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Publications

FORT scientists have produced more than 1,500 peer reviewed publications that are registered in the USGS Publications Warehouse, along with many others prior to their work at the USGS or in conjunction with other government agencies. 

Filter Total Items: 2239

Delineating draft inventory analysis units for National Scenic and Historic Trails inventory, assessment, and monitoring programs

As of 2024, there are 32 National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHTs) in the system administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The BLM administers, manages, and protects 19 of these trails as part of its system of national conservation lands. Various laws, regulations, and policies require that the BLM conduct and m
Authors
Sarah M. Lindley, Emily J. Wilkins, Carin Farley, Karla Rogers, Rudy Schuster

Multi-decadal vegetation transformations of a New Mexico ponderosa pine landscape after severe fires and aerial seeding

Wildfires and climate change are having transformative effects on vegetation composition and structure, and post-fire management may have long-lasting impacts on ecosystem reorganization. Post-fire aerial seeding treatments are commonly used to reduce runoff and soil erosion, but little is known about how seeding treatments affect native vegetation recovery over long periods of time, particularly
Authors
Andreas Paul Wion, Jens T. Stevens, Kay Beeley, Rebecca Oertel, Ellis Margolis, Craig D. Allen

Think regionally, act locally: Perspectives on co-design of spatial conservation prioritization tools and why end-user engagement altered our approach

Coproduction represents an inclusive approach for developing decision-support resources because it seeks to integrate scientific knowledge and end-user needs. Unfortunately, spatial decision support systems (SDSS) coproduction has sometimes resulted in limited utility for end-users, partially due to scarce SDSS coproduction guidance. To initiate coproduction, we held a series of workshops to co-de
Authors
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Jessica E. Shyvers, Bryan C. Tarbox, Adrian P. Monroe, Patrick J. Anderson, Daniel Jones, Katharine G. Dahm, Cameron L. Aldridge

Coyote use of prairie dog colonies is most frequent in areas used by American badgers

The consequences of intraguild predation on vulnerable subordinate species are an important consideration in the recovery of endangered species. In prairie ecosystems, coyotes (Canis latrans) are the primary predator of endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes; hereafter, ferrets) and presumably compete for prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) prey. Coyote predation of ferrets is thought to occur a
Authors
Rebecca Windell, Larissa L. Bailey, Travis Livieri, David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Stewart Breck

Status of greater sage-grouse in the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment—An evaluation of population trends, habitat selection, and efficacy of conservation actions

PrefaceThis study was completed to provide timely scientific information regarding greater sage-grouse population trends, habitat selection, and the efficacy of previous conservation actions implemented to benefit the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment (DPS). Specifically, we provide these analyses to inform the current (2024) status review and pending listing decision for the DPS being undertak
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Megan C. Milligan, Brian G. Prochazka, Brianne E. Brussee, Shawn T. O'Neil, Carl G. Lundblad, Sarah C. Webster, Cali L. Weise, Steven R. Mathews, Michael P. Chenaille, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O'Donnell, Shawn P. Espinosa, Amy C. Sturgill, Kevin E. Doherty, John C. Tull, Katherine Miller, Lief A. Wiechman, Steve Abele, John Boone, Heather Stone, Michael L. Casazza

Bird community response to one decade of riparian restoration along the Colorado River delta in Mexico

We assessed the response of breeding birds to one decade of riparian restoration in the Colorado River delta including active vegetation management since 2010 and various environmental water deliveries since 2014. Bird surveys were conducted from 2002 to 2021 at 230 bird count stations distributed along five river reaches with different hydrogeomorphic characteristics, across 7 routes in actively
Authors
Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Timothy D Meehan, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Steffany Villagomez-Palma, Alejandra Calvo-Fonseca, Christopher Dodge, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Patrick B. Shafroth

Avian communities respond to plant and landscape composition in actively revegetated floodplains of the Colorado River delta in Mexico

We examined the influence of local habitat factors such as plant community composition and species cover, and landscape habitat factors (e.g., land cover types) on the composition of the avian community in an arid-region large river delta (Colorado River). This 106 river km-long study area has experienced restoration through environmental water deliveries and active management of vegetation for ca
Authors
Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Osvel Hinojosa-Huera, Steffany Villagomez-Palma, Alejandra Calvo-Fonseca, Joanna Grand, Timothy D. Meehan, Christopher Dodge, Pamela L. Nagler, Carlos Restrepo-Giraldo, Carlos Nieblas, Angela Melendez, Roberto Real Rangel, Patrick B. Shafroth

A genomic hotspot of diversifying selection and structural change in the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)

BackgroundPrevious work found that numerous genes positively selected within the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) lineage are physically clustered in regions of conserved synteny. Here I further validate and expand on those finding utilizing an updated L. cinereus genome assembly and additional bat species as well as other tetrapod outgroups.MethodsA chromosome-level assembly was generated by chromat
Authors
Robert S. Cornman

Best practices for genetic and genomic data archiving

Genetic and genomic data are collected for a vast array of scientific and applied purposes. Despite mandates for public archiving, data are typically used only by the generating authors. The reuse of genetic and genomic datasets remains uncommon because it is difficult, if not impossible, due to non-standard archiving practices and lack of contextual metadata. But as the new field of macrogenetics
Authors
Deborah M. Leigh, A. G. Vandergast, Maggie Hunter, Eric D. Crandall, W. Chris Funk, Colin J Garroway, Sean M. Hoban, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Christian Rellstab, Gernot Segelbacher, Chloe Schmidt, Ella Vázquez-Domínguez, Ivan Paz-Vinas

Accuracy, accessibility, and institutional capacity shape the utility of habitat models for managing and conserving rare plants on western public lands

Public lands are often managed for multiple uses ranging from energy development to rare plant conservation. Habitat models can help land managers assess and mitigate potential effects of projects on rare plants, but it is unclear how models are currently being used. Our goal was to better understand how staff in the Bureau of Land Management currently use habitat models to inform their decisions,
Authors
Ella M. Samuel, Jennifer K. Meineke, Laine E. McCall, Lea B. Selby, Alison C. Foster, Zoe M. Davidson, Carol A. Dawson, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Sarah K. Carter

Living with wildfire in Stemilt Basin, Chelan County, Washington: 2022 Data report

Homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and preparedness are important components of community wildfire readiness. This report presents data collected via rapid wildfire risk assessments to describe the parcel-level wildfire risk of properties within the Stemilt basin, Chelan County, Washington study area. The report also describes household survey data collected from homeowners in the study area, incl
Authors
Julia Goolsby, Patricia A. Champ, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Colleen Donovan, Hilary Heard, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, James Meldrum, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Chiara Forrester

Living with wildfire in Santa Fe: 2021 Data Report

The City of Santa Fe is well known for arts, food, and architecture, but it also faces significant risk of wildfire. In 2020, the City of Santa Fe partnered with the Wildfire Research (WiRē) team with the goal of better understanding the needs of residents within the study area and their level of support for wildfire risk mitigation programs. The resulting project centers on two types of property-
Authors
James Meldrum, Julia Goolsby, Colleen Donovan, Porfirio Chavarria, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Chiara Forrester