https://qanr.usu.edu/wees/news/index.xmlOn this page, you can keep up with the latest news within the Department of WEES. Research, awards, student events and more!https://templateresources.usu.edu/_resources/assets/images/U-State.pnghttps://qanr.usu.edu/en-usNewshttps://apnews.com/article/beavers-drought-western-us-colorado-river-605cfffb016e87f62b954be148332d18The Ramsays’ ranch in southwest Wyoming is one of many areas embracing the semiaquatic rodents as nature’s engineers. Conservation groups and government agencies are increasing their use of “starter homes” made of wood and brush to encourage the creaturesMonday, 19 October 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-honors-presents-51st-annual-honors-last-lecture-with-benjamin-burgerBurger will deliver a lecture titled “Beyond Extinction: The Prehistoric Past and Surviving the Future” in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall on USU’s Logan campus from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Oct. 21.Friday, 2 October 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-geophysicist-chosen-for-agu-jason-morgan-early-career-awardSrisharan Shreedharan has been selected for the 2026 Jason Morgan Early Career Award in Tectonophysics from the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The award recognizes an individual each year for outstanding and significant contributions through research, Wednesday, 23 September 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/keeping-current-usu-experts-track-colorado-river-as-regional-water-crisis-deepensWater levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead fell to historic lows this summer, with managers across seven Western states and Mexico anxiously watching winter forecasts for a chance to reverse a looming water-supply crisis.Friday, 28 August 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/up-in-smoke-new-research-document-widespread-implications-of-smoke-after-wildfireGuttering flames and smoldering trees leave behind obvious marks, but new research shows that the wildfire smoke itself can have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on natural systems, according to two new studies from Janice Brahney, a biogeochemist frTuesday, 25 August 2026https://abcnews.com/US/lake-powell-reaching-critically-low-elevation-levels-nearing/story?id=134659320Minimum, or "dead," power pool -- in which the water is too low to spin the hydroelectric turbines and can no longer produce hydropower -- starts at 3,490 feet of elevation, Peter Soeth, public affairs lead at the Bureau of Reclamation, told ABC News. EleMonday, 13 July 2026https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/07/lake-powell-water-crisisExperts say the critical reservoir system is careening toward a breaking point as the US west’s climate warms and driesTuesday, 7 July 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/fulbright-award-takes-usu-alumnus-to-italy-to-study-wildfire-recoveryUtah State University alumnus Alec Arditti, who earned a master of science in watershed sciences in 2023, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to study wildfire recovery in Sardinia, Italy.Tuesday, 7 July 2026https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/utah-moved-beavers-rescue-dying-102900646.html?fr=sycsrp_catchallA 2019 project led by Utah State University master's student Emma Doden began relocating beavers into parts of Utah's Price River to help the drought-stressed waterway recover. The river is part of the Colorado River Basin, where climate pressures, overusMonday, 29 June 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/finding-faults-usus-annual-rock-n-fossil-day-set-for-feb-28USU's Department of Geosciences hosts the annual, free, family-friendly event on Saturday with demonstrations and hands-on learning for all ages.Monday, 23 February 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/breakthrough-expedition-hidden-clay-intensified-japan-megaquake-tsunamiBeneath four miles of ocean and a mile of rock and sediment, an international team, including USU’s Srisharan Shreedharan, recently uncovered new information — a hidden reason for the devastation of the 2011 magnitude 9.1 Tohoku earthquake, the most powerFriday, 16 January 2026https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-uintah-basin-professor-ben-burger-digs-into-own-past-in-inaugural-lectureThe inaugural lecture series honors USU faculty who have completed the promotion and tenure process and advanced to the rank of professor within the past year. Earning the title of full professor is one of the highest distinctions a faculty member can achMonday, 15 December 2025https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv6383?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ScienceAdviser&utm_content=distillation&et_rid=17654451&et_cid=5686989In the July 23rd issue of Science Advances, lead author Dr. Giovanni Mussini from Cambridge University, along with USU Geoscientist Dr. Carol Dehler and collaborators from University of New Mexico, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Grand Canyon NationaWednesday, 23 July 2025https://www.usu.edu/today/story/waiting-for-the-big-one-usu-geologist-studies-frictional-behavior-of-the-southern-san-andreas-faultDoctoral scholar Alex DiMonte, with faculty mentors Alexis Ault and Srisharan Shreedharan, and Brown University colleague Greg Hirth, publishes new findings about California's iconic Earth crust fracture in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.Friday, 11 July 2025