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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
USGS2009

Watershed Boundary Dataset for Mississippi

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Mississippi Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, and the Mississippi Automated Resource Information System developed a 1:24,000-scale Watershed Boundary Dataset for Mississippi including watershed and subwatershed boundaries, codes, names, and areas. The Watershed Boundary Dataset for Mississippi provides a standard geographical framework for water-resources and selected land-resources planning. The original 8-digit subbasins (Hydrologic Unit Codes) were further subdivided into 10-digit watersheds (62.5 to 391 square miles (mi2)) and 12-digit subwatersheds (15.6 to 62.5 mi2) - the exceptions being the Delta part of Mississippi and the Mississippi River inside levees, which were subdivided into 10-digit watersheds only. Also, large water bodies in the Mississippi Sound along the coast were not delineated as small as a typical 12-digit subwatershed. All of the data - including watershed and subwatershed boundaries, subdivision codes and names, and drainage-area data - are stored in a Geographic Information System database, which are available at: http://ms.water.usgs.gov/. This map shows information on drainage and hydrography in the form of U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic unit boundaries for water-resource 2-digit regions, 4-digit subregions, 6-digit basins (formerly called accounting units), 8-digit subbasins (formerly called cataloging units), 10-digit watershed, and 12-digit subwatersheds in Mississippi. A description of the project study area, methods used in the development of watershed and subwatershed boundaries for Mississippi, and results are presented in Wilson and others (2008). The data presented in this map and by Wilson and others (2008) supersede the data presented for Mississippi by Seaber and others (1987) and U.S. Geological Survey (1977).

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2020

Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program: Mapping habitats in beach, dune, and intertidal environments along the Louisiana Gulf of Mexico shoreline, 2008 and 2015–16

Barrier islands, headlands, and coastal shorelines provide numerous valuable ecosystem goods and services, including storm protection and erosion control for the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, salinity regulation in estuaries, carbon sequestration in marshes, and areas for recreation and tourism. These coastal features are dynamic environments because of their position at the land-sea interface. Storms, wave energy, tides, currents, and relative sea-level rise are powerful forces that shape local geomorphology and habitat distribution. In order to make more informed decisions, coastal resource managers require insights into how these dynamic systems are changing through time. In 2005, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, in partnership with the University of New Orleans and the U.S. Geological Survey, developed the Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program. The goal of the BICM Program is to develop long-term datasets for habitat coverage, shoreline assessments, shoreline position, topobathymetric changes, and sediment characterization to assist with planning, designing, evaluating, and maintaining current and future barrier shorelines. The overall objectives of the study described in this report were to (1) map habitats for 2008 and 2015–16 for BICM coastal reaches and (2) map habitat change between these two time periods. This report highlights the second phase of habitat analyses for the BICM Program. This work builds on a previous habitat analysis conducted by the University of New Orleans, which included the development of habitat maps for 1996/1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005, along with habitat change maps. For this current effort, a new 15-class habitat scheme was developed from the original BICM scheme to further delineate various dune habitats, including meadow habitat found along the backslopes of dunes, to distinguish between marsh and mangrove, and to distinguish between beach and unvegetated barrier flat habitats. Additionally, a geographic object-based image analysis-based mapping framework was used to incorporate relative topography and address elevation uncertainty in light detection and ranging data to assist with mapping dune and intertidal habitats. For the entire BICM region, the area experiencing a change in a land/water category (that is, land gain or land loss) was 3.4 percent, of which, 59.2 percent was land gain and 40.8 percent was land loss. Areal coverages of meadow, mangrove, scrub/shrub, and vegetated dune increased from 2008 to 2015–16, whereas areal coverages of beach, grassland, and intertidal decreased. The decrease in intertidal, however, was largely due to differing water levels in the orthophotography between the two time periods. Regional analyses of habitat coverage and habitat change captured the dynamic nature of these systems and the effects of restoration efforts, most notably in the Late Lafourche Delta, Modern Delta, and Chandeleur Islands regions. For instance, in the Modern Delta region there was a marked increase in unvegetated flat, meadow, mangrove, scrub/shrub, beach, unvegetated dune, and vegetated dune. As a result, this region experienced the highest percent change for land/water classes (6.6 percent) with land gain accounting for much of this change (70.8 percent). In contrast, the Acadiana Bays region had the highest relative percent loss of all regions. The region had a percent change for land/water classes of 2.8 percent, of which, 79.7 percent was land loss. The results of this study provide information about the areal coverage and distribution of habitats for two recent time periods and change over about an 8-year period. These data can be used to evaluate changes along the Louisiana Gulf of Mexico shoreline, including gradual changes caused by coastal processes, restoration actions, and (or) episodic events, such as hurricanes and extreme storms.

