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Rocky Mountain Region

USGS Region 7 Staff support and advise USGS Science Centers that provide numerous stakeholders with vital information about spatial distribution and temporal trends in critical minerals, energy resources, geology, water resources, native plants and wildlife, and hazards posed by earthquakes and landslides in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and beyond.

News

FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 4 | Issue 2

FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 4 | Issue 2

New Nationwide Tool Helps Answer: Do We Have Enough Water?

New Nationwide Tool Helps Answer: Do We Have Enough Water?

FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 4 | Issue 1

FORT Updates: From Plains to Peaks - Vol. 4 | Issue 1

Publications

Beaver dam analogs as nature-based solutions to mitigate snowpack loss in northern New Mexico Beaver dam analogs as nature-based solutions to mitigate snowpack loss in northern New Mexico

Reductions in snow have left many streams in northern New Mexico dry or with very low flows during the summer. Base flow, defined as the contribution of groundwater to streamflow, can sustain streamflow during the summer and during drought conditions. Beaver dam analogs can be used to “slow the flow,” or increase the infiltration of rain-based runoff to replenish shallow groundwater...
Authors
David Moeser, Benjamin Linhoff, Justin Nichols, Jake Kurzweil

Effect of rotenone treatment on alpine stream invertebratecommunities in Colorado Effect of rotenone treatment on alpine stream invertebratecommunities in Colorado

Objective: Introduction of non-native salmonids to western United States streams has resulted in extirpation and even extinction of native cutthroat trout. Once thought to be extinct, a genetically verified population of Greenback Cutthroat Trout (GBCT) Oncorhynchus virginalis stomias was identified and used for population re-establishment efforts. To restore native trout habitat, stream...
Authors
Charles F. Wahl, Robert E. Zuellig, James J. Roberts, Travis S. Schmidt, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Janet L. Miller, Matthew P. Fairchild

Fipronil baits as emerging tools for flea control and plague mitigation: Experiments with cricetid mice on prairie dog colonies Fipronil baits as emerging tools for flea control and plague mitigation: Experiments with cricetid mice on prairie dog colonies

Plague is a zoonotic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors. Wildlife biologists most commonly mitigate plague by controlling flea populations. We evaluated the efficacy of edible baits for systemic flea control with two cricetid species on colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus): the western deer mouse (Peromyscus sonoriensis) and the northern grasshopper mouse
Authors
David A. Eads, Travis Livieri, Marc R. Matchett, Madisen Hartlaub, Jason Fly, Michelle L. Hladik, Shelli A. Dubay, Paul Roghair, Brooke Fricke, Phillip Dobesh, Ashley Merkel, Eddie Childers, John P. Hughes, Dean E. Biggins

Science

2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

On Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, a pair of earthquakes of Magnitude 7.2 and Magnitude 7.5 occurred in northern Venezuela, west of Caracas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ground Failure product estimated that landslides triggered by this earthquake would likely be significant in number and/or spatial extent. This landslide event page serves to communicate timely science information to our partners...
2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

2026 Venezuela Sequence Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Hazards

On Wednesday, June 24th, 2026, a pair of earthquakes of Magnitude 7.2 and Magnitude 7.5 occurred in northern Venezuela, west of Caracas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ground Failure product estimated that landslides triggered by this earthquake would likely be significant in number and/or spatial extent. This landslide event page serves to communicate timely science information to our partners...
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Modernized Breeding Bird Survey Portal

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Portal is a modern information system that enables volunteer observers and regional coordinators to manage survey routes, enter field data, and coordinate route assignments online. The portal replaces legacy paper-based and outdated digital workflows with a streamlined interface built for the BBS community. Observers can view their assigned routes...
Modernized Breeding Bird Survey Portal

Modernized Breeding Bird Survey Portal

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) Portal is a modern information system that enables volunteer observers and regional coordinators to manage survey routes, enter field data, and coordinate route assignments online. The portal replaces legacy paper-based and outdated digital workflows with a streamlined interface built for the BBS community. Observers can view their assigned routes...
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Water Quality

The USGS, in partnership with multiple other groups, is learning about water-quality conditions across time and space in terminal lakes across the Great Basin. This effort is part of the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment.
Water Quality

Water Quality

The USGS, in partnership with multiple other groups, is learning about water-quality conditions across time and space in terminal lakes across the Great Basin. This effort is part of the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment.
Learn More
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