Field Research Gallery

Photo: Copyright Hiram College

James H. Barrow Field Station, Ohio

Hiram College, southeast of Cleveland, offers students a distinctive learning program with an emphasis on close student-faculty interaction, international study experience, and experiential learning environments. One such environment is the James H. Barlow Field Station, established in 1960 to offer opportunities in research, teaching, and leadership. The 360-acre field station near the college comprises Silver Creek, a cold-water stream, along with forests, fields, ponds, a nature trail, and assorted research, lab, and meeting buildings. Research topics include aquatic and terrestrial ecology, agroecology, and animal behavior. TPL recently helped add more than 130 adjoining acres to the field station, including an additional stretch of Silver Creek, using funds from the Ohio EPA designated to protect water resources. "The newly acquired property was integral to my project," wrote student researcher Julie Wnuk in a thank-you note to TPL. "In my time at Hiram, I have found that nothing has been more worthwhile than to gain direct experience in field research. The addition to the field station will provide Hiram College with yet another way to offer students unique research opportunities for years to come."

Photo: John Gravelle, University of Idaho

Mica Creek, Idaho

Some of the most contentious environmental debates of recent years have focused on forestry practices and their effects on water quality and other resource values. But it is impossible to know how timber harvesting affects the environment without data. Since 1990, scientists from the University of Idaho have been working in the Mica Creek Experimental Watershed, in north-central Idaho, to discover how different types of timber harvesting change stream flow and temperature, sediment deposition, fish populations, and other natural processes.

The program was started on land owned by Potlatch Corporation, which owns 668,000 acres in Idaho. Since 2003, TPL has helped protect more than 27,000 acres of Potlatch's Idaho forestlands, including the Mica Creek Experimental Watershed, with conservation easements that prevent development. "Protecting the experimental watershed means scientists will never have to sort out the impact of development from the impact of timber harvesting on experimental findings," says University of Idaho researcher Tim Link. "It helps guarantee that the land will be available for science over the long term." Shown left, a scientist checks the watershed's treetop meteorological station.

Photo: Jerry and Marcy Monkman

Mirror Lake, New Hampshire

The link between acid rain and fossil fuel combustion was first documented in a 1968 study at Mirror Lake, in New Hampshire's White Mountains. In the years since, this lake in the Hubbard Experimental Forest has become one of the most studied water bodies on the planet. Dozens of scientific papers and an entire textbook on limnology (the study of lakes, ponds, and streams) have been based on research done there. Contributing to an unbroken data record going back 40 years, scientists monitor climatic conditions, flow levels of the lake's three feeder streams, and the water table throughout this watershed. But development of second homes is increasing around this attractive, largely private lake, threatening monitoring sites and the integrity of ongoing research. In response, TPL and its nonprofit, community, and government partners have intensified their efforts to conserve key parcels. TPL recently helped protect 19 acres on the lake to prevent development and secure land for researcher housing.

Photo: North Carolina Conservation Program

Tater Hill, North Carolina

Tater Hill in northwestern North Carolina is an ideal place for ecological research. The 5,000-foot peak is part of the Amphibolite Range, named for a black, igneous rock that weathers to a high pH soil that is unusual in North Carolina. This soil supports a rare, high-elevation bog ecosystem that is unique in the state. Among 13 rare plant species found here are the spreading avens, tall-stalked holly, and Gray's lily. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program monitors four natural communities on and around the hill. The state has been attempting to protect Tater Hill since 1986, even as the privately owned property has been eyed for a golf course and residential development. In 1999, TPL began helping the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Plant Conservation Program acquire parcels on Tater Hill. To date, 758 acres have been protected in five projects. Research and education on the site are overseen by Appalachian State University.

Photo: Jerry and Marcy Monkman

Black Duck Cove, Maine

The harvesting of lobsters, clams, and scallops is crucial to the economic well-being of coastal Maine. For nearly 20 years, researchers at the nonprofit Downeast Institute-originally the Beals Island Regional Shellfish Hatchery-have been studying lobsters and other shellfish with the goal of supporting sustainable fisheries and launching aquaculture ventures for local communities. Located on Great Wass Island in far eastern Maine, the institute spawns wild clams, scallops, and lobsters and raises them in hatcheries, then moves them to ocean nursery sites where they grow large enough to survive in the wild. But the institute has outgrown its original facility-a former clam shack-and is now seeking a much larger home. TPL has acquired an option on an eight-acre former lobster pound at Black Duck Cove and is seeking $1.3 million in state and federal funds for the acquisition. Once renovated, the facility will offer a laboratory with running seawater, shellfish hatcheries, office space, and classrooms.

Posted 5/2006