Louisiana↗
USGS1997

A citywide breeding bird survey for Washington, D.C.

`DC Birdscape' was initiated in 1993 to systematically count the birds occurring throughout Washington D.C. during the breeding season. It involved a coordinated planning effort and partnership between the Audubon Naturalist Society, the National Park Service, and the National Biological Survey, and engaged the participation of more than 100 volunteers. A method for rapidly assessing the status of bird populations over a large area was developed and incorporated into a Geographic Information System to allow a multidimensional analysis of species presence and abundance across a variety of urban land use areas. A total of 91 species were observed, with an estimated total number of 115, making Washington D.C. almost as `bird rich' as nearby suburban counties. Data from the study clearly indicate that avian species are not randomly distributed throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, and show affinity, at least in part, to some of the most broadly recognized land use patterns that are commonly used to zone and classify urban areas under development schemes. This study represents a prototype that will allow efficient and economical monitoring of urban bird populations.

Washington, D.C.↗
USGS2008

Inventory of Well Yields in Avery and Watauga Counties, North Carolina

More than 1,500 well records were compiled for Avery and Watauga Counties, North Carolina, as part of a study of ground-water resources. Wells in this area of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province produce water from the fractured-bedrock aquifer. Prior to this study, only about 132 wells were included in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System, as a result of a study conducted during the late 1960s. The large number of additional well records provide a better data set to evaluate the ground-water resources. From the more recent well inventory conducted in 2007, the range of well yields in these two counties is from 0 to 400 gallons per minute. Total depth of the wells ranged from 20 to 1,204 feet below land surface, and depth to primary fracture zones ranged from 25 to 1,000 feet below land surface. In many rural areas of North Carolina (NC), ground water is the sole resource for drinking water. With increasing population, many more wells are being drilled, and information on this important resource needs to be updated. In February 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated a study in cooperation with the High Country Council of Governments, through a grant received by the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, to better quantify available ground-water resources in two rural counties (Avery and Watauga) in the northern North Carolina mountains. Many small towns in Avery and Watauga counties are dependent on wells from local fractured-bedrock aquifers, and local officials are concerned about the sustainability of the resource for support of economic development and population growth. In 2005, all residents in Avery County were served by ground-water resources, while 37 percent of the population in Watauga County was served by ground water (D.G. Smith, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 2007).

North Carolina↗
USGS1983

The role of digital cartographic data in the geosciences

The increasing demand of the Nation's natural resource developers for the manipulation, analysis, and display of large quantities of earth-science data has necessitated the use of computers and the building of geoscience information systems. These systems require, in digital form, the spatial data on map products. The basic cartographic data shown on quadrangle maps provide a foundation for the addition of geological and geophysical data. If geoscience information systems are to realize their full potential, large amounts of digital cartographic base data must be available. A major goal of the U.S. Geological Survey is to create, maintain, manage, and distribute a national cartographic and geographic digital database. This unified database will contain numerous categories (hydrography, hypsography, land use, etc.) that, through the use of standardized data-element definitions and formats, can be used easily and flexibly to prepare cartographic products and perform geoscience analysis. ?? 1983.

Computers & Geosciences↗
USGS1987

Producing Alaska interim land cover maps from Landsat digital and ancillary data

In 1985, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a research program to produce 1:250,000-scale land cover maps of Alaska using digital Landsat multispectral scanner data and ancillary data and to evaluate the potential of establishing a statewide land cover mapping program using this approach. The geometrically corrected and resampled Landsat pixel data are registered to a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, along with arc-second digital elevation model data used as an aid in the final computer classification. Areas summaries of the land cover classes are extracted by merging the Landsat digital classification files with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Public Land Survey digital file. Registration of the digital land cover data is verified and control points are identified so that a laser plotter can products screened film separate for printing the classification data at map scale directly from the digital file. The final land cover classification is retained both as a color map at 1:250,000 scale registered to the U.S. Geological Survey base map, with area summaries by township and range on the reverse, and as a digital file where it may be used as a category in a geographic information system.

