Images

Desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata) blooming in a monitoring quadrat at a RestoreNet site in Northern Arizona. Photo by Laura Shriver (USGS).

USGS Biological Science Technician Claudia Dimartini poses with a long camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum) rhizome (underground root structure from which new plants can propagate that was exposed in a wash at the Deadman Wash Confluence Area. Photo by Laura Shriver (USGS).

Photographs from a mountainous star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) losing tissue to disease in Florida, USA.  (A) Colony in situ showing bare white, recently denuded skeleton with no turf algae growth (arrowheads) with dark discoloration along the active tissue loss margins (arrows).

Photomicrographs from a mountainous star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) in Florida, USA. (A) A large cluster of filamentous bacteria are within the gastrovascular space and gastrodermis (asterisk) and extending through mesoglea (arrow) with necrosis and loss of the surface gastrodermis (arrowheads). H&E stain.  Scale bar 200 μm.

Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease in North America, updated August 01, 2024.

White-tailed deer is native to North America and live in most states except Alaska, California, Nevada, and Utah (source: USFS). 

Mallard is a large dabbling duck, length 15-16 inches, with a wingspan up to 36 inches. 

Waterloo State Recreation area in southern MI. Like the Huron National Forest near Cadillac, Michigan, this site had around 68% cover of northern red oak and red maple was the largest associate.

A landscape of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentada) and yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana.

Photomicrographs from a sea otter (Enhydra lutris) found dead in Washington State, USA.

A storm rolls in during field work at the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Crews were measuring plant cover and other site characteristics. Sagebrush and yellow sweet clover are visible.

A five-person USGS crew collecting Rapid and Other Assessment and Monitoring (ROAM) density data in southwest Idaho. One person is inspecting a plant in the foreground, while the rest of the team are identifying and counting individual plants during a radial density belt. 

A downward-facing photo taken on a Rapid and Other Methods for Assessment and Monitoring (ROAM) plot that is within a fuel break. The photo includes a lot of gravel and bare ground, with intermixed small grasses, forbs, and shrubs. 

Lake Abert, Oregon is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA.

Fast-moving, highly destructive debris flows triggered by intense rainfall are one of the most dangerous post-fire hazards. The risk of floods and debris flows after fires increases due to vegetation loss and soil exposure. Cases of sudden and deadly debris flow are well documented along the western United States, particularly in Southern California.

How hot do wildfires get? 

• 570 F degrees - TEMPERATURE AT WHICH WOOD WILL BURST INTO FLAMES
• 2,200 F degrees - TEMPERATURE WILDFIRES COULD REACH IN EXTREME CONDITIONS

Coral reefs provide ample opportunities for recreational activities and fishing and add important cultural value to coastal communities. 

They also bolster biodiversity by giving food and shelter to many species. 

The structure of a reef helps dampen waves and protects coastlines from storms and erosion. 

Photomicrographs from an unaffected Little Brown Bat (M. lucifugus; A-B) and Little Brown Bat found dead in Montana, USA with the square-eared anomaly (C-E). Periodic Acid Schiff-Hematoxylin. (A) Pinna of an unaffected Little Brown Bat showing the epidermis (e and arrow), dermis (d) and central elastic cartilage plate (c).

Goose Lake, on the Oregon-California border, is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA. 

How Streamgages are Used in Postfire Flood Forecasting

Stream data is recorded in real time and posted online.

Stream data include water level, velocity, and turbidity.

During storms, rainfall data is compared to the stream data.

The National Weather Service uses the data to issue flood warnings.

Many new big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) plants that have just sprouted from the ground in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho.