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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2024

Germination information for common Arizona restoration species

Seed-based ecological restoration is an approach used to revegetate damaged and disturbed habitats by spreading seed with the expectation that germination will occur and plants will become established and flourish. Although restoration can enhance the health and productivity of landscapes by reinvigorating ecosystem services both directly and indirectly, successful restoration is difficult to achieve – particularly in arid systems (Copeland et al. 2018). Germination is a well known bottleneck to plant growth that prohibits successful restoration (James at al. 2011).

Cooperative Extension Publication↗
USGS1982

Feeding Wild Birds

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, Publicatio↗
USGS2021

Using the California Waterfowl Tracker to assess proximity of waterfowl to commercial poultry in the Central Valley of California

Migratory waterfowl are the primary reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIV) which can be spread to commercial poultry. Surveillance efforts that track the location and abundance of wild waterfowl and link those data to inform assessments of risk and sampling for AIV currently do not exist. To assist surveillance and minimize poultry exposure to AIV, here we explored the utility of remotely sensed MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery in combination with land-based climate measurements (e.g., temperature and precipitation) to predict waterfowl location and abundance in near real-time in the California Central Valley (CCV), where both wild waterfowl and domestic poultry are densely located. Specifically, remotely collected MODIS and climate data were integrated into a previously developed Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) model to predict and visualize waterfowl distributions across the CCV. Daily model-based predictions are publicly available during the winter as part of the dynamic California Waterfowl Tracker (CWT) web-app hosted on the University of California’s Cooperative Extension webpage. In this study, we analyzed 52 days of model predictions and produced daily spatio-temporal maps of waterfowl concentrations near the 605 commercial poultry farms in the CCV during January and February of 2019. Exposure of each poultry farm to waterfowl during each day was classified as “high”, “medium”, “low”, or “none” depending on the density of waterfowl within 4 km of a farm. Results indicated that farms were at substantially greater risk of “exposure” in January, when CCV waterfowl populations peak, than in February. For example, during January, 33% (199/605) of the farms were exposed ≥ 1 day to “high” waterfowl density versus 19% (115/605) of the farms in February. In addition to demonstrating the overall variability of waterfowl location and density, these data demonstrate how remote sensing can be used to better triage AIV surveillance and biosecurity efforts via the utilization of a functional web-app based tool. The ability to leverage remote sensing is an integral advancement toward improving AIV surveillance in waterfowl in close proximity to commercial poultry. Expansion of these types of remote sensing methods linked to a user-friendly web-tool could be further developed across the continental U.S. The BRT model incorporated into the CWT reflects a first attempt to give an accurate representation of waterfowl distribution and density relative to commercial poultry.

California↗
USGS2022

The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension to the Geologic Map Schema (GeMS)

Geologic maps are the fundamental building blocks of surface and subsurface three-dimensional geologic framework models of the Earth’s crust. However, as the production and availability of geologic map databases continues to increase, inconsistent data models and the lack of synthesized, national geologic map data at scales appropriate for informed decision making negatively affect the functional integration of geologic map data with other national datasets. The Geologic Map Schema (GeMS) is the publication and archive database standard for geologic map data funded by the U.S. Geological Survey National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, and standardizes the organization and content of a single map database. However, synthesizing multiple databases into a seamless geologic map database creates a different set of challenges and database needs than GeMS was designed to accommodate. The Seamless Integrated Geologic Mapping (SIGMa) extension is designed to expand the capabilities of GeMS by enabling integration of map-based geoscience data. In particular, the SIGMa extension enables capturing a diverse and ever-changing set of map units, produced by many contributors operating independently, and by incremental and noncontiguous assembly and publication. Feature-level metadata fields allow data sources and digital compilation methods to be attributed separately and a relational structure is designed to support the link between data sources and features attributed with multiple data sources. Instead of paragraph-style map-unit descriptions that can be highly inconsistent, SIGMa parses fundamental map-unit attributes, including material, genetic process, and age, into thematically specific fields. The SIGMa extension uses a hierarchical map-unit organization to facilitate a dynamic and evolving, formation-level stratigraphic framework. The hierarchy is developed around geologic provinces that represent temporally restricted geologic events, processes, and settings. Geologic provinces can include magmatic events, depositional settings associated with tectonic processes or stable continental margins, and processes that are actively shaping the modern landscape. A geologic province hierarchy places map units into a geologic context at subregional to continental scales and provides the flexibility to support incremental assembly of the stratigraphy.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2015