Alaska↗
USGS1988

Water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Texas– Fiscal year 1987

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1879, to provide a permanent Federal agency to conduct the systematic and scientific classification of the public lands and to examine the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of national domain. An integral part of that original mission includes publishing and disseminating the earth science information needed to understand, to plan the use of, and to manage the Nation's energy, land, mineral, and water resources. Since 1879, the research and fact-finding role of the USGS has grown and been modified to meet the changing needs of the Nation it serves. As part of that evolution, the USGS has become the Federal Government's largest earthscience research agency, the Nation's largest civilian mapmaking agency, the primary source of data on the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and the employer of the largest number of professional earth scientists. Today's programs serve a diversity of needs and users. Programs include: Conducting detailed assessments of the energy and mineral potential of the Nation's land and offshore areas. Investigating and issuing warnings of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other geologic and hydrologic hazards. Conducting research on the geologic structure of the Nation. Studying the geologic features, structure, processes, and history of the other planets of our solar system. Conducting topographic surveys of the Nation and preparing topographic and thematic maps and related cartographic products. Developing and producing digital cartographic data bases and products. Collecting data on a routine basis to determine the quantity, quality, and use of surface and ground water. Conducting water-resources appraisals in order to describe the consequences of alternative plans for developing land and water resources. Conducting research in hydraulics and hydrology and coordinating all Federal water-data acquisition. Using remotely sensed data to develop new cartographic, geologic, and hydrologic research techniques for natural resources planning and management. Providing earth-science information through an extensive publications program and a network of public access points. Along with its continuing commitment to meet the growing and changing earthscience information needs of the Nation, the USGS remains dedicated to its original mission to collect, analyze, interpret, publish, and disseminate information about the natural resources of the Nation providing "earth science in the public service."

Texas↗
USGS1993

Summary of water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Texas– Fiscal years 1989-92

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1879, to provide a permanent Federal agency to conduct the systematic and scientific classification of the public lands and to examine the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of national domain. An integral part of that original mission includes publishing and disseminating the earth science information needed to understand, to plan the use of, and to manage the Nation's energy, land, mineral, and water resources. Since 1879, the research and fact-finding role of the USGS has grown and been modified to meet the changing needs of the Nation it serves. As part of that evolution, the USGS has become the Federal Government's largest earth-science research agency, the Nation's largest civilian mapmaking agency, the primary source of data on the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and the employer of the largest number of professional earth scientists. Today's (1992) programs serve a diversity of needs and users. Conducting detailed assessments of the energy and mineral potential of the Nation's land and offshore areas. Investigating and issuing warnings of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other geologic and hydrologic hazards. Conducting research on the geologic structure of the Nation. Studying the geologic features, structure, processes, and history of the other planets of our solar system. Conducting topographic surveys of the Nation and preparing topographic and thematic maps and related cartographic products. Developing and producing digital cartographic data bases and products. Collecting data on a routine basis to determine the quantity, quality, and use of surface and ground water. Conducting water-resources appraisals in order to describe the consequences of alternative plans for developing land and water resources. Conducting research in hydraulics and hydrology and coordinating all Federal water-data acquisition. Using remotely sensed data to develop new cartographic, geologic, and hydrologic research techniques for natural resources planning and management. Providing earth-science information through an extensive publications program and a network of public access points. Along with its continuing commitment to meet the growing and changing earth-science information needs of the Nation, the USGS remains dedicated to its original mission to collect, analyze, interpret, publish, and disseminate information about the natural resources of the Nation-providing "earth science in the public service."

Texas↗
USGS2016

Estimated historical distribution of grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains

