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Images described and linked on this webpage come from a wide variety of USGS science activities and presentations performed by USGS Science Center staff members in the Region 10:  California-Great Basin. A search tool is provided to narrow the number of image files shown.

Corner view of federal building on Cottage Way framed by trees
Sacramento Federal Building on Cottage Way
Sacramento Federal Building on Cottage Way
Sacramento Federal Building on Cottage Way

Corner view of the federal building in Sacramento where the USGS Southwest Regional Office staff are located.

Corner view of the federal building in Sacramento where the USGS Southwest Regional Office staff are located.

A table full of grasses in a greenhouse.
Greenhouse study comparing plant provenance for restoration
Greenhouse study comparing plant provenance for restoration
Greenhouse study comparing plant provenance for restoration

RestoreNet is partnering with the Gornish lab at the University of Arizona to better understand how a plant’s source location (provenance) influences its performance in a restoration setting. This greenhouse experiment will be conducted by PhD student, Sierra Lauman.

RestoreNet is partnering with the Gornish lab at the University of Arizona to better understand how a plant’s source location (provenance) influences its performance in a restoration setting. This greenhouse experiment will be conducted by PhD student, Sierra Lauman.

A woman monitors plants alongside a transect or measuring tape placed on the ground.
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array

The United States is developing renewable energy resources, especially solar, at a rapid rate.

Bins of plants lines up outside a greenhouse
Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought.
Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought.
Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought.

Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought will help land managers choose plant species for restoring degraded lands. To find out more, follow the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program of the Southwest, housed at the Southwest Biolobigical Science Center. www.ugs.gov/sbsc/ramps

Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought will help land managers choose plant species for restoring degraded lands. To find out more, follow the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program of the Southwest, housed at the Southwest Biolobigical Science Center. www.ugs.gov/sbsc/ramps

A woman stands in front of a table full of grasses in a greenhouse.
Drought experiments shed light on plant responses to climate change.
Drought experiments shed light on plant responses to climate change.
Drought experiments shed light on plant responses to climate change.

Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought will help land managers choose plant species for restoring degraded lands. To find out more, follow the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program of the Southwest, housed at the Southwest Biolobigical Science Center. www.ugs.gov/sbsc/ramps

Greenhouse study comparing plant performance during drought will help land managers choose plant species for restoring degraded lands. To find out more, follow the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program of the Southwest, housed at the Southwest Biolobigical Science Center. www.ugs.gov/sbsc/ramps

A man captures insects using a net.
Powerlines & Pollinators
Powerlines & Pollinators
Powerlines & Pollinators

Connecting powerline rights-of-way vegetation management to improve pollinator habitat. A USGS RAMPS technician samples pollinating insects along the Salt River Project powerline that crosses through Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto National Forests.

Connecting powerline rights-of-way vegetation management to improve pollinator habitat. A USGS RAMPS technician samples pollinating insects along the Salt River Project powerline that crosses through Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto National Forests.

A man monitors plants alongside a transect or measuring tape placed on the ground.
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array
Pre-construction monitoring of vegetation for the Gemini Solar Array

The United States is developing renewable energy resources, especially solar, at a rapid rate.

Map of U.S. mainland showing temperate, transitional and tropical temperature patterns
U.S. regions in the tropical-to-temperate transition
U.S. regions in the tropical-to-temperate transition
U.S. regions in the tropical-to-temperate transition

A map showing North America's tropical-to-temperate transition zone. Red, orange, and yellow depict the more tropical zones, and blues depict the more temperate zones, based on to the coldest recorded temperature for each area between 1980 and 2009.

A map showing North America's tropical-to-temperate transition zone. Red, orange, and yellow depict the more tropical zones, and blues depict the more temperate zones, based on to the coldest recorded temperature for each area between 1980 and 2009.

A school of snook, large subtropical game fish, in a Florida spring
Subtropical snook gather at a warm Florida springhead in winter
Subtropical snook gather at a warm Florida springhead in winter
Subtropical snook gather at a warm Florida springhead in winter

 Winter temperature extremes control the distributions of subtropical fishes. Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), aggregate at a spring in northern Florida during winter. Snook are warm saltwater game fish, common in Florida, that have been moving further northward as extreme cold spells become less frequent and less intense.

 Winter temperature extremes control the distributions of subtropical fishes. Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), aggregate at a spring in northern Florida during winter. Snook are warm saltwater game fish, common in Florida, that have been moving further northward as extreme cold spells become less frequent and less intense.

