Fairfax County Research Articles

Effects of red light camera enforcement on red light violations in Arlington County, Virginia

ObjectivesIn June 2010, Arlington County, Virginia, installed red light cameras at four heavily traveled signalized intersections. Effects of camera enforcement on red light violations were examined. MethodsTraffic was videotaped during the 1-month warning period and 1month and 1year after ticketing began at the four camera intersections, four non-camera “spillover” intersections in Arlington County (two on travel corridors with camera intersections, two on different corridors), and four non-camera “control” intersections in adjacent Fairfax County. Logistic regression models estimated changes in the likelihood of violations at camera and spillover intersections, relative to expected likelihood without cameras, based on changes at control intersections. ResultsAt camera intersections, there were significant reductions 1year after ticketing in odds of violations occurring at least 0.5s (39%) and at least 1.5s (86%) after lights turned red, relative to expected odds without cameras, and a marginally significant 48% reduction in violations occurring at least 1s into red. At non-camera intersections on corridors with camera intersections, odds of violations occurring at least 0.5s (14%), 1s (25%), and 1.5s (63%) into the red phase declined compared with expected odds, but not significantly. Odds of violations increased at the non-camera intersections located on other Arlington County travel corridors. ConclusionsConsistent with prior research, red light violations at camera-enforced intersections declined significantly. Reductions were greater the longer after the light turned red, when violations are more likely to cause crashes. Spillover benefits were observed only for nearby intersections on travel corridors with cameras and were not always significant. Practical applicationThis evaluation examined the first year of Arlington County's red light camera program, which was modest in scope and without ongoing publicity. A larger, more widely publicized program is likely needed to achieve community-wide effects.

The Evolution of the IT Service Industry in the U.S. National Capital Region: The Case of Fairfax County

The Evolution of the IT Service Industry in the U.S. National Capital Region: The Case of Fairfax County

School System Partners With Sleep Experts on Start Times

With 1 in 5 Fairfax County, Va., high school seniors reporting an average of less than five hours of sleep a night, many educators and sleep specialists agree that change is needed.

Virginia, Maryland, and District of Columbia

Pleioblastus pygmaeus (Miq.) Nakai (POACEAE)—VIRGINIA, Fairfax County: eastern bank of Dead Run floodplain in mature woodland, approximately 1 km south of George Washington Memorial Parkway, 26 January 2012, Steury 120126.1 (George Washington Memorial Parkway Herbarium, JSU); unnamed tributary 50 m from Potomac River and 4.8 km north of Mt. Vernon, 2 July 2012, Steury 120702.1 (George Washington Memorial Parkway Herbarium, JSU). MARYLAND, Montgomery County: Takoma Park, Sligo Creek Park, eastern bank of Sligo Creek floodplain just downstream of Maple Avenue Bridge, 8 March 2012, Parrish & Steury 120308.1 (George Washington Memorial Parkway Herbarium, JSU, US). DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Rock Creek Park at terminus of Juniper Street, NW, on floodplain of Rock Creek and extending up a short slope, 8 March 2012, Parrish & Steury 120308 (George Washington Memorial Parkway Herbarium, JSU). Significance. These are the first records for North America (Kartesz 1999, Barkworth et al. 2007). Pleioblastus pygmaeus (pygmy bamboo) is native to Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu) where it is known only in cultivation (Ohwi 1965, Suzuki 1978) and likely represents a horticultural derivative of Pleioblastus variegatus (Siebold ex Miquel) Makino, or ally in Pleioblastus section Nezasa Koidzumi (Ohrnberger 1999). This species is characterized by elongate rhizomes sprouting solitary, minutely ribbed, purplish culms (drying to gray), to 1.5 m tall and 4 mm in diameter. Nodes bear numerous, tan to brownish, stiff, antrorsely fringed hairs and are typically fastigiate and three branched on mature canes and unbranched on young ones. Foliage leaf blades are green, unvariegated, abruptly acuminate, with wedged to rounded bases and a short pseudopetiole, pubescent on both sides, more densely so abaxially where cross-veins are evident, typically to 1.3 cm wide and 13.5 cm long with two or three lateral veins on each side of the midrib on branched canes and to 2.3 cm wide and 18.3 cm long with four or five veins on each side of the midrib on unbranched canes. Foliage leaf sheaths are glabrous and often bristled at the apex. The only other species in this genus reported from North America (Georgia and Tennessee) is P. simonii (Carriere) Nakai (Duncan & Kartesz 1981, DeSelm et al. 1994). In Virginia, P. pygmaeus was found at two sites, one patch measuring 19.5 m 3 14.7 m in old Liriodendron tulipifera L., Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal. woodland along Dead Run (38857 41.76 N, 77810 24.21 W) and another patch approximately 40 m 3 30 m near the mouth of a small unnamed tributary of the Potomac River 4.8 km north of Mt. Vernon (3884334.08 N, 7780232.18 W). The Maryland population measured 8.4 m3 5.0 m and occurred in woodland with a mixture of native (Acer negundo L., Fraxinus pennsylanica Marshall, Platanus occidentalis L., Ulmus americana L.) and nonnative (Albizia julibrisson Durazz. and Morus alba L.) trees. The colony in the District of Columbia measured 55.0 m 3 16.7 m and occurred in disturbed woodland containing native trees and shrubs such as Acer negundo L., Acer rubrum L., Carpinus caroliniana Walt., Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch, Lin*email address: brent_steury@nps.gov Received November 30, 2012; Accepted February 7, 2013. DOI: 10.2179/12-045

