Pacific Northwest Research Station

You've probably heard of, or maybe even seen, the massive die-offs of fish that sometimes occur in lakes and coastal areas worldwide. But do you know what one major cause of fish die-offs is? Hypoxia, or extremely low levels of dissolved oxygen in water. When water is hypoxic, the low amount of oxygen can severely damage, and even kill, hundreds to thousands of fish at once.

Forest Service Science Protects Public Health by Forecasting Potency and Path of Smoke.

If you’re a Pacific Northwest Research Station scientist inventorying forests in interior Alaska, then your daily commute at the moment crisscrosses a remote area the size of Arkansas. This vastness—and the fact that much of the 53,500-square-mile initial study area is not reachable by road—means that forest access must often come by air.

From clean water and wildlife habitat to timber and other forest products, recreation, and spiritual and cultural values, healthy natural ecosystems provide a range benefits for people. Increasingly, the value of these “ecosystem services” is being recognized, along with the need to ensure they are available now and into the future. The U.S.