USU Partner Canyonlands Research Center Opens Field Station May 2012
USU faculty members: Are you seeking a site in Utah’s red rock canyonlands that will afford you opportunities to conduct field research and education?
The Canyonlands Research Center will open its field station in May 2012. Led by The Nature Conservancy, the center is a partnership of private and public entities, including Utah State University.
“I’ve already had the privilege of staying at the center,” says Geno Schupp, professor in USU’s Department of Wildland Resources. “The tent cabins are luxurious and the site offers breathtaking views, far from city lights and sounds. It’s a very comfortable and easy place to conduct research in the heart of the Needles District.”
Located in southeastern Utah on TNC’s Dugout Ranch, the CRC is just east of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Roughly 30 miles northwest of Monticello, Utah, the site is situated along the Indian Creek Corridor Scenic Byway (Utah State Route 211.) Rising from an elevation of 3,600 feet at the Colorado River to 12,000 feet at the Manti-La Sal National Forest’s Abajo Mountains, the site offers access to more than 800,000 acres of private and public lands.
Center director Barry Baker says the site offers a wide spectrum of ecosystems and land-use histories, as well as proximity to relatively undisturbed land, rivers and perennial streams and archeological sites.
“Our collaborative relationship with local ranchers makes this an ideal base for scientists in a range of disciplines, including wildlife biology, ecology, range science, animal science, hydrology and more,” Baker says. “Our center is a new nexus for education and action to help sustain the lands and waters of the Colorado Plateau.”
The center is “not just for ecologists,” he adds. “We welcome scholars from the humanities, arts, engineering and other disciplines who would benefit from this environment.”
Current facilities include eight double-occupancy tent cabins with cots, mattresses, desks and chairs, along with an outdoor kitchen pavilion with a gas cook stove and potable water. The site includes toilet facilities, with three solar-powered hot water showers. An adjacent campground offers accommodations for larger groups and field classes.
Research equipment available at the site includes a field-prep lab with a variety of basic lab equipment, a freezer and cold storage, drying racks and oven, Internet access and GIS capability, as well as an on-site meteorological station. In addition, the center has on-site vehicle fueling capability.
“The site offers a unique field experience,” Schupp says. “In the evenings, we watched bats foraging for insects as the sunset gave way to nights filled — and I do mean filled — with stars. It’s incredibly special.”
For further information and reservations, visit the center’s website.
Related link:
“Cowgirl Conservation: A Deal to Protect the Heart of Utah’s Red Rock Canyonlands,” Nature Conservancy
Contact: Barry Baker, 435-259-4183, 970-217-3068, bbaker@tnc.org
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto, 435-797-3517, maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu
Located in southeastern Utah, the Canyonlands Research Center is just east of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park and offers an ideal field site for USU researchers.
The Canyonlands Research Center features eight double-occupancy tent cabins, solar-heated showers and a field research laboratory. Photos courtesy of Barry Baker.
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