Mountain West Research Articles

Reframing The Postindustrial: Landscapes of Extraction between Reclamation and Reinvention

Sites created for and abandoned by hardrock mining operations in the Rocky Mountain West are among the most layered, complex, and noteworthy landscapes in America, expressive of the entangled relationships between the human processes of extraction and reclamation and nonhuman processes of geological and ecological change. Few types of landscape have involved such localized drastic change of the surface of the earth and such significant impacts on associated nonhuman and human systems. The spatial and temporal scales of mining and postmining operations and their impacts extend far beyond the immediate local context, recent history, and immediate future. The complexity of such landscapes transcends the physical and lies in the various values that drove the processes of extraction, as well as those at play in addressing postextraction conditions. They pose fundamental challenges to many disciplines and have prompted a rethinking of traditional concepts and practices of preservation and reclamation. This paper develops a framework that meaningfully responds to the complexities of postmining landscapes (PMLs). It is connected to a critical investigation of functional-performative and aesthetic-experiential considerations and an engagement of underlying meanings and values. It casts PMLs as dynamic and ever-changing sites to model and render legible new forms of human-environment relationships.

Doctor of Nursing Practice Student Perceptions of Providing Care to Refugees: Implications for Doctoral Nursing Practice.

Although there is no doubt that expanding scientific innovations provide timely information, in the case of refugees and their primary care providers, it is possible their voices have been partially obscured by this rapidly expanding technological and global society. The authors are currently involved in addressing health disparities by providing education and training for doctoral nursing students, in the delivery of home based primary care to culturally diverse and marginalized populations in a mountain west state. Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) student perspectives may provide essential information to improve patient-centered care for this very vulnerable population. The purpose of this article is to relay the perceptions of DNP nursing students providing care to refugees.

Que Luchen por sus Intereses (To Fight for Your Interests): Unearthing Critical Counter-Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Immigrant Parents

ABSTRACTThis article reports on findings from a year-long research project conducted during the 2012–2013 school year in a PK–12 school district, located in the Mountain West region of the United States, utilizing the Photovoice method. The findings in the project point to the important critical counter-narratives Spanish-speaking immigrant parents present to the larger school community when given the opportunity to have their voices and perspectives heard and recorded in written form. The article provides teachers, counselors, administrators, and support staff in schools and school districts with insight into the hopes and aspirations of Spanish-speaking immigrant parents and highlights educational practices that address issues of equity and access, as seen through the eyes of the participants in the study.

Timing and deformation conditions of the western Idaho shear zone, West Mountain, west-central Idaho

The western Idaho shear zone is a major, lithospheric-scale structure separating accreted terranes of the Blue Mountains from continental North America. We document the occurrence of the western Idaho shear zone in West Mountain, west-central Idaho. Rocks deformed by the western Idaho shear zone at West Mountain are dominantly orthogneisses, although exposures on West Mountain containing screens of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks are also present. Steeply E-dipping, N-NNE–oriented foliations and downdip lineations characterize the fabric in the orthogneisses, consistent with dextral transpressional kinematics. The foliation orientation changes from 005° to 024° from the northern to the southern part of the field area, and this is interpreted to reflect a primary along-strike variation in the orientation of the western Idaho shear zone. The westernmost unit in West Mountain (Four Bit Creek tonalite) has a U-Pb zircon age of 101 ± 3.0 Ma, yet it is only weakly deformed. We interpret this unit to have been emplaced pretectonically, thus constraining the initiation of the western Idaho shear zone. The youngest unit at West Mountain is the undeformed Rat Creek granite (88.2 ± 3.3 Ma). U-Pb analyses of zircons from orthogneisses at West Mountain span ages of 111–91 Ma, indicating both precursory and continuous magmatism coeval with western Idaho shear zone deformation. Two Lu-Hf garnet isochron ages, 97.3 ± 0.7 Ma and 99.5 ± 1.4 Ma, are interpreted to indicate peak metamorphism during western Idaho shear zone deformation. Geochemical analyses suggest that the westernmost exposed orthogneiss units are dominantly derived from continental material in West Mountain, and yet there is also evidence for a component of accreted terrane rocks at depth east of the western Idaho shear zone.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Respiration in the Soil Erosion Area of West Mountains in Fujian Province, China

The spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration (Rs) is of great significance in accurately estimating the carbon budget in erosion areas. This study investigated the soil respiration (Rs), total nitrogen (TN), carbon-nitrogen ratio (C/N), soil organic carbon content (SOC), leaf area index (LAI), soil temperature (T10), and soil moisture (W) in 59 soil samples collected from Hetian Town in Fujian Province. Both classical statistics and geostatistics were used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of soil respirations and other measured factors. The variability of Rs and other measured factors in the samples ranked from the largest to the smallest: LAI > SOC > TN > Rs > C/N > T10 > W. Rs was positively correlated with T10 (P<0.01) and with TN (P<0.05), but not significantly correlated with other factors (P>0.05); TN, SOC and T10 could be used to explain the spatial variation of soil respiration among the samples. The results from geo-statistical analysis showed that Rs was in a medium spatial autocorrelation, with 52.89% of spatial heterogeneity caused by structural factors and 47.11% of spatial heterogeneity resulted from random factor; the fractal dimensions of soil respiration and its interacted factors were ranked as: Rs > LAI > C/N > T10 > SOC > W > TN; the spatial distribution patterns of Rs were similar with those of TN and T10, but different from those of C/N, SOC or LAI. At the 95% confidence level and 90% estimation accuracy, the reasonable sampling number of Rs was 62.

Exploring Landscape Change in Mountain Environments With the Mountain Legacy Online Image Analysis Toolkit

Since 1996, Mountain Legacy Project (MLP) researchers have been exploring change in Canada's mountain environments through the use of systematic repeat photography. With access to upwards of 120,000 systematic glass plate negatives from Canada's mountain west, the MLP field teams seek to stand where historic surveyors stood and accurately reshoot these images. The resulting image pairs are analyzed, catalogued, and made available for further research into landscape changes. In this article we suggest that repeat photography would fit well within the Future Earth research agenda. We go on to introduce the Image Analysis Toolkit (IAT), which provides interactive comparative image visualization and analytics for a wide variety of ecological, geological, fluvial, and human phenomena. The toolkit is based on insights from recent research on repeat photography and features the following: user-controlled ability to compare, overlay, classify, scale, fade, draw, and annotate images; production of comparative stat...

Cattle use of perennial streams and associated riparian areas on a northeastern Oregon landscape

Stream and riparian health is a major concern for state and federal land management agencies that are charged with oversight of extensive land holdings in the mountain west of the United States. Several federal agencies in the 1980s and 1990s determined that livestock grazing had adversely impacted a majority of federal lands in this region. In response, management was changed on grazing allotments to focus on stream system health. Recent advanced global positioning system (GPS) logging capabilities, both accuracy and frequency/duration of logging, coupled with rapidly developing geographic information system (GIS) analytical capabilities allowed evaluation of livestock use of streams and riparian zones on mountain rangelands. This study was undertaken to clarify spatiotemporal characteristics of cattle use of perennial streams and associated riparian areas under current US Forest Service (USFS) management and to suggest managerial strategies with the potential to maintain or improve riverine environments. We initiated a five year study in 2008 to evaluate the use by cattle of 30 m (98.4 ft) and 60 m (196.9 ft) buffers on permanent streams on three extensive study sites in northeastern Oregon. The three study sites cover 43,972 ha (108,700 ac) within a broader region 120 km (74.5 mi) north-south by 50 km (31 mi) east-west. Ten randomly selected cows from herds grazing each site were fitted with GPS collars that recorded position, date, and time at approximately five minute intervals throughout the grazing season. Nearly 3,750,000 cow positions were collected on the allotments during the study. The relative occupancy of cattle in buffers along both sides of perennial streams were determined on an annual and monthly basis by site. Each position was tagged with the date and time of occurrence. Relative use within 30 m of the stream varied substantially from site to site (0.74% to 2.54%), month to month (0.00% to 5.21%), and year to year (0.86% to 2.13%). In some months, GPS data indicated that watering was nearly exclusive from streams. In other months, stream use was low or nil, and watering was from water developments, small springs, seeps, puddles, or other source. Cattle preferred to access streams at specific locations where streambank slope, the lack of physical obstructions, and solid footing facilitated water access.

