u.s. geological survey | KUNR

u.s. geological survey

New Maps Detail Migration Corridors Across The West

By • Nov 18, 2020

Back in 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey and several Western states formed the Corridor Mapping Team, a first-of-its-kind collaboration among state and federal wildlife biologists to map ungulate migrations.

Last week, the team published its first volume of maps, which document more than 40 big-game migration routes in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

New Lab Could Help Detect/Eradicate Invasive Species In Mountain West Waterways

By • Aug 28, 2020

The lab going up in Boise, Idaho, will be part of a new, larger U.S. Geological Survey building. And it would test environmental DNA, or eDNA, from around the nation. That is, instead of trying to find an invasive animal, like a single mussel or fish in a lake, scientists could just sample water to test for DNA of certain species.


USGS Director Says No Job Cuts, Despite Trump Budget Calling For Them

By • Feb 21, 2020
An image of a person working in waterways in Idaho.
U.S. Geological Survey

Earlier this month, the Trump administration released its budget proposal for next year. It included significant cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey, but that agency’s director told the Mountain West News Bureau that’s not going to happen.

Proposed Interior Dept. Budget Targets Public Lands, Climate Science

By • Feb 12, 2020
A side-by-side image shows glacial differences between 1938 and 2019 at Glacier National Park in Montana.
USGS

President Donald Trump unveiled his budget proposal Monday, and a significant cut to the Department of Interior is on the table.

The Trump administration wants to cut funding for all but one agency within the Interior, for a 16% overall reduction.

Nevada, Idaho Working To Keep Chronic Wasting Disease Out Of Their States

By • Sep 27, 2019
U.S. Geological Survey

Chronic Wasting Disease is a wildlife illness similar to Mad Cow Disease.  It’s rooted itself in the Mountain West and is thinning herds throughout the region.

Nevada and Idaho are the only states in our region with no confirmed cases of the highly contagious and fatal wildlife infection. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t made it there.