Additional index words. Festuca arundinacea, ET, water useAbstract. Comparative evapotranspiration (ET) rates of 20 cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) were measured over 7 days in a greenhouse study. Small but significant differences in ET rates existed between the cultivars grown under nonlimiting water and nutrient conditions on day 1 following mowing. Greater differences had developed after 7 days of growth, with ET ranging from a low of 10.0 mm·day -1 for 'Shortstop' to a high of 13.5 mm·day -1 for 'Alta'. Day 7 ET was positively correlated (r = 0.82) with clipping dry weight. Six of the tall fescue cultivars were selected for a subsequent experiment to determine the stability of relative rankings for ET over time. Although average ET varied by up to a factor of two among five dates, the rankings were nearly identical for the five dates and were consistent with the rankings in the first experiment.

Despite the ubiquity of camera traps in wildlife monitoring projects, the data gathered are rarely used to estimate wildlife population demographics, a critical step in detecting declines, managing populations, and understanding ecosystem health. In contrast to abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the eastern United States, black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the western United States have declined over the past several decades. We tested whether passively operating camera traps can be used to quantify population characteristics for black-tailed deer. We used images of naturally occurring physical characteristics of deer to develop movement and activity data and inform a Bayesian spatial mark-resight model that estimates deer abundance, density, sex ratio, ratio of fawns to adult females, and home range size. We developed the model to account for the effect of attractants (bait) on encounter rate. We placed 13 cameras on all known water sources of a private ranch in California and provided bait once a month in front of each camera. Over 9,000 visits occurred between 24 May 2012 and 21 January 2013, and we identified 50 individual deer from ear notches or antler characteristics. We estimated density at 7.7 deer/km 2 in summer and 8.6 deer/km 2 in fall. In the summer, home ranges were 2.3 km 2 for females and fawns and 16.8 km 2 for males. Home ranges constricted slightly in fall. We estimated a sex ratio of 12.5 males/100 females, and a ratio of 47.0 fawns/100 adult females. Bait increased baseline encounter rates (visits/week) by 3.7 times in summer and 4.95 times in fall. We found slightly higher densities of deer in our study area compared to other recent studies in more mountainous areas of California, and lower male:female sex ratios. This approach shows that commonly deployed camera traps can be used to quantify population characteristics, monitor populations, and inform harvest or habitat management decisions.

Successfully integrating human activities with ecosystem conservation forms the foundation of sustainability and is key to maintaining biological diversity. This is especially important in privately-owned lands in the U.S., which harbor high levels of biodiversity yet are often vulnerable to habitat degradation and loss. This study analyzes recreation as a sustainable use on private property, focusing on wildlife-associated recreation, defined here as fishing, hunting and wildlife watching. Eighteen national surveys implemented by three U.S. government agencies spanning 1999-2013 were analyzed to provide baseline information and an assessment of the conservation impact of recreation. Results show that approximately 440.1 million acres of private land, ~22% of the contiguous land area of the U.S., are either leased or owned for wildlife-associated recreation. Land utilized for hunting accounts for 81% of that total. Approximately 33% of private forestland, 18% of private grazing land and 4% of private cropland is used to earn revenue from recreational activities. Annual spending for wildlifeassociated recreation on private land is estimated at $814 million in day-use fees, $1.48 billion for long-term leases, and $14.8 billion to own land primarily for recreation (2011 dollars). Hunters own or lease properties of larger size classes than anglers or wildlife-watchers, indicating that hunting may provide a greater economic incentive for maintaining large unfragmented properties that provide a variety of conservation benefits. On grazing and cropland, landowners who earn income from recreation are significantly more likely to participate in government conservation programs (p < 0.001) and to pay for private conservation practices (p = 0.08). This provides support that recreation incentivizes conservation at higher rates than agricultural activities alone. Three policy measures that could further enhance conservation benefits of recreation are discussed.

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Woody plant encroachment into open grasslands occurs worldwide and causes multiple ecological and management impacts. Prescribed fire could be used to conserve grassland habitat but often has limited efficacy because many woody plants resprout after fire and rapidly reestablish abundance. If fire‐induced mortality could be increased, prescribed fire would be a more effective management tool. In California's central coast, shrub encroachment, especially of Baccharis pilularis (coyote brush), is converting coastal prairie into shrub‐dominated communities, with a consequent loss of native herbaceous species and open grassland habitat. B. pilularis has not been successfully controlled with single prescribed fire events because the shrub resprouts and reestablishes cover within a few years. We investigated whether two consecutive annual burns would control B. pilularis by killing resprouting shrubs, without reducing native herbaceous species or encouraging invasive plants. As expected, resprouting did occur; however, 2 years after the second burn, B. pilularis cover on burned plots was only 41% of the cover on unburned plots. Mortality of B. pilularis more than doubled following the second burn, likely maintaining a reduction in B. pilularis cover for longer than a single burn would have. Three native coastal prairie perennial grasses did not appear to be adversely affected by the two burns, nor did the burns result in increased cover of invasive species. Managers wanting to restore coastal prairie following B. pilularis encroachment should consider two consecutive annual burns, especially if moderate fire intensity is achievable.

Cattle play an important role in wildfire management by grazing fuel on California rangelands. The benefits of cattle grazing have not been thoroughly explored, though. Using statewide cattle inventory, brand inspection and land use data, we have estimated that cattle removed 11.6 billion pounds (5.3 billion kilograms [kg]) of non-woody plant material from California's rangelands in 2017. Regionally, these reductions varied between 174 and 1,020 pounds per grazed acre (195 to 1,143 kg per hectare). Fire behavior is characterized in this paper by flame length. Fire behavior models suggest that these regional fuel reductions lower flame lengths, and lead to more manageable wildfires. In addition, fire-based models show that cattle grazing reduces fuel loads enough to lessen fire hazards in many grazed areas. Moving forward, there may be significant opportunities to expand strategic grazing on rangelands to add extra layers of protection against wildfires.

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