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Rocky Mountain Region

USGS Region 7 Staff support and advise USGS Science Centers that provide numerous stakeholders with vital information about spatial distribution and temporal trends in critical minerals, energy resources, geology, water resources, native plants and wildlife, and hazards posed by earthquakes and landslides in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and beyond.

News

USGS releases assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in Southwest Wyoming, Northwest Colorado

New research highlights opportunities for enhacing amphibian occupancy in Rocky Mountain National Park

Media Alert: Low-level helicopter flights to image geology over Wyoming and Colorado

Publications

"Snow to Flow" postcard "Snow to Flow" postcard

The U.S. Geological Survey has ongoing snowpack monitoring initiatives to help improve water availability estimates and predictions of streamflow.
Authors
Andrea L. Creighton

Legacies of a large flood and biological control on riparian vegetation successional trajectories along a dryland braided river Legacies of a large flood and biological control on riparian vegetation successional trajectories along a dryland braided river

The interplay of disturbance and stability drives vegetation dynamics. Disturbance reduces vegetation biomass, and stability fosters its development. In riparian systems, natural disturbance is largely manifested through flood-driven fluvial processes, but other forms of disturbance, such as herbivory or fire, may influence vegetation dynamics. We studied the successional trajectories of...
Authors
Eduardo González-Sargas, Steven R. Lee, Laura G. Perry, Patrick B. Shafroth

Critical minerals in orogenic (gold) and Coeur d’Alene-type mineral systems of the United States Critical minerals in orogenic (gold) and Coeur d’Alene-type mineral systems of the United States

Orogenic and Coeur d’Alene-type mineral systems are produced by metamorphic devolatilization of thick volcanic or siliciclastic sedimentary rock sequences and the focused flow of hydrothermal fluids upwards along crustal-scale faults. Most orogenic systems are found along the Cordilleran orogen, stretching from California northwards into Alaska, whereas most Coeur d’Alene-type systems...
Authors
Ryan D. Taylor, Albert H. Hofstra

Science

Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop a new type of science product— structured science syntheses—for facilitating the use of science information in public lands decisions.
Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management

Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop a new type of science product— structured science syntheses—for facilitating the use of science information in public lands decisions.
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The Wildfire Research (WiRÄ“) Team

Wildfires cost billions of dollars to suppress annually, yet they still devastate lives, communities, and ecosystems. While wildfire is a natural phenomenon, learning to live with wildfire is a social issue – so we need a social solution.
The Wildfire Research (WiRÄ“) Team

The Wildfire Research (WiRÄ“) Team

Wildfires cost billions of dollars to suppress annually, yet they still devastate lives, communities, and ecosystems. While wildfire is a natural phenomenon, learning to live with wildfire is a social issue – so we need a social solution.
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Fostering greater use of habitat models for managing rare and invasive plants on public lands

Habitat models can provide critical information on the current and potential distribution of plant species, as well as help target and support conservation efforts. Despite their potential utility in public land management, model use may be constrained by a variety of factors including staff access to and trust in models. In this project, we seek to bring together model users and model developers...
Fostering greater use of habitat models for managing rare and invasive plants on public lands

Fostering greater use of habitat models for managing rare and invasive plants on public lands

Habitat models can provide critical information on the current and potential distribution of plant species, as well as help target and support conservation efforts. Despite their potential utility in public land management, model use may be constrained by a variety of factors including staff access to and trust in models. In this project, we seek to bring together model users and model developers...
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