Providing Unbiased Actionable Science & Information to Support Natural Resource Management Needs of the U.S. & Department of Interior Priorities
The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is uniquely positioned in the Colorado River Basin to provide sound information, specialized expertise, and innovative tools to support the management and sustained use of natural resources on public and Tribal lands in the Southwest U.S.
The Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) and its two branches, the Terrestrial Drylands Ecology (TDE) and River Ecosystem Science - Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), provide information to the Department of Interior (DOI) and other federal, state and Tribal departments and agencies that is used to manage, conserve, and rehabilitate rivers and lands to ensure their productivity for the benefit of the American people.
The SBSC provides trusted and timely information that supports economic growth and security including energy infrastructure and independence, reducing regulatory burden, invasive species prevention and mitigation, outdoor recreation and tourism, and effective land rehabilitation; public safety and security including mitigation of wildfire risk and impacts, flood risk management, water availability and quality, and military readiness; and food and water security including agriculture, river health and management, ranching, fishing and hunting, and contaminants management.
The dependence of governmental departments and agencies, non-governmental groups, other stakeholders, and the American public on SBSC information and data is significant.
Legal & Intergovernmental Foundation:
The SBSC’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) provides information and data that assists DOI and managing agencies in fulfilling several mandates of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, wherein “The Secretary shall establish and implement long-term monitoring programs and activities that will ensure that Glen Canyon Dam is operated in a manner consistent with that of Section 1802” (Sec. 1802. Protection of Grand Canyon National Park – also known as the Grand Canyon Protection Act), and “Long-term monitoring of Glen Canyon Dam shall include any necessary research and studies to determine the effect of the Secretary's actions under section 1804(c) on the natural, recreational, and cultural resources of Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.”
The Grand Canyon Research & Monitoring Center (GCMRC) is the science provider for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
The GCMRC helps resolve uncertainties related to dam operations on environmental conditions following completion of the 1995 final Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1995) and provides the Secretary of the Interior with a means to fulfill obligations contained in the Grand Canyon Protection Act.
The Adaptive Management Program is structured around the Adaptive Management Work Group, a federal advisory committee which is chaired by a Secretary of the Interior Designee and comprised of 25 representatives from a broad cross-section of federal and state agencies, Tribes, recreational groups, environmental groups, and hydroelectric groups.
The Working Group makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on Glen Canyon Dam operations and other management actions to protect resources downstream of the dam consistent with federal law.
The DOI has stated the SBSC-GCMRC “will continue as one of the elements of the Adaptive Management Program, consistent with and for the purposes of the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act (see Record of Decision, 1996).”
Both branches of SBSC provide information and data used in addressing laws to monitor and conserve the condition of public lands.
SBSC scientists conduct inventory of public lands condition and resources (Federal Land Policy and Management Act), inform management of resources for future generations (Organic Act), monitor the status and trends of fishes and wildlife and their habitats (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act), assist agencies to avoid listing of sensitive species (Endangered Species Act), and provide scientific information to conserve and manage natural resources on military installations (Sikes Act).
SBSC science informs oil and gas activities and helps agencies prepare and evaluate reclamation requirements (Mineral Leasing Act).
SBSC scientists provide information to help the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other partners make informed decisions regarding grazing on public lands in support of the livestock industry (Taylor Grazing Act).
SBSC Supports Public Safety & Security
SBSC science provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety and security issues associated with natural disasters and strengthening readiness and operational effectiveness for a hazard-ready nation.
Flooding Risk
SBSC scientists, in collaboration with the National Weather Service, Coconino County Emergency Management, and the National Park Service, developed and implemented a new satellite-based text message emergency warning system for flash flood and debris flow risk to visitors of Grand Canyon National Park.
The system utilizes data produced by SBSC and provides warnings to the public by sending emergency alerts to satellite messaging devices commonly used in backcountry environments where cellular service is unavailable.
This warning system addresses the risk to the American public and Tribal Nations posed by flash floods and debris flows caused by intense rainfall during summer thunderstorms. This system has also been used to alert the public of other hazards and emergency situations such as obstructions to navigable river travel and missing persons in the backcountry.
Water Availability & Quality
SBSC science helps manage water supply for people and critical infrastructure.
Studies include measurements of reservoir sediment infilling that affects water storage capacity, and measurements of sediment concentration and other parameters that affect water quality.
SBSC monitors salinity and other aspects of water quality on Lake Powell, which provides 70% of the water storage for the Upper Colorado River Basin. This includes documenting patterns in plankton assemblages, including a first-time observation of a harmful algal bloom near the reservoir forebay this past year.
Military Readiness
SBSC directs long-standing studies and natural resource monitoring that support Department of Defense (DOD) lands and their land management responsibilities in the Southwest.
These activities help installations prioritize management of military infrastructure, training grounds, and natural resources to ensure military forces can provide for the security of the U.S. and its allies.
Studies at Edwards Air Force Base, Orchard Combat Training Center, U.S. Army Fort Bliss, Naval Base Coronado, the Nevada National Security Site, and Naval Base Ventura County inform management of special concern species and habitats, and help assure that the DOD meets legal and regulatory requirements, so that training, weapons testing, and other military activities are not held up or compromised.
SBSC is developing new technologies for the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape and other military installations in the Southwest to deploy rapid and cost-efficient monitoring of vegetation and wildlife habitat.
These technologies are helping resource managers on Department of Defense and neighboring lands maintain suitable conditions for military training and testing activities.
SBSC conducts hazard risk assessments and is developing scenario planning to help White Sands Missile Range mitigate risk to water shortages, sand and dust storms, and invasive species and wildfire.
SBSC has developed tools, maps, and forecasts of ecosystem response to disturbances on military installations in arid and semi-arid regions of the Southwest.
These assessments are helping the Department of Defense prioritize suitable areas to promote training exercises for military readiness and avoid areas that may be easily degraded.
Wildland Fire
SBSC is coordinating the Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network to prepare fire and natural resource managers for rapidly changing fire landscapes by conducting research and building science-management partnerships.
The Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network develops advanced tools and technologies to monitor fuel loads, evaluate the effectiveness of fuel treatments, understand wildfire risk and behavior, and mitigate the impacts of catastrophic fire to the American public.