Fire scorched desert landscape.
Fires transforming Sonoran Desert
Fires transforming Sonoran Desert
Fires transforming Sonoran Desert

Restoring areas infested with invasive species that carry catastrophic fire is a top priority for the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southest (RAMPS) and our partners.

Restoring areas infested with invasive species that carry catastrophic fire is a top priority for the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southest (RAMPS) and our partners.

Two people kneel on the ground collecting soil samples in a golden grassland.
How does restoration affect soils?
How does restoration affect soils?
How does restoration affect soils?

How do restoration plantings alter ecosystem function? NAU PhD student Kathleen Balazs and technician Sarah Negovan measure soil water infiltration rates at a RestoreNet site near La Sal, Utah. These measurements will illustrate how restoration plantings effect certain ecosystem functions

How do restoration plantings alter ecosystem function? NAU PhD student Kathleen Balazs and technician Sarah Negovan measure soil water infiltration rates at a RestoreNet site near La Sal, Utah. These measurements will illustrate how restoration plantings effect certain ecosystem functions

People wading in knee-high water
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP
Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP

Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.

Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.

A group of people stand around a map laid out in the back of a truck while on a field trip.
Managing Fire on the US Mexico Borderlands
Managing Fire on the US Mexico Borderlands
Managing Fire on the US Mexico Borderlands

RAMPS met with DOI Office of Wildland Fire, US Customs and Border Patrol, and US Fish & Wildlife Service staff at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern AZ last November. The group is developing tools to reduce wildfire risk, conserve wildlife habitat and natural resources, and increase safety and security of border operations.

RAMPS met with DOI Office of Wildland Fire, US Customs and Border Patrol, and US Fish & Wildlife Service staff at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern AZ last November. The group is developing tools to reduce wildfire risk, conserve wildlife habitat and natural resources, and increase safety and security of border operations.

A grassland
Arid grassland
Arid grassland
Arid grassland

Arid grasslands in the U.S. Mexico border are fire adapted and used by diverse groups. Science from the Southwest Biological Science Center and the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is helping these groups find common ground to manage this dynamic landscape.

Arid grasslands in the U.S. Mexico border are fire adapted and used by diverse groups. Science from the Southwest Biological Science Center and the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is helping these groups find common ground to manage this dynamic landscape.

A group of female scientists gather for a meeting
RestoreNet scientists develop guidance for dryland restoration
RestoreNet scientists develop guidance for dryland restoration
Group of people learning about native plants
Supporting Tribal Seed Sovereignty
Supporting Tribal Seed Sovereignty
Supporting Tribal Seed Sovereignty

USGS Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is helping to build capacity in ecosystem restoration on the Navajo Nation with a series of projects in collaboration with Navajo Nation Department of Natural Hertiage, Dine Native Plant Program, and the Native-led non-profit Tolani Lake Enterprises.

USGS Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) is helping to build capacity in ecosystem restoration on the Navajo Nation with a series of projects in collaboration with Navajo Nation Department of Natural Hertiage, Dine Native Plant Program, and the Native-led non-profit Tolani Lake Enterprises.

Flames from the Woodbury Fire at Tonto National Monument
Flames from the Woodbury Fire rise above Tonto National Monument
Flames from the Woodbury Fire rise above Tonto National Monument
Flames from the Woodbury Fire rise above Tonto National Monument

Flames from the Woodbury Fire rise above Tonto National Monument.

Two women write on a white board.
Grassland Climate Adaptation Project
Grassland Climate Adaptation Project
Grassland Climate Adaptation Project

Working to develop climate adaptation actions on National Park Service lands on the Colorado Plateau and 4-corners region.

Working to develop climate adaptation actions on National Park Service lands on the Colorado Plateau and 4-corners region.

Skeletons of junipers (old trunks leftover from chaining) dot a rangeland.
Juniper Skeletons
Juniper Skeletons
Juniper Skeletons

Thinning rangelands by removing trees such as juniper is a common mangement action done across the intermountain west. The goals of this type of vegetation treatment typically are to increase forage and habitat for grazing animals, improve soil conditions, and/or reduce risks of catastrophic fire.

Thinning rangelands by removing trees such as juniper is a common mangement action done across the intermountain west. The goals of this type of vegetation treatment typically are to increase forage and habitat for grazing animals, improve soil conditions, and/or reduce risks of catastrophic fire.

Tamarisk growing along a river
A single species stand of nonnative tamarisk
A single species stand of nonnative tamarisk
A single species stand of nonnative tamarisk

Single species stand of nonnative tamarisk on the Lower Colorado River at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, California

Single species stand of nonnative tamarisk on the Lower Colorado River at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, California