Unified Interior Regions
North Dakota
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Wetlands of North Dakota
Wetlands once covered about 4.9 million acres of North Dakota--11 percent of the State. By the 1980's, the acreage had decreased to about 2.7 million acres, a loss of about 45 percent.
Oil and Gas Resources
Information on the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin in the north central part of the United States and associated studies pertaining to the oil and gas development in western North Dakota and in nearby states.
Water Use in North Dakota
The USGS National Water-Use Information Program collects data about the quantities of water withdrawn for specific uses: public supply, domestic, industrial, mining, thermoelectric power, irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture.
Ecological Drought in Riparian Ecosystems
Drought is killing riparian trees along many rivers in the western United States. The cause can be increasing temperature or decreasing precipitation, flow or water-table elevation. At multiple locations we are relating water availability to physiological measurements of tree survival and water stress, such as ring width, carbon stable isotope ratio and branch hydraulic conductivity. These...
Riparian Ecology
Riparian ecologists in the AS Branch study interactions among flow, channel change, and vegetation along rivers across the western United States and worldwide. Our work focuses on issues relevant to the management of water and public lands, including dam operation, climate change, invasive species, and ecological restoration. Investigations take place on a range of scales. For example,...
Pesticides in the Prairie Pothole Region
Wetlands of the northern Great Plains are crucial feeding grounds for migrating birds and waterfowl embedded in an agricultural landscape. Land use and hydrology can affect adult aquatic insects – crucial prey for critically declining populations of insectivorous birds. Current studies focus on effects of current-use pesticides on adult aquatic insects to inform decision making about...
HDgov: Multi-agency Website for Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
HDgov is an interactive and mobile-responsive online portal to interagency, academic, and non-government resources focused on the human dimensions of natural resource management. The web portal provides easy access to tools, publications, data, and methods that help ensure that the people side of natural resources is considered throughout the entire natural resource management process. The...
National Park Service Visitor Spending Effects
The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports a considerable amount of economic activity within park gateway communities. USGS economists collaborate with the National Park Service social science program to estimate NPS...
Using Quantile Regression to Investigate Ecological Limiting Factors
Unexplained heterogeneity in statistical models of animal responses to their physical environment is reasonable to expect because the measured habitat resources are a constraint on—but not the sole determinant of—abundance, survival, fecundity, or fitness. The ecological understanding and reliability of management predictions based on animal habitat models can be improved by shifting focus ...
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The ultimate success of North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) depends on maintaining relevance to stakeholders and society. In order to be relevant, a first step is to better understand what people value in regard to waterfowl and their habitats. Without this information, NAWMP population, habitat, and people objectives may not reflect stakeholder and societal values; and management...
Quantitative and Statistical Research Collaboration
Mathematical and statistical models are powerful research tools that play several important roles in conceptualizing and understanding the structure and dynamics of complicated ecological systems, including developing mechanistic hypotheses pertaining to ecological systems, designing studies that elucidate ecosystem structure and function, and extracting information from data.
Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative: Rocky Mountain Region
The Rocky Mountain Region of Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) encompasses Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Two USGS Science Centers initiate and develop ARMI projects in this region. Investigations at NOROCK are headed by Dr. Blake Hossack. Investigations at the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT), Colorado, are headed by Dr. Erin Muths. The ARMI program is based...
Winter View
Winter view of Little Muddy River below Cow Creek near Williston, North Dakota.
Water Control Structure
Water control structure near the USGS streamgage on Bear Den Creek, near Mandaree, North Dakota.
Cableway Saddle Block
A picture of the cableway saddle block used to support the cableway that allows USGS personnel to make streamflow measurements on Bear Den Creek near Mandaree, ND.
Streamgage on Bear Den Creek
This is the USGS streamgage shelter for Bear Den Creek near Mandaree, North Dakota. The antenna on top sends streamflow data via satellite to the USGS National Water Information System.
Earth and Sky
This picture highlights layers of earth and sky near the Missouri River in the vicinity of Nohly, Montana.
Snowden Lift Bridge
View of the Snowden Lift Bridge over the Missouri River at Nohly, Montana.
Floating Ice Disk
Floating ice disk on the Pembina River at Neche, North Dakota. It was discovered by USGS personnel while collecting hydrologic data at the gage site.
Fall Leaves
Leaves near the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park, Minnesota.
Rainbow over Tree
North Dakota scenery in Ward County, north of Sawyer.
Bridge over the Little Missouri River
This is the Little Missouri River near Watford City, North Dakota. At the time, streamflow was 5,300 cubic feet per second.
Little Missouri River
This is the Little Missouri River near Watford City, North Dakota. At the time, streamflow was 5,300 cubic feet per second.
Snowden Lift Bridge
This is the Snowden Lift Bridge over the Missouri River at Nohly, Montana.
Land-use in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the northern Great Plains has been shifting at an extraordinary rate, including changes in agriculture practices, the recent boom in petroleum production, and rising tourism, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report.
Peak flooding on the Red River at Fargo will likely occur sometime after April 15, according to U.S. Geological Survey streamgage data and National Weather Service information.
Dr. Pamela Pietz, a research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, was recently granted the U.S. Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award—the second highest award for a DOI career employee—and elected Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), one of the oldest and largest organizations in the world devoted to the scientific study of birds.
Dr. Ned H. Euliss, Jr., research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, was recently granted the U.S. Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award—the second highest award for a DOI career employee—for his contributions to ecological science.
Former U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) scientist, Lewis M. Cowardin, was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists for his pioneering work with waterfowl ecology, wetland classification, remote sensing, and model-assisted decision making.
Dr. Gary Krapu, U.S. Geological Survey scientist and Dickey County, N.D. native, was recently elected Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union for his exceptional contributions to ornithology through research, conservation efforts, and education.
U.S. Geological Survey biologist Dr. Marsha A. Sovada was recently granted the Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award, the second highest award for a DOI career employee, for her contributions to the development and management of wildlife research studies.
Peak streamflow during the current Souris River flood was almost twice the previous record in Sherwood, N.D., according to U.S. Geological Survey streamgage data.
The flooded Souris, or "Mouse," River peaked at 29,700 cubic feet per second (cfs) on June 24 at the USGS-operated streamgage in Sherwood—almost doubling the 1976 record of 14,800 cfs at this location.
Record flooding along the Souris River near Minot, N.D. and record drought at O.C. Fisher Lake near San Angelo, Texas have more than their contrasting water conditions in common.
These places, nearly 1,000 miles apart, are situated almost exactly north and south of each other near the100th meridian of longitude. On average they have similar amounts of precipitation.
The Landsat 7 satellite recorded the flooding of the city of Minot, North Dakota, at its peak on June 25, 2011, when the Souris River in north central North Dakota surpassed an 1881 record flood reading by a wide margin.
The Souris River above Minot reached its highest flow rate in about 40 years on Thursday, according to real-time U.S. Geological Survey streamgage data.
The flow at the USGS Souris River above Minot streamgage reached 4,900 cubic feet per second on Thursday, which is its largest flow rate since the flood of 1979 and its fifth highest flow since 1912.
Many points in the Souris River Basin of North Dakota and Canada reached all-time record streamflows during the past week, according to real-time U.S. Geological Survey international streamgage data.
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Locations
Dakota Water Science Center- Grand Forks Field Office
Phone: (701) 775-7221
Fax: (701) 775-1114
Dakota Water Science Center- Bismarck
Phone: (701) 250-7400
Fax: (701) 250-7429
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Phone: 701-253-5500
Fax: 701-253 5553