Images

A team of biologists prepares to measure, weigh, and tag a captured bats. On the left, USGS biologist Gabe Reyes has a bat in a bag, used to separate and calm the bats. USGS biologist Julia Ersan is holding some alcohol used to ensure clean instruments and work surfaces, and USGS biologist Austin Waag is getting something out of a backpack.

A sagebrush steppe landscape in northern Nevada, photographed during field work near Owyhee.

Scientists using binoculars and radio telemetry to survey for northwestern pond turtles at Hills Creek Reservoir in Oregon. USGS is collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study turtle movements in reservoirs in response to fluctuating water levels.

A plot that was sprayed with herbicides to control invasion of exotic annual grasses after the Martin Fire in northern Nevada. The white line defines the boundaries of the plot.

A FIREss team scientist analyzing field data at the Snake River Field Station in Boise, Idaho.

A field of sagebrush in northern Nevada, photographed at sunset after a day of field work.

A sagebrush seedling that was grown in a nursery and then planted at the site of the Martin Fire in northern Nevada

A field technician photographing a vegetation monitoring plot at the site of the Martin Fire in northern Nevada.

A map of an area of the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge that was burned by wildfire. Researchers conducted experiments testing the longevity of herbicides for controlling exotic annual grasses. The fire perimeter is displayed with a red outline. Stripes of tan were sprayed with indaziflam. Stripes of purple were treated with indaziflam and imazapic.

Scientists in the field monitoring the effects of experimental herbicide treatments for controlling exotic annual grasses in the Boise River Wildlife Management Area.

A sagebrush plant photographed at a park in Boise, Idaho. Sagebrush landscapes cover a vast part of the western U.S. but are threatened by invasive grasses and a cycle of more frequent and more intense wildfires.

USGS scientist Nick Esser using radio telemetry to track northwestern pond turtles at Fall Creek Reservoir in Oregon. USGS researchers partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study movement of turtles in response to fluctuating water levels.

An experimental plot that was drill seeded with native grasses after the Martin Fire in northern Nevada. Drill seeding is a method in which a drill buries seeds into the soil at a targeted depth that is ideal for that plant species. A tractor typically pulls the drill along to bury the seeds in rows.

A field technician measuring plant cover at a monitoring plot at the site of the Martin Fire in northern Nevada. The plot is marked with a pin flag.

A plot that was aerially seeded with native plants after the Martin Fire in northern Nevada. Aerial seeding is a method in which a helicopter or plane drops seeds across large regions.

A Project ROAM (Rapid and Other Methods for Assessment and Monitoring) crew collecting vegetation data at a complex plot with over 40 unique species. 

A Swainson's hawk perched on a power pole in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in southern Idaho.

A Swainson's hawk taking flight from a power pole in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in southern Idaho.

A golden eagle perched on a power pole in southern Wyoming. In some parts of the Great Basin, power poles are the tallest structures available for perching and nesting.

A prairie falcon perched on a utility pole in Colorado holding its prey, a Eurasian collared dove, in its talons.

A Swainson's hawk perched on top of a utility pole in southwest Idaho on a bright, sunny day.