(b)(2) Water - Section 3406(b)(2) of the CVPIA directs the Secretary of the Interior to dedicate and manage annually eight hundred thousand acre-feet of Central Valley Project yield for the primary purpose of implementing the fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration purposes and measures authorized by the CVPIA.  The 800,000 acre-feet of water dedicated by the CVPIA is referred to as "(b)(2) water." - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary

 

BA - Big Arm

 

BA - Biodiversity Associates

 

BA - Biological Agent

 

BA - Boundary Adjustment (NPS and others)

 

BA - Buildable Area

 

BA - Business Alliance

 

BAA - Bay Area Action

 

BAC - Bureau of Arms Control

 

BACC - Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Incorporated

 

Back Country Byway - A road segment designated as part of the National Scenic Byway System. (BLM)

 

Back Pressure - A pressure that can cause water to backflow into the water supply when a user’s water system is at a higher pressure than the public water system.

 

Backfill - Material used in refilling excavation, or the process of such refilling,  Material used to fill an excavated trench.

 

Backfilling - The replacement of soil and earth removed during mining. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Backflow - A reverse flow condition, created by a difference in water pressures, which causes water to flow back into the distribution system.

 

Backfurrow - The first cut of a plow, from which the slice is laid on undisturbed soil.

 

Background - That part of a scene, landscape, etc., which is furthest from the viewer, usually from three miles to infinity from the observer.

 

Background Level - The amount of a pollutant present in water or air from natural sources. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Backpacking - Hiking in combination with primitive camping, carrying camping and food materials in a backpack.

 

Back Pumping - The process of pumping water in a manner in which the water is returned to its source. - Everglades Plan glossary

 

Backsiphonage - Reverse seepage of water in a distribution system. – USGS

 

Backwashing - Reversing the flow of water through a home treatment device filter or membrane to clean and remove deposits. - USGS

 

Backwater - A small, generally shallow body of water with little or no current of its own.  Stagnant water in a small stream or inlet.  Water moved backward or held back by a dam, tide, etc.

 

Backwater - Water backed up or retarded in its course as compared with its normal or natural condition of flow. In stream gaging, a rise in stage produced by a temporary obstruction such as ice or weeds, or by the flooding of the stream below. The difference between the observed stage and that indicated by the stage-discharge relation, is reported as backwater. - USGS

 

BACT - Best available control technology (EPA)

 

Badland - A region nearly devoid of vegetation where erosion has cut the land into an intricate maze of narrow ravines, and sharp crests and pinnacles, instead of curving hills and valleys of the ordinary type. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

 

BAE - Bureau of Agricultural Economics

 

Baffle - A flat board or plate, deflector, guide or similar device constructed or placed in flowing water to cause more uniform flow velocities, to absorb energy, and to divert, guide, or agitate the flow.

 

BAGLY - Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth

 

Bajadas - The lower slopes of mountains characterized by loose sediment and poor soil development. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

 

Balance - Balance is first referred to in Paragraph 6(iii) of the Operational Guidelines with reference to efforts to maintain a "reasonable balance between the numbers of cultural heritage and the natural heritage properties" included in the World Heritage List.  This statement is reaffirmed in Paragraph 15 of the Operational Guidelines (UNESCO February 1996: 2, 3 and 5) and is in conformity with the spirit of the Convention as an instrument for the conservation of both the natural and the cultural heritage. In the section of the Operational Guidelines concerned with the granting of international assistance, Paragraph 111 states that a "balance will be maintained between funds allocated to projects for the preservation of the cultural heritage on the one hand and projects for the conservation of the natural heritage on the other hand" (UNESCO February 1996: 38). Section VI of the Operational Guidelines is entitled "Balance between the Cultural and the Natural Heritage in the Implementation of the Convention" (UNESCO February 1996: 40-41).  Paragraph 121 outlines a number of measures recommended by the Committee to achieve this balance (UNESCO February 1996: 40-41). The balance between the numbers of natural and cultural properties inscribed in the World Heritage List was the subject of discussion at the March 1996 "Expert Meeting on Evaluation of general principles and criteria for nominations of natural World Heritage sites" (UNESCO 15 April 1996).  The report of the Expert Meeting notes that ""balance" is not about numbers, but about representativity for biogeographical regions or events in the history of life" (UNESCO 15 April 1996: 6). The World Heritage Bureau and Committee will consider the substance of the report of the Expert Meeting at their twentieth sessions in 1996.

 

Balance of Payments - An accounting statement measuring the value of goods, services and capital exchanged between a country and all foreign countries. A nation is said to have either: (1) a balance of payments deficit if it sends abroad less in goods, services, and capital than it receives from foreigners; or (2) a balance of payments surplus if it sends abroad more in goods, services, and capital than it receives.

 

Balance of Payments Manual 5 (BPM5) - The manual describes the methodology for measuring the economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world. The International Monetary Fund is the custodian of BPM5. (UN)

 

Balance of Trade - The difference in value between a country's merchandise imports and exports in a specified period. A country's balance of trade is only one factor -- though an important one -- in its balance of payments.

 

Balanced Head Condition - The condition in which the water pressure on the upstream and downstream sides of an object are equal (such as an emergency or regulating gate).

 

Balkanization - The fragmentation of a region into smaller, often hostile, political units.  The term comes from the Balkan Peninsula of Europe, a region that has balkanized may time, and is still undergoing balkanization.

 

Ballast water - Ocean-going ships load up with water in bilge holds using the extra mass to keep them stable while they ply their way to their destination port. More ballast is used when ship are not fully loaded with cargo and this water is then pumped back into the sea when the ship takes on new cargo. Many problems can result if discharged ballast water contains pollutants or living organisms that can potentially have negative effects on local marine life at the destination port. (UNESCO)

 

Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298, 312 (1922) - In Balzac, Chief Justice William Howard Taft stated that the United States District Court for Arecibo, Porto Rico, as Puerto Rico was known then, "created by virtue of the sovereign congressional faculty, granted under Article IV, § 3, of that instrument, of making all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory belonging to the United States."   Puerto Rico is the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and it has not been incorporated into the United States though its inhabitants are United States citizens.  The inclusion of Puerto Rico in Chapter 5 as § 119 does not make the district court for Puerto Rico an Article III court because Puerto Rico has not been incorporated into the Union. Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1921) and Mookini v. United States, 303 U.S. 201 (1938) made it clear that a "district court of the United States" described a court created under Article III and a "United States district court" described a territorial court.  The former identified a constitutional court of the United States exercising the judicial power of the United States and the latter merely identified a court for a district of the government of the United States.

 

BANANA - Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything

 

Band Application - The spreading of chemicals over, or next to, each row of plants in a field, as opposed to broadcast application.

 

BANDESA - Banco Nacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (Guatemala)

 

Banding - Applying fertilizer or other amendment into the soil (7-15 cm, or 2.7-6 in, deep) in a thin narrow strip (band), as beside or beneath a planted row of seeds or plants.

 

Band-Interleaved-by-Line (BIL) - BIL is a CCT tape format that stores all bands of satellite data in one image file. Scanlines are sequenced by interleaving all image bands. The CCT header appears once in a set. - USDA glossary

 

Band-Interleaved-by-Pixel (BIP) - When using the BIP image format, each line of an image is stored sequentially, line 1 all bands, line 2 all bands, etc. For example, the first line of a three-band image would be stored as p1b1, p1b2, p1b3, p2b1, p2b2, p2b3, where p1b1 indicates pixel one, band one, p1b2 indicates pixel one, band two, etc. - USDA glossary

 

Band-Interleaved-by Pixel-Pair (BIP-2)(CCT-X) - BIP-2 is a CCT tape format available only for MSS data acquired before 1979. Data in each of four vertical swaths are stored in a separate image file. Scanlines are sequenced and interleaved-by-pixel- pairs. The CCT header information is recorded on each image file. BIP-2 is sometimes referred to as CCT-X format. - USDA glossary

 

Bank - The margins of a channel. Banks are called right or left as viewed facing in the direction of the flow. – USGS

 

The “Bank for International Settlements” (BIS) was established at Basle, Switzerland, in 1930 with the object of promoting cooperation among central banks. It performs four primary functions: (1) it is the “central banks’ bank,” accepting central banks’ reserves as deposits and using them for lending to central banks and for investment in the market on a short-term basis; (2) it is a forum for monetary cooperation among central banks and international financial institutions; (3) it acts as agent, depository, etc., in the implementation of international financial agreements and provides secretariat facilities for a number of central bank committees; and (4) it is a center for monetary and economic research. The central banks, or financial institutions acting in their stead, of 25 European countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and the United States are represented at BIS general meetings. – WB

 

Bank Full - An established river stage at a given location along a river which is intended to represent the maximum safe water level that will not overflow the river banks or cause any significant damage within the river reach.

 

Bankfull stage - Stage at which a stream first overflows its natural banks. (See also Flood stage. Bankfull stage is a hydraulic term, whereas flood stage implies damage.) – USGS

 

Bank Storage - Water that has infiltrated from a reservoir into the surrounding land where it remains in storage until water level in the reservoir is lowered.

 

Bank storage - The water absorbed into the banks of a stream channel, when the stages rise above the water table in the bank formations, then returns to the channel as effluent seepage when the stages fall below the water table. (After Houk, 1951, p. 179.) - USGS

 

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 - P.L. 75-210 authorized acquisition by the federal government of damaged lands to rehabilitate and use them for various purposes. Some Bankhead-Jones lands are managed by both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Some Forest Service Bankhead Jones lands are National Grasslands.

 

Banks for Cooperatives (BC) - Lending institutions within the Farm Credit System that provide credit to agricultural cooperatives and rural utility cooperatives nationwide. Currently, there are two BCs with national charters -- the St. Paul Bank for Cooperatives and CoBank Agricultural Bank (Denver). CoBank also has the authority to finance U.S. agricultural exports and to provide international banking services to farmer-owned cooperatives.

 

Banquette - An embankment at the toe of the land side of a levee, constructed to protect the levee from sliding when saturated with water.

 

BAP – The Beijing Action Plan (UN)

 

Bardon v Northern Pac R Co. 12 S CT 856, 145 US 535, 538 36L, ED 806 - ‘It is well settled that all land to which any claim or rights of others is attached does not fall within the designation of public lands.’ United States Supreme Court Decision

 

BARE - Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics

 

Bargaining Association - A farmer cooperative intended primarily to influence farm prices or other terms of trade between the members and the buyers of the commodities they produce.

 

Bark Beetle - An insect that bores through the bark of forest trees to eat the inner bark and lay its eggs.  Bark beetles are important killers of forest trees.

 

Barrage (gate-structure dam) - A barrier built across a river, comprising a series of gates which when fully open allow the flood to pass without appreciably increasing the flood level upstream of the barrage.

