PDF - Project Design Feature

PDM - Population Density Monitoring

PDM - Property Data Modules (DOI)

PDO - Pacific Decadal Oscillation (NOAA)

PDP - Price Discovery and Profit

PDP - Professional Development Program

PDP - Prospective Development Proposal

PDR - Property Development Rights

PDR - Purchase of Development Rights

PDW - Public Destruction of Weapons

PE - Partnership for the Environment

PE - Peer Education

PE - Permanent Easement

PE - Perpetual Easement

PE - Planet Earth

PE - Presumptive Eligibility

PEA - Professional Environmental Activists

Peace Clause - Term used to refer to Article 13 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture which exempts certain policies from challenges in the World Trade Organization so long as countries are meeting their commitments under the agreement.

Peak Flow - The greatest flow attained during the melting of the winter snow pack.

Peak Period - The period of time during which the maximum amount of demand occurs. Generally, the measurement is based on a period of one hour.

Peanut poundage quota - The maximum quantity of peanuts that is eligible for the higher of two price support loan rates. The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113) initiated the current two-price poundage quota program for peanuts where a national poundage quota is established and each producer receives a share of the national total. Producers can market more than their quota, but only the quota amount is eligible for domestic edible use and for the higher of the two commodity loan rates. Over-quota marketings are called "additional peanuts," and can only be sold for export or processing (crush). Under the 1990 Act, each year's national peanut poundage quota was set equal to estimated domestic use of peanuts for food products and seed, subject to a minimum 1.35 million tons. The 1996 Act redefined the national poundage quota to exclude seed use and eliminated the 1.35-million-ton minimum. The 1996 Act also permits the sale, lease, and transfer of a quota across county lines within a State up to specified amounts of quota annually. - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

PEARL - Public Educational Access to Resources on Lakes

Peat - Highly organic soil often in bogs or fens. (NPS Rare Plant glossary)

PEBLDS - Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy

PECE - The Policy for Evaluation of Conservation Efforts (DOI/USFWS & NMFS) http://endangered.fws.gov/pubs/pece_q&a.pdf

Ped - A unit of soil structure; an aggregate, such as prism, block, or granule, formed by natural processes.

Ped - An individual natural soil aggregate, such as a granule, a prism, or a block. - USDA

Pedagogy - The study of soil as a geologic entity. The way of organizing the curriculum and choice of teaching strategies in order to ensure that a particular set of long term educational aims are met. (UNESCO)

Pedestrian - A person traveling on foot.

PEDCO - Petroleum Development Corporation (Gillette, Wyoming)

Pedisediment - Fine textured sediment that is similar in composition to the constituents of the underlying material. - USDA

Pedon - The smallest volume that can be called a soil. It has three dimensions. It extends downward to the depth of plant roots or to the lower limit of the genetic soil horizons. Its lateral cross-section is roughly hexagonal and ranges from 1 to 10 m2 in size, depending on the variability in the horizons.

Pedon - The smallest volume that can be called "a soil." A pedon is three dimensional and large enough to permit study of all horizons. Its area ranges from about 10 to 100 square feet (1 square meter to 10 square meters), depending on the variability of the soil. - USDA

PEER - Progress with Economic and Environmental Responsibility

PEER - Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

PEG - Partisan Environmental Groups

Pegmatite - A coarse-grained, igneous rock, usually irregular in texture and composition, similar to a granite in composition; it usually occurs in dykes or veins and sometimes contains valuable minerals.

PEI - Political and Economic Incentives

PEI - Prince Edward Island

PEIF - Postsecondary Education Improvement Fund

PEIS - Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (USDA's Farm Service Agency, re: CRP and ECP)

Pelagic Zone - The open water zone in a lake that is characterized by freely floating organisms (zooplankton and phytoplankton) and certain fish species.

Pelecypod - Mollusks distinguished by a calcareous two-valve shell (clams). Also called bivalves. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Pellet - A marble-sized ball of iron ore bonded by clay and fused for hardness.

PEM - Privacy Enhanced Mail

PEM - protein-energy malnutrition

Pen Pals - A friendship that is established and grown through letter correspondence. Many people around the world have made this a hobby and have been rewarded with deep and lasting friendships with people despite often being separated by long distances and postal service irregularities. (UNESCO)

Penn Central vs. New York City (1978) - Beginning in 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court argued in Penn Central vs. New York City (1978) that a reduction in a property's value does not constitute a taking as long as the owner has some economic value remaining for reasonable investment backed expectations.

Penta - Pentachlorophenol is an oil-borne wood preservative widely used in the treatment of utility poles, vaulted ceiling beams, fresh water pilings, and bridge timbers. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Pentachlorophenol (PCP) - An organic compound commonly used as a wood preservative. - EPA Community Relations Plan Glossary

Pentavalent arsenate - A naturally-occurring trace element present in soil, water and air, as well as in the tissues of plants and animals (including humans); the form of arsenic used in the wood preservative CCA. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Per Capita - Latin for "by heads." A measurement that is presented in terms of units per person, as opposed to a total or aggregate figure.

Per Curiam - A "per curiam" decision is a decision delivered via an opinion issued in the name of the Court rather than specific justices. Most decisions on the merits by the Supreme Court (and other appellate courts in the U.S.) take the form of one or more opinions signed by individual justices (and joined in by others). Even when such signed opinions are unanimous, they are not termed "per curiam." "Per curiam" decisions are given that label by the Court itself and tend to be short. Usually, though not always, they deal with issues the Court views as relatively non-controversial. For examples, see, e.g.,Wood v. Bartholomew, No. 94-1419 (Oct. 10, 1995) and Kimberlin v. Quinlin, No. 93-2068 (June 12, 1995) . However, they are not necessarily unanimous. Indeed, some per curiam decisions are accompanied by dissenting opinions. See, e.g., Bush v. Gore, No. 00-949 (December 12, 2000). The top appellate courts of most states (including, e.g., Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina) use the same terminology. During each Supreme Court term, the LII's Supreme Court collection includes a running list linking to per curiam decisions and other orders or actions taken without full opinion by the Court. - Supreme Court glossary

Pentlandite - An iron and nickel sulphide mineral.

PEP - Partnership Enhancement Monetary Grant Program (yes, this is correct) (The National Tree Trust)

PER - Pan Evaporation Rate (agriculture) (Author's note: does this factor in risk assessment of resources?)

PER - Prior Existing Rights

PER - Protect, Enhance, Restore

PERC - Political Economy Research Center

Perched Water Table - A layer of saturated soil that results when an underlying impermeable layer, composed of soil and/or rock, restricts the downward movement of water. This water table is usually above the regional water table.

Perched Water Table (PWT) - Water table above an impermeable bed underlain by unsaturated rocks of sufficient permeability to allow movement of ground water. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Percolation - Filtration of water through a material. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Percolation - The trickle or seepage of water through a porous material. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Percolation - Downward flow or infiltration of water through the pores or spaces of rock or soil.

Perennial - Occurs year-round, continuous.

Perennial - A plant which lives for three or more years. (NPS Rare Plant glossary)

Perennial Plant - A plant that has a life cycle of three or more years.

Perennial Stream - A stream that has flowing water throughout the year for many years and from source to mouth.

