USGS works collaboratively with partners to improve the stewardship and restoration of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems across the country. Many of these projects are large-scale, crossing multiple organizational and state boundaries and occasionally bridging scientific and engineering disciplines. The primary outcomes of these projects are restoring critical ecosystems and their biological communities, including threatened and endangered species, revitalizing local economies, and improving the quality and safety of life.
Restoring large systems takes time and commitment. USGS scientists have decades of experience in ecological research relevant to the management and restoration of large-scale ecosystems, especially those requiring a multi-disciplinary approach. We are uniquely positioned as neutral providers of important science that managers and policymakers need to inform management decisions and make sense of long-term ecosystem changes in response to restoration efforts and climate change. Some of the science projects are within a dedicated sub-program known as Priority Ecosystem Science (PES).
PROJECTS
Chesapeake Bay Restoration (PES): DC, DE, VA, MD, NY, PA, WV
USGS researchers provide scientific information to inform the restoration and management of the aquatic and terrestrial systems that comprise the Chesapeake Bay, the Nation’s largest estuary. The 64,000-square-mile watershed supports over 3,600 species of fish, wildlife, and plants and provides spawning grounds for economically important species including striped bass and blue crabs. The USGS works with Federal, State, and academic science partners to provide monitoring, research, and communication of results to improve ecosystem management for the Chesapeake and other National ecosystems.
Great Basin Rangeland Fire & Sagebrush Restoration: CA, ID, NV, OR, UT
USGS has been a leader in sagebrush ecosystem research and continues to meet the priority science needs of management agencies. We bring a diversity of expertise and capabilities to address a wide variety of science needs at multiple spatial scales and are committed to providing high quality science to our management partners.
The Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Sciences Program (GEPES) in USGS was established to conduct long-term research, monitoring, and modeling to provide science to inform Everglades restoration decisions and meet natural resource management goals. The program is one of several placed-based efforts in the USGS that focuses resources and science in “iconic” landscapes to support restoration and management activities.
Midcontinent Migration Connectivity Collaborative (Platte River PES): ND, SD, NE, OK, KS, MT, TX
The Platte PES focuses on restoration of the Central Platte river in Nebraska which has been designated as Critical Habitat for the survival and recovery of the Endangered whooping crane. USGS conducts research which informs the rehabilitation of the structure and function of habitat used by whooping cranes. The Platte PES is an element within the larger Midcontinent Migration Connectivity Collaborative led by USGS that encompasses the entire Central Flyway and supports a rich diversity of migrating birds each year. This team meets monthly to oversee progress, troubleshoot potential issues, and develop new avenues for research. Members represent the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Parks Canada
Puget Sound (PES): WA
Puget Sound Priority Ecosystem Science (PES) supports interdisciplinary ecological research in the Puget Sound, Washington, watershed and nearshore. USGS research is coordinated with and informed by close collaborations with federal, tribal, state, and local partners leading salmon and nearshore recovery efforts. Puget Sound PES studies link both the ecosystem services and detrimental aspects of sediment and associated contaminants to natural hazards management (e.g., channel aggradation and flooding, shoreline erosion), habitat function and restoration, and other societal concerns. From assessing the effects of tidal restoration and dam removal on salmon recovery in the Nisqually River Delta and Elwha River to modeling the flow of sediment through nearshore habitats and impacts of associated contaminants on marine food webs, USGS science is being used to guide restoration and management decision-making for ecosystems and human health and wellbeing. Puget Sound PES addresses goals of the USGS Science Strategy, Puget Sound Federal Task Force Action Plan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Estuary Program, and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
RESTORE: Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act: AL, FL MS, TX, LA.
USGS scientists in the Gulf of Mexico region conduct research that investigate the past, present and future trajectories of coastal ecosystems, the stressors that impact those ecosystems, and restoration and management alternatives that aim to recover and sustain ecosystem functions and services. Our researchers are engaged in restoration programs across the Gulf, including those spurred after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. One of those programs is the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act). The RESTORE Act was signed into law by President Obama on July 6, 2012 and calls for a regional approach to restoring the long-term health of the valuable natural ecosystem and economy of the Gulf Coast region. The RESTORE Council has awarded grants to USGS for several projects [can provide links to individual project pages if desired] that will support the Council in making science-based decisions and evaluating restoration effectiveness. Our scientists also provide expertise to other Deepwater Horizon restoration programs including the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
San Francisco Bay- Delta (PES): CA
The San Francisco Bay-Delta PES is one way that USGS continues to provide science for the restoration and conservation of the SF Bay and its watershed. USGS research topics range from wetland restoration in the Bay to restoring habitat for anadromous fish (e.g., salmon) in the uplands. USGS has made several important discoveries critical to the fundamental understanding of this system and continues to conduct critical work necessary to improve the restore of a system faced with multiple pressures including climate change. Within the PES we combine our capacities in the multiple disciplines necessary to conduct the research to provide information needed by decision makers across various agencies.
Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation (PES): AZ, CO, NM, UT
Approximately 35% of the US and ~82% of DOI lands are “drylands” found throughout the Western US. Research conducted by the Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation PES informs the restoration of drylands impacted by energy exploration and development. These lands contain oil, gas, oil shale, shale oil, and tar sand deposits and the exploration for and extraction of these resources has resulted in hundreds of thousands of operating and abandoned wells across the West. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities that are resistant to decadal fluctuations in precipitation and temperatures. However, human disturbances often have large and long-term ecological effects.
