Current Water-Related Studies at the Fort Collins Science Center

Current studies underway at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center.

Note: Results from historical studies can be found by searching our online publications at http://www.fort.usgs.gov/Products/

River Studies, Models, and Decision-Support Tools

• Development and Application of the Hydroecological Integrity Assessment Process
• Engineered River Channel Evaluation
• Integrating Variable Location, Geospatial Scale, and Economic Impacts into Decision Support Systems for Managing Natural Resources
• Natural Resources Model and Tool Development
• River Basin Management
• SALMOD: Salmonid YOY Production Model for the Klamath, Trinity, and Sacramento Rivers
• Water Management Studies

Riparian Studies

• Colorado River Basin Riparian Ecology
• Development of Riparian Monitoring Protocols
• Effects of Ungulate Browsing on Post-Fire Recovery of Cottonwoods and Willows: Implications for Management of Riparian Forests
• Erosional Consequence of Tamarisk Removal
• Global Change: Riparian Exotic Species
• Invasive Species of Riparian Ecosystems: Ecology, Restoration Implications, Effects of Climate Change, and Interactions with Streamflow and Fluvial Processes
• Managed Streamflow and the Ecology of the Bill Williams River
• Missouri River Cottonwood Demography
• Modeling the Importance of Native vs. Invasive Vegetation Dominance for Neotropical Migratory Bird Use of Western Riparian Habitats
• Riparian Ecosystems of Central Asia
• Riparian Vegetation and Floodplain Sediment Responses to Dam Removal
• Riparian Willow Restoration along the Illinois River at Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, CO
• Streamflow-Vegetation Relations to Evaluate Flow Regimes
• Support Bureau of Reclamation Activities Related to HR2720, Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act
• Test Riparian Revegetation Methods along the Virgin River, Zion National Park

Water Quality and Fish Studies

• Analysis of Compatibility between USDA and Landowner Goals Using Socioeconomic and Biological Data
• Diatoms: Taxonomic and Ecological Tools for Assessment
• Ecological Effects of Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition
• Engineered Wetland Evaluation
• Interactions between Native and Non-native Aquatic Species in the Southwestern United States
• Limnology and Stream Ecology
• Long-term Ecosystem Biogeochemistry
• Native Fish Sanctuary Evaluation
• Quantifying Biologically Mediated Fluxes of Stream Metals to Riparian Food Webs
• Spawning-related Movements of Flathead Chub in a Prairie Stream
• Western Mountain Initiative — Colorado
• Western Mountain Initiative — New Mexico  

USGS Water Resources Discipline Studies

• Development of Mineral Environmental Assessment Methodologies
• Eagle River Watershed Restrospective Assessment Program
• Environmental Effects of Abandoned Mine Lands: A Component of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Central Colorado Assessment Project
• Functional Characteristics of Streams among Ecoregions
• Gunnison and Green River Basin Sediment Monitoring and Evaluation Program
• National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
• Predicting and Managing Climate Change Impacts on Semi-Arid Land Wetlands, Migratory Birds, and Their Prey
• Sampling Variability and Its Effects on Biological Indicators
• Using GIS and Multivariate Regression to Model Salt and Selenium Loads in Regions of the Upper Colorado River Basin
• Using Tracer Techniques to Characterize Streamflow Gains and Losses