Nature - General

The Hawaiian Islands, one of the world's most remote archipelagos, has experienced high rates of extinctions since the arrival first of Polynesians between 800 and 1,200 years ago and, more recently, with European contact 230 years ago. Seventy-one known species and subspecies of forest...

Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) emigrating from natal tributaries of the Sacramento River may use a number of migration routes to navigate the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (hereafter called "the Delta"), each of which may influence their probability of surviving. We applied a mark-recapture...

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), Alaska, like many pristine high latitude areas, is exposed to atmospherically deposited contaminants such as mercury (Hg). Although the harmful effects of Hg are well established, information on this contaminant in southeast Alaska is scarce. Here, we...

Historically, adult summer steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss returning to hatcheries on the lower Cowlitz River were sometimes transported and released in the river (recycled) to provide additional angling opportunity for the popular sport fishery in the basin. However, this practice has not been used in...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the Willamette Project in western Oregon, including a series of dams, revetments, and hatcheries. The primary purpose of this project is flood control but it also is operated to provide hydroelectricity, irrigation water, navigation, in stream floors...

The Toiyabe population of Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris, hereafter "Toiyabe frogs") is a geographically isolated population located in central Nevada (fig. 1). The Toiyabe population is part of the Great Basin Distinct Population Segment of Columbia spotted frogs, and is a candidate for...

The objective of this research is to document residential and service-population exposure to natural hazards in the rural communities of Clackamas County, Oregon, near Mount Hood. The Mount Hood region of Clackamas County has a long history of natural events that have impacted its...

In August and September 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, conducted bathymetric and geophysical surveys in the Beaufort Sea and eastern Arctic Ocean aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. The principal objective of this...

Chiloquin Dam was constructed in 1914 on the Sprague River near the town of Chiloquin, Oregon. The dam was identified as a barrier that potentially inhibited or prevented the upstream spawning migrations and other movements of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes...

Locally and globally, there is growing recognition of the critical roles that herring, smelt, sand lance, eulachon, and other forage fishes play in marine ecosystems. Scientific and resource management entities throughout the Salish Sea, agree that extensive information gaps exist, both in basic biological...

Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) emigrating from natal tributaries of the Sacramento River may use a number of migration routes to negotiate the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (hereafter, "the Delta"), each of which may influence their probability of surviving. We applied a mark-recapture model...

We assessed the physical and biotic conditions in the part of Buck Creek, Washington, potentially accessible to anadromous fishes. This creek is a major tributary to the White Salmon River upstream of Condit Dam, which was breached in October 2011. Habitat and fish populations...

Air is entrained in water it is flows through the spillways of dams, which causes an increase in concentration of total dissolved gas in the water downstream from the dams.Author: U. S. Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 1497390168ISBN-13: 9781497390164Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing PlatformLanguage: EnglishPublished: 03/30/2014Pages:...

Cougar Dam near Springfield, Oregon, is one of several federally owned and operated floodcontrol projects within the Willamette Valley of western Oregon that were determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service in 2008 to impact the long-term viability of...

The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Klamath Lake water-quality monitoring program collated data from multi parameter continuous water-quality monitors, weekly water-quality samples, and meteorological stations during 2009 and 2010 from May through November each year.Author: U. S. Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 1497389011ISBN-13: 9781497389014Publisher: Createspace Independent...

The U.S Geological Survey has operated a streamgage and published daily flows for the Des Plaines River at Riverside since Oct. 1, 1943. A HEC-RAS model has been developed to estimate the effect of the removal of Hofmann Dam near the gage on low-flow...

Anadromous juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) migrating through the Columbia River experience a variety of hazards that affect their survival as they migrate from freshwater rearing habitats to the ocean. Predation by native and non-native fish predators in the hydroelectric impoundments in the Columbia River...

Hydroelectric development on the mainstem Columbia River has created a series of impoundments that promote the production of native and non-native piscivores. Reducing the effects of fish predation on migrating juvenile salmonids has been a major component of mitigating the effects of hydroelectric development...

Passage and survival data for yearling and subyearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead were collected at McNary Dam between 2006 and 2009. These data have provided critical information for resource managers to implement structural and operational changes designed to improve the survival of juvenile...

The movements and dam passage of yearling juvenile Chinook salmon implanted with acoustic transmitters and passive integrated transponder tags were studied at Cougar Reservoir and Dam, near Springfield, Oregon. A total of 411 hatchery fish and 26 wild fish were tagged and released between...

The Klamath River flows about 255 mi (410 km) from the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake through southern Oregon and northern California to the Pacific Ocean. The first 21 mi of the river, just downstream of Upper Klamath Lake, are bounded by Link River...

The Nature Conservancy undertook restoration of the Williamson River Delta Preserve with a primary goal "to restore and maintain the diversity of habitats that are essential to the endangered [Lost River sucker (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris)] while, at the same time,...

This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Coquille River basin, which encompasses 2,745 km2 (square kilometers) of the southwestern Oregon coast.Author: U. S. Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 1497359856ISBN-13: 9781497359857Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing...

The Nisqually River drains the southwest slopes of Mount Rainier, a glaciated stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of western Washington. The Nisqually River was impounded behind Alder Dam when the dam was completed in 1945 and formed Alder Lake. This report quantifies the volume...

Two multiple-well monitoring sites were drilled in the Calaveras County portion of the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, about 100 miles east of San Francisco, California, during December 2009 and January 2010. Site 3N/9E-12G1-4 was drilled to a depth of 503 feet below land...

