Securing the National's Need for Native Seed
Land management research in support of streamlined energy development, economic growth, and wildfire management
Land Management Research Program
The Land Management Research Program conducts research to improve the effectiveness of land management and inform restoration of priority ecosystems on millions of acres including public lands such as National Parks, refuges, and other critical landscapes that support the biodiversity of fish, wildlife, and plant species, as well as thriving economies.
Ecosystem Research
Ecosystem Research
The Nation’s ecosystems are complex, dynamic, and exposed to a rapidly changing climate among other threats. USGS scientists study how ecosystems function, the impacts of stressors, and make predictions about their future to improve restoration and management outcomes.
Firelight
Firelight
Firelight provides updates on the latest USGS fire science for a changing world. Each issue features a variety of our wildland fire science, providing information, data and tools for use by managers before, during, and after fires.
News
New tools for a growing threat: Co-developed science informs the fight against invasive grasses in the sagebrush biome
New tools for a growing threat: Co-developed science informs the fight against invasive grasses in the sagebrush biome
EcoNews | Winter 2026 - Vol. 7 | Issue 1
EcoNews | Winter 2026 - Vol. 7 | Issue 1
National Conservation Lands: A hub for scientific discovery
National Conservation Lands: A hub for scientific discovery
Publications
Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2024 Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2024
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are at the center of State and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides State and Federal land and wildlife managers with the best available science to help guide...
Different data for different goals: Exploring trade-offs and synergies in the use of spatial data inputs to optimize conservation action in sagebrush ecosystems Different data for different goals: Exploring trade-offs and synergies in the use of spatial data inputs to optimize conservation action in sagebrush ecosystems
Ecosystems worldwide continue to experience rapid rates of habitat and species loss. Management actions to conserve and restore functional habitats are needed to reduce these declines, but funding and resources for such actions are limited. Spatial conservation prioritization (SCP) can facilitate strategic decision-making for targeted conservation planning and delivery, but complexities...
Potential risks of vegetation treatments to introduce and increase invasive annual grasses in rangelands of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses Potential risks of vegetation treatments to introduce and increase invasive annual grasses in rangelands of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses
The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of planned structured science syntheses to support environmental effects analyses that agencies conduct under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This report synthesizes science information relevant to environmental effects analyses concerned with potential increases in the...
Science
KWIC Science: Rapid response products to meet resource managers’ priority science needs
Federal public land managers in the US are required by law to use science to inform management decisions. However, managers have limited time to identify science for use in decision making. Literature reviews are one tool to efficiently summarize science for use by managers, but are time-consuming to produce. Keyword in Context (KWIC) text analysis is a straightforward method of locating specific...
New Tools for Modern Land Management Decisions
In an era of rapid land use changes, it is imperative that land managers and policymakers have actionable and current information available for decision processes. In this work, we seek to meet these needs through new data products and decision support tools built on digital soil mapping, new vegetation cover maps, agency inventory and monitoring data sets, and cutting-edge analytical frameworks...
Wildlife Ecology and Habitat Restoration Team
Our team conducts research on wildlife species ecology, threats to species, causes of population dynamics, and ways to mitigate threats for species recovery. For example, we conduct research on ecological restoration in terrestrial and aquatic environments, and investigate wildlife responses to restoration. We also evaluate standardized methods used to monitor post-restoration outcomes and develop...