Abstract P5-14-04: Alleviate the pain in the system: Using process improvement and systems design tools to strive for a high quality breast healthcare system in the District of Columbia metro area.

Abstract Background: Throughout the District of Columbia Metro Area, breast cancer mortality rates are higher than the national average due in part to limited service coordination and lack of access to breast health services along the continuum. The Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County (PCC) and the Regional Primary Care Coalition (RPCC) are collaborating to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of breast cancer screening, referral, and follow-up so that jurisdictions and clinics in the DC metro area are better positioned to provide 100% low-income women residents with access to breast healthcare. The Regional Initiative builds upon the successes of the PCC Breast Healthcare Process Improvement Project. Objectives: 1) Adopt the Primary Care-Based Model in three clinics in three other jurisdictions and implement process improvement approaches to show improvements in breast cancer screening, referral, and follow-up; and 2) Develop a cross-jurisdiction learning community to enhance spread throughout the Region. Methods: The Regional Initiative employs a multi-tiered learning community framework to share data, address systems level barriers, and design new systems for the provision of high-quality care regardless of insurance status. Partners use the Model for Improvement to improve processes at the micro-system level and system design theory drives larger systems changes. Results: Objective 1: The three adaptation sites represent Prince Georges County, Maryland, Washington, DC, and Fairfax Virginia. After a year of focused process improvement, partnership development, and data collection, initial analysis demonstrates: – All three clinics show increased screening rates approaching 65%, representing the 90th percentile performance in the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) for Medicaid breast cancer screening.– At Greater Baden Medical Services in Prince Georges County, Maryland, cycle time between referral and mammography screening decreased from 48 to 27 days.– The Community Health Care Network, Fairfax County, Virginia, worked closely with one mammography provider to decrease the no-show rate for mammography appointments from 26% to 6%.– The Project Team developed a change package to share recommended interventions and successful strategies that have been tested and documented, and can be used by clinics certified as primary care medical homes or in the process of adopting those standards. Objective 2: The Cross-Jurisdiction Learning Collaborative brings representatives from each jurisdiction together to share breast health measures, success stories, and plan/discuss process improvement activities from a regional perspective. Participants include over 50 breast health providers from around the region: – 17 safety-net clinics– 11 hospital and/or mammography providers– All County and/or State National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs in the Region Next Steps: Spread learnings regionally and nationally to foster collaboration, replicate the PCC Primary Care-Based Model using the change package, and further improve breast health outcomes for the safety-net population. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-14-04.

