Images

Samples collected form coho salmon that will be used to develop environmental DNA (eDNA) assays for the species. Water samples from aquatic ecosystems are compared against the assays to identify the presence and location of species in those ecosystems.

A wind farm on Kibby Mountain in western Maine. Researchers at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center are collecting remains from birds and bats found dead at renewable energy facilities across the country. 

Sagebrush seedlings grown at Birds of Prey National Conservation Area before outplanting to sites at BOP NCA in Nov 2012 in sites previously burned in wildfire summer 2012

Scenic view from Siuslaw National Forest, OR.

Sagebrush seedlings grown at Birds of Prey National Conservation Area before outplanting to sites at BOP NCA in Nov 2012 in sites previously burned in wildfire summer 2012

Snags provide habitat for a wide range of organisms from cavity-nesting birds to insects, and are critical for maintaining forest biodiversity. Resource managers can create snags by topping trees to mitigate loss of snags to timber harvest, but information regarding changes in habitat for snag-dependent wildlife over time as created snags decay is lacking.

Joan Hagar and Amy Comstock assess the long-term ecological value and characteristics of snags created for wildlife

Joan Hagar and Amy Comstock assess the long-term ecological value and characteristics of snags created for wildlife

Northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) are mostly non-migratory, long-lived birds whose populations have declined in mature forests of western North America.

A pair of American avocets wading in a saline lake in the Great Basin. Many bird species rely on food resources found in saline lakes, such as brine shrimp and brine flies.

The Kalispel Tribe in northeastern Washington is located along the Pend Oreille River, home to culturally important, cold-water fish, such as bull trout and cutthroat trout.

The glorious Douglas fir forest on the west side of the Cascade Mountains, McKenzie Pass, Willamette National Forest. The Douglas fir is the Oregon state tree.

A remnant beaver pond on Jack Creek that was excavated and deepened, photographed just after construction. Old beaver ponds were excavated to improve water retention during drought and provide habitat for amphibians like the Oregon spotted frog.

A crew surveys Upper Whitehorse Creek in SE Oregon and finds a stretch of stream that dries up, or runs underground. 

USGS Manuela Huso and FWS Chris Nicolai at solar trough facility. A solar trough reflects the sun's rays towards a solar collector.

Spotted Owl flying

Northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) are mostly non-migratory, long-lived birds whose populations have declined in mature forests of western North America.

Northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) are mostly non-migratory, long-lived birds whose populations have declined in mature forests of western North America.

Between 2009 and 2018, scientists conducted a national scale assessment of mercury accumulation in the National Park System using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels (species that accumulate a pollutant in their tissues as an index of exposure to other organisms without significant adverse effects to the biosentinel) through a citizen science network called the Dragonf

Dragonfly larvae are ideal mercury biosentinels and can be used to predict concentrations in co-located fish species.

The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP) is an integrated, long-term study that spans six western states. Researchers are evaluating the effects of treatments to reduce juniper and pinyon woodlands to restore sagebrush steppe communities in the Intermountain West.