ABSTRACT Mount Diablo State Park exemplifies many other conservation areas where managers balance the dual missions of protecting natural resources while providing public access. Roads and trails that crisscross the park are etched into the geomorphic surface, capturing and redirecting storm runoff, and presenting both a challenge for soil conservation and a consequence of construction and maintenance. We used field mapping, remote sensing, and modeling to assess erosion along the roads and trails in Mount Diablo State Park, which encompasses the headwaters of several urbanized watersheds. The field mapping in 2011 determined that 56% of the assessed roads and trails required either repair or reconstruction to control erosion and that ~67% of the culverts in the park required either repair or replacement. Aerial photography and modeling showed that other erosion (unrelated to roads or trails) preferentially occurred during wet periods, in specific lithologies, and on convergent slopes. Although lithology and climate drive slope-forming geomorphic processes, we found that the road and trail system (1) expanded the stream network with a capillary-like system of rills, (2) catalyzed prolonged erosion, and (3) altered the timing and pattern of sediment yield. In addition to water-driven erosion during wet periods, road and trail surfaces were subject to mechanical and wind erosion during dry periods. Spatially, dry erosion and runoff both conformed with and crossed topographic gradients by following the road and trail network. Road- and trail-induced erosion occurred across a wider range of rock properties and slope geometries than is typical for other erosion. Hence, the roads and trails have expanded the spatial and temporal boundary conditions over which geomorphic processes operate and, due to continual soil disturbance, have accelerated erosion rates. Although road density is a commonly used metric to rank road-related impacts at watershed scales, it misses both spatial variability and the opportunity to identify specific road and trail segments for remediation. We developed a spatially explicit scoring scheme based on actual erosion and the potential for sedimentation of discrete waterbodies. The data were incorporated into the park’s road and trail management plan in 2016.

Abstract Geological Survey Ireland is a division of a government department and has typical origins as a geological survey founded to map the nation's natural resources. In recent years it has changed focus from more traditional geological mapping activities and methods to carrying out major projects of national societal value using, and developing, the latest technology. Programmes include one of the world's largest seabed surveys INFOMAR, a national groundwater mapping and protection programme, and modern geophysical and geochemical mapping under its Tellus programme. In addition the Survey has developed a successful geoscience research programme and a business cluster, Geoscience Ireland. By focusing on stakeholder engagement, effective communication of the value of geoscience and maintaining scientific rigour, geological surveys can be as relevant today as when they were founded.

ABSTRACT Today, the United States Department of the Interior manages 500 million acres of surface land, about one-fifth of the land in the United States. Since enactment of the Antiquities Act in 1906, historic and scientific resources collected on public land have remained government property, held in trust for the people of the United States. As a result, the Department of the Interior manages nearly 204 million museum objects. Some of these objects are in federally managed repositories; others are in the repositories of partner institutions. The establishment of the United States as a nation corresponded with the development of paleontology as a science. For example, mastodon fossils discovered at or near present-day Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Kentucky, found their way to notable scientists both in the United States and in Europe by the mid-eighteenth century and were instrumental in establishing the reality of extinction. Public land policies were often contentious, but generally they encouraged settlement and use, which resulted in the modern pattern of federal public lands. Continued investigation for fossils from public land filled the nation’s early museums, and those fossils became the centerpieces of many museum exhibitions. Case studies of the management of fossils found in Fossil Cycad National Monument, the John Day fossil beds, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas of public land, the American Falls Reservoir, and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument are outlined. These examples provide a sense of the scope of fossils on federal public land, highlight how their management can be a challenge, and show that public land is vital for continued scientific collection and research.

