Nevada Natural Heritage Program

Our mission is to develop and maintain a cost-effective, central information source and inventory of the locations, biology, and status of all threatened, endangered, rare, and at-risk plants and animals in Nevada. We use the best available biological data to continually evaluate conservation priorities for over 700 native animals, plants, and vegetation types, focusing on those that are at greatest risk of extinction or serious decline. As a non-regulatory, independent resource for scientifically objective data, environmental review, and technical assistance and expertise, we support the needs of diverse planning, conservation management, research, education, and economic development activities in Nevada. The...

Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: English, GIS, Mojave Desert, US, amphibian, All tags... assessment, bird, climate, ecoregion, endangered, fish, grassland, invasive, inventory, mammal, management, map, organization, plan, plant, priority, rare, research, reservoir, restoration, riparian, spring, threatened, topography, vegetation, vulnerability, wetland, wildlife, Fewer tags

Deserts of the southwestern United States, for the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system study, Nevada and California

These data were released prior to the October 1, 2016 effective date for the USGS’s policy dictating the review, approval, and release of scientific data as referenced in USGS Survey Manual Chapter 502.8 Fundamental Science Practices: Review and Approval of Scientific Data for Release. This digital data set defines the boundaries of the deserts of the southwestern United States. Those deserts include the Great Basin, Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran Deserts as defined by Benson and Darrow (1981). The study by Benson and Darrow (1981) was a historical reference used to support development of the transient ground-water model of Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) completed in 2004 by the USGS (see...

Tags: Amargosa Desert, Arizona Sonoran Desert, Ash Meadows, California, California Valley, All tags... Chicago Valley, China Ranch, Clark County, Clayton Valley, Coal Valley, Colorado Sonoran Desert, Death Valley, Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Esmeralda County, Eureka Valley, Franklin Lake, Franklin Well, Garden Valley, Great Basin Desert, Inyo County, Kern County, Las Vegas Valley, Lincoln County, Mesquite Valley, Mineral County, Mojave Desert, Mono County, NSDI, Nevada, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Oasis Valley, Owlshead Mountains, Pahranagat Range, Pahrump Valley, Panamint Range, Penoyer Valley, Railroad Valley, Resting Spring, Saline Valley, San Bernardino County, Sarcobatus Flat, Sheep Range, Shoshone, Silurian Valley, Spring Mountains, Stewart Valley, Stone Cabin Valley, Tecopa, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Yucca Mountain, eastern California, evapotranspiration, flow model, ground water, ground-water discharge, ground-water pumping, ground-water recharge, hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic head, hydrogeologic framework model, hydrogeology, hydrology, lateral ground-water model boundary, net infiltration, southern Nevada, spring flow, steady state ground-water model, transient ground-water model, water well, Fewer tags

Geospatial Data Used in Water-Level and Land-Subsidence Studies in the Mojave River and Morongo Groundwater Basins for 2004

These data were released prior to the October 1, 2016 effective date for the USGS’s policy dictating the review, approval, and release of scientific data as referenced in USGS Survey Manual Chapter 502.8 Fundamental Science Practices: Review and Approval of Scientific Data for Release. The Mojave River and Morongo ground-water basins are in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ground-water from these basins supplies a major part of the water requirements for the region. The continuous population growth in this area has resulted in ever-increasing demands on local ground-water resources. The collection and interpretation of ground-water data helps local water districts, military bases,...

Tags: California, Mojave Desert, Morongo, NSDI, San Bernardino County, All tags... Southern California, USGS, USGS, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), contours, contours, drainage basin, drainage basin, ground water, ground water, ground-water, ground-water, groundwater, groundwater, hydrology, hydrology, inland waters, inland waters, inlandWaters, inlandWaters, levels, levels, water level, water level, water table, water table, Fewer tags

Video Files

In this observational pilot study, we worked at the largest existing solar tower facility in the world (Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System - ISEGS) to assess the efficacy of using radar, surveillance video, and insect trapping to monitor animals flying near the towers. During week-long site visits in May and September, we monitored the airspace surrounding towers and observed insects, occasional birds, and bats under a variety of environmental and operational conditions. This dataset is comprised of the unedited digital video imagery we gathered during those site visits. There are four types of video imagery included in the data set: (1) "EMCCD camera" is the output of an electron multiplying charge-coupled-device...

