The University of Wyoming Stream Species Dataset is a species presence dataset containing presence locations for 116 freshwater fish species in Wyoming, Montana, and the surrounding states. It contains data from 40,490 unique sample events (location, month, year). Data was derived from multiple sources (Table 1) and limited to fish occurrences in rivers and streams.

Earth science does not occur in a vacuum. We may treasure the fleeting, sublime moments alone with the mountains – finding an alpine lake all to oneself for sampling (or lounging) or seeing moon shadows cast on a field of fresh snow after a cold day in the field. But it’s the community – today’s and yesterdays’ – that got us to that place. In addition to the ecological communities in which we work, Earth science is also a human endeavor, supported by an entire community not only of those with “scientist” as their title, but also those with the title of student, technician, community-observer, local-expert, outdoor safety professional, conservationist, or no particular title at all. Inspired by these myriad experiences that all build our community, comes our 2024 Mountain Views Chronicle theme—an exploration of science in community. A field note in the USFS' Mountain Forum publication about her first-hand experience of climate change while collecting interview data in Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.

Project Overview Climate change has reduced the amount of water stored in snowpacks and altered avalanche risks in mountainous areas of western North America. Researchers supported by this North Central-CASC project will develop tools for predicting and managing future water resources and future avalanche patterns, particularly in areas of major transportation corridors and important habitats. Results from this project will help federal, tribal, and state agencies manage snow water resources and mitigate avalanche hazards across temporal and spatial scales. Project Summary Climate change is profoundly affecting seasonal snowpack, with implications for water resources and water-related hazards like avalanches. Since 1950, the amount of water stored in snowpacks in western North America has decreased substantially because of declining winter precipitation and earlier snowmelt. These climatic changes also affect the frequency and magnitude of snow avalanches, which are dangerous to people, infrastructure, and mountain ecosystems. However, predicting future water resources and avalanche frequency is a challenge, as previous research from this project team demonstrates that avalanches are driven by complex interactions between weather, climate, and snowpack structure. This project has two distinct components related to snow as a water resource and a hazard. The first component addresses tribal partner needs for better tools for predicting and managing water resources and encompasses high-resolution snowpack data at a drainage scale. The second component focuses on snow as a hazard, addressing how changes to snowpack properties will impact future avalanche frequency and magnitude across the western United States. These research goals will help project team develop better tools for partners and stakeholders to address climate change impacts on snow and build more resilient communities. Understanding future changes in snowpack properties and avalanche behavior, including a shift in avalanche regime from cold and dry to warm and wet, can help managers predict and adapt to new water storage and avalanche patterns. Results from this project will provide valuable data for federal, tribal, and state management of snow water resources and avalanche mitigation.

To understand the impacts of changing climate and wildfire activity on conifer forests, we studied how wildfire and post-fire seasonal climate conditions influence western larch (Larix occidentalis) regeneration across its range in the northwestern US. We destructively sampled 1651 seedlings from 57 sites across 32 fires that burned at moderate or high severity between 2000 and 2015; sites were within 100 m of reproductively mature western larch. Using dendrochronological methods, we estimated germination years of seedlings to calculate annual recruitment rates. We used boosted regression trees to model the annual probability of recruitment as a function of (i) ‘wildfire-related factors’ including distance to seed source, satellite-derived fire severity, and time since fire, and (ii) seasonal climate conditions, including variables reflecting temperature and water availability. Most recruitment occurred within five years after wildfires, at sites within 25 m of reproductively mature western larch trees. Wildfire-related factors had the highest relative influence (87 %), while post-fire seasonal climate had less influence (13 %) on post-fire recruitment. Annual recruitment probability increased with growing season actual evapotranspiration, to a maximum of c. 275 mm, and then decreased. Annual recruitment probability decreased as growing season climatic water deficit increased. Our results suggest that recent climate trends – increased growing season water deficit and decreased actual evapotranspiration – have had variable, yet net-neutral, impacts on the climate suitability for post-fire western larch regeneration across its range. Climate suitability increased modestly at ‘cooler-and-wetter’ sites and decreased modestly at ‘warmer-and-drier’ sites. The strong influence of wildfire-related factors highlights the potential for management decisions to promote western larch in recently burned areas. Facilitating prescribed or managed wildfire with moderate- to high-severity patches will generate conditions suitable for natural regeneration, provided sufficient seed sources survive the fire. Additionally, our findings support monitoring of natural regeneration or augmenting regeneration by planting within the first five years after fire, consistent with current management practices.

