U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet FS 2004-3054

April 2004

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Who We Are

The Upper Midwest Environmental 

Sciences Center (Center) is 1 of 18 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

biological research and technology 

centers throughout the United States. 

These centers are the research 

arm of the U.S. Department of 

the Interior (DOI) and provide 

science information for the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

U.S. Park Service, the Bureau of 

Land Management, and other DOI 

agencies.

The Facility

The Center is situated 

on 65 acres of Federal 

land that houses a 70,000 

square-foot USGS-owned 

research facility with stateof-the-art laboratories and 

almost 50 experimental 

ponds and raceways. 

The Center also includes 

sophisticated waterhandling and treatment 

facilities, which allows 

us to work on a wide 

variety of fi sh and wildlife species, 

as well as contaminants affecting the 

environment. 

We cooperate with the states of 

Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, 

and Wisconsin to manage six fi eld 

stations. These stations are a critical 

part of the Long Term Resource 

Monitoring Program (LTRMP), the 

Nation’s largest river inventory, 

destroy undesirable fi sh (carp, 

sheepshead, sea lamprey) in fresh 

waters. A new facility was built in 

1978 on French Island, and research 

activities expanded to include 

ecology of large rivers and fi sh and 

wildlife studies. River research 

continued to expand in the mid-1980s 

with the creation of the LTRMP. The 

present Center program is diverse, 

with research conducted in over 20 

states and Canada.

monitoring, and science program. 

Nearly 200 people work at the 

Center and fi eld stations. 

Our History

The Center began in 1959 as 

the Fish Control Laboratory 

in a remodeled fi sh hatchery 

in Riverside Park, La Crosse, 

Wisconsin. The laboratory 

was nationally responsible for 

developing chemical agents to 
Our Partners

We have many partners who use our 

research in their efforts. In addition 

to other DOI agencies, we provide 

information to the Great Lakes 

Fishery Commission, International 

Association of Fish and Wildlife 

Agencies, U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Canadian resource 

agencies, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service, and 

numerous states and universities. 

Our Studies

Our studies are in fi ve important 

areas:

Studying the population and 

ecosystem effects of invasive, 

non-native species in the Upper 

Mississippi River and Great Lakes 

Basins;

Examining and monitoring the status 

of the Upper Mississippi River 

System;

Investigating declining species in 

the Midwest: amphibians, mussels, 

large river fishes, and migratory 

birds; 

Developing computer-generated 

habitat needs and decision support 

systems to assist managers in making decisions; and

Documenting the effects of 

chemicals and drugs used in public 

fish hatcheries.

Our Work in the Community

The Center works to be a true 

community partner with such 

activities as open houses, school 

partnerships, and educational 

activities. We host numerous tours 

through the facility for student and 

civic groups. Our scientists make 

many classroom and educational 

presentations. Our science 

communication philosophy is to 

better inform the local and regional 

public of USGS science programs, 

to provide hands-on science 

opportunities for a diversity of youth, 

and to engage the Center as a strong 

partner in the community. 

For more information, contact—

Randy Hines

USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, WI 54603

Phone: 608.781.6398

Email: rkhines@usgs.gov

http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/