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Powering Progress

How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle

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USGS Wildland Fire Science

USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.

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USGS Drought Science

Helping managers understand the interactions that determine the magnitude and impact of drought on water availability and ecosystems across the Nation

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Ecosystems Science at USGS

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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

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EcoNews

A USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Newsletter

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Friday's Findings

A Public Webinar Series

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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science that directly benefits the health, safety, and prosperity of the American people by providing trusted and timely information to help address the Nation’s toughest management and conservation issues impacting public lands and the surrounding communities that benefit from them. 

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USGS Science for Food & Water Security

A view of a farm field in Iowa

USGS Ecosystems Mission Area science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food and water supplies, ensuring all Americans access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors and strengthen America’s self-reliance

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USGS Science for Public Safety & Security

Before and after pictures - Hurricane Rita and Holly Beach, Louisiana, USA

Science within the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety, infrastructure, and security issues surrounding natural disasters and changing landscapes, strengthening America’s ability to be a hazard ready Nation. 

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USGS Science for Economic Growth

A pronghorn stands in front of oil and gas development infrastructure, Vernal, Utah

Science provided by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that supports the Nation’s economic growth and protects our natural heritage.

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News

Webinar Series - Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science

Webinar Series - Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 3

EcoNews - Vol. 7 | Issue 3

Towards Continental Conservation: A Metapopulation Strategy to Support Collaborative Bison Restoration and Management

Towards Continental Conservation: A Metapopulation Strategy to Support Collaborative Bison Restoration and Management

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Publications

The National Wildlife Disease Database The National Wildlife Disease Database

The National Wildlife Disease Database (NWDD) is a national information hub that integrates wildlife disease data across jurisdictions to guide natural resource management and deliver early warnings of unusual events and emerging threats, strengthening public health preparedness and protecting the agricultural economy.
Authors
Kimberli Miller
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Distribution, abundance, and habitat characteristics of Coastal Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in San Diego County, California—2025 data summary Distribution, abundance, and habitat characteristics of Coastal Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in San Diego County, California—2025 data summary

Authors
Alexandra Houston, Suellen Lynn, Barbara E. Kus
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Water and endangered fish in the Klamath River basin revisited: Does old age or Upper Klamath Lake surface elevation and water quality affect adult Lost River Sucker and Shortnose Sucker survival? A response to Kann and Walker Water and endangered fish in the Klamath River basin revisited: Does old age or Upper Klamath Lake surface elevation and water quality affect adult Lost River Sucker and Shortnose Sucker survival? A response to Kann and Walker

Our update responds to recent scientific critiques and again finds no evidence that lake levels or water conditions influence adult sucker survival. This reaffirms our prior work (Krause et al., 2022) and suggests that recent declines in adult survival may reflect an aging population.
Authors
Jacob Richard Krause, Eric C. Janney, Summer M. Burdick, John Michael Caldwell, Brian S. Hayes
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center
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Science

Male Long-tailed Duck in the water

Tracking Data for Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)

Available here are tracking data of long-tailed duck, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of northern and mid latitudes. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
Tracking Data for Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)

Tracking Data for Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)

Available here are tracking data of long-tailed duck, a species of seaduck that breeds throughout the circumpolar Arctic and spends the winter in coastal areas of northern and mid latitudes. These data were collected to determine range-wide migratory routes, migratory timing, and stopover habitats of this species.
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Image: Black Brant In Flight

Tracking Data for Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)

Available here are tracking data for the Black Brant, a goose species that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and northeastern Russia and winters along coastal areas of North America from western Alaska to Mexico.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
Tracking Data for Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)

Tracking Data for Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)

Available here are tracking data for the Black Brant, a goose species that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska, northwestern Canada, and northeastern Russia and winters along coastal areas of North America from western Alaska to Mexico.
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Spectacled eider male and female flying near the Colville River in 2013.

Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)

Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial surveys...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)

Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)

Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial surveys...
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