This award provides partial support for construction of a new, 1400 sq.ft., 4-bedroom housing unit that will increase housing capacity of the University of Wisconsin's Trout Lake Station by 20% and, in addition, provide needed small-group meeting space. The institution is providing additional funding to support the project. Trout Lake Station is located in the Northern Highland Lake District of Wisconsin, where it provides access to a wide variety of aquatic ecosystems and their surrounding landscapes. More than 2500 lakes are within 50km of the station. The station has a long history of aquatic research that continues to the present day. Recent research activity is reflected in 182 peer-reviewed publications and 28 graduate student theses attributed to projects conducted at the station since 2000. These are in addition to more than 800 publications and theses published prior to 2000. In addition to fostering research, the Trout Lake Station is used regularly for field trips by undergraduate and graduate courses from universities throughout the Midwest. Use of the station has grown to a level where housing capacity severely restricts both current activities and development of new research, teaching, and outreach programs. Use of the station has averaged about 9100 user-days/year over the last three years, a record high. The limited overnight housing at the station has begun to prevent the station prevent the station from welcoming visiting scholars, and impeded the ability of supervising faculty members to oversee the work of graduate and undergraduate students spending the summer at the station. Besides hosting research leading to new knowledge of the long-term dynamics of lakes, the impact of exotic species, and the impact of human activities, the station provides opportunities for student training, and outreach to the general public, including community participation in developing scenarios for the future of the Northern Highland Lake District, and presentations to community groups by local and visiting experts.
