CORE Natural Resource Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'non-point source pollution' refer to in water quality management?
- Pollution discharged from a single identifiable pipe or outfall
- Contamination that originates from diffuse sources across a landscape, such as agricultural runoff (Correct answer)
- Industrial wastewater released under a federal permit
- Pollution caused by a single catastrophic spill event
Correct answer: Contamination that originates from diffuse sources across a landscape, such as agricultural runoff
Non-point source pollution comes from many dispersed sources — fertilizer runoff, urban stormwater, and sediment — making it difficult to regulate compared to point sources like factory pipes.
Question 2: Riparian zones are important to conserve because they:
- Produce the majority of upland big-game forage
- Filter sediment and pollutants, stabilize streambanks, and provide critical wildlife habitat (Correct answer)
- Are the primary breeding ground for migratory waterfowl only
- Contain the largest timber reserves on public lands
Correct answer: Filter sediment and pollutants, stabilize streambanks, and provide critical wildlife habitat
Riparian zones — the vegetated areas along streams and rivers — act as natural buffers filtering runoff, preventing erosion, moderating water temperature, and supporting diverse plant and animal communities.
Question 3: Which management strategy is most consistent with the 'North American Model of Wildlife Conservation'?
- Selling wildlife to the highest bidder to fund habitat programs
- Declaring all wildlife private property on privately owned land
- Managing wildlife as a public trust resource held in common for all citizens (Correct answer)
- Restricting hunting exclusively to landowners and their guests
Correct answer: Managing wildlife as a public trust resource held in common for all citizens
The North American Model treats wildlife as a public trust, meaning no individual owns wild animals; the government holds them in trust and manages them for the benefit of all citizens.
Question 4: What is 'sustained yield' in forestry and fisheries management?
- Harvesting all mature resources in one season to maximize short-term profit
- Extracting a resource at a rate that does not exceed its natural regeneration rate (Correct answer)
- Setting aside 50% of all resources as permanent reserves
- Rotating crop species each year to prevent soil depletion
Correct answer: Extracting a resource at a rate that does not exceed its natural regeneration rate
Sustained yield means harvesting no faster than a resource can replenish itself, ensuring the same level of harvest can continue indefinitely without depleting the resource.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a 'keystone species'?
- A common songbird that feeds on seeds in a meadow
- Sea otters, whose predation on sea urchins maintains kelp forest ecosystems (Correct answer)
- White-tailed deer, which are numerous across most of North America
- Earthworms, which improve soil texture in agricultural fields
Correct answer: Sea otters, whose predation on sea urchins maintains kelp forest ecosystems
A keystone species has a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem relative to its abundance; sea otters control sea urchin populations that would otherwise overgraze kelp forests.
Question 6: The Pittman-Robertson Act funds wildlife restoration primarily through:
- Congressional appropriations from the general federal budget
- A federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment paid by manufacturers (Correct answer)
- Entrance fees collected at National Wildlife Refuges
- Voluntary donations made by hunters during license purchases
Correct answer: A federal excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment paid by manufacturers
The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson, 1937) levies an excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition, distributing proceeds to state wildlife agencies for habitat and research.
Question 7: An 'invasive species' causes ecological harm primarily by:
- Reproducing too slowly to establish stable populations
- Outcompeting native species, disrupting food webs, and altering habitats in its new range (Correct answer)
- Interbreeding with native species to create stronger hybrid populations
- Reducing prey availability for apex predators in controlled settings
Correct answer: Outcompeting native species, disrupting food webs, and altering habitats in its new range
Invasive species thrive outside their native range because they often lack natural predators or diseases, allowing them to outcompete natives and fundamentally change ecosystem structure and function.
CORE Natural Resource Management 5
What does the term 'non-point source pollution' refer to in water quality management?