FORT researchers produce cutting edge tools and science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative
FORT economists and social scientists investigate the complex relationship between nature and humans
Research includes studies of visitor impacts on parks, wildfire risk assessments, and economic impacts of invasive grasses.
Research includes studies of visitor impacts on parks, wildfire risk assessments, and economic impacts of invasive grasses.
FORT scientists produce tools and research for better management of invasive species
From pythons in the Everglades, to annual grasses invading the western United States, FORT invasive species research spans a wide range of taxonomic groups and landscapes.
From pythons in the Everglades, to annual grasses invading the western United States, FORT invasive species research spans a wide range of taxonomic groups and landscapes.
FORT researchers improve methods for effective monitoring and management of wild horses and burros.
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.
News
Fort Collins Science Center hosts the Third Annual Big Rivers Data Integration Workshop
Fort Collins Science Center hosts the Third Annual Big Rivers Data Integration Workshop
Ecological benefits and risks of fuel breaks vary across the sagebrush biome
Ecological benefits and risks of fuel breaks vary across the sagebrush biome
Researchers map rates of change in invasive annual grass cover and corresponding management implications across the sagebrush biome
Researchers map rates of change in invasive annual grass cover and corresponding management implications across the sagebrush biome
Publications
Spatiotemporal synchrony of climate and fire occurrence across North American forests (1750-1880)
AimIncreasing aridity has driven widespread synchronous fire occurrence in recent decades across North America. The lack of historical (pre-1880) fire records limits our ability to understand long-term continental fire-climate dynamics. The goal of this study is to use tree-ring reconstructions to determine the relationships between spatiotemporal patterns in historical climate and...
Evaluating a simulation-based wildfire burn probability map for the conterminous US
BackgroundWildfire simulation models are used to derive maps of burn probability (BP) based on fuels, weather, topography and ignition locations, and BP maps are key components of wildfire risk assessments.AimsFew studies have compared BP maps with real-world fires to evaluate their suitability for near-future risk assessment. Here, we evaluated a BP map for the conterminous US based on...
Ecological trade-offs associated with fuel breaks in the sagebrush ecosystem
BackgroundUnprecedented wildfire frequency, fueled by invasive annual grasses, threatens sagebrush ecosystems. To suppress wildfire and conserve sagebrush, land management agencies have installed fuel breaks across the sagebrush biome. However, despite the potential reduction in wildfire, fuel breaks may have ecological costs. Determining an acceptable balance between risks and benefits...
Science
Effects of the herbicide, Indaziflam, on invasive annual grasses
Invasive annual grasses are spreading across the sagebrush ecosystem, threatening the survival of native plant species and the wildlife habitats they support. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are collaboratively investigating the factors that...
Mapping wild horse densities across broad landscapes of the Western United States
Researchers at USGS are using historical wild horse survey and monitoring records to conduct a study of horse density across sagebrush ecosystems of the western United States. Researchers will develop generalized density maps for the species that will enhance concurrent evaluations into the ecological effects of wild horse populations.
Evaluating potential vectors of annual grass invasion
Invasive annual grasses, facilitated by a range of disturbances, are invading many areas within the sagebrush biome. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management are investigating which non-fire disturbances are most associated with the spread of invasive grasses. The findings from this study could guide...
