Cumulative effects analysis to inform public land management in the United States: Key characteristics and legal challenges
Tait K. Rutherford, Tim O. Hammond, Alison C. Foster, Megan A. Gilbert, Travis S. Haby, Richard J. Lehrter, Jennifer K. Meineke, Ella M. Samuel, Sarah K. Carter
2026, Environmental Impact Assessment Review (117)
Considering potential cumulative effects of proposed actions is fundamental to environmental impact analysis. However, cumulative effects analyses historically are not robust, especially for site-specific decisions. We sought to identify opportunities to strengthen cumulative effects analysis in a large United States public land management agency, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)....
Hazards related to man-made structures: Buildings, noise, electric power
Glenn H. Olsen
Brian Speer, Yvonne R.A. van Zeeland, editor(s)
2026, Book chapter, Current therapy in avian medicine and surgery
Many man-made structures can form a hazard to avian wildlife. The most common hazard is one of collision, and this paper will look at problems with glass in buildings, power lines, and wind turbines all as sources of collision and trauma to avian wildlife. However, other anthropogenic factors that can...
Potentiometric surface maps and groundwater-level hydrographs for confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain, 2018
Alex R. Fiore, Stephen J. Cauller, Eileen J. Brown
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5080
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), prepared potentiometric surface maps for 10 confined aquifers of the New Jersey Coastal Plain physiographic province based on water-level measurements collected during late 2018 and early 2019 from 951 wells in New Jersey and parts...
Long Term Resource Monitoring procedures—Aquatic vegetation monitoring
Danelle M. Larson, Eric Lund, Alicia M. Carhart, Seth Fopma, Stephanie Szura
2025, Techniques and Methods 2-A22
This standard operating procedure (SOP) manual describes the collection of standardized, long-term data for aquatic vegetation communities in selected study pools of the Upper Mississippi River System in the United States. The primary intent of the data collection is to assess the status and trends that aid in understanding the...
User’s guide for the National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)
Richard B. Moore, Lucinda D. McKay, Alan H. Rea, Timothy R. Bondelid, Curtis V. Price, Thomas G. Dewald, Laura Hayes
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5031
The National Hydrography Dataset Plus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR) is a scalable hydrologic geospatial fabric or framework, built from (1) the High Resolution (1:24,000-scale or better) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), (2) nationally complete Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD), and (3) 1/3-arc-second 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) digital elevation model (DEM) data (at...
Beaver dams and their effects on urban streams in the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
Krista L. Jones, Cassandra D. Smith, James S. White, Stewart A. Rounds, Micelis C. Doyle, Erin K. Leahy
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3022
IntroductionIn response to growing interest in beaver-assisted restoration in the Tualatin River Basin of northwestern Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with Clean Water Services, collected data from 2016–17 and completed a series of studies to: (1) inventory known locations of beaver dams and activity in the Tualatin...
Effects of beaver dams and ponds on water quality in urban streams of the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
Cassandra D. Smith, Erin K. Leahy, Krista L. Jones, Stewart A. Rounds
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5039-D
Significant FindingsAmerican beavers (Castor canadensis) are native to the Pacific Northwest, and their populations have increased in many locations after being nearly removed by historical trapping. Beaver dams have well-documented effects on water quality in forested streams, but their effects on water quality in urban streams have not been well...
Effects of beaver dams and ponds on the transport and deposition of suspended sediment in urban streams of the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
Micelis C. Doyle, Cassandra D. Smith, Krista L. Jones, Alexandria E. Costello
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5039-C
Significant FindingsThis study investigated the effects of natural beaver dams and ponds on sediment transport and deposition in two urban beaver-affected reaches in the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon. Data were collected during 2016–17 from Fanno Creek at Greenway Park (between SW Hall Boulevard and SW Pearson Court) and Bronson...
Effects of beaver dams and ponds on hydrologic and hydraulic responses of storm flows in urban streams of the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
James S. White, Krista L. Jones, Stewart A. Rounds
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5039-B
Significant FindingsAmerican beaver (Castor canadensis) dams fundamentally alter stream hydraulics and hydrology by temporarily impounding water in stream channels. Water managers are interested in how this impoundment translates to changes in hydrograph dynamics, particularly regarding the magnitude and duration of high flows, the temporary storage of storm water, and the...
