Images

Sue Phillips headshot

A stream runs through a meadow with wildflowers in the Pacific Northwest. The stream was photographed during stream permanence surveys.

A stream photographed during stream surveys in Washington State. Researchers monitor stream permanence using a mobile app named FLOwPER.

Looking down a fuel break treatment boundary, the area along the road (visible to the left) has been mowed to reduce shrub fuel and maintain safe road access for firefighters.

USGS researchers are studying how enhancing moss growth may lead to improved practices to restore soil biocrusts. 

Malheur Lake, a saline lake in eastern Oregon, photographed from a USGS airboat. USGS has been monitoring water quality parameters including temperature, turbidity, and pH in the lake since 2017.

Experimental site in the Snake River Plain in southwest Idaho three years post-herbicide treatment. The plot towards the lower left of the image was not treated with herbicide. The plot towards the upper right was treated with the pre-emergent herbicide imazapic and is free of cheatgrass. This is one of the longest-lasting imazapic treatments recorded.

Scientists collect carcasses at a wind energy facility to estimate total wildlife mortality at a site.

Original photos by P. Cryan (wind farm) and M. Huso (solar power tower), USGS. Blended photo created by S. Kemp, USGS.

Blended photo of a wind and solar energy facilities.

Two young golden eagles fight in the snow. In the winter, eagles tend to scavenge for food as prey become scarce.

A Basic II bald eagle on the left fights with a golden eagle. A Basic IV bald eagle flies away.

There are two juvenile golden eagles. Golden eagles are one of the largest birds in North America. They have a wingspan from 72.8 to 86.6 inches.

This is a young golden eagle in its third winter. Golden eagles generally don't reach adulthood until about their fifth year.

Root nodules are a symbiotic relationship between a plant and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. A symbiotic relationship is one where both organisms benefit. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria change inorganic nitrogen from the air into ammonia, a form of nitrogen most organisms can use.

The alfalfa leafcutting bee (Megachile rotundata) is an introduced species common to Southwest Idaho. They originate from the old world, most likely from northeastern Africa or the Middle East. These bees are successful pollinators of various crops and have been imported to North America for use in agriculture and beekeeping.

Opening slide for the Intro to GenEst, A Generalized Estimator of Mortality, Workshop held at the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative's Wind Wildlife Research Meeting XII on November 26, 2018 in St. Paul Minnesota.

In August of 2018 this adult female golden eagle was captured and outfitted with a GPS transmitter. You can see the transmitter on the eagle’s back, below the head. This was the first golden eagle ever captured as part of a research project in Yellowstone National Park.

USGS scientists are documenting the distribution of three mid-sized mammalian carnivores – or mesocarnivores –in the Klamath Network Parks using remote cameras and hair snares.

Gradients of N deposition, S deposition, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation across the conterminous U.S. Panels are the a) mean total N deposition from 2000–2012, b) mean total S deposition from 2000–2012, c) mean annual temperature from 2000–2014, and d) mean annual precipitation form 2000–2014.

Upper Tumalo Creek in the Three Sisters Wilderness, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. The stream was photographed at multiple locations during a streamflow survey.