The American Museum of Natural History is awarded a grant to remodel existing housing units and construct two new residential structures at the Southwest Research Station in southeastern Arizona. The Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) is under the direction of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation (CBC) of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. The SWRS began operation as a research facility in 1955. For the past five decades, the SWRS has provided housing, food, and lab facilities for researchers, students, and classes. The structural improvements set forth in this plan allows the SWRS to: 1) improve research capacity of the station by providing ample, quality lab space, equipment, and housing; 2) reach out to the scientific community and attract high caliber biodiversity conservation scientists and students; 3) support additional educational classes and workshops by providing ample, quality classroom space and equipment; 4) meet goals in a way that not only reduces the station's impact on the environment, but also enhances the ecology of the Chiricahua Mountains; and 5) work towards becoming a model research station by reducing dependency on outside energy sources. The new structure will be a dorm that will add 32 new beds. The other is a casita floor plan with capacity for 8 new beds with flexible configuration to accommodate families and senior research users. Existing structures will be remodeled to enable more flexible configuration and additional features such as kitchens.
The SWRS is part of a unique complex of about 27 mountain ranges, the Madrean Archipelago/Sky Islands of the southwestern U.S., and is surrounded by the Coronado National Forest. The SWRS has hosted the work of over 1,120 senior and student researchers, including some long-term studies that are seminal contributions to the scientific understanding of biodiversity. Much of the data collected by researchers at the SWRS has direct impact on the conservation and management of the Madrean Sky Island habitats and species. In the past two decades, training courses and professional workshops have become an integral part of educational activities at the SWRS. Participants leave the SWRS better equipped to pursue their research, teaching, and/or conservation efforts because of knowledge gained in these courses. For more information on the SWRS, see the website at http://research.amnh.org/swrs/.
Founded in 1955 by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH, New York), the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) is a non-profit, private research facility located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The station provides a unique research setting for scientists and educators who seek to meet the challenges of the biodiversity crisis. The SWRS has a long and distinguished history in theoretical and applied research. The uniqueness of the fauna and flora in the surrounding areas and the relatively undisturbed biotic communities combined with the research facilities continue to attract outstanding scientists and students. Research conducted at the SWRS has contributed to and helped guide land management decisions for the surrounding national forest areas, and much of the data collected by researchers at the SWRS has had direct impact on the conservation and management of the Madrean Sky Island habitats and species. In addition to research use, training courses have become an integral part of the educational activities at the SWRS. Participants in these workshops are scientists from government agencies, conservation organizations, and academic research institutions who use the knowledge gained for professional reasons. They leave the course better equipped to pursue their research, teaching, and/or conservation efforts. The SWRS is open to the public and provides information on the local fauna and flora of the area to thousands of day visitors each year. In addition, the station represents a positive role model for the local community by maintaining high standards for research and education, and teaching our users and visitors about conservation and sustainability. Throughout its history, the station’s use has grown during peak seasons, all rooms fill and the SWRS had to turn away potential researchers, workshops, and classes because of a lack of beds. The SWRS realized that this desire for space would continue because of the active role the SWRS is playing in conserving the biodiversity of the area and in fostering collaborations with local agencies and other field stations in the region. Our goal was to provide affordable, energy-efficient, and safe housing to all station users. To accommodate the increased need for space the SWRS remodeled all of existing housing units and through this grant from the National Science Foundation built a 55-bed dormitory. The dorm increases carrying capacity at the SWRS from 60 beds to 88 beds. The structure of the dorms provides rooms with two or three beds instead of five which will optimize space and allow for more private accommodations with limited loss of beds.The dormitory includes a laundry facility and several common areas. The structural improvements the SWRS has made thus far have provided researchers and students with better quality working environments and equipment, and have moved us several steps closer to becoming a model of environmental sustainability.