Types: Citation; Tags: Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, Ivanpah Valley, Mojave Desert, Monitoring and Evaluation, Solar Energy, All tags... Solar power towers, Wildlife and Fisheries, animal movement, bats, birds, infrared, insects, migration, power generation sites, solar flux, solar power, video monitoring, videography, videos, wildlife, Fewer tags

Central and South Coastal Californian Coastal Sage Scrub - Natural Community Distribution, DRECP

Central and South Coastal Californian Coastal Sage Scrub distribution within the DRECP study area.This community was extracted from the Land/Use Natural Vegetation Communities dataset provided by Aerial Information Systems and the California Dept. of Fish and Game. Extractions were based on the GroupCommunity field.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) and contractor Aerial Information Systems (AIS) created a fine-scale vegetation map of a portion of the western Mojave Desert in California. The mapped area is bounded to the west and south by USDA Ecoregional Subsection 322Ag of the Mojave Desert (Miles and Goudey 1997). To the east, the portion...

Tags: desert renewable energy conservation plan, mojave desert, vegetation, vegetation classification

Lower Bajada and Fan Mojavean - Sonoran Desert Scrub - Natural Community Distribution, DRECP

Lower Bajada and Fan Mojavean - Sonoran Desert Scrub distribution within the DRECP study area.This community was extracted from the Land/Use Natural Vegetation Communities dataset provided by Aerial Information Systems and the California Dept. of Fish and Game. Extractions were based on the GroupCommunity field.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) and contractor Aerial Information Systems (AIS) created a fine-scale vegetation map of a portion of the western Mojave Desert in California. The mapped area is bounded to the west and south by USDA Ecoregional Subsection 322Ag of the Mojave Desert (Miles and Goudey 1997). To the east, the portion...

Tags: desert renewable energy conservation plan, mojave desert, vegetation, vegetation classification

Central and South Coastal California Seral Scrub - Natural Community Distribution, DRECP

Central and South Coastal California Seral Scrub distribution within the DRECP study area.This community was extracted from the Land/Use Natural Vegetation Communities dataset provided by Aerial Information Systems and the California Dept. of Fish and Game. Extractions were based on the GroupCommunity field.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) and contractor Aerial Information Systems (AIS) created a fine-scale vegetation map of a portion of the western Mojave Desert in California. The mapped area is bounded to the west and south by USDA Ecoregional Subsection 322Ag of the Mojave Desert (Miles and Goudey 1997). To the east, the portion mapped...

Tags: desert renewable energy conservation plan, mojave desert, vegetation, vegetation classification

Land Cover/Natural Vegetation Communities (Group Level), Providence and Buillion Mountains, DRECP

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) and contractor Aerial Information Systems (AIS) created a fine-scale vegetation map of a portion of the western Mojave Desert in California. The mapped area is bounded to the west and south by USDA Ecoregional Subsection 322Ag of the Mojave Desert (Miles and Goudey 1997). To the east, the portion mapped by AIS (approx. 4,202,000 acres) is bounded by the borders of a vegetation map produced in 2004 for the Mojave Desert Ecosystem Program (MDEP). VegCAMP mapped a portion of the area mapped previously for the MDEP (approx. 776,000 acres) using the finer-scale rules and classification that AIS used for the larger...

Tags: desert renewable energy conservation plan, mojave desert, vegetation, vegetation classification

Factors affecting seed germination and seedling establishment of a long-lived desert shrub (Coleogyne ramosissima: Rosaceae)

Long-lived desert shrubs exhibit infrequent, episodic recruitment from seed. In spite of this long time scale, selection on life history attributes that affect seedling recruitment should be strong. We studied factors affecting germination phenology and seedling establishment for Coleogyne ramosissima, a dominant shrub species in the ecotone between warm and cold deserts in western North America. We also examined ecotypic differentiation in establishment strategy in response to selection regimes in two contrasting habitats. We followed patterns of dormancy loss, germination, emergence, and survival in reciprocal field experiments at warm winter Mojave Desert and cold winter Colorado Plateau study sites. Seed germination...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Colorado Plateau, Mojave Desert, Plant Ecology, Springer Netherlands, blackbrush, All tags... ecotype, episodic recruitment, seed predation, Fewer tags

