Images

A Graceful Crab (Metacarcinus gracilis) captured in a beach seine during a 2012 Bainbridge Island larval forage fish survey.  This survey focused on the abundance, habitat use, and food habits of larval forage fish (surf smelt and sand lance) and was conducted by scientists from the Columbia River Research Laboratory -Western Fisheries R

A Red Rock Crab (Romaleon antennarium) captured in a beach seine during a 2012 Bainbridge Island larval forage fish survey.  This survey focused on the abundance, habitat use, and food habits of larval forage fish (surf smelt and sand lance) and was conducted by scientists from the Columbia River Research Laboratory -Western Fisheries Re

Panorama of Lake Powell with a stormy sky. Photo by SBSC, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center during a water quality monitoring trip.

A rainbow trout rests among cobble substrate in Panther Creek downstream of Big Deer Creek, central Idaho. Panther Creek was severely damaged by heavy metals released from mining and milling activities at the former Blackbird Mine, and water quality in this section of the stream was acutely lethal to fish as late as 1985.

Cattle walking across biological soil crusts in southeastern Utah.

Dry conditions at cattle water sources in western Colorado. 

A USGS repeat photograph of Glen Canyon Dam taken on April 20, 2011 as a match to the 1889 Franklin Nims image of the site before the dam was built, at Colorado River mile -14.7, during the Stanton Expedition. This view was also matched in 1992 by the USGS. The view is taken upstream from river left.

A USGS repeat photograph of Glen Canyon Dam taken on April 20, 2011, as a match to the 1889 Franklin Nims image of the site before the dam was built, at Colorado River mile -14.7, during the Stanton Expedition. This view was also matched in 1992 by the USGS. The view is taken looking downstream below the dam, from river left.

Steep, rocky slopes in Saguaro National Park near Tucson, AZ provide habitat for saguaros and may buffer populations from the negative effects of drought. Photo courtesy of Daniel Winkler, USGS SBSC.

Repeat photograph of Saguaro National Monument (now Saguaro National Park) East, Rincon Mountain District. This photo was taken in 2010 by Dr. Ray Turner, USGS and is a match of a 1935 photograph taken by the National Park Service (NPS).

USFWS and USGS partner on brown trout research in Grand Canyon's Colorado River. This trout was removed from Bright Angel Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River. Photo courtesy of Brian Healy, formerly with National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, and now with USGS.

A captured brown trout has partially eaten several smaller fish and has tails protruding from its mouth. Photo courtesy of Brian Healy, formerly with National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, and now with USGS.

A landscape view of the Colorado River, Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Bridge, and Bright Angel Creek in Grand Canyon National Park. Photo courtesy of Brian Healy, formerly with National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, and now with USGS.

Electrofishing in a tributary in Grand Canyon to remove non-native fish. Photo courtesy of Brian Healy, formerly with National Park Service, Grand Canyon National Park, and now with USGS.

Aerial view of the study area in Canyonlands National Park.

Repeat photograph of Saguaro National Monument (now Saguaro National Park) East, Rincon Mountain District. This photo was taken in 2010 by Dr. Ray Turner, USGS and is a match of a 1935 photograph taken by the National Park Service (NPS).

Repeat photograph of Saguaro National Monument (now Saguaro National Park) East, Rincon Mountain District. This photo was taken in 2010 by Dr. Ray Turner, USGS and is a match of a 1935 photograph taken by the National Park Service (NPS).

Saguaro National Monument is now Saguaro National Park. The decline is saguaros has continued but at a rate slightly less steep than predicted. Very few of the saguaro present in 1935 remain. Meanwhile, the regeneration of this forest has already begun, as shown by findings from a long-term study-plot located at left midground.

A Tegeticula maculata Yucca moth is perched & depositing a pollen ball onto a stigma of a Yucca plant (Hesperoyucca whipplei). Photo by Sherwin Carlquist, 2010.

Beaches in the rough terrain of Grand Canyon are a valued resource by hikers and river runners because they are fairly flat and vegetation free. 

Boat equipped with multibeam sonar surveying the bed of the Colorado River in May 2009. Instrument in foreground is robotic total station that automatically tracks boat location and radios the position to a computer on the boat 20 times per second.