 

Barrage - Any artificial obstruction placed in water to increase water level or divert it. Usually the idea is to control peak flow for later release. – USGS

 

Barrel of oil equivalent - A unit of energy equal to the amount of energy contained in a barrel of crude oil. Approximately 5.78 million Btu or 1,700 kWh. A barrel is a liquid measure equal to 42 gallons. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Barren - A General cover category consisting of nonvegetated lands, including alkaline barrens, unreclaimed mined land, and other barren areas incapable of supporting vegetation. Barren areas are nonvegetated either because the substrate will not support plant growth or because the area is subject to frequent disturbance (e.g., scouring, flooding) that prevents plant growth. - National Resources Inventory

 

Barren land - A Land cover/use category used to classify lands with limited capacity to support life and having less than 5 percent vegetative cover. Vegetation, if present, is widely spaced. Typically, the surface of barren land is sand, rock, exposed subsoil, or salt-affected soils. Subcategories include salt flats; sand dunes; mud flats; beaches; bare exposed rock; quarries, strip mines, gravel pits, and borrow pits; riverwash; oil wasteland; mixed barren lands; and other barren land. - National Resources Inventory

 

Barren Solution - A solution in hydrometalurgical treatment from which all valuable constituents have been removed. See Pregnant Solution. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Barrio - Term meaning "neighborhood" in Spanish. Usually refers to an urban community in a Middle or South American city: also applied to low-income, inner-city concentrations of Hispanics in such western U.S. cities as Los Angeles.

 

BART - Belle Air Residents for Truth (San Bruno, CA)

 

Barter - A form of countertrade in which goods having offsetting values are exchanged under a single contract, within a specified period of time, and without any flow of money taking place. The U.S. government ran a barter program from 1950 to 1973, exchanging surplus agricultural commodities for strategic materials and for goods and services it otherwise would have purchased. In addition, barter agreements between the United States and Jamaica were signed in 1982 and 1983.

 

BAS - Best Available Science

 

Basal Area - The area of the cross section of a tree trunk near its base, usually four and one-half feet above the ground, expressed in square feet per acre and is a measure of stocking density.  Basal area is a way to measure how much of a site is occupied by trees.  The term basal area is often used to describe the collective basal area of trees per acre.  

 

Basal Area - The area in square feet of the cross section at breast height of a single tree, a group of trees, or all of the trees in a stand, usually expressed in square feet per acre. - USDA/FS

 

Basal Cover (Area) - The area of ground surface covered by the stem or stems of a rangeland plant, usually measured 1 inch above the soil, in contrast to the full spread of the foliage.

 

Basalt - Fine-grained, dark-colored igneous rocks that are either intrusive or extrusive. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Base - A substance that has a pH value between 7 and 14.

 

Base acreage (or crop acreage base) - A farm's crop-specific acreage of wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, or rice eligible to participate in commodity programs under previous farm legislation. For wheat and feed grains, this was an average of the acreage planted or considered planted for harvest on the farm for the preceding 5 crop years. For upland cotton and rice, the average is for the preceding 3 years. Acreage considered planted included acreage idled under acreage reduction programs or for weather-related reasons or natural disasters; acreage devoted to conservation purposes or planted to certain other allowed commodities; and acreage the Secretary determined was necessary for fair and equitable treatment. A farmer's crop acreage base is reduced by the portion of land placed in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), but is increased by CRP base acreage leaving the CRP.  - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

 

Base Acres - See Acreage Base.

 

Base-Country Invariance - The index-number property that involves the symmetrical treatment of all countries, with the result that the relative index-number standings of the countries are not affected by the choice of the reference (numeraire) country. (UN)

 

Base Course - A layer of specified or selected material of planned thickness constructed on the sub-grade or sub-base for the purpose of serving one or more functions such as distributing load, providing drainage, minimizing frost action, etc.

 

Base discharge (for peak discharge) - In the Geological Survey's annual reports on surface-water supply, the discharge above which peak discharge data are published. The base discharge at each station is selected so that an average of about three peaks a year will be presented. (See also Partial-duration flood series.) – USGS

 

Base-end station - Observation station at either end of a base line, containing an azimuth instrument or depression position finder, used to supply position data for the indirect aiming of coast artillery weapons. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Base Flood - The flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.  This term is used in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to indicate the minimum level of flooding to be used by a community in its flood plain management regulations.

 

Base Flow - Ground water inflow to the river.  Portion of stream discharge that is derived from natural storage.

 

Base Line - A surveyed line established with more than usual care; used as the known length of a triangle (in triangulation) for computing the other triangle sides. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Base Line (sectionalized land) - A parallel of latitude, or approximately a parallel of latitude, running through an arbitrary point chosen as the starting point for all sectionalized land within a given area. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Base line - A pre-surveyed horizontal line used for accurate position-finding and fire control, with observation posts called base-end stations at either end. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Baselining - Obtaining data on the current process that provide the metrics against which to compare improvements and to use in benchmarking. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

 

Beaux-Arts - French term [Ecole Nationale et Spéciale des Beaux-Arts, Paris] meaning fine arts; label for an architectural movement and training program, and for its associated architects, 1865-1915; loosely, architecture as fine art, characterized by an emphasis on classical tradition; Beaux-Arts was sometimes used as an alternative term for Classical or Colonial Revival design in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Base Metal - A metal inferior in value to gold and silver, a term generally applied to the commercial metals such as copper and lead. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Base Property - For the Bureau of Land Management: land or water resources, owned or controlled by a holder of a grazing permit or lease, that are suitable to support livestock for a part of the year. For the Forest Service: lands and improvements owned and used by a permittee for a farm or ranch and designated by the permittee to qualify for a grazing permit. One must own or control base property to be eligible for permits or leases to graze private livestock on federal lands.

 

Base Property - Lands or water sources on a ranch that are owned by or under long-term control of the operator. - BLM

 

Base Rates - The minimum cash price for national forest timber to be cut and removed.

 

Base runoff - Sustained or fair weather runoff. In most streams, base runoff is composed largely of groundwater effluent. (Langbein and others, 1947, p. 6.) The term base flow is often used in the same sense as base runoff. However, the distinction is the same as that between streamflow and runoff. When the concept in the terms base flow and base runoff is that of the natural flow in a stream, base runoff is the logical term. (See also Ground-water runoff and Direct runoff.) - USGS

 

Base Saturation Percentage (base cation saturation) - The degree to which the adsorption complex of a soil is saturated with basic cations (cations other than hydrogen and aluminum), usually expressed in percentage.

 

Baseline (condition or alternative) - Conditions that would prevail if no actions were taken (future without).

 

Baseline Profile - Used for a survey of the environmental conditions and organisms existing in a region prior to unnatural disturbances.

 

Baseload - Minimum load in a power system over a given period of time.

 

Baseloading - Running water through a power plant at a roughly steady rate, thereby producing power at a steady rate.  

 

Basic Commodities - Six agricultural crops (corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, tobacco, and wheat) declared by permanent law as requiring federal price support.

 

Basic Control - In cadastral cartography, the horizontal control of the base control map. The basic control is the position of points which has been accurately coordinated and correlated by a method called analytical bridging - forming a network of lines to which other surveys and deeds are adjusted. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Basic Formula Price (BFP) - Calculated monthly by USDA, the BFP is the base price for all milk regulated by federal milk marketing orders. Currently, the BFP is based on the preceding month's average price of Grade B milk paid by processors in Minnesota and Wisconsin, adjusted by current- month changes in the value of certain manufactured dairy products.  

 

Basic Headings - The subdivisions of final expenditure which correspond to the first aggregation of price (or quantity) ratios for individual specifications or items. Basic headings are sometimes referred to as detailed categories. (UN)

 

Basic hydrologic data - Includes inventories of features of land and water that vary only from place to place (topographic and geologic maps are examples), and records of processes that vary with both place and time. (Records of precipitation, streamflow, groundwater, and quality-of-water analyses are examples.) - USGS

 

Basic hydrologic information - A broader term that includes surveys of the water resources of particular areas and a study of their physical and related economic processes, interrelations and mechanisms. – USGS

 

Basic Land Unit - The parcel, or land parcel.- Cadastral Data glossary

 

Basic-stage flood series - See Partial duration flood series. - USGS

 

Basin Programs - Sets of state administrative rules that establish types and amounts of water uses allowed in the state's major river basins and form the basis for issuing water rights. (BLM)

 

Basin Runoff Model - Any one of the computer programs that mathematically models basin characteristics to forecast reservoir inflow from rainfall and/or streamflow data.

 

BASINS - Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (EPA)

 

BASIS - Bill Action and Status Inquiry System (Congress)

 

Basis - The difference between the current spot price (or cash price) of a commodity and the price of the nearest futures contract for the same or a related commodity. Basis is usually computed in relation to the futures contract next to expire and may reflect different time periods, product forms, qualities, or locations.

 

Basis Risk - The possibility of unexpected variation in basis and a resulting loss of expected revenue when a futures contract is liquidated and the commodity sold on the cash market.

 

BASS - Battlefield Area Surveillance Systems 

 

BASS - Battlefield Automated Subordinate Systems 

 

BASS - BCE Automated Support System 

 

BASS - Black Agents in the Secret Service

 

BASS - Broadband Array Spectrograph System 

 

BASS - Bulk Agent Stockpile Summary

 

BASS, Inc. - Business Application Software Services, Inc.

 

BAT - best available technology and practices

 

BATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

 

Bathymetric - Of or having to do with the depth of large bodies of water. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

 

Bathymetry - The measurement of depths of water in oceans, seas, and lakes. Also, the information derived from such measurements. - USDA glossary

 

BAU - Business As Usual

 

Bay-Delta - The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a low, nearly flat alluvial tract of land formed by deposits at the converging mouths of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary

 

BB - Bucket Brigade

 

BBA - Black Book of Arson (Loompanics Unlimited)

 

BBC - British Broadcasting Co

 

BBI - Business-to-Business Information

 

BBLs - Barrels (a measure of the quantity of condensate)

 

BBN - Bring Back the Natives [DOI/USFWS program that 'supports on-the-ground habitat restoration projects that benefit native aquatic species (e.g., native fish, aquatic insects, mollusks, and amphibians) in the historic range.]

 

BBO - Broad-Based Organizations

 

BBR - Big Bend Reach (Nebraska)

 

BBS - Broad-Based Support

 

BBT - Binational Border Transportation

 

BC - Benefit Cost

 

BC – Bicycle Coalition

 

BC - Biodiversity Conservation

 

BC - Bioregional Councils

 

BC - Buffer Council

 

BC - Bulk Companies

 

BC - The Business Community

 

BCBP - Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol new department)

 

BCC - Banking and Currency Committee

 

BCC - Biological Connecting Corridor

 

BCD - Behind Closed Doors

 

BCD - Biological and Conservation Data (a copyrighted patent product of The Nature Conservancy)

 

BCDS - Biological and Conservation Data System

 

BCEII - British Columbia Environmental Information Institute (Canada)

 

BCESC - British Columbia Endangered Species Coalition

 

BCF - Billion Cubic Feet (a measure of quantity of natural gas)

 

BCFS - Biodiversity Conservation Focus Site http://ddcf.aibs.org/forestry/loi2002/rloi.asp

 

BCFA - British Canadian Forest Alliance (Canada)

 

BCFA - British Contract Furnishing Association

 

BCIO - Building Communities from the Inside Out

 

BCIS - Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration http://www.bcis.gov

 

BCMA - Brevard County Manufacturers Association (Florida)

 

BCPGV - Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

 

BCPLAW - Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works  (1971)

 

BCR - Benefit-Cost Ratio

 

BCS - The Basel Convention Secretariat (UN)

 

BCSD - Business Council for Sustainable Development

 

BCWG - Buffer Council Watershed Goal

 

BD - Believable Deception

 

BD - Bird Depredation

 

BDA - Back Door Approach

 

BDA - Border Development Authority

 

BDF - Business Development Funds

 

BDG - Business Development Grant

 

BDPO - Breeding Duck Population Objective

 

BDR - Baseline Documentation Report

 

BDR – Bill Draft Request (legislative)

 

BDW - The Berry, Dexter, Wilson Ponds Watershed Association (Maine)

 

BE - Building Envelope

 

BEA - U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis

 

Beach - A Barren land subcategory. Includes the area adjacent to the shore of an ocean, sea, large river, or lake that is washed by the tide or waves. - National Resources Inventory

 

Beaching - The action of water waves by which beach materials settle into the water because of removal of finer materials.

