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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

New habitat suitability model to inform decision making and recover rare species in New Mexico

New habitat suitability model to inform decision making and recover rare species in New Mexico

2025 in Review: The Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment

2025 in Review: The Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Experiences of the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Community

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Experiences of the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Community

Publications

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Santos Basin, Campos Basin, and Espírito Santo Basin provinces of Brazil, 2024 Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Santos Basin, Campos Basin, and Espírito Santo Basin provinces of Brazil, 2024

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 10.4 billion barrels of oil and 53.3 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Santos Basin, Campos Basin, and Espírito Santo Basin provinces of Brazil.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Tracey J. Mercier, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller

The petrogenesis of Þingmúli volcano, East Fjords; Iceland The petrogenesis of Þingmúli volcano, East Fjords; Iceland

In this work we revisit Þingmúli volcano (Þ = Th), a classic locality known as an example of a complete tholeiitic differentiation. Þingmúli is a ~ 9.5 Ma extinct central volcano located in the East Fjords of Iceland, in which the whole compositional spectrum from basalt to rhyolites have erupted. These volcanic products have been previously considered as petrogenetically related by an...
Authors
Amanda L. Hughes, Joaquín A. Cortès, Dave McGarvie, Richard J. Moscati, Valerie Olive

Out with the old: Empirical trends in U.S. land-based wind turbine decommissioning and repowering Out with the old: Empirical trends in U.S. land-based wind turbine decommissioning and repowering

A growing number of wind turbines (WTs) across the globe are now reaching or exceeding their expected service lifetime; WT decommissioning is on the rise. Accordingly, questions pertaining to WT end-of-life have risen in importance in policy and practice. Yet, research on the various factors relating to WT decommissioning is relatively sparse. Moreover, the key assumptions underpinning...
Authors
Joseph Rand, Louisa Kramer, Ben Hoen, James Diffendorfer, Christopher Garrity

Science

USGS Sagebrush Science: Supporting Public Safety and Economic Decision Making Across the West

The sagebrush biome is one of the largest ecosystems in North America. Encompassing nearly one-third of the continental U.S., it provides critical resources for millions of Americans and a home for hundreds of plants and animal species in the West. Natural resource management in sagebrush ecosystems can be complex, and science can support management decisions by providing knowledge and tools to...
USGS Sagebrush Science: Supporting Public Safety and Economic Decision Making Across the West

USGS Sagebrush Science: Supporting Public Safety and Economic Decision Making Across the West

The sagebrush biome is one of the largest ecosystems in North America. Encompassing nearly one-third of the continental U.S., it provides critical resources for millions of Americans and a home for hundreds of plants and animal species in the West. Natural resource management in sagebrush ecosystems can be complex, and science can support management decisions by providing knowledge and tools to...
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Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) research at NOROCK

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses the impacts of land-use and habitat changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. This long-term project involves partners from 12 Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. NOROCK scientists, partners, and scientists from other USGS centers conduct integrated research to support...
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) research at NOROCK

Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) research at NOROCK

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses the impacts of land-use and habitat changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. This long-term project involves partners from 12 Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. NOROCK scientists, partners, and scientists from other USGS centers conduct integrated research to support...
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Mapping Chronic Wasting Disease Management: Identify Opportunities for Intervention

This research effort is an interagency partnership between U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to model the social-ecological system that encompasses chronic wasting disease management in the United States. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurologically degenerative disease that impacts many cervid species in North America (e.g., elk, moose, mule deer, and white...
Mapping Chronic Wasting Disease Management: Identify Opportunities for Intervention

Mapping Chronic Wasting Disease Management: Identify Opportunities for Intervention

This research effort is an interagency partnership between U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to model the social-ecological system that encompasses chronic wasting disease management in the United States. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, neurologically degenerative disease that impacts many cervid species in North America (e.g., elk, moose, mule deer, and white...
Learn More
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