USGS Scientists Discuss Climate, Drought and Resource Management at Colorado Plateau Conference

US Geological Survey scientists are presenting on numerous topics related to climate change, drought and resource management at the 13th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region. Below are some of the newest science topics that the USGS will present.

Special Session: Revisiting Science and Adaptive Management in the Federal Colorado River Programs and Other Streams and Rivers of the Southwest

Tuesday, October 6^th from 1 – 5:15 p.m., and Wednesday October 7^th 1:15 – 3:15 p.m., Humphreys
Federal programs to manage resources, including endangered native fish and nonnative sport fisheries, on the Colorado River have been underway since the 1980s. This session, following the 2008 Colorado River Basin Science and Resource Management Symposium, brings scientists and managers together again to explore how science is informing adaptive river management progress throughout the southwestern United States under ongoing climate change, drought and threats from contamination. Also see: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5135/

Additional USGS presentations include:

Monday, October 5^th

Workshop: Fighting drought with fire: can forest management increase resistance to drought? Identifying information gaps for adapting to a hotter, drier future
Time: 3p.m., Fremont
Organizers: Phillip van Mantgem, USGS, Redwood Field Station, and Donald Falk, University of Arizona, School of Natural Resource (Limited to 20 participants, contact pvanmantgem@usgs.gov) 

Tuesday, October 6^th

Population Dynamics of Humpback Chub that Spawn in the Little Colorado River: Drivers and their Implications for Management
Charles B. Yackulic, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center
Time: 12 – 2:20 p.m., Humphreys 

Poster: Causes and patterns in boom and bust cycles of the rainbow trout population in the Glen Canyon Dam tailwater as determined by an intensive mark-recapture study
Josh Korman, Ecometric Research Inc., and M.D. Yard, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center
Time: 05:30 – 08 p.m., 1899 Grill 

Wednesday Oct. 7^th

USGS Response to the Gold King Mine Release
Robert Horton, USGS Denver Federal Center
Time: 9 - 9:20 a.m., Humphreys 

Mercury and Selenium Accumulation in the Colorado River Food Web, Grand Canyon, USA
David M. Walters, USGS Fort Collins Science Center and E. Rosi-Marshall, T.A. Kennedy, W.F. Cross, and C.V. Baxter
Time: 9:40 – 10 a.m., Humphreys 

Dust Emissions from Uranium Mines in the Grand Canyon Region
Michael C. Duniway, J.E. Hinck, K. Walton-Day, USGS
Time: 3:30 – 3:50 p.m., Humphreys 

Bioavailability of Uranium to Aquatic Invertebrates: How Modeling Can Help to Understand Bioaccumulation
Marie-Noele Croteau, C.C. Fuller and D.J. Cain, USGS
Time: 3:50 – 4:10 p.m., Humphreys 

Climate Change and Physical Disturbances Cause Similar Community Shifts in Biological Soil Crusts
Scott Ferrenberg and S.C. Reed, USGS Southwest Biological Science Center
Time: 3:50 – 4:10 p.m., Agassiz 

Thursday, October 8^th

A Synthesis of Contrasting Evidence and Perspectives on Global Vulnerability to Tree Mortality and Forest Die-off from Hotter Drought in the Anthropocene
Craig D. Allen, USGS and D.D. Breshears, and N.G. McDowell
Time: 8:30 – 8:45 a.m., Humphreys

News media representatives are invited to visit the USGS booth in the High Country Conference Center that highlights applied science in support of resource management objectives of the National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense and several state agencies.