 

Bearing - The direction of a line measured from north or south to east or west, not exceeding 90 degrees. Examples: North 30 Degrees West or South 87 Degrees East. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Bearing Tree - A tree that is used as a reference to the position of a corner. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

BECC - Border Environment Cooperation Commission

 

BED - Border Economic Development

 

Bed Elevation - Height of streambed above a specified level.

 

Bed Layer - The flow layer, several grain diameters thick (usually taken as two grain diameters thick), immediately above the bed.                

 

Bed Load - The part of the total stream load that is moved on or immediately above the stream bed, such as the larger or heavier particles (boulders, pebbles, gravel) transported by traction or saltation along the bottom; the part of the load that is not continuously in suspension or solution.  Sediment that moves by rolling or sliding along the bed and is essentially in contact with the streambed in the bed layer.  Coarse sediments carried along near the bottom of a river.

 

Bed Load Discharge - The quantity of bed load passing a cross section of a stream in a unit in time.

 

Bed Material - Unconsolidated material, or sediment mixture, of which a streambed is composed.

 

Bed Material Discharge - That part of the total sediment discharge which is composed of grain sizes found in the bed.  The bed material discharge is assumed equal to the transport capability of the flow.

 

Bedding - Ground, or layer of such, for support purposes on which pipe is laid.  Soil is placed beneath and beside a pipe to support the load on the pipe.

 

Bedding Plane - A separation or weakness between two layers of rock, caused by changes during the building up of the rock-forming material.

 

Bedrock - The solid rock at the surface or underlying other surface materials.  Rock of relatively great thickness and extent in its native location.  A general term for any solid rock, not exhibiting soil-like properties, that underlie soil or other unconsolidated surficial materials.  As distinguished from boulders.  The consolidated body of natural solid mineral matter which underlies the overburden soils.  The solid rock that underlies all soil, sand, clay, gravel, and other loose materials on the earth’s surface.  Any sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic material represented as a unit in geology; being a sound and solid mass, layer, or ledge of mineral matter; and with shear wave velocities greater than 2,500 feet per second

 

BEED - Border Economic and Enterprise Development

 

Beef (cattle) Price Index (BPI) - An index of the weighted average annual price for beef cattle, excluding calves, for an 11 western state area as compared with a specific base period equal to 100. This index is used in calculating federal grazing fees.

 

BEF - Bonneville Environmental Foundation

 

BEF - Buckeye Egg Farms

 

Behave - A system of interactive computer programs for modeling fuel and fire behavior that consists of two systems: BURN and FUEL. – FS

BEHAVE - Behavioral Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation & Ecosystem Management (affiliated with Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch) http://alic.arid.arizona.edu/behave/index.html

 

Behavior - Reaction of an animal to its environment.

 

Being - Denotes a secondary call. In to the northeast corner of Brown's land, being also a two-inch iron pipe, the "two inch pipe" is usually the secondary or informative call, whereas "Brown's corner" is normally the superior call. A "being clause" is frequently a controlling call. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Being Clause - The "being clause' of a deed denotes the origin or history of the present deed, such as being the same land conveyed to Brown in Book 1237, page 672, of Official Records. If a change is made in the wording of a deed, there should always be inserted a being clause. Reference to a being clause generally does not serve to enlarge or restrict a particular and sufficient description of land conveyed. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

BEIP - Business Employment Incentive Program

 

Below-cost Timber Sale - A timber sale from national forest lands in which the expected federal revenues are less than the estimated federal expenses to sell the timber.

 

Bench - A working level or step in a cut.

 

Benching - Installing fill materials in lifts. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Bench Mark (BM) - A permanent or temporary monument of known elevation above sea level, used for vertical control at a construction site.  A point of known or assumed elevation used as a reference in determining other elevations.  A permanent reference point (elevation) used in a survey.

 

Bench Mark - A point whose elevation, above or below some definite or assumed datum, is known. A benchmark can be natural or artificial, and it can be either permanent or temporary. - Cadastral Data glossary

 

Benchmark Soil - A benchmark soil is one of large extent, one that holds a key position in the soil classification system, one for which there is a large amount of data, or one that has special significance to farming, engineering, forestry, ranching, recreational development, urban development, wetland restoration, or other uses. The cost of investigation and the large number of combinations of soil uses and management practices preclude laboratory and field studies of all soils; therefore, studies of benchmark soils are essential. A benchmark soil is selected because it can represent other soils. Knowledge of the properties and behavior of benchmark soils is applied to the understanding and interpretation of other soils with similar properties. This knowledge is important to soil technology and the use of soil surveys.

 

Benchmark - A measurement or standard that serves as a point of reference by which process performance is measured. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

 

Benchmarking - A structured approach for identifying the best practices from industry and government, and comparing and adapting them to the organization's operations. Such an approach is aimed at identifying more efficient and effective processes for achieving intended results, and suggesting ambitious goals for program output, product/service quality, and process improvement. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

 

Bench terrace - A raised, level or nearly level strip of earth constructed on or nearly on the contour, supported by a barrier of rocks or similar material, and designed to make the soil suitable for tillage and to prevent accelerated erosion. – USDA

 

Benefit-Cost Analysis - A technique to compare the various costs associated with an investment with the benefits that it proposes to return. Both tangible and intangible factors should be addressed and accounted for. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

 

Benefit-cost Ratio - The ratio of the present value of project benefits to the present value of the project costs, used in economic analysis.

 

Beneficial Use - Water loss through use for the betterment of society, e.g. irrigation or municipal use (consumptive use). The reasonable use of water for a purpose consistent with the laws and best interest of the peoples of the state. Such uses include, but are not limited to, the following: instream, out of stream and groundwater uses, domestic, municipal, industrial water supply, mining, irrigation, livestock watering, fish and aquatic life, wildlife, fishing, water contact recreation, aesthetics and scenic attraction, hydropower, and commercial navigation. (BLM)

 

Beneficiary - Any individual, entity, or governmental agency (local, State, or Federal) that benefits from a project.

 

Benificiation - The dressing or processing of ores to (1) regulate the size of a desired product, (2) remove unwanted constituents, and (3) improve the quality, purity, or assay grade of a desired product. Beneficiation includes concentration or other preparation of ore for smelting by drying, flotation, or magnetic separation. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Benthic - Bottom of rivers, lakes, or oceans; organisms that live on the bottom of water bodies.  Bottom- or depth-inhabiting.

 

Benthos - Organisms living in or on the bottom of a lake, pond, ocean, stream, etc.

 

Bentonite - A clay mineral formed from the decomposing of volcanic ash. Commonly bentonite can readily absorb or adsorb water and well accordingly. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Bentonite panel - An organic clay sheeting (compressed and rolled) to provide a waterproof membrane. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Bentonitic Clay - A clay with a high content of the mineral montmorillonite, usually characterized by high swelling upon wetting.

 

Benzene - The simplest aromatic hydrocarbon, found in coal tar and used extensively as an industrial solvent and in laboratories. Also used in manufacture of styrene products, lacquers, varnishes and paints. A highly inflammable, narcotic liquid that is also a carcinogen. (UNESCO)

 

BEP - The Border Ecology Project, also known as EWF - Eco Web Fronteriza (UN)

http://www.borderecoweb.sdsu.edu/bew/drct_pgs/b/bep.html

 

Berm - A horizontal strip or shelf built into an embankment or cut to break the continuity of the slope, usually for the purpose of reducing erosion or to increase the thickness of the embankment at a point of change in a slope or defined water surface elevation.  A horizontal step in the sloping profile of an embankment dam.  A shelf that breaks the continuity of a slope, or artificial ridge of earth.  A ledge or shoulder, as along the edge of a road or canal.  An artificial ridge of earth.  A mound of earth.

 

Berm - A ledge, embankment, or shoulder, often man-made, and typically earthen; also, a narrow path between a fortification parapet and its surrounding ditch. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Berman v. Parker 348 U.S. 26  (1954) - (SC decision that allowed local governments to condemn land for urban renewal and then transfer title to private parties.) No. 22 Argued October 19, 1954. Decided November 22, 1954. Syllabus: The District of Columbia Redevelopment Act of 1945 is constitutional, as applied to the taking of appellants' building and land (used solely for commercial purposes) under the power of eminent domain, pursuant to a comprehensive plan prepared by an administrative agency for the redevelopment of a large area of the District of Columbia so as to eliminate and prevent slum and substandard housing conditions -- even though such property may later be sold or leased to other private interests subject to conditions designed to accomplish these purposes. Pp. 28-36.

      (a) The power of Congress over the District of Columbia includes all the legislative powers which a state may exercise over its affairs. Pp. 31-32.

      (b) Subject to specific constitutional limitations, the legislature, not the judiciary, is the main guardian of the public needs to be served by social legislation enacted in the exercise of the police power, and this principle admits of no exception merely because the power of eminent domain is involved. P. 32.

      (c) This Court does not sit to determine whether or not a particular housing project is desirable. P. 33.

      (d) If Congress decides that the Nation's Capital shall be beautiful as well as sanitary, there is nothing in the Fifth Amendment that stands in the way. P. 33.

      (e) Once the object is within the authority of Congress, the right to realize it through the exercise of eminent domain is clear. P. 33.

      (f) Once the public purpose has been established, the means of executing the project are for Congress and Congress alone to determine. P. 33.

      (g) This Court cannot say that public ownership is the sole method of promoting the public purposes of a community redevelopment project, and it is not beyond the power of Congress to utilize an agency of private enterprise for this purpose, or to authorize the taking of private property and its resale or lease to the same or other private parties as part of such a project. P. 34. [348 U.S. 27]

      (h) It is not beyond the power of Congress or its authorized agencies to attack the problem of the blighted parts of the community on an area, rather than on a structure-by-structure basis. Redevelopment of an entire area under a balanced integrated plan so as to include not only new homes, but also schools, churches, parks, streets, and shopping centers is plainly relevant to the maintenance of the desired housing standards, and therefore within congressional power. Pp. 34-35.

      (i) The standards contained in the Act are sufficiently definite to sustain the delegation of authority to administrative agencies to execute the plan to eliminate not only slums, but also the blighted areas that tend to produce slums. P. 35.

