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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
USGS2020

Bridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States

The field of landscape ecology has grown and matured in recent decades, but incorporating landscape science into land management decisions remains challenging. Many lands in the western United States are federally owned and managed for multiple uses, including recreation, conservation, and energy development. We argue for stronger integration of landscape science into the management of these public lands. We open by outlining the relevance of landscape science for public land planning, management, and environmental effects analysis, including pertinent laws and policies. We identify challenges to integrating landscape science into public land management, including the multijurisdictional nature and complicated spatial pattern of public lands, the capacity of agencies to identify and fill landscape science needs, and public perceptions about the meaning of landscape approaches to management. We provide several recent examples related to landscape monitoring, restoration, reclamation, and conservation in which landscape science products were developed specifically to support decision-making. We close by highlighting three actions - elevating the importance of science-management partnerships dedicated to coproducing actionable landscape science products, identifying where landscape science could foster efficiencies in the land-use planning process, and developing scenario-based landscape models for shrublands - that could improve landscape science support for public land planners and managers.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New↗
USGS2024

Before the fire: Predicting burn severity and potential post-fire debris-flow hazards to Colorado River Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) conservation populations

Background Colorado River Cutthroat Trout (CRCT; Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus ) conservation populations may be at risk from wildfire and post-fire debris flows hazards. Aim To predict burn severity and potential post-fire debris flow hazard classifications to CRCT conservation populations before wildfires occur. Methods We used remote sensing, spatial analyses, and machine learning to model 28 wildfire incidents (2016–2020) and spatially predict burn severity from pre-wildfire environmental factors to evaluate the likelihood (%) and volume (m 3 ) hazard classification of post-fire debris flow. Key results Burn severity was best predicted by fuels, followed by topography, physical ecosystem conditions, and weather (mean adjusted R 2 = 0.54). Predictions of high or moderate burn severity covered 1.1 (15% of study area) and 1.5 (19% of study area) million ha, respectively, and varied by watershed. Combined high or moderate debris flow hazard classification included 80% of stream reaches with conservation populations and 97% of conservation population point nodes. Conclusions Predicted burn severity and potential post-fire debris flow indicated moderate to high hazard for CRCT conservation populations native to the Green and Yampa rivers of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Implications Future management actions can incorporate predicted burn severity and potential post-fire debris flow to mitigate impacts to CRCT and other at-risk resource values before a wildfire occurs.

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming↗
USGS2014

U.S. Geological Survey Science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: 2012 annual report

Southwest Wyoming contains abundant energy resources, wildlife, habitat, open spaces, and outdoor recreational opportunities. Although energy exploration and development have been taking place in the region since the late 1800s, the pace of development for fossil fuels and renewable energy increased significantly in the early 2000s. This and the associated urban and exurban development are leading to landscape-level environmental and socioeconomic changes that have the potential to diminish wildlife habitat and other natural resources, and the quality of human lives, in Southwest Wyoming. The potential for negative effects of these changes prompted Federal, State, and local agencies to undertake the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative for Southwest Wyoming.

Wyoming↗
USGS2023

Environmental, morphological, and molecular data reveal a new species of freshwater mussel, Strophitus howellsi, endemic to the Edwards Plateau in Texas

Freshwater mussels are considered the most imperiled group of organisms in North America and systematics research has played an integral role in the development and implementation of their conservation. Despite the importance of systematics in conservation planning, the evolutionary relationships between many mussel taxa remain poorly explored, clearly illustrated by Strophitus undulatus . This species is wide-ranging, occurring in streams across the United States and Canada with a disjunct population in the Colorado River drainage in central Texas. The widespread distribution of S. undulatus , as well as high intraspecific morphological variation, has led previous authors to doubt the taxon is representative of a single species. In this study, we set out to investigate species boundaries in S. undulatus by integrating environmental, molecular, and morphological datasets. Molecular and morphological data supported S. undulatus from the Colorado River as distinct, which was supplemented by a species distribution modeling approach, suggesting potential adaptation to Edwards Plateau streams has contributed to speciation. Given our findings, we formally describe a new species of freshwater mussel, Strophitus howellsi , endemic to streams along the Edwards Plateau in the Colorado River drainage. A conservation assessment of S. howellsi suggests the species is extremely rare within a highly restricted distribution and may warrant future recovery actions. Our findings build on a growing body of literature highlighting aquatic endemism along the Edwards Plateau and have significant conservation implications for freshwater mussels in Texas.