Pilot evaluation of the text4baby mobile health program

BackgroundMobile phone technologies for health promotion and disease prevention have evolved rapidly, but few studies have tested the efficacy of mobile health in full-fledged programs. Text4baby is an example of mobile health based on behavioral theory, and it delivers text messages to traditionally underserved pregnant women and new mothers to change their health, health care beliefs, practices, and behaviors in order to improve clinical outcomes. The purpose of this pilot evaluation study is to assess the efficacy of this text messaging campaign.MethodsWe conducted a randomized pilot evaluation study. All participants were pregnant women first presenting for care at the Fairfax County, Virginia Health Department. We randomized participants to enroll in text4baby and receive usual health care (intervention), or continue simply to receive usual care (control). We then conducted a 24-item survey by telephone of attitudes and behaviors related to text4baby. We surveyed participants at baseline, before text4baby was delivered to the intervention group, and at follow-up at approximately 28 weeks of baby’s gestational age.ResultsWe completed 123 baseline interviews in English and in Spanish. Overall, the sample was predominantly of Hispanic origin (79.7%) with an average age of 27.6 years. We completed 90 follow-up interviews, and achieved a 73% retention rate. We used a logistic generalized estimating equation model to evaluate intervention effects on measured outcomes. We found a significant effect of text4baby intervention exposure on increased agreement with the attitude statement “I am prepared to be a new mother” (OR = 2.73, CI = 1.04, 7.18, p = 0.042) between baseline and follow-up. For those who had attained a high school education or greater, we observed a significantly higher overall agreement to attitudes against alcohol consumption during pregnancy (OR = 2.80, CI = 1.13, 6.90, p = 0.026). We also observed a significant improvement of attitudes toward alcohol consumption from baseline to follow-up (OR = 3.57, CI = 1.13 – 11.24, p = 0.029).ConclusionsThis pilot study is the first randomized evaluation of text4baby. It is a promising program in that exposure to the text messages was associated with changes in specific beliefs targeted by the messages.

Evaluating the spatiotemporal clustering of traffic incidents

This research presents both theoretical results regarding the nature of spatiotemporal clustering on a network, and applied outcomes from examining such clustering with regard to traffic incidents. The analysis considers fatal traffic incidents in eastern Fairfax County, Virginia and injury incidents in Franklin County, Ohio. The spatiotemporal analytical methods of Knox and subsequent researchers are reviewed. Specific methods for performing spatiotemporal analysis are outlined, with special attention given to the interpretation of the results for traffic incidents. An argument is made for conducting spatial and temporal cluster analyses independently, in addition to spatiotemporal cluster analysis, a comparative analysis of methods for testing for the significance of spatiotemporal clusters is presented, and suggestions for delineating critical parameters for the Knox statistic are provided.

Geomorphic Effects of Mosses in a Low-Order Stream in Fairfax County, Virginia

Local conditions play an important role in determining the effects of riparian vegetation on stream bank stability. In environments where trees have limited success in stabilizing stream banks, non-vascular plants, especially mosses, may provide alternative protection. Although mosses lack root structure, they are well adapted to saturated conditions and a thick tree canopy. This project evaluated the rate of bank erosion and effectiveness of mosses as a factor in reducing bank erosion in Thompson Creek, Virginia. The Thompson Creek watershed is dominated by non-cohesive sandy strata and a thick canopy cover. The thick canopy cover provides shade to stream banks, while the sandy non-cohesive bank materials make those banks susceptible to erosion. Field surveys were conducted to record stream bank erosion and changes in moss patches over time. A variety of techniques, including repeat photography, erosion pins, visual observations, and measurements of channel morphology, were used in field surveys. The exposure of erosion pins ranged from 0.5 cm to > 11 cm over a period of 19 months. In general, erosion rates appear to be high in Thompson Creek. The dominant processes of bank erosion are undercutting and bank collapse. However, the majority of moss-covered sites remained intact during the study period. The results of field investigations revealed that mosses have a potential role in stabilizing stream banks.

Transport of Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki from an Outdoor Release into Buildings: Pathways of Infiltration and a Rapid Method to Identify Contaminated Buildings

Understanding the fate and transport of biological agents into buildings will be critical to recovery and restoration efforts after a biological attack in an urban area. As part of the Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration (IBRD), experiments were conducted in Fairfax County, VA, to study whether a biological agent can be expected to infiltrate into buildings following a wide-area release. Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki is a common organic pesticide that has been sprayed in Fairfax County for a number of years to control the gypsy moth. Because the bacterium shares many physical and biological properties with Bacillus anthracis, the results from these studies can be extrapolated to a bioterrorist release. In 2009, samples were collected from inside buildings located immediately adjacent to a spray block. A combined probabilistic and targeted sampling strategy and modeling were conducted to provide insight into likely methods of infiltration. Both the simulations and the experimental results indicate sampling entryways and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) filters are reasonable methods for "ruling in" a building as contaminated. Following a biological attack, this method is likely to provide significant savings in time and labor compared to more rigorous, statistically based characterization. However, this method should never be used to "rule out," or clear, a building.

A New Locality Record forVollenhovia emeryiW. M. Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Maryland, USA

Two worker specimens of the introduced ant species Vollenhovia emeryi (W. M. Wheeler) were collected in Baltimore County on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, on September 15, 2010. Vollenhovia emeryi has previously been collected in two localities in Maryland: the Potomac River at Fort Washington National Park, Prince George’s County; and Glen Echo Park, Montgomery County (Kjar and Suman, 2007). Both counties are part of the Washington D.C. metro area. Outside the state, the species has been collected in Virginia at Dyke Marsh Preserve, Fairfax County (Kjar and Suman, 2007), along with specimens collected in Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C. (Holldobler and Wilson, 1990), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (King and Green, 2005). Vollenhovia emeryi is native to Japan (Ohkawara et al., 2006) but was possibly imported to Washington D.C. in 1912 when shipments of 3,020 cherry trees were given to the United States (Fisher and Cover, 2007). A separate introduction into the United States may have also occurred in 1926 when Japan gave 2,000 cherry trees to the city of Philadelphia to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (Kjar and Suman, 2007).

Where Do We Die in a Hospital? (785)

1.Understand that there has been a significant increase in the amount of patients that die in the hospital in the past 50 years, specifically in critical care units.2.Understand the increasing burden of palliative care cost on medicare and its threat to acute care services at hospitals.3.Understand the level of palliative care. In the last 50 years our place of death has changed from the home to the hospital. Location of death also is following changing demographics of the American populace. Hospitals are seeing increases in peri-death care with medicare estimates that 30-50% of medical expenses are spent in the last days of life. If this trend continues acute care services at hospitals could be in jeopardy. This study examines the location of deaths within hospitals to help implementation of palliative care initiatives. A palliative care initiative was undertaken to notify and educate providers of the services available for patients. To monitor the implementation of the program, collection of data from Fairfax County as well as data from the INOVA health system, consisting of five hospitals. Data was analyzed with simple statistics to stratify the population at risk as well as services rendered. Fairfax County is the most populous county in Virginia with 1,464,216 residents. With this high population density, the county records over 200,000 emergency department (ED) visits per year. There were 4864 admissions/100,000 residents to acute care hospitals in 2010, this has increased from 1293 admissions/100,000 in 2004 (300% increase) for a total of 71,000 admissions in 2010. 1790 patients died in the hospital while 7486 patients died county wide. The majority of the patients 53.6% died in a critical care setting with the ED being second most likely location for deaths. This study has defined that patients dying in the hospital are in critical care settings and what proportion of deaths are occurring in the hospital. Future areas of study include: patient type, length of stay, service of admission to help delineate use of palliative care services in this patient population.

Design Build Construction of 15.2M Water Reuse System in Fairfax County, Virginia

Design Build Construction of 15.2M Water Reuse System in Fairfax County, Virginia

