Unified Interior Regions
Montana
Welcome to the Midwest Region! Our region includes 18 Science Centers in 11 States from the Great Lakes to the Dakotas, south to Missouri and Kentucky. Our streamgage network is used to monitor and assess water resources across the region. Other research focuses on fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, midcontinental plant/animal species, invasive species, wildlife disease, and energy and mining.
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Scientists from the Center work in the northern Rocky Mountains and across the U.S. Many work throughout the world on issues as diverse as global climate change, aquatic ecology, wildlife diseases, bison ecology, and large carnivores.
Go to NOROCKWyoming-Montana Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's hydrologists, engineers, geospatial analysts, hydrologic technicians, geologists, and support staff work to provide hydrologic data and interpretive studies.
Go to CenterStates L2 Landing Page Tabs
Sperry Glacier Mid View
Repeating Elrod’s photograph from the same photo point was impossible since he shot from the elevated perspective of the glacier’s surface. The terminus of the glacier has retreated beyond the field of view, but these images give a sense of the glacier’s extent and mass early in the 20th century.
Sperry Glacier - Panorama
The 1913 image of Sperry Glacier shows the thickness of the glacial ice that once covered the Sperry basin. Now, at approximately 1/3 of it's maximum area, Sperry Glacier continues to recede at a rapid rate. It is one of the glaciers that USGS scientists are monitoring as a benchmark glacier.
Sperry Glacier from Comeau Pass
The expanse of Sperry Glacier that once greeted hikers facing NE on Comeau Pass is in stark contrast to the bedrock and vegetation that has since emerged as the ice retreated. The Marble image, most likely taken in the 1920s or early 1930s, was featured on a postcard with this caption: " Sperry Glacier from the river."
Sperry Glacier
The northwest portion of Sperry Glacier once spanned Comeau Pass to the base of Edwards Mountain.
Shepard Glacier 1913 - 2005
Shepard Glacier from Pyramid Peak, Glacier National Park.
Shepard Glacier 1911 - 2005
Shepard Glacier in Glacier National Park. The red line on the 2005 image illustrates glacier retreat from 1911 to 2005.
Sexton Glacier
Sexton Glacier from bench below Siyeh Pass, Glacier National Park.
Piegan Glacier
Piegan Glacier is one of the few glaciers in Glacier National Park that has not significantly changed since photographed in the 1930s.
Red Eagle Glacier
Although the 2009 photo location does not exactly match the historic photo station, a comparison of relative glacial coverage can still be made. Logan Glacier is in the foreground, while Red Eagle Glacier sits beneath the pyramidal peak that bears the same name. It appears that these two glaciers were joined at the time the historic photo was taken, but recessed into their own basins as time...
Bighorn Sheep in and near Glacier National Park
USGS collected GPS data as well as genetic and other samples on over 100 bighorn sheep east of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Waterton National Park, and the Blackfeet Reservation. Bighorn sheep across the west are vulnerable to disease such as pneumonia. We are therefore working to improve our understanding of bighorn sheep movements, approaches for monitoring bighorns, and...
Ecology of Elk on Department of Interior Lands in Southwest Wyoming
Between 2005 and 2010, we radio- collared 61 female elk (Cervus elaphus) on Fossil Butte National Monument and 12 female elk near Cokeville, Wyoming, slightly northwest of the Monument, all from the West Green River herd. We are using the 209,250 locations from these elk to identify seasonal distribution patterns, evaluate habitat use, and assess factors influencing the timing of migration. ...
Jackson Glacier
At the time this historic photograph was taken in 1911, Blackfoot Glacier encompassed the current Jackson Glacier. By 1939, Blackfoot Glacier's recession had resulted in two distinct glaciers, Jackson and Blackfoot. This photo pair shows glacial recession and successive vegetation growth along Jackson Glacier's terminus.
Night Sampling Boat
USGS fish biologist Dr. Pat Braaten and student contractor Garrett Cook inspect contents of a larval fish net during night sampling on the Upper Missouri River.
Boat Launch for Night Sampling
USGS fish biologists launch at sunset on the Upper Missouri River for a night of sampling for larval pallid sturgeon.
Ichthyoplankton Sample
Typical contents of a net deployment showing larval fish, possibly pallid sturgeon.
ADCP Boat
A US Geological Survey hydroacoustic survey boat measures velocity profiles on the Upper Missouri River.
