Research and management studies
have been conducted at Rocky Mountain National Park for decades,
but they have become essential tools as challenges facing
management of the Park have increased. Rocky Mountain National
Park, for all its grand beauty and sense of wildness, is embedded
in a human environment that creates special challenges. Nitrogen
deposition, growing elk populations, and fragile ecosystems
are major management concerns. Growing numbers of visitors
come to Rocky Mountain National Park every year, 2002 visitor
numbers about 3.3 million. Each of those visitors has different
expectations, both for the wildland experience he or she desires
and the ammenities he or she needs. Further, the Park was
established not only to serve today's visitors, but to serve
visitors in generations to come whose expectations we can
only surmise. Managers need the best scientific information
available to juggle these many conflicting interests.
Click on the following link to see a
list of current research projects (17Kb PDF file updated
5/17/06). You may also review the investigators
annual reports for Rocky and all National Park Service
units.
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