By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 24, 2025.

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) represents the foundational and successful effort to manage waterfowl and migratory bird in North America. Continued success of NAWMP depends on maintaining relevance to partners and society over time. FORT social science research supports NAWMP by providing a better understanding of what people value regarding waterfowl and their habitats. 

By jlball@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 23, 2025.

If you didn’t know that volcanoes can form their own caves, follow along to learn more about lava tubes! 

By dchilds@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 23, 2025.

This story was first published by The Wildlife Management Institute Outdoors News Bulletin (ONB) on September 17, 2025. USGS researchers at the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (Idaho CRU) and graduate students at the University of Idaho are working with Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) on projects focused on better understanding the dynamics of steelhead fisheries in Idaho.

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 23, 2025.

FORT researchers study invasive grass biology and management, to help resource managers reduce the abundance of these fine fuels, restore wildlife habitat, and ensure public safety.

By hweiss-racine@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 22, 2025.

Episode 33 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption started around 3:11 a.m. HST on September 19, 2025.  Lava fountain heights reached 700-800 feet (210-240 meters), the highest since episode 28 in July. The fountain remains inclined to the northeast at about 60 degrees, but less than episodes 31 and 32. North vent fountains rapidly dropped and disappeared at 12:08 pm HST September 19. 

By lhsu@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 22, 2025.

Join the Community for Data Integration (CDI) in developing the next advances in USGS data integration and management!

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 22, 2025.

A deadly fungus is causing large declines in hibernating bats around the world. Detailed life history information can support wildlife managers in predicting species declines and managing healthy bat populations, protecting the economic, agricultural, and other services that bats provide.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 22, 2025.

Thermophiles thrive in hydrothermal features where scalding temperatures would burn other life. What can we learn from the unique adaptations of these heat-loving microorganisms?

By hackley@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 19, 2025.

California’s San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive farming regions in the world. However, heavy use of groundwater has caused the land to sink—a problem that started in the 1900s and still continues.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 19, 2025.

The Autonomous MAPCAT is a USGS-designed vessel that can be used to transport any number of scientific packages at, or just below, the air-water interface. The equipment can then be accurately navigated along a user configurable survey route. Scientific instrument packages can include a multi-camera system, sonar mapping equipment, or chemical sensors, for example.

By skemp@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 19, 2025.

The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats has been detected at San Juan Island and Lewis and Clark National Historical Parks. This is the first documented case of the fungus in San Juan County, Washington and the State of Oregon.

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 19, 2025.

FORT’s Ecoinformatics and Wildlife Technology (ECOTECH) Branch works closely with state, federal, tribal, and nongovernmental partners to address complex challenges at the intersections of energy, infrastructure, resources, and species management, to reduce the need for regulatory actions. ECOTECH delivers the science, leadership, and technology required for transparent, data-driven decisions.

By hweiss-racine@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 18, 2025.

HVO scientists traveled to American Samoa for critical network maintenance, meetings with partners, and community outreach from August 28-September 11, 2025. 

By hweiss-racine@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 18, 2025.

American Samoa is a United States territory which comprises the easternmost islands of a volcanic island chain formed by the Samoan hotspot in the South Pacific Ocean. Its small islands are the tops of volcanoes, and there is an active volcanic seamount nearby. 

By krossos@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 18, 2025.

USGS streamflow and water-level information informs drought managers as conditions worsen and 86% of northern New England states are categorized as being in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. 

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 18, 2025.

FORT scientists developed a flexible simulation model to predict the genetic consequences of planned, proposed, or previously implemented management actions, supporting resource managers in their efforts to effectually manage healthy wildlife populations.

By hweiss-racine@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 17, 2025.

Gas pistoning continued in the north vent and intermittently in the south vent. Small north vent overflows occurred at 8:38 AM and 8:59 AM HST during gas pistoning cycles. The new window for the start of episode 33 is Sept 17-20.

By jlball@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 17, 2025.

How do volcanic fields get their start? By looking at crystals in the oldest lavas in a field, geoscientists can tell a story about the rocks’ pathway from the mantle to the surface. 

By slevisay@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 17, 2025.

Chances are, most people reading this story are using a device powered by a lithium-ion battery. Lithium is best known for powering batteries in phones, laptops, and electric vehicles, but it’s also used in lightweight metals, ceramics, lubricants, and even some medications.

By dchilds@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 17, 2025.

The 2025 USGS Energy and Wildlife Research Year in Review includes peer-reviewed publications, datasets, and decision-support tools that describe advancements in technologies and scientific methods, enhancing our understanding of how fish and wildlife interact with, and are affected by, energy infrastructure. This collection features new information products released between 10/2024 and 09/2025.

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 17, 2025.

Sagebrush ecosystems represent one of the most imperiled biomes in North America. To guide strategic conservation efforts and help land managers balance land use priorities, FORT scientists and collaborators developed the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET). 

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 16, 2025.

Wildfires in the United States are increasing in size and severity, impacting lives, property, public health, ecosystems, and ecosystems services. Recovery from a single fire can cost \$100s of millions to over \$40 billion, not including the costs of fire suppression. FORT fire history research provides essential information to support wildfire managers across the country.

By samgott@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 15, 2025.

RESTON, Va. — An ongoing geologic survey of the Connecticut River Valley is expected to shed light on pyrrhotite, the mineral implicated in weakening building foundations in southern New England.  

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 15, 2025.

For decades, chemicals from industry and development have lingered in the sediments of Puget Sound, threatening marine life and human health. Despite more than 30 years of remediation and monitoring, some contaminants remain stubbornly persistent in the Sound’s marine inhabitants and nearshore environment, raising questions about how best to restore this critical ecosystem.

By jlawson@contractor.usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 15, 2025.

For farmers, uncertainty is a constant. Much is beyond their control, and the weather is just one example. What looks like a bumper crop of soybeans one day could be shredded by hail or flooded by a deluge the next.

By edietrich@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 15, 2025.

The value people get from public lands goes beyond the billions of dollars spent each year on travel, entrance fees, licenses, and equipment for outdoor recreation. FORT economists help resource managers estimate the overall economic benefits generated by outdoor recreation activities, such as trips to National Park Service sites.

By mpoland@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 15, 2025.

If only we could stick a thermometer into a magma chamber…  That’s not really possible, but fortunately each mineral in a volcanic deposit is like a microscopic thermometer that records magma chamber temperature over time!

By mhartwell@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 12, 2025.

Join us on Monday, September 22 for “The Art of Inquiry,” a special Flagstaff Festival of Science exhibition showcasing a six-week collaboration between Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy students and USGS scientists.

By twojtowicz@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 12, 2025.

Kathi Irvine was recently selected to receive the American Statistical Association's Section on Statistics and the Environment 2025 Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to the development of methods, issues, concepts, applications, and initiatives in environmental statistics.

By ppearsall@usgs.gov from All News. Published on Sep 12, 2025.

Off the coast of southern California, oil naturally seeps from the seafloor, bubbling up to the surface and washing ashore as sticky tarballs. For decades, these natural seeps have complicated the work of regulators and resource managers, who must determine whether tar on beaches originates from human-caused spills or natural processes.