      (j) Once the public purpose is established, the amount and character of the land to be taken for the project and the need for a particular tract to complete the integrated plan rests in the discretion of the legislature. Pp. 35-36.

      (k) If the Redevelopment Agency considers it necessary in carrying out a redevelopment project to take full title to the land, as distinguished from the objectionable buildings located thereon, it may do so. P. 36.

      (l) The rights of these property owners are satisfied when they receive the just compensation which the Fifth Amendment exacts as the price of the taking. P. 36. 117 F.Supp. 705, modified and affirmed. [348 U.S. 28] * The Act does not define either "slums" or "blighted areas." Section 3(r), however, states: "Substandard housing conditions" means the conditions obtaining in connection with the existence of any dwelling, or dwellings, or housing accommodations for human beings, which because of lack of sanitary facilities, ventilation, or light, or because of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty interior arrangement, or any combination of these factors, is in the opinion of the Commissioners detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the inhabitants of the District of Columbia.

 

Berne Convention (copyright-international) - The major multilateral copyright treaty, signed in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886. The Berne Convention, whose members form the Berne Union, is adhered to by more than 75 nations. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the administering agency for the Berne Union.

 

Best Available Technology And Practices - The applying of the most advanced systems, techniques, procedures, and controls, determined on a case-by-case basis by the regulatory agency. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

Best Management Practices - Practices designed to prevent or reduce water pollution.  Practices determined by the State to be the most effective and practical means of preventing or reducing the amount of water pollution generated by non-point sources, to meet water quality goals.

 

Best Practice Template - An outline or collection of lessons learned about a topic within a COI (Community Of Interest). - GWOB

 

Best Practices about Classifications - Refers to the approach or procedure recognized as most efficient and effective in producing a desired result. Best practice is based on the experience of experts in particular fields and is usually promulgated through the agreement and endorsement of experts and expert groups. In the development and revision of international and national classifications, best practice would generally involve the application of practices and procedures promulgated by international and national organizations responsible for classification development in their own particular fields. These practices may well include cost benefit analyses weighing the applicability of final classifications against of their terms of reference, the application of agreed classification principles, an agreed methodology for incorporating local requirements (i.e. an evaluation of the requirements of the society/economy where the classification is to be applied) where they differ from existing standards and the selection of suitable recognized classification characteristics to produce good classifications. The result should optimize the incorporation of these principles in a product that is achievable within budgetary and other constraints. Refer also to Custodian of a classification. (UN)

 

Best Practices - The processes, practices, and systems identified in public and private organizations that performed exceptionally well and are widely recognized as improving an organization's performance and efficiency in specific areas. Successfully identifying and applying best practices can reduce business expenses and improve organizational efficiency. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

 

BET - Baseline Epidemic Threshold

 

Beton agglomere - A French term for an artificial stone of cementitious materials in a matrix. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Betterment Projects - Refers to lower cost transportation improvements, typically maintenance activities or safety improvements projects, including pavement widening, resurfacing, grading, guide/guard rail, or bridge repairs.

 

Bevill Amendment - A provision of the Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments (1980) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) that exempted from Subtitle C requirements the wastes from the extraction and beneficiation of ores and minerals, regardless of their chemical composition. The amendment further directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency either to develop Subtitle C regulations for this waste or determine that this exemption should continue, and to present its findings in a report to Congress. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

 

BF - The Bike Federation

 

BF - Board Foot

 

BF - Board Feet

 

BF - Bullitt Foundation

 

BFCT - Big Flat Conservation Trust (Northern California in the King Range National Conservation Area – William Devall)

 

BFCT - The Big Flat Conservation Trust (King Range, CA)

 

BFM - British Furniture Manufacturers

 

BFS - British Fabian Society

 

BFW - Bottomland Forested Wetlands

 

BG - BioGems

 

BG - Block Grant

 

BGC - Balanced Growth Code

 

BGH - Bovine Growth Hormone

 

BGI - Barry Goldwater Institute

 

BGP - Bio-geographical province

 

BGS - Below Ground Surface

 

BGWA - Big Game Wintering Area (USFWS – DOI)

 

BGWR - Big Game Winter Range (USFWS - DOI)

 

BH - Breeding Habitat

 

BHCCJP - Boston-Haifa Connection of Combined Jewish Philanthropies

 

BHMA - Black Hills Mining Association

 

BHP - Bureau for Historic Preservation

 

BHRMUC - Black Hill Regional Multiple Use Coalition

 

BI - Biblical Imperative

 

BI - Birdlife International

 

BI - Buffer Initiative

 

BIA - Board of Immigration Appeals

 

BIA - Building Area Association

 

BIA - Bureau of Indian Affairs

 

BIAC - Business and Industry Advisory Committee

 

BIAE - Binding Industries of America & Europe 

 

BIC - Border Information Clearinghouse

 

BIDEHMP - Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health Maintenance Policy

 

BiE - Business in the Environment

 

Biennial - Plant which produces seeds during its second year and then dies.

 

Biennial Plant - Typically these plants germinate from seed in spring and devote the first year's growing season to developing. During the second spring or summer, the following year, they flower, set seed, and die at the end of that growing season.  Plant which produces seeds during its second year and then dies.

 

BIG - Boating Infrastructure Grant (USFWS)

 

BIG - Blueprint for Intelligent Growth (smart growth map) http://www.state.nj.us/dep/ AND http://www.state.nj.us/dep/antisprawl/ AND http://bigmap.state.nj.us/bigmaphome.htm#

 

Big Box - A large industrial-style building with a footprint of up to 200,000 square feet and the mass of a three-story (30+ feet) building, generally used for retail commercial purposes.

 

Big Game - Large mammals, such as deer, elk, and antelope, that are hunted for sport, and normally managed as a sport hunting resource.

 

Big Game Summer Range - A range, usually at higher elevation, used by deer and elk during the summer.  Summer ranges are usually much more extensive than winter ranges.

 

Big Game Winter Range - A range, usually at lower elevation, used by migratory deer and elk during the winter months, more clearly defined and smaller than summer ranges.

 

Bilateral Trade Agreement - A trade agreement between any two countries. The agreement may be either preferential (the obligations and benefits apply only to the two countries involved) or most-favored-nation (the benefits and obligations negotiated between the two countries are extended to all or most other nations). The U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement is one example.

 

Bilharzia - Bilharzia - A life-threatening parasitic disease caused by a worm that lives in a host snail. Humans can become infected when they come in contact with water in ponds and rivers where the snail lives. Occurs most often in tropical regions. Also called schistosomiasis. (UNESCO)

 

Bilinear - The term bilinear is referring to a bilinear interpolation. This is simply an interpolation with two variables instead of one. - USDA glossary

 

Billion - A thousand million. - UNEP Children's Glossary

 

Binary - Based upon the integer two. Binary Code is composed of a combination of entities that can assume one of two possible conditions (0 or 1). An example in binary notation of the digits 111 would represent (1 X 2) + (1 X 2) + (1 X 2) = 4 + 2 + 1 = 7. - USDA glossary

 

Binary Comparison - A price or quantity comparison between two countries that draws upon data for only those two countries. Also called bilateral comparisons. (UN)

 

Binary digiT (BIT) - A bit is most commonly a unit of information equaling one binary decision, or one of two possible and equally likely values or states. It is usually represented as a 1 or 0. - USDA glossary

 

Binder (soil binder) - Portion of soil passing through a Number 40 United States standard sieve.

 

Binder - Cementitious materials which chemically bind aggregates in a matrix. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

 

Binomial - Scientific name of plants or animals which have two parts; a genus and a species name.

 

Bioaccumulation - The accumulation of environmental contaminants as you move up in the food chain.  The intake and retention of nonfood substances by a living organism from its environment, resulting in a build-up of the substances in the organism.

 

Bioaccumulants - Substances in contaminated air, water, or food that increase in concentration in living organisms exposed to them because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Bioassay - Test which determines the effect of a chemical on a living organism.

 

Bioassay - A study of a living organism to measure the effect of a substance, factor, or condition. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Bioassimilation - The accumulation of a substance within a habitat.

 

Biocentric - A point of view the emphasizes a non-human perception of the universe.

 

Biochemical conversion process - The use of living organisms or their products to convert organic material to fuels. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) - A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed in 5 days due to natural, biological processes that break down organic matter, such as those that take place when manure or sawdust is put in water. High levels of oxygen-demanding wastes in waters deplete dissolved oxygen (DO), thereby endangering aquatic life. Sometimes referred to as "biological oxygen demand. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a measure of the oxygen consumed when organic matter is broken down chemically rather than naturally. COD can be determined much more quickly than BOD and more accurately reflects the amount of organic matter in a water sample.

 

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) - A standard means of estimating the degree of pollution of water supplies, especially those which receive contamination from sewage and industrial waste. BOD is the amount of oxygen needed by bacteria and other microorganisms to decompose organic matter in water. The greater the BOD, the greater the degree of pollution. Biochemical oxygen demand is a process that occurs over a period of time and is commonly measured for a five-day period, referred to as BOD5. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biocide - A substance that can kill living things. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

 

Bioconcentration (Bioaccumulation) - The accumulation of a chemical in tissues of an organism to levels greater than in the environment in which the organism lives. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biodiversity - The variety and variability of life in an area or the diversity of genes, species, and ecosystems, and of plant and animal life within species (genetic diversity), among species (species diversity) and among ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).  The latter includes the diversity of structure and function within ecosystems.  The variety of life in all forms, levels and combinations. (IUCN) There are three types of biodiversity: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity." It is thus measure of species richness and variability among living organisms from all sources, including land-based and aquatic ecosystems. Species diversity is vital to the proper functioning of ecosystems and is the basis of biological wealth and adaptability. (UNESCO) (See Biological Diversity)

 

Biodegradable - Capable of decomposing rapidly under natural conditions. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biodiesel - A biofuel produced through transesterification, a process in which organically- derived oils are combined with alcohol (ethanol or methanol) in the presence of a catalyst to form ethyl or methyl ester. The biomass- derived ethyl or methyl esters can be blended with conventional diesel fuel or used as a neat fuel (100% biodiesel). Biodiesel can be made from soybean or rapeseed oils, animal fats, waste vegetable oils, or microalgae oils. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Bioenergy - Useful, renewable energy produced from organic matter. The conversion of the complex carbohydrates in organic matter to energy. Organic matter may either be used directly as a fuel or processed into liquids and gases. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biofuels - Fuels made from cellulosic biomass resources. Biofuels include ethanol, biodiesel, and methanol. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biogas - A combustible gas derived from decomposing biological waste. Biogas normally consists of 50 to 60 percent methane. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biogeochemical - The recycling chemistry between plants, animals and the earth's sediments. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

 

Biogeochemical Cycles - The movement of massive amounts of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, and other elements among various living and non-living components of the environment--including the atmosphere, soils, aquatic systems, and biotic systems--through the processes of production and decomposition. - UNDP/WRI

 

Biogeoclimatic zone - A geographic area having similar patterns of energy flow, vegetation, and soils as a result of a broadly homogenous macro-climate. - Biodiversity Guidebook Glossary

 

Biogeoclimactic Zone - A large geographic area with a broadly homogeneous macroclimate.  Each zone is named after one or more of the dominant climax species of the ecosystems in the zone, and a geographic or climactic modifier.