Safer Midblock Environments for Pedestrian and Bicycle Crossings

The 45-mi multiuse Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail traverses Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties in Northern Virginia and has more than 70 highway crossings. In April 2009, in an attempt to increase safety at two of the crossings, the Virginia Department of Transportation installed zigzag pavement markings in Loudoun County where the W&OD Trail crosses Belmont Ridge Road and Sterling Boulevard. The purpose of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the zigzag pavement markings. “Effectiveness” was defined in three ways: (a) an increase in motorist awareness ahead of the crossing locations, (b) a positive change in motorist attitudes, and (c) a confirmation of motorist understanding of the markings. Motorist awareness was measured by computing the difference in vehicle speeds before and after the installation of the markings. Attitudinal changes were measured through a survey targeting motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists familiar with the markings. Motorist understanding was measured through another survey administered elsewhere in the state that targeted motorists unfamiliar with the zigzag markings in Loudoun County. The study found that the markings installed ahead of the two crossings heightened the awareness of approaching motorists. This finding was evidenced by reduced mean vehicle speeds within the marking zones. Further, the majority of survey respondents indicated an increase in awareness, a change in their driving behavior, and a greater tendency to yield to pedestrians than felt before the installation of the markings. The study also found that motorists had limited understanding of the purpose of the markings.

Effectiveness of the Women’s Lacrosse Protective Eyewear Mandate in the Reduction of Eye Injuries

Background: In an effort to minimize the risk of catastrophic eye injury, US Lacrosse initiated mandatory use of protective eyewear in women’s lacrosse in the 2004-2005 season. Purpose: The authors compared eye injury rates in girls’ scholastic lacrosse before and after implementation of protective eyewear. They also compared head/face injury rates, concussion rates, and overall injury rates before and after the rule change to assess possible unintended consequences of the change. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The study group included female scholastic lacrosse players in the 25 public high schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, during the 2004-2009 spring seasons. Injury rates were compared with those from the same data source for the 2000-2003 seasons. Premandate versus postmandate injury rates were adjusted for athlete exposures, or total opportunities for injury throughout the season. Results: The rate of eye injuries was reduced from 0.10 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (AEs) in 2000 through 2003 before the use of protective eyewear to 0.016 injuries per 1000 AEs in 2004 through 2009 (incident rate ratio [IRR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06-0.42). The rate ratio of head/face injuries excluding concussion also decreased (IRR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.26-0.76). There was no change in the rate ratio of total injuries involving all body parts (IRR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.82-1.1) after introduction of protective eyewear. However, the rate ratio of concussion increased (IRR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.3). Conclusion: The use of protective eyewear in women’s lacrosse was associated with a reduction in the number of eye injuries. The number of head/face injuries decreased in this study group after introduction of protective eyewear, and there was no change in overall injury rates. The reason for the increase in concussion rate cannot be determined conclusively based on this study, but the authors speculate that this increase resulted largely from increased recognition and diagnosis because overall injury rates do not indicate rougher play with introduction of protective equipment.

From the Cradle to the Fields: Slave Childcare and Childhood in the Antebellum South

For slaves living in different economic regions of the nineteenth-century American South, the nature of pregnancy and childcare, as well as childhood itself (from birth until working age), differed by degrees. This study employs a comparative approach to uncover the relationship between regional agricultural economies, on the one hand, and slave childcare and childhood, on the other. Focusing on two very different southern communities – namely, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Georgetown District, South Carolina – this study underscores the economic and cultural diversity of the antebellum South, as well as the variations in the experiences of slave children in different economic regions. It also suggests that scholars' contrasting views of childcare as having been either adequate or inadequate, or of childhood as having amounted to a stolen childhood or not, are not mutually exclusive.

Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki in Urban Environments following Spraying.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki is applied extensively in North America to control the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Since B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki shares many physical and biological properties with Bacillus anthracis, it is a reasonable surrogate for biodefense studies. A key question in biodefense is how long a biothreat agent will persist in the environment. There is some information in the literature on the persistence of Bacillus anthracis in laboratories and historical testing areas and for Bacillus thuringiensis in agricultural settings, but there is no information on the persistence of Bacillus spp. in the type of environment that would be encountered in a city or on a military installation. Since it is not feasible to release B. anthracis in a developed area, the controlled release of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki for pest control was used to gain insight into the potential persistence of Bacillus spp. in outdoor urban environments. Persistence was evaluated in two locations: Fairfax County, VA, and Seattle, WA. Environmental samples were collected from multiple matrices and evaluated for the presence of viable B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki at times ranging from less than 1 day to 4 years after spraying. Real-time PCR and culture were used for analysis. B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki was found to persist in urban environments for at least 4 years. It was most frequently detected in soils and less frequently detected in wipes, grass, foliage, and water. The collective results indicate that certain species of Bacillus may persist for years following their dispersal in urban environments.

