Images

Testing of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite receiver at 61-mile gaging station, located just upstream of the confluence with the Little Colorado River next to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Photo taken February 2023 by Ron Griffiths, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.

Diverse plants growing in a connectivity modified (ConMod) treatment in the Sonoran Desert. Photo by Molly McCormick.

In 2022, we piloted RestoreNet V2.0 testing soil inoculation from undegraded reference sites, seed balls (white balls in photo), and pitting treatments (small indentions). Soil inoculation with healthy soils is expected to increase beneficial microbes at the degraded restoration site. Soil microbes can help reduce water stress in plants. Photo by Hannah Farrell.

High Mesa Grassland Wilderness Study Area in Colorado with purple and orange wildflowers, Credit: Bob Wick, BLM.

A map from a USGS paper titled "Restoration research actions to address rapid change in drylands: Insights from the Colorado Plateau," that illustrates the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Native Plant Program land management boundaries on the Colorado Plateau with call-out photos that identify different reg

Restoration outcomes are the product of many diverse, interconnected factors. The black textboxes in this illustration highlight key factors that directly and indirectly affect restoration success. The panels represent examples of a degraded dryland on the Colorado Plateau (left panel) and a restoration goal for that landscape (right panel).

Cover of USGS Open-File Report 2022-1097, "Terrestrial Lidar Monitoring of the Effects of Glen Canyon Dam Operations on the Geomorphic Condition of Archaeological Sites in Grand Canyon National Park, 2010–2020." The cover shows images taken during lidar monitoring in Grand Canyon. 

Adiantum capillus-veneris, a type of maidenhair fern, in Grand Canyon. Photo by Emily Palmquist, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center.

The fencing at the Gemini Solar Project is raised slightly to allow passage for reptiles, including desert tortoises and lizards, and small mammals such as kit foxes, birds such as burrowing owls. Gemini developed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the environment during construction and operation.

Gemini Solar Project fence line prior to the solar array construction. The fence is elevated slightly to allow some wildlife passage, such as lizards, desert tortoises, and small mammals such as kit foxes. Gemini developed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the environment during construction and operation.

A creosote shrub at the Gemini Solar Project that is crushed but expected to revive.

Gemini Solar Project panels stretch into the distance. Vegetation was left between the panels as a construction alternative to retain plant and soil habitat. Gemini developed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the environment during construction and operation. USGS collaborates with the Bureau of Land Management on research at this array.

Salix exigua, a native riparian willow plant growing on a beach along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Photo by Emily Palmquist, USGS.

Watch for wildlife signs at the Gemini Solar Project site before construction. Gemini developed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the environment during construction and operation. USGS collaborates with the Bureau of Land Management on research at this array. Photo by Claire Karban, USGS.

Land that is part of the Gemini Solar Project prior to development. Gemini developed measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to the environment during construction and operation. Photo by Claire Karban, USGS.

Canyon walls and riparian vegetation are reflected in the water of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon, upstream of Lees Ferry. Lees Ferry is downstream of Glen Canyon Dam. Photo by Mariah Giardina, SBSC, USGS.

A rainbow in Grand Canyon above the Colorado River during a rainstorm. Photo by Emily Palmquist, USGS.

Riparian vegetation on a Colorado River sandbar beach, below Awatubi, in Grand Canyon. Photo by Emily Palmquist, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center.

Bryce Mihalevich is a Post-Doc Research Scientist with the Southwest Biological Science Center's Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. He uses mechanistic water quality models to understand the drivers of energy and constant fluxes in Lake Powell and the Colorado River.

Prickly pear cactus on San Nicolas Island. This area is Island Night Lizard habitat. Photo by Charles Drost, USGS.

Terrestrial lidar system and water storage model illustration for water catchments called tinajas in Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.