 

Biogeographic(al) provinces - In the Operational Guidelines, biogeographic(al) provinces are suggested as an appropriate comparative unit for grouping similar natural properties when preparing tentative lists (Paragraph 8), for nominating a series of natural properties for nomination to the World Heritage List (Paragraph 19(iii)) and for IUCN when preparing relative evaluations of natural properties (Paragraph 60) (UNESCO February 1996: 6 and 18). - UNESCO World Heritage Glossary

 

Biogeography -The scientific study of the geographic distribution of organisms. - UNDP/WRI

 

Bioindicator Species - See Indicator Species and Taxon-based biodiversity surrogates.

 

Biological (Cryptogamic) Crust - Community of non-vascular primary producers that occur as a "crust" on the surface of soils; made up of a mixture of algae, lichens, mosses, and cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae). – BLM

 

Biological Assessment - The gathering and evaluation of information on proposed endangered and threatened species and critical habitat and proposed critical habitat. Required when a management action potentially conflicts with endangered or threatened species, the biological assessment is the way federal agencies enter into formal consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and describe a proposed action and the consequences to the species the action would affect. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs. 2. A specific process required as part of an environmental assessment. An evaluation of potential effects of a proposed project on proposed, endangered, threatened, and sensitive animal and plant species and their habitats. - Bioenergy Glossary

 

Biological Control - The practice of using beneficial natural organisms to attack and control harmful plant and animal pests and weeds is called biological control, or biocontrol. This can include introducing predators, parasites, and disease organisms, or releasing sterilized individuals. Biocontrol methods may be an alternative or complement to chemical pest control methods. Biocontrol is part of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service program to control several economically important pests of food and fiber crops; it also is researched and used by other USDA agencies that promote integrated pest management.  The use of natural means to control unwanted pests.  Examples include introduced or naturally occurring predators such as wasps, or hormones that inhibit the reproduction of pests.  Biological controls can sometimes be alternatives to mechanical or chemical means.

 

Biological Diversity - Refers to the sum of all species of plants and animals.  An ecosystem is generally considered healthy when it supports the maximum biological diversity known to be associated with it.  In addition, biological diversity also refers to the genetic diversity found within individuals and populations of species and the diversity of ecosystems within the landscape.  The variety of life forms and its processes, including the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur.  The variety of life across all levels of organization from genetic diversity within populations, to species, which have to be regarded as the pivotal unit of classification, to ecosystems.  The number and abundance of species found within a common environment.  This includes the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and the ecological processes that connect everything in a common environment.   Number and kinds of organisms per unit area or volume; the composition of species in a given area at a given time.

 

Biological Evaluation - A documented review of activities in sufficient detail to determine how and action or proposed action may affect any threatened, endangered, proposed or sensitive species.

 

Biological Growth - The activity and growth of any and all living organisms.

 

Biological Legacies - Large trees, down logs, snags, and other components of the forest stand left after harvesting for the purpose of maintaining site productivity and providing structures and ecological functions in subsequent stands. (BLM)

 

Biological Magnification (biomagnification) - Step by step concentration of substances in successive levels of food chains.  The enhancement of a substance (usually a contaminant) in a food web such that the organisms eventually contain higher concentrations of the substance than their food sources.

 

Biological magnification - The process by which substances such as pesticides or heavy metals become concentrated as they move up the food chain. - Bioenergy Glossary

Biological Opinion - Document stating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service opinion as to whether a Federal action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.

Biological oxidation - Decomposition of organic materials by microorganisms. - Bioenergy Glossary

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) - The amount of dissolved oxygen in water that will be consumed as the organic matter present is decomposed. High BOD means low water quality and probably the development of anaerobic waters. It usually results when waters have received organic wastes. See also Chemical oxygen demand.

Biological Processes - Processes characteristic of, or resulting from, the activities of living organisms.

Biological Resources - Those components of biodiversity of direct, indirect, or potential use to humanity. (Used interchangeably with "Biotic Resources") - UNDP/WRI

Biological Soil Crusts - Composed of cyanobacteria, green and brown algae, mosses, and lichens that bind together with soil particles to create a crust. - BLM

Biologics - Immunization vaccines, bactrians, antigens, and antitoxins and other preparations made from living organisms and their products, intended for use in diagnosing, immunizing, or treating humans or animals, or in related research. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has responsibility for approving some animal biologics.

Biology - The scientific study of life.

BIOMASS - The total mass or amount of living organisms in a particular area or volume. The total weight of all living organisms in a biological community.

Biomagnification (or biological magnification) - The increase in the concentration of bioaccumulated toxic chemicals in organisms higher on the food chain due to preferential storage of the toxic chemical in edible body parts. For example, chlorinated pesticides concentrate in the fat and skin of fish in contaminated lakes and streams and are biomagnified when those fish are eaten by larger fish, and perhaps eventually by mammals or birds of prey.

Biomanipulation - Reducing algal blooms by altering the fish community to reduce predation on certain zooplankton (cladocerans such as daphnia) that can most efficiently graze on algae. - Shoreland Mgmt. Glossary

Biomass - The total amount of living material, plants and animals, above and below the soil surface in a biotic community. The generic term for any living matter that can be converted into usable energy through biological or chemical processes. It encompasses feedstocks such as agricultural crops and their residues, animal wastes, wood, wood residues and grasses, and municipal wastes. The total mass or amount of living organisms in a particular area, environment or volume. The total weight of all living organisms in a biological community.

Biomass fuel - Liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced by conversion of biomass. - Bioenergy Glossary

Biome - The complex of living communities maintained by the climate of a region and characterized by a distinctive type of vegetation. Examples of biomes in North America include the tundra, desert, prairie, and the western coniferous forests. 2. A major ecological community in a particular terrestrial region comprising certain types of life, especially vegetation. Examples are various types of desert, grasslands, and forests. (UNESCO)

Biomonitoring - A test used to evaluate the relative potency of a chemical by comparing its effect on a living organism with the effect of a standard population on the same type of organism. - USGS

Biopesticide - A pesticide that is biological in origin in contrast to synthetic chemicals (i.e., viruses, bacteria, pheromones, natural plant compounds).

Bioregion - A territory defined by a combination of biological, social, and geographic criteria, rather than geopolitical considerations; generally, a system of related, interconnected ecosystems. - UNDP/WRI

Bioregional Planning - A method of integrating planning for nature conservation and planning ecologically sustainable use within an ecosystem context and at a bioregional scale. - UN

Bioregions - Geopolitical regions formed from land areas constituting similar ecosystems. For example, in the United States, areas now defined by state boundaries would be reorganized to follow similar landscape features. Out of the mountainous regions of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, and West Virginia would come the Southern Appalachian Region.

Bioremediation - The use of microorganisms and/or plants (phytoremediation) to decontaminate polluted water and soil. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

BIOS - Border Information & Outreach Service

Biosecurity threats - Those matters or activities, which, individually or collectively, may constitute a biological risk to the ecological welfare or to the well-being of humans, animals or plants of a country. - IUCN

Biosolids - A nutrient-rich organic material resulting from the treatment of wastewater. Biosolids contain nitrogen and phosphorus along with other supplementary nutrients in smaller doses, such as potassium, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, copper and zinc. Soil that is lacking in these substances can be reclaimed with biosolids use. The application of biosolids to land improves soil properties and plant productivity, and reduces dependence on inorganic fertilizers. - USGS

Biosphere - Portion of the solid and liquid earth where organisms live. Thin stratum of the earth's surface and upper water layer that contains the total mass of living organisms that process and recycle the energy and nutrients available from the environment.

Biosphere - The earth and all its ecosystems. - USGS

Biosphere Reserve - Biosphere Reserve means a designation conferred by the United Nations that recognizes areas on Earth that possess outstanding natural features such as unique natural habitats, plant and animal species and populations. The New Jersey Pinelands has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve.

Biota - The animal and plant life of a particular region considered as a total ecological entity. The plant and animal life of a particular region.

Biotechnology - The use of micro-organisms, live plant or animal cells or their parts, to create new products or to carry out biological processes aimed at genetic improvement. See genetic engineering.

Biotechnology - Technology that use living organisms to produce products such as medicines, to improve plants or animals, or to produce microorganisms for bioremediation. - Bioenergy Glossary

Biotic - Living. Green plants and soil microorganisms are biotic components of ecosystems.

Biotic Assemblage - The assemblage of native and exotic plants and animals associated with a particular site or landscape, including microorganisms, fungi, algae, vascular and herbaceous plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. These assemblages and their biotic and abiotic relationships serve landscape and watershed functions by promoting soil properties; supporting water infiltration and storage; energy and nutrient fixation, recycling and transfer; species survival; and sustainable population dynamics.

Biotic Attributes - In terms of shaping ecological systems, includes population size, structure and range; foliage density and layering, snags, large woody debris or the size, shape and spatial relationships of cover types within a landscape.

Biotic Communities - The assemblage of native and exotic plants and of a particular site or landscape, including microorganisms, fungi, algae, vascular and herbaceous plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. These assemblages and their biotic and abiotic relationships serve landscape and watershed functions by promoting soil properties supporting water infiltration, recycling and transfer, species survival, and sustainable population dynamics. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Biotic Potential - Inherent capacity of an organism to reproduce and survive, which is pitted against limiting influences of the environment.

Biotic Pyramid - Set of all food chains or hierarchic arrangements of organisms as eaters and eaten in a prescribed area when tabulated by numbers or by biomasses usually takes the form of an inverted pyramid.

Biovision - BioVision is a Swiss Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) with a global mandate to alleviate poverty and improve the livelihoods of poor people while maintaining the precious natural resource base that sustains life.

Birth Rate - The number of births in a year per 1000 population. (UNESCO)

BIS - The BIS is an international organization that fosters cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. Located in Basle, Switzerland.

BISN - Border Information and Solutions Network

Bitumen - Any of various mixtures of hydrocarbons such as asphalt, tar or petroleum. - BLM

Bitumen - Rock largely consisting of hydrocarbons; naturally occurring asphalt. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

BL - Backyard Living

BL - Black Lung

BL - Building Line (land use)

BLA - Bureaucratic Lines of Authority

Blackboard rack - A metal frame extending from the side of the data booth in a mortar battery to support a set of blackboards upon which firing data could be written. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary.

The Black Hills Settlement Act of 1877 - Arguably settled, by title cession, a controversy between gold miners and the Sioux Indian Nation about sovereignty over the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Indian sovereignty claim was founded on the Treaty of Laramie (1868).

Blackwater - Wastewater from toilet, latrine, and agua privy flushing and sinks used for food preparation or disposal of chemical or chemical-biological ingredients. - USGS

Blair House Agreement - The November 1992 agreement between the United States and the European Union on export subsidy and domestic subsidy reduction commitments in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The agreement also dealt with some bilateral agricultural trade issues.

Blaisdell - See Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell.

