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Management plans with clear priorities can help to achieve brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis conservation objectives in the northern Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico). Efforts to establish clear priorities can be hindered by information gaps, especially those related to the uncertainty associated with changing conditions that influence brown pelican populations. We addressed...

Cretaceous magmatism in eastern interior Alaska is voluminous, but temporally and spatially diverse – suggestive of varying sources and drivers. More than 150 new U-Pb zircon and more than 500 geochemical analyses of Cretaceous plutonic units allow for the grouping of distinct plutonic suites. Magmatism was continuous from 120-66 Ma...

The Basin and Range Province is host to many important low-sulfidation epithermal deposits. Within this broad zone of extension, epithermal deposits are hosted by specific areas of Miocene and younger bimodal volcanism. In northern Nevada, rifting and related volcanic activity occurred in response to thermal bulging during the development of...

The Elkhorn district in southwestern Montana is known for past production of high-grade base and precious metals from skarn and carbonate replacement deposits. The district also hosts a porphyry Cu-Mo deposit. A radiometric survey flown over the district and surrounds provides maps of surficial concentrations of potassium, thorium, and uranium....

Effective recovery plans for endangered species rely on insights into species’ ecology to identify risks and develop population recovery strategies. Data gaps pose challenges for many species of conservation concern, particularly those with cryptic behaviors or that occupy difficult-to-access habitats. Sounds produced by these species offer an effective means of...

Nervous necrosis virus (NNV) causes a neurologic disease in a wide range of marine fish and poses serious disease risks to marine aquaculture worldwide. Little is known about the presence of NNV along the Atlantic coast of the United States, aside from the presence of barfin flounder nervous necrosis virus...

Determining appropriate spatio-temporal scales for monitoring migratory shorebirds is challenging. Effective surveys must detect population trends without excessive or insufficient sampling, yet many programs lack formal evaluations of survey effectiveness. Using data from 2012 to 2019 on Louisiana’s barrier islands (Whiskey, west Raccoon, east Raccoon, and Trinity), we assessed how...

Freshwater mussels are critical to the health of freshwater systems, but their populations are declining dramatically throughout the world. The limited resources available for freshwater mussel conservation necessitates the geographic prioritization of conservation-related actions. However, lack of knowledge about freshwater mussel spatial distributions hinders decision making in this context. In...

Clear Lake volcanic field (CLVF) is the northernmost and youngest (~2.2 Ma to 8 ka) of the volcanic centers distributed along the San Andreas transform fault in western California. The initial phase of CLVF volcanism (interval one) occurred between ~2.2 and 1.3 Ma and extends ~35 km southeast of Clear Lake, forming a semi-continuous...

Tsunami hazards are substantial threats to coastal communities across the United States (U.S.) and its territories. U.S. states and territories collaborate through the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to develop their own tsunami-hazard information for outreach and evacuation planning. An effort to curate this tsunami-hazard information to support comprehensive...

Largemouth bass (LMB; Micropterus nigricans) are popular both as a sportfish and an aquaculture species. At present, six described viruses are associated with LMB, of which two are typically considered in cases of LMB mortality events. Advances in discovery and diagnostic capabilities using next-generation sequencing have augmented surveillance efforts and...

The former Stuart Ranch, now managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is transected by Meadow Valley Wash, where 4,600 feet of perennial stream and adjacent riparian vegetation provide critical habitat for several wildlife and aquatic species protected under the Endangered Species Act. The stream has been altered by prior...

The Great Lakes tectonic zone (GLTZ) forms the boundary between the Wawa–Abitibi and Minnesota River Valley subprovinces within the Archean Superior Province. The GLTZ is concealed for all of its 1100 km length, except for a segment in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There, it is exposed as a northwest-striking...

Subspecies are often targets for conservation, yet many lack the genetic data necessary to validate their status as distinctive evolutionary lineages. In 2016, conservationists faced this issue when designating the California glossy snake, Arizona elegans occidentalis, as a Species of Special Concern in California, a decision prompted by population declines and...

An ∼3 km long nodal array oriented approximately east–west was deployed in Chugiak, Alaska, by the U.S. Geological Survey during 2021. The array intersects with the permanent NetQuakes station NP.ARTY, where peak ground acceleration (PGA) value of 1.98g was recorded during the 2018  Mw 7.1 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake, in sharp contrast to...

Bats are a taxa of high conservation concern and are facing numerous threats including widespread mortality due to White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in North America. With this decline comes increasing difficulty in monitoring imperiled bat species due to lower detection probabilities of both mist-netting and acoustic surveys. Lure...

Many earthquakes occur along the North Coast of California in the vicinity of the Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ), where the Pacific, Gorda, and North American (NA) plates meet, and on the adjacent plate boundaries. The MTJ marks the nexus of the Mendocino and San Andreas faults with the Cascadia subduction...

With the continued spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), understanding the complex dynamics of virus transfer at the wild – agriculture interface is paramount. Spillover events (i.e., virus transfer from wild birds into poultry) are related to proximity to infected wild bird populations and environmental conditions. By accounting for...

Preface This report was developed to evaluate the performance of a set of proposed alternatives for Cervus elaphus canadensis (elk) and Bison bison (bison) management at the National Elk Refuge (NER) in Wyoming, U.S.A., and to inform a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement focused on developing the next “Bison...

The National Elk Refuge (Refuge) is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and includes habitats for bison and elk. Bison and elk provide opportunities for wildlife-related recreation and contribute to the tourism industry in and around Jackson, Wyoming. Over the last century, the Refuge has provisioned supplemental feed...

This report was developed to evaluate the performance of a set of proposed alternatives for Cervus elaphus canadensis (elk) and Bison bison (bison) management at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming, U.S.A., and to inform a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement focused on developing the next “Bison and Elk Management Plan” (BEMP)....

Bison bison were once abundant across North America but declined due to overharvesting in the late 1800s. The reintroduced population in and around Jackson, Wyoming has averaged 485 individuals between 2018–2023 and is the subject of a planning process to inform management strategies that will guide the U.S. Fish and...

This chapter presents a description and quantitative evaluation of a collaborative alternative (alternative D) focused on near-term elk population reduction and chronic wasting disease (CWD) monitoring as part of winter elk and bison feedground operations on the National Elk Refuge adjacent to Jackson, Wyoming. Alternative D was developed by the...

The majority of raptor species reside in the tropics, yet very little is known about their movement ecology. However, quantifying movement behavior can provide otherwise elusive information on resource needs, habitat selection, and ecological constraints, which is important for understanding ecological patterns and the management of species of conservation concern....

Introduction In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published Circular 1490 titled, “Integrated Science for the Study of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Environment: A Strategic Science Vision for the U.S. Geological Survey” (Tokranov and others, 2021). Circular 1490 was created to be a resource for USGS scientists prioritizing...