The purpose of this project was to map the estimated distribution of grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains prior to Euro-American settlement. The Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA), under the direction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative, includes four ecoregions: the High Plains, Central Great Plains, Southwestern Tablelands, and the Nebraska Sand Hills. The REA advisors and stakeholders determined that the mapping accuracy of available national land-cover maps was insufficient in many areas to adequately address management questions for the REA. Based on the recommendation of the REA stakeholders, we estimated the potential historical distribution of 10 grassland communities within the Southern Great Plains project area using data on soils, climate, and vegetation from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) including the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) and Ecological Site Information System (ESIS). The dominant grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains addressed as conservation elements for the REA area are shortgrass, mixed-grass, and sand prairies. We also mapped tall-grass, mid-grass, northwest mixed-grass, and cool season bunchgrass prairies, saline and foothill grasslands, and semi-desert grassland and steppe. Grassland communities were primarily defined using the annual productivity of dominant species in the ESIS data. The historical grassland community classification was linked to the SSURGO data using vegetation types associated with the predominant component of mapped soil units as defined in the ESIS data. We augmented NRCS data with Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) Biophysical Settings classifications 1) where NRCS data were unavailable and 2) where fifth-level watersheds intersected the boundary of the High Plains ecoregion in Wyoming. Spatial data representing the estimated historical distribution of grassland communities of the Southern Great Plains are provided as a 30 x 30-meter gridded surface (raster dataset). This information will help to address the priority management questions for grassland communities for the Southern Great Plains REA and can be used to inform other regional-level land management decisions.

Southern Great Plains↗
USGS1985

Water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Texas; fiscal years 1982-84

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1879, to provide a permanent Federal agency to conduct the systematic and scientific classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of national domain. An integral part of that original mission includes publishing and disseminating the earth-science information needed to understand, to plan the use of, and to manage the Nation's energy, land, mineral, and water resources. Since 1879, the research and fact-finding role of the USGS has grown and been modified to meet the changing needs of the Nation it serves. As part of that evolution, the USGS has become the Federal Government's largest earth-science research agency, the Nation's largest civilian mapmaking agency, the primary source of data on the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and the employer of the largest number of professional earth scientists. Today's programs serve a diversity of needs and users. Programs include: Conducting detailed assessments of the energy and mineral potential of the Nation's land and offshore areas. Investigating and issuing warnings of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and other geologic and hydrologic hazards. Conducting research on the geologic structure of the Nation. Studying the geologic features, structure, processes, and history of the other planets of our solar system. Conducting topographic surveys of the Nation and preparing topographic and thematic maps and related cartographic products. Developing and producing digital cartographic data bases and products. Collecting data on a routine basis to determine the quantity, quality, and use of surface and ground water. Conducting water-resources appraisals in order to describe the consequences of alternative plans for developing land and water resources. Conducting research in hydraulics and hydrology and coordinating all Federal water-data acquisition. Using remotely sensed data to develop new cartographic, geologic, and hydrologic research techniques for natural resources planning and management. Providing earth-science information through an extensive publications program and a network of public access points. Along with its continuing commitment to meet the growing and changing earthscience information needs of the Nation, the USGS remains dedicated to its original mission to collect, analyze, interpret, publish, and disseminate information about the natural resources of the Nation providing "earth science in the public service."

Open-File Report↗
USGS2008

Bathymetric Survey and Storage Capacity of Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff, Arizona

Upper Lake Mary is a preferred drinking-water source for the City of Flagstaff, Arizona. Therefore, storage capacity and sedimentation issues in Upper Lake Mary are of interest to the City. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Flagstaff, collected bathymetric and land-survey data in Upper Lake Mary during late August through October 2006. Water-depth data were collected using a single-beam, high-definition fathometer. Position data were collected using real-time differential global position system receivers. Data were processed using commercial software and imported into geographic information system software to produce contour maps of lakebed elevations and for the computation of area and storage-capacity information. At full pool (spillway elevation of 6,828.5 feet above mean sea level), Upper Lake Mary has a storage capacity of 16,300 acre-feet, a surface area of 939 acres, a mean depth of 17.4 feet, and a depth near the dam of 39 feet. It is 5.6 miles long and varies in width from 308 feet near the central, narrow portion of the lake to 2,630 feet in the upper portion. Comparisons between this survey and a previous survey conducted in the 1950s indicate no apparent decrease in reservoir area or storage capacity between the two surveys.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2017

Geospatial analysis identifies critical mineral-resource potential in Alaska

Alaska consists of more than 663,000 square miles (1,717,000 square kilometers) of land—more than a sixth of the total area of the United States—and large tracts of it have not been system atically studied or sampled for mineral- resource potential. Many regions of the State are known to have significant mineral-resource potential, and there are currently six operating mines in the State along with numerous active mineral exploration projects. The U.S. Geologi cal Survey and the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys have developed a new geospatial tool that integrates and analyzes publicly available databases of geologic information and estimates the mineral-resource potential for criti cal minerals, which was recently used to evaluate Alaska. The results of the analyses highlight areas that have known mineral deposits and also reveal areas that were not previously considered to be prospective for these deposit types. These results will inform land manage ment decisions by Federal, State, and private landholders, and will also help guide future exploration activities and scientific investigations in Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2022