The U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program is undertaking a series of regional groundwater availability studies to improve our understanding of groundwater availability in major aquifers across the Nation. One of the objectives of the Glacial Principal Aquifers study (proposed) is to provide information...

A radiotelemetry evaluation was conducted during April-October 2011 to describe movement patterns, forebay behavior, and passage of juvenile steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington. The primary focus of the study was to describe fish behavior near a behavioral guidance...

We described the seasonal distribution of Geographic Position System (GPS)- collared mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks to evaluate aerial survey sampling designs and provide general information for park managers.Author: Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 149735062XISBN-13: 9781497350625Publisher: Createspace...

Prior to operational changes in 2007, Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River in western Oregon had a well-documented effect on downstream water temperature that was problematic for endangered salmonid fish species. In this U.S. Geological Survey study, done in cooperation with the U.S....

Domestic livestock grazing occurs in virtually all sagebrush habitats and is a prominent disturbance factor. By affecting habitat condition and trend, grazing influences the resources required by, and thus, the distribution and abundance of sagebrush-obligate wildlife species (for example, sage-grouse Centrocercus spp.). Yet, the...

Society faces many environmental problems and challenges, but the recent threat of climate change and variability has become a prominent icus for both the government and industry.Author: U. S. Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 1497351049ISBN-13: 9781497351042Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing PlatformLanguage: EnglishPublished: 03/30/2014Pages: 38Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.25lbsSize:...

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were first detected in the Great Lakes in 1988. They were likely transported as larvae or young adults inside the ballast tanks of large ocean-going ships originating from Europe. Since their introduction, they have spread throughout the Eastern, Midwestern, and...

Data from a long-term capture-recapture program were used to assess the status and dynamics of populations of two long-lived, federally endangered catostomids in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) have been captured and tagged with passive...

Dyke Marsh, a freshwater wetland in northern Virginia and a migratory resource along the Atlantic Flyway, which is used by approximately 250 species of migratory birds, is eroding rapidly. The marsh was acquired in a congressional land trade agreement in 1959 and ceded to...

Few studies have evaluated survival of juvenile salmon over long river reaches in the Columbia River and information regarding the survival of sockeye salmon at lower Columbia River dams is lacking. To address these information gaps, the U.S. Geological Survey was contracted by the...

This report describes a study of dam passage and survival of radio-tagged juvenile salmonids after installation of a temporary spillway weir (TSW) at Little Goose Dam, Washington, in 2009. The purpose of the study was to document fish passage and survival when the dam...

Water-resources data were collected to describe the hydrologic conditions at the Allison Woods research station near Statesville, North Carolina, in the Piedmont Physiographic Province of North Carolina. Data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources,...

We evaluated the effects of contaminants on osprey (Pandion haliaetus) nesting along the lower Duwamish River (LDR), Washington, and used the upper reach of the Willamette River (WR), Oregon, as a reference site. Osprey eggs and nestling blood (plasma) were collected at nests along...

Water samples were collected from 7 production wells and 28 private residential wells in central New York from August through December 2007 and analyzed to characterize the chemical quality of groundwater. Seventeen wells are screened in sand and gravel aquifers, and 18 are finished...

Chinook salmon in California's Central Valley were decimated in the 19th and 20th centuries by overfishing, dam construction, channelization, population, and water diversions.Author: U. S. Department of the InteriorISBN-10: 1497346290ISBN-13: 9781497346291Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing PlatformLanguage: EnglishPublished: 03/30/2014Pages: 36Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.24lbsSize: 11.02h x 8.50w x...

We used capture-recapture data to assess population dynamics of endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. The Cormack-Jolly-Seber method was used to estimate apparent survival probabilities, and a temporal symmetry model was used to estimate...

Lost River sucker Deltistes luxatus and shortnose sucker Chasmistes brevirostris were listed as endangered in 1988 for a variety of reasons including apparent recruitment failure. Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and its tributaries are considered the most critical remaining habitat for these two species. Age-0...

Beulah Reservoir on the north fork of the Malheur River in northeastern Oregon provides irrigation water to nearby farms and ranches and supports an adfluvial population of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Water management in...

A steady-state groundwater-flow model described in Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5160, "Numerical Simulation of the Groundwater-Flow System in Chimacum Creek Basin and Vicinity, Jefferson County, Washington" was developed to evaluate potential future impacts of growth and of water-management strategies on water resources in the Chimacum...

In the summer of 2007, we undertook an assessment of larval and juvenile sucker use of Hanks Marsh in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. This 1,200-acre marsh on the southeastern shoreline of the lake represents part of the last remaining natural emergent wetland habitat in...

Both quantity and quality of water in the Rio Grande have long been a primary concern for water-resource managers. The transport and delivery of water in the basin has been engineered, using reservoirs, irrigation canals and drains, and transmountain-water diversions to ensure an adequate...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Southern Utah Valley Municipal Water Association, updated an existing USGS model of southern Utah and Goshen Valleys for hydrologic and climatic conditions from 1991 to 2011 and used the model for projection and groundwater management...

An assessment of the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff associated with industrial activities at Fort Gordon was conducted from January through August 2012. The assessment was provided to satisfy the requirements from a general permit that authorizes the discharge of stormwater under the...

It is now broadly recognized that Great Lakes resource management programs must be based on an ecosystems approach. Such a holistic, systems-level approach identifies key driving processes that operate at different, often hierarchical, scales to influence selected ecosystem characteristics; for example, processes that sustain...

The methylmercury criterion adopted as a water-quality standard in the State of Idaho is a concentration in fish tissue rather than a concentration in water. A plan for monitoring mercury in fish tissue and water was developed to evaluate whether fish in the Boise...