Interpersonal Violence and Sexual Assault: Trauma-Informed Communication Approaches in University Counseling Centers

ABSTRACTA university in the United States Mountain West utilized grant resources to track counseling services for students who were currently experiencing or who had historically experienced relationship violence, sexual assault and/or stalking. This report reflects on the first 2 years of this program, including an overview of prevalence and reporting rates of interpersonal violence from university students. Given the prevalence of recent and historic interpersonal violence among university students, suggestions are offered for bringing a trauma-informed and communication-focused perspective to the solution-focused brief therapy model used in many university counseling centers. A case study outlining these approaches is offered.

Understanding community pharmacist perceptions and knowledge about HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy in a Mountain West state

ObjectivesPreexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy is prescribed to HIV-negative individuals who are at high risk of contracting the virus to reduce the risk of transmission. Adherence to therapy is essential for optimal treatment outcome, and community pharmacists have an important role in achieving this through patient counseling. The objectives of this study were to measure pharmacists’ actual knowledge about HIV PrEP therapy, perceptions about their HIV PrEP therapy knowledge, and intention to counsel patients about PrEP therapy. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among community pharmacists in Utah to measure their actual knowledge and perceptions of knowledge about PrEP therapy based on the basic information from the Centers for Disease Control website. In addition, the pharmacist’s intention to counsel patients on PrEP therapy was measured with the use of the validated Godin 12-item tool. Descriptive analyses and t tests identified characteristics based on gender, degree earned, and years of practice in pharmacy. Regression analysis determined significant predictors of the intention to counsel. ResultsThere were 251 responses (75% PharmD, 61% male, 42% >10 years’ experience as a pharmacist). An exploratory factor analysis of the Godin 12-item tool demonstrated 4 domains: beliefs about capabilities, social influence, moral norms, and intention to counsel patients. There was no difference in the intention to counsel based on gender. Pharmacists with a PharmD and less than 10 years of experience had significantly higher knowledge and intention to counsel. The actual knowledge score of the respondents was significantly higher than their perceptions of their knowledge. Multiple regression results showed that the beliefs about capabilities and social influence were significant predictors of intention to counsel. ConclusionEducating community pharmacists on PrEP therapy using pharmacists who are considered to be opinion leaders in the pharmacy profession can affect the social influence and beliefs about capabilities domains, which in turn can increase counseling on PrEP therapy.

Trout Culture: How Fly Fishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West

Beginning with Arthur F. McEvoy's The Fisherman's Problem (1986) and Theodore Steinberg's Nature Incorporated (1991), environmental historians have produced many aquatic-oriented studies of western and eastern North America. Aside from Margaret Beattie Bogue's Fishing the Great Lakes (2000), however, these studies have ignored inland fisheries. Jen Corrinne Brown's Trout Culture helps fill this absence by showing how Rocky Mountain streams were molded into “a virtual troutopia” (p. 6). Brown traces the rise of a transnational sport-fishing culture with an entitled preference for game species. She shows how anglers used technology and law to reengineer aquatic environs to favor preferred species such as brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout, and she reveals how anglers destroyed many native species. This is the most sustained examination yet of how anglers built a vast hatchery infrastructure that thoroughly and intentionally disrupted the transmontane West. Along the way Trout Culture explores the inner world of fly-fishers, showing how lure craft reflected evolving ideas about biology and ecology, how dams sometimes improved trout habitat, and how the fetishization of “native fish” eventually led to the naturalization of invasive trout species.

Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West. By Michael J. Dax. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. 312 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, and index. Cloth $37.50.

<i> Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West. </i> By Michael J. Dax. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. 312 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, and index. Cloth $37.50.

Worse Breast Cancer Outcomes for Southern Nevadans, Filipina and Black Women.

Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer for women in the demographically unique mountainous west state of Nevada. This study aims to accurately characterize breast cancer survival among the diverse women of the flourishing Silver State. Nevada Central Cancer Registry data was linked with the National Death Index and the Social Security Administration Masterfile. Overall 5-yearage-adjusted cause-specific survival, survival stratified by race/ethnicity, and stage-specific survival stratified by region of Nevada were calculated. Adjusted hazard ratios were computed with Cox proportional hazards regression.11,111 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed from 2003 to 2010. Overall 5-year breast cancer survival in Nevada was 84.4%, significantly lower than the US, at 89.2%. Black and Filipina women had a higher risk of death than white women. Poor survival in the racially and ethnically diverse Las Vegas metropolitan area, with a large foreign-born population, drives Nevada's low overall survival. System-wide changes are recommended to reduce the racial/ethnic disparities seen for black and Filipina women and improve outcomes for all.

