Construction of a Multi-user Hostel at the Mountain Research Station

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The University of Colorado's Research Station (MRS) has been a premier institution supporting research and teaching for over 70 years. The primary focus has been on alpine tundra research, although the proximity to diverse ecosystems makes the station a unique geographical location. The station provides the primary logistical support for the Niwot Ridge LTER program, and facilitates numerous individual investigators and several federal labs, including EPA, NOAA, and the National Center for Atomospheric Research as well as numerous projects supported by NSF summer courses for undergraduate and high school students, and is the station a popular site for academic conferences. Increased use of the MRS for research, teaching, and conferences in the past 5 years has put more of a premium on the availability of housing, resulting in an inability of the MRS to accomodate all requests for the use of the facility. Housing at the MRS is in rustic, but comfortable cabins and a hostel. The majority of the cabins were built in the 1950's, with only one new built added between 1960 and 1996. The hostel has provided affordable housing for researchers and students, but its current state requires replacement, due to utility and safety concerns. This project will support construction of a new hostel to increase housing capacity, provide a new location for academic meetings, seminars, classes, and symposia, and provide a winterized year-round housing facility for researchers and students.