Images

Antennas deployed in the Wind River to monitor movements of fish that have been tagged with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags.  The need to track fish movements in large streams over extensive areas has extended this current technology to new levels.

Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River where it meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca during the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

Aerial photograph of the former Lake Aldwell reservoir and the Elwha River 16 months following the removal of the Elwha Dam, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

Aerial photograph of the former Lake Aldwell reservoir and the Elwha River 16 months following the removal of the Elwha Dam, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

Aerial photograph showing the mouth of the Elwha River, Washington State, USA. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield.

Pale gills of a herring with VEN (top) compared to those of an uninfected, healthy herring (bottom).

Juvenile Steelhead to be tagged with a Passive Integrated Transponder tag for life-history research in the Wind River, WA.

USGS scientists, Steve Rubin and Karl Stenberg, collecting samples to determine the distribution of benthic invertebrates in the Skagit River delta during an extreme low-tide. Information on the distribution and abundance of invertebrates will help resource managers better understand how fish, such as Chinook salmon use the delta.

Sample bottle carousel from automated ISCO pump sampler deployed on the Elwha River, Washington to obtain suspended sediment samples.

USGS is working with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to capture White River Spinedace with trap nets in the Flag Springs complex as part of a mark-recapture study. The goals of this study are to estimate seasonal survival and examine seasonal movements indicative of spawning activity for this rare species.

Southwestern Willow Flycatcher habitat along the Upper Gila River, Arizona. 

Dendronotid nudibranch on hydroids - Scuba divers from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center, Washington Sea Grant, EPA and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe collected data and images from a long-term study of the Elwha River dam removals and the resulting effects on the nearshore ecosystem.

Beam trawling in Lower Granite Reservoir on the Snake River.

Roza Dam, on the Yakima River, in Washington State.

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally r

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River were incrementally r

Revegetation planting day at former Lake Mills reservoir as Glines Canyon Dam is removed. Image available at Olympic National Park flickr site.

Capturing juvenile Chinook salmon in Cougar Reservoir, Oregon using a Lampara net.

USGS divers Steve Rubin and Reg Reisenbichler laying out a survey transect. Completing his 12th dive at the site in 2023, Rubin has been conducting dive surveys around the mouth of the Elwha River for over a decade as part of an evaluation of ecosystem health and recovery since the Elwha dams were breached in 2011.

Juvenile Pacific herring with skin ulcers from Ichthyophonus disease.

The green water, caused by massive blooms of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, as seen in the wake of a boat, is a common sight each summer on Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. USGS studies how these blooms effect endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers in the lake.