Perennial stream - A stream or reach of a stream that normally flows continuously throughout the year. - National Resources Inventory

Perennial Vegetation - Plants that have a life cycle of 3 or more years. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Perfect Title - Title showing the absolute right of possession and of property in a particular person. Perfect title, however, does not mean "perfect" in the strict sense of the word. A "perfect title" must be one that is good and valid beyond all reasonable doubt; free from litigation, palpable defects, and grave doubts. It should consist of both legal and equitable title. "Perfect title" is synonymous with "merchantable title" and "marketable title". - Cadastral Data glossary

Performance Gap - The gap between what customers and stakeholders expect and what each process and related subprocesses produce in terms of quality, quantity, time, and cost of services and products. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

Performance Indicator Definitions - Accomplishments projected for future years, allocated for current years, and reported for prior years under the following definitions are the result of Forest Service discretionary and mandatory appropriations. With few exceptions, contributed accomplishments (e.g., challenge cost share activities) are not included. - FS

Performance Measurement - The process of developing measurable indicators that can be systematically tracked to assess progress made in achieving predetermined goals and using such indicators to assess progress in achieving these goals. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

Performance standard - A formally established criterion for special activity which (a) outlines the work involved; (b) describes work methods and composition of efficient crews; and (c) lists the expected accomplishments or productivity rate.

Performance Zoning - Establishes minimum criteria to be used when assessing whether a particular project is appropriate for a certain area; ensures that the end result adheres to an acceptable level of performance or compatibility. This type of zoning provides flexibility with the well-defined goals and rules found in conventional zoning. - Smart Growth Green Development Glossary

Peridotite - An intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of olivine.

Period - The time between two successive wave crests. - USGS Earthquake glossary

Periphyton - The biological community of microscopic plants and animals attached to surfaces in aquatic environments, for example algae. - Everglades Plan glossary

Periphyton - Microscopic plants and animals that are firmly attached to such solid surfaces under water as rocks, logs, pilings, and other structures. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Permanent Law - Legislation that would be in force in the absence of all temporary or short-term laws (e.g., farm bills). The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Agricultural Act of 1949, and the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act of 1948 serve as the basic laws authorizing the major commodity programs. Technically, each new farm bill (including the FAIR Act of 1996) amends the permanent law for a specified period. The FAIR Act of 1996 also repeals some provisions of permanent law and suspends other provisions through 2002. Many programs and activities of USDA are authorized by permanent laws that are periodically amended.

Permanent legislation - Legislation that would be in effect in the absence of all temporary amendments (farm acts). These laws include provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act of 1948, and the Agricultural Act of 1949. They serve as the basic laws authorizing the major commodity programs. Generally, each new farm act amends the permanent legislation for a specified period. - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

Permanent Vegetative Cover - Trees, or perennial grasses, legumes, or shrubs with an expected life span of at least 5 years. Permanent cover is required on cropland entered into the Conservation Reserve Program.

Permanent Wilting Point - the largest water content in soil at which plants will wilt and not recover when placed in a humid chamber. It is estimated at about -1.5 MPa matric potential.

Permeability - A measure of the relative ease with which water will move through soil or rock.

Permeability Of Soil - The ease with which liquids (typically water) or other materials penetrate or pass through a bulk mass of soil or a layer of soil. Different soil layers vary in permeability. Clay layers are very impermeable while sand and gravel layers are very permeable.

Permit - 1. A written agreement between Indian landowners and a permittee, whereby the permittee is granted a revocable privilege to use Indian land or Government land, for a specified purpose. - DOI-BIA Glossary 2. A short-term, revocable authorization to use public lands for specific purposes. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Permit or license applicant - When used with respect to an action of a Federal agency for which exemption is sought under section 1536 of this title, any person whose application to such agency for a permit or license has been denied primarily because of the application of section 1536(a) of this title to such agency action. - ESA

Permitted Grazing - Grazing on a National Forest range allotment under the terms of a grazing permit.

Permitted Acreage - The acreage on which a farm program participant is permitted to grow a program crop after satisfying acreage reduction requirements. For example, when a 10% acreage reduction program is in effect for wheat, a farmer with a 100-acre wheat base may grow wheat on 90 acres, the permitted acres. Limits on production are eliminated by the FAIR Act of 1996 through the year 2002.

Permitted Use - The forage allocated by, or under the guidance of, an applicable land use plan for livestock grazing in an allotment under a permit or lease and is expressed in Animal Unit Months (AUMs). BLM-DOI

Permitted Uses - Lists the type of uses permitted; where a use is not listed, it is prohibited.

Permittee - 1. A person or entity who has acquired a legal right of possession to Indian land by a permit for grazing purposes under this part. - DOI-BIA Glossary 2. (Livestock Operator) A person or organization legally permitted to graze a specific number and class of livestock on designated areas of public land during specified seasons each year. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Persistent - To remain unchanged or fixed in a specified condition. (NPS Rare Plant glossary)

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) - Chemicals that pollute the environment and are especially harmful as they stay around for a long time. - UNEP Children's Glossary

Persistent Pesticides - Pesticides that do not readily break down in the environment. Becoming long-lived components of the ecosystem, these chemicals may have enduring effects at low concentrations or may bio-accumulate, posing hazards to higher predators.

Person - Any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized, or existing under the laws of any state), and any Federal, state, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. - MFCMA 2. The term ''person'' means an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other private entity; or any officer, employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, of any State, municipality, or political subdivision of a State, or of any foreign government; any State, municipality, or political subdivision of a State; or any other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. - ESA

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - A hand-held, computer-assisted survey collection tool used to record NRI data. - National Resources Inventory

Personal Income - The sum of wage and salary disbursements, other labor income, proprietors' income, rental income of persons, personal dividend income, personal interest income, and transfer payments to persons, less personal contributions for social insurance. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Personal Use - The use of a forest product, such as firewood, for home use and not for commercial use.

Pest - 1. Any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products. - UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary 2. Any animal that is not valued by human society and usually overgrows or competes with valued animals. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Pest Resistance Management Plans (PRM) - To protect the continued use of bio-pesticides, EPA is requiring companies developing transgenic crops to submit and implement pest resistance management (PRM) plans as a requirement of product registration. If they are exposed to a toxin excessively, most insect populations can develop resistance, making pest control products less effective. With new bio-pesticide technologies comes the concern that pests will rapidly develop resistance to natural insecticides. A resistance management plan is intended to sustain the useful life of transgenic technology.

Pest risk analysis - The process of evaluating biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether a pest should be regulated and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it. - UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary

Pest Scouting - Inspecting a field for pests, including insects, weeds, and pathogens. Pest scouting is a basic component of integrated pest management programs. It is used to determine whether pest populations are at levels that warrant control intervention and also may help to determine the most appropriate method of control.

Pesticide User Expenditures - Dollar value of purchases by persons or businesses applying pesticides, such as farmers, commercial pesticide applicators and homeowners. Reported numbers are nominal values for the years indicated, i.e., not adjusted or indexed for inflation. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Pesticides - Chemicals used to kill insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or human health. Many pesticides are toxic to humans, livestock and wildlife as well as to the target pest. Ecosystems have no natural mechanism for breaking down most human-made chemicals with the result that they usually persist in the environment. Despite 40 years of extensive pesticide use, worldwide crop losses from insects have almost doubled. The FAO reports that more than 1600 insect species have developed pesticide resistance. Pesticides kill harmful insects but they also kill beneficial ones like bees. (UNESCO) A substance used to kill, control, repel, or mitigate any pest. Insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, herbicides, and germicides are all pesticides. EPA regulates pesticides under authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In addition, under FIFRA, a substance used as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant is defined as a pesticide and regulated accordingly. All pesticides must be registered and carry a label approved by EPA.

Pesticide Data Program (PDP) - A program established by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to provide pesticide residue data on food commodities, primarily fruits and vegetables. Congress transferred funding for the $10 million program to EPA for FY1997.

