Unified Interior Regions

Title: The Least Bell's Vireo - A flagship species for riparian ecosystem conservation

The Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) is a songbird that is endangered in California:

• What type of research is the USGS doing to help understand the threats these and other birds face?
• How has our research during the last 30 years

Snow falls on USGS Hydrologist, Joe Nawikas, as he collects groundwater samples in Mammoth, California.

Research Hydrologist Paul Hsieh collects seismic data during a groundwater study at Pinnacles National Park in California. The red seismometer on the ground measures ambient seismic noise, which includes microtremors induced by wind, ocean waves, and human activity. The seismic data collected can be used to estimate unconsolidated sediment thickness, map the bedrock

Satellites have captured views of the numerous major fires burning in California.

An image acquired on November 9, 2018, from NASA’s MODIS sensor on the Terra satellite shows smoke pouring out of two major fires, the Camp Fire and the Woolsey Fire, which both ignited the day before.

In the north, the Camp Fire quickly became the deadliest wildfire in the

This is a graphic from the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment Explorer application, which allows user to drill into 70 oil and gas assessment provinces throughout the United States.

Satellites have captured views of the numerous major fires burning in California.

Image from video camera along Sunset State Beach in Watsonville, CA, looking northwest. Every half hour during daylight hours, the camera shoots video for 10 minutes. This variance image shows the standard deviation of pixel intensity throughout the video frames, useful for determining how much variation or movement is occurring at a given location. Brighter tones indicate

View of Channel Islands National Park from a Fall 2018 aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Drone footage of Whiskeytown National Recreation area in Northern California in October 2018, captured by drone pilot and USGS WERC ecologist Chase Freeman.

USGS WERC is using drone imagery to understand how the 2018 Carr Fire affected ecosystems and cultural resources. The study, a collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), focuses on Whiskeytown National

Title: Post-Fire Debris-Flow Early Warning: The case for forecast-based warning systems

• Post-fire debris flows can initiate after only a few minutes of intense rain, and during the first storm following wildfire.
• Early warning systems must provide sufficient time to make informed decisions and take reasonable preventative action.
• If you're

USGS scientists are documenting the distribution of three mid-sized mammalian carnivores – or mesocarnivores –in the Klamath Network Parks using remote cameras and hair snares. Little is known about the status of Pacific fishers, Pacific martens, and Sierra Nevada red foxes living in the Klamath Network, which include Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National