Conservation Genetics↗
USGS1996

The efficacy of protoporphyrin as a predictive biomarker for lead exposure in canvasback ducks: effect of sample storage time

We used 363 blood samples collected from wild canvasback dueks ( Aythya valisineria ) at Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, U.S.A. to evaluate the effect of sample storage time on the efficacy of erythrocytic protoporphyrin as an indicator of lead exposure. The protoporphyrin concentration of each sample was determined by hematofluorometry within 5 min of blood collection and after refrigeration at 4 °C for 24 and 48 h. All samples were analyzed for lead by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Based on a blood lead concentration of ≥0.2 ppm wet weight as positive evidence for lead exposure, the protoporphyrin technique resulted in overall error rates of 29%, 20%, and 19% and false negative error rates of 47%, 29% and 25% when hematofluorometric determinations were made on blood at 5 min, 24 h, and 48 h, respectively. False positive error rates were less than 10% for all three measurement times. The accuracy of the 24-h erythrocytic protoporphyrin classification of blood samples as positive or negative for lead exposure was significantly greater than the 5-min classification, but no improvement in accuracy was gained when samples were tested at 48 h. The false negative errors were probably due, at least in part, to the lag time between lead exposure and the increase of blood protoporphyrin concentrations. False negatives resulted in an underestimation of the true number of canvasbacks exposed to lead, indicating that hematofluorometry provides a conservative estimate of lead exposure.

Louisiana↗
USGS2017

Drawing a line in the sand: Effectiveness of off-highway vehicle management in California's Sonoran desert

Public land policies manage multiple uses while striving to protect vulnerable plant and wildlife habitats from degradation; yet the effectiveness of such policies are infrequently evaluated, particularly for remote landscapes that are difficult to monitor. We assessed the use and impacts of recreational vehicles on Mojave Desert washes (intermittent streams) in the Chemehuevi Desert Wildlife Management Area (DWMA) of southern California. Wash zones designated as open and closed to off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity were designed in part to protect Mojave desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ) habitat while allowing recreation in designated areas. OHV tracks were monitored in washes located near access roads during winter and early spring holidays – when recreation is typically high – and at randomly dispersed locations away from roads. Washes near access roads had fewer vehicle tracks within closed than open zones; further away from roads, OHV tracks were infrequent and their occurrence was not different between wash designations. Washes were in better condition in closed zones following major holidays as indicated by less vegetation damage, presence of trash, and wash bank damage. Furthermore, the frequency of washes with live tortoises and their sign was marginally greater in closed than open wash zones. Collectively, these results suggest that low impacts to habitats in designated closed wash zones reflect public compliance with federal OHV policy and regulations in the Chemehuevi DWMA during our study. Future monitoring to contrast wash use and impacts during other seasons as well as in other DWMAs will elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of recreation in these important conservation areas.

California↗
USGS2019

Age and growth of stocked juvenile Shoal Bass in a tailwater: Environmental variation and accuracy of daily age estimates

Otolith microanalysis is often used to assess population age structure and growth of fishes during their early stages. Shoal Bass Micropterus cataractae is a recently described species of conservation concern and little is known regarding factors affecting their recruitment. In 2004, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) and the US National Park Service (NPS) stocked Shoal Bass marked with oxytetracycline (OTC) in the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia in an effort to restore this population, creating known-age fish to examine the effect of environment on daily age accuracy. We obtained samples of stocked juvenile (<150 mm) Shoal Bass from standard monitoring that occurred approximately 30–60 days after stocking in the Chattahoochee River to 1) validate daily rings for estimating age, hatch dates, and growth rates for stocked age-0 Shoal Bass, and 2) evaluate the effect of habitat (location) on age bias. Shoal Bass otoliths were examined for OTC marks and daily rings were counted in reference to OTC marks to assess age estimation accuracy. Age estimation accuracy ranged from -2 to -25 days and was influenced by the environment where Shoal Bass were captured, with greater inaccuracy in colder water temperatures. Fish collected from locations with colder temperatures displayed closer spacing of daily rings, potentially leading to greater underestimation of age. Growth rates of stocked Shoal Bass, corrected for age estimation error, ranged from 0.5 mm/day to 0.8 mm/day. This study demonstrates the effect of environmental variability on age inaccuracy and subsequent interpretation of results. Incorporating methods to assess age estimation accuracy is needed to understand interspecific differences in recruitment among black bass species in the variety of natural and human-modified environments they inhabit.