Self-Invention in the Realm of Production

In the 1960s and 1970s, self-avowed members of the counterculture, often based on the west coast and in the Rocky Mountain West, eschewed critics’ stereotypical notions of stoned and indolent hippies and struggled to build an alternative economic system. While rejecting corporate capitalism and consumer acquisitiveness, they built new enterprises, new institutions, new organizational forms, and new practices that gave proof of the possibility of creating economically sustainable, alternative lives. Do-it-yourself practices, especially building one’s own home or repairing one’s own vehicle, promised to free practitioners from working for wages in order to afford consumer goods—even as DIY culture often promoted traditional gender roles. While many of the counterculture’s attempts at escaping the employee-consumer nexus failed or were short-lived, it did succeed in outlining an alternative approach to both production and consumption that has had a continuing impact on American capitalist development.

Characteristics and treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer: 43,485 cases from the National Cancer Database treated in 2010 and 2011

BackgroundAlthough identification of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2) positive breast cancer represents one of the greatest advances over the past 3 decades, it has not been studied extensively on a national level. MethodsThe National Cancer Database is a joint project of the American Cancer Society and the American College of Surgeons and contains data on about 70% of the cancer cases in the United States. Data on Her2 have been collected since 2010 and was used for this study. ResultsOf 298,937 cases of invasive breast cancer with known Her2 status diagnosed in 2010 and 2011, 43,485 (14.5%) were Her2 positive. Her2 positivity was greatest in Asian/Pacific Islanders and least in non-Hispanic Whites and was markedly more common in younger women. The incidence of Her2 positive tumors ranged from a low of 13.9% in the Mountain West region to a high of 16.0% in the West South Central region (P < .001). Compared with Her2 negative tumors, Her2 positive tumors were larger (2.6 vs 2.2 cm, P < .001), more likely to have positive nodes (39% vs 31% P < .001), have lymphovascular invasion (30% vs 20%, P < .001), and be high grade (56% vs 29%, P < .001). There were also differences by histology: invasive ductal 16.4%, invasive lobular 5.5%, tubular 2.3%, inflammatory 36%, and Paget's with invasion 59%. When adjusted for age, race, tumor size, and nodal status Her2 positive tumors were much more likely to receive chemotherapy (odds ratio = 5.5, confidence interval = 5.2 to 6.0) and somewhat less likely to undergo breast preservation (odds ratio = .78, confidence interval = .76 to .80). ConclusionsHer2 positive tumors have distinct epidemiologic, clinical, and treatment characteristics.

Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West . By Michael J. Dax.

Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West . By Michael J. Dax. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. xii + 289 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. $37.50, CAN$46.95, £23.99.) Michael J. Dax has written a book about a species reintroduction that never was. Unlike the popular and much written about gray wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, the proposed grizzly bear reintroduction to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness of Idaho and Montana was stillborn. Dax uses a juxtaposition of the Old West versus the New West to explain the ongoing seven-decade absence of grizzlies from their former domain. Dax opens with the complete extirpation of grizzly bears in the Bitterroots by trophy hunters, ranchers, and farmers by 1946. Grizzly bears’ bad press as a menace to … Mark_madison{at}fws.gov

Regional and seasonal variation in nutrient limitation of river biofilms

AbstractBenthic biofilms have multiple functions in stream and river ecosystems, and their growth and productivity are often limited by dissolved inorganic nutrient availability, particularly N or P. We deployed nutrient diffusing substrata (NDS) in 5 rivers in each of 3 regions: the Mountain West, the Arid West, and the Midwest, to assess regional and seasonal variation in nutrient limitation of river biofilms and to quantify which environmental factors control nutrient limitation. We constructed NDS with either inorganic or organic substrata to compare nutrient limitation of autotrophic and heterotrophic biofilms, and we explored inorganic N preference of biofilms by comparing results of NO3− and NH4+ amendments. During summer deployments, autotrophic and heterotrophic biofilms in Mountain Western rivers were commonly limited by N or colimited by N and P, whereas nutrient limitation was less common in Arid Western and Midwestern rivers. We deployed NDS seasonally in Midwestern rivers and found no obviou...

Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West

Grizzly West: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West

Predictive Relationship Between Body Mass Index and TGMD-3 Performance in Disadvantaged Children

Acquiring motor skills are an important part to childhood development. The better a child is able to develop their motor skills the more likely they will be able to utilize the skills and participate in optimal levels of physical activity. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive relationship between BMI classification and gross motor skills assessed using the TGMD-3 instrument in a sample of ethnic minority elementary school-aged children from low-income families. METHOD: The participants were a convenience sample of 525 children (Mean age = 9.4 ± 1.8 years; 1st - 6th grades; 246 girls, 279 boys; 93% low-income; 86% ethnic minority) recruited from a Title I school located in a metropolitan area from the Mountain West region of the U.S. Motor skills were assessed using the TGMD-3 instrument during physical education classes in the Fall of 2015. Height and weight measurements were recorded approximately 2 weeks prior to assessing motor skills. BMI was stratified into underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), healthy weight (18.5−25 kg/m2; reference) and overweight or obese (>25 kg/m2) categories. Multi-level mixed-effects models were used to examine the predictive relationship between BMI classification and performance on the locomotor sub-test, ball skill sub-test, and total TGMD-3 scores controlling for grade level, sex, and the clustering of students within classrooms. Alpha level was adjusted using the Bonferroni method because of multiple dependent variables. RESULTS: Children who were overweight or obese performed 8.6 points lower on the TMGD-3 compared to children who had healthy BMI (β = −8.6, p < 0.001) and performed 5.9 points lower on the locomotor sub-test compared to children who had healthy BMI (β = −5.9, p < 0.001) after controlling for grade level, sex, and classroom-level clustering. There were no significant predictive relationships between BMI classification and the ball skill sub-test scores (p > 0.01). CONCLUSION: Overweight and obese disadvantaged children tended to have poorer performance on the locomotor sub-test of the TGMD-3 compared to children with a healthy BMI, suggesting the importance of learning these fundamental skills at an early age.

Trout Culture: How Fly Fishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West. By Jen Corrinne Brown.

Trout Culture: How Fly Fishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West . Emil and Kathleen Sick Book Series in Western History and Biography. By Jen Corrinne Brown. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015. x + 238 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. $35.00.) In Trout Culture , Jen Corinne Brown deploys cultural, social, and environmental analysis to explore the historical origins of the Rocky Mountain West’s infatuation with fly-fishing for trout. Noting that this activity essentially amounts to glorified “bug puppetry,” and that it has a centuries-old global history, Brown seeks to understand how and why its western enthusiasts have come to perceive fly-fishing as a nearly religious, transformative experience with a special connection to their region (p. 3). She attributes this development to a prevalent understanding of … Miles.Powell{at}ntu.edu.sg

Prediction of Optimal Daily Step Count Achievement from Segmented School Physical Activity in Children

Optimizing physical activity in childhood is needed for prevention of disease and for healthy social and psychological development. There is limited research examining how segmented school day physical activity patterns relate to a child achieving optimal physical activity levels. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive relationship between step counts taken during specific school segments and achieving optimal school (6,000 steps/day) and daily (12,000 steps/day) step counts in children. METHODS: Participants included 1,714 school-aged children (Mean age = 9.7 ± 1.0 years) recruited across six elementary schools from the Mountain West Region of the U.S. Physical activity (step counts) was monitored for one school week using the Yamax SW-200 pedometer. Steps counts were recorded during each school segment (i.e., recesses, lunch, activity breaks, and physical education), during the entire school day between the hours of 8am and 3pm, and during the entire day between wakeup and going to bed for five days. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to determine the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of achieving both school and daily step count standards for every 1,000 steps taken during each school segment. RESULTS: The school segment that related strongest to a student achieving 6,000 steps during school hours was afternoon recess (OR = 40.03; P < 0.001) and for achieving 12,000 steps for the entire day was lunch recess (OR = 5.03; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The school segment that related the strongest to achieving the school step count cut-point was afternoon recess and the school segment that related the strongest to achieving the daily step count cut-point was lunch recess. School segments including lunch and afternoon recess play an important role for optimizing daily physical activity in children.