Improved Access for Undergraduates to an Ideal Natural Laboratory in Earth Sciences and Biology

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9351762 Urbanczyk The University is a small, public institution that serves a vast, sparsely populated region of west Texas, ideally located in a natural laboratory within the Chihuahuan desert and near Big Bend National Park and the Big Bend Ranch State Natural Area. The aim of this project is to improve access to this natural laboratory for students who otherwise would never experience it. The "treasures" of the public lands in the region are river canyons, and the major instruments to be purchased in this project is equipment for improved access to these canyons. The significance of this project is to provide an avenue for the integration of field experience into classroom instruction. This is particularly important for the largely Hispanic population of the region, many of whom have never ventured into the National or State parks in the area, let alone into the isolated river canyons. The Chihuahuan desert is a pristine natural environment that provides an excellent classroom for the study of Geology and Biology. ***