Georgia↗
USGS2023

Interactions among rainfall, fire, forbs and non-native grasses predict occupancy dynamics for the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem

It is important to understand species-habitat relationships to implement effective adaptive management for rare species. However, it can be challenging to assess habitat associations and their relationships to abiotic stressors in dynamic habitats without the insights that can be gained from long-term monitoring. We report results from the first six years of extensive track tube monitoring of the largest two of three remaining extant populations of federally endangered Pacific pocket mouse ( Perognathus longimembris pacificus ) in a coastal Mediterranean-type ecosystem on Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton in southern California, USA. We used dynamic occupancy and structural equation modeling to assess potential drivers of population trends that included habitat, fire history, rainfall, disturbance, and the presence of other small mammals. We found that the variables that best predicted mouse occupancy were moderate to high forb and perennial herb cover (40–80%), and moderate to high open ground (20–70%) and low non-native grass cover (<20%), Non-native grass cover (>20%) was also a strong predictor of lower PPM colonization and increased extinction probabilities, with the extent of non-native grass cover being strongly influenced by annual rainfall and recency of fire. Our study adds to the growing literature on effects of invasive annual grasses on native species in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. We suggest that habitat management could be based upon promotion of open forb and perennial herb dominated habitats with reduction of non-native grasses by prescribed fire and other methods. These types of spatial and temporal monitoring programs can support land managers by creating a monitoring and management feedback loop. They can reveal landscape and environmental variables associated with species persistence, inform habitat management goals, and help managers to assess the success of management actions on populations of conservation concern.

California↗
USGS2001

Partitioning sources of variation in vertebrate species richness

Aim: To explore biogeographic patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Maine, USA using techniques that would describe local and spatial correlations with the environment. Location: Maine, USA. Methods: We delineated the ranges within Maine (86,156 km2) of 275 species using literature and expert review. Ranges were combined into species richness maps, and compared to geomorphology, climate, and woody plant distributions. Methods were adapted that compared richness of all vertebrate classes to each environmental correlate, rather than assessing a single explanatory theory. We partitioned variation in species richness into components using tree and multiple linear regression. Methods were used that allowed for useful comparisons between tree and linear regression results. For both methods we partitioned variation into broad-scale (spatially autocorrelated) and fine-scale (spatially uncorrelated) explained and unexplained components. By partitioning variance, and using both tree and linear regression in analyses, we explored the degree of variation in species richness for each vertebrate group that Could be explained by the relative contribution of each environmental variable. Results: In tree regression, climate variation explained richness better (92% of mean deviance explained for all species) than woody plant variation (87%) and geomorphology (86%). Reptiles were highly correlated with environmental variation (93%), followed by mammals, amphibians, and birds (each with 84-82% deviance explained). In multiple linear regression, climate was most closely associated with total vertebrate richness (78%), followed by woody plants (67%) and geomorphology (56%). Again, reptiles were closely correlated with the environment (95%), followed by mammals (73%), amphibians (63%) and birds (57%). Main conclusions: Comparing variation explained using tree and multiple linear regression quantified the importance of nonlinear relationships and local interactions between species richness and environmental variation, identifying the importance of linear relationships between reptiles and the environment, and nonlinear relationships between birds and woody plants, for example. Conservation planners should capture climatic variation in broad-scale designs; temperatures may shift during climate change, but the underlying correlations between the environment and species richness will presumably remain.