Drinking and construction of water catchments by the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in the Mojave Desert

Desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii, generally were active in the spring and fall. They often became active during and after infrequent showers and thunderstorms, and drank from temporary pools of standing water even when air temperatures were suboptimal (9-15 C). In several instances tortoises constructed shallow catchment basins which held water for as long as six h. Thus tortoises can obtain drinking water by modifying their environment. Following small amounts of rainfall (5.6 mm) in July 1976, six tortoises increased an average of 9.2% in body weight; this increase was due to ingestion of water. Drinking may be an important source of water for this species. Published in Herpetologica, volume 36, issue 4, on...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Gopherus, Herpetologica, Mojave Desert, Reptilia, Testudines, All tags... Testudinidae, basin, digging, drinking, rain, Fewer tags

Desert Tortoise Ecology and Precipitation, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts—Data

Estimated precipitation data were compiled using the WestMap web site (http://www.cefa.dri.edu/Westmap/) from 1995-2013. We selected pixels on the map shown on their web site that were in the core of our study areas: one near Palm Springs, California and the other at Sugarloaf Mountain in the Tonto National Forest of Arizona. WestMap uses PRISM data to make point measurements of climate data and a digital elevation model of terrain to create estimates of monthly climate elements. Estimates are derived for a 4km grid, for ease in mapping and GIS applications. PRISM is an integrated set of rules, decision making, and calculations designed to imitate the process an expert climatologist would go through when mapping...

Types: Citation; Tags: Arizona, California, Carapace length, Clutch size, Desert tortoise eggs, All tags... Egg width, Mojave Desert, PRISM data, Palm Springs, San Gorgonio Pass, Seasonal precipitation, Sonoran Desert, Sugarloaf Mountain, Summer precipitation, Tonto National Forest, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), WestMap Climate Analysis & Mapping Toolbox, Winter precipitation, X-ray pelvic aperture width, Fewer tags

Invasive Plant Cover in the Mojave Desert, 2009 - 2013 (ver. 2.0, April 2021)

We assessed the impacts of co-occurring invasive plant species on fire regimes and postfire native communities in the Mojave Desert, western USA by analyzing the distribution and co-occurrence patterns of three invasive annual grasses known to alter fuel conditions and community structure: Red Brome (Bromus rubens), Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and Mediterranean grass (Schismus spp.: Schismus arabicus and Schismus barbatus), and an invasive forb, red stemmed filaree (Erodium cicutarium) which can dominate postfire sites. We developed species distribution models (SDMs) for each of the four taxa and analyzed field plot data to assess the relationship between invasives and fire frequency, years postfire, and the impacts...

Categories: Data; Types: Downloadable, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, Shapefile; Tags: Mojave desert, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), biota, co-occurance invasives, desert ecosystems, All tags... ecosystems, field methods, fire disturbance, fire frequency, fires, geographic information systems, habitat alteration, invasive species, plants (organisms), remote sensing, vegetation, Fewer tags

BLM REA MBR 2010 Aquatic/Riparian Ecosystem Status - Mojave Desert Springs Seeps

This map shows the status of aquatic ecosystems, in addition to the input datasets used for the analysis and distribution modeling that were involved in producing these status datasets. These data are provided by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) "as is" and may contain errors or omissions. The User assumes the entire risk associated with its use of these data and bears all responsibility in determining whether these data are fit for the User's intended use. These data may not have the accuracy, resolution, completeness, timeliness, or other characteristics appropriate for applications that potential users of the data may contemplate. The User is encouraged to carefully consider the content of the metadata file associated...