SBSC provides data and tools to support burned area rehabilitation work across DOI-managed lands. Choosing appropriate plant materials as well as timing for treatment implementation to avoid seasonal arid conditions increases the likelihood of successful outcomes, thereby reducing long-term costs. Stabilizing soils and supporting native plant and soil communities ensures that public landscapes remain economically beneficial for rural communities that depend on healthy rangeland and recreation tourism.
SBSC develops information and tools to detect and monitor flammable invasive grasses that promote rapid fire spread and create risk to human life and infrastructure.
SBSC conducts research on the fire effects of populations of salt cedar, a costly invasive riparian plant species and its interaction with a beetle introduced as a biocontrol agent to reduce the spread of salt cedar.
SBSC studies how fire and arid conditions interact to determine the consequences of increased wildfire and post-wildfire debris flows on ecosystems with high economic, cultural, and ecological value.
SBSC conducts wildfire risk assessments for Tribal and Department of Defense lands, integrating high-resolution data, advanced technology, and stakeholder engagement to enhance resilience.
This research supports economic security by protecting rural communities in Arizona and the West, ensuring the sustainability of natural resources, and strengthening military readiness. By identifying and mitigating wildfire risks, this work aligns with national priorities to safeguard critical infrastructure and operational capacity on military lands.
Economic Growth & Security
SBSC science helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that support the Nation’s economic growth, reduce regulatory burden, and protect natural heritage.
SBSC science is used by decision makers at all levels to understand how the quality of America’s food and energy supply is directly connected to the health of America’s lands and water assets, and the fish and wildlife they support.
Energy Independence
SBSC supports energy and hydropower generation through research and modeling of costs and impacts to hydropower energy and revenue production resulting from flow manipulations implemented by the DOI Secretary and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
SBSC scientists are working to improve oil and gas well reclamation outcomes by working with industry to co-develop tests of new reclamation technologies, building webtools to expedite siting decisions, providing information on the native plants that will support reclamation success, and other work to improve decision making when developing and reclaiming oil and gas resources on Federal lands.
Federal lands in the western U.S. support nearly a hundred thousand oil or gas wells, providing an important component of American Energy Independence, and contributing to local and regional economies. Yet, when Federal oil or gas wells are no longer economically profitable, companies are required to reclaim the land, stabilize soils, and establish native vegetation.
These reclamation activities can be challenging and costly. SBSC science informs efforts to increase efficiency and likelihood of success.
Energy Infrastructure
SBSC scientists provide information used to support the Grand Canyon Protection Act through research and monitoring of Grand Canyon in accordance with directives from the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
The Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA) requires the Department of the Interior Secretary to operate the Glen Canyon Dam with consideration for the purposes of Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, a Federal Advisory Committee, generates recommendations for dam operations to comply with GCPA.
SBSC supports the Glen Canyon Dam Long Term Experimental Management Plan Record of Decision by providing the resource information necessary to implement it.
Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
SBSC scientists conduct research that informs public and Tribal land management of productive wildland landscapes that support healthy and abundant fish and wildlife populations for hunting, fishing, and birding.
SBSC scientists identify impacts to trout fishing, river boating/rafting, and reservoir recreation at the highly used Lake Powell and Lake Mead (millions of visitors per year).
Results of these studies emphasize rural economies and their reliance on outdoor recreation as part of those economies.
SBSC scientists monitor and inform river sand management in the Grand Canyon. Periodic high flows are required to build sand bars that are used for camping and provide habitat along the river.
SBSC scientists conduct critical monitoring to measure sand inputs and sediment deposits within the Colorado River to assist managers in determining the timing of high-flow experiments and to evaluate their effects within the river and on sand bars.
Reducing Regulatory Burden
SBSC supports National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation by monitoring and conducting research on National Historic Preservation Act eligible properties in Grand Canyon.
SBSC supports DOI and agencies in Tribal trust obligations through research and monitoring in association with Grand Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program affiliated Tribes.
SBSC provides critical data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for assessing and protecting endangered species in the Southwest and demonstrating compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These data and associated research help reduce the financial burdens associated with ESA-related species protection efforts.
SBSC provides science that can help to avoid species’ ESA listing. For example, the USFWS published its final decision not to list a plant as threatened or endangered, based in part, on SBSC genomic research into patterns of genetic diversity and relatedness across the plant’s populations.
SBSC scientists conduct inventory studies, population trend analyses, and habitat and ecological evaluations for a wide variety of terrestrial species, ranging from at-risk birds and mammals, declining reptiles and amphibians, to aquatic invertebrates, spanning the southwestern U.S. from New Mexico to southern California.
SBSC data support genomic groups that, when used as management units, provide sufficient representation and redundancy, two criteria USFWS uses to measure progress toward recovery goals, to be robust to future impacts.
The Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon underwent large changes after construction of Glen Canyon Dam, with four native fishes becoming extirpated from the area.
Humpback chub is a native fish found only in the Colorado River Basin and whose stronghold is in Grand Canyon National Park.
SBSC scientists, with partnering agencies, have developed population models to document the growth and expansion of the humpback chub population in Grand Canyon over the last two decades, providing some of the best available scientific information to help inform the downlisting decision and the need (or lack thereof) for conservation actions.
Effective Land Rehabilitation
Effective, science-based land rehabilitation supports local and regional economies by maintaining healthy lands and waters that are the foundation for other economically important land uses including ranching, farming, and recreation.
Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, aridity, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and frequency, creating novel ecosystem conditions that can outpace the knowledge base of local land managers. To address these growing problems managers can benefit from collaborative, innovative, and dynamic approaches to sharing information.
SBSC coordinates the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) to assist the DOI and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in Southwest ecosystems.
RAMPS has created a hub for science-based information and tools to help managers identify effective and resource-efficient strategies to successfully restore degraded areas.
Seed-based land rehabilitation is the most common management action in response to disturbed or degraded habitat across public lands due to the large number of acres in need of treatment. Choosing the specific seed sources used can make the difference between a successful land rehabilitation outcome and a land rehabilitation failure.
