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The restoration project constructed a low level dike, headwall, and head-gate at the mouth of the irrigation ditch to move the river back into its original channel. Phase II– The Sweetwater River jumped into an existing irrigation ditch creating a shortened braided channel (3,200 ft) and dewatering the historic single thread channel of 4,958 ft. The steepened channel created a head-cut in the main channel, causing channel incision and severe bank instability throughout the project area. The restoration project constructed a low level dike, headwall, and head-gate at the mouth of the irrigation ditch to move the river back into its original channel. Project completed August 2008. Approximately 12,100 ft of channel...
A program as large and complex as the WLCI requires significant coordination and management, as well as the integration of what is learned from science with the decision-making and program-evaluation processes. For the WLCI, coordination and integration are accomplished through the WLCI Coordination Team, which is composed of one member each from the USGS, BLM, FWS, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and Wyoming Department of Agriculture. There is also a USGS member on the Science and Technical Advisory Committee. Under the direction of the WLCI Executive Committee, the Coordination Team manages the fiscal and logistical operations necessary to meet the goals and objectives of the WLCI. The Coordination Team also...
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Restoration and maintenance of aspen communities is a BLM priority in the Little Mountain Ecosystem, and the USGS has been working with the BLM and the WGFD to monitor aspen stands in that area as part of its WLCI Effectiveness Monitoring work. LANDFIRE and ReGAP maps are considered the best spatial products for representing aspen distribution at regional and landscape scales; however, these products were not designed to support decisions at localized scales, such as that of the Little Mountain Ecosystem. In 2010, this study filled a critical information gap with production of a model (fine-scale map) that delineates aspen distribution for the Little Mountain Ecosystem. To accomplish this, we used classification...
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Managing, analyzing, providing, and using data and information resources assembled or generated for the WLCI are essential for supporting WLCI goals. This project addresses those needs by providing online tools for (1) discovering and using existing data and information; (2) cataloging, preserving, and archiving those resources; and (3) making them available to WLCI researchers, decision-makers, and the public. A WLCI Data Catalog (Catalog) hosted by USGS is available at www.wlci.gov. The Catalog includes information about and access to data sets, projects, publications, and Web sites relevant to the WLCI. This Catalog is continuously maintained and enhanced to meet user needs, capitalize on technological innovations,...
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The New Fork River, located in the northeastern part of the WLCI study area, drains about 1,200 mi2 of land in southeastern Wyoming. Currently, it is an area of active energy exploration and development, including development of conventional natural-gas wells. This study was conducted to support the Sublette County Conservation District in ascertaining effects on water quality in the New Fork River drainage associated with energy development and pipeline crossings of the river in the PAPA. The Sublette County Conservation District (SCCD) collects macroinvertebrate (aquatic insect) samples at eight sites within the PAPA. For this study, the USGS collected periphyton (algae), bed sediment, pebble count, discharge,...
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Project Synopsis: the goal of this study is to define the potential accumulation of hydrocarbons in surface waters and aquatic habitats of the New Fork River and to establish a baseline of potential toxicological effects on aquatic life.
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The rapid expansion of natural gas development in Southwest Wyoming has raised concerns about how that development affects key wildlife species and habitats. The overall goal of this project is to determine how the presence and intensity of oil and natural gas development are affecting habitat and water quality, and how they, in turn, can influence the presence and abundance of native fish species. The project addresses the WLCI management needs to identify the condition and distribution of key wildlife species and habitats, and species habitat requirements, and to evaluate wildlife and livestock responses to development. Our approach is a comparative study examining subwatersheds affected by different levels of...
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This project represents a continuation and expansion from the KFO’s 2004 CCI Project #21055 - Bear River Cooperative Weed Management. This project is for spraying and biological control of all Invasive/Noxious Weeds within the Kemmerer Field Office (KFO) area within Lincoln and Uinta Counties. Funding costs includes hiring seasonal staff and a vehicle to continue inventorying and mapping of weeds within the area. In 2009, 1,000 acres of weeds will be treated on BLM lands and 1,000 treated acres will be evaluated. Efforts will first be directed to areas where the resource benefits are most important as identified by the WLCI and the KFO. Maintaining the native vegetative communities and protecting them from invading...
This project involves both biological and herbicide control of tamarix (salt cedar). Biological control agents (beetles) will be introduced into the tamarix stands. Chemical controls will also be used to ensure stand removal. This project controls invasive species in riparian areas to reduce economic and ecological impacts. These impacts are especially acute in riparian ecosystems. This collaborative effort with Sweetwater County leverages available resources. 2008 Update: Four hundred (400) acres of weed treatments were applied, including the tamarisk and perennial pepperweed treatment along Little Bitter Creek and Red Creek. 2009 Update: The beetles for the biological control of the tamarix in the Bitter Creek...
This project is intended to provide a source of native seed and plant material for BLM’s Wyoming field office programs and projects. The intent of this proposal is to develop and maintain a supply of native plant seed, vegetative propagules, and native seed reserves for use on BLM projects primarily within the Green River Basin, SW Wyoming. This project would assist in providing native plant material and seed for watershed restoration projects on federal lands. The project is in compliance with National BLM native plant policies and goals. Currently, Wyoming BLM does not have native species under cultivation. The native plant program will provide seed and seedlings for field office’s programs, principally wildfire...
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This project improves the age class and diversity of plant communities. Improving transitional range will help hold the antelope and deer in this area, saving crucial winter areas for use later in the season. Other wildlife benefitting from this treatment are small mammals and a variety of birds, including sage grouse. Quality, quantity, and availability of forage in this transitional-migratory area will be improved. The units of accomplishments for this project, 10,000 acres (JM), are shared with multiple funding sources; due to the timing of the project; some units will carry over into FY 08. Some of the included acres are within the Wildland Urban Interface (JW).