Pesticide Residue Tolerance - The amount of pesticide residue allowed by law to remain in or on a food sold in interstate commerce. Whenever a pesticide is registered for use on a food or a feed crop, a tolerance (or exemption from the tolerance requirement) must be established. EPA establishes the tolerance levels, which are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration and USDA.

Pesticide Usage - Refers to actual applications of pesticides, generally in terms of quantity applied or units treated. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

PET - Park Education Travel Program NPT (National Park Trust) Launches PET Program: "These unique trips of small educational groups will offer a special "behind the scenes" look at what the United States and other countries are doing to preserve their lands, their cultures, and their natural systems." http://www.parktrust.org/travel/index.html

PET - Planning Effectively for Tomorrow

PET - Potentially Economic Target

P.E.T. Party - So called because it represents the pharmaceutical, energy, and tobacco companies.

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Petrified Wood - Fossilization of wood through introduction or replacement by silica (silicified wood) in such a manner that the original form and structure of the wood is preserved. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Petroglyph - A form of rock art manufactured by incising, scratching or pecking designs into rock surfaces. - BLM

PETS - Proposed, Endangered, Threatened, or Sensitive Species

PEW - Palustrine Emergent Wetlands

PF - Packard Foundation

PF - Pedestrian Facilities

PF - Peradam Foundation

PF - Pheasants Forever

PF - Private Foundation

PFAC - Pension Fund Adviser Company

PFAP - Putting Farmed Animals Into Politics

PFC - Production Flexibility Contract

PFC - Proper Functioning Condition (of riparian/wetland areas) (BLM-DOI)

PFE - People For the Environment

PFF - Progress and Freedom Foundation

PFIA - Pennsylvania Forest Industry Association

PFMC - Pacific Fishery Management Council

PFP - The Pressure Front Program (United Nations - see UNGC) http://www.sustainability.com/programs/pressure-front/default.asp

PFP - Property For Parks Program Property For Parks (PFP) Program - "Saving the Legacy of the National System of Parks!" How it Can Work for You: If you own property, you can aid in the preservation of America's parklands by participating in the National Park Trust's (NPT) PROPERTY FOR PARKS program. When you donate property to this program, NPT will sell it and use the money to help preserve our national system of parks. Since 1983 NPT has been the beneficiary of over $10 million worth of donated property. Our dedicated staff has more than 50 years of experience working with park issues. What are the benefits? Corporations and individuals donating real estate receive an immediate tax deduction and avoid capital gains taxes. For individuals, donation write-offs can be staged over a period of years to maximize donor benefits. Individuals donating real estate can reduce state and federal estate taxes. Gifts of real estate can be donated through a will or living trust, and can be used to fund Charitable Remainder Trusts. Individuals donating property can retain their right to use the property for their lifetime, and take an immediate charitable income tax deduction for a portion of the value (when designated as a life estate). NPT also accepts other marketable assets such as bounds, mutual funds and stocks. The National Park Trust will endeavor to use proceeds from this property for the types of parks and locations the donor prefers. If the donor wishes, we will also provide appropriate recognition of the donation as determined by the recipient park agency. NPT uses professional experts to help donors maximize benefits from their property. These experts on charitable giving, tax planning and real estate are available to you through the National Park Trust. The Property for Parks program has been announced in Fortune, Business Week, and other publications. The publicity and response from these publications show that there is a yearning across America to find creative solutions to solve what is clearly a commitment of all Americans: The preservation of America's parklands. For more information on how you can help the National Park Trust through the Property for Parks program, contact NPT at 202-548-0500 or online at legacy@parktrust.org. http://www.parktrust.org/npt-report2/pfp_prog.html

PFPS - Producer-Financed Purchase System

PFSE - People For a Sound Economy

PFSM - Partnership For Stream Management

PFSR - The Public Forest Service Roads Program (USDA/Forest Service)

PFW - Partners For Wildlife

PFW - People For the West!

PFW - People For Wyoming http://www.PeopleForWyoming.com

PFUSA - People For the U.S.A.

PG - Pegasus Gold

PG - Power Grid

PG - The Practice Group

PG - Prescribed Grazing

PG - Public Good

PGC - Pennsylvania Game Commission

PG&E - Pacific Gas & Electric

PGM - Platinum Group Metals

PGP - Public Good Project

pH - An expression of the intensity of the basic or acidic condition of a liquid or of soil; may range from 0 to 14, where 0 is the most acid, 7 is neutral, and above 7 is alkaline on a logarithmic scale. Natural waters usually have a pH between 6.5 and 8.5.

PH - Production Habitat

PH - Production History

Phaneritic - A term used to describe the coarse grained texture of some igneous rocks.

Phase - The onset of a displacement or oscillation on a seismogram indicating the arrival of a different type of seismic wave. - USGS Earthquake glossary

Phase, soil - A subdivision of a soil series based on features that affect its use and management. For example, slope, stoniness, and thickness. - USDA

Phasing - Developing according to a schedule and in step with plans for the provision of Infrastructure so that Infrastructure is in place to serve each stage of development as it is built.

PHBI - Pioneer Hi-Bred International

PHC - Primary Habitat Components (DOI/BLM & USFWS)

PHE - Possible Health Effects

PHE - Probable Health Effects

Phenocryst - A porphyritic crystal inclusion.

Phenotype - The morphological, physiological, biochemical, behavioral, and other properties of an organism that develop through the interaction of genes and environment. (See genotype.) - UNDP/WRI

PHMS - Pacific Highly Migratory Species

PHO - Production Habitat Objective

Phosphorus - An essential nutrient for plants and animals that is commonly applied to crops as a phosphate fertilizer. Phosphorus can contribute to the eutrophication of lakes and other water bodies. Sources of excess phosphorus include sewage and agricultural runoff.

Photographic interpretation - The act of examining photography images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance. - National Resources Inventory

Photosynthesis - The biological synthesis of chemical compounds in the presence of light.

PHP - Pasture and Hay Planting

Phreatic line - The uppermost level at which flowing water emerges.

Phreatophyte - A plant that absorbs its water from a permanent supply in the ground. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

PHT - Post-Harvest Treatment

Phyla - In taxonomy, the primary divisions of the plant and animal kingdoms. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Phylogenetic - Pertaining to the evolutionary history of a particular group of organisms. - UNDP/WRI

Phylum - In taxonomy, a high-level category just beneath the kingdom and above the class; a group of related, similar classes. - UNDP/WRI

Physical Capital - Things, such as machinery, tools, equipment, furniture, parts, and buildings that are needed to produce goods and services. See also capital and human capital. (UNESCO)

Physical capital (produced assets) - Buildings, machines, and technical equipment used in production plus inventories of raw materials, half-finished goods, and finished goods. - WB

Physical Education - Part of the formal school curriculum that aims to develop physical fitness and coordination in students, through participation in team and individual sporting pursuits, calisthenics and other physical exercises. Often also involves some form of health and lifestyle education to complement the physical activities. (UNESCO)

Physical Model - data model used for the implementation of a logical model; designed to account for data storage, indexes, how to retrieve data, and how keys are concatenated. Physical models strive to optimize logical models for how data are going to be used, such as for reports, data entry, and analysis, taking into account the software that will be used, as well as whether the database will be relational, hierarchical or network. - Cadastral Data glossary

Physiographic boundary - A boundary between states that conforms to rivers or mountain crests, or other physiographic features.

