Research & Outreach

The mission of the Elm Fork Education Center is to develop and implement premier environmental education programs. These programs will provide investigative encounters that engage students of all ages in field activities and discovery experiences. These opportunities are designed to encourage sound environmental decision making and responsible environmental stewardship.

The Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) was created in the early 1990's when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with several state and local agencies, founded the consortium to manage nearly 2,000 acres below Lewisville dam. Today the LLELA consortium includes the Corps, the University of North Texas, the City of Lewisville, the Lewisville Independent School District, and Texas A & M University. Our mission is to preserve and restore our native ecosystems and to provide and promote environmental education and scientific research.

A Corp of Engineers facility that supports studies on biology, ecology, and managment of aquatic plants, LAERF provides an intermediate scale research environment to bridge the gap between small scale laboratory studies and large-scale field tests. In addition to 53 earthen and 21 lined ponds, LAERF utilizes 18 flowing water raceways, 3 large outdoor mesocosm facilities, a research greenhouse, and several laboratories to conduct research activities.