CORE Natural Resource Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which landmark law established the requirement for environmental impact analysis before major federal actions in the US?
- Clean Water Act
- Endangered Species Act
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (Correct answer)
- Clean Air Act
Correct answer: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
NEPA, enacted in 1970, requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions and consider alternatives before making decisions.
Question 2: What is an invasive species?
- A native species that temporarily becomes overabundant
- A non-native species that spreads aggressively and causes ecological or economic harm (Correct answer)
- Any species managed within a national park
- A species reintroduced to an area after local extinction
Correct answer: A non-native species that spreads aggressively and causes ecological or economic harm
An invasive species is a non-native organism introduced to a new environment where it spreads aggressively and causes ecological, economic, or human health damage.
Question 3: Which federal act specifically protects threatened and endangered species and designates critical habitat for their recovery?
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- Marine Mammal Protection Act
- Endangered Species Act (Correct answer)
- Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson)
Correct answer: Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides legal protection for species at risk of extinction and requires designation of critical habitat necessary for their recovery.
Question 4: What does 'adaptive management' mean in natural resource management?
- Changing management goals arbitrarily every year
- A flexible approach that adjusts strategies based on monitoring results and new information (Correct answer)
- Managing resources only during natural disasters or crises
- Allowing nature to manage itself with zero human intervention
Correct answer: A flexible approach that adjusts strategies based on monitoring results and new information
Adaptive management is an iterative, science-based process that incorporates monitoring results to evaluate and adjust management strategies, improving outcomes over time.
Question 5: What distinguishes a keystone species in an ecosystem?
- They are the most numerous species by population count
- They have a disproportionately large impact on ecosystem structure relative to their abundance (Correct answer)
- They are always the largest animals in the food web
- They are found exclusively within designated protected areas
Correct answer: They have a disproportionately large impact on ecosystem structure relative to their abundance
Keystone species have an outsized ecological influence; their removal causes dramatic changes to ecosystem structure and function far beyond what their numbers alone would suggest.
Question 6: Which management strategy involves designating areas where natural processes occur with minimal human interference to preserve biodiversity and ecological integrity?
- Intensive recreation management
- Wilderness preservation (Correct answer)
- Commercial resource extraction
- Habitat fragmentation
Correct answer: Wilderness preservation
Wilderness preservation designates areas managed to allow natural processes to continue with minimal human intervention, as formalized in the US by the Wilderness Act of 1964.
CORE Natural Resource Management 3
Which landmark law established the requirement for environmental impact analysis before major federal actions in the US?