Journal of Biogeography↗
USGS2023

Landscape transcriptomics as a tool for addressing global change effects across diverse species

Landscape transcriptomics is an emerging field studying how genome-wide expression patterns reflect dynamic landscape-scale environmental drivers, including habitat, weather, climate, and contaminants, and the subsequent effects on organismal function. This field is benefitting from advancing and increasingly accessible molecular technologies, which in turn are allowing the necessary characterization of transcriptomes from wild individuals distributed across natural landscapes. This research is especially important given the rapid pace of anthropogenic environmental change and potential impacts that span levels of biological organization. We discuss three major themes in landscape transcriptomic research: connecting transcriptome variation across landscapes to environmental variation, generating and testing hypotheses about the mechanisms and evolution of transcriptomic responses to the environment, and applying this knowledge to species conservation and management. We discuss challenges associated with this approach and suggest potential solutions. We conclude that landscape transcriptomics has great promise for addressing fundamental questions in organismal biology, ecology, and evolution, while providing tools needed for conservation and management of species.

Molecular Ecology Resources↗
USGS2016

Coupled downscaled climate models and ecophysiological metrics forecast habitat compression for an endangered estuarine fish

Climate change is driving rapid changes in environmental conditions and affecting population and species&rsquo; persistence across spatial and temporal scales. Integrating climate change assessments into biological resource management, such as conserving endangered species, is a substantial challenge, partly due to a mismatch between global climate forecasts and local or regional conservation planning. Here, we demonstrate how outputs of global climate change models can be downscaled to the watershed scale, and then coupled with ecophysiological metrics to assess climate change effects on organisms of conservation concern. We employed models to estimate future water temperatures (2010&ndash;2099) under several climate change scenarios within the large heterogeneous San Francisco Estuary. We then assessed the warming effects on the endangered, endemic Delta Smelt, Hypomesus transpacificus , by integrating localized projected water temperatures with thermal sensitivity metrics (tolerance, spawning and maturation windows, and sublethal stress thresholds) across life stages. Lethal temperatures occurred under several scenarios, but sublethal effects resulting from chronic stressful temperatures were more common across the estuary (median >60 days above threshold for >50% locations by the end of the century). Behavioral avoidance of such stressful temperatures would make a large portion of the potential range of Delta Smelt unavailable during the summer and fall. Since Delta Smelt are not likely to migrate to other estuaries, these changes are likely to result in substantial habitat compression. Additionally, the Delta Smelt maturation window was shortened by 18&ndash;85 days, revealing cumulative effects of stressful summer and fall temperatures with early initiation of spring spawning that may negatively impact fitness. Our findings highlight the value of integrating sublethal thresholds, life history, and in situ thermal heterogeneity into global change impact assessments. As downscaled climate models are becoming widely available, we conclude that similar assessments at management-relevant scales will improve the scientific basis for resource management decisions.

California↗
USGS2019

Review of and recommendations for monitoring contaminants and their effects in the San Francisco Bay−Delta

Legacy and current-use contaminants enter into and accumulate throughout the San Francisco Bay−Delta (Bay−Delta), and are present at concentrations with known effects on species important to this diverse watershed. There remains major uncertainty and a lack of focused research able to address and provide understanding of effects across multiple biological scales, despite previous and ongoing emphasis on the need for it. These needs are challenging specifically because of the established regulatory programs that often monitor on a chemical- by-chemical basis, or in which decisions are grounded in lethality-based endpoints. To best address issues of contaminants in the Bay−Delta, monitoring efforts should consider effects of environmentally relevant mixtures and sub- lethal impacts that can affect ecosystem health. These efforts need to consider the complex environment in the Bay−Delta including variable abiotic (e.g., temperature, salinity) and biotic (e.g., pathogens) factors. This calls for controlled and focused research, and the development of a multi-disciplinary contaminant monitoring and assessment program that provides information across biological scales. Information gained in this manner will contribute toward evaluating parameters that could alleviate ecologically detrimental outcomes. This review is a result of a Special Symposium convened at the University of California−Davis (UCD) on January 31, 2017 to address critical information needed on how contaminants affect the Bay−Delta. The UCD Symposium focused on new tools and approaches for assessing multiple stressor effects to freshwater and estuarine systems. Our approach is similar to the recently proposed framework laid out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) that uses weight of evidence to scale toxicological responses to chemical contaminants in a laboratory, and to guide the conservation of priority species and habitats. As such, we also aimed to recommend multiple endpoints that could be used to promote a multi-disciplinary understanding of contaminant risks in Bay−Delta while supporting management needs.