Stream network capacity to support beaver dams in the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
James S. White, Cassandra D. Smith, Krista L. Jones, Stewart A. Rounds
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5039-A
Significant FindingsBeaver dams can help streams connect to their floodplains. These floodplain connections can expand the range of available aquatic habitats and aid in the restoration of stream and floodplain function and processes. American beavers (Castor canadensis) occupy a wide variety of aquatic habitats; however, their ability to build dams,...
Beavers in the Tualatin River Basin, northwestern Oregon
Krista L. Jones, Cassandra D. Smith, editor(s)
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5039
Growing interest in beaver-assisted restoration in the Tualatin River Basin of northwestern Oregon motivated a series of studies by the U.S. Geological Survey to assess the capacity of the stream network to support beaver dams and to evaluate the effects of beaver dams and ponds on urban streams. This multichapter...
The role of street cleaning on the water-quality performance of a stormwater treatment pond in Madison, Wisconsin
William R. Selbig, Sean Thiboldeaux, Phillip Gaebler
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5096
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the City of Madison, evaluated how street cleaning frequency influences the pollutant removal efficiency of a stormwater treatment pond in Madison, Wisconsin (2020–24). Paired influent and effluent samples were analyzed for nutrients, sediment, and chloride under...
Channel and floodplain cross-section and bed-elevation analyses of the Green River in Echo, Island, and Rainbow Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah
David J. Dean, Paul E. Grams, Shannon Leigh Sartain, Christy M. Leonard, Ronald E. Griffiths, Joel A. Unema, David J. Topping, John C. Schmidt
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5078
This report by the U.S. Geological Survey focuses on describing geomorphic changes in the alluvial segments of the Green River within Echo, Island, and Rainbow Parks of Dinosaur National Monument, between the 1990s and 2019. Substantial channel change occurred within these meandering alluvial segments following the construction and closure of...
Controls on sediment transport and storage in the Little Snake, Yampa, and Green Rivers in the vicinities of Dinosaur National Monument and Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado and Utah, with implications for fish habitat in the middle Green River
David J. Topping, Ronald E. Griffiths, Joel A. Unema, David J. Dean
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5075
The transport of sand and finer sediment in the Yampa and Green river network is typically in disequilibrium with the local sediment supply because of the partial decoupling of the sources of water and sediment: most of the water is supplied farther upstream than most of the sediment. This decoupling...
Potential risks of vegetation treatments to introduce and increase invasive annual grasses in rangelands of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses
Aaron N. Johnston, David J. A. Wood, Kyle Ebenhoch, Tait K. Rutherford, Logan M. Maxwell, Sarah K. Carter
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5058
The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of planned structured science syntheses to support environmental effects analyses that agencies conduct under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This report synthesizes science information relevant to environmental effects analyses concerned with potential increases in...
Rebuilding a volcano one lava flow at a time—Visualizing the lava dome-building eruption in the crater of Mount St. Helens, 1982–1986
Joseph A. Bard, Christina M. Friedle, Lorie Bartee, Brett C. Dierker, Joseph M. Ganick, Nichola M. Gregory, Kenton R. Hill, Jude G. Klug, Aerial Kruger, Dawson T. Mooney, Reun T. Morrison, Isa I. Rojas, Phil Rollo, Shawn A. Stanton, Bre Stewart, Blair E. Stuhlmuller, Adam D. Zyla
2025, General Information Product 262
Between 1980 and 1986, the U.S. Geological Survey made a series of 1:2,000-scale topographic contour maps from aerial photographic surveys to monitor the eruption. These maps were made for operational purposes and were not intended for publication. Since then, advances in technology made it possible to digitize the original, highly...
Computing discharge using the entropy-based probability concept
John W, Fulton, Frank L. Engel, Jack R. Eggleston, Chao-Lin Chiu
2025, Techniques and Methods 3-A26
This report describes the techniques and methods for computing the mean-channel velocity and discharge using the entropy-based probability concept (probability concept). The method is an alternative to or augments standard streamgaging methods adopted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although sensor technology for measuring the mean velocity and discharge has...
