Environmental Research and Long-term Monitoring
The Entrada Field Station offers an opportunity for long-term research related to ecological, hydrological, and natural resource management that is relevant to the Colorado Plateau and to the upper Colorado River Basin. The field station is superbly positioned to be at the forefront of ecological and environmental research for water-related and terrestrial research opportunities. Entrada is both an opportunity for long-term atmospheric, hydrologic, and vegetation monitoring as well as a location for ecosystem restoration projects in an environmental setting where basic and mission-focused research interests overlap.
The American West has been and will continue to be significantly shaped by human decisions and our water and land-use policies. These policies as well as global change processes underway affect both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems directly and indirectly through feedback conncectivities.. While significant interactions between humans and natural ecosystems can be seen throughout the U.S., nowhere are these so great as on the Colorado Plateau and Colorad River Basin.
All universities across the Nation will be challenged to develop research that is relevant to developing a better understanding of the future interactions and feedbacks between humans and ecological systems. The Entrada Field Station provides the University of Utah with a unique, place-based opportunity away from its primary Salt Lake City campus to address the major environmental Colorado Plateau and Colorado River Basin challenges of our time: water, sustainability, and restoration.
The development of broad-based, environmental research at the Entrada Field Station provides the University with an entry point to develop a leadership role in environmental education, research, and policy that are critical to the development of Utah in the 21st Century. Concurrent development of environmental education and training programs across the widest possbile spectrum complement our research mission and provide excellent opportunities for outreach to our fellow citizens, especially those in southeastern Utah.
The Entrada Field Station is also an outdoor laboratory for the humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, and sustainability policy discussions. As such, it provides a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary studies that emphasize the environment in its broadest sense.
Click here to learn about some of the ongoing research projects