Multi-species inference of exotic annual and native perennial grasses in rangelands of the western United States using Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data

The invasion of exotic annual grass (EAG), e.g., cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ) and medusahead ( Taeniatherum caput-medusae ), into rangeland ecosystems of the western United States is a broad-scale problem that affects wildlife habitats, increases wildfire frequency, and adds to land management costs. However, identifying individual species of EAG abundance from remote sensing, particularly at early stages of invasion or growth, can be problematic because of overlapping controls and similar phenological characteristics among native and other exotic vegetation. Subsequently, refining and developing tools capable of quantifying the abundance and phenology of annual and perennial grass species would be beneficial to help inform conservation and management efforts at local to regional scales. Here, we deploy an enhanced version of the U.S. Geological Survey Rangeland Exotic Plant Monitoring System to develop timely and accurate maps of annual (2016–2020) and intra-annual (May 2021 and July 2021) abundances of exotic annual and perennial grass species throughout the rangelands of the western United States. This monitoring system leverages field observations and remote-sensing data with artificial intelligence/machine learning to rapidly produce annual and early season estimates of species abundances at a 30-m spatial resolution. We introduce a fully automated and multi-task deep-learning framework to simultaneously predict and generate weekly, near-seamless composites of Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 spectral data. These data, along with auxiliary datasets and time series metrics, are incorporated into an ensemble of independent XGBoost models. This study demonstrates that inclusion of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and Normalized Difference Wetness Index time-series data generated from our deep-learning framework enables near real-time and accurate mapping of EAG (Median Absolute Error (MdAE): 3.22, 2.72, and 0.02; and correlation coefficient (r): 0.82, 0.81, and 0.73; respectively for EAG, cheatgrass, and medusahead) and native perennial grass abundance (MdAE: 2.51, r:0.72 for Sandberg bluegrass ( Poa secunda )). Our approach and the resulting data provide insights into rangeland grass dynamics, which will be useful for applications, such as fire and drought monitoring, habitat suitability mapping, as well as land-cover and land-change modelling. Spatially explicit, timely, and accurate species-specific abundance datasets provide invaluable information to land managers.

western United States↗
USGS2009

Channel, floodplain, and wetland responses to floods and overbank sedimentation, 1846-2006, Halfway Creek Marsh, Upper Mississippi Valley, Wisconsin

Conversion of upland forest and prairie vegetation to agricultural land uses, following Euro-American settlement in the Upper Mississippi River System, led to accelerated runoff and soil erosion that subsequently transformed channels, floodplains, and wetlands on bottomlands. Halfway Creek Marsh, at the junction of Halfway Creek and the Mississippi River on Wisconsin's western border, is representative of such historical transformation. This marsh became the focus of a 2005-2006 investigation by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who used an understanding of the historical transformation to help managers identify possible restoration alternatives for Halfway Creek Marsh. Field-scale topographic surveys and sediment cores provided data for reconstructing patterns and rates of historical overbank sedimentation in the marsh. Information culled from historical maps, aerial photographs, General Land Offi ce Survey notes, and other historical documents helped establish the timing of anthropogenic disturbances and document changes in channel patterns. Major human disturbances, in addition to agricultural land uses, included railroad and road building, construction of artifi cial levees, drainage alterations, and repeated dam failures associated with large floods. A volume of approximately 1,400,000 m 3 , involving up to 2 m of sandy historical overbank deposition, is stored through the upper and lower marshes and along the adjacent margins of Halfway Creek and its principal tributary, Sand Lake Coulee. The estimated overbank sedimentation rate for the entire marsh is ??3,000 m 3 yr- 1 for the recent period 1994-2006. In spite of reduced surface runoff and soil erosion in recent years, this recent sedimentation rate still exceeds by ??4 times the early settlement (1846-1885) rate of 700 m 3 yr- 1 , when anthropogenic acceleration of upland surface runoff and soil erosion was beginning. The highest rate of historical bottomland sedimentation occurred from 1919 to 1936, when the estimated overbank sedimentation rate was 20,400 m 3 yr- 1 . This rate exceeded by nearly 30 times the 1846-1886 rate. Artifi cial levees were constructed along the upper reach of Halfway Creek in the marsh during the early twentieth century to restrict fl ooding on the adjacent bottomlands. Anomalously high overbank sedimentation rates subsequently occurred on the fl oodplain between the levees, which also facilitated more effi cient transport of sediment into the lower marsh bottomland. Although overbank sedimentation rates dropped after 1936, corresponding to the widespread adoption of soil-conservation and agricultural best-management practices, the continuation of anomalously high overbank sedimentation between the levees led to increased bank heights and development of a relatively deep channel. The deep cross-section morphology is commonly mistaken as evidence of channel incision; however, this morphology actually resulted from excessive overbank sedimentation. The historical metamorphosis of the Halfway Creek channel and riparian wetlands underscores the importance of understanding the long-term history of channel and fl oodplain evolution when restoration of channels and riparian wetlands are under consideration. Sedimentation patterns and channel morphology for Halfway Creek Marsh probably are representative of other anthropogenically altered riparian wetlands in the Upper Mississippi River System and similar landscapes elsewhere.

