Images

A research and monitoring area at a sandbar/sand dune near an archaeological site along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon before encroaching vegetation removal. Photo courtesy of Joel Sankey, USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.

A partially-buried archaeological site in Grand Canyon National Park threatened by gully erosion of sediment on a river terrace near the Colorado River. Photo by Helen Fairley, USGS, SBSC, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, May 2019.

 

The USGS RAMPS program partnered with Saguaro National Park and the NPS Sonoran Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program to share knowledge about techniques for improving pollinator habitat at the NPS Desert Research and Learning Center in Tucson, AZ.

The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is working with the Navajo Nation Natural Heritage Program's Dine Native Plant Program to increase tribal native seed sovereignty by developing educational workshops, restoration experiments, and opportunities for famers to grow native seeds for restoration.

Inside view of a research boat on Lake Powell. SBSC conducts water quality monitoring in collaboration with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 

Panorama of Lake Powell with water quality monitoring research boat. Photo by SBSC, 2019.

Original photos by P. Cryan (wind farm) and M. Huso (solar power tower), USGS. Blended photo created by S. Kemp, USGS.

30m resolution soil map for the Colorado River Basin, Four Corners region showing uncertainty in electrical connectivity.

View of the Colorado River in Eastern Grand Canyon below Basalt Creek, Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Mike Moran, USGS.

Aquatic insect eggs are laid on rocks just at the waterline along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and here they are exposed as the water levels fluctuate. Aquatic insects are an important part of the food base in the Colorado River, providing food for fish, bats, and birds. Aquatic insects need to stay damp to survive and hatch.

Mature biocrust with lichen. Photo taken by SBSC during surveys, 2018, courtesy of Erika Geiger.

Well pad reclamation experiment, Vernal, Utah, December 8, 2018. Photo by Rebecca Mann, USGS, SBSC.

Working to develop climate adaptation actions on National Park Service lands on the Colorado Plateau and 4-corners region.

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. Here, pits have filled with water, illustrating how this technique increases soil moisture by capturing rainwater.

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. This photo shows the mulching treatment, which can increase soil moisture and lead to higher plant survival under some conditions.

RestoreNet locations are testing commonly used restoration techniques, including pitting, mulching, and above-ground micro sites. Here, metal crosses create an above-ground microsite that can increase soil moisture by providing shade and collecting debris under some conditions.

Burned, hollowed out base of a sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park

Criollo cattle, a heritage breed of cows, at Canyonlands Research Center, Utah. Photo by Mike Duniway, USGS, SBSC.

Criollo heritage cattle stand in a corral at Canyonlands Research Center, Utah. Criollo cows are descended from Iberian, or Spanish, stock brought to Mexico hundreds of years ago. They are hardier than Angus cattle and better suited to dry climates.

San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) with a radio collar inside the Panoche Solar Farm in the San Joaquin Desert. Photo by Tory Westall (Stanislaus State).

Information about species and solar facilities can be found in this paper:

Looking down on Glen Canyon Dam jet tubes releasing water into the Colorado River for a November 2018 high flow experiment. The increase in flow of the Colorado River downstream of the dam mobilizes sand at the bottom of the river and that sand rebuilds sandbars in Grand Canyon.