Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecology Program Fund

To provide support for research, education, and community engagement missions of the Niwot Ridge Ecology Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Our mission is to understand our complex mountain systems and the many critical services these systems provide to all of us living downhill. For over four decades, Niwot Ridge Program has been measuring the air, snow, water, plants and animals in the highest mountains to better predict the future of water, wildlife, and snowpack -- in Boulder and beyond. We believe that the more we understand how and why these systems are changing, and the more we allow everyone to experience and learn about their wonders, the more we can help conserve and manage mountain alpine habitats. 

Studies in Niwot Ridge and Green Lakes Valley started in the 1940s, and include the longest running CO2 record in the continental US as well as measurements of temperature and snowpack since the 1950s. In 1980, the program became one of the original sites in the National Science Foundation's Long-term Ecological Research Network. Now reaching over 200 school-aged children, training over 30 undergraduate students, and involving over two dozen faculty across 8 departments at CU each year, it remains the only high mountain site in the network. 

This fund will support activities related to the Niwot Ridge Ecology Program, including student research, GK-12 educational programs, and community engagement.

Campus: 
Allocation Code: 
0125932
Designation Code: 
D-0035497