Publications

The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Maine is currently developing a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) that will guide Refuge management over the next 15 years. Workbooks were provided to local residents as part of the scoping process in order to get feedback on current and future management issues from the public. The workbooks asked questions regarding residents' use...

This report describes and documents a decision support system for the Gunnison River in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It is a macro-embedded EXCEL program that calculates and displays indicators representing valued characteristics or processes in the Black Canyon based on daily flows of the Gunnison River. The program is designed to easily accept input from downloaded...

Two-dimensional hydrodynamic models are now widely used in aquatic habitat studies. To test the sensitivity of calculated habitat outcomes to limitations of such a model and of typical field data, bathmetry, depth and velocity data were collected for three discharges in the vicinity of two large boulders in the South Platte River (Colorado) and used in the River2D model. Simulated depth...

Public land and natural resource managers in the United States are confronted with increasingly complex decisions that have important ramifications for both ecological and human systems. The scientists and technical professionals at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) contribute a unique blend of ecological, socioeconomic, and technological expertise to

Operation of Sherburne Dam in northcentral Montana has typically reduced winter streamflow in Swiftcurrent Creek downstream of the dam and resulted in passage limitations for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). We defined an empirical relation between discharge in Swiftcurrent Creek between Sherburne Dam and the downstream confluence with Boulder Creek and fish passage geometry by...

This literature review summarizes and synthesizes the available information regarding the impacts of socioeconomic factors on coastal and watershed restoration in the Puget Sound, Wash. Major topic areas which are explored include: institutions and restoration; beliefs, behaviors, and knowledge about restoration and the environment; stakeholder involvement in restoration, communication...

Feral horses (Equus caballus) are globally distributed in free-roaming populations on all continents except Antarctica and occupy a wide range of habitats including forest, grassland, desert, and montane environments. The largest populations occur in Australia and North America and have been the subject of scientific study for decades, yet guidelines and ethograms for feral horse...

This report developed as an outcome of the USGS River Ecosystem Modeling Work Group, convened on February 11, 2008 as a preconference session to the second USGS Modeling Conference in Orange Beach, Ala. Work Group participants gained an understanding of the types of models currently being applied to river ecosystem studies within the USGS, learned how model outputs are being used by a...

The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is the largest system of public lands in the world dedicated to wildlife conservation. There are over 545 national wildlife refuges nationwide, encompassing 95 million acres. As part of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, each refuge is developing 15-year comprehensive...

Complex natural resource issues require understanding a web of interactions among ecosystem components that are (1) interdisciplinary, encompassing physical, chemical, and biological processes; (2) spatially complex, involving movements of animals, water, and airborne materials across a range of landscapes and jurisdictions; and (3) temporally complex, occurring over days, weeks, or...

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Land Management are conducting research on the efficacy of the immunocontraceptive agent porcine zona pellucida (PZP) in reducing fertility of wild horses (Equus caballus). As an antigen, PZP stimulates antibody production when injected into many mammalian species. These antibodies bind to the external surface of the ovum, preventing...

Understanding how management practices affect wildlife is fundamental to wise decisions for conservation of public lands. Prescribed fire and grazing timing are two management tools frequently used within publicly owned sagebrush ecosystems. We conducted a variety of surveys in order to assess the impacts of grazing timing strategies (early summer before peak green-up, mid-summer at peak...