SBSC develops and provides geospatial products to DOI partners to guide the selection and use of seed sources during land rehabilitation to increase probabilities of successful management outcomes.
The need for more seed sources to restore Western plant communities provides economic opportunities for local communities, and SBSC science helps guide the selection of seed sources for development. By understanding how current seed sources can be used across public lands, SBSC researchers use tools to select geographic sources of seed collections from wild populations to provide to commercial growers for agricultural increase.
SBSC provides support for the National Seed Strategy by conducting research to improve seed production and use, develop decision-support tools for land managers, and develop progress reports on science activities to improve the rehabilitation of degraded lands.
The SBSC research agenda was highlighted in a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, “An Assessment of the Native Seed Needs and Capacities.”
SBSC scientists facilitate and improve the outcomes of riparian restoration in National Parks, including Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Wupatki National Monument, and in the Colorado River Delta by providing expert knowledge and research support.
These land rehabilitation efforts decrease fire hazards and improve river functioning for water quality and recreation, address National Historic Preservation Act requirements, and support wildlife.
SBSC supports research on insect pollinators that are critical for the survival of plant species of concern, production of seed resources utilized by wildlife and are, for some pollinators like the monarch butterfly, also of high cultural importance.
Pollinators are vital to the survival of humans and the earth’s ecosystems. Of the 1,400 agricultural crop plants grown around the world, including those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals.
Our science and expertise support sister DOI agency interests such as the USFWS’ Center for Pollinator Conservations Pollinator Action Plan and region-wide stakeholder collaborations such as the Arizona Monarch Collaborative.
SBSC is measuring water and bioclimatic variables in the arid southwestern U.S. in a project which provides enhanced estimates of water availability.
Results of these measurements enable sustainable management opportunities, provide quantification of the economic impact of invasive species which in turn informs mitigation of invasive species before further declines in the economy, and provides local governments and wildlife managers with habitat quality assessments to help formulate resource, habitat and ecosystem health strategies.
Food & Water Security
SBSC science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food supplies, ensuring access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors, to healthy local food and America’s self-reliance.
Agriculture
Most public lands in the western U.S. are managed for domestic livestock grazing, which generates revenue for the federal government and contributes in important ways to local communities and rural culture.
SBSC scientists work with both private ranchers and federal and state partners to develop strategies to help livestock operations and resource managers adapt to arid conditions and climate variability.
SBSC science informs public land managers and ranchers on how the most deleterious impacts of aridity can be avoided through herd management and restoration, as well as tools to help forecast the upcoming growing season forage availability.
SBSC experiments provide data about how forage timing, quality, and quantity are expected to shift in the future, and how heritage livestock breeds, land rehabilitation, and other adaptation approaches are key aspects for maintaining viable ranching and rangelands into the future.
SBSC scientists are at the forefront of generating critical information about arid conditions in agroecosystems, including understanding how arid conditions affect plant communities and production, generating forecasts on the ecological effects of arid conditions, and developing management solutions to mitigate the impact of arid conditions.
SBSC scientists investigate the causes and consequences of wind erosion and dust production in drylands of the Southwestern U.S. Increases in dust storms from rangelands, agricultural fields, and roads affect safety by reducing visibility, causing roadside accidents and fatalities, affecting human health by increasing particulate matter and pathogens in the air we breathe, and altering the timing and availability of water from snowmelt accelerated by dust deposition.
SBSC scientists improve methods for quantification of crop evapotranspiration to better predict agricultural water demand across vast areas of the Southwest in near real-time. These new methods in hydrological monitoring and assessments of water availability provide valuable input to resource managers, landowners, and the farming community.
Economic damages related to salinity in the Colorado River Basin are estimated at about $380 million annually, with many of these damages related to salt sensitive crops.
SBSC scientists monitor salinity in Lake Powell and have contributed science to understand how reservoirs can reduce salinity transport in the basin.
Rivers
The Southwestern U.S. is facing its driest period in 1,200 years. These arid conditions are impacting many important rivers and reservoirs in the Southwest.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead have been reduced to less than 40% capacity. The Colorado River, a critical water source for 40 million people across cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, has lost 10% of its streamflow (~10 trillion gallons).
Portions of the middle Rio Grande are prone to drying, which threatens both local farming communities that are unable to water their fields, and fish and wildlife with loss of habitat. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) manages the largest volume of water in the middle Rio Grande Valley of central New Mexico and is implementing a voluntary program to strategically reduce water demand during certain times of year to satisfy a Biological Opinion and other statutory requirements.
SBSC scientists are working with representatives of the Middle Rio Grande Conservation District and federal partners from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation to develop approaches to releasing water to benefit water users, fishes, and wildlife, while ensuring compliance with interstate compacts.
SBSC supports Minutes to the Water Treaty of 1944 by providing measurements and monitoring of restored and unrestored riparian vegetation in terms of plant health, vegetation greenness and water use, land cover evapotranspiration in the riparian corridor and uplands, as well as the adjacent agricultural lands, habitat health, land rehabilitation success, and hydrological processes in the Colorado River Delta in response to environmental and agricultural return flows, and federal water releases.
SBSC is developing tools to help water managers evaluate the water use of both invasive riparian trees and beneficial riparian forests, so that they can quickly evaluate potential water savings under arid conditions.
SBSC conducts research using remote measurement and monitoring of riparian multi-species conservation plan sites on the Lower Colorado River to determine if taxpayer-funded land rehabilitation helps the public by increasing water availability to support hunting, fishing, boating, and making more water available for utilization by farmers, businesses, municipalities, and the public.
Another goal is to monitor the health and water use of the riparian ecosystem once invasive riparian plant species, such as salt cedar, are fully replaced with native species, to provide healthy, native riparian habitat and increase water salvage efforts using efficient management.
SBSC scientists have created water budgets for non-federal entities (including Navajo Nation and City of Phoenix), in support of their water management trade-offs between popular riparian parks and natural areas and the need for in-home water.
SBSC scientists are developing tools to help water managers evaluate the water use of both invasive riparian trees and beneficial riparian forests, so that they can quickly evaluate potential water savings under arid conditions.