California↗
USGS2019

Factors influencing anuran wetland occupancy in an agricultural landscape

Habitat disturbance is an important cause of global amphibian declines, with especially strong effects in areas of high agricultural use. Determining the influence of site characteristics on amphibian presence and success is vital to developing effective conservation strategies. We used occupancy analysis to estimate presence of four anuran species at wetlands in northern Iowa as a function of eight environmental covariates hypothesized to affect occupancy: fish and salamander abundance, invertebrate density, aquatic vegetative cover, wetland area, atrazine concentration in water, surrounding agricultural land use, and an overall wetland health score (wetland condition index [WCI]). We surveyed 27 wetlands multiple times in 2015 and 2016. Leopard Frogs ( Lithobates pipiens ) and American Toads ( Anaxyrus americanus ) were observed at 100% of the sites, Boreal Chorus Frogs ( Pseudacris maculata ) at 96%, and Gray Treefrogs ( Hyla spp.) at 81%. Wetland site occupancy for all species in our study ranged from 0.23 ( Hyla spp. tadpoles) to 0.95 ( L. pipiens adults), indicating that agricultural wetlands can provide refuge or habitat for amphibians. Fish abundance, percentage of cropland cover within 500 m of the wetland, and salamander abundance were among the variables best supported by our models although their estimated effects were weak. Wetland area, atrazine concentration, vegetative cover, and WCI also influenced occupancy probability, but for only a small number of species and life stages. The direction of predicted effects varied by species and life stage. Despite only weak evidence that the environmental factors we measured influenced anuran occupancy, our results provide insights for managers seeking to understand how amphibians use landscapes modified by agriculture.

Iowa↗
USGS2020

Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) use of man-made water sources

The lesser prairie-chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ) occurs in the semiarid southern Great Plains, a region prone to periods of drought. Researchers generally believe that lesser prairie-chickens are able to satisfy their water requirements through preformed water and metabolic processes, but also know that they experience low survival and reproductive success during periods of drought. We used motion-sensing cameras to assess lesser prairie-chicken visits to man-made free water sources over a 48-month period from March 2009 to February 2013 in west Texas. Our objective was to examine temporal patterns of water use by lesser prairie-chickens, and to explore life history phenology and environmental conditions that may influence the species' use of free water. We documented 1,439 visits to water sources by lesser prairie-chickens. Their use of water sources was high during the winter months (December–February; 92 visits per 100 trap days) but the highest average visit rate to water sources occurred during the lekking-nesting life stage (March–May; 146 visits per 100 trap days). Water use was lower during the brood-rearing stage (June–August; 71 visits per 100 trap days) and lowest during the brood dispersal and independence stage (September–November; 19 visits per 100 trap days). Water use was strongly associated with dew point (P < 0.0001) and temperature (P = 0.0002) but was not associated with precipitation (P = 0.1037). These data indicate life-cycle stage (e.g., lekking-nesting) and reduced availability of preformed water may influence use of free water sources by lesser prairie-chickens. Current climate models predict the region of the study area will experience increases in temperature and decreases in frequency of precipitation. The combined effect of this would be reduced environmental moisture. If the prediction of increasing aridity in the region holds true, man-made water sources may become a tool for conservation of the species.