ADCP Data Review
Research hydrologist Dr. Susannah Erwin and hydrologic technician Brian Anderson inspect ADCP data on the Upper Missouri River.
Processing a Drift Sample
Student Contractor Garrett Cook processes a drift sample collected on June 27 shortly after the free embryos and beads were released. Note the small cluster of pallid sturgeon free embryos and green beads in the lower portion of the sorting tray. These embryos and beads were elements of the Upper Missouri River drift experiment.
Distribution of Free Embryos to Boats
Distribution of free embryos to boats in preparation for mass release.
Larval Release
Simultaneous mass release of 700,000 free embryos from boats distributed across the channel of the Upper Missouri River.
Pre-Sample Briefing
Pre-deployment briefing for the Upper Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Drift Study. Fish biologists and physical scientists from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, US Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Montana, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and US Army Corps of Engineers go over the sample design and assignments.
Red dye-tracer study in June 2016 on the Missouri River in Montana
USGS scientists conducted a dye-tracer study in June 2016 on the Missouri River about 10 miles downstream of Fort Peck Dam, Montana. The public can expect to see the Yellowstone River turn a similar color in the vicinity of the injection site when scientists conduct a dye study near Glendive, Montana in late June, 2017.
Dye Delivery
The rhodamine-WT dye was injected in the river uniformly across the channel.
Dye Preparation
USGS scientists prepare to mix rhodamine-WT dye for the dye trace experiment. The suits are to keep the harmless dye off of clothing.
Not long ago, conventional wisdom was that you couldn’t predict the climate for more than a few days in advance. Then came the awareness of El Niño and La Niña and the forecast window increased to as much as 6 to 9 months, depending on the region and season.
The USGS has just completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in five geologic basins in the Rocky Mountain region.
The U.S. Geological Survey has named Dr. Michael J. Mac as the new Director of the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC) in Columbia, Mo.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is participating in nine of the 14 public workshops scheduled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) this fall. The Corps of Engineers is conducting the workshops and a series of hearings to receive public comment on their recently released Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the Master Water Control Manual for the Missouri River system.
May 14, 2001 – The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone National Park and the University of Utah have signed an agreement to establish the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory to strengthen long-term monitoring of earthquakes and the slumbering volcano beneath Yellowstone National Park.
Federal, state and local policy makers will gather in Casper, Wyoming, on May 9-10 to examine science issues associated with the development of coalbed methane. The two-day conference and field trip, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will examine a number of topics including: what is coalbed methane, how it forms, where it occurs, how it is developed, and consequences of development.
Metal concentrations were found to be elevated in riverbed sediments and fish tissue samples at sites downstream from significant natural mineral sources associated with hard-rock mining activities in the Clark Fork and Spokane River basins, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior.
Metal concentrations were found to be elevated in riverbed sediments and fish tissue samples at sites downstream from significant natural mineral sources associated with hard-rock mining activities in the Clark Fork and Spokane River basins, according to scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior.
In a ground-breaking study that used DNA from bear hair to count bears without having to see them or to capture them, U.S.Geological Survey researchers have preliminary results showing that there are an estimated 437 grizzly bears in the northern third portion of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and an estimated 332 grizzly bears in Glacier National Park itself.
Lecture on ground-breaking genetic sampling of GRIZZLY BEARS in Glacier National Park, Montana
U.S. Geological Survey scientist Katherine Kendall has received the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Superior Service Award for her outstanding leadership in the study of grizzly and black bears in Glacier National Park, Mont. and the surrounding area.
U.S. Geological Survey scientist Dr. Thomas J. Roffe received the Department of the Interior’s Superior Service Award for his outstanding contributions to wildlife health and natural resources management in the Greater Yellowstone Area during a recent meeting of the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee.
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Locations
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Headquarters
Phone: 406-994-7544
Fax: 406-994-6556
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Helena Office
Phone: (406) 457-5900
Fax: (406) 457-5990
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Billings Office
Phone: 406-656-1444
Contacts
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Scientists from the Center work in the northern Rocky Mountains and across the U.S. Many work throughout the world on issues as diverse as global climate change, aquatic ecology, wildlife diseases, bison ecology, and large carnivores.
Go to NOROCKWyoming-Montana Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's hydrologists, engineers, geospatial analysts, hydrologic technicians, geologists, and support staff work to provide hydrologic data and interpretive studies.
Go to Center