Rivers, Lakes, and Reservoirs

Rooted aquatic plants (macrophytes) are essential components of freshwater ecosystems. Macrophyte beds provide shelter for fish and other aquatic life. Their leaves and stems also provide algae with surfaces to colonize, which, in turn, drives the aquatic food webs and dissolved oxygen cycles. However, too much of a good thing can create problems. When growth conditions are favorable, macrophytes...

The mining district in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River valley was among the Nation’s largest producers of silver, lead, zinc, and other metals from the 1880s to the 1980s. These activities have produced large quantities of waste material that contain environmentally hazardous contaminants such as cadmium, lead, and zinc. Much of this material has been discharged directly to or washed into the...