Blaze - A mark on a tree caused by cutting off the bark and a portion of the live wood. - Cadastral Data glossary

BLF - Biodiversity Legal Foundation

BLHP - The Bureau of Light, Heat & Power

Blinds - Water samples containing a chemical of known concentration given a fictitious company name and slipped into the sample flow of the lab to test the impartiality of the lab staff. - USGS

BLM - Bureau of Land Management

BLM Lands - Lands or water sources on a ranch that are owned by or under long-term control of the operator. Forest Service: Lands and improvements owned and used by a permittee for a farm or ranch and designated by the permittee to qualify for a set time limit grazing permit.

Block - 1. A repetition/replication of the Early, Mid and Late Seral Treatment plots and a Control plot. - Bioenergy Glossary 2. A block is a square or portion of a city enclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or vacant lots. Blocks are often enclosed by the boundary of a subdivision and are usually broken down into smaller units called "lots". - Cadastral Data glossary

Block Caving - A method of mining in which large blocks of ore are undercut and the ore breaks and caves under its own weight. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Blowdown - The water drawn from boiler systems and cold water basins of cooling towers to prevent the buildup of solids. - USGS

Blowout - A shallow depression from which all or most of the soil material has been removed by wind. A blowout has a flat or irregular floor formed by a resistant layer or by an accumulation of pebbles or cobbles. In some blowouts the water table is exposed. - USDA

BLT - Branford Land Trust

BLTPP - Bedford Land Trust and Pathways Project (New Hampshire)

Blue box policies - An expression that developed during the GATT trade negotiations using a traffic light analogy to rank policies. The traffic light analogy was that an amber policy could be converted to a blue policy that could eventually become "green." Blue box policies were seen as acceptable, but temporary, or transition policies that would help pave the way for further reforms over time. Blue box policies represent the set of provisions in the Agreement on Agriculture that exempts from reduction commitments, those program payments received under production limiting programs--if they are based on fixed area and yields, a fixed number of head of livestock, or if they are made on 85 percent or less of base level of production. Deficiency payments were exempt under this provision, since compliance with acreage reduction programs was required for eligibility, payments were made on no more than 85 percent of established base acreage, and individual farm yields had been fixed since 1986. - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

BLUE - BLUEstone National Scenic River, West Virginia http://www.nps.gov/blue/ 

Blue Clay (Margas Azules) - 1) The major source of supply for all American stoneware was for many years the rich deposit of fine blue clay centered at South Amboy, New Jersey, and extending to Staten Island and Long Island. 2) In the 1850s, gold was discovered near Virginia City, Nevada. Miners were aggravated by finding thick blue clay that clogged up their gold-washing equipment. Someone learned that the "blasted blue stuff" was silver ore laced with gold. 3) For the most part, the soil in most marginal formations contains a high clay fraction, often compact, blue in color, with low organic matter content. In the newer deposits facing the sea, as well as in the river-borne silt on river banks, the soil is more friable; brownish-black in color, it contains some sand and an important percentage of organic materials. The best development of the mangrove type coincides with occurrence of deep, well-aerated soil, rich in organic matter and low in sand. Good development is also found where the soil is a stiff clay, overlaid with a thin horizon of silt and raw humus. In areas subject to regular tidal inundation's, the subsoil is a raw blue clay; in the drier areas, sandy subsoil is usually found. Approximately the same description is given for mangrove areas in most parts of the eastern and western zones. - UN, FAO

BLWQ - The Bureau of Land and Water Quality

BM - Band of Mercy

BM - Behavior Modification

BM - Brush Management

BM - Business Management

BMEC - British Marine Equipment Council

BMOA - Bohemia Mine Owners Association

BMP - Best Management Practice(s)

BN - Bureau of Nonproliferation (United States Department of State)

BNA - Bureau of National Affairs

BNC - BiNational Cooperation

BNL - Brookhaven National Laboratory

BNN - Bi-National Network

BNR - Banking Natural Resources

BNRPD - Banking Natural Resources in the "Public Domain"

BNRWA - Banking Natural Resources in Wilderness Areas

BNSC - British National Space Center

BO - Barium Oxide

BO - Barriers and Opportunities

BO - Biological Opinion

BO - Biological Organisms

BO - Biological Outflow

Board Foot - A measurement term for lumber or timber. It is the amount of wood contained in an unfinished board one inch thick, twelve inches long, and twelve inches wide.

BOAUS - Boat Owners Association of the United States

BOC - Build Our Communities (A Challenge to State Candidates to Support Sustainable Development)

BOD - The Benefit Of the Doubt

BOD - Biochemical oxygen demand

BOD - Biological Oxygen Demand

Bog - A wetland with acidic substrate mainly composed of moss and peat and having a characteristic flora. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary 2. A type of wetland that accumulates appreciable peat deposits. They depend primarily on precipitation for their water source, and are usually acidic and rich in plant matter with a conspicuous mat or living green moss. - USGS

BOH - Balance Of Hardship

Bole - That portion of a tree between a 1-foot stump and a 4-inch top diameter outside bark (d.o.b.) in trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger. - USDA/FS

Boll Weevil - An insect pest of cotton that is the subject of an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service eradication program cooperatively funded and managed by cotton producers.

BOMA - Building Owners and Managers Association International

Bond - Security for the performance of certain permit obligations, as furnished by the permittee, or a guaranty of such performance as furnished by a third-party surety. - DOI-BIA Glossary

Bone dry - Having zero percent moisture content. Wood heated in an oven at a constant temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit or above until its weight stabilizes is considered bone dry or oven dry. - Bioenergy Glossary

Bone dry unit (BDU) - A quantity of wood residue that weighs 2,400 pounds at zero percent moisture content. - Bioenery Glossary

BONM - The Balance of Nature Myth

Bonus Commodities - From the agricultural perspective, these are commodities donated to domestic feeding programs that USDA acquires for unexpected surplus removal reasons or because Commodity Credit Corporation holdings are not needed for other purposes, or are in danger of waste or spoilage. For example, if meat prices fall, USDA may buy beef and donate it to the National School Lunch Program, or if the CCC is holding an excess of cornmeal that is in danger of spoiling, it might donate this to the lunch program. From the food program perspective, these commodities are those donated in addition to the commodities that must be provided under mandatory requirements in food program statutes.

BOP - Balance Of Power

BOP - Book Of Promises (the Bible)

BOR - Bureau of Reclamation

BOR - Bureau of Outdoor Recreation

Bor - Cool (pertaining to soil).

BOS - Bill Of Sale

BOS - Bill On Suspense (bill in Congress; means no further testimony or discussion before a vote)

BOS - The Book of the States http://www.csg.org/CSG/Products/book+of+the+states/default.htm  Table of Contents: http://www.csg.org/NR/rdonlyres/ezxogabueur35rcwwuu3l6ttetidgm5yc4aeiuaipj75njcl5fhypx6dquynqdi

2xzihz2xhp77e3z4esobqby222re/0B-BOS-TOC-2003.pdf 

BOSS - Battelle Ocean Sampling System http://www.battelle.org/

Botanical Pesticide - A pesticide whose active ingredient is a plant-produced chemical such as nicotine or strychnine. Also called a plant-derived pesticide. Being 'natural' pesticides, as distinct from synthetic ones, they are typically acceptable to organic farmers.

Bottom - Usually synonymous with 'vessel' or 'ship.' A ship of American registry may be referred to as a 'U.S. bottom,' whereas if registry is other than U.S., the ship, in U.S. usage, may be called a 'foreign bottom.'

Bottoming cycle - A cogeneration system in which steam is used first for process heat and then for electric power production. - Bioenergy Glossary

Bound Tariff Rate - The most-favored-nation tariff rate resulting from negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and incorporated as an integral component of a country's schedule of concessions. If a GATT contracting party raises a tariff to a higher level than its bound rate, the country or countries adversely affected have the right under GATT to retaliate against an equivalent value of the offending country's exports or to receive compensation, usually in the form of reduced tariffs on other products they export to the offending country.

Boundaries - Includes the seaward boundaries of a state or its boundaries in the Gulf of Mexico or any of the Great Lakes as they existed at the time the state became a member of the Union, or as approved by Congress or extended and confirmed pursuant to § 1312, but in no event shall the term boundaries or the term lands beneath navigable waters be interpreted as extending from the coastline more than three geographical miles into the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, or more than three marine leagues into the Gulf of Mexico. However, a boundary that has been fixed by final decree of the U.S. Supreme Court remains immobile. - Submerged Lands Act

Boundary - Represents the limit of a known or recognizable quantity, area or scope. Each classification has its own boundary, as do its constituent categories, such as activities, commodities, occupations etc. While it is possible for the boundaries of individual classifications to overlap, there should be no overlap within individual classifications. (UN)

Boundary Monument - A material object placed on or near a boundary line to preserve and identify the location of the boundary line on the ground. - Cadastral Data glossary

Boundary Survey - A survey made to establish or re-establish a boundary line on the ground, or to obtain data for constructing a map or plat showing a boundary line. - Cadastral Data glossary

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978 - Public Law 95-495 - 92 Stat. 1649 - SECTION 1. The Congress finds that it is necessary and desirable to provide for the protection, enhancement, and preservation of the natural values of the lakes, waterways, and associated forested areas known (before the date of enactment of this Act) as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and for the orderly management of public use and enjoyment of that area as wilderness, and of certain continuous lands and waters, while at the same time protecting the special qualities of the area as a natural forest-lakeland wilderness ecosystem of major esthetic, cultural, scientific, recreational and educational value to the Nation. SEC. 2. It is the purpose of this Act to provide for such measures respecting the areas designated by this Act as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Mining Protection Area as will -- (1) provide for the protection and management of the fish and wildlife of the wilderness so as to enhance public enjoyment and appreciation of the unique biotic resources of the region ... SEC. 6. (a) The Secretary is directed to terminate within a period of one year after the date of passage of this Act, all timber sale contracts in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There shall be no further logging of the virgin forest areas formerly enjoined from logging by the United States District Court on said contract areas during the termination period. SEC. 13. Nothing in this Act of the Wilderness Act shall be construed to prohibit the maintenance of the Prairie Portage Dam (on the international boundary chain between Birch and Basswood Lakes), and the Secretary is authorized to perform such maintenance work as may be required to keep that dam functional at its present height and width. The Secretary is authorized to maintain other existing water control structures only when such structures are necessary to protect wilderness values or public safety. SEC. 14. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State with respect to fish and wildlife in the wilderness and the mining protection area. October 21, 1978.

The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 - The International Joint Commission was created under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help prevent and resolve disputes over the use of waters along the United States-Canada boundary. Its responsibilities include approving certain projects that would alter water levels on the other side of the boundary and providing independent advice on matters of mutual concern on request from the Governments of the Canada and United States. It provides the principles and mechanisms to help resolve disputes and to prevent future ones, primarily those concerning water quantity and water quality along the boundary between Canada and the United States. On proceeding to the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty signed at Washington on January 11, 1909, between the United States and Great Britain, relating to boundary waters and questions arising along the boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada...

