Lodging and Meeting Accommodations for Visiting Scientists and Students at the Black Rock Forest Field Station

Black Rock Forest Consortium, Inc, Cornwall NY

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Dr. William Schuster at The Black Rock Forest Consortium, a group of eighteen New York-area academic institutions, to construct accommodations for visiting scientists and students to complete its new research and training Center at its Field Station, the 1530 hectare (3785 acre) Black Rock Forest. The Forest is located in the Hudson Highlands, 80 km (50 miles) north of New York City, and possesses a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats for study. It has been carefully protected and managed for nearly a century, and has been utilized by the Black Rock Forest Consortium since 1989. The Forest has become a focal point for scientific field studies and education for thousands of students and faculty from Consortium institutions. In the past three years, the Consortium has produced a Master Plan, raised over $2.5 million for construction costs, and has completed and begun operations from the Center for Science and Education. Despite many natural features that make it an excellent location for scientific fieldwork, the Black Rock Forest has lacked until now suitable facilities to support on-site research, training, and education. Over the past few years an increase in scientific activity has occurred due to a suite of factors that include the creation and development of the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC) at Columbia University. Black Rock serves as CERC's primary facility for local scientific research and intensive field training. Expansions of programs in ecological and environmental sciences are also underway at several of the Black Rock Forest Consortium's other member institutions. The Consortium now will construct and equip a 500 sq.m (5500 sq.ft) lodging and meeting facility. This Lodge will house up to 50 visitors at a time and will complete the Consortium's facilities Master Plan. This grant will allow the Consortium to successfully complete the construction of what is becoming an intensively used facility for scientific research, training, and education at all levels. The gathering space will enable meetings, seminars, and presentations for large groups. The Consortium anticipates at least 4000 visitor nights per year in the first few years, and the development of new programs such as summer institutes, residential field courses, and science camps. Thus the grant will allow completion of construction of basic facilities for what is becoming an intensively used facility for scientific research, training, and education.