Types: Live Data; Tags: Aquatic, BLM, Bureau of Land Management, Current, DOI, All tags... Distribution, Ecosystem, Geospatial, Hydrology, MBR, MBR 2010, MapServer, Mojave Basin and Range, Mojave Desert, REA, Rapid Ecoregional Assessment, Seep, Seeps, Spring, Springs, Status, inlandWaters, liveData, service, Fewer tags

Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel

The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the precipitation are debated. Here we present stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from tooth enamel of late Pleistocene herbivores recovered from paleowetland deposits at Tule Spring Fossil Beds National Monument in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada, as well as modern herbivores from the surrounding area, to investigate whether winter or summer precipitation was responsible for driving the wet...

Categories: Data; Tags: Las Vegas, Nevada, Mojave Desert, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), late Pleistocene, All tags... none, paleoclimate, paleowetlands, southwestern U.S., stable isotopes, tooth enamel, Fewer tags

'Viva' native plant material data in support of restoration and conservation

These data were compiled to investigate the evolutionary history of Hilaria jamesii, Hilaria mutica, and Hilaria rigida. The data release consists of two tab delimited text files that may be used to infer population structure (viva_structure.stru) or relationships among sampling localities (viva.phylip). Files record genetic variation on an individual (.stru) or sampling locality (.phylip) level. These files may be opened and edited in a text editor program, such as Notepad ++ (PC) or BBEdit (Mac). The .phylip file can be uploaded to phyML or SVDQuartets to generate a tree-based visualization of relationships ( http://www.atgc-montpellier.fr/phyml/ or https://paup.phylosolutions.com, repectively). The .stru file...

Tags: Arizona, Botany, California, Colorado, Colorado Plateau, All tags... Ecology, Genetics, Geography, Great Basin, Hilaria jamesii, Hilaria mutica, Hilaria rigida, Information Sciences, Intermountain West, Kansas, Mojave Desert, Nevada, New Mexico, North America, Poaceae, Texas, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Utah, Wyoming, adaptation, biogeography, biota, demographics, demography, ecosystem management, ecosystem management, ecosystem restoration, evolution, genetic diversity, genetics, hybridization, indigenous plants, native plant materials development, native species, phylogeny, phylogeography, population genetics, population structure, remediation, restoration, seed transfer guidelines, seeds, western United States, Fewer tags

Deserts of the southwestern United States, for the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system study, Nevada and California

These data were released prior to the October 1, 2016 effective date for the USGS’s policy dictating the review, approval, and release of scientific data as referenced in USGS Survey Manual Chapter 502.8 Fundamental Science Practices: Review and Approval of Scientific Data for Release. This digital data set defines the boundaries of the deserts of the southwestern United States. Those deserts include the Great Basin, Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran Deserts as defined by Benson and Darrow (1981). The study by Benson and Darrow (1981) was a historical reference used to support development of the transient ground-water model of Death Valley regional ground-water flow system (DVRFS) completed in 2004 by the USGS (see...

Tags: Amargosa Desert, Arizona Sonoran Desert, Ash Meadows, California, California Valley, All tags... Chicago Valley, China Ranch, Clark County, Clayton Valley, Coal Valley, Colorado Sonoran Desert, Death Valley, Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Esmeralda County, Eureka Valley, Franklin Lake, Franklin Well, Garden Valley, Great Basin Desert, Inyo County, Kern County, Las Vegas Valley, Lincoln County, Mesquite Valley, Mineral County, Mojave Desert, Mono County, NSDI, Nevada, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Oasis Valley, Owlshead Mountains, Pahranagat Range, Pahrump Valley, Panamint Range, Penoyer Valley, Railroad Valley, Resting Spring, Saline Valley, San Bernardino County, Sarcobatus Flat, Sheep Range, Shoshone, Silurian Valley, Spring Mountains, Stewart Valley, Stone Cabin Valley, Tecopa, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Yucca Mountain, eastern California, environment, evapotranspiration, flow model, geoscientificInformation, ground water, ground-water discharge, ground-water pumping, ground-water recharge, hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic head, hydrogeologic framework model, hydrogeology, hydrology, inlandWaters, inlandWaters, lateral ground-water model boundary, net infiltration, southern Nevada, spring flow, steady state ground-water model, transient ground-water model, water well, Fewer tags

Impact of Ecosystem Water Balance on Desert Vegetation: Quantification of Historical Patterns and Projection under Climate Change

Explore climate change impacts on vegetation across the Desert and Southern Rockies LCCs using historical monitoring data collected from 23 sites across the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave and Colorado Plateau deserts for 30-50 years. This data will then be combined with ecosystem water balance model simulations to establish features of water availability critical for plant species response. Results will allow managers to identify species and communities at risk under future climate scenarios based on predicted changes in plant water availability. Due to the high variability in soils, incorporating a detailed understanding of soil water availability beyond bioclimatic envelope approaches in the desert Southwest is essential...