Texas↗
USGS2004

Using macroinvertebrates to identify biota-land cover optima at multiple scales in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Macroinvertebrate assemblages and environmental variables were evaluated at 45 stream sites throughout the Puget Sound Basin, Washington, USA. Environmental variables were measured at 3 spatial scales: reach, local, and whole watershed. Macroinvertebrate distributions were related to environmental variables using canonical correspondence analysis to determine which variables and spatial scales best explained the observed community composition and to identify biota-land cover optima. The calculation of a biota-land cover optimum was a 2-step process. First, an individual taxon's optimum was estimated for a particular land cover by weighting the mean value for that land cover by the abundance of that taxon at all sites. Second, the biota-land cover optimum was determined as the point at which the greatest numbers of taxa, at their calculated optima, appeared for a particular land cover. Sampling reaches were located on streams in watersheds with varying levels of forest, agriculture, and urban/suburban land cover that represented the full range of physical conditions typically found in Puget Sound streams. At the reach scale, taxa composition was correlated with conductivity and mean velocity. At the local and whole-watershed scales, taxa composition was correlated with % forest and agricultural land cover and % forest and bedrock land cover, respectively. For all of the scales, the dominant environmental variables represented an anthropogenic gradient. There was little difference in the amount of variability explained by each spatial scale. At the local-watershed scale, a biota-land cover optimum of ???80 to 90% forest land cover was identified. The total number of taxa at their optima declined rapidly as forest land cover within the local scale declined below 80 to 90%. At the whole-watershed scale, a biota-land cover optimum of 70 to 80% forest land cover was identified. The total number of taxa at their optima declined rapidly as forest land cover within the whole watershed declined below 70 to 80%. Our results suggest that macroinvertebrates can be used both as quantitative indicators of environmental conditions at multiple scales and indicators of land cover optima. Further examination of these optima could be used to establish priorities for conservation and restoration efforts.

Journal of the North American Benthological Societ↗
USGS2022

Murky waters: Divergent ways scientists, practitioners, and landowners evaluate beaver mimicry

Beaver mimicry is a fast-growing conservation technique to restore streams and manage water that is gaining popularity within the natural resource management community because of a wide variety of claimed socio-environmental benefits. Despite a growing number of projects, many questions and concerns about beaver mimicry remain. This study draws on qualitative data from 49 interviews with scientists, practitioners, and landowners, to explore the question of how beaver mimicry projects continue to be promoted and implemented, despite the lack of comprehensive scientific studies and unclear regulatory requirements. Specifically, we investigate how these three groups differentially assess the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of evidence for beaver mimicry and analyze how those assessments affect each group’s conclusions about the feasibility, desirability, and scalability of beaver mimicry. By highlighting the interaction between how someone assesses evidence and how they draw conclusions about an emerging natural resource management approach, we draw attention to the roles of experiential evidence and scientific data in debates over beaver mimicry. Our research emphasizes that understanding how different groups perceive salience, credibility, and legitimacy of scientific information is necessary for understanding how they make assessments about conservation and natural resource management strategies.

Ecology and Society↗
USGS2021

Feather corticosterone reveals developmental challenges in a long-term study of juvenile northern spotted owls

Corticosterone is a steroid hormone integral to a variety of physiological pathways and is strongly associated with the vertebrate stress response. In avian species, circulating corticosterone is sequestered into developing feathers and is used as an indicator of energy allocation during feather growth and widely applied in conservation physiology. The northern spotted owl Strix occidentalis caurina is a federally threatened old-growth forest obligate of conservation concern endemic to the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. The effects of landscape characteristics and individual variation on early development in spotted owls remain unstudied despite long recognition of this knowledge gap and its potential importance to species conservation. We quantified corticosterone concentrations in 4,720 feathers from 1,056 juvenile spotted owls across seven study areas between 2001 and 2017. We used an information-theoretic approach to examine the environmental and individual factors related to feather corticosterone in juvenile spotted owls as an indicator of challenges during early development. Feather corticosterone was positively related to temperature and precipitation, and negatively related to juvenile mass at banding. We found strong support for an interaction between mass and precipitation, with greater amounts of precipitation being associated with higher levels of feather corticosterone in lighter juveniles. The temperature and precipitation metric with the strongest relationship with feather corticosterone occurred during the fledging period, suggesting that this period presents an energetic challenge for juvenile spotted owls. Greater juvenile mass decreased the effect of precipitation, suggesting that greater mass was important for juveniles to maintain homeostasis during fledgling. Feather corticosterone in juvenile spotted owls provided insights to the challenges faced during early development, adding to our understanding of spotted owl life history and potential for population recovery.

Oregon, Washington↗