Invasive Species Science Branch: research and management tools for controlling invasive species

Invasive, nonnative species of plants, animals, and disease organisms adversely affect the ecosystems they enter. Like “biological wildfires,” they can quickly spread and affect nearly all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species have become one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st century in economic, environmental, and human health costs, with an estimated effect in the United States of more than $120 billion per year. Managers of the Department of the Interior and other public and private lands often rank invasive species as their top resource management problem. The Invasive Species Science Branch of the Fort Collins Science Center provides research and technical assistance relating to management concerns for invasive species, including understanding how these species are introduced, identifying areas vulnerable to invasion, forecasting invasions, and developing control methods. To disseminate this information, branch scientists are developing platforms to share invasive species information with DOI cooperators, other agency partners, and the public. From these and other data, branch scientists are constructing models to understand and predict invasive species distributions for more effective management. The branch also has extensive herpetological and population biology expertise that is applied to harmful reptile invaders such as the Brown Treesnake on Guam and Burmese Python in Florida.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2015

Conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation area, South Dakota, water years 1980-2009

The Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers are the largest sources of groundwater on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and are used extensively for irrigation and public and domestic water supplies. To assess the potential for decreased water levels and discharge to streams in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers in southwestern South Dakota were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The study area includes most of the Pine Ridge Reservation in Jackson and Shannon Counties and Indian trust lands in Bennett County in southwestern South Dakota. The High Plains aquifer, which includes the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers, generally is less developed in South Dakota compared with other areas underlain by this aquifer; therefore, water levels in the High Plains aquifer in South Dakota generally fluctuated by less than 5 feet (ft) from 1980 to 1999. Despite minimal water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer in South Dakota, extensive withdrawals of groundwater for irrigation have caused water-level declines in many areas and increased concerns about the long-term sustainability of the aquifer; therefore, continued or increased withdrawals from the aquifer or prolonged drought may have the potential to affect water levels within the aquifer and discharge to important streams in the area. The Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers generally consist of poorly consolidated claystones, siltstones, sandstones, and shale deposited in fluvial and lacustrine environments. Saturated thicknesses ranged from 10 to 314 ft for the Ogllala aquifer and from 10 to 862 ft for the Arikaree aquifer. Previous hydraulic conductivity estimates ranged from less than 1 to 180 feet per day (ft/d) for the Ogallala aquifer and from less than 1 to 13 ft/d for the Arikaree aquifer. Recharge to the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers is from precipitation on the outcrop areas, and discharge occurs through evapotranspiration, discharge to streams, and well withdrawals. Evapotranspiration generally occurs in topographically low areas along streams, and maximum evapotranspiration occurs when the water level is at the land surface. The generalized groundwater-flow direction is to the northeast with local flow towards streams. Precipitation for water years 1980–2009 ranged from about 11 to 39 inches per year (in/yr) and averaged about 19 in/yr. Estimated mean recharge for water years 1980–2009 was about 17.3 percent of precipitation for the Ogallala aquifer and 7.9 percent of precipitation for the Arikaree aquifer. The estimated mean maximum evapotranspiration for water years 1980–2009 was about 35 in/yr. Estimated mean base flow for gaged streams was about 0.06 cubic foot per second (ft 3 /s) per square mile of drainage area. Estimated mean total water use for water years 1980–2009 was 5.4 ft 3 /s from the Ogallala aquifer and 7.1 ft 3 /s from the Arikaree aquifer. A two-layer numerical