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The Southwest Biological Science Center:

Providing Unbiased Actionable Science & Information to Support Natural Resource Management Needs of the U.S. & Department of the Interior Priorities

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The Southwest Fire Innovation Landscape Network

Advanced tools for fuel monitoring and assessment of wildfire risk

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Early detection of aquatic threats

eDNA research in the Colorado River ecosystem & Lake Powell

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A new app to report flash floods and debris flows in Grand Canyon

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New backcountry alert system for the Grand Canyon

Visitors can subscribe to the alert system using satellite communication devices

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Supporting energy and mineral development through successful reclamation

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Southwest Biological Science Center

The SBSC provides sound science, specialized expertise, and objective and timely tools to Federal and State agencies and the public to inform land management decision-making, and support thriving landscapes for the Southwest’s abundant natural resources and vast public lands. This research assists those who manage, conserve, and rehabilitate rivers and arid regions of the nation.

Dryland Ecology and Management Support: our Terrestrial Drylands Ecology branch

A group of people stand in a grassland in a circle

SBSC conducts research in terrestrial drylands to deliver information that aids land & wildlife management to promote productive ecosystems. Our work provides tools used to mitigate impacts of drought, wildfire, and invasive species, as well as science that supports Department of the Interior economic and cultural activities including recreation and ranching.

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Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center & Lake Powell research: our River Ecosystems branch

Boats along a beach on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon

The SBSC Rivers branch, which includes the Grand Canyon Monitoring & Research Center, studies the biology, ecology, and processes of rivers, primarily in the SW. We provide the public and decision makers with relevant scientific information about the status and trends of natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, and Lake Powell.

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Quick Links

Click here to access SBSC's Fact Sheet

News

A Tale of Two Islands and the Future of an Ocean Sentinel Seabird

A Tale of Two Islands and the Future of an Ocean Sentinel Seabird

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 2

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 2

Tree rings provide an important multi-century context for the current wildfire crisis

Tree rings provide an important multi-century context for the current wildfire crisis

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Publications

Comment on “Assessing the potential for Smallmouth Bass population establishment in Grand Canyon” Comment on “Assessing the potential for Smallmouth Bass population establishment in Grand Canyon”

No abstract available.
Authors
Charles B. Yackulic, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Lindsey A. Bruckerhoff, Anna Amidon, Kevin R. Bestgen, Nathaniel D. Bransky, Kimberly L. Dibble, Maria C. Dzul, Lindsay Erika Hansen, Brian D. Healy, M. Tildon Jones, Chris Michaud
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Resurvey of cross sections on the Green River in Browns Park, Colorado and Utah Resurvey of cross sections on the Green River in Browns Park, Colorado and Utah

This study resurveyed ten previously established cross sections and established eight new cross sections on the Green River in Browns Park to document changes in channel width, depth, and area since earlier surveys conducted in 1994. The measured area of the channel cross sections on the Green River in Browns Park generally increased between the initial surveys and 2019. This increase in...
Authors
Ronald E. Griffiths, David J. Topping, Joel A. Unema, Keith A. Kohl
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

A simplified two-station approach for modeling metabolism in dam tailwaters subject to diel flow variation A simplified two-station approach for modeling metabolism in dam tailwaters subject to diel flow variation

Tailwaters are ubiquitous and highly managed ecosystems whose food webs often rely disproportionately on autochthonous energy. In situ continuous dissolved oxygen data are increasingly being used to estimate gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration in rivers, but this approach is complicated in tailwaters, where upriver discontinuities (i.e., dams) violate commonly employed...
Authors
Ian Wesley Bishop, Bridget Deemer, Theodore Kennedy, Robert A. Payn, Robert O. Hall, Charles B. Yackulic
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center
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Science

Upper Colorado River near Moab, Utah

Copper mining, critical minerals, and long-term drought in the Southwest United States

Long-term drought in the Southwest U.S. affects water use across many sectors as well as the natural environment. The Southwest U.S. is an important area for mining porphyry copper deposits, which consist of copper minerals disseminated in breccia, a type of rock composed of coarse rock fragments held together by cement or a fine-grained matrix, that are the World's largest source of copper...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Arizona Water Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Colorado River Basin: Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology, Drought
Copper mining, critical minerals, and long-term drought in the Southwest United States

Copper mining, critical minerals, and long-term drought in the Southwest United States

Long-term drought in the Southwest U.S. affects water use across many sectors as well as the natural environment. The Southwest U.S. is an important area for mining porphyry copper deposits, which consist of copper minerals disseminated in breccia, a type of rock composed of coarse rock fragments held together by cement or a fine-grained matrix, that are the World's largest source of copper...
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Colorado Plateau dryland habitat

Enhancing Rangeland Recovery by Forecasting Seed Establishment

This project is synthesizing information about plant establishment and building a tool to deliver forecasts of restoration success, helping to maximize the chances that restoration efforts will be successful.
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center
Enhancing Rangeland Recovery by Forecasting Seed Establishment

Enhancing Rangeland Recovery by Forecasting Seed Establishment

This project is synthesizing information about plant establishment and building a tool to deliver forecasts of restoration success, helping to maximize the chances that restoration efforts will be successful.
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A person looks out over a panorama of Canyonlands National Park, Utah

New Tools for Modern Land Management Decisions

In an era of rapid land use changes, it is imperative that land managers and policymakers have actionable and current information available for decision processes. In this work, we seek to meet these needs through new data products and decision support tools built on digital soil mapping, new vegetation cover maps, agency inventory and monitoring data sets, and cutting-edge analytical frameworks...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
New Tools for Modern Land Management Decisions

New Tools for Modern Land Management Decisions

In an era of rapid land use changes, it is imperative that land managers and policymakers have actionable and current information available for decision processes. In this work, we seek to meet these needs through new data products and decision support tools built on digital soil mapping, new vegetation cover maps, agency inventory and monitoring data sets, and cutting-edge analytical frameworks...
Learn More
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