FSML: Increasing access to the Crown of the Continent: A visiting researcher laboratory at the Flathead Lake Biological Station (Montana)

对于生态学家来说，野外观测站是科学基础设施的基本组成部分，就像天文望远镜之于天文学家一样。一般来说，这些站点既为运行站点的机构的科学家服务，也为访问研究人员服务。该项目将包括扩建蒙大拿州大学弗拉黑德湖生物站（FLBS）的实验室设施，这是美国最古老的野外站之一，以增加接待访问研究人员的能力。这次翻新是为了回应最近在FLBS聘请新主任和新教员后活动的主要增加。提供这些新设施非常重要，因为它们将提供通往密西西比河以西美国最大的淡水湖弗拉特黑德湖的通道，以及在相对未受干扰的环境中流动的湖泊和河流，以及受人类活动影响的湖泊和河流，为不同主题的研究提供了丰富的机会。陆地环境包括草地、森林和高山苔原也可以进入。除了促进研究之外，新设施还将通过为在FLBS注册暑期实地课程的本科生提供更多参与各种研究项目的机会来促进教育。最后，这种能力的提高将使该地区能够在水量和水质、气候变化、渔业管理以及入侵物种和濒危物种评估等主题上开展重要的新研究。该项目将涉及对弗拉黑德湖生物站（FLBS; https://flbs.umt.edu/newflbs）一栋建筑的上层进行重大翻新，将其从目前作为现场设备存储设施的角色转变为访问研究人员的最先进的研究实验室，FLBS访问研究人员合作实验室（VRC）。目标结果是820平方英尺的新研究级实验室空间，以支持来自蒙大拿州和其他州的外部研究人员增加对FLBS的使用。这次翻新是为了回应最近在FLBS聘请新主任和新教员后活动的主要增加。这些增加使现有地面站设施的使用达到饱和水平，使该站难以维持和扩大其作用，为在该区域进行研究的外部用户提供服务。该设施将允许新的研究人员在该地区不同的生态系统中开发项目，并继续或发展与FLBS研究人员的新合作，以推进这项工作。通过为访问研究人员提供改进和扩大的设施，VRC将扩大生态学家的能力，使我们对大陆之冠的生态系统及其对持续全球变化的反应的理解取得根本性进展。VRC还将增加各级研究人员和学生之间丰富的跨学科互动机会。FLBS也吸引各个层次的学生到黄湾参加暑期课程、实习和实地考察。发展一个丰富的新“外部”用户基础，将增加这些学生以及与外联互动的更广泛社区所提供的机会和获得的观点。最后，该实验室将促进许多具有广泛社会利益的研究，涉及水量和水质、气候变化、渔业管理以及入侵物种和濒危物种评估等主题。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

For ecologists, field stations are fundamental components of scientific infrastructure akin to telescopes for astronomers. Generally, such stations service both scientists of the institution that runs the station as well as visiting researchers. This project will involve an expansion of laboratory facilities at the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS), one of the USA's oldest field stations, to allow for increased capacity to house visiting researchers. This renovation is in response to major recent increases in activity at FLBS following hiring of a new director and new faculty at the station. Providing these new facilities is important because they will provide access to Flathead Lake, the USA's largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, as well as lakes and rivers that flow in both relatively undisturbed environments as well as those being impacted by human activity, providing abundant opportunity for research on diverse topics. Terrestrial environments including grassland, forest, and alpine tundra can also be accessed. In addition to research advancement, the new facilities will advance education by providing greater access to diverse research projects for undergraduate students who enroll in summer field courses at FLBS. Finally, this increased capacity will allow important new research to take place in this region on topics such as water quantity and quality, climate change, fisheries management, and assessment of invasive species and endangered species.This project will involve a major renovation of the upper level of a building at the Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS; https://flbs.umt.edu/newflbs) to transform it from its current role as a storage facility for field equipment into a state-of-the-art research laboratory for visiting researchers, the FLBS Visiting Researcher Collaboratory (VRC). The targeted outcome is 820 ft2 of new research-grade laboratory space to support increased use of FLBS by external researchers drawn from the state of Montana and beyond. This renovation is in response to major recent increases in activity at FLBS following hiring of a new director and new faculty. These increases are bringing use of existing FLBS facilities to a saturation level, making it difficult to maintain and expand the role of the station in serving outside users conducting research in this region. The facility will allow new researchers to develop projects in the region’s diverse ecosystems and to continue or develop new collaborations with FLBS researchers to advance this work. By providing improved and expanded facilities for visiting researchers, the VRC will expand the ability of ecologists to make fundamental advances in our understanding of ecosystems in the Crown of the Continent and their response to ongoing global change. The VRC will also increase the opportunities for rich interdisciplinary interactions among researchers and students at all levels. FLBS also attracts students at all levels to Yellow Bay for summer classes, internships, and field trips. Developing a rich base of new "outside" users of the station will increase the opportunities afforded and perspectives gained by these students as well as the broader community with which FLBS interacts. Finally, much of the research that will be facilitated by the laboratory is of broad societal interest, dealing with topics of water quantity and quality, climate change, fisheries management, and assessment of invasive species and endangered species.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.