Evaluation of the Washington State Department of Transportation stormwater monitoring and effectiveness program for 2014–19
Craig A. Senter, Richard W. Sheibley
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1079
The U.S. Geological Survey was asked by the Washington State Department of Transportation to provide technical assistance as a third-party reviewer of their stormwater effectiveness monitoring program during the transition between the completion of the 2014 Washington State Department of Ecology permit requirements and start of the new 2019 Washington...
Aquatic invasive species in the Chesapeake Bay drainage—Research-based needs and priorities of U.S. Geological Survey partners and collaborators
Christine L. Densmore
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1057
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is revising the Chesapeake Bay-based science plan to align it with recent U.S. Department of Interior and USGS science priorities that include, as stated in the plan, providing “an integrated understanding of the factors affecting fish habitat, fish health, and landscape conditions” in Chesapeake...
Shoreline retreat of the Corte Madera marshes, 1853 to 2016, Marin County, California
Bradley A. Carkin, Robert E. Kayen, Florence L. Wong
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1074
The greater San Francisco Bay estuary, prior to human intervention, encompassed about 2,200 km2 of tidal and salt marshes. Over time, these areas became increasingly diked, developed, and altered from their natural state. In addition, natural forces are always driving a continually shifting equilibrium.This study area, the Corte Madera marshes,...
Forage and habitat for pollinators in the northern Great Plains—Implications for U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs
Clint Otto, Autumn H. Smart, Robert S. Cornman, Michael Simanonok, Deborah D. Iwanowicz
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1037
Managed and wild pollinators are critical components of agricultural and natural systems. Despite the well-known value of insect pollinators to U.S. agriculture, Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758; honey bees) and wild bees currently face numerous stressors that have resulted in declining health. These declines have engendered support for pollinator conservation efforts...
Development of a two-stage life cycle model for Oncorhynchus kisutch (coho salmon) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington
John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1068
Recovery of salmon populations in the upper Cowlitz River Basin depends on trap-and-haul efforts owing to impassable dams. Therefore, successful recovery depends on the collection of out-migrating juvenile salmon at Cowlitz Falls Dam (CFD) for transport below downstream dams, as well as the collection of adults for transport upstream from...
Continuous stream discharge, salinity, and associated data collected in the Lower St. Johns River and its tributaries, Florida, 2018
Patrick J. Ryan
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1061
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, plans to deepen the St. Johns River channel in Jacksonville, Florida, from 40 to 47 feet along 13 miles of the river channel, beginning at the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean, in order to accommodate larger, fully loaded cargo...
Biological assessment of a proposed vegetation management program to benefit tribes in eastern Oklahoma
Benjamin R. Harms, Heidi L. Bencin, Natasha B. Carr
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1013
Tribal communities may benefit from land management activities that enhance their use of resources on tribal lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is implementing a 5-year vegetation management program to provide support for projects that develop and use natural and cultural resources and improve opportunities for agricultural activities to benefit...
Community for data integration 2018 funded project report
Leslie Hsu, Caitlin M. Andrews, John B. Bradford, Daniel D. Buscombe, Katherine J. Chase, Wesley M. Daniel, Jeanne M. Jones, Pam Fuller, Benjamin B. Mirus, Matthew E. Neilson, Hans W. Vraga, Jessica J. Walker, Dennis H. Walworth, Jonathan A. Warrick, Jake Weltzin, Daniel J. Wieferich, Nathan J. Wood
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1062
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 10 projects funded in fiscal year 2018, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments....
Supporting natural resource-management decisions — The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) — 2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop
Mustapha Alhassan, Emily Pindilli, Christian S.L. Crowley, Carl D. Shapiro, Benjamin Simon
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1044
The second U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Economics Training Workshop (hereafter “Workshop”) was held during September 25–27, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support DOI’s mission. Building on the first workshop in 2017, the second Workshop, jointly convened...
Graphical Dispersion Plot Editor (DPE) for seismic-site characterization by using multiple surface-wave methods
Devin McPhillips, Alan K. Yong, Antony Martin, William J. Stephenson
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1065
IntroductionTo understand the behavior of potentially damaging ground motions during earthquakes, seismic-site effects are routinely characterized by using the dispersion of surface waves. Many methods exist to measure dispersion; these methods have various advantages and disadvantages, but they all yield dispersion data that must be inverted for shear-wave velocity. This...
Sample-size considerations for a study of shorebird nest survival in the 1002 Area, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Emily L. Weiser
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1066
Authorization of lease sales for oil development in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has highlighted gaps in information about biological communities in the area. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is planning a study to evaluate spatial variation in the nest survival of tundra-breeding shorebirds...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and invertebrate tissue trace-element concentrations for tributaries in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana, October 2017–September 2018
Gregory D. Clark, Michelle I. Hornberger, Thomas E. Cleasby, Terry L. Heinert, Matthew A. Turner
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1067
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...
Envisioning a multi-agency and multi-academic institution geomorphology data exchange portal
Molly S. Wood, Paul M Boyd
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1056
Access to bathymetry and geomorphology data for rivers and reservoirs is a critical need in multiple agencies and academia. These data are needed to make water-resource-management decisions regarding river restoration, resource protection, infrastructure design and sustainability, and flood-risk reduction, and during natural disasters. Sharing of data increases decision-making capacity by...
