Welcome to the home page for the Mojave Desert Science Symposium. This historic forum brought together researchers and managers to examine the status of scientific knowledge about the Mojave Desert. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division, Western Ecological Research Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on February 25-27, 1999.

Scientists and managers attended the symposium to discuss their concerns about the large areas of Mojave Desert that have been affected by off-highway-vehicle use, overgrazing by domestic livestock, agriculture, urbanization, construction of roads and utility corridors, air pollution and military training exercises.

According to USGS scientist and symposium chairperson Dr. Jeff Lovich, "The Mojave Desert is generally perceived by the public to be rugged and timeless. In reality, it is a sensitive ecosystem that is easy to scar and slow to heal. Complete recovery from degradation may require over 3,000 years. The Mojave Desert's proximity to huge and growing population centers such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and southern California necessitates a firm understanding of how human uses affect this national treasure".

The symposium included oral presentations and poster sessions, a luncheon with guest speaker USGS scientist Robert Webb, an expert on the response of desert plant communities to disturbance, several panel discussions, and a field trip tour of long-term research areas on the Nevada Test Site and. Presentation subjects included changing landlords, soil crusts, global climate change, desert tortoise research and monitoring, bighorn sheep and burros, special-status plants, Mojave Vegetation Mapping Project, military research, urban effects and pollution, livestock grazing, subsidized predators, desert fishes, riparian systems, exotic plants, fire history, effects of fire, ecosystem processes, restoration and recovery, and agency, programmatic and institutional overviews.

As principal sponsor of the symposium, the USGS Western Ecological Research Center highlighted the studies of the USGS Biological Resources Division and cooperators/ collaborators in the Mojave Desert Ecosystem and sought feedback from client agencies on the relevance of USGS research and future research needs.

Symposium Objectives Sponsers and Cooperators Organizing Committee Presentations Posters Field Trip Concluding Comments List of Participants Related Websites