Physiographic Province - A region defined by a unified geologic history and a characteristic geologic structure and climate that differs from adjoining regions. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Physiographic Region - Region of similar geologic structure and climate with a unified history of land formation. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Phytoplankton - Unattached microscopic plants of plankton, subject to movement by wave or current action. See Plankton. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Phytoremediation - The use of plants to decontaminate water and soils rich in dissolved nutrients (as phosphates). - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Phytosanitary measure - Any legislation, regulation or official procedure having the purpose to prevent the introduction and/or spread of pests. - UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary

PI - Pioneer Institute

PI - Plan Implementation

PI - Planning and Implementation

PI - Potential Impact

PI - Potomac Institute

PI - Private Investment

PI - Program Integrity

PI - Probe International

PI - Public Inquiry

PI - Public Interest

PIAC - Pro-Industry Action Coalition

PIAG - Pro-Industry Action Groups

PIBEO - Public Input Before Expert Output (James Stansbury, Stansbury Resolutions By Design, Inc., 4412 14th Ave. E., Bradenton, Florida 34208, 941-748-8663, with Glatting Jackson, http://www.glatting.com/ ) Mr. Stansbury has worked on visioning projects throughout Florida and the United States, including the Richland County, South Carolina, Visioning 2020 Plan; St Petersburg Vision 2020 Plan; and the Sarasota 2050 Plan (all with Glatting Jackson). Facilitation-Mediation Consultants, Stansbury Resolutions By Design, Inc. offers consensus-building services to public and private sectors. Specializing in strategic planning retreats; land use and resource management dispute resolution; visioning and community design resolution; visioning and community design.

PIC - Prior Informed Consent

PICA - Private Initiative Conservation Area

Picket Line - A reference line, marked by pickets or stakes, established on a property for mapping and survey purposes.

PICP - Prior Informed Consent Procedure

Pictograph - A form of rock art created by applying mineral based or organic paints to rock surfaces. - BLM

PID - Proportional, Integral and Differential

PID - Public Information Dissemination

PIEC - Parental Involvement in Education of Children

PIELC - Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (since 1983)

PIER - Public Interest Energy Research

PIF - Partners In Flight

PIFPA - Partners In Flight Physiographic Areas

PIG - Public Interest Group

Pig - Common term for an ingot of cast metal.

Pig Iron - Crude cast iron from a blast furnace.

Pillar - A block of solid ore or rock left in place to structurally support the shaft, walls or roof in a mine.

Pile - A timber, usually round, that is wholly or partly embedded in surface soil or underwater soil as a support for a superstructure such as a bridge, building, trestle, or wharf. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Piling unmerchantable material (PUM) - A logging contract requirement to remove and pile unmerchantable woody material of a specified size. - Bioenergy Glossary

PILT - Payment In Lieu of Taxes (Author's note: In the case of USFWS, after the first few years, fails to meet promised or expected levels significantly.)

Pilot Projects - Projects designed to address uncertainties associated with projects and to determine the feasibility, as well as optimum design, of a facility prior to embarking upon full scale implementation of the feature. - Everglades Plan glossary

PIMT - Provincial Implementation Monitoring Team

PIN - Personal Identification Number

Pine Plantation - Stands that have been artificially regenerated by planting or direct seeding and with a southern yellow pine, white pine-hemlock, or other forest type. - USDA/FS

Pineland - Nearly level land composed of coarse, poorly drained soils and dominated by pine trees. - Everglades Plan glossary

Pinelands Commission (New Jersey) - A State agency created by the Pinelands Protection Act of 1979 (N.J.S.A. 13:18A-1 et seq.) to develop a management plan for, and exercise regulatory control over, development activities in the Pinelands.

Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Fund (New Jersey) - A trust fund established by the Pinelands Infrastructure Bond Act of 1985, which provided $30 million for wastewater treatment facilities needed to accommodate existing and future needs in Pinelands Regional Growth Areas. These funds are allocated to various governmental entities pursuant to the Pinelands Infrastructure Trust Fund Plan prepared and approved by the Pinelands Commission.

Pioneer Species - A plant capable of invading a bare site (newly exposed soil surface) and persisting there until replaced by another species or community as succession progresses.

Pioneering - One of two processes of new group formation in red-cockaded woodpeckers (see also budding), by which a group colonizes previously unoccupied areas. Because of the difficulty of cavity excavation, this process occurs at very low frequencies. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

PiP - Parks in Peril (UN)

PIP - Plan Implementation Program

PIP - Proposed Industrial Park

PIP - Public Information Program

PIP - Public Investment Program

PIP - Public Involvement Policy

Piping - Action of water passing through or under an embankment dam causing progressive removal of soil particles leading to development of a channel, appearing downstream as a hole discharging water. - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary 2. Formation of subsurface tunnels or pipelike cavities by water moving through the soil. - USDA

PIPPR - Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research

PIR - Previously Identified Resources

PIRG - Public Interest Research Group

Pit Lake - Water body that forms at the bottom of an open pit mine when mining extends below the water table. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Pitch - Refers to the relative angle of slope or dip of an ore deposit.

Pitchblende - An important uranium ore mineral, containing a high percentage of uranium oxide. It is black in color, possesses a characteristic pitch-like or greasy luster and is highly radioactive.

Pitting - Digging test pits for sampling gravels.

PK - Peace-Keepers (UN)

PK - Plant Kingdom

PKCS - Public-Key Cryptography Standards

PKF - Peace-Keeping Force (UN)

PKI - Public-Key Infrastructure

PL - Paid Lobbyist

PL - Parliamentary Library (Canada)

PL - Planning

PL - Political Legitimacy

PL - Priority List

PL - Private Land

PL - Professional Lobbyist

PL - Protected Land

PL - ProtectLand

PL - Public Land (actually, Federal Land)

PLA - Pennsylvania Landowners' Association

Placer - An alluvial deposit of sand and gravel containing valuable metals such as gold, tin, etc.

Placer Claim - A mining claim located upon gravel or ground whose mineral contents are extracted by the use of water. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Placer Deposit - A mass of gravel, sand, or similar material resulting from the crumbling and erosion of solid rocks containing particles of gold or other valuable minerals that have been derived from rocks or veins. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs. 2. A mass of gravel, sand, or similar material derived from weathering and erosion of bedrock. These masses often contain of heavy mineral grains concentrated due to the action of water. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Placer Mining - Mining sand and gravel deposits for their mineral content.

Plan - The documentation of a decision or decisions and all the factors that were considered during the decision making. The National Park Service produces four kinds of plans: general management plans, strategic plans, implementation plans, and annual performance plans. Each of these is described separated in the glossary. (DOI/NPS)

Plan Amendment - A change in the terms, conditions or decisions of a resource management plan. (BLM)

Plan Maintenance - Any documented minor change that interprets, clarifies, or refines a decision within a resource management plan but does not change the scope or conditions of that decision. (BLM)

Plan of Operations - A plan for mining exploration and development that an operation must submit to BLM for approval when more than 5 acres a year will be disturbed or when an operator plans to work in an area of critical environmental concern or a wilderness area. A Plan of Operations must document in detail all actions that the operator plans to take from exploration through reclamation. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Plan Revision - A new resource management plan prepared by following all steps required by the regulations for preparing an original resource management plan. (BLM)

Plane Survey - A survey in which the curvature of the earth is usually neglected. The computations of relative positions of stations being made by plane geometry and plane trigonometry. Most surveys used to develop cadastral maps are plane surveys. - Cadastral Data glossary

Plankton - Suspended, floating, or weakly swimming microscopic plants and animals in the water that provide a basis for the aquatic food chain. Plankton include bacteria, algae, protozoans, rotifers, larvae, and small crustaceans. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Planning - Structured decisionmaking. (DOI/NPS)

Planned Sewer Service Area - An area that is proposed to be served by sanitary sewer of sufficient capacity to serve anticipated development within the area. These areas include: 1) Sewer Service Areas delineated in Area-wide or County Water Quality Management Plans or Wastewater Management Plans that have already been approved by DEP, with the exception of sewer service areas that are recommended for deletion from such a plan by a county or municipality during Cross-Acceptance; and 2) Service areas for Regional or Community sewage systems that are recommended for inclusion in a future Wastewater Management Plan by a county or municipality.

