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U.S. Geological Survey


Wildlife Partners Unite to Protect Iconic Species from Deadly Plague

October 04, 2017 Gail Keirn, USDA APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

Last month, researchers, wildlife biologists and managers from several federal, state and local agencies gathered at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ (USFWS) National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center to celebrate a breakthrough in wildlife management— the development of an oral vaccine...

Animals

Hill Farm Buzzing with Pollinator Success

June 23, 2016 Elvis Cordova, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Since it’s National Pollinator Week, it seemed fitting to express my thanks to farmers Scott and Susan Hill - who run the Hill Farm outside Charlottesville, VA. Earlier, I had the chance to visit their 10-acre property former tobacco farm to see firsthand how hard they are working to grow a variety...

Food and Nutrition Farming

Rabies and Vampire Bats

May 04, 2016 Gail Keirn, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA, APHIS

All this month we will be taking a look at what a changing climate means to Agriculture. For APHIS, changes in environmental conditions will increase the likelihood of shifts in the distribution and nature of current domestic diseases, invasive species and agricultural pests. These changes will...

Animals Plants

New Study Highlights Redcedar's Impact on Prairie Chickens, Helps Improve Conservation Efforts

April 01, 2016 Jon Ungerer, Natural Resources Conservation Service

A new study offers the first empirical data proving that female lesser prairie-chickens avoid grasslands when trees are present. The study, highlighted in a Science to Solutions report by the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative (LPCI), underscores the importance of removing woody invasive plants like...

Conservation

Giant Sequoia Trees Face "Drying" Times

February 17, 2016 Diane Banegas, U.S. Forest Service

“A mature Giant Sequoia can use 500-800 gallons of water every day during the summer,” said Anthony Ambrose, a tree biologist at U.C. Berkeley. “That’s a lot of water necessary for just one tree.” For the first time in at least 125 years, Giant Sequoias in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of...

Forestry

Cultivating Native Leaders in Conservation

July 14, 2015 Leslie Wheelock, Director, Office of Tribal Relations

Recently, ninety Alaska Native, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian high school students came together at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia for a week of intensive education and peer-to-peer training about the impact of climate change on tribal communities...

Conservation Forestry

It's Time to Talk about the Birds and the Bees -- and the Butterflies, Bats and Beetles

June 16, 2015 Ann Mills, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment and Jon Jarvis, National Park Service Director

Cross-posted from the Department of Interior blog: From birds and bees to butterflies, bats and beetles, pollinators are a diverse group and are critically important to terrestrial life on our planet. Without our help, however, their populations will continue to decline as a result of numerous...

Animals Plants

Sustainable Land Management can Provide Building Materials for Post-Disaster Recovery

May 20, 2015 Kristin Merony, State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. Some, such as the devastating earthquake in Nepal and the series of earthquakes that destroyed infrastructure, homes and communities in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2011, capture global attention...

Forestry

The USDA Climate Hubs: Almost One Year Old and Making Progress

January 06, 2015 Randy Johnson, Ph.D. National Leader, USDA Climate Hubs

The USDA Climate Hubs are almost one year old! Since February of 2014, we have made considerable progress by developing networks that connect researchers to landowners; by evaluating available tools that can help land managers with management decisions regarding risk management; by synthesizing...

Conservation

Recovering a Native: USDA Agencies Help with Endangered Ferret Reintroductions

September 12, 2014 Gail Keirn, USDA APHIS Public Affairs Specialist

You can hear the chattering and scurrying from far away as six endangered black-footed ferrets restlessly wait in their travel carriers. These animals are the first of more than thirty scheduled for release this fall onto 34 square miles of prairie habitat at the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and...

Animals Plants
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