Regional hydraulic geometry characteristics of stream channels in the Boston Mountains in Arkansas
Daniel E. Kroes, Laura Suzanne Ruhl-Whittle, Allegra C. Pieri, Aaron L. Pugh
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5083
Many stream-channel infrastructure, habitat enhancement, and restoration projects are undertaken on streams throughout Arkansas by Federal, State, and local agencies as well as by private organizations and businesses with limited data on local geomorphology and streamflow conditions. Equations that relate drainage area above stable stream reaches to the basin characteristics,...
Petrogenesis and mineralization potential of spinifex komatiitic basalts in the Bradley Peak greenstone terrane, Wyoming Province
Lisa Joanne Zieman, Michael Jenkins, Jacob Evan Poletti
2025, Precambrian Research (430)
Komatiitic volcanic rocks are important hosts of Ni sulfide mineralization and record early Earth evolution; however, those in the well-studied Archean Wyoming Province have received little attention. Here, we elucidate the timing and petrogenesis of the Bradley Peak komatiitic volcanic rocks using field and textural observations, geochronology, and geochemistry. Detrital...
Estimated average annualized losses from potential building damage and fatalities due to earthquake-generated tsunamis in the United States
Nathan J. Wood, Anne Sheehan, Douglas Bausch, Cadie Goulette Yeager, Casey Zuzak, Jennifer Sims, Ashley Hoke
2025, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (130)
Earthquake-generated tsunamis represent substantial economic threats to states and territories in the United States (U.S.), but we are unaware of any effort to quantify potential impacts at the national level. This gap is partially due to the lack of nationally consistent data on tsunamigenic sources and associated return periods. This...
Multidecadal change in pesticide concentrations relative to human health benchmarks in the Nation’s groundwater
Sarah M. Stackpoole, Bruce D. Lindsey, Cee S. Nell
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5081
Groundwater-quality trend assessments identify aquifers that are responding to changes in pesticide use and the compounds that may pose a threat to water availability. The U.S. Geological Survey has been monitoring pesticide concentrations in groundwater for 25 principal aquifers across the conterminous United States since 1993. The groundwater well locations...
Bathymetric and acoustic-backscatter mapping of Lake Sammamish, Washington, during USGS field activity 2021-656-FA
Peter Dartnell, Daniel S. Brothers, Brian Sherrod, Gerry A. Hatcher, Daniel C. Powers, Jenna C. Hill, Jackson E. Currie, Peter Dal Ferro
2025, Data Report 1207
In 2021, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acquired bathymetric and acoustic-backscatter data within Lake Sammamish, Washington. Mapping was completed to find evidence of past earthquakes such as underwater landslides and is part of a larger USGS project to understand the overall geologic hazards history of the Cascadia Margin...
Colored shaded-relief bathymetry and acoustic backscatter of Lake Sammamish, Washington
Peter Dartnell, Daniel S. Brothers, Brian Sherrod, Gerry A. Hatcher, Daniel C. Powers, Jenna C. Hill, Jackson E. Currie, Peter Dal Ferro
2025, Scientific Investigations Map 3537
Evidence of strong earthquakes (such as underwater landslides and associated deposits) may be recorded within the lacustrine sediments of Pacific Northwest lakes. The floor of Lake Sammamish, Wash., an approximately 11 kilometer (6.8 mile) long, 2 kilometer (1.2 mile) wide, and 35 meter (114.8 feet) deep lake located in a...
Validation of gridded precipitation datasets for flood-typing in select conterminous U.S. basins
Michelle M. Irizarry-Ortiz, Sarah Yvette Murphy
2025, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (30)
Gridded precipitation datasets are required for flood-typing historical annual peak streamflow events in basins across the Conterminous United States. Selected gridded precipitation datasets were validated over the period 1981–2013 through comparisons with gage data from the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network daily (GHCNd). The ability of each gridded dataset to...
Gas emissions from the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine hydrothermal system, Clear Lake volcanic field, California
Jennifer L. Lewicki, Sara Peek, Laura E. Clor, Andrew Hunt
2025, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (468)
The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (SBMM) hydrothermal system offers insights into active degassing processes in the Clear Lake volcanic field (CLVF), a high-threat region based on its record of Holocene eruptions and proximity to populated areas. Here we present chemical and isotopic analyses of gas samples collected between 2015 and...