Planned Unit Development (PUD) - A development concept which allows for flexible development standards in order to achieve a more creative, efficient, and aesthetically desirable design and placement of buildings, open spaces, and circulation patterns and to best utilize special site features, such as topographical size and shape. Regulations designed to promote variety and flexibility in land development while stressing the efficient use of open space and public facilities; in some communities these regulations may be designed to promote mixed-use districts; may provide for the type and number of residential and commercial uses allowed as well as bulk and area requirements and design of buildings; may also include provisions for incentive zoning or a density bonus to provide benefits such as affordable housing, recreational facilities, open space, day care facilities, infrastructure, or cash in lieu of thereof.

Planned Unit Development (PUD) Zoning - Planned unit development provisions allow land to be developed in a manner that does not fit into all the use, bulk, and open space requirements of any of the standard zoning districts. The PUD allows greater flexibility and innovation than conventional standards because a planned unit is regulated as one unit instead of each lot being regulated separately. - Smart Growth Green Development Glossary

Planning Analysis - A process using appropriate resource data and NEPA analysis to provide a basis for decisions in areas not yet covered by an RMP. - BLM

Planning Area - All of the lands within the management boundary addressed in a DOI resource management plan; however, DOI planning decisions apply only to DOI-administered lands and mineral estate. (DOI) 2. The area of National Forest land covered by a Regional Guide or Forest Plan. (DOI)

Planning Criteria - The standards, rules, and other factors developed by managers and interdisciplinary teams for their use in forming judgments about decision making, analysis, and data collection during planning. Planning criteria streamline and simplify the resource management planning actions. - BLM

Planning Period - The fifty-year time frame for which goods, services, and effects were projected in the development of the Forest Plan.

Planning unit - A sub-unit of the landscape planning unit; a biogeoclimatic subzone within a drainage, for example. - Biodiversity Guidebook Glossary

Planktivore - A plankton eating organism. - Everglades Plan glossary

PLANSUS - The Place-name Survey of the United States, an arm of the American Name Society created to promote the collection, study, and dissemination of place-name information and methods. Goal: PLANSUS seeks to help new researchers and to inform all researchers on current methods and progress of place-name research worldwide.

Plant Vigor - Plant health. - USDA DEIS Upper & Lower East Fork Cattle and Horse Allotment Management Plans glossary (Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth National Forest, Custer County, Idaho

Plant - A building or group of buildings, and their contained equipment, in which a process or function is carried out; on a mine it will include warehouses, hoisting equipment, compressors, maintenance shops, offices, mill or concentrator.

Plant association - A grouping of plant species, or a plant community, that recurs across the landscape. Plant associations are used as indicators of environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, light, etc. - Bioenergy Glossary

Plant Association - A plant community type based on land management potential, successional patterns, and species composition. (BLM)

Plant Communities - Assemblies of plants living together. An association of plants of various species found growing together in different areas with similar site characteristics. (BLM)

Plant growth regulator - Blocks or accelerates plant growth. - EPA

Plant Patent Act - 35 U.S.C. §§ 161-164, July 19, 1952, as amended 1954. This Act allows an individual to obtain a patent for newly invented or discovered plants. A person who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces a distinct and new variety of plant, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber-propagated plant or plant found in an uncultivated state, may obtain a patent, subject to the federal laws governing patents for inventions. The description of the plant in the patent application must be as complete as reasonably possible. A plant patent grants the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing the plant or selling or using the plant so reproduced. §§ 161-163.

Plant-pesticide - As proposed by EPA (November 23, 1994), plant-pesticides are all substances responsible for pest resistance in plants, as well as the genes needed for production of these substances. EPA has further proposed that plant-pesticide traits introduced into plants using recombinant DNA techniques should be registered under legal requirements of FIFRA and FFDCA. Exempt from tolerance requirements would be those defense substances and genes evolved naturally or transferred to the plant by traditional plant breeding methods.

Plant Regulator - A chemical that affects the physiological behavior of plants, for example through accelerating or retarding the rate of growth or maturation of produce. Typically the definition of plant regulator excludes nutrients. Plant regulators must be registered as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

Plant products - Unmanufactured material of plant origin (including grain) and those manufactured products that, by their nature or that of their processing, may create a risk for the introduction and spread of pests. - UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary

Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 - P.L. 91-577 (December 24, 1970) was enacted to provide patent-like protection for new non-hybrid seed varieties. The ultimate goal was to create an incentive for public and private research on new commercial plant varieties by making it possible for scientists to benefit financially from developing them. The Plant Variety Protection Act Amendments of 1994 ( P.L. 103-349, October 6, 1994) made the law consistent with the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of March 19, 1991, to which the United States is a signatory. The law now ensures that new varieties are protected as intellectual property, as defined under the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. USDA rather than the Patent and Trademark Office, administers the law.

Plantation - A large estate owned by an individual, family, or corporation and organized to produce a cash crop. Almost all plantations were established within the tropics; in recent decades many have been divided into smaller holdings or reorganized as cooperatives.

Plantation Maintenance- Actions in a nonestablished forest stand to promote the survival of desired crop trees. (BLM)

Plantation Release - All activities associated with promoting the dominance and/or growth of desired tree species within an established forest stand. (BLM)

PLANTS - The National PLANTS Database http://plants.usda.gov/

Plants - Living plants and parts thereof, including seeds and germplasm. - UN/FAO International Plant Protection Convention Glossary

PLAS - Public Lands Action Summit

Plastic Limit - (engineering term) The water content at which the soil rolled to a 1/3-cm wire begins to crumble.

Plastic limit - The moisture content at which a soil changes from semisolid to plastic. - USDA

Plasticity Index - A scale of relative value indicating swelling or the expansive characteristics of soil. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Plasticity Index - (engineering term ) The water content percentage between the liquid limit and the plastic limit.

Plasticity index - The numerical difference between the liquid limit and the plastic limit; the range of moisture content within which the soil remains plastic. - USDA

Plat - A plan of a subdivision of land creating buildings, lots, or tracts, and showing all essential dimensions and other information essential to comply with the subdivision standards, and subject to approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission, or other comparable regulatory agency. The plat must be prepared by a professional civil engineer registered in the State, or a Public Surveyor registered in the State. Reference to a plat in the Zoning Ordinance means an official plat of record has been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and filed in the plat records of the County.

Plat - A drawing showing one subdivision with its respective right-of-way, easements, blocks, lots, etc. Same as plot, map, or chart. - Cadastral Data glossary

Plat Plan - Sometimes referred to as a plat map; usually a survey drawing of an individual parcel of land showing special characteristics and the location of any buildings thereon. - Cadastral Data glossary

Plate - On a cavity tree, the area surrounding the cavity entrance with bark removed by red-cockaded woodpeckers. Newly formed cavities may not exhibit a well-developed plate. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Plate Tectonics - A geological theory that postulates that the Earth's crust is made up of a number of rigid plates that collide, rub up against and spread out from one another.

Plateau - An upland or tableland. An area of relatively high elevation.

