Images

USGS research ecologist Jeff Duda collects discharge data on a side channel of the Elwha River. Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally removed from 2011 to 2013 to restore river function in an important salmon-bearing river.

The so-called Glory Hole on the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River in the historical Stibnite Mining District of central Idaho. A USGS water-quality study found that the Glory Hole acts as a sediment trap, particularly at high streamflow.

USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists haul a beach seine over an eelgrass bed while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.

USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists deploy a beach seine while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt in Eagle Harbor, WA.  

Juvenile sand lance collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  Like surf smelt, sand lance are an important forage fish in Puget Sound.  

USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists identify fish collected in a beach seine while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Tidepool snailfish collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA. 

Sanddab collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  

USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists deploy a beach seine while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  

Adult surf smelt collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  

Eelgrass beds such as this one found on Bainbridge Island, WA have been identified as a possible primary source of energy to the food chain and may also serve as nursery areas for juvenile forage fish.

Crescent gunnel collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA. 

Plainfin midshipman collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA. 

Three size classes of juvenile surf smelt collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA. 

Juvenile surf smelt and sand lance collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  

Harbor seals are a predator of forage fish such as surf smelt and sand lance.  These two were observed lounging on a breakwall in Liberty Bay, WA. 

USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists Lisa Gee, Collin Smith, and Ryan Tomka display a bycatch of perch collected in a beach seine while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.

Market squid collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists while conducting a survey for juvenile surf smelt on Bainbridge Island, WA.  

A major eruption of Mount Hood would pose a great hazard to the regional economy.

Map of historic and current sage-grouse range in 2000, provided as a download from the old USGS Sagemap website.

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally r