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We conducted a study to assess the efficacy of using a parentage-based tagging survival model (PBT N-mixture model) to evaluate two sources of mortality for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Lookout Point Reservoir, Oregon. The model was originally developed to evaluate reservoir mortality because of predation from piscivorous...

A collaborative acoustic telemetry study was conducted to describe behavior and movement patterns of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) in the lower Sacramento River, California during 2016–19. For the study, juvenile green sturgeon were collected, tagged, and released in the Sacramento River between river kilometer (rkm) 467 and rkm...

A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954, established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs, owned by New York...

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val Team continually...

Water, bed sediment, and invertebrate tissue were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin. The sampling program was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in...

In this report, we apply the stream salmonid simulator (S3) to coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Klamath River Basin by extending the original model to account for life history and disease dynamics specific to coho salmon. This version of S3 includes tracking of three separate life-history strategies representing...

The Navajo (N) aquifer is an extensive aquifer and the primary source of groundwater in the 5,400-square-mile Black Mesa area in northeastern Arizona. Water availability is an important issue in the Black Mesa area because of the arid climate, past industrial water use, and continued water requirements for municipal use...

Bathymetric and topographic data were collected from May 2013 to February 2016 along the 15.84-mile reach of the Colorado River spanning from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Channel bathymetry was mapped using multibeam and singlebeam echo sounders; subaerial topography was mapped using...

The Bushy Park Reservoir is a relatively shallow impoundment in southeastern South Carolina. The reservoir, located under a semi-tropical climate, is the principal water supply for the city of Charleston, South Carolina, and the surrounding areas including the Bushy Park Industrial Complex. Although there was an adequate supply of freshwater...

Executive SummaryLandslide hazards are present in all 50 States and most U.S. territories, and they affect lives, property, infrastructure, and the environment. Landslides are the downslope move­ment of earth materials under the force of gravity. They can occur without any obvious trigger. Widespread or severe land­slide events are often driven...

Collection of accurate suspended-sediment data using depth-integrating samplers requires that they operate isokinetically, that is, that they sample at the local stream velocity unaffected by the presence of the suspended-sediment sampler. Sub-isokinetic suspended-sediment sampling causes grain-size dependent positive biases in the suspended-sediment concentration measured by the suspended-sediment sampler. Collapsible bag...

Passive membrane samplers—semipermeable membrane devices and polar organic chemical integrative samplers—were deployed for 22 continuous days at 7 sites along the West Maui, Hawaiʻi, coastline in February and March 2017 to assess organic contaminants at shallow coral reef ecosystems from diverse upstream inputs. The distribution of organic compounds observed at...

Coastal communities in Alaska are undergoing rapid environmental change from increasing temperatures and baseline data are needed to monitor potential impacts. We conducted the first surveys of the abundance and distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and seaweeds in the western part of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge at the end of...

Eelgrass (<em>Zostera marina</em>) is a highly productive seagrass that plays an essential role in the health of the estuarine and coastal ecosystems; however, information about its abundance and distribution is insufficient in the Bering Sea along the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. We inventoried the spatial extent and abundance of...

We conducted a point-sampling survey to determine eelgrass (Zostera marina) and seaweed abundance in coastal waters adjacent to Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, in July 2008–10. Eelgrass was known to be abundant in protected embayments of the southeastern Bering Sea and near the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, but prior to...

Declines in the distribution and abundance of seagrasses worldwide have prompted a need for baseline distribution maps of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in Alaska. We used high-resolution digital-color aerial photography and multi-spectral satellite imagery to map the distribution and spatial extent of eelgrass at 21 sites in coastal waters adjacent...

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows are expansive along the lower Alaska Peninsula, supporting a rich diversity of marine life, yet little is known about their status and trends in the region. We tested techniques to inventory and monitor trends in the spatial extent and abundance of eelgrass in lagoons of...

A working group of experts with diverse professional backgrounds and disciplinary expertise was assembled to conceptualize a spatially explicit conservation design to support and inform the Sagebrush Conservation Strategy Part 2. The goal was to leverage recent advancements in remotely sensed landcover products to develop spatially and temporally explicit maps...

Biodiversity offsetting, or compensatory mitigation, is increasingly being used in temperate grassland and wetland ecosystems to compensate for unavoidable environmental damage from anthropogenic disturbances such as energy development and road construction. Energy-extraction and -generation facilities continue to proliferate across the natural landscapes of the United States, yet mitigation tools to...

This report summarizes data-collection activities associated with the U.S. Geological Survey Humboldt Bay Water-Quality and Salt Marsh Monitoring Project. This work was undertaken to gain a comprehensive understanding of water-quality conditions, salt marsh accretion processes, marsh-edge erosion, and soil-carbon storage in Humboldt Bay, California. Multiparameter sondes recorded water temperature, specific...

Preliminary models for gate operations at the new outlet control structure for Reelfoot Lake were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, using calibrated ratings of the lift gates, to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in managing lake level. In 2018, the old structure at the outlet of Reelfoot...

Since 2008, large-scale restoration programs have been implemented along the Willamette River, Oregon, to address historical losses of floodplain habitats caused by dam construction, bank protection, large wood removal, land conversion, and other anthropogenic influences. The Willamette Focused Investment Partnership (WFIP) restoration initiative brings together more than 16 organizations...

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val...

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill....

Surveys and monitoring for the coastal Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) were completed in San Diego County between March 2015 and July 2019. A total of 383 plots were surveyed across 3 genetic clusters (Otay, Lake Jennings, and Sweetwater/Encanto). From 2015 to 2019, 317 plots were surveyed 8 times (twice per...