Plateau - An elevated, relatively flat region commonly limited on at least one side by an abrupt descent to lower land. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Playa - An inland drainage basin, surrounded by sheets of alkaline or saline crust and containing a shallow, often ephemeral lake. (NPS) 2. A dried-up, flat-floored area consisting of thin, evenly layered sheets of fine clay, silt, or sand, and representing the bottom of a shallow, undrained desert lake basin in which water accumulates and is quickly evaporated, usually leaving deposits of soluble salts. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

PLBD - Partnerships for Linguistic and Biological Diversity (UN - WIPO)

PLC - Pacific Lumber Company

PLC - Please Light Candles

PLC - Public Lands Council

PLCAA - Professional Lawn Care Association of America

Pleasuring Ground - A public park [that is] off limits to grazing, mining, logging, and other exploitation. - NPS

Pledges & Grants Receivable - Funds promised to an organization from grantmakers, individual donors, etc., but not yet received.

Pleistocene Megafauna - Large mammals that inhabited North America before the end of the last glaciation and that became extinct. Such animals include the mammoth, mastodon, camel, giant slot, Bison antiquus, and Bison occidentalis. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

PLF - Pacific Legal Foundation

PLF - Precision Land Forming

PLG - Public Lands Grazing

PLGI - Public Lands Grazing Industry

PLGR - Programmable Light-weight GPS Receiver

PLH - Public Land Highway

PLH - Public Land Holdings

PLHD - Public Lands Highways Discretionary Program (TPL - Trust for Public Lands)

PLIN - Public Library Information Network

PLM - Public Land Management

PLMHW - Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World

Plot - A forest area defined by its condition. - Bioenergy Glossary

PLOW - Private Landowners of Wisconsin

Plowpan - A compacted layer formed in the soil directly below the plowed layer. - USDA

PLP - Primary Local Partner

PLP - Public Land Protection

PLP - Public Lands for the People http://www.plp2.org/index.html

PLP - The Public Lands Partnership

PLP - Public Lands Program

PLPR - Public Land Protection and Restoration

PLR - Public Lands Rancher

PLR - Public Lands Ranching

PLS - Planning and Land Services

PLS - Planning Level Survey, also known as an Inventory of Natural Resources (INR). An inventory of natural resources that must be identified to prevent the impairment of a military mission or to meet regulatory requirements. (USGS, Environmental Management and Compliance Requirements Handbook, SM 445-1-H)

PLS - Public Land Survey

PLSS - Public Land Survey System

PLT - Project Learning Tree (USDA)

PLT - ProLogis Trust

PLT - As of April 1, 2002, the Patagonia Land Trust http://www.patagonialandtrust.org/  will be relocated to the Foundation for Deep Ecology and the Conservation Land Trust - http://www.theconservationlandtrust.org - offices at Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands in Sausalito, California. Together, these organizations are dedicated to the preservation of wild nature through land acquisition, activism, publishing, and grant making. Pumalin Park, a project of the Conservation Land Trust, is comprised of over 700,000 acres and functions as a national park under a private initiative. While most of the park is pristine wilderness, it has extensive public access and is a popular destination. http://www.deepecology.org/directory.html

PLTP - Professional Loggers and Timber Producers

PLU - Predominate Land Use

PLU - Public Land Use

PLUAC - Public Land Use Advisory Committee

Plugs - A common name for a small offshoot from a larger batholith.

Plume - A visible or measurable discharge of a contaminant from a given point of origin. A plume can be visible or thermal in water, or visible in the air. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Plunge - The vertical angle an orebody makes between the horizontal plane and the direction along which it extends, longitudinally to depth.

PLUS - Public Lands Used Sensibly (Montana Snowmobile Association)

PLUS - Public Land Users Society

Plutonic - Refers to rocks of igneous origin that have come from great depth.

PM - Particulate Matter

PM - Personnel Management

PM - Pest Management

PM - Policy Maker

PM - Population Monitoring

PM - Program Manager

PM - The Progressive Movement (Greenpeace and others)

PMA - Pinelands Municipal Alliance (NJ)

PMA - Plant Management Areas

PMA - Potentially Mineralized Areas

PMB - Policy, Management and Budget

PMC - Precious Metals Council

PMP - Performance Measurement Process

PMP - The President's Materials Policy (1951, Truman)

PMPR - Private Management of Public Resources

PM10 - Inhalable particulate matter

PM10 - Particulates that are less than 10 microns in diameter. These particulates are present in the smoke created by burning wood. - Bioenergy Glossary

PM2.5 - Fine particulate matter

PMUNT - The Pace Model United Nations Team

PN - Parental Notification

PN - Protest Net

PN - Public Notice

PN4WDA - Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association

PNTR - Permanent Normal Trade Relations

PNWIN - Pacific Northwest Information Node http://pnwin.nbii.gov/

PO - Partnering Organizations

PO - Population Objective

PO - Prairie Organics

PO - Program Officer

PO - Purchase Order

POA - Plan and Ordinance Administration

POA - Programme Of Action (UN)

POA - Property Owners Association

POB - Point Of Beginning (surveyor term)

POC - Pew Oceans Commission

POC - Point Of Compliance

POC - Policty Oversight Committee (made up of elected representatives of constituency groups) (UN)

POC - Port-Orford Cedar

POC - Production Of Compound

POC - Property Owner Concerns (Conservation Fund)

POCI - Property Owner Compensation Initiative

POCLAD - Program on Corporations, Law, and Democracy

Pocosin - A wetland dominated by a dense cover of evergreen and deciduous shrubs. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

POE - Process Of Elimination

POEMS - Practical Ocean Energy Management Systems, Inc. http://www.poemsinc.org/home.html

POG - Pattern Of Growth

POGO - Project On Government Oversight

POH - Protection Of Habitat

Point - Unit of value of a stock as quoted by a stock exchange. May represent one dollar, one cent or one-eighth of a dollar, depending on the stock exchange.

Point of Beginning - In a deed description, it is a reference point from which the description begins. It is abbreviated as P.O.B. - Cadastral Data glossary

Points of Call - Monuments, landmarks, objects, boundaries, or other elements of a description, in a deed, that defines the limits of the boundaries of a parcel of land, e.g., "the NW corner of Lot 4", "the left bank of the river", "the north line of the J.P. Smith property", "the center of the county road", etc. The courts have held that where points-of-call are inconsistent with the measurements (either by course, angle, or distance) the points of call are paramount. - Cadastral Data glossary

POL - Privately Owned Land

POL - Profile Of Learning

POL - Publicly Owned Land

Pole - 5.5 yards; 16.5 feet; one rod. - Cadastral Data glossary

Pole/Sapling - The stage of forest succession in which trees are between three and seven inches in diameter and are the dominant vegetation.

Pole Timber - Trees at least five inches in diameter, but smaller than the minimum size or utilization standard for sawtimber.

Policy - A declared intention and course of action adopted by government, party, etc., for the achievement of a goal. (FAO-UN)

Policy - The National Park Service establishes specific criteria and procedures for how it will conduct its activities and carry out its mission. These policies apply to all NPS activities in all units of the National Park System. Park managers must comply with NPS policies, and the National Park Service may be sued in court for failure to comply with its own policies. (DOI/NPS)

Policy Objective - A more specific articulation of a Goal that guides application of Statewide Policies in the particular Planning Area.

Polishing Pond - The last in a series of settling ponds through which mill effluent flows before being discharged into the natural environment.

Polishing treatment - The final sewage treatment process to further reduce BOD5, suspended solids, and other pollutants. - Bioenergy Glossary

Point Source (of) Pollution - Pollutants that are discharged or emitted from discrete 'point' sources, such as pipes and smokestacks. Both the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act focus control requirements on point sources and both require permits for major sources of discharges from point sources. While much agricultural pollution is non-point source, some agricultural activities are affected: for example, feedlots of over 1000 animal units are considered point sources requiring permits under the Clean Water Act. However, irrigation return flows, although considered point sources, are expressly exempted from the permit requirement.

