Images

Great Horned Owl in a tree in Boundary Bay, British Columbia, Canada. This species of owl is present in Alaska also.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Large numbers of walruses came ashore to rest near the community of Point Lay, Alaska when sea ice had dissipated from their offshore foraging grounds in the eastern Chukchi Sea during late August through October of 2011.  Walruses in these groups cycled between this coastal resting area and their foraging grounds, both near-shore and offshore.

Kijik Lake in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska. USGS researchers study salmon ecology in cooperation with NPS.

Reflections of Tanalian Mountain and Hardenburg Bay in Lake Clark, Alaska. Near Port Alsworth.

Soil core obtained from existing goose grazing lawn along the Smith River in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.  Buried peat layer broken open.  Closer examination of the buried peat layer demonstrates that non-salt-tolerant vegetation from the past was buried in sediment which now supports high-quality goose forage

Soil core obtained from existing goose grazing lawn along the Smith River in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.  The buried layer of peat beneath goose grazing lawn demonstrates that vegetation change has occurred in this area.

Streamgage number 15905100 at the Atigun River, Alaska.  The Alyeska oil pipeline is in the background.

Scientists radio-tag walruses in the Chukchi and Bering seas to better understand their movements and foraging behavior. 

The Research Vessel Norseman II is used to conduct walrus research. USGS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will observe walruses from June 5 to July 2, 2023, as part of a project to study Pacific walrus population dynamics.

A juvenile female sea otter eating small green urchins in the intertidal. Photo taken in Glacier Bay near Geikie Inlet, Alaska.

USGS used shade and green houses to understand the effects of both warmer and cooler temperatures on the growth of plants used by geese for forage. These are located near the Smith River and Point Lonely on the North Slope of Alaska.

Typical goose grazing lawns along the Smith River in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.  Greenhouses and Shadehouses are used by USGS biologists to assess the effects of climate change on plant quality and phenology.

Low elevation tundra along the Smith River in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska.  On left is low biomass, high-quality goose forage. On right is typical high biomass, low quality vegetation.

Coastal erosion reveals the extent of ice-rich permafrost underlying active layer on the Arctic Coastal Plain in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.

Caribou grazing along the Dalton Highway, Alaska. More information can be found on the fact sheet:

Caribou foraging on the Arctic Coastal Plain near the Dalton Highway, North Slope of Alaska.