Transport of Bacillus Thuringiensis var. Kurstaki Via Fomites

The intentional and controlled release of an aerosolized bacterium provides an opportunity to investigate the implications of a biological attack. Since 2006, Los Alamos National Laboratory has worked with several urban areas, including Fairfax County, VA, to design experiments to evaluate biodefense concepts of operations using routine spraying of Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk). Btk is dispersed in large quantities as a slurry to control the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Understanding whether personnel and equipment pick up residual contamination during sampling activities and transport it to other areas is critical for the formulation of appropriate response and recovery plans. While there is a growing body of literature surrounding the transmission of viral diseases via fomites, there is limited information on the transport of Bacillus species via this route. In 2008, LANL investigated whether field sampling activities conducted near sprayed areas, post-spray, resulted in measurable cross-contamination of sampling personnel, equipment, vehicles, and hotel rooms. Viable Btk was detected in all sample types, indicating transport of the agent occurred via fomites.

High Rates ofRickettsia parkeriInfection in Gulf Coast Ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and Identification of “CandidatusRickettsia Andeanae” from Fairfax County, Virginia

The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is a vector of Rickettsia parkeri, a recently identified human pathogen that causes a disease with clinical symptoms that resemble a mild form of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Because the prevalence of R. parkeri infection in geographically distinct populations of A. maculatum is not fully understood, A. maculatum specimens collected as part of a tick and pathogen surveillance system in Fairfax County, Virginia, were screened to determine pathogen infection rates. Overall, R. parkeri was found in 41.4% of the A. maculatum that were screened. Additionally, the novel spotted fever group Rickettsia sp., tentatively named "Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae," was observed for the first time in Virginia.

A Review of Stream Assessment Methodologies and Restoration: The Case of Virginia, USA

Abstract: Rapid population growth and land use changes have severely degraded streams across the United States. In response, there has been a surge in the number of stream restoration projects, including stream restoration for mitigation purposes. Currently, most projects do not include evaluation and monitoring, which are critical in the success of stream restoration projects. The goal of this study is to review the current status of assessment methodologies and restoration approaches for streams in Virginia, with the aim of assisting the res-toration community in making sound decisions. As part of the study, stream restoration projects data from a project in Fairfax County, Virginia was assessed. This review revealed that the stream assessment methodologies currently applied to restoration are visually-based and do not include biological data collection and/or a method to incorporate watershed information. It was found from the case study that out of the twenty nine restoration projects that had occurred between 1995 and 2003 in Fairfax County, nineteen projects reported bank stabilization as a goal or the only goal, indicating an emphasis on a single physical component rather than on the overall ecological integrity of streams. It also turned out that only seven projects conducted any level of monitoring as part of the restoration, confirming the lack of evaluation and monitoring. However, Fairfax County has recently improved its stream restoration practices by developing and incorporating watershed management plans. This now provides one of the better cases that might be looked upon by stakeholders when planning future stream restoration projects.

Public awareness and attitudes towards naval sonar mitigation for cetacean conservation: A preliminary case study in Fairfax County, Virginia (the DC Metro area)

The potential impacts of naval sonar on cetaceans has led to a series of court cases and statements of concern by international organizations. However, there has been no research conducted on attitudes of the general public with respect to this issue. To investigate this, a preliminary public survey was conducted in Fairfax, Virginia (the Washington, DC Metro region). The majority of the public sampled believed that naval sonar impacted marine mammals (51.3%), that the US Navy should not be exempt from environmental regulations in time of peace (75.2%), and that sonar use should be moderated if it impacts cetaceans (75.8%). Individuals who were conservative, Republican, and have served in the military were more likely to believe the Navy should be exempt from marine mammal protection regulations. In addition, expert interviews were conducted to gain opinions on the potential ramifications of the recent US Supreme Court case on naval sonar mitigation.