Political Rights - The right of people to participate in the political life of their communities and society. For example, the right to vote for their government or run for office. See Civil and Political Rights. - United Nations Charter / Human Rights Glossary

Political subdivision - The term "political subdivision" means any municipal corporation, township, or county. 10 O Jur 3d, Buildings, Zoning and Land Controls 255 A "political subdivision" means "county," "township," "city," "village," or "school district." 37 O Jur 3d, Elections 1 "Political subdivision" means the city health district; general health district; municipal corporation; board of park commissioners of a city, county, township, park district, or conservancy district; sanitary district; regional sewer and water district; and any other political subdivision of this state which is empowered to levy special assessments or charges. 84 O Jur 3d, Special Assessments 105fn "Public corporation" or "political subdivision" means counties, townships, municipal corporations, school districts, road districts, ditch districts, park districts, levee districts, and all other governmental agencies clothed with the power of levying general or special taxes. 92 O Jur 3d, Water 20fn

Polluted Water - Water containing a natural or human-made impurity. The water is classified as polluted when the concentration of the pollutant exceeds the acceptable standard for a particular use. Water that contains disease-causing or toxic substances is said to be contaminated.

Pollution/Contamination - A pollutant is any substance that is introduced into a water resource, naturally or by human activities, in sufficient amounts to adversely affect the quality of the resource for a specific use. Water pollution refers to the undesirable change in the condition of water to the point where the potential of the water for a specific use is limited or impaired. When the quality of a water resource falls below an acceptable level for a particular use, the water may be classified as polluted or contaminated. Pollution and contamination are very similar in meaning and often are used interchangeably. Contamination historically has related to water containing disease-causing or toxic substances that prevent or reduce the potential for use of that water. In recent times, the term contamination has been used to define the act of degrading the quality of a water supply or making a water supply impure, and to indicate that chemicals, sediments, or bacteriological impurities are present in water.

Pollution Prevention Act - 42 U.S.C. 13101 and 13102, s/s et seq. (1990) The Pollution Prevention Act focused industry, government, and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use. Opportunities for source reduction are often not realized because of existing regulations, and the industrial resources required for compliance, focus on treatment and disposal. Source reduction is fundamentally different and more desirable than waste management or pollution control. Pollution prevention also includes other practices that increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, or other natural resources, and protect our resource base through conservation. Practices include recycling, source reduction, and sustainable agriculture.

Polypedon - A volume of soil having properties within the limits of a soil series, the lowest and most homogeneous category of soil taxonomy. A "soil individual." - USDA

POO - Plan Of Operations

Pool Tail Embeddedness - The degree to which larger particles are covered or surrounded by finer sediments in the downstream end of a pool. A qualitative rating is assigned. The pool tail is where salmonids generally create redds for spawning. Greater pool tail embeddedness would be expected to reduce biotic productivity.

Pools - Very slow or stagnant water that forms where the channel bottom is substantially lower in elevation than upstream or downstream. For fisheries surveys, pools are classified by the feature that caused the pool to form. These features are undesignated, artificial, beaver, boulder, culvert, large woody debris, meander and root wad.

Poor filter - Because of rapid permeability the soil may not adequately filter effluent from a waste disposal system. - USDA

Poorly graded - Refers to a coarse grained soil or soil material consisting mainly of particles of nearly the same size. Because there is little difference in size of the particles, density can be increased only slightly by compaction. - USDA

POP - Points Of Presence

POP - Public Opinion Poll

POPP - Pursuit Of Power Politics

POPs - Persistent Organic Pollutants

Population - A group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area. Methods of specifying such an area may differ according to purpose. A common specification is the area within which gene flow is sufficient to avoid genetic differentiation. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Population - A group of individuals with common ancestry that are much more likely to mate with one another than with individuals from another such group. - UNDP/WRI

Population - Is the total membership or population or 'universe' of a defined class of people, objects, or events. There are two types of population viz. target population and survey population. A target population is the population outlined in the survey objects about which information is to be sought and a survey population is the population from which information can be obtained in the survey. The target population is also known as the scope of the survey and the survey population is also known as the coverage of the survey. For administrative records the corresponding populations are: the `target population' as defined by the relevant legislation and regulations, and the actual `client population'. (UN)

Population augmentation - Translocation between populations to increase population size. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Population Density - Total number of inhabitants per square unit of surface area.

Population dynamics - Properties of a population such a trend and regulation of population size. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Population Growth - The increase in a country's population, divided by the population. It reflects the number of births and deaths and the number of people moving to and from a country. Usually expressed as an annual average rate. (UNESCO)

Population Growth Rate (average annual) - The increase in a country's population during one year, divided by the population at the start of that year. It reflects the number of births and deaths during the period and the number of people moving to and from a country. The average annual population growth rates for a period of years provide a better picture than do rates for a single year. In 1998 total world population was more that 5.8 billion, and the average world population growth rate was between 1980 and 1998 1.6. (WB-UN)

Population Momentum - The tendency for population growth to continue beyond the time that replacement-level fertility has been achieved because of a relatively high concentration of people in the childbearing years. For example, the absolute numbers of people in developing countries will continue to increase over the next several decades even as the rates of population growth will decline. This phenomenon is due to past high fertility rates which results in a large number of young people. As these youth grow older and move through reproductive ages, the greater number of births will exceed the number of deaths in the older populations. (UNESCO)

Population Projections - Demographers make predictions about future population based on trends in fertility, mortality, and migration. (UNESCO)

Population trend - See increasing population trend, decreasing population trend, and stable population trend. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Population Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) - Assessment of the probability of extinction of a population or species (United Nations).

Pore Water Pressure (Pore Pressure) - The stress transmitted through the fluid that fills the voids between particles of a soil or rock mass. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Porosity - The relative quantity of holes or opening in a substance. The percentage of the volume of a material, such as soil or rock, that is occupied by pore spaces. Porosity is an indication of the capacity of the material to hold water.

Porphyry - Any igneous rock in which relatively large, conspicuous crystals (called phenocrysts) are set in a fine-grained groundmass.

Porphyry Copper - A deposit of disseminated copper minerals in a large body of porphyry.

Port Authority - A port authority is the agency responsible for ensuring that the port is provided with the services, facilities and equipment to enable goods and passengers to be transferred through the ports in the most efficient and cost effective manner to meet the needs of the port's users at a commercially acceptable rate of return.

Portal - Any nearly horizontal entrance to a mine. The surface entrance to a tunnel or adit.

Portfolio - A list of financial assets.

POS - Private open space (UN)

Positive Cultural Element - Human alterations that are scenically positive attributes, most of which have historical backgrounds or nostalgic connotations. Examples include split-rail fences, stone walls, barns, orchards, hedgerows, and cabins. There may be nodes, enclaves or constellations of positive cultural elements. - FS

POSS - Proposed Open Space System

Possible Reserves - Valuable mineralization not sampled enough to accurately estimate its tonnage and grade, or even verify its existence. Also called "inferred reserves".

Posted County Price (PCP) - This price is calculated for wheat and feed grains for each county by the Farm Service Agency. The PCP reflects changes in prices in major terminal grain markets (of which there are 18 in the country), corrected for the cost of transporting grain from the county to the terminal. It is utilized under the marketing loan repayment provisions and loan deficiency payment provisions of the wheat and feed grains commodity programs.

