Collin D. Smith

Chirs Pullano and Collin Smith unearth the buried cable tethering an acoustic receiver to shore in the lower Columbia River estuary.  Shifting sands frequently bury equipment making it difficult to retrieve. During the 2025 field season, researchers deployed acoustic telemetry equipment to track yearling Chinook salmon as they moved through both restored e

Chris Pullano and Ryan Tomka load acoustic telemetry receives on to boat in lower Columbia River estuary. Field work was recently completed for the first year of a study to better understand how young salmon use restored habitats in the Lower Columbia River Estuary.

Collin Smith records metadata for acoustic telemetry deployments in the lower Columbia River estuary.

The Pacific sand lance is an important forage fish found in Puget Sound.  They employ a unique strategy of burrowing into sand to rest and conserve energy, and to avoid predation.  The USGS is currently studying forage fish spawning, and how human development may be affecting their habitat.

Photo (left to right): USGS scientists Georgia Martin and Collin Smith check nets for juvenile fish samples at Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona.

This is an image of Glen Canyon, located in Arizona. Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by the Colorado River and located largely in Utah. A small part of the lower end of Glen Canyon extends into northern Arizona and ends at Lee's Ferry, near Glen Canyon Dam. 

The image above is a photograph of the Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) in Arizona. Recent captures of non-native fishes in the Colorado River downstream of GCD indicate a potential threat to imperiled native fish in the Grand Canyon.

USGS scientists surgically implanting acoustic transmitters into juvenile Chinook salmon on the Shasta River, California.  Study fish are tracked in the Shasta and Klamath Rivers as they migrate to the Pacific Ocean.  Collected data are used to determine fish survival and migration behaviors.

Taking a break in the fog on the San Joaquin River while trawling aboard the USGS Research Vessel Munson II.

Capturing juvenile Chinook salmon in Cougar Reservoir, Oregon using a Lampara net.

Juvenile Chinook salmon monitoring below the The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River.

Trawling for Delta Smelt using a Kodiak Trawl in the Sacramento River aboard the USGS Research Vessel Sentinel.

Honeycomb weathering of sandstone located on the shores of Puget Sound occurs when expanding salt crystals break fragments of rock, creating a small hole that becomes larger as the process repeats itself over time.

The ochre sea star is a common starfish found along the shores of Puget Sound.  This intertidal dweller feeds primarily on mussels and snails, and may live as long as twenty years.

Tide pools provide habitat for a wide variety of Puget Sound flora and fauna.  During low tides, the captive inhabitants of tide pools may be closely inspected.