FORT economists and social scientists investigate the complex relationship between nature and humans
Research includes studies of outdoor recreation, wildfire risk assessments, and economic impacts of invasive grasses.
Research includes studies of outdoor recreation, wildfire risk assessments, and economic impacts of invasive grasses.
FORT scientists produce tools and research for better management of invasive species
FORT invasive species research spans a wide range of taxonomic groups and landscapes, from python invaders in the Everglades to annual grasses that exacerbate wildland fire risk in the western United states.
FORT invasive species research spans a wide range of taxonomic groups and landscapes, from python invaders in the Everglades to annual grasses that exacerbate wildland fire risk in the western United states.
FORT researchers improve methods for effective monitoring and management of wild horses and burros.
FORT researchers produce cutting-edge science and resource mapping to inform energy development in southwestern Wyoming
FORT scientists investigate infectious diseases like chronic wasting disease, plague, and white-nose syndrome to support the management of wildlife populations
FORT Laboratories and Facilities like the Molecular Ecology Lab provide essential capabilities to support the Department of Interior
FORT researchers conduct world-class science on the effects and consequences of drought across the western United States
Fort Collins Science Center
Welcome to the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) located in Fort Collins, Colorado, just east of the Rocky Mountains. At FORT we develop and disseminate research-based information and tools needed to understand the nation’s biological resources in support of effective decision making.
North American Bat Monitoring Program
North American Bat Monitoring Program
The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) is an international, interagency program designed to monitor bat distributions and abundances on public and private lands, and provide trend data at the state, provincial, tribal, regional, and range-wide scales.
Burmese Pythons Invade the Everglades
Burmese Pythons Invade the Everglades
The Florida Everglades encompass a vast subtropical ecosystem. Billions of dollars have been committed to the long-term restoration of this ecosystem, but burgeoning populations of introduced and invasive reptiles threaten prospects for restoration.
Science in Support of Resource Management
Science in Support of Resource Management
The pages below highlight current science in support of the research priorities of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s resource management bureaus as well as other Federal and State agencies, Native American Tribes, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations.
News
FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 3 | Issue 2
FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 3 | Issue 2
FORT Science in Action, Part 21: Pollinator research in support of agricultural economies and food security
FORT Science in Action, Part 21: Pollinator research in support of agricultural economies and food security
USGS and BLM publish a science synthesis on risks of spreading invasive annual grasses in MT, ND & SD through vegetation treatments
USGS and BLM publish a science synthesis on risks of spreading invasive annual grasses in MT, ND & SD through vegetation treatments
Publications
The effects of carnivory and herbivory on the energy balance of Arctic grizzly bears The effects of carnivory and herbivory on the energy balance of Arctic grizzly bears
Omnivores often face tradeoffs between selecting for spatially dispersed energy-dense vertebrate prey versus densely distributed herbivorous resources that have limited energetic value per unit intake. Arctic grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) are large omnivores within a resource-limited ecosystem that are known to exhibit smaller body masses and occur at lower densities than grizzly bears in...
Hosts, pathogens and hot ponds: Thermal mean and variability contribute to spatial patterns of chytrid infection Hosts, pathogens and hot ponds: Thermal mean and variability contribute to spatial patterns of chytrid infection
Temperature is a primary driver of heterogeneity in host–pathogen dynamics and understanding how patch-scale temperature affects landscape-scale patterns of pathogen infection is key to effective monitoring and management. In field studies, both temperature variability and mean temperature are often related to infection of ectothermic animals by fungal pathogens, and although these...
Amphibian diversity of the western Colorado canyonlands including potential threats from nonnative bullfrogs and disease Amphibian diversity of the western Colorado canyonlands including potential threats from nonnative bullfrogs and disease
Throughout the canyons of the Colorado and Uncompahgre Plateaus, water is a limited resource for wildlife, with patchy distribution and seasonal availability. Tributary creeks within these canyons drain into mainstem rivers, providing habitat and breeding sites for native amphibians. Yet, little is known about the diversity and distribution of amphibians that live in these harsh, dynamic
Science
Invasive Burmese python research in the Greater Everglades
USGS leads federal research to control the highly invasive Burmese python ( Python bivittatus), which has become firmly established across the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and poses a serious threat to native wildlife. Capable of reaching over 17 feet long, this massive constrictor is believed to be a key factor in the sharp decline of mammal populations in the region. For over a decade...
Recommendations for conducting landscape assessments to inform decision making on multiple-use public lands
Landscape assessments have been proposed as a mechanism for informing conservation and natural resource management actions at broad scales. We are documenting the process used in a large effort to conduct 14 such assessments across the western United States, and evaluating how the assessments were used in subsequent land use plans. In this project, we seek to identify methods and characteristics...
The Strain and Genetic Online Tissue Repository for Chronic Wasting Disease
The Strain and Genetic Online Tissue Repository (SAGOTR) is being developed by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center to document, track, discover, and request physical samples of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). SAGOTR connects natural resource managers, tissue repositories, and researchers in one online platform, making it easier to locate and share samples and support research and management of CWD...