groundwater-flow model was constructed using MODFLOW–NWT with a uniformly spaced grid consisting of 166 rows and 288 columns with cells 1,640 ft on a side. The numerical model of the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers was used to simulate steady-state and transient conditions for water years 1980–2009. Model calibration was accomplished using the Parameter ESTimation (PEST) program that adjusted individual model input parameters and assessed the difference between estimated and model-simulated values of hydraulic head and base flow. Aquifer boundaries were no-flow on the northern and western sides and constant-head on the southern and eastern sides. The mean arithmetic difference was 1.4 ft between the 731 simulated and observed hydraulic heads in the Ogallala aquifer and 9.8 ft between the 2,754 simulated and observed hydraulic heads in the Arikaree aquifer. Simulated mean discharge from the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers to selected stream reaches was 92.1 ft 3 /s compared to estimated discharge of 88.7 ft 3 /s. Calibrated recharge for the transient simulation averaged 3.3 in/yr for the Ogallala aquifer and 1.1 in/yr for the Arikaree aquifer. The mean maximum potential evapotranspiration rate was 35.4 in/yr. Streambed conductance for perennial stream reaches averaged 530 feet squared per day. Horizontal hydraulic conductivity averaged 27 ft/d for the Ogallala aquifer and 1.0 ft/d for the Arikaree aquifer. The vertical hydraulic conductivity averaged 1.4 ft/d for the Ogallala aquifer and 0.004 ft/d for the Arikaree aquifer. Specific yield for the Ogallala aquifer was 0.15 (dimensionless) and averaged 0.02 for the Arikaree aquifer. Specific storage for the Arikaree aquifer was 1.7x10 -6 per foot. Simulated steady-state model inflow and outflow was 459 ft 3 /s. The percentages of inflows were 17 percent from constant-head boundaries, 9 percent from streams, and 74 percent from recharge. Percentages of outflow were 8 percent to constant-head boundaries, 1 percent to wells, 31 percent to streams, and 59 percent to evapotranspiration. Simulated net inflow from the Ogallala aquifer to the Arikaree aquifer ranged from about 22 ft 3 /s in dry years to about 37 ft 3 /s in wet years. Two hypothetical future stress scenarios were simulated using input from the 30-year calibrated simulation of water years 1980–2009. The first hypothetical scenario represented an increase in groundwater withdrawals from 50 hypothetical production wells completed in the Arikaree aquifer. At the end of the 30-year hypothetical increased pumping simulation, water levels declined as much as 66 ft in the Arikaree aquifer, decreased discharge to streams accounted for about 26 percent (2.6 ft 3 /s) of increased withdrawals, and decreased evapotranspiration accounted for about 53 (5.3 ft 3 /s) percent of increased withdrawals. The second hypothetical scenario represented a 30-year period of decreased recharge (drought) by decreasing recharge 0.2 inch (24 ft 3 /s) for each water year. At the end of the hypothetical drought simulation, water levels declined as much as 10.9 ft in the Arikaree aquifer, decreased discharge to streams accounted for about 23 percent (5.5 ft 3 /s) of decreased recharge, and decreased evapotranspiration accounted for about 72 percent (17.3 ft 3 /s) of decreased recharge. The numerical model is a tool that could be used to better understand the flow system of the Ogallala and Arikaree aquifers, to approximate hydraulic heads in the aquifer, and to estimate discharge to rivers, springs, and seeps in the Pine Ridge Reservation area in Bennett, Jackson, and Shannon Counties. The model also is useful to help assess the response of the aquifer to additional stress, including potential increased well withdrawals and potential drought conditions.

South Dakota↗
USGS2002

The National Biological Information Infrastructure as an E-Government tool

Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. Although it was begun in 1993, predating any formal E-Government initiative, the NBII typifies the E-Government concepts outlined in the President's Management Agenda, as well as in the proposed E-Government Act of 2002. This article-an individual case study and not a broad survey with extensive references to the literature-explores the structure and operation of the NBII in relation to several emerging trends in E-Government: end-user focus, defined and scalable milestones, public-private partnerships, alliances with stakeholders, and interagency cooperation. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Government Information Quarterly↗
USGS2025

Factors affecting the distribution of water-bearing fractures in the bedrock aquifers of West Virginia