Juvenile Lost River and shortnose sucker year-class formation, survival, and growth in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California—2018 monitoring report
Ryan J. Bart, Summer M. Burdick, Marshal S. Hoy, Carl O. Ostberg
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1064
Executive SummaryPopulations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir (hereinafter Clear Lake), California, are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing not only because of adult mortality, which is relatively low, but...
Groundwater levels and generalized potentiometric surfaces, former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018
Alex R. Fiore, Pierre J. Lacombe
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1016
Groundwater-level conditions, generalized groundwater potentiometric surfaces, and generalized flow directions at the decommissioned Naval Air Warfare Center in West Trenton, New Jersey, were evaluated for calendar year 2018. Groundwater levels measured continuously in five on-site wells and one nearby off-site well were plotted as hydrographs for January 1, 2018, through...
Fish and habitat assessment in Rock Creek, Klickitat County, southeastern Washington, 2018
Jill M. Hardiman
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1051
Executive SummaryNative steelhead (anadromous form of rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss]) and bridgelip sucker (Catostomus columbianus) were historically used by the Kah-miltpah (Rock Creek) Band for sustenance, trade, and traditional practices in Rock Creek, a tributary to the Columbia River in southeastern Washington State. Rock Creek flows south to the Columbia...
Optimization of tidal marsh management at the Cape May and Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuges, New Jersey, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Brian Braudis, Heidi Hanlon
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1055
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
Using information from global climate models to inform policymaking—The role of the U.S. Geological Survey
Adam Terando, David Reidmiller, Steven W. Hostetler, Jeremy S. Littell, Beard Jr., Sarah R. Weiskopf, Jayne Belnap, Geoffrey S. Plumlee
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1058
This report provides an overview of model-based climate science in a risk management context. In addition, it summarizes how the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will continue to follow best scientific practices and when and how the results of this research will be delivered to the U.S. Department of the Interior...
Assessing the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 in and via North American bats — Decision framing and rapid risk assessment
Michael C. Runge, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan D. Reichard, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Paul M. Cryan, Kevin J. Olival, Daniel P. Walsh, David S. Blehert, M. Camille Hopkins, Jonathan M. Sleeman
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1060
The novel β-coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, may pose a threat to North American bat populations if bats are exposed to the virus through interaction with humans, if the virus can subsequently infect bats and be transmitted among them, and if the virus causes morbidity or mortality in bats. Further, if SARS-CoV-2 became...
Dye-tracing plan for verifying the Kansas River time-of-travel model
Chantelle Davis, Bradley S. Lukasz, Madison R. May
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1039
The Kansas River provides drinking water for multiple cities in northeastern Kansas and is used for recreational purposes. Thus, improving the scientific knowledge of streamflow velocities and traveltimes will greatly aid in water-treatment plans and response to critical events and threats to water supplies. Dye-tracer studies are usually done to...
Data release of reprocessed select National Uranium Resources Evaluation program samples in Wyoming
David W. Lucke, Steven M. Smith, Jaime S. Azain, Andrew David Ingraham
2020, Open-File Report 2020-7
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission established the National Uranium Resources Evaluation (NURE) program in 1973 to identify uranium resources throughout the United States. Part of this program focused on the collection of stream-sediment samples and subsequent geochemical analyses of these samples for uranium, in addition to 47 other elements. As...
Regional hydrostratigraphic framework of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of perfluoroalkyl substances contamination of groundwater and surface water
Alex R. Fiore
2020, Open-File Report 2019-1134
A study was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force, to describe the regional hydrostratigraphy of shallow aquifers and confining units underlying Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) and vicinity, New Jersey, in the context of contamination of groundwater and surface water by per- and polyfluoroalkyl...
Observations of coastal change and numerical modeling of sediment-transport pathways at the mouth of the Columbia River and its adjacent littoral cell
Andrew W. Stevens, Edwin Elias, Stuart Pearson, George M. Kaminsky, Peter R Ruggiero, Heather M. Weiner, Guy R. Gelfenbaum
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1045
Bathymetric and topographic surveys performed annually along the coastlines of northern Oregon and southwestern Washington documented changes in beach and nearshore morphology between 2014 and 2019. Volume change analysis revealed measurable localized erosion and deposition throughout the study area, but significant net erosion at the regional scale (several kilometers [km])...
Behavior and movement of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin, Washington, 2017–18
Theresa L. Liedtke, Tobias J. Kock, Amy C. Hansen, Brian K. Ekstrom, Ryan G. Tomka
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1054
Executive SummaryA 2-year radiotelemetry study was completed to monitor the movements of adult winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the upper Cowlitz River Basin. A reintroduction program was established to restore healthy and harvestable populations of steelhead because volitional access to the area was blocked in the 1960s after construction of...
Evaluation of the analytical methods used to determine the elemental concentrations found in the stream geochemical dataset compiled for Alaska
Bronwen Wang, Karl J. Ellefsen, Matthew Granitto, Karen D. Kelley, Susan M. Karl, George N.D. Case, Douglas C. Kreiner, Courtney L. Amundson
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1038
A recent U.S. Geological Survey data compilation of stream-sediment geochemistry for Alaska contains decades of analyses collected under numerous Federal and State programs. The compiled data were determined by various analytical methods. Some samples were reanalyzed by a different analytical method than the original, resulting in some elements having concentrations...