Categories: Data, Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, Academics & scientific researchers, All tags... Applications and Tools, Arizona, Big Bend ‐ Río Bravo & Lower Río Conchos Pilot Area, CA-08, CO-03, California, Chihuahua, Chihuahuan Desert, Colorado Plateau, Conservation NGOs, Datasets/Database, Decision Support, Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative, EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION, Federal resource managers, LCC, LCC Network Science Catalog, Mexico, Mojave Desert, Mojave Desert Pilot Area, NM-02, NV-03, NV-04, New Mexico, Population & Habitat Evaluation/Projection, Project, Sonora, Sonoran Desert, TX-16, TX-23, Transboundary Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area, UT-02, UT-03, United States, User Manual, Utah, Vulnerability Assessment, biota, climate change, completed, desert southwest, ecohydrology, plants, soil water, vegetation change, water availability, Fewer tags

Selected Evapotranspiration Data, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada, 7/5/2011-1/1/2017

Selected evapotranspiration data were collected from 7/5/2011 to 1/1/2017 at the Amargosa Desert Research Site (ADRS, https://nevada.usgs.gov/adrs/) in support of ongoing research to improve the understanding of hydrologic and contaminant-transport processes in arid environments. The data presented in this data release includes 30-minute and daily evapotranspiration and associated energy-balance fluxes, precipitation, soil water content, air and soil temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, and photosynthetically active radiation. Data methods follow those described in Moreo and others (2017). This is the third in a series of three releases of evapotranspiration data, which has been measured continuously...

Categories: Data; Tags: Amargosa Desert, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Climatology, Ecology, Energy budget, All tags... Environmental Health, Evapotranspiration, Hydrogeology, Mojave Desert, Net radiation, Nevada, Nye County, Precipitation, Soil Sciences, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Water Resources, Fewer tags

Micrometeorological and Soil-Moisture Data at the Amargosa Desert Research Site in Nye County near Beatty, Nevada, January 1, 2017 to May 31, 2019

This data release describes micrometeorological and soil-moisture data collected from January 1, 2017 through May 31, 2019 at the Amargosa Desert Research Site adjacent to a low-level radio­active waste and hazardous chemical waste facility near Beatty, Nevada. Micrometeorological data include precipitation, solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, saturated and ambient vapor pressure, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and soil-water content. Soil-moisture data include periodic measurements of volumetric water-content at four experimental sites that represent vegetated native soil, devegetated native soil, and two simulated waste disposal trenches—maximum measurement depths range from 5.25...

Categories: Data; Tags: Amargosa Desert, Armagosa Desert Research Site, Climatology, Mojave Desert, Nevada, All tags... Nye County, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), atmospheric properties, climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere, inlandWaters, meteorology, precipitation (atmospheric), soil moisture, unsaturated zone, wind, Fewer tags

Californian Mesic Chaparral - Natural Community Distribution, DRECP

Californian Mesic Chaparral distribution within the DRECP study area.This community was extracted from the Land/Use Natural Vegetation Communities dataset provided by Aerial Information Systems and the California Dept. of Fish and Game. Extractions were based on the GroupCommunity field.The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) and contractor Aerial Information Systems (AIS) created a fine-scale vegetation map of a portion of the western Mojave Desert in California. The mapped area is bounded to the west and south by USDA Ecoregional Subsection 322Ag of the Mojave Desert (Miles and Goudey 1997). To the east, the portion mapped by AIS (approx. 4,202,000...

Tags: desert renewable energy conservation plan, mojave desert, vegetation, vegetation classification