In-nii (American Bison) are returning to their Traditional Territories after being nearly wiped out of the Great Plains of North America and Canada. The in-nii are slowly returning to Native American tribes who have the resources to run reintroduction programs like that of the Amskapiipikini (Blackfeet). This in-nii reintroduction presented an opportunity to look at the effects of the return of in-nii to the Amskapiipikini, and what their influences might be on the soils, plants, and water resources of the Blackfeet Nation. This research project was conducted on the Blackfeet Buffalo (In-nii) Ranch and the adjacent RRJ Cattle Ranch, comparing the influence of in-nii and cattle on soil nutrient cycles and soil carbon dynamics. Soil samples were taken from locations on the landscape that were near water sources on lower elevations, mid hillslopes for mid-elevation sites and on hilltops at higher elevations. Soil characteristics included soil organic matter (SOM), nitrate, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Only two (CEC, magnesium) appeared to have been influenced by in-nii and cattle. The remaining soil characteristics were little influenced by grazer type. Substrate-induced respiration was also measured in the lab to see how microbes decomposed SOM (carbohydrates and other molecules) to release energy and CO2; we found no evidence of differences between in-nii- and cattle-influenced soils. Finally, we measured field respiration rates and water infiltration rates at multiple fence line sites; field soil respiration rates increased when soil had water infiltrated after the dry readings, soils also increased the time to absorb water after the first infiltration tests were run. Our preliminary results suggest that the reintroduction of in-nii to these lands has not yet resulted in measurable differences in soil-related properties of the Blackfeet Nation. Even so, the return of the in-nii for the Amskapiipikini is also about understanding the importance of using cultural science when studying the ecology of a system. Doing this can create an understanding of the traditional ways of knowing while bringing cultural healing and restoring connections between Amskapiipikini, in-nii, and land. Chapter 3 of this Master's Thesis is directly related to the North Central CASC funded project however the entirity of the document is relevant to this study.

Ecological transformations are persistent shifts in multiple components of an ecosystem that are not easily reversed. They can be caused by many different drivers including wildfire, climate change, and invasive species, as well as interactions between these drivers. For example, increased wildfire and drought frequency and/or severity in sagebrush ecosystems promote the spread of invasive grasses and the transformation to grassdominated ecosystems. With ecological transformation, it is becoming increasingly hard to maintain ecosystem conditions based on historical baselines. The RAD (resist, accept, direct) framework offers alternative management approaches in addition to those aimed at maintaining historical conditions, including accepting ecosystem transformations or directing systems towards novel conditions (Lynch et al. 2021; Schuurman et al. 2022) 

The US faces multiple challenges in facilitating the safe, effective, and proactive use of fire as a landscape management tool. This intentional fire use exposes deeply ingrained communication challenges and distinct but overlapping strategies of prescribed fire, cultural burning, and managed wildfire. We argue for a new conceptual model that is organized around ecological conditions, capacity to act, and motivation to use fire and can integrate and expand intentional fire use as a tool. This result emerges from more considered collaboration and communication of values and needs to address the negative consequences of contemporary fire use. When applied as a communication and translation tool, there is potential to lower barriers to faster and more successful collaboration among stakeholders. Such improvements are a vital part of strategies to address climate adaptation, wildfire mitigation, and the well-being of ecosystems.  

Riparian refugia are existing riparian areas that are forecasted to maintain riparian vegetation and associated ecological function under plausible future climates. The riparian climate refugia index was derived from two landscape variables that represent where existing riparian areas may be more resilient to climatic changes (riparian connectedness and landscape diversity) and two climate variables that reflect projected exposure to climate change (runoff and warm days). Identifying riparian areas forecasted to be more resilient against climate change is important for assisting wildlife management agencies in climate adaptation planning. This data explorer tool, built in ArcGIS Online Dashboard, allows for visualizing spatial data in a webtool format.  

The data set evaluates the relationship between water surface area and angler effort on Devil's Lake, North Dakota. Over the last 30+ years, water levels have expanded/contracted in Devil's laking owing to variation in climate (precipitation). Positive changes (i.e. expansion) in the lake surface area results in increased fish production and angling opportunities that positively influence angler effort and the local economy.