- Overview
USGS works collaboratively with partners to improve the stewardship and restoration of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems across the country. Many of these projects are large-scale, crossing multiple organizational and state boundaries and occasionally bridging scientific and engineering disciplines. The primary outcomes of these projects are restoring critical ecosystems and their biological communities, including threatened and endangered species, revitalizing local economies, and improving the quality and safety of life.
Restoring large systems takes time and commitment. USGS scientists have decades of experience in ecological research relevant to the management and restoration of large-scale ecosystems, especially those requiring a multi-disciplinary approach. We are uniquely positioned as neutral providers of important science that managers and policymakers need to inform management decisions and make sense of long-term ecosystem changes in response to restoration efforts and climate change. Some of the science projects are within a dedicated sub-program known as Priority Ecosystem Science (PES).
PROJECTS
Chesapeake Bay Restoration (PES): DC, DE, VA, MD, NY, PA, WV
USGS researchers provide scientific information to inform the restoration and management of the aquatic and terrestrial systems that comprise the Chesapeake Bay, the Nation’s largest estuary. The 64,000-square-mile watershed supports over 3,600 species of fish, wildlife, and plants and provides spawning grounds for economically important species including striped bass and blue crabs. The USGS works with Federal, State, and academic science partners to provide monitoring, research, and communication of results to improve ecosystem management for the Chesapeake and other National ecosystems.
Great Basin Rangeland Fire & Sagebrush Restoration: CA, ID, NV, OR, UT
USGS has been a leader in sagebrush ecosystem research and continues to meet the priority science needs of management agencies. We bring a diversity of expertise and capabilities to address a wide variety of science needs at multiple spatial scales and are committed to providing high quality science to our management partners.
The Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Sciences Program (GEPES) in USGS was established to conduct long-term research, monitoring, and modeling to provide science to inform Everglades restoration decisions and meet natural resource management goals. The program is one of several placed-based efforts in the USGS that focuses resources and science in “iconic” landscapes to support restoration and management activities.
Midcontinent Migration Connectivity Collaborative (Platte River PES): ND, SD, NE, OK, KS, MT, TX
The Platte PES focuses on restoration of the Central Platte river in Nebraska which has been designated as Critical Habitat for the survival and recovery of the Endangered whooping crane. USGS conducts research which informs the rehabilitation of the structure and function of habitat used by whooping cranes. The Platte PES is an element within the larger Midcontinent Migration Connectivity Collaborative led by USGS that encompasses the entire Central Flyway and supports a rich diversity of migrating birds each year. This team meets monthly to oversee progress, troubleshoot potential issues, and develop new avenues for research. Members represent the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Parks Canada
Puget Sound (PES): WA
Puget Sound Priority Ecosystem Science (PES) supports interdisciplinary ecological research in the Puget Sound, Washington, watershed and nearshore. USGS research is coordinated with and informed by close collaborations with federal, tribal, state, and local partners leading salmon and nearshore recovery efforts. Puget Sound PES studies link both the ecosystem services and detrimental aspects of sediment and associated contaminants to natural hazards management (e.g., channel aggradation and flooding, shoreline erosion), habitat function and restoration, and other societal concerns. From assessing the effects of tidal restoration and dam removal on salmon recovery in the Nisqually River Delta and Elwha River to modeling the flow of sediment through nearshore habitats and impacts of associated contaminants on marine food webs, USGS science is being used to guide restoration and management decision-making for ecosystems and human health and wellbeing. Puget Sound PES addresses goals of the USGS Science Strategy, Puget Sound Federal Task Force Action Plan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Estuary Program, and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.
RESTORE: Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act: AL, FL MS, TX, LA.
USGS scientists in the Gulf of Mexico region conduct research that investigate the past, present and future trajectories of coastal ecosystems, the stressors that impact those ecosystems, and restoration and management alternatives that aim to recover and sustain ecosystem functions and services. Our researchers are engaged in restoration programs across the Gulf, including those spurred after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. One of those programs is the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act). The RESTORE Act was signed into law by President Obama on July 6, 2012 and calls for a regional approach to restoring the long-term health of the valuable natural ecosystem and economy of the Gulf Coast region. The RESTORE Council has awarded grants to USGS for several projects [can provide links to individual project pages if desired] that will support the Council in making science-based decisions and evaluating restoration effectiveness. Our scientists also provide expertise to other Deepwater Horizon restoration programs including the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
San Francisco Bay- Delta (PES): CA
The San Francisco Bay-Delta PES is one way that USGS continues to provide science for the restoration and conservation of the SF Bay and its watershed. USGS research topics range from wetland restoration in the Bay to restoring habitat for anadromous fish (e.g., salmon) in the uplands. USGS has made several important discoveries critical to the fundamental understanding of this system and continues to conduct critical work necessary to improve the restore of a system faced with multiple pressures including climate change. Within the PES we combine our capacities in the multiple disciplines necessary to conduct the research to provide information needed by decision makers across various agencies.
Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation (PES): AZ, CO, NM, UT
Approximately 35% of the US and ~82% of DOI lands are “drylands” found throughout the Western US. Research conducted by the Southwest Energy Development and Reclamation PES informs the restoration of drylands impacted by energy exploration and development. These lands contain oil, gas, oil shale, shale oil, and tar sand deposits and the exploration for and extraction of these resources has resulted in hundreds of thousands of operating and abandoned wells across the West. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities that are resistant to decadal fluctuations in precipitation and temperatures. However, human disturbances often have large and long-term ecological effects.