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Powering Progress

How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle

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USGS Wildland Fire Science

USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.

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USGS Drought Science

Helping managers understand the interactions that determine the magnitude and impact of drought on water availability and ecosystems across the Nation

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Ecosystems Science at USGS

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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

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EcoNews

A USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Newsletter

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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science that directly benefits the health, safety, and prosperity of the American people by providing trusted and timely information to help address the Nation’s toughest management and conservation issues impacting public lands and the surrounding communities that benefit from them. 

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USGS Science for Food & Water Security

A view of a farm field in Iowa

USGS Ecosystems Mission Area science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food and water supplies, ensuring all Americans access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors and strengthen America’s self-reliance

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USGS Science for Public Safety & Security

Before and after pictures - Hurricane Rita and Holly Beach, Louisiana, USA

Science within the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety, infrastructure, and security issues surrounding natural disasters and changing landscapes, strengthening America’s ability to be a hazard ready Nation. 

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USGS Science for Economic Growth

A pronghorn stands in front of oil and gas development infrastructure, Vernal, Utah

Science provided by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that supports the Nation’s economic growth and protects our natural heritage.

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News

Science in Service: USGS monitoring sustains a delisted species for the US Navy

Science in Service: USGS monitoring sustains a delisted species for the US Navy

As Lakes Warm and Ice Seasons Shorten, Anglers Are Catching Different Fish Across the Midwest

As Lakes Warm and Ice Seasons Shorten, Anglers Are Catching Different Fish Across the Midwest

Geospatial Applications to Visualize Science and Support Decision‑Making Across Scales

Geospatial Applications to Visualize Science and Support Decision‑Making Across Scales

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Publications

RoadxStr user’s guide—For collection of road-stream crossing assessment field observations RoadxStr user’s guide—For collection of road-stream crossing assessment field observations

Intersections of drainage networks and road networks represent a critical nexus between natural waterways and human infrastructure. Managing these systems involves decisions related to management of infrastructure, hydrologic and geomorphic processes, and ecological connectivity. Interactions among these systems influence multiple values, including the intactness of transportation...
Authors
Emily Heaston, Sean Winter, Shelby Bauer, Tait Ronningen, Jason Dunham
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Design and function of the Autonomous Benthic Imaging and Surveying System (ABISS) for remote sensing of lake and seabed environments Design and function of the Autonomous Benthic Imaging and Surveying System (ABISS) for remote sensing of lake and seabed environments

Lake and seabed environments are home to fisheries and other biota that are important to ecosystems and economies, yet these environments and the species that use them are difficult to accurately assess and monitor. Traditional benthic survey techniques, like bottom trawling used by the U.S. Geological Survey, are limited by substrate constraints, poor spatial resolution and precision...
Authors
Alden T. Tilley, Peter C. Esselman, Christopher Roussi, Ben Hart, Aaron Lyons, Anthony J. Arnold, Jeremy Childress, Charley Weller
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Great Lakes Science Center

Evaluating evidence of changing regional occupancy of four bat species in response to forest management practices Evaluating evidence of changing regional occupancy of four bat species in response to forest management practices

Coordinated, regional strategies to guide effective management and conservation of forests can be used to balance conservation with management for other objectives such as timber, scenic viewsheds, and fire. A key part of these regional strategies is incorporating knowledge of how management actions may affect certain species, especially those that are sensitive or are of concern...
Authors
Richard D. Inman, Bradley James Udell, Amy Kristine Wray, Bethany R. Straw, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Helen Trice Davis, Sarah C. Sawyer, Brian E. Reichert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
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Science

Orange colored water flowing into Kugororuk River, Alaska. Brown ground with vegetation, snow patches with mountains sky.

The Rusting of Arctic Rivers: Freshwater Ecosystems Respond to Rapidly Uptaking Metals

The water quality of streams and rivers in the Arctic is sensitive to rapid climate change and altered disturbance regimes.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
The Rusting of Arctic Rivers: Freshwater Ecosystems Respond to Rapidly Uptaking Metals

The Rusting of Arctic Rivers: Freshwater Ecosystems Respond to Rapidly Uptaking Metals

The water quality of streams and rivers in the Arctic is sensitive to rapid climate change and altered disturbance regimes.
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Ear Mountain in the background, with herds of elk in the foreground. The sun is setting, casting an orange and blue glow over the whole scene.

Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop and explore the usability of a new type of science product— structured science syntheses—for facilitating the use of science information in...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop and explore the usability of a new type of science product— structured science syntheses—for facilitating the use of science information in...
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A woman with a USFWS shirt holds an eDNA sampler in Spencer Creek that flows into the Colorado River

Early detection of aquatic threats: eDNA research in the Colorado River ecosystem & Lake Powell

The USGS and partners are conducting environmental DNA (eDNA) research in the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam and in Lake Powell to detect invasive fish species and other aquatic threats before they become established. eDNA is a cutting-edge technology that makes it possible to identify invasive species before they are visible, even in vast or hard-to-survey environments like rivers...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
Early detection of aquatic threats: eDNA research in the Colorado River ecosystem & Lake Powell

Early detection of aquatic threats: eDNA research in the Colorado River ecosystem & Lake Powell

The USGS and partners are conducting environmental DNA (eDNA) research in the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam and in Lake Powell to detect invasive fish species and other aquatic threats before they become established. eDNA is a cutting-edge technology that makes it possible to identify invasive species before they are visible, even in vast or hard-to-survey environments like rivers...
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