The University of Colorado, a member of a consortium of universities and federal agencies dedicated to helping improve the scientific base for managing Rocky Mountain ecosystems, will hold a public colloquium on the Boulder campus Nov. 5.
Known as the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit the consortium involves eight universities and four federal agencies in parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The mission is to bring together the region's scientific talent to solve growing resource problems across social, cultural, economic, political and environmental arenas.
The event will be held in room 180 of the CU-Boulder Geology Building from 4 p.m to 5:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a brief reception. The public is invited.
As partners in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem studies, CU-Boulder and CU-Denver faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students have received nearly $500,000 in funding through the consortium during the past year, said Mark Williams, a research fellow at CU's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research or INSTAAR. An associate professor of geography at CU-Boulder, Williams has undertaken a number of cooperative studies involving his students with the participating state and federal institutions.
Several partner institutions will tour the Boulder and Denver campuses to discuss existing resources that can be shared and potential new projects, said Candice Miller, director of research and information for the CU-Boulder Graduate School. The faculty director for the project at CU-Denver is Michael Holleran.
The Rocky Mountain ecosystem studies, one of 17 studies nationwide, has as its mission to improve the scientific base for managing ecosystems in the rapidly changing social, cultural and environmental landscape of the Rocky Mountain Region, and to extend its expertise to national issues where appropriate.
Examples of study projects include restoration of native trout subspecies, analysis of rivers and river basins within Central Alaska Park Units and preservation of historic archives at Yellowstone. Student internships and graduate research with federal land agencies have played a large part.
Other university members of the consortium include the University of Montana, the University of Idaho, Montana State University, Salish Kootenai College in Montana, Utah State University, Washington State University and the University of Wyoming. Federal partners include the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service Research Branch's Rocky Mountain Research Station, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Many campus research units and departments tie into the Rocky Mountain ecosystem study, including the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, INSTAAR, the Center of the American West, the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center and the Natural Resources Law Center. More than a dozen CU departments conduct research compatible with the consortium's goals.
CU-Boulder also has extensive facilities and equipment to support study projects, including the Mountain Research Station west of Boulder to study ecology, hydrology and climate change, and several space facilities to develop remote sensing detectors, information systems and applications.
For further information about the colloquium, please send an email to Candice.Miller@colorado.edu or call (303) 735-0982.