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Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center is based in Bozeman, Montana, and has field offices in Glacier National Park and Missoula, Montana.

News

Sixty-seven years and still digging! A brief history of the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project

Sixty-seven years and still digging! A brief history of the USGS Benchmark Glacier Project

Don’t eat that cookie! We need it for science.

Don’t eat that cookie! We need it for science.

Understanding and Managing Drought-Induced Ecological Transformations

Understanding and Managing Drought-Induced Ecological Transformations

Publications

Predictions of elk and chronic wasting disease dynamics at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming, and surrounding areas

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Elk Refuge (NER) in Jackson, Wyoming, supplementally feeds Cervus elaphus canadensis (elk) and Bison bison (American bison) during winter months, but the costs and benefits of this management strategy are being reevaluated considering the potential effects of chronic wasting disease (CWD) on elk. U.S. Geological Survey scientists worked with...
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Jonathan D. Cook, Eric K. Cole

Decision analysis in support of the National Elk Refuge bison and elk management plan

Preface This report was developed to evaluate the performance of a set of proposed alternatives for Cervus elaphus canadensis (elk) and Bison bison (bison) management at the National Elk Refuge (NER) in Wyoming, U.S.A., and to inform a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement focused on developing the next “Bison and Elk Management Plan” (BEMP). The U.S...

Evaluating elk distribution and conflict under proposed management alternatives at the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming

We evaluated measurable attributes describing the current and future distribution of Cervus elaphus canadensis (elk) across a region surrounding Jackson, Wyoming, for five feedground management alternatives proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a revision to the 2007 “Bison and Elk Management Plan” of the National Elk Refuge. A resource selection function evaluated measurable...
Authors
Gavin G. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Eric K. Cole, Jonathan D. Cook, Margaret C. Mceachran, Tabitha A. Graves

Science

Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Research in Western National Park Units

Mountain goat and bighorn sheep are iconic symbols of many national lands in the West. Both species have limited distributions that can be difficult to observe and face multiple stressors including disease, increasing recreation in remote areas, and shifting weather regimes that influence their forage and thermoregulation. As species with relatively small population sizes, understanding...
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Bighorn Sheep and Mountain Goat Research in Western National Park Units

Mountain goat and bighorn sheep are iconic symbols of many national lands in the West. Both species have limited distributions that can be difficult to observe and face multiple stressors including disease, increasing recreation in remote areas, and shifting weather regimes that influence their forage and thermoregulation. As species with relatively small population sizes, understanding...
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North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

North American bats face unprecedented threats including habitat loss and fragmentation, white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and climate change. However, it is difficult to evaluate the impacts of these threats due to a lack of basic information about the distribution and abundance of bats across the continent. Although bat monitoring has long been conducted in individual areas and for...
link

North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat)

North American bats face unprecedented threats including habitat loss and fragmentation, white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and climate change. However, it is difficult to evaluate the impacts of these threats due to a lack of basic information about the distribution and abundance of bats across the continent. Although bat monitoring has long been conducted in individual areas and for...
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Using Pollinator Environmental DNA to Assess the Ecological Resilience of America’s Grasslands

Scientists from six USGS science centers are collaborating with USDA, university, and Tribal partners, and Department of the Interior land managers, to assess the status of pollinator communities and the distribution of species of conservation concern using environmental DNA. These methods will be used to improve assessments of habitat quality and pollinator responses to restoration, including...
link

Using Pollinator Environmental DNA to Assess the Ecological Resilience of America’s Grasslands

Scientists from six USGS science centers are collaborating with USDA, university, and Tribal partners, and Department of the Interior land managers, to assess the status of pollinator communities and the distribution of species of conservation concern using environmental DNA. These methods will be used to improve assessments of habitat quality and pollinator responses to restoration, including...
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