Special Paper of the Geological Society of America↗
USGS2012

National wildlife refuge visitor survey 2010/2011: Individual refuge results

The National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System), established in 1903 and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), is the leading network of protected lands and waters in the world dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and their habitats. There are 556 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts nationwide, encompassing more than 150 million acres. The Refuge System attracts more than 45 million visitors annually, including 25 million people per year to observe and photograph wildlife, over 9 million to hunt and fish, and more than 10 million to participate in educational and interpretation programs. Understanding visitors and characterizing their experiences on national wildlife refuges are critical elements of managing these lands and meeting the goals of the Refuge System. The Service collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct a national survey of visitors regarding their experiences on national wildlife refuges. The survey was conducted to better understand visitor needs and experiences and to design programs and facilities that respond to those needs. The survey results will inform Service performance planning, budget, and communications goals. Results will also inform Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCPs), Visitor Services, and Transportation Planning processes. This data series consists of 53 separate data files. Each file describes the results of the survey for an individual refuge and contains the following information: * Introduction: An overview of the Refuge System and the goals of the national surveying effort. * Methods: The procedures for the national surveying effort, including selecting refuges, developing the survey instrument, contacting visitors, and guidance for interpreting the results. * Refuge Description: A brief description of the refuge location, acreage, purpose, recreational activities, and visitation statistics, including a map (where available) and refuge website link. * Sampling at This Refuge: The sampling periods, locations, and response rate for the refuge. * Selected Survey Results: Key findings for the refuge, including: - Visitor and Trip Characteristics - Visitor Spending in the Local Communities - Visitors Opinions about This Refuge - Visitor Opinions about National Wildlife Refuge System Topics * Conclusion * References * Survey Frequencies (Appendix A): The survey instrument with the frequency results for this refuge. * Visitor Comments (Appendix B): The verbatim responses to the open-ended survey questions for this refuge. Combined results for the 53 participating refuges are available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/685/ as part of USGS Data Series 685.

Data Series↗
USGS2013

California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project--shallow aquifer assessment

The California State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) GAMA Program is a comprehensive assessment of statewide groundwater quality in California. From 2004 to 2012, the GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project focused on assessing groundwater resources used for public drinking-water supplies. More than 2,000 public-supply wells were sampled by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for this effort. Starting in 2012, the GAMA Priority Basin Project began an assessment of water resources in shallow aquifers in California. These shallow aquifers provide water for domestic and small community-supply wells, which are often drilled to shallower depths in the groundwater system than public-supply wells. Shallow aquifers are of interest because shallow groundwater may respond more quickly and be more susceptible to contamination from human activities at the land surface, than the deeper aquifers. The SWRCB’s GAMA Program was developed in response to the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 (Water Code sections 10780-10782.3): a public mandate to assess and monitor the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking-water supplies, and to increase the availability of information about groundwater quality to the public. The U.S. Geological Survey is the technical lead of the Priority Basin Project. Stewardship of California’s groundwater resources is a responsibility shared between well owners, communities, and the State. Participants and collaborators in the GAMA Program include Regional Water Quality Control Boards, Department of Water Resources, Department of Public Health, local and regional groundwater management entities, county and local water agencies, community groups, and private citizens. Well-owner participation in the GAMA Program is entirely voluntary.

