FSML: Site Improvement and Equipment Enhancement to Secure Long-Term Research Capabilities at Flathead Lake Biological Station

University Of Montana, Missoula MT

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support for improvements in the electrical and communications infrastructure of the Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS). Established in 1899, the station located on the East Shore of Flathead Lake, within a remarkable area of the Rocky Mountains known as the Crown of the Continent. Station personnel and visiting staff conduct research, training and education activities, including various summer courses that take advantage of the station's location. The station has 4 long-term core projects: 1) floodplain ecology and river restoration, 2) biodiversity and bioproduction along biophysical gradients, 3) large lake limnology, and 4) environmental change assessment and ecosystem modeling. The station maintains large, long-term limnological databases and increasingly relies on high volume, remotely-sensed imagery for spatial analysis of ecosystem processes. Improvements supported through this award include: 1) underground placement of utility lines, 2) emergency backup power and refrigeration; 3) equipment and software for data management, network security and archival needs. The proposed improvements are central to securing past investment, will facilitate growth of collaborative research, and are essential for secure management, distribution, and archiving of the massive electronic databases rapidly growing and accumulating at FLBS.