SUMMARY The Kissimmee watershed forms the headwaters of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades system (Figure 11-1). The watershed encompasses a diverse group of wetland and aquatic ecosystems, including more than two dozen lakes, their tributary streams, and the Kissimmee River. The key strategic priority of the Kissimmee Division is to integrate Kissimmee watershed management strategies with Kissimmee River restoration. In line with this priority, the primary goals of the Kissimmee Division are to restore ecological integrity to the Kissimmee River and its floodplain ecosystem, develop a long-term management plan for resolving water and other management issues in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, and retain the existing level of flood control in the Kissimmee watershed. Major initiatives in the Kissimmee watershed are the Kissimmee River Restoration Project (KRRP), which includes the Kissimmee River Restoration Evaluation Program (KRREP) and Kissimmee Basin Modeling and Operations Study (KBMOS); Kissimmee River Headwaters Revitalization Project (KRHRP); and Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL) Long-Term Management Plan (LTMP) (Figure 11-2). A number of activities are associated with these projects including ecosystem restoration, restoration evaluation, aquatic plant management, land management, water quality improvement, and water supply planning. The primary goal of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project is to reestablish the ecological integrity of the river-floodplain system, which is defined as "the capability of supporting and maintaining a balanced, integrated, adaptive community having species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of natural habitat of the region" (Karr and Dudley, 1981). Restoration of ecological integrity requires reconstruction of the physical form of the river (i.e., canal backfilling, removal of water control structures, and elimination of secondary drainage ditches, levees, and roads) and reestablishment of historic (pre-channelization) hydrologic (i.e., discharge and stage) characteristics. The KRREP is a key element of the restoration project. In addition to assessing restoration success, the evaluation program will provide scientific information for fine-tuning future project phases and for management of the water resources of the recovering and restored ecosystem. To address the goal of ecological integrity, the evaluation program has a broad scope encompassing hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and major biological communities including plants, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. All evaluation components were monitored prior to restoration to establish a baseline for evaluating future changes. The KRREP will continue until 2017, five years beyond completion of project construction.

A correlation predicting the effectiveness of a two-step acid wash coal cleaning protocol using sequential leaching of mercury from the coal was developed and the effectiveness of the two-step wash procedure was then determined for two bituminous coals. Increasing the hydrochloric acid concentration and temperature in the USGS four stage sequential leaching protocol increased the amount of mercury leached during the HCl step. Using these revised conditions, sequential leaching was then shown to correspond to the mercury removals achieved in the two-step wash method. Mercury removal rates of 50–70% were realized for the bituminous coals by pre-treating the coal prior to a wash with hot concentrated HCl.

This is a case study about conservation and recreation planning for a portion of eastern Washington and northern Idaho (U.S.A.) known as the Palouse region. As a means to improve the conservation of farmlands, increase recreation and cultural reflection opportunities, encourage quality economic development and reduce traffic hazards, a multipurpose path is proposed. The path would physically link the small university cities of Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho.

New U/Pb zircon ages from the Ray Mountains of central Alaska clarify the plutonic history of the Ruby geanticline and support earlier suggestions that the Ruby geanticline and southern Brooks Range were once parts of the same tectonostratigraphic terrane. U/Pb zircon ages of 109 to 112 Ma from the Ray Mountains pluton confirm previously reported mid-Cretaceous K/Ar ages and rule out the possibility that the earliest intrusive phase of the pluton is older than mid-Cretaceous. New U/Pb zircon ages from four granite gneiss samples in the Ray Mountains indicate a Devonian protolith age of 390 ± 12 Ma and suggest that the Ruby geanticline, like the southern Brooks Range, underwent a major plutonic event in mid-Paleozoic time.

SUMMARY The Kissimmee watershed forms the headwaters of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades system (Figure 11-1). The watershed encompasses a diverse group of wetland and aquatic ecosystems, including more than two dozen lakes, their tributary streams, and the Kissimmee River. The key strategic priority of the Kissimmee Division is to integrate Kissimmee watershed management strategies with Kissimmee River restoration. In line with this priority, the primary goals of the Kissimmee Division are to restore ecological integrity to the Kissimmee River and its floodplain ecosystem, develop a long-term management plan for resolving water and other management issues in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, and retain the existing level of flood control in the Kissimmee watershed. Major initiatives in the Kissimmee watershed are the Kissimmee River Restoration Project (KRRP), which includes the Kissimmee River Restoration Evaluation Program (KRREP) and Kissimmee Basin Modeling and Operations Study (KBMOS); Kissimmee River Headwaters Revitalization Project (KRHRP); and Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL) Long-Term Management Plan (LTMP) (Figure 11-2). A number of activities are associated with these projects including ecosystem restoration, restoration evaluation, aquatic plant management, land management, water quality improvement, and water supply planning. The primary goal of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project is to reestablish the ecological integrity of the river-floodplain system, which is defined as “the capability of supporting and maintaining a balanced, integrated, adaptive community having species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of natural habitat of the region” (Karr and Dudley, 1981). Restoration of ecological integrity requires reconstruction of the physical form of the river (i.e., canal backfilling, removal of water control structures, and elimination of secondary drainage ditches, levees, and roads) and reestablishment of historic (pre-channelization) hydrologic (i.e., discharge and stage) characteristics. The KRREP is a key element of the restoration project. In addition to assessing restoration success, the evaluation program will provide scientific information for fine-tuning future project phases and for management of the water resources of the recovering and restored ecosystem. To address the goal of ecological integrity, the evaluation program has a broad scope encompassing hydrology, geomorphology, water quality, and major biological communities including plants, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. All evaluation components were monitored prior to restoration to establish a baseline for evaluating future changes. The KRREP will continue until 2017, five years beyond completion of project construction.