Postindustrialization - The phase in a country's economic development that follows industrialization and is characterized by the leading role of service sector in the national economy. - WB

Post harvest -- Refers to activities in the food and fiber sector that occur after agricultural products are sold from, or leave, the farm or ranch. In total, about 75% of the retail cost of the market basket of foods is added in post harvest activities.

Potable Water - Water that is safe and palatable for human consumption. Water that is safe to drink. (UN)

Potash Potassium - Compounds mined for fertilizer and for use in the chemical industry.

POTC - Property Owner and Tenant Concerns (Conservation Fund)

Potential Area of Critical Environmental Concern - An area of DOI-administered land that meets the relevance and importance criteria for Area of Critical Environmental Concern designation, as follows: (1) Relevance. There shall be present a significant historic, cultural, or scenic value; a fish or wildlife resource or other natural system or process; or natural hazard. (2) Importance. The above-described value, resource, system, process, or hazard shall have substantial significance and values. This generally requires qualities of more than local significance and special worth, consequence, meaning, distinctiveness, or cause for concern. A natural hazard can be important if it is a significant threat to human life or property. (DOI)

Potential breeding group - An adult and adult male that occupy the same cluster, whether or not they are accompanied by a helper, attempt to nest, or successfully fledge young. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

Potential evapotranspiration - Water loss that will occur if at no time there is a deficiency of water in the soil for use of vegetation. (Thornthwaite, 1944, p. 687.) - USGS

Potential national natural landmark - An area that, based on recommendation or initial comparison with other areas in the same natural region, seems to merit further study of its merits for possible national natural landmark designation. - NPS

Potential Natural Communities (PNC) - The stable biotic community that would become established on an ecological site if all successional stages were completed without human interference under present environmental conditions.

Potential natural water loss - The water loss during years when the annual precipitation greatly exceeds the average water loss. It represents the approximate upper limit to water loss under the type and density of vegetation native to a basin, actual conditions of moisture supply, and other basin characteristics, whereas potential evapotranspiration represents the hypothetical condition of no deficiency of water in the soil at any time for use of the type and density of vegetation that would develop. (After Troxell and others, 1954, pl. 11B.) - USGS

Potential rate of evaporation. See Evaporativity. - USGS

Potentiometric Surface - The level to which water rises in a tightly cased well constructed in a confined aquifer. In an unconfined aquifer, the potentiometric surface is the water table. The term piezometric is sometimes used in place of potentiometric.

Potentiometric Surface - A groundwater term relating to the contoured (mapped) surface showing the distribution of hydraulic head within a particular aquifer. In an unconfined aquifer, the potentiometric surface is the water table. In a confined aquifer the potentiometric surface illustrates how high water would rise in wells that penetrate the aquifer. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

POTUS - President Of The United States

Poverty - Living on less than one US dollar per day. - UNEP Children's Glossary

Poverty line - The income level people require to buy life's basic necessities- food, clothing, housing- and satisfy their most important sociocultural needs. The poverty line changes over time and varies by region. Also called subsistence minimum. - WB

POW - Planning of Wetlands

POW - Prisoner Of War

POWW - Palustrine Open Water Wetland

PP - Patent Pending

PP - Peer Pressure

PP - Permitted Proximity

PP - Physical Process

PP - Physiographic Province

PP - Pilot Program

PP - Plan Preparation

PP - Planning Phases

PP - Planned Parenthood

PP - Platform Positions

PP - Pocket Park

PP - Pocket Policeman

PP - Political Prisoner

PP - Political Purposes

PP - Population Poisoning

PP - Power Politics

PP - Power Pool

PP - Prairie Pothole (JVP-USFWS-DOI)

PP - Precautionary Principle

PP - Preservation Project

PP - Prevailing Party (legal)

PP - Protection Plan

PP - Public Parks

PP - Public Policy

PP - Public-Private

PP - Public Protest

PP - Purchasing Power

PPA - Paris Peace Accords

PPA - The Pinelands Protection Act

PPA - Pollution Prevention Act of 1990

PPA - Privacy Protection Act of 1980

PPA - Public Port Authority

PPAP - Public-Private Aid Package (includes tax abatements)

PPATT - Promoting Physical Activity Through Trails (CDC - Centers for Disease Control)

PPC - Personal Protective Clothing

PPC - Polystyrene Packaging Council

PPC - Public Power Council (NOAA/NMFS, Portland, Oregon)

PPE - Planning for Personal Enrichment

PPE - Plotting for Personal Enrichment

P/PE - Presumed/Possibly Extinct

PPG - Pacific Power Grid

PPG - Projected Population Goal

PPG - Public Policy Goals

PPI - Pilot Projects Initiative (The U.S. Institute)

PPI - Public Policy Information

PPM - Parts Per Million

PPMVD - Parts Per Million Volume Day

PPOS - Public Parks / Open Space

PPP - Parallel Programs and Policies

PPP - Pastured Poultry Producers

PPP - Plan Puebla-Panama

PPP - Polluter Pays Principle (IUCN)

PPP - Public-Private Partnerships

PPP - Purchasing-Power Parity (UN)

PPP - 'Power Point' Presentation

PPR - Preserve Protect and Restore

PPR - Private Property Rights

PPR - Provincial Project Review

PPRC - Pulp and Paperworkers Resource Council

PPRP - Parkways and Park Roads Program

PPS - Precision Positioning Service (GPS)

PPT - Parts Per Thousand

PPWC - Pumping Plant for Water Control

PR - Parental Rights

PR - Participation Requirements

PR - Passive Recreation

PR - Payout Requirement

PR - Peer Review

PR - Permit Retirement

PR - Personal Responsibility

PR - Phosphate Rock

PR - Population Reduction

PR - Primary Rights

PR - Protected Resources

PR - Protocol Ratification

PR - Public Relations

PRA - Participatory rural appraisal

PRAC - People Raging Against Creeps

PRAC - Property Rights Action Committee

PRACFL - Property Rights Action Committee

Practice factor (P factor - USLE) - The ratio of soil loss with a support practice like contouring, stripcropping, or terracing, to soil loss with straight-row farming up and down the slope. - National Resources Inventory

PRAHWG - Property Rights Ad Hoc Working Group, Washington, D.C., based property rights coalition, organized by Andrew Langer of NFIB

Prairie - Land predominately covered in grasses. - Everglades Plan glossary

Prairie Potholes - A type of wetland characteristic of glaciated areas in the Upper Midwest (North Dakota especially) that is at the center of a shallow depression. Many potholes are wet during only a portion of the year, usually early spring. They provide important nesting habitat for migratory waterfowl, and were designated as a national priority area by the Secretary of Agriculture under the Conservation Reserve Program.

PRAIRIEMAP - Prairie Ecosystem Map Assessment Project (DOI/USGS) http://prairiemap.wr.usgs.gov/  and http://prairiemap.wr.usgs.gov/ftp/  and VERY important Links page: http://prairiemap.wr.usgs.gov/links.htm

PRB - Population Reference Bureau (a link on the VHEMT Links page) Non-advocacy is their watchword, statistics as pure as they can get. Informing the public about demographics since 1929. Providing numbers about political entities with less political influence. Includes links to many other sources of demographic data.

PRB - Productive Resource Base

PRBCA - Platte River Basin Cooperative Agreement (Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming)

PRBO - Point Reyes Bird Observatory

PRBRC - Powder River Basin Resource Council http://www.worc.org - member, Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) (RED FLAG)

PRC - Pacific Rivers Council

PRC - Parental Report Card

PRC - Parents Rights Coalition

PRC - Preliminary Review Comments

PRC - Public Relations Campaign

PRCA - Property Rights Congress