Bedrock aquifers cover 23,601 square miles within the State of West Virginia and comprise 97.4 percent of the surficial area within the State; the remaining 2.6 percent (621 square miles) consists of alluvial sand-and-gravel and glacial outwash aquifers bordering the State’s major rivers. While West Virginia’s alluvial aquifers have been studied extensively, bedrock aquifers have only been characterized for studies completed in a few areas in Jefferson, McDowell, and Monroe Counties. Bedrock aquifers are water supplies for public supply, agriculture, industry, and residential homeowner use. In this study, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water and Waste Management, provides a statewide assessment of the occurrence and distribution of fractures within bedrock aquifers of the State and the various topographic, physiographic, and lithologic influences controlling the occurrence and distribution of bedrock fractures. The results of this study provide an increased understanding of the distribution of fractures in bedrock aquifers in West Virginia and help to verify trends that have been suspected for many years but were never well documented or verified by data. The results confirmed that the density of fractures and those that were determined to be water bearing decrease significantly with depth. A statistically significant difference in the density of fractures was observed at a depth of 215 feet for wells in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province’s and in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province’s aquifers; a higher density of fractures and water-bearing fractures were above a depth of 215 feet than below that depth. This is an important consideration when drilling wells for residential, commercial, industrial, or agricultural water supply. Abandoned underground coal mines are commonly believed to form large pools of water in the interconnected mine entries in abandoned room and pillar coal mines. Such pools of water can and do exist in abandoned underground coal mines, but many mines lack open entries and are held up by overburden strata and pillars that can collapse and form aquifers comprised of vast interconnected rubble zones (gob), especially in older mines. Data assessed for this study showed that shale-corrected values of effective porosity for limestone aquifers in West Virginia had a median value of 2 percent and an average value of 4 percent and generally are mineralized with low effective porosity. Argillaceous or sandy limestone has a median shale-corrected porosity of 4 percent and an average shale-corrected porosity of 5 percent. The median and average shale-corrected porosity of sandstone aquifers was estimated to be 14 percent, but the median shale-corrected porosity for argillaceous or calcareous sandstone was 5 percent and the average shale-corrected porosity for argillaceous or calcareous sandstone was 6 percent. Even though shale has a relatively high total sonic porosity compared to other lithologies, shale and siltstone had relatively low shale-corrected porosity, ranging from 0 to 2 percent. Well yields were previously documented to be highest in valley settings, lowest on hilltops, and intermediate on hillsides. Transmissivity data provided by this study confirm this general pattern within the Appalachian Plateaus Province; however, the Valley and Ridge Province does not follow this pattern. While still lowest on hilltop settings, the highest well yields were in hillside settings. The trend for the Valley and Ridge Province was likely skewed because of 9 high-yield wells specifically targeting deeper thin limestone units, such as the Tonoloway and Helderberg Limestones, at depths with transmissivity in excess of 2,000 feet squared per day in Mineral County, West Virginia, or targeting karst aquifers in Berkeley, Jefferson, or Greenbrier Counties, West Virginia. Finally, water-bearing fractures have been hypothesized to comprise a small number of all fractures within a typical bedrock well in West Virginia. Data collected for this study support this theory. A total of 3,403 fractures were identified during this study; 3,151 (92.6 percent) of those fractures are low-transmissive, and only 252 (7.4 percent) fractures are water-bearing. Even though a well may contain many fractures, less than 8 percent are considered water-bearing fractures.

West Virginia↗
USGS2006

Georgia's Stream-Water-Quality Monitoring Network, 2006

The USGS stream-water-quality monitoring network for Georgia is an aggregation of smaller networks and individual monitoring stations that have been established in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies. These networks collectively provide data from 130 sites, 62 of which are monitored continuously in real time using specialized equipment that transmits these data via satellite to a centralized location for processing and storage. These data are made available on the Web in near real time at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/ Ninety-eight stations are sampled periodically for a more extensive suite of chemical and biological constituents that require laboratory analysis. Both the continuous and the periodic water-quality data are archived and maintained in the USGS National Water Information System and are available to cooperators, water-resource managers, and the public. The map at right shows the USGS stream-water-quality monitoring network for Georgia and major watersheds. The network represents an aggregation of smaller networks and individual monitoring stations that collectively provide data from 130 sites.