Bounded - Usually referred to in legal descriptions as being bounded by the adjoining land owners or by a road, stream, etc. Set off by a boundary. - Cadastral Data glossary

Bounds - Bounds are the lines by which different parcels of land are divided. "Butts and bounds" or "butted and bounded" are phrases sometimes used to introduce the boundaries of land. "Buttal" means along the end of the land. - Cadastral Data glossary

Bovine Somatotropin (bST) - Also called bovine growth hormone, bST is a naturally occurring protein that has been genetically engineered as a synthetic compound (now manufactured in large quantities and commercially available to farmers) that causes cows to increase the efficiency of milk production per unit of feed consumed. Its use has caused public controversy, and some states require retail dairy product labels to identify the use of synthetic bST.

Boxed Beef - Beef that a packer cuts into relatively small pieces, seals in vacuum packs, and ships in cardboard boxes, often ready for retail sale. Prior to the 1970s, most beef left the packer as partial carcasses.

The Boyd Commission - The Boyd Commission recognized that management of environmental resources is as important to national well being as the exploitation and use of minerals and energy, and that the economy and the environment are not polar interests; they are part of the same system. Accordingly, the following recommendations were made: 1. Environmental costs should be considered in total project costs, 2. Except where social benefits are paramount, limit mineral exploitation to areas where the ecosystem can be rehabilitated, 3. Federal research support for studies to determine the interaction of minerals exploitation and human, animal, and plant life, 4. Maintain reliance on free market to determine import/export balances, 5. Facilitate mineral access to public and private land, 6. Federal Government should expedite decision making in the minerals, energy, environment area, 7. Federal Government should facilitate development of fossil fuel energy independence, 8. Federal Government should promote consumer product standards for safety, service life, recyclability, and life expectancy, 9. A resource recovery system be established, 10. Create a resource-recovery database, 11. Establish a comprehensive land use planning mechanism, and 12. Consider a Cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources for coordinated planning of materials, energy, and environmental use (National Commission on Minerals Policy, The, 1973, p. 1.3-1.8).

BP - Biophysical Rating

BP - Border Patrol

BP - Brilliant Pebbles (UN)

BP - Buffer Partnerships

BP - Buffer Practices

BP - Building Permit

BP - Business Practices

BPA - Bonneville Power Administration

BPF - Balancing the Playing Field

BPI - Bad Parental Involvement

BPIA - Business Products Industry Association

BPL - Broken Promise Land

BPM - Beam Position Monitor

BP-MA - Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

BPPR - Blue Print for the Peace Race

BPR - Bioprospecting

BPP - Boundary Principles and Procedures

BPR - Bureau of Public Roads (1934)

BPR - Business Process Reengineering

BRAC - Base Realignment And Closure (military)

Brachiopod - A marine, shelled animal with two unequal shells or valves, each of which normally is bilaterally symmetrical. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

BPRB - Blind Peer Review Board

BR - Biological Resources (DOI)

BR - Bioregion

BR - Biosphere Reserve

BR - Brownfields Redevelopment

BR - Budget Resolution

BR - Buffer Restrictions

BRA - Blue Range Area (where Mexican gray wolves have been reintroduced -- eastern Arizona and western New Mexico -- from http://mexicanwolf.fws.gov/Kids/kidfact.htm)

Brady Initiative - An approach to easing the debt burdens of developing countries with high levels of commercial bank debt, proposed by then U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady in 1989. In return for agreements to undertake certain economic reforms, like cutting government spending or raising taxes, indebted countries receive loans from multilateral institutions (like the World Bank) and from bilateral development agencies to help them negotiate reductions in debt and debt service with their commercial banks. Thirteen countries - Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, Uruguay, and Venezuela - have already reduced their commercial bank debt through Brady-style operations. - WB

Braiding of river channels - Successive division and rejoining (of riverflow ) with accompanying islands is the important characteristic denoted by the synonymous terms, braided or anastomosing stream. (Leopold and Wolman, 1957, p. 40.) A braided stream is composed of anabranches. - USGS

BRC - Blue Ribbon Coalition

BRC - Bioregional Councils

BRCPAC - Blue Ribbon Citizen's Pfiesteria Action Commission

BRD - Black Rock Desert (Nevada)

BRDHRCETNCA - Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area

Breast wall - A wall of breast height, typically used to provide a defensive position for infantry soldiers. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Breeding dispersal - Movement of individuals between consecutive breeding locations. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf

BREN - Blue Ridge Environmental Network

Bretton Woods - Refers to the international financial system devised by a conference of Allied governments in 1944 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The Conference resulted in the founding of the IMF and the IBRD in 1945. The system is reflected in the Articles of Agreement of these institutions and those of IFC (created in 1956), IDA (1960), and MIGA (1988). - WB

BRH - Brood-Rearing Habitat

The Bricker Amendment - "Section 1: A provision of the treaty, which conflicts with this Constitution, shall not be of any force and effect. Section 2: A treaty shall become effective as internal law only legislation, which would be valid in the absence of a treaty. Section 3: Congress shall have the power to regulate all Executive and other agreements with any foreign power or international organization. All such agreements shall be subject to the limitations imposed on treaties by this article." Other sections provided similar restrictions on executive agreements, provided Congress with power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation, and set a ratification deadline of seven years. Similar language was proposed by the state of North Carolina 165 years earlier. When other states were demanding a Bill of Rights in the federal constitution, North Carolina demanded an amendment that would say "...nor shall any treaty be valid which is contradictory to the Constitution of the United States." Senator John Bricker had closely followed the discussions in the American Bar Association Journal regarding the ambiguity of the supremacy clause of the Constitution. In 1951, he had introduced Senate Resolution 177 in opposition to the proposed International Covenant on Human Rights, which the UN had unsuccessfully attempted to draft since 1949. The attempt to foist a legally binding covenant on the nations of the world, Bricker maintained, demonstrated beyond any doubt that the United Nations was attempting to establish itself as a world government. The Covenant, he insisted, "would be more appropriately entitled as a Covenant on Human Slavery or subservience to government ... [T]hose who drafted the Covenant on Human Rights repudiated the underlying theory of the Bill of Rights-freedom to be let alone." Bricker cited the Fujii case as evidence of the potential of UN authority over American domestic policy. In early 1952, Bricker decided that the rights of the states and the people were sufficiently imperiled to warrant introducing a constitutional amendment to safeguard those rights. To his mind, the jurisprudential trends that were exemplified in Oyama and Fujii jeopardized the integrity of "existing laws which are in our Bill of Rights and our Constitution, thereby forcing unacceptable theories and practices upon the citizens of the United States of America." He warned that a constitutional amendment was critical to the long-term health, independence, and sovereignty of the American republic. The Bricker Amendment contained several crucial provisions. The Amendment's supporters hoped that it would clear up the ambiguity in the Constitution over the exact implications of the claim in Article VI that "[t]his Constitution and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof and all treaties ... shall be the supreme law of the land ... anything in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding." The Amendment would strike a blow to members of Congress who might seek to cite the Charter when drafting civil-rights measures. Eberhard Deutsch, a member of the ABA's Committee on Peace and Law, cited the dangers of the Fujii case in discussion hearings regarding the Amendment. He suggested that without passage of the Bricker Amendment, a successful argument could be made "that the entire civil rights program has already effectively been imposed on the United States through the United Nations Charter itself, without the need for any congressional action whatever." On June 23, 1953, Senator Robert Taft attended his final meeting of the Republican Policy Committee. Hospitalized afterward with terminal cancer, Taft designated the Policy Committee chairman, Senator Knowland, as acting leader. Explaining his choice, Taft said of Knowland: "nobody can push him around." During the weeks in which he wore both hats, Knowland used the Policy Committee to establish consensus on which legislation would be completed before adjournment. Since the Eisenhower administration was then in disagreement with a majority of Senate Republicans over a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the president's treatymaking power, sponsored by Ohio Republican Senator John Bricker (who served from 1947-1959), Senator Knowland relied on the Policy Committee to preserve party unity. The Policy Committee invited Senator Bricker, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and Attorney General Herbert Brownell to its meetings to apply some pressure to the administration to reach a compromise. Senator Bricker rejected the proposed compromise. The Bricker Amendment would have subjected all international agreements to approval by Congress. There were arguments that the Bricker Amendment, which concerned the Senate's power to make treaties, must be passed in order to protect the rights of the American people. The strongest argument against it was that it would delay implementation and even ratification of treaties while Congress and the courts deliberated their merits. Virtually all these rules are modified by the temporary suspension of a treaty while the United States is at war with the other signatories. Meier v. Schmidt, 150 Neb. 383, 34 N.W.2d 400 (1948). In the testimony of Frank E. Holman, former President of the ABA, before a Senate subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee, considering the Bricker Amendment, February 18, 1953, Holman testified that a treaty could "change our form of government from a republic to a socialistic and completely centralized state ... put us in to a World Government ... [and] increase the power of the Federal Government at the expense of the States." The wording in the Bricker amendment sought to bring executive agreements under congressional control. The inclusion of this provision stemmed from President Franklin Roosevelt's frequent use of executive agreements in matters of foreign relations. In January of 1953 Senator Bricker stated publicly that he had at least sixty-four members of the Senate who would sponsor his proposed amendment and opposition mounted. President Eisenhower began a campaign to defeat the Bricker Amendment, assigning the task to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who in 1951 had declared that international treaties possess the power to diminish or even eliminate the guarantees of the Bill of Rights. In February 1954 the Senate voted 60-31 in favor of the George Amendment, a watered-down version of Senator Bricker's original proposal. However, this was one vote short of the required two-thirds majority needed to approve a modified version of the original Bricker amendment. Executive agreements were even more worrisome than treaties, being unilateral acts of the President without the concurrence of the Senate. The constitution makes no provision for them, yet they have been held to supersede state law. In practice, executive agreements have virtually the same full range of contents as treaties. They have multiplied the growing ambitions of the Executive branch of government. - See Missouri v. Holland 252 U.S. 416 (1920)

Bridge-Country Binary Comparison - A price or quantity comparison between a pair of countries derived from the comparison of each country with a third country. For example, given Ij/k and Ii/k, the bridge-country method of obtaining Ij/1 is to divide Ij/k by litk where I is a price or quantity index and j, k, and I are countries. This is a common way of linking through a country, as in the case of the Group II countries in Europe, where Austria has served as the bridge country. (UN)

BRIM - Biodiversity Resources for Inventorying and Monitoring (UN)

Bring Back the Natives - A Department of Interior/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service program that 'supports on-the-ground habitat restoration projects that benefit native aquatic species (e.g., native fish, aquatic insects, mollusks, and amphibians) in the historic range.

BRLP - Brownfields Redevelopment Loan Program

BRN - Balancing the Region's Needs

Broad-base terrace - A ridge-type terrace built to control erosion by diverting runoff along the contour at a nonscouring velocity. The terrace is 10 to 20 inches high and 15 to 30 feet wide and has gently sloping sides, a rounded crown, and a dish-shaped channel along the upper side. It may be nearly level or have a grade toward one or both ends. - USDA

Broadcast - Fertilizer is uniformly spread on the soil surface. It may or may not be incorporated into the soil.

Broadcast Application - See broadcast.

Broadcast Burn - A prescribed fire that burns a designated area. Allowing a prescribed fire to burn over a designated area within well-defined boundaries for reduction of a fuel hazard or as a silvicultural treatment, or both. These controlled fires can reduce wildfire hazards, improve forage for wildlife and livestock, or encourage successful regeneration of trees.