Abstract The Škocjan Caves are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List due to their outstanding natural features. The caves include a large underground canyon containing the Reka River, collapse dolines with vegetation in rock fissures and impressive archaeological sites with a rich history of speleological and scientific research. They are also included in the Ramsar Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. Together with their broader surface area, the site is known as the UNESCO Karst Biosphere Reserve. The aim of the management of the reserve is to protect the World Heritage Site and to preserve its outstanding universal value for future generations. The protection activities are regulated by the provisions of international documents, the Škocjan Caves Regional Park Act and the park’s management plan. These activities include monitoring of the water quality in the Reka River and meteorological surveys on the surface. Monitoring of the microclimate of the caves focuses on measuring the effects of tourism and monitoring the levels of radon, with the aim of the ensuring the safety of the park’s employees. Ensuring a favourable status for the underground habitats and species is laid down in the Natura 2000 management programme. Particular attention is paid to ensuring high-quality, safe visits to the caves and providing educational and awareness-raising activities on the surface of the park.

Abstract High permeability and rapid recharge in karst aquifers make them susceptible to contamination. We combined a groundwater vulnerability map with an environmental disturbance index to give an adaptable spatial tool for developing management strategies for a karst environment in the Reserva de la Biosfera Selva el Ocote (el Ocote), Chiapas, Mexico. Seventy-two per cent of the study area is classified as an area of least concern for management, with 60% falling within el Ocote. Consequently, although there are concerns regarding the vulnerability of the karst ecosystem, the lack of development and the natural protection of the ecosystem, the immediate need for remedial action by the area’s managers is currently minimal. About 27% of the study area is classified by the composite model as of moderate concern, with 34% within el Ocote. This reflects a balance between areas of moderate and high vulnerability, but little disturbance. Based on the management zones created by this study, much of the sub-catchment is zoned as of least or moderate concern, where disturbance has not occurred. As such, the opportunity exists to prevent major human impacts on vulnerable areas and the entire ecosystem, but only if local stakeholders are incorporated into this process of limiting development.

Abstract Determining the significance of caves is challenging due to a lack of consensus on which parameters to consider and their relative importance, in addition to difficulties in applying the parameters in a repeatable way. However, classifying caves by levels of significance is unequivocally important because it allows the prioritization of caves for future environmental protection. In countries where the subsurface belongs to the government, such as Brazil, the decision process is coordinated at the government level and a comprehensive approach balancing environmental protection and economic/social interests should be applied. Brazil has the most comprehensive set of criteria for assessing the significance of caves, encompassing parameters applied in other countries. A sample of 401 Brazilian caves in limestone and iron-rich rocks was analysed statistically to infer the relative frequency of each criterion in assigning significance to caves. The analysis included 70 parameters; 30 were present in caves, but on average less than five of these parameters occurred together at each cave. Subjective parameters tended to be less represented. Biotic parameters were dominant and both abiotic and biotic parameters displayed a correlation with length and area, suggesting that these parameters could be good indicators of cave significance. Applying the set of criteria proposed by the Brazilian government to our sample, there was no marked difference between caves in different rock types. A better approach to defining cave relevance is required, with an emphasis on science-based parameters.

Abstract The mine caves of Naica (Chihuahua, Mexico) are famous because they host large gypsum crystals. Mine works intersected new caves hosting the largest crystals in the world in the year 2000. From 2006 these caves became the object of a multidisciplinary research project with the goal of inferring their ages, the boundary conditions for their formation and the mechanisms inducing their development. Several other scientific aspects were also considered, including palynology, mineralogy, microbiology, physiology, hydrogeology and astrobiology. From 2006 to 2009, scientists and explorers tried to ensure the complete documentation of these natural wonders because they were expected to be accessible for only a few years. As a result of their location c. 160 m below the natural groundwater level, they were predicted to be flooded with thermal water as soon as dewatering of the mine ceased. This occurred at the end of 2015, so that the lower part of the mine is already submerged and in the near future the giant crystal caves will also disappear. Theoretically, it is still possible to maintain these incredible wonders for future generations, but this seems highly unlikely. Soon the crystals will be submerged below c. 150 m of hot water, restarting their incredible slow growth.