SBSC scientists lead and collaborate on projects that provide information to manage dams for water storage and hydropower and support riparian plant communities that maintain desirable recreational, functional, and cultural properties.
These projects provide the basis for discussion among stakeholders on how to balance the many needs of rivers in the Southwest.
SBSC science connects stakeholders with data and scientific evidence that facilitates joint engagement and decision making among stakeholders. For example, the GCMRC leveraged river flow data generated by multiple entities to create a new method of measuring the ‘naturalness’ of river flows. The new methods are being used to evaluate simple changes to dam releases to protect hydropower needs while improving river conditions.
SBSC science supports the Colorado River Storage Project (CSRP) by providing science and monitoring information to support management agencies address the mandates of the CRSP while maintaining demonstrable compliance with other laws and societal values as identified by the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
SBSC provides science to Department of Interior decision makers on the potential impacts of Colorado River Post-2026 Operations. Several reservoir and water management agreements and decisional documents for the Colorado River and associated facilities are scheduled to expire at the end of 2026.
A large multi-year, multi-agency, and multi-stakeholder effort led by the Bureau of Reclamation will identify a range of alternatives and determine operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead and other water management actions for potentially decades into the future.
SBSC scientists study the economic and natural resource impacts of reservoir operations, develop models to formalize understanding, and are running these models to support Department of the Interior decision makers in analyzing alternative operating agreements to understand impacts and maintain compliance with statutory requirements (e.g., Grand Canyon Protection Act, National Environmental Policy Act).
Contaminants
SBSC is planning to forecast geologic and ecological responses to changing reservoir storage levels. As reservoir water levels decrease, more soil and sediment are exposed, expanding dust-emission-prone shoreline areas.
Minerals, dust, nutrients, or contaminants may be transported to downwind aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and human communities.
SBSC has provided support to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on the use of structured decision making, value of information, and constructed scales for decision-making related to contaminants.
Invasive Species
The threat of invasive species may cost the United States over $120 billion annually. SBSC science provides critical information that supports management of invasive species.
Establishment of aquatic invasive species has often led to the demise of native resources, with management actions being largely ineffective and/or costly once establishment and proliferation has occurred.
SBSC scientists provide data and information to management agencies and stakeholders in support of their evaluation of management options, including invasive species removal and changes to water flows, targeted at reducing the risk aquatic invasive species pose to native resources.
The declining water elevation of Lake Powell in recent years has led to the release of warmer water through Glen Canyon Dam, increasing the risk of input, establishment, and proliferation of aquatic invasive species in downstream areas.
During 2022, record low elevations of Lake Powell led to the first observed reproduction and dramatic increase in the number of non-native smallmouth bass in Glen and Grand Canyon.
These invasive species can negatively affect threatened and endangered species through predation and competition while negatively affecting the recreational angling community that is economically dependent on a healthy, blue-ribbon rainbow trout fishery in Lees Ferry, Arizona.
SBSC partners with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service to use innovative technology such as environmental eDNA (eDNA) to monitor the spread and impact of invasive aquatic species in Western U.S. rivers and reservoirs behind and downstream of federally owned dams.
Early detection and management of invasive species is the least expensive and most effective way to control biological threats such as zebra, quagga, and golden mussels before they impact infrastructure and water intake structures associated with hydropower dam operations.
Invasive mussels alone cause more than $1 billion in economic impacts and management costs annually nationwide.
SBSC scientists conduct risk assessment research in the Missouri and Columbia River basins, emphasizing cost-effective management strategies to protect regional water resources from invasive mussels.
This research supports economic security priorities by safeguarding infrastructure, agriculture, and water supplies from costly infestations—helping to protect domestic industries and natural resources.
SBSC supports research to measure water use and bioclimatic variables in the arid Southwest U.S. in a project which provides information to managers on enhanced estimates of water availability.
The information benefits the American public by enabling sustainable management opportunities and provides quantification of the economic impact of invasive species, facilitating mitigation of the damaging effects of invasives before they cause further declines in the economy.
Common reed Phragmites is one of worst wetland invasives in the U.S., but the native subspecies is unique and culturally important.
SBSC scientists are leading efforts to evaluate the spread and distribution of both invasive and native Phragmites in the southwestern U.S. This work prevents the spread of this expensive invasive species in the Grand Canyon region and enables continual communication and coordination between land managers and regional Tribes.
SBSC conducts studies to characterize the spread of invasive grasses in the Southwestern U.S., evaluates the best practices for their control, and advises on land rehabilitation actions to make lands more productive.
The health and vitality of forests and urban trees is imperiled when non-native tree feeding insects arrive, establish and damage or decimate a forest, for example the destruction caused by the emerald ash borer or spotted lanternfly invasions.
SBSC participates in research that has developed quantitative models predicting the potential impact of tree-feeding insects and the incorporation of those models into predictive decision tools.
However, not all arriving non-native tree feeding insects cause high impact. Having estimates of the probability such an arriving insect will be of high impact helps biosecurity measures at ports of entry and informs effectiveness of forest tree monitoring.
Hunting and Fishing
SBSC science informs the management practices and decisions of federal, Tribal and state land management agencies that oversee fish and wildlife and directly influence the public’s shared recreational, fishing, and hunting experiences, which impacts rural economies.
SBSC supports the Arizona Game and Fish Department with collaboration, monitoring, and research on various fish species, and the habitats that support them, in Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.
SBSC supports the Arizona Game and Fish Department with collaboration, monitoring, and research on various fish species, and the habitats that support them, in Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.
SBSC monitors parasites and pathogens in fish species captured by recreational anglers that capture rainbow and brown trout for sport or food consumption during single or multi-day fly-fishing trips.
This industry has an annual economic impact in the tens of millions and is managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the National Park Service as a blue-ribbon trout fishery.
Powering Progress: How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle
USGS Science Syntheses for Public Lands Management
USGS Ecosystems Science for Food and Water Security
USGS Ecosystems Science in Support of Economic Growth
Supporting energy and mineral development through successful reclamation
Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network: Advanced tools for fuel monitoring and assessment of wildfire risk
USGS Ecosystems Science in Support of Public Safety & Security
USGS Science Supports Management of Invasive Species
GCMRC Science Informs Hydropower and Invasive Species Management
The U.S. Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) is uniquely positioned in the Colorado River Basin to provide sound information, specialized expertise, and innovative tools to support the management and sustained use of natural resources on public and Tribal lands in the Southwest U.S.
The Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC) and its two branches, the Terrestrial Drylands Ecology (TDE) and River Ecosystem Science - Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC), provide information to the Department of Interior (DOI) and other federal, state and Tribal departments and agencies that is used to manage, conserve, and rehabilitate rivers and lands to ensure their productivity for the benefit of the American people.
The SBSC provides trusted and timely information that supports economic growth and security including energy infrastructure and independence, reducing regulatory burden, invasive species prevention and mitigation, outdoor recreation and tourism, and effective land rehabilitation; public safety and security including mitigation of wildfire risk and impacts, flood risk management, water availability and quality, and military readiness; and food and water security including agriculture, river health and management, ranching, fishing and hunting, and contaminants management.
The dependence of governmental departments and agencies, non-governmental groups, other stakeholders, and the American public on SBSC information and data is significant.
Legal & Intergovernmental Foundation:
The SBSC’s Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) provides information and data that assists DOI and managing agencies in fulfilling several mandates of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, wherein “The Secretary shall establish and implement long-term monitoring programs and activities that will ensure that Glen Canyon Dam is operated in a manner consistent with that of Section 1802” (Sec. 1802. Protection of Grand Canyon National Park – also known as the Grand Canyon Protection Act), and “Long-term monitoring of Glen Canyon Dam shall include any necessary research and studies to determine the effect of the Secretary's actions under section 1804(c) on the natural, recreational, and cultural resources of Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.”
The Grand Canyon Research & Monitoring Center (GCMRC) is the science provider for the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
The GCMRC helps resolve uncertainties related to dam operations on environmental conditions following completion of the 1995 final Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1995) and provides the Secretary of the Interior with a means to fulfill obligations contained in the Grand Canyon Protection Act.
The Adaptive Management Program is structured around the Adaptive Management Work Group, a federal advisory committee which is chaired by a Secretary of the Interior Designee and comprised of 25 representatives from a broad cross-section of federal and state agencies, Tribes, recreational groups, environmental groups, and hydroelectric groups.
The Working Group makes recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on Glen Canyon Dam operations and other management actions to protect resources downstream of the dam consistent with federal law.
The DOI has stated the SBSC-GCMRC “will continue as one of the elements of the Adaptive Management Program, consistent with and for the purposes of the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act (see Record of Decision, 1996).”
Both branches of SBSC provide information and data used in addressing laws to monitor and conserve the condition of public lands.
SBSC scientists conduct inventory of public lands condition and resources (Federal Land Policy and Management Act), inform management of resources for future generations (Organic Act), monitor the status and trends of fishes and wildlife and their habitats (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act), assist agencies to avoid listing of sensitive species (Endangered Species Act), and provide scientific information to conserve and manage natural resources on military installations (Sikes Act).
SBSC science informs oil and gas activities and helps agencies prepare and evaluate reclamation requirements (Mineral Leasing Act).
SBSC scientists provide information to help the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other partners make informed decisions regarding grazing on public lands in support of the livestock industry (Taylor Grazing Act).
SBSC Supports Public Safety & Security
SBSC science provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety and security issues associated with natural disasters and strengthening readiness and operational effectiveness for a hazard-ready nation.
Flooding Risk
SBSC scientists, in collaboration with the National Weather Service, Coconino County Emergency Management, and the National Park Service, developed and implemented a new satellite-based text message emergency warning system for flash flood and debris flow risk to visitors of Grand Canyon National Park.
The system utilizes data produced by SBSC and provides warnings to the public by sending emergency alerts to satellite messaging devices commonly used in backcountry environments where cellular service is unavailable.
This warning system addresses the risk to the American public and Tribal Nations posed by flash floods and debris flows caused by intense rainfall during summer thunderstorms. This system has also been used to alert the public of other hazards and emergency situations such as obstructions to navigable river travel and missing persons in the backcountry.
Water Availability & Quality
SBSC science helps manage water supply for people and critical infrastructure.
Studies include measurements of reservoir sediment infilling that affects water storage capacity, and measurements of sediment concentration and other parameters that affect water quality.
SBSC monitors salinity and other aspects of water quality on Lake Powell, which provides 70% of the water storage for the Upper Colorado River Basin. This includes documenting patterns in plankton assemblages, including a first-time observation of a harmful algal bloom near the reservoir forebay this past year.
Military Readiness
SBSC directs long-standing studies and natural resource monitoring that support Department of Defense (DOD) lands and their land management responsibilities in the Southwest.
These activities help installations prioritize management of military infrastructure, training grounds, and natural resources to ensure military forces can provide for the security of the U.S. and its allies.
Studies at Edwards Air Force Base, Orchard Combat Training Center, U.S. Army Fort Bliss, Naval Base Coronado, the Nevada National Security Site, and Naval Base Ventura County inform management of special concern species and habitats, and help assure that the DOD meets legal and regulatory requirements, so that training, weapons testing, and other military activities are not held up or compromised.
SBSC is developing new technologies for the Fort Huachuca Sentinel Landscape and other military installations in the Southwest to deploy rapid and cost-efficient monitoring of vegetation and wildlife habitat.
These technologies are helping resource managers on Department of Defense and neighboring lands maintain suitable conditions for military training and testing activities.
SBSC conducts hazard risk assessments and is developing scenario planning to help White Sands Missile Range mitigate risk to water shortages, sand and dust storms, and invasive species and wildfire.
SBSC has developed tools, maps, and forecasts of ecosystem response to disturbances on military installations in arid and semi-arid regions of the Southwest.
These assessments are helping the Department of Defense prioritize suitable areas to promote training exercises for military readiness and avoid areas that may be easily degraded.
Wildland Fire
SBSC is coordinating the Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network to prepare fire and natural resource managers for rapidly changing fire landscapes by conducting research and building science-management partnerships.
The Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network develops advanced tools and technologies to monitor fuel loads, evaluate the effectiveness of fuel treatments, understand wildfire risk and behavior, and mitigate the impacts of catastrophic fire to the American public.
