This is the most productive (measured in scientific publications) terrestrial field station in the world, with scientists coming from all over the US and from overseas to work there each summer. A lot of important research on high-altitude ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavioral ecology is conducted there, and many students (undergraduate and graduate) have been trained there. I've worked there every summer since 1971. David Inouye, University of Maryland
Review from JustGive
As a non-scientist member of the Board, I am enormously impressed by the high caliber of the work that goes on at the lab as well as by its outreach to the community and to students of all ages. Additionally, I admire the vision of the trustees and thougtful management provided by the staff. It is a very well run organization.
For students, RMBL provides a total immersion experience in the world of cutting-edge field science. Every summer a collaborative community of scientists from all over the world descends upon Gothic, and students get to be an integral part of it. RMBL is the best place I know of for inspiring and training the next generation of field scientists.
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) has been a significant part of my life since my first summer as a beginning graduate student in 1981. I have returned each summer since then to both teach and conduct research at RMBL. The Lab has been transformative in expanding my knowledge of high-elevation plant and animal communities and, in so doing, has enriched my teaching of undergraduate and graduate students about sub-alpine ecology. Through a greater understanding of the natural world, we can strive to preserve it for future generations.
In its ninth decade of operations, RMBL is an independent biological field station and is the leading center for research into sub-alpine and alpine eco-systems in the U.S. and, perhaps, in the world. Research undertaken at RMBL revealed the existence of acid snow at high elevations and played a role in congressional amendment of the Clean Air Act in 1990. More recently, different experiments at RMBL on marmots and plant life showed how climate change appears to be subtly changing the local and, by extension, other similar ecosystems elsewhere. In short, RMBL is a unique and valuable scientific non-profit operating at the crossroads of major issues that affect human and other life on Earth.
I have been a student, researcher, and board member at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) over the last 20 years. RMBL is the premier high-altitude field station in the world, and one of the oldest independent field stations in the country. Science conducted at the RMBL has contributed to our fundamental understanding of how montane ecosystems work, how human society depends upon them for many of our needs, and how we are affecting them through our actions. RMBL also has a thriving educational program and vibrant outreach activities that engage the general public in the scientific work done there. RMBL is on a growth trajectory right now, and it needs your support. This support will be highly leveraged by a large number of scientific and historic grants and donations from a diverse donor base.