OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHWESTERN, COLORADO!

The MOUNTAIN STUDIES INSTITUTE (MSI) is a non-profit research and educational institute and high-elevation field station located in the heart of the beautiful San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. MSI is based out of the Historic Avon Hotel in the mountain town of Silverton. The Avon Hotel provides central lodging, meeting, and classroom facilities, and a nearby laboratory will be ready for use this summer. MSI collaborates with colleges and university faculty and students, land management agencies, other non-profits and local communities. MSI:
• Facilitates and participates in research efforts in physical, biological, and social sciences and encourages interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Hosts and sponsors field camps and trips for colleges, universities, and other groups.
• Offers summer courses for undergraduates, educators, and life-long learners.
• Offers a paid summer Environmental Education Internship.
• Offers Mini-Research Grants for students and postdocs.
• Hosts and sponsors conferences.
Please see MSI’s website (www.mountainstudies.org) or contact Koren Nydick, Director of Research and Education at 970-387-5161 or koren@mountainstudies.org for more information.
The San Juan Mountains exhibit a wide diversity of ecological characteristics due to their mid-latitude location, wide range of elevations, bimodal-precipitation regime (including summer monsoon) and widely varying surficial geologic conditions (soils, slopes, rock types, etc.). This mountain range contains volcanic, sedimentary, limestone, and granite rock types; is host to rare habitats and species; contains the headwaters of five rivers; and includes major biogeographic boundaries and wildlife corridors. Superimposed on this diversity of natural characteristics is a millennial history of human involvement including mining activity that ended only recently. This combination affords a wealth of opportunity for scientific investigation and educational study of questions related to interactions of physical, biological, and human environments in the San Juans. This also means that there are a host of challenges to land managers and communities related to resource use, recreation, remediation of past resource extraction, and disturbances such as avalanches and forest fires.