Georgia↗
USGS2014

Amount of ground‐water recharge in the southern High Plains

For the last six years the United States Geological Survey, in cooperation with the State Engineer of New Mexico, has been making somewhat intensive studies of ground‐water in the part of the High Plains that lies in New Mexico, and in 1933 and 1934 the Geological Survey, with funas allocated by the Public Works Administration, made an extensive reconnaissance‐survey of the ground‐water conditions in the southern High Plains. These studies have resulted in considerable data that throw much light on the quantity of recharge to the ground‐water in this area. An estimate of the quantity of recharge is of immediate value for this area, because the use of ground‐water is constantly being increased. In addition, it has a general value in serving as a criterion for estimating recharge in other areas in the Southwest for which fewer data are available. Estimates of the recharge in the High Plains as previously made without the advantage of quantitative data have ranged from less than three or four inches a year [see 1 of “References” at end of paper] to less than six inches [2]. The work of the last few years indicates they should be greatly reduced.

Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas↗
USGS1950

Geologic interpretation of seismic data relocation Route 1, cut, Stations 34-52, Copper Mine Road area and northern portion of Ballard Estate in Topsfield, Mass.

Relocation of the Newburyport Turnpike, Route 1, in Topsfield, Mass., will require a long relatively deep cut between stations 34 and 52. In order to obtain preliminary information on the depths to bedrock and on the nature of the subsurface materials at this site, reconnaissance seismic work was performed in October 1949. Because this reconnaissance work indicated that bedrock might be relatively near the surface over an extensive area where cuttings were to be made, a more detailed seismic study of the area was made in November 1949. The results of both the reconnaissance and detailed seismic work are included in this report. The work was done as part of a cooperative program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1989

Effects of fire in the Northern Great Plains

This publication is a review of selected literature about prescribed burning in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) for management of wildlife. It also will be useful to other resource managers and researchers and to persons interested in the NGP. It is more 'descriptive' than 'interpretative.'The publication is a joint effort of the South Dakota State Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (SDCFWRU), South Dakota State University, Brookings; the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC), Jamestown, N.D.; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Fergus Falls, Minn. Manuscript typing and library services were shared between SDCFWRU and NPWRC.This publication (EC 761) is the second of three SDSU Extension circulars on grassland fires. EC 760 is Prescribed burning guidelines in the Northern Great Plains; EC 762 is Annotated bibliography of fire literature relative to northern grasslands in South-Central Canada and North-Central United States and contains many more citations than presented in this publication. All three circulars may be obtained from either the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department; SDSU Box 2206; ph (605) 688-6121; or from the Ag Communications Bulletin Room; SDSU Box 2231; ph (605) 688-5628; both in Brookings, S.D. 57007.

Report↗
USGS1954

Geologic and seismic investigations, relocation of Route 3, grade separation at Route 62, southeast ramp in Bedford, Mass.

The relocation of Route 3 in Bedford, Mass. requires extensive cuts for a grade separation at Route 62. This report contains only the results of the geologic and seismic studies that were made for the purpose of obtaining information that would aid in the construction of the inner and outer loops of the southeast ramp. The studies represent part of a cooperative program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the United States Geological Survey. The work was performed in July 1953. The site is located in the Wilmington and Lexington 7-1/2-minute quadrangle maps of the United States Geological Survey. Mr. M. E. Chandler and Mr. W. L. Carney, Massachusetts Department of Public works' Engineers, performed all pertinent survey work required for this project, and prepared the essential plans and profiles. Mr. Chandler also operated the seismic equipment and assisted in the preparation of the seismic velocity data.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2000

Microbiological and chemical quality of ground water used as a source of public supply in southern Missouri — Phase II, April–July, 1998