California↗
USGS1996

Relation of physical and chemical characteristics of streams to fish communities in the Red River of the North basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, 1993-95

Fish community composition was determined at 33 reaches (average length 150 meters) at 22 sites in the Red River of the North Basin during 1994. Sites were selected to represent a range of stream sizes and ecoregions within the basin. Physical and chemical characteristics (classified in data sets of instream habitat, terrestrial habitat, hydrology, and water quality) were determined for various sites for periods ranging from two to 48 years. Instream habitat measurements were made from 1993 through 1995 for 31 reaches at 19 sites. Terrestrial habitat measures of land use/land cover, soils, and riparian zones were determined from a geographical information system coverage for 23 reaches at 14 sites. The geographical information system coverage used data from aerial photographs taken from 1990 and 1991, National Wetlands Inventory data, soils maps from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture soils data base. Water chemistry data were collected from 14 sites in the basin from 1993 through 1994. Hydrologic variability was determined from U.S. Geological Survey gaging records. Correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and principal components analysis were used to determine representative variables which accounted for the most variation in each data set. The representative variables and the fish community data were analyzed with canonical correspondence analysis to determine the relative effect of each source of environmental influence on fish community composition. Instream habitat, terrestrial habitat, and hydrologic variability were analyzed together. Water chemistry data were analyzed separately due to a lack of corresponding sites. Within the instream habitat data set, measures of habitat volume (channel width and depth) and habitat diversity were most significant in explaining the variability of the fish communities. The amount of nonagricultural land and riparian zone integrity from the terrestrial habitat data set were also useful in explaining fish community composition. Variability of mean monthly discharge and the frequency of high and low discharge events during the three years prior to fish sampling were the most influential of the hydrologic variables.The first two axes of the canonical correspondence analysis accounted for 43.3 percent of the variation in the fish community and 52.5 percent of the variation in the environmental-species relation. Water-quality indicators such as the percent of fine material in suspended sediment, minimum dissolved oxygen concentrations, minimum concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, and the range of concentrations of major ions and nutrients were the variables that were most important in the canonical correspondence analysis of water-quality data with fish. No single environmental variable or data set appeared to be more important than another in explaining variation in the fish community. The environmental factors affecting the fish communities of the Red River of the North are interrelated. For the most part, instream environmental conditions (instream habitat, hydrology, and water chemistry) appear to be more important in explaining variability in fish community composition than factors related to the agricultural nature of the basin.

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota↗
USGS2017

Integrating future scenario‐based crop expansion and crop conditions to map switchgrass biofuel potential in eastern Nebraska, USA

Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ) has been evaluated as one potential source for cellulosic biofuel feedstocks. Planting switchgrass in marginal croplands and waterway buffers can reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and improve regional ecosystem services (i.e. it serves as a potential carbon sink). In previous studies, we mapped high risk marginal croplands and highly erodible cropland buffers that are potentially suitable for switchgrass development, which would improve ecosystem services and minimally impact food production. In this study, we advance our previous study results and integrate future crop expansion information to develop a switchgrass biofuel potential ensemble map for current and future croplands in eastern Nebraska. The switchgrass biomass productivity and carbon benefits (i.e. NEP: net ecosystem production) for the identified biofuel potential ensemble areas were quantified. The future scenario‐based (‘A1B’) land use and land cover map for 2050, the US Geological Survey crop type and Compound Topographic Index (CTI) maps, and long‐term (1981–2010) averaged annual precipitation data were used to identify future crop expansion regions that are suitable for switchgrass development. Results show that 2528 km 2 of future crop expansion regions (~3.6% of the study area) are potentially suitable for switchgrass development. The total estimated biofuel potential ensemble area (including cropland buffers, marginal croplands, and future crop expansion regions) is 4232 km 2 (~6% of the study area), potentially producing 3.52 million metric tons of switchgrass biomass per year. Converting biofuel ensemble regions to switchgrass leads to potential carbon sinks (the total NEP for biofuel potential areas is 0.45 million metric tons C) and is environmentally sustainable. Results from this study improve our understanding of environmental conditions and ecosystem services of current and future cropland systems in eastern Nebraska and provide useful information to land managers to make land use decisions regarding switchgrass development.

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