Colorado State University is awarded a grant to make improvements of the Shortgrass Steppe Biological Field Station (SGS) located on the Central Plains Experimental Range in northeastern Colorado. Support is provided for renovation of the current student dormitory and renovation of the existing headquarters building to provide improved offices, kitchen facilities and living area for dormitory residents. The SGS serves the needs of faculty and students from Colorado State and Northern Colorado Universities, staff of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and visiting researchers and students from other institutions. Experiments have been conducted on the Range since 1938, and the SGS has been in existence since the 1960s. Research conducted at SGS has been an important source of new ideas and important results in grassland ecology studies, and has also had major implications for land management in the region. The improvements will help maintain the role of the SGS as a multi-institutional center of excellence for research, education, and natural resource interpretation for shortgrass steppe ecosystems. Besides its role in research, the SGS supports the efforts of educators and natural resource interpreters in explaining the biology and management of the shortgrass steppe to students at all educational levels, interest groups such as grazing associations and conservation groups, and the general public (education and outreach. These improvements are part of a long-term plan to improve SGS facilities with respect to research laboratories, classroom/meeting facilities, housing, and information technology. Each incremental improvement envisioned in the plan is expected to attract more individuals to the site to learn about the biology and management of the shortgrass steppe. Because of existing programs aimed at increasing the diversity of participants in SGS activities, the increased capacity will allow SGS to reach more members of groups under-represented in science and engineering.
