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FRESC Corvallis Research Group

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FRESC Snake River Field Station

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FRESC Cascadia Field Station

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FRESC Olympic Field Station

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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Scientists from the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center capitalize on their diverse expertise to answer scientific questions shaped by the environments of the western United States. We collaborate with each other and with partners to provide rigorous, objective, and timely information and guidance to support sound management, conservation, and restoration of the Nation's natural resource

FRESC Research Teams

2019 Soda Fire Monitoring Crew

FRESC scientists, individually or collaboratively with partners, investigate high-priority questions about biological systems.

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Featured Research

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Explore one of FRESC's many research programs.

Mercury in Parks

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News

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Smallmouth bass mercury levels linked to habitat types along the Snake River 

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Amphibians have one more thing to worry about—mercury—large USGS study shows

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3 Cool Ways USGS is Studying Bats in National Parks

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Publications

Reservoir stratification modulates the influence of impoundments on fish mercury concentrations along an arid land river system

Impoundment is among the most common hydrologic alterations with impacts on aquatic ecosystems that can include effects on mercury (Hg) cycling. However, landscape-scale differences in Hg bioaccumulation between reservoirs and other habitats are not well characterized nor are the processes driving these differences. We examined total Hg (THg) concentrations of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu
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James Willacker, Collin Eagles-Smith, Jim Chandler, Jesse Naymik, Ralph Myers, David P. Krabbenhoft
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Broad-scale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant that has been mobilized and distributed worldwide and is a threat to many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing unprecedented global declines due to many threats including contaminants. While the biphasic life history of many amphibians creates a potential nexus for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in aquatic habitats and subsequent health effects, the broad-scal
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Brian J. Halstead, Collin Eagles-Smith, Michael J. Adams, Adam R. Backlin, Adrianne Brand, Colleen Emery, Robert N. Fisher, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Brad Glorioso, Daniel A. Grear, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Patrick M. Kleeman, David Miller, Erin L. Muths, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Rowe, Caitlin Teresa Rumrill, J. Hardin Waddle, Megan Winzeler, Kelly Smalling
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Eastern Ecological Science Center

Biocrusts indicators of livestock grazing effects on soil stability in sagebrush steppe: A case study from a long-term experiment in the northern Great Basin

Biocrusts are sensitive to changes in livestock grazing intensity in arid rangelands and may be useful indicators of ecosystem functions, particularly soil properties like soil stability, which may suggest the potential for soil erosion. We compared biocrust community composition and surface soil stability in a big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) steppe rangeland in the northwestern Great Basin i
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Stella M. Copeland, Lea A. Condon, Roger Rosentreter, Jesse E.D. Miller, Maya Kahn-Abrams
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Science

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A meadow of green grass and shrubs and yellow, orange, and purple wildflowers bordered by pine trees

Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
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Weather station in sagebrush steppe

Climate-Smart Vegetation Treatments - Using 15 Years of SageSTEP Data to Inform Management of Resilient Ecosystems

Land managers require clear, forward-looking information about where and how vegetation treatments may make the greatest difference for drought resilience in sagebrush and woodland ecosystems. We are using soil moisture and vegetation data from SageSTEP-- a long-term ecological study on fuel treatments in the Great Basin-- to analyze soil moisture dynamics and vegetation responses after common...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Climate-Smart Vegetation Treatments - Using 15 Years of SageSTEP Data to Inform Management of Resilient Ecosystems

Land managers require clear, forward-looking information about where and how vegetation treatments may make the greatest difference for drought resilience in sagebrush and woodland ecosystems. We are using soil moisture and vegetation data from SageSTEP-- a long-term ecological study on fuel treatments in the Great Basin-- to analyze soil moisture dynamics and vegetation responses after common...
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Sagebrush after juniper removal in Utah

SageSTEP – Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project

The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project--or SageSTEP-- is a regional experiment taking place across six states in the Great Basin. A multidisciplinary team of scientists are evaluating methods of sagebrush steppe restoration to inform land managers working to protect one of the most threatened land types in North America. SageSTEP is the longest running and largest replicated ecological...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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SageSTEP – Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project

The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project--or SageSTEP-- is a regional experiment taking place across six states in the Great Basin. A multidisciplinary team of scientists are evaluating methods of sagebrush steppe restoration to inform land managers working to protect one of the most threatened land types in North America. SageSTEP is the longest running and largest replicated ecological...
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