SBSC provides data and tools to support burned area rehabilitation work across DOI-managed lands. Choosing appropriate plant materials as well as timing for treatment implementation to avoid seasonal arid conditions increases the likelihood of successful outcomes, thereby reducing long-term costs. Stabilizing soils and supporting native plant and soil communities ensures that public landscapes remain economically beneficial for rural communities that depend on healthy rangeland and recreation tourism.
SBSC develops information and tools to detect and monitor flammable invasive grasses that promote rapid fire spread and create risk to human life and infrastructure.
SBSC conducts research on the fire effects of populations of salt cedar, a costly invasive riparian plant species and its interaction with a beetle introduced as a biocontrol agent to reduce the spread of salt cedar.
SBSC studies how fire and arid conditions interact to determine the consequences of increased wildfire and post-wildfire debris flows on ecosystems with high economic, cultural, and ecological value.
SBSC conducts wildfire risk assessments for Tribal and Department of Defense lands, integrating high-resolution data, advanced technology, and stakeholder engagement to enhance resilience.
This research supports economic security by protecting rural communities in Arizona and the West, ensuring the sustainability of natural resources, and strengthening military readiness. By identifying and mitigating wildfire risks, this work aligns with national priorities to safeguard critical infrastructure and operational capacity on military lands.
Economic Growth & Security
SBSC science helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that support the Nation’s economic growth, reduce regulatory burden, and protect natural heritage.
SBSC science is used by decision makers at all levels to understand how the quality of America’s food and energy supply is directly connected to the health of America’s lands and water assets, and the fish and wildlife they support.
Energy Independence
SBSC supports energy and hydropower generation through research and modeling of costs and impacts to hydropower energy and revenue production resulting from flow manipulations implemented by the DOI Secretary and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
SBSC scientists are working to improve oil and gas well reclamation outcomes by working with industry to co-develop tests of new reclamation technologies, building webtools to expedite siting decisions, providing information on the native plants that will support reclamation success, and other work to improve decision making when developing and reclaiming oil and gas resources on Federal lands.
Federal lands in the western U.S. support nearly a hundred thousand oil or gas wells, providing an important component of American Energy Independence, and contributing to local and regional economies. Yet, when Federal oil or gas wells are no longer economically profitable, companies are required to reclaim the land, stabilize soils, and establish native vegetation.
These reclamation activities can be challenging and costly. SBSC science informs efforts to increase efficiency and likelihood of success.
Energy Infrastructure
SBSC scientists provide information used to support the Grand Canyon Protection Act through research and monitoring of Grand Canyon in accordance with directives from the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
The Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA) requires the Department of the Interior Secretary to operate the Glen Canyon Dam with consideration for the purposes of Grand Canyon National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
The Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, a Federal Advisory Committee, generates recommendations for dam operations to comply with GCPA.
SBSC supports the Glen Canyon Dam Long Term Experimental Management Plan Record of Decision by providing the resource information necessary to implement it.
Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
SBSC scientists conduct research that informs public and Tribal land management of productive wildland landscapes that support healthy and abundant fish and wildlife populations for hunting, fishing, and birding.
SBSC scientists identify impacts to trout fishing, river boating/rafting, and reservoir recreation at the highly used Lake Powell and Lake Mead (millions of visitors per year).
Results of these studies emphasize rural economies and their reliance on outdoor recreation as part of those economies.
SBSC scientists monitor and inform river sand management in the Grand Canyon. Periodic high flows are required to build sand bars that are used for camping and provide habitat along the river.
SBSC scientists conduct critical monitoring to measure sand inputs and sediment deposits within the Colorado River to assist managers in determining the timing of high-flow experiments and to evaluate their effects within the river and on sand bars.
Reducing Regulatory Burden
SBSC supports National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation by monitoring and conducting research on National Historic Preservation Act eligible properties in Grand Canyon.
SBSC supports DOI and agencies in Tribal trust obligations through research and monitoring in association with Grand Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program affiliated Tribes.
SBSC provides critical data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for assessing and protecting endangered species in the Southwest and demonstrating compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These data and associated research help reduce the financial burdens associated with ESA-related species protection efforts.
SBSC provides science that can help to avoid species’ ESA listing. For example, the USFWS published its final decision not to list a plant as threatened or endangered, based in part, on SBSC genomic research into patterns of genetic diversity and relatedness across the plant’s populations.
SBSC scientists conduct inventory studies, population trend analyses, and habitat and ecological evaluations for a wide variety of terrestrial species, ranging from at-risk birds and mammals, declining reptiles and amphibians, to aquatic invertebrates, spanning the southwestern U.S. from New Mexico to southern California.
SBSC data support genomic groups that, when used as management units, provide sufficient representation and redundancy, two criteria USFWS uses to measure progress toward recovery goals, to be robust to future impacts.
The Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon underwent large changes after construction of Glen Canyon Dam, with four native fishes becoming extirpated from the area.
Humpback chub is a native fish found only in the Colorado River Basin and whose stronghold is in Grand Canyon National Park.
SBSC scientists, with partnering agencies, have developed population models to document the growth and expansion of the humpback chub population in Grand Canyon over the last two decades, providing some of the best available scientific information to help inform the downlisting decision and the need (or lack thereof) for conservation actions.
Effective Land Rehabilitation
Effective, science-based land rehabilitation supports local and regional economies by maintaining healthy lands and waters that are the foundation for other economically important land uses including ranching, farming, and recreation.
Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, aridity, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and frequency, creating novel ecosystem conditions that can outpace the knowledge base of local land managers. To address these growing problems managers can benefit from collaborative, innovative, and dynamic approaches to sharing information.
SBSC coordinates the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) to assist the DOI and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in Southwest ecosystems.
RAMPS has created a hub for science-based information and tools to help managers identify effective and resource-efficient strategies to successfully restore degraded areas.
Seed-based land rehabilitation is the most common management action in response to disturbed or degraded habitat across public lands due to the large number of acres in need of treatment. Choosing the specific seed sources used can make the difference between a successful land rehabilitation outcome and a land rehabilitation failure.
