Construction and Equipping of a Technical Research Laboratory, at the Southwestern Research Station

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Since 1955 The Southwestern Research Station, a research facility of The American Museum of Natural History, has been promoting and facilitating investigations by natural scientists who work in the American Southwest. Each year well over a hundred scientists, from around the country and overseas, come to the Station to study volcanic rock structures, birds, reptiles, amphibians, spiders, insects, plants and mammals. These scientists are attracted to the Station by the scientific facilities, the researcher community, and the richness of the unique biota of the Chiricahua Mountains and surrounding desert areas. The Station, located on a 90 acre site at 5400 feet elevation, is the uppermost private land in Cave Creek Canyon (one of the most outstanding birding localities in North America) on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. It is surrounded by U.S. Forest Service property (Coronado National Forest). The scientific significance of the site for field researchers results from the ecological diversity of habitats and the taxonomic diversity of organisms that may be found within a few miles of the facility. This project will improve the technical facilities of the Research Station in order to meet the needs of modern field scientists. With increasing frequency, scientist are relying on sophisticated technological developments to probe nature. The existing buildings and equipment are suitable for many types of traditional research collecting. But physiological ecology, biochemical taxonomy, and photomicroscopy are important modern tools for field scientists. Currently the Station lacks a laboratory where ambient temperature can be controlled. The project will rectify that situation through the construction of a small modern building, and by equipping it with microscopes, balances and temperature controlled chambers.