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The proposed action is to conduct several different forms of forest and rangeland health treatments to improve and restore good health conditions in aspen woodlands and rangelenads on roughly between 700,000-750,000 acres of public lands. The goal is to implement a combination of treatments (mechanical removal of conifer encroachment in aspen stands, prescribed burning, hazardous fuels reduction and mechanical brush beating) within identified areas of forest and rangelands to improve aspen stands, rangeland vegetation, and riparian ecosystem health; improve livestock grazing and wildlife habitat conditions; and reduce hazardous fire fuel build up within juniper woodlands. This is an effort to improve the overall...
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Since 1990, more than 2 million dollars has been spent on habitat-restoration and enhancement projects in the Little Mountain Ecosystem. Many of these efforts have focused on restoring aspen communities to maintain or improve water quality and to enhance ungulate habitat. During 2009, biologists from the WGFD Green River Regional Office established long-term monitoring plots on Little Mountain to evaluate whether the increased number of ungulates using those stands is in balance with targets set for aspen regeneration. The WGFD is collecting data for developing an index of live to dead trees. The USGS is supporting this effort by measuring stand composition to study herbivory patterns at locations associated with...
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The shrub-steppe system that dominates the WLCI region separates the northern and southern Rocky Mountains; thus, forested areas in the WLCI region are limited. In the Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming, riparian and aspen woodlands comprise only a small fraction of the landscape, but many agencies perceive them as priority habitats because they make important contributions to landscape connectivity and biodiversity at local, regional, and geographic scales. Not only do aspen communities support a unique and diverse suite of species in the WLCI region, they provide important forage and cover for ungulates, help maintain headwater stream function, and they may serve as stepping stones for migratory forest birds...
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Russian olive and tamarisk are two invasive species that have established along the Green River. These two species are poor riparian plants and are outcompeting the native vegetation. Native vegetation is well suited to stabilize stream banks and capture sediment, thereby improving water quality. Currently the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has funded the Teton Science School to conduct an assessment from Fontenelle Dam to the southern end of Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and the City of Green River is treating Russian olive and Tamarisk on their properties. There is a need to complete an assessment from the southern boundary of Seedskadee NWR to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, initiate control measures...
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Ongoing energy development in the northern Green River structural basin necessitates information about groundwater resources that supply water to the basin’s wells. Many human activities in that area, including pumping water from the aquifers for agricultural, domestic, and industrial use, and penetration of the heterogeneous (that is, complex intertonguing of layers) aquifers (see Bartos and others, 2015) during deeper drilling for natural gas, have the potential to impact the aquifer system that supplies water to most wells in the area. We initiated this study in FY2012 as “A Retrospective Assessment of Groundwater Occurrence in the Normally Pressured Lance Formation and a Field Reconnaissance of Existing Water...
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Partners and stakeholders of the WLCI have expressed the need to access descriptive information and locations of (1) "on-the-ground" habitat conservation projects managed by the WLCI Coordination Team and (2) science projects being conducted by USGS and other science-agency partners. In response to this need, WLCI project information is documented in the Clearinghouse and available on the WLCI Web site (www.wlci.gov). The Clearinghouse provides an interactive map environment enabling users to click on geospatially referenced points, view project information, link to additional resources (including data), and use search and filter capabilities to constrain the information returned. Project information is entered...
Energy and other forms of development can have significant effects on ranching and farming communities. Jobes (1987) characterizes these communities as small, isolated, stable, interdependent, and independent of outsiders, and argues that energy development can devastate such communities because the informal institutions that hold them together (for example, community meetings) are disrupted and replaced by formal institutions. Many people may begin to feel like outsiders in their own communities as the population grows and changes rapidly. This causes some people to feel less satisfaction with their lives and move away. The lack of current research on how energy development affects ranching communities provides...
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This work centers on using remote-sensing tools and protocols for monitoring long-term changes in vegetation cover across the WLCI region. This information is crucial for understanding patterns of change within sagebrush habitats, including historical changes and potential trajectories of future changes. Our study targets five components of vegetation cover: all shrubs, sagebrush shrubs, herbaceous vegetation, litter, and bare ground, which we quantify by one-percent intervals. Based on samples collected both in the field and from satellite imagery, the USGS can evaluate and quantify the amount and distribution of long-term changes in the target components. This work and its associated products represent the operational...
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Agriculture is important to the historical identity of and current economic activity within the WLCI region. Understanding the social and economic values derived from agriculture helps policy planners and decision-makers to better assess the effects of landscape planning and conservation efforts in a broader (societal) context. Our study seeks to add more value to the WLCI Integrated Assessment (IA) by providing insights on the productivity and historical, ecological, and socioeconomic importance of agriculture across the WLCI landscape. Overall, this project will add another dimension to the WLCI IA’s inventory of integrated data and the WLCI data clearinghouse as a whole. In FY2014, scientists with the USGS, the...
map background search result map search result map Green River Russian Olive - Tamarisk Lincoln and Uinta County Invasives Native Seed Development in Wyoming Red Canyon/Elk Mountain Prescribed Burn LSCD - Little Snake Aspen Work Bitter Creek Tamarix Removal Sweetwater River Restoration (Phase II) New Fork River Infiltration of Trace Organics Green River Russian Olive - Tamarisk Red Canyon/Elk Mountain Prescribed Burn LSCD - Little Snake Aspen Work New Fork River Infiltration of Trace Organics Lincoln and Uinta County Invasives