The protection of public health through quality public ground-water systems is the responsibility of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Missouri, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Public Drinking Water Program. Approximately 95 percent of the public-water supplies in Missouri use ground water as their source of drinking water through more than 3,700 public wells. Karst terrain, intensive agricultural operations, extensive numbers of on-site sewage systems, and poor well construction can lead to chemical and microbiological contamination of the contributing aquifers. Sitespecific studies and routine regulatory monitoring have produced information on the overall quality and potability of the State's public-drinking-water supplies, but little is known about the presence of viruses. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, sampled 109 public-water supplies to characterize the physical, chemical, bacterial, and viral conditions in southern Missouri. During April to July 1998, these wells were sampled for nutrients, total organic carbon, optical brighteners, indicator bacteria, enteric viruses, and ribonucleic acid and somatic coli phages. These constituents indicate possible surface contamination of the sampled aquifer. Selection of the wells to be sampled depended on the age of the well (pre-1970), land use, geohydrology, and well construction. None of the physical or chemical constituents measured or analyzed exceeded Missouri's Drinking Water Standards set by the Public Drinking Water Program of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The majority of ammonia plus organic nitrogen, nitrite, and phosphorus concentrations were below the laboratory's minimum reporting levels. There were a greater number of detects above the minimum reporting level with respect to the nitrite plus nitrate, ammonia, orthophosphate, and total organic carbon concentrations. Analyses included comparing and contrasting the data by grouping according to well age and construction, karst type, geohydrology, soil type, and land use. There was little variation in well construction between selected wells. The results indicated several groupings of similar and dissimilar concentrations, most expected because of hydrological, physical, or land use differences. Dissolved oxygen values indicated distinct variation in the different groupings. There were significant differences in dissolved oxygen values between the secondary and non-karst areas, the Ozark confined and Ozark unconfined geohydrologic groups, and between agricultural and other land uses. In groupings by soil and geohydrology, the Missouri bootheel region differed with respect to ammonia, total organic carbon, and phosphorus when compared with the other groups. Less than 10 percent of the wells sampled tested positive for bacterial contamination. E. coli was the most frequently detected bacterium. The public wells at Monett and West Plains, Missouri, had plates with colonies too numerous to count for all three indicator bacteria. Further analyses by rRNA (ribosomal RiboNucleic Acid) hybridization techniques detennined that much of the bacteria present were from ruminant and human sources. No enteric viruses were detected in the 109 samples. Both ribonucleic acid and somatic coliphage were detected at two wells. One additional well had ribonucleic acid coliphage and another had somatic coliphage for a total of four wells with coliphage selects.

Missouri↗
USGS1933

The bleaching clays

Groundwater is one of Utah 's most extensive and valuable natural resources. Because of its widespread occurrence in both wet and dry areas, groundwater has been, and is a major factor affecting economic growth and development of the State. In some areas, groundwater is used to supplement streamflow for irrigation, public supply, and other uses. In other areas, it is the only water available for use. The U.S. Geological Survey, under cooperative programs with the Utah Department of Natural Resources and other Federal, State, and local agencies has been studying Utah 's groundwater resources since 1987. Much information has been gained during those studies about the occurrence, availability, and quality of groundwater; the withdrawal and use of the water; and the effects of withdrawal. This report summarizes that information in nontechnical language , which is designed for all readers. (Lantz-PTT)

