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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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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

Reeling in Cleaner Data: Experts Use AI to Support Resilient Inland Fisheries

Reeling in Cleaner Data: Experts Use AI to Support Resilient Inland Fisheries

Western Fisheries Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting - August 19, 2026

Western Fisheries Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting - August 19, 2026

Advancing the Science and Management of Range Shifts

Advancing the Science and Management of Range Shifts

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Publications

Estimating greater sage-grouse population sizes within Oregon, 2017–24 Estimating greater sage-grouse population sizes within Oregon, 2017–24

We fit a binomial mixture (N-mixture) model to lek (breeding area) count data to estimate annual population sizes of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) within Oregon between 2017 and 2024. Population estimates were delineated among 24 priority areas for conservation, and additional sources of information were considered, including male-to-female sex ratios, lek...
Authors
Brian G. Prochazka, Austin L. Nash, Shawn T. O’Neil, Skyler T. Vold, Peter S. Coates, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Wicked problems in practice: Responding to ecological transformation in wilderness Wicked problems in practice: Responding to ecological transformation in wilderness

Congressionally designated wilderness offers the highest level of land protection in the USA, comparable to category 1b wilderness as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, yet wilderness areas face impacts of climate change. Researchers and managers increasingly recognize the immense challenge of stewarding wilderness in a changing climate. Although responding to...
Authors
Jaclyn Fox Rushing, Kira Hefty, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, Amanda E. Cravens, Christopher A. Armatas, Clare Boerigter, Kellie J. Carim, Shelley D. Crausbay, Olga Helmy, David J. Lawrence, Lauren Redmore, George W. Schuurman, Eric J. Taylor, Jennifer N.L. Wilkening, Katherine A. Zeller, Sean A. Parks
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Southeastern Utah Federal lands science needs survey Southeastern Utah Federal lands science needs survey

Evidence-based scientific information can help support defensible decision making in the management of public lands. This report sought to identify current (2024–25) Federal agency research needs in southeastern Utah and to synthesize common management challenges and questions across jurisdictional boundaries. We implemented a science needs assessment focused on lands managed by the...
Authors
M. Allison Stegner, Jonathan Argov, Liz A. Ballenger, Kimberly Hartwig, Laura Martin, Gerald I. Wakefield, Rebecca A. Weissinger, Michael C. Duniway
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center
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Science

Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Advancing the Environmental DNA Toolkit for Ecosystem Monitoring and Management

The emerging field of Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis allows characterization of species presence and community biodiversity by identifying trace amounts of genetic material left behind as organisms move through their environments. EESC scientists have been using eDNA technologies to detect native and rare species and as community biomonitoring tools.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center
Advancing the Environmental DNA Toolkit for Ecosystem Monitoring and Management

Advancing the Environmental DNA Toolkit for Ecosystem Monitoring and Management

The emerging field of Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis allows characterization of species presence and community biodiversity by identifying trace amounts of genetic material left behind as organisms move through their environments. EESC scientists have been using eDNA technologies to detect native and rare species and as community biomonitoring tools.
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Invasive brown treesnake

Combining Novel Technologies for Fast, Field-Ready eDNA Detection of Brown Treesnakes to Enhance Biosecurity Across International Borders

The USGS is working with the Department of the Navy to develop a new, field-ready tool to help detect Brown Treesnake environmental DNA to help prevent the spread and establishment of the invasive species into new areas.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Combining Novel Technologies for Fast, Field-Ready eDNA Detection of Brown Treesnakes to Enhance Biosecurity Across International Borders

Combining Novel Technologies for Fast, Field-Ready eDNA Detection of Brown Treesnakes to Enhance Biosecurity Across International Borders

The USGS is working with the Department of the Navy to develop a new, field-ready tool to help detect Brown Treesnake environmental DNA to help prevent the spread and establishment of the invasive species into new areas.
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Caribou roaming the Arctic Coastal Plain

Terrestrial Mammal Research

Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
Terrestrial Mammal Research

Terrestrial Mammal Research

Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
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