Broadcast Seeding - Spreading a seed mixture evenly over harrowed ground and raking. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Broad Management Class - Also referred to as "broad management type" or BMT, a classification of timberland based on forest type and stand origin. - USDA/FS

Brownfields - Developed parcels of land that are difficult to redevelop due to real, potential or perceived contamination from a former use.

Browse - Twigs, leaves, and young shoots of trees and shrubs that animals eat. Browse is often used to refer to the shrubs eaten by big game, such as elk and deer.

Browsers - Animals which feed primarily on browse. - BLM

BRP - BioRegional Politics (William Devall)

BRPC - BioRegional Politics and Culture (William Devall)

BRRP - Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program

Brushhogging (also known as bushhogging) - The act of mowing with a heavy-duty rotary mower that is capable of cutting brush, briars, brambles, and other woody vegetation. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

BRV - Biological Resource Values

Bryophytes - Plants of the phylum Bryophyta, including mosses, liverworts and hornworts, characterized by the lack of true roots, stems and leaves. - Bioenergy Glossary

BS - Barium Salts

BS - Belief System

BS - Bill of Sale

BS - Biological Survey

BS - BirdSource

BS - Border States

BSA - Bank Secrecy Act

BSA - Barium Salt Aerosol (chemtrails) draws and holds the moisture in the atmosphere

BSA - Boy Scouts of America

BSE - Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

BSEA - Broad Scale Ecological Assessments

BSF - Binational Science Foundation (U.S. - Israel)

BSI - British Standards Institute

BT - Baseline Target

BT - Baseline Threshold (6.8% or more)

BT - Biological Transmutations

BT - Buffer Technology

Bt - Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium commonly known as Bt. It is a biological pesticide (biopesticide) used in several genetically engineered plants (transgenic plants). The plants have a gene from Bt inserted into their own genetic material. This new gene produces a natural protein that kills insects after the protein is ingested. The toxins are specific to a small subset of insects. Cotton has been genetically altered to control the tobacco budworm, bollworm and pink bollworm. Potatoes have been altered to control the Colorado potato beetle. A new hybrid of corn, which will be resistant to the European corn borer, is available for the 1997 planting season. Bt degrades rapidly to non-toxic compounds, does not present any human or animal hazards, and does not harm beneficial insects. Pest resistance management (PRM) plans are required by EPA as part of the registration.

BTA - Best Technology Available

BTA - Business Technology Association

BTFP - The BioTrade Facilitation Programme (UN/UNCTAD)

BTS - Build-To-Suit

BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

BIIF - Beldon II Fund

Buck - To cut a log into smaller portions. - Bioenergy Glossary

Bucket-Line Dredge (Bucket-Ladder Dredge) - A dredge whose digging mechanism consists of a ladderlike truss on the periphery of which is attached an endless chain that rides on sprocket wheels and on which buckets are attached. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Budding - One of two processes of new group formation in red-cockaded woodpeckers, but contains active cavity trees in use or kept active by birds from a neighboring cluster. Referring to the splitting of one territory into two. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf 

BUILD - Businesses United for Independent Local Development

Buffer - A land area that is designated to block or absorb unwanted impacts to the area beyond the buffer. Buffer strips along a trail could block views that may be undesirable. Buffers may be set aside next to wildlife habitat to reduce abrupt change to the habitat.

Buffer Strips - Small areas of erosion-resistant vegetation planted on fields, usually along the contour or along the boundaries, to slow the flow of runoff and reduce erosion.

Bufferyard - A unit of land, together with a specified amount of plantings thereon, and any structures (e.g. fences, walls, berms) which may be required between land uses to eliminate or minimize conflicts between them.

Buffer Zone - An area of land separating two distinct land uses that acts to soften or mitigate the effects of one land use on the other. Where a commercial district abuts a residential district, for example, additional use, yard, or height restrictions may be imposed to protect residential properties. The terms may also be used to describe any zone that separates two different zones such as a multi-family housing zone between single-family housing and commercial uses. 2. Paragraph 17 of the Operational Guidelines defines a buffer zone as: ... an area surrounding the property which has restrictions placed on its use to give an added layer of protection; the area constituting the buffer zone should be determined in each case through technical studies (UNESCO February 1996: 5). Paragraph 17 of the Operational Guidelines further states that: Whenever necessary for the proper conservation of a cultural or natural property nominated, an adequate "buffer zone" around a property should be provided and should be afforded the necessary protection ... Details on the size, characteristics and authorized uses of a buffer zone, as well as a map indicating its precise boundaries, should be provided in the nomination file relating to the property in question (UNESCO February 1996: 5).

Buffer Zones - Areas of moderate, though restricted, use that surround core areas. Buffer zones are primarily drawn from private land. Areas of land between areas that require special protection and other, surrounding lands.

Build Out - Estimated future development.

Build-Out Analysis - An estimation of the projected population, employment and types and sizes of land uses in an area, generally a municipality or county, when it has been fully developed in accordance with the zoning ordinance and other applicable regulations and planned investments. It may include such things as the physical appearance of the area and the demand for utilities and services, and can be based on simple projections or sophisticated modeling.

Buildable Area - The portion of the property or lot that remains after the required bufferyards have been provided.

Building - An enclosed structure with walls and a roof, consciously created to serve some residential, industrial, commercial, agricultural or other human use. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Building Blocks (elementary items) - Are the most elementary items of a statistical classification, i.e. the most detailed code for a variable. They may be used alone or in combination to describe a category in one or more classifications, or to compare classifications. A prime example is the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HCDCS or HS), the categories of which are used not only for the construction of country specific tariff and trade classifications, but also as the building blocks of the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC Rev. 3) and the goods component of the Central Product Classification (CPC). The SITC and the CPC regroup individual HS categories to meet differing statistical needs. Another example is the General Industrial Classification of Economic Activities within the European Community (NACE) which can be combined to reconstruct higher levels of ISIC. (UN)

Built environment - Buildings, structures, and ancillaries comprising an inter-related man-made area, often architectural in character. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

Built-up land. See Urban and built-up areas.

Bulk Density - The mass (weight) of dry soil per unit bulk volume.

Bulkhead - A partition or wall in mines for protection against gas, fire, and water. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

BUND - A Berlin-based association for the protection of the environment and nature in Germany

Bureau - See World Heritage Bureau - UNESCO World Heritage Glossary

BuRec - The U.S. Department Of Interior's Bureau Of Reclamation, also known as the BOR

Bureau Assessment Species - Plant and animal species on List 2 of the Oregon Natural Heritage Data Base, or those species on the Oregon List of Sensitive Wildlife Species (OAR 635-100-040), which are identified in BLM Instruction Memo No. OR-91-57, and are not included as federal candidate, state listed or Bureau sensitive species. (BLM)

Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) - Federal Agency in charge of enforcing immigration laws and overseeing the immigration process.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Department of the Interior - The BIA serves Indian and Alaska Native tribes living on or near reservations. The BIA administers and manages approximately 52 million acres of land held in trust for Indians by the United States and works with local tribal governments on issues including road construction and maintenance, social services, police protection, and economic development. - USDA glossary

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Organization within the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for managing land and natural resources. It has exclusive jurisdiction over about 268 million acres of federally owned lands. Approximately one- third of this area is in Alaska. The majority of the remaining acreage is in the Western States.

BLM Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Department of the Interior - Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the BLM administers and manages approximately 300 million acres of public lands primarily located in the western half of the lower 48 States and Alaska. Public lands in the U.S. contain mineral and timber reserves, support habitat for a host of wildlife, and provide recreational opportunities. - USDA glossary

Bureau of Reclamation - A bureau within the Department of the Interior, whose mission is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources. The agency replaced the Reclamation Service, which was established pursuant to the Reclamation Act of 1902. The Bureau built, operates, and maintains more than 300 storage dams on rivers throughout the western United States.

BOR Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Department of the Interior - The BOR was chartered in 1902 with the responsibility to reclaim arid lands in the western U.S. for farming by providing secure, year-around water supplies for irrigation. The BOR's responsibilities since have expanded to include generating hydroelectric power; overseeing municipal and industrial water supplies, river regulation, and flood control; enhancing fish and wildlife habitats; and researching future water and energy requirements. - USDA glossary

Bureau Sensitive Species - Plant or animal species eligible for federal listed, federal candidate, state listed, or state candidate (plant) status, or on List 1 in the Oregon Natural Heritage Data Base, or approved for this category by the State Director. (BLM)

Burning Period - That part of each 24-hour period when fires spread most rapidly, typically from 10:00 a.m. to sundown. - FS

BUS - Base Unit of Society (the individual)

BUSETIK - Bring the U.S. Economy To Its Knees

Bushel - A dry volume measure of varying weight for grain, fruit, etc., equal to four pecks or eight gallons (2150.42 cubic inches). A bushel of wheat, soybeans, and white potatoes each weighs 60 pounds. A bushel of corn, rye, grain sorghum, and flaxseed each weighs 56 pounds. A bushel of barley, buckwheat, and apples each weighs 48 pounds.

Bushhogging - See Brushhogging.

Business Advisory Meeting - A special purpose public meeting held to discuss specific concerns of the business community affected by the project.

Business Case - A structured proposal for business improvement that functions as a decision package for organizational decision makers. A business case includes an analysis of business process performance and associated needs or problems, proposed alternative solutions, assumptions, constraints, and risk-adjusted cost/benefit analysis. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

Business Process Reengineering - A systematic, disciplined improvement approach that critically examines, rethinks, and redesigns mission-delivery processes in order to achieve dramatic improvements in performance in areas important to customers and stakeholders. - Forest Service http://svinet2.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/final1.htm

BUSY - Being Under Satan's Yoke

Butte - An isolated hill that rises abruptly above surrounding land. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Butted and Bounded - Sometimes used in a deed to introduce the traverse of real property boundaries. - Cadastral Data glossary

Butt log - The log taken from the base of a tree; often slightly irregular. - Bioenergy Glossary

Butyl membrane - A rubberized sheet membrane utilizing butyl. - NPS Architecture, Fortifications, and Preservation glossary

BVC - Bureau of Verification and Compliance

BW - Bank Waiver

BW - Bretton Woods (UN)

BWA - By What Authority...?

BWC - Bretton Woods Conference (July 1-22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire; spawned the International Monetary Fund)

BWD - Ballast Water Discharges

BWRWWP - Black Warrior River Waterbasin Watershed Partnerships

BY - Budget Year

BY - Buffer Yard

By - In a deed, "by a road" is construed as including the land to the center of the street, but "by the east side of the road" means "along the east side" and not "along the centerline". "To", "on", or "by" means to the limits of the grantor's land. - Cadastral Data glossary

By-pass Flow - Water required by a regulating or permitting entity to be retained in-stream to protect fish habitat and other water-based functions and values. For example, the Forest Service requires some operators to allow a certain amount of water to bypass their dams to preserve endangered fish habitat. The FAIR Act of 1996 contains a provision (Section 389) that prohibits the Forest Service from placing limits on bypass flow across lands it manages as a condition when renewing permits while a task force studies five specified questions.

BZ - Buffer Zone