University of Colorado Mountain Research Station

The University of Colorado
Mountain Research Station

The Mountain Research Station is an interdisciplinary research facility of the Unversity of Colorado, devoted to the advancement of study of montane environmental science. It is managed by the University's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), and supports research in biology, geography, and geology. It receives academic contributions from the Boulder campus departments of Environmental, Population and Organismic Biology; Geography; and Geological Sciences.

A Brief History

The MRS had its origins in a field station established at Tolland in 1908 by Professor Frances Ramaley, and in a recreational camp for CU Professors located in the North Boulder Creek drainage, now the City of Boulder Watershed. The present site of the MRS was established in 1920, near Columbine Springs, on property leased from the U.S. Forest Service. The MRS was originally known as Science Lodge and Science Camp. In 1929 Congress and President Herbert Hoover deeded the land to the University. The first field courses were offered in 1921. The present dining hall was built in 1922, along with a classroom building that is no longer in use. Courses continued through the 1920s and 30s, but the camp was closed down during World War II. Following the war Science Camp was used as a recreational and rest base by the U.S. Army. In the late 1940s several student cabins were built, and major utility improvements were made. The popularity of the courses at the camp increased significantly at this time.

One of the most important figures in the history of the MRS, John W. Marr, a Professor of Biology, started his long association with the station in 1946. Marr initiated the Mountain Ecology Project, the Mountain Climate Program, and the East Slope Ecology Project, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Ecology, which merged with Science Camp as the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) in 1952. Marr's research from the 1950s through the 1970s was some of the finest quantitative plant ecology of the time. He was instrumental in establishing the excellent international reputation of the MRS and Niwot Ridge as an alpine research site. During his tenure as Director the Alpine Laboratory was constructed (1962), which was renovated and rededicated as the John W. Marr Alpine Laboratory in 1982, in recognition of his substantial contributions.

Research and education have continued to be the primary foci of the MRS. Facilities improvements since the 1950's have included the construction of a bath house, a wet chemistry lab (Kiowa Lab), a duplex for staff and senior researcher housing, a laboratory at 11,400 feet on Niwot Ridge (Tundra Lab), and renovation of the dining hall and construction of a deck surrounding it.

Research Accomplishments

The MRS is one of the best known sites for alpine research in the world. Its reputation stems from decades of research in biology, geomorphology, and atmospheric chemistry on Niwot Ridge and the adjacent City of Boulder Watershed. Over 800 scientific publications have been produced by researchers working through the MRS, and dozens of graduate research projects have been completed by students from CU and other universities throughout the world.

The alpine research area of Niwot Ridge, 4 km from the Station, was designated in 1975 as an Experimental Ecological Reserve by the Institute of Ecology, and in 1979 as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, the U.S. State Department, and U.S. Forest Service. In 1980 Niwot Ridge was selected by the National Science Foundation as the alpine tundra component of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program.

Niwot Ridge has also been the site of extensive atmospheric research. The Mountain Climate Program, initiated by John Marr in 1952, continues to collect valuable data at five principal sites spanning a 5000 foot altitudinal gradient. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has sampled atmospheric gases from Niwot Ridge since 1968. The carbon dioxide record is the third longest in the world, and is the only long-term record from a continental site.

Niwot ridge is probably the most thoroughly studied alpine area in North America, by virtue of over 60 years of research programs. The Mountain Research Station is unique in providing these research opportunities within a 45-minute drive of a major university campus.

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This page was developed by Peg Halloran, Ph.D.
Copyright 1997 by the University of Colorado
Last Update: October 27, 1997 by Bill Bowman