Partnerships

The Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems Program addresses national environmental concerns by maintaining partnerships with State, tribal, and municipal governments concerning local environmental research issues.

The Ecosystems Program provides research and funding to support the following collaborative efforts:

• Cooperative Forest Ecosystem Research
• Coral Reef Task Force
• Federal Geographic Data Committee
• Global Change Research Program
• Integrated Landscape Monitoring Program
• Joint Fire Science Program
• Minerals Management Service
• National Phenology Network
• NatureServe
• Priority Ecosystems Science
• Western Mountain Initiative (WMI)

Cooperative Forest Ecosystem Research

• The Cooperative Forest Ecosystem Research (CFER) program works closely with resource managers, researchers, and decision-makers to develop and convey information needed to successfully implement ecosystem-based management at forest stand and watershed scales; the program provides forest managers with new information to evaluate current and proposed strategies and practices associated with management of forest ecosystems and facilitates development of sustainable forest practices through team-oriented, integrated research.

Coral Reef Task Force

• U.S. Coral Reef Task Force - the mission of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force is to lead, coordinate, and strengthen U.S. government actions to better preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. USGS scientists contribute their research expertise to understand the structure and function of reef communities.

Federal Geographic Data Committee

• Federal Geographic Data Committee: Wetlands Subcommittee - promotes standards of accuracy and consistency in spatial wetlands data financed in whole or in part by Federal funds.

Global Change Research Program

• U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) - provides access to data and information on climate change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change-related educational resources. USGS scientists contribute their expertise in hydrology, geology, biology, and geography to provide a truly interdisciplinary perspective on the interactions between climate, earth surface processes, and ecosystems on time scales ranging from years to millenia.

• Western Mountain Initiative - an integration of research programs that study global change in mountain ecosystems of the western United States. Projects support the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

Integrated Landscape Monitoring Program

• Integrated Landscape Monitoring Program (ILM) - USGS scientists from across scientific disciplines--geology, geography, water, and biology--work together to monitor changes at four eco-regions: the Great Basin, Puget Sound, Prairie Potholes, and Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

Joint Fire Science Program

• Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) - provides credible research tailored to the needs of fire and fuel managers. JFSP is an interagency research, development, and applications partnership between the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Minerals Management Service

• Minerals Management Service (MMS) - manages the Nation's natural gas, oil, and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS). The Ecosystems Program funds research to support MMS management decisions via the Outer Continental Shelf cyclical science program.

National Phenology Network

• USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) - currently being designed and organized to engage federal agencies, environmental networks and field stations, educational institutions, and mass participation by citizen scientists. The initial phase in Spring 2007 will establish a continental-scale network focused on phenological observations of a few regionally appropriate native plant species and nationally-cultivated indicator plants.

NatureServe

• NatureServe - a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to provide the scientific basis for effective conservation action.

Priority Ecosystems Science

• Priority Ecosystems Science (PES) - provides science that supports the adaptive management of ecosystems that have near-term societal concern and significant long-term societal value. Current study units include the Greater Everglades, Greater Yellowstone area, San Francisco Bay, Chesapeake Bay, the Mojave Desert, and the Platte River.

Western Mountain Initiative (WMI)

• Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) - emphasizes sensitivities, thresholds, resistance, and resilience - of Western mountain ecosystems to climatic variability and change.  It is a network of mountain protected areas of Global Change research.

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