SBSC develops and provides geospatial products to DOI partners to guide the selection and use of seed sources during land rehabilitation to increase probabilities of successful management outcomes.
The need for more seed sources to restore Western plant communities provides economic opportunities for local communities, and SBSC science helps guide the selection of seed sources for development. By understanding how current seed sources can be used across public lands, SBSC researchers use tools to select geographic sources of seed collections from wild populations to provide to commercial growers for agricultural increase.
SBSC provides support for the National Seed Strategy by conducting research to improve seed production and use, develop decision-support tools for land managers, and develop progress reports on science activities to improve the rehabilitation of degraded lands.
The SBSC research agenda was highlighted in a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, “An Assessment of the Native Seed Needs and Capacities.”
SBSC scientists facilitate and improve the outcomes of riparian restoration in National Parks, including Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Wupatki National Monument, and in the Colorado River Delta by providing expert knowledge and research support.
These land rehabilitation efforts decrease fire hazards and improve river functioning for water quality and recreation, address National Historic Preservation Act requirements, and support wildlife.
SBSC supports research on insect pollinators that are critical for the survival of plant species of concern, production of seed resources utilized by wildlife and are, for some pollinators like the monarch butterfly, also of high cultural importance.
Pollinators are vital to the survival of humans and the earth’s ecosystems. Of the 1,400 agricultural crop plants grown around the world, including those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals.
Our science and expertise support sister DOI agency interests such as the USFWS’ Center for Pollinator Conservations Pollinator Action Plan and region-wide stakeholder collaborations such as the Arizona Monarch Collaborative.
SBSC is measuring water and bioclimatic variables in the arid southwestern U.S. in a project which provides enhanced estimates of water availability.
Results of these measurements enable sustainable management opportunities, provide quantification of the economic impact of invasive species which in turn informs mitigation of invasive species before further declines in the economy, and provides local governments and wildlife managers with habitat quality assessments to help formulate resource, habitat and ecosystem health strategies.
Food & Water Security
SBSC science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food supplies, ensuring access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors, to healthy local food and America’s self-reliance.
Agriculture
Most public lands in the western U.S. are managed for domestic livestock grazing, which generates revenue for the federal government and contributes in important ways to local communities and rural culture.
SBSC scientists work with both private ranchers and federal and state partners to develop strategies to help livestock operations and resource managers adapt to arid conditions and climate variability.
SBSC science informs public land managers and ranchers on how the most deleterious impacts of aridity can be avoided through herd management and restoration, as well as tools to help forecast the upcoming growing season forage availability.
SBSC experiments provide data about how forage timing, quality, and quantity are expected to shift in the future, and how heritage livestock breeds, land rehabilitation, and other adaptation approaches are key aspects for maintaining viable ranching and rangelands into the future.
SBSC scientists are at the forefront of generating critical information about arid conditions in agroecosystems, including understanding how arid conditions affect plant communities and production, generating forecasts on the ecological effects of arid conditions, and developing management solutions to mitigate the impact of arid conditions.
SBSC scientists investigate the causes and consequences of wind erosion and dust production in drylands of the Southwestern U.S. Increases in dust storms from rangelands, agricultural fields, and roads affect safety by reducing visibility, causing roadside accidents and fatalities, affecting human health by increasing particulate matter and pathogens in the air we breathe, and altering the timing and availability of water from snowmelt accelerated by dust deposition.
SBSC scientists improve methods for quantification of crop evapotranspiration to better predict agricultural water demand across vast areas of the Southwest in near real-time. These new methods in hydrological monitoring and assessments of water availability provide valuable input to resource managers, landowners, and the farming community.
Economic damages related to salinity in the Colorado River Basin are estimated at about $380 million annually, with many of these damages related to salt sensitive crops.
SBSC scientists monitor salinity in Lake Powell and have contributed science to understand how reservoirs can reduce salinity transport in the basin.
Rivers
The Southwestern U.S. is facing its driest period in 1,200 years. These arid conditions are impacting many important rivers and reservoirs in the Southwest.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead have been reduced to less than 40% capacity. The Colorado River, a critical water source for 40 million people across cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, has lost 10% of its streamflow (~10 trillion gallons).
Portions of the middle Rio Grande are prone to drying, which threatens both local farming communities that are unable to water their fields, and fish and wildlife with loss of habitat. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) manages the largest volume of water in the middle Rio Grande Valley of central New Mexico and is implementing a voluntary program to strategically reduce water demand during certain times of year to satisfy a Biological Opinion and other statutory requirements.
SBSC scientists are working with representatives of the Middle Rio Grande Conservation District and federal partners from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation to develop approaches to releasing water to benefit water users, fishes, and wildlife, while ensuring compliance with interstate compacts.
SBSC supports Minutes to the Water Treaty of 1944 by providing measurements and monitoring of restored and unrestored riparian vegetation in terms of plant health, vegetation greenness and water use, land cover evapotranspiration in the riparian corridor and uplands, as well as the adjacent agricultural lands, habitat health, land rehabilitation success, and hydrological processes in the Colorado River Delta in response to environmental and agricultural return flows, and federal water releases.
SBSC is developing tools to help water managers evaluate the water use of both invasive riparian trees and beneficial riparian forests, so that they can quickly evaluate potential water savings under arid conditions.
SBSC conducts research using remote measurement and monitoring of riparian multi-species conservation plan sites on the Lower Colorado River to determine if taxpayer-funded land rehabilitation helps the public by increasing water availability to support hunting, fishing, boating, and making more water available for utilization by farmers, businesses, municipalities, and the public.
Another goal is to monitor the health and water use of the riparian ecosystem once invasive riparian plant species, such as salt cedar, are fully replaced with native species, to provide healthy, native riparian habitat and increase water salvage efforts using efficient management.
SBSC scientists have created water budgets for non-federal entities (including Navajo Nation and City of Phoenix), in support of their water management trade-offs between popular riparian parks and natural areas and the need for in-home water.
SBSC scientists are developing tools to help water managers evaluate the water use of both invasive riparian trees and beneficial riparian forests, so that they can quickly evaluate potential water savings under arid conditions.