Circular↗
USGS2016

Conservation planning for the Colorado River in Utah

Strategic planning is increasingly recognized as necessary for providing the greatest possible conservation benefits for restoration efforts. Rigorous, science-based resource assessment, combined with acknowledgement of broader basin trends, provides a solid foundation for determining effective projects. It is equally important that methods used to prioritize conservation investments are simple and practical enough that they can be implemented in a timely manner and by a variety of resource managers. With the help of local and regional natural resource professionals, we have developed a broad-scale, spatially-explicit assessment of 146 miles (~20,000 acres) of the Colorado River mainstem in Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah that will function as the basis for a systematic, practical approach to conservation planning and riparian restoration prioritization. For the assessment we have: 1) acquired, modified or created spatial datasets of Colorado River bottomland conditions; 2) synthesized those datasets into habitat suitability models and estimates of natural recovery potential, fire risk and relative cost; 3) investigated and described dominant ecosystem trends and human uses, and; 4) suggested site selection and prioritization approaches. Partner organizations (The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Utah Forestry Fire and State Lands) are using the assessment and datasets to identify and prioritize a suite of restoration actions to increase ecosystem resilience and improve habitat for bottomland species. Primary datasets include maps of bottomland cover types, bottomland extent, maps of areas inundated during high and low flow events, as well as locations of campgrounds, roads, fires, invasive vegetation treatment areas and other features. Assessment of conditions and trends in the project area entailed: 1) assemblage of existing data on geology, changes in stream flow, and predictions of future conditions; 2) identification of fish and wildlife species present and grouping species into Conservation Elements (CEs) based on habitat needs, and: 3) acquisition, review and creation of spatial datasets characterizing vegetation, fluvial geomorphic and human features within the bottomland. Interpretation of aerial imagery and assimilation of pre-existing spatial data were central to our efforts in characterizing resources conditions. Detailed maps of vegetation and channel habitat features in the project area were generated from true color, high resolution (0.3m) imagery flown September 16, 2010. We also mapped channel habitat features at high flow on 1.0-m resolution, publicly available, true color imagery. We obtained additional layers such as land ownership, roads, fire history, non-native vegetation treatment areas, and recreational use features from public sources and project partners. Habitat suitability models were created for groups of terrestrial species by combining spatial datasets with the habitat needs of conservation elements, guided by literature, where available, and extensive use of expert knowledge. Conservation elements for endangered fish species life stages were identified but not modeled. Terrestrial CE’s included: • Riparian Overstory -yellow-billed cuckoo, Bullock’s oriole, black-headed grosbeak, blue grosbeak, warbling vireo, Cooper's hawk, screech owl, saw-whet owl, and bald eagle, (best: tall trees, dense canopy, diverse shrub understory, no tamarisk); • Riparian Understory - southwestern willow flycatcher, common yellowthroat, yellow warbler, yellow-breasted chat, beaver, northern river otter, black-necked garter snake, (best: dense mesic shrubs near still water, no tamarisk); • Bat Feeding - Allen's big-eared bat, Townsend's big-eared bat, fringed myotis, Yuma myotis, big free-tailed bat, spotted bat (best: diverse vegetation, close to still water); • Bat Watering - big free-tailed and spotted bats (best: still water with no tall vegetation); •

Utah↗
USGS2006

An annotated list of the mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies of the Sand Creek basin, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado, 2004 and 2005

The U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and its cooperators, did an extensive inventory of certain targeted aquatic-insect groups in the Sand Creek Basin, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, to establish a species list for future monitoring efforts. Study sites were established to monitor these groups following disturbance events. Such potential disturbances may include, but are not limited to, chemical treatment of perennial stream reaches to remove nonnative fishes and the subsequent reintroduction of native fish species, increased public use of backcountry habitat (such as hiking and fishing), and natural disturbances such as fire. This report is an annotated list of the mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies found in the Sand Creek Basin, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 2004 and 2005. The primary objective of the study was to qualitatively inventory target aquatic-insect groups in perennial streams, and selected unique standing-water habitats, such as springs, and wetlands associated with the Sand Creek Basin. Efforts focused on documenting the presence of aquatic-insect species within the following taxonomic groups: Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies). These insect orders were chosen because published species accounts, geographic distribution, and identification keys exist for many Colorado species. Given the extent of available information for these groups, there existed a potential for identifying new species and documenting range extensions of known species.

Data Series↗
USGS1987

Louisiana ground-water map no. 1: Potentiometric surface, 1985, and water-level changes, 1983-85, of the Chicot aquifer in southwestern Louisiana

The Chicot aquifer is the principle source of groundwater in southwestern Louisiana and is the most extensively pumped (nearly 1 billion gallons per day) aquifer in the State. Withdrawals from the Chicot aquifer are used primarily for irrigation. Two maps show the generalized potentiometric surfaces of the upper sand unit ('200-ft ' sand in the Lake Charles area) and the ' 500-ft ' sand of the Chicot aquifer. General water level altitudes and flow directions may be inferred from these maps which were prepared in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Office of Public Works. Previous studies of groundwater hydrology in southwestern Louisiana are included in selected references.

Louisiana↗