Improvements to the Shortgrass Steppe Biological Field Station

科罗拉多州立大学获得了一笔赠款，用于改善位于科罗拉多州东北部中原实验场的Shortgras草原生物野外站(SGS)。为翻修现有学生宿舍和翻新现有总部大楼提供支助，以便为宿舍居民提供更好的办公室、厨房设施和生活区。SGS为科罗拉多州立大学和北科罗拉多大学的教职员工和学生、美国农业部农业研究服务的工作人员以及来自其他机构的访问研究人员和学生提供服务。自1938年以来，该靶场一直在进行实验，自20世纪60年代以来，SGS一直存在。SGS开展的研究是草原生态学研究新思路和重要成果的重要来源，也对该地区的土地管理产生了重大影响。这些改进将有助于保持SGS作为多机构卓越中心的角色，为短草草原生态系统的研究、教育和自然资源解释提供支持。除了在研究中发挥作用外，SGS还支持教育工作者和自然资源解译人员向所有教育级别的学生、放牧协会和保护团体等兴趣团体以及普通公众(教育和外联)解释短草草原的生物学和管理。这些改进是改善SGS研究实验室、教室/会议设施、住房和信息技术设施的长期计划的一部分。计划中设想的每一项渐进式改进都有望吸引更多的人来到现场，了解短草草原的生物学和管理。由于现有的计划旨在增加SGS活动参与者的多样性，增加的能力将使SGS能够接触到更多在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的成员。

Colorado State University is awarded a grant to make improvements of the Shortgrass Steppe Biological Field Station (SGS) located on the Central Plains Experimental Range in northeastern Colorado. Support is provided for renovation of the current student dormitory and renovation of the existing headquarters building to provide improved offices, kitchen facilities and living area for dormitory residents. The SGS serves the needs of faculty and students from Colorado State and Northern Colorado Universities, staff of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and visiting researchers and students from other institutions. Experiments have been conducted on the Range since 1938, and the SGS has been in existence since the 1960s. Research conducted at SGS has been an important source of new ideas and important results in grassland ecology studies, and has also had major implications for land management in the region. The improvements will help maintain the role of the SGS as a multi-institutional center of excellence for research, education, and natural resource interpretation for shortgrass steppe ecosystems. Besides its role in research, the SGS supports the efforts of educators and natural resource interpreters in explaining the biology and management of the shortgrass steppe to students at all educational levels, interest groups such as grazing associations and conservation groups, and the general public (education and outreach. These improvements are part of a long-term plan to improve SGS facilities with respect to research laboratories, classroom/meeting facilities, housing, and information technology. Each incremental improvement envisioned in the plan is expected to attract more individuals to the site to learn about the biology and management of the shortgrass steppe. Because of existing programs aimed at increasing the diversity of participants in SGS activities, the increased capacity will allow SGS to reach more members of groups under-represented in science and engineering.