SBSC scientists lead and collaborate on projects that provide information to manage dams for water storage and hydropower and support riparian plant communities that maintain desirable recreational, functional, and cultural properties.
These projects provide the basis for discussion among stakeholders on how to balance the many needs of rivers in the Southwest.
SBSC science connects stakeholders with data and scientific evidence that facilitates joint engagement and decision making among stakeholders. For example, the GCMRC leveraged river flow data generated by multiple entities to create a new method of measuring the ‘naturalness’ of river flows. The new methods are being used to evaluate simple changes to dam releases to protect hydropower needs while improving river conditions.
SBSC science supports the Colorado River Storage Project (CSRP) by providing science and monitoring information to support management agencies address the mandates of the CRSP while maintaining demonstrable compliance with other laws and societal values as identified by the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program.
SBSC provides science to Department of Interior decision makers on the potential impacts of Colorado River Post-2026 Operations. Several reservoir and water management agreements and decisional documents for the Colorado River and associated facilities are scheduled to expire at the end of 2026.
A large multi-year, multi-agency, and multi-stakeholder effort led by the Bureau of Reclamation will identify a range of alternatives and determine operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead and other water management actions for potentially decades into the future.
SBSC scientists study the economic and natural resource impacts of reservoir operations, develop models to formalize understanding, and are running these models to support Department of the Interior decision makers in analyzing alternative operating agreements to understand impacts and maintain compliance with statutory requirements (e.g., Grand Canyon Protection Act, National Environmental Policy Act).
Contaminants
SBSC is planning to forecast geologic and ecological responses to changing reservoir storage levels. As reservoir water levels decrease, more soil and sediment are exposed, expanding dust-emission-prone shoreline areas.
Minerals, dust, nutrients, or contaminants may be transported to downwind aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and human communities.
SBSC has provided support to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California on the use of structured decision making, value of information, and constructed scales for decision-making related to contaminants.
Invasive Species
The threat of invasive species may cost the United States over $120 billion annually. SBSC science provides critical information that supports management of invasive species.
Establishment of aquatic invasive species has often led to the demise of native resources, with management actions being largely ineffective and/or costly once establishment and proliferation has occurred.
SBSC scientists provide data and information to management agencies and stakeholders in support of their evaluation of management options, including invasive species removal and changes to water flows, targeted at reducing the risk aquatic invasive species pose to native resources.
The declining water elevation of Lake Powell in recent years has led to the release of warmer water through Glen Canyon Dam, increasing the risk of input, establishment, and proliferation of aquatic invasive species in downstream areas.
During 2022, record low elevations of Lake Powell led to the first observed reproduction and dramatic increase in the number of non-native smallmouth bass in Glen and Grand Canyon.
These invasive species can negatively affect threatened and endangered species through predation and competition while negatively affecting the recreational angling community that is economically dependent on a healthy, blue-ribbon rainbow trout fishery in Lees Ferry, Arizona.
SBSC partners with the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service to use innovative technology such as environmental eDNA (eDNA) to monitor the spread and impact of invasive aquatic species in Western U.S. rivers and reservoirs behind and downstream of federally owned dams.
Early detection and management of invasive species is the least expensive and most effective way to control biological threats such as zebra, quagga, and golden mussels before they impact infrastructure and water intake structures associated with hydropower dam operations.
Invasive mussels alone cause more than $1 billion in economic impacts and management costs annually nationwide.
SBSC scientists conduct risk assessment research in the Missouri and Columbia River basins, emphasizing cost-effective management strategies to protect regional water resources from invasive mussels.
This research supports economic security priorities by safeguarding infrastructure, agriculture, and water supplies from costly infestations—helping to protect domestic industries and natural resources.
SBSC supports research to measure water use and bioclimatic variables in the arid Southwest U.S. in a project which provides information to managers on enhanced estimates of water availability.
The information benefits the American public by enabling sustainable management opportunities and provides quantification of the economic impact of invasive species, facilitating mitigation of the damaging effects of invasives before they cause further declines in the economy.
Common reed Phragmites is one of worst wetland invasives in the U.S., but the native subspecies is unique and culturally important.
SBSC scientists are leading efforts to evaluate the spread and distribution of both invasive and native Phragmites in the southwestern U.S. This work prevents the spread of this expensive invasive species in the Grand Canyon region and enables continual communication and coordination between land managers and regional Tribes.
SBSC conducts studies to characterize the spread of invasive grasses in the Southwestern U.S., evaluates the best practices for their control, and advises on land rehabilitation actions to make lands more productive.
The health and vitality of forests and urban trees is imperiled when non-native tree feeding insects arrive, establish and damage or decimate a forest, for example the destruction caused by the emerald ash borer or spotted lanternfly invasions.
SBSC participates in research that has developed quantitative models predicting the potential impact of tree-feeding insects and the incorporation of those models into predictive decision tools.
However, not all arriving non-native tree feeding insects cause high impact. Having estimates of the probability such an arriving insect will be of high impact helps biosecurity measures at ports of entry and informs effectiveness of forest tree monitoring.
Hunting and Fishing
SBSC science informs the management practices and decisions of federal, Tribal and state land management agencies that oversee fish and wildlife and directly influence the public’s shared recreational, fishing, and hunting experiences, which impacts rural economies.
SBSC supports the Arizona Game and Fish Department with collaboration, monitoring, and research on various fish species, and the habitats that support them, in Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.
SBSC supports the Arizona Game and Fish Department with collaboration, monitoring, and research on various fish species, and the habitats that support them, in Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.
SBSC monitors parasites and pathogens in fish species captured by recreational anglers that capture rainbow and brown trout for sport or food consumption during single or multi-day fly-fishing trips.
This industry has an annual economic impact in the tens of millions and is managed by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the National Park Service as a blue-ribbon trout fishery.
Powering Progress: How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle
USGS Science Syntheses for Public Lands Management
USGS Ecosystems Science for Food and Water Security
USGS Ecosystems Science in Support of Economic Growth
Supporting energy and mineral development through successful reclamation
Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network: Advanced tools for fuel monitoring and assessment of wildfire risk
USGS Ecosystems Science in Support of Public Safety & Security
USGS Science Supports Management of Invasive Species