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 (25Kb PDF file updated 11/2/05). You may also review the
investigators annual reports for Rocky and all National Park Service units.
