Images

Fisher Mesa as viewed from the west slopes of the La Sal Mountains, UT. Photo by Andreas Wion (USGS).

Field intern prepares to sample fire-scarred stump near the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.  Photo by Melanie Wright (USGS).

Snag fall after the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, which burned over 150,000 acres in New Mexico.

Golden eagle next to pond, captured by a trail camera next to a pond in the Conger Herd Management Area, Utah.

Setting up NABat stationary monitoring

Photo Credit: Paul Cryan, USGS

Setting up NABat stationary monitoring | Photo Credit: Paul … | Flickr

Pronghorn captured by a trail camera next to a pond in the Conger Herd Management Area, Utah.

Wild horses bath in a pond, captured by a trail camera next to a pond in the Conger Herd Management Area, Utah.

Bobcat captured by a trail camera next to a pond in the Conger Herd Management Area, Utah.

NPS image by Adams. A mule deer stands at the side of a road at Grand Teton National Park.

A pumpjack on an active oil or gas drilling site near Farmington, New Mexico. Photo by Mike Duniway, USGS, SBSC.

Tree-ring fire scars from a ponderosa pine in northern New Mexico. The years indicate the year the tree burned and scarred, and the letters indicate the position of the fire scar in the tree ring (D = spring dormant and EE = early earlywood). Photo by Ellis Margolis (USGS)

Microscopic view of tree rings from a ponderosa pine in northern New Mexico. Photo by Ellis Margolis (USGS).

Bat, bird, and insect activity can be monitored with pairs of thermal-imaging cameras mounted on the wind turbines, and automatically recorded to a computer inside the base of the turbine. 

Big sagebrush with rainbow at the SageSTEP project Five Creeks study site north of Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon. Photo by Steve Hanser (USGS).

FORT scientist Chris Holmquist-Johnson leverages uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), such as the one shown here, to advance hydrological research through innovative aerial data collection. As a certified UAS Instructor for the Department of the Interior (DOI), he also leads training programs to expand UAS capabilities among DOI scientists.

Using telemetry to track movement, habitat use and dispersal of frogs in an Iowa wetland.

Blue Vane trap in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) field

This map shows the distribution of select Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields for on-site assessments. 

Native sunflowers in a Kansas Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) field

USGS scientist conducting agricultural research

Abandoned center-pivot irrigated cropland results in destabilized sandy soils that are badly eroded by wind. An example of a recently plowed field in Kansas.