Background and Vision

A group of organizations from the public and private sectors has launched an effort to establish a hub of mountain science and stewardship in the Mount Mansfield Summit Station, which is located on a forested Vermont ridge at an elevation of 3,850 feet.

Cooperators in the enterprise include: the University of Vermont Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, and Stowe Mountain Resort. The partnering institutions envision a community of scholars, educators, and natural resource managers working alongside students and visitors to understand and sustain the vitality of mountain ecosystems.

Goals

The goals of the Mt. Mansfield Science and Stewardship Center are:

• To advance interdisciplinary research and long-term monitoring of mountain ecosystems and changes affecting mountain flora and fauna.
• To develop, implement, and demonstrate stewardship actions that will lead to improved conservation of mountain environments from a local to global scale.
• To provide place-based education and outreach on mountain ecology, conservation issues, and stewardship.

Science and Stewardship Approach

• Measure natural variability and effects of human activity on mountain ecosystems, from northern hardwoods to the alpine zone.
• Quantify and model processes that sustain ecosystem function and services.
• Evaluate the capacity of populations and natural communities to resist, recover from, and adapt to climate change and other anthropogenic stressors.
• Integrate scientific findings into environmental policy and natural resource management.
• Provide learning experiences that prepare students and young professionals for careers as environmental scientists and decision-makers.

A detailed framework for science and stewardship programs is available here (101 KB pdf).

Facility, site, and research history

The Mansfield Center will occupy a 1.5-story, 64 ft x 40 ft building situated on a forested ridge one mile south of Vermont's highest peak (4,393 ft). The surrounding 45,000 acres of wild and managed land have been the subject of scientific study for many decades, with continuous and coordinated investigations of air, water, soil, flora, and fauna dating back to 1991.

As the only field station in eastern North America located in a high-elevation spruce-fir forest, the Center will promote interdisciplinary studies of woodland and alpine ecosystems across the northern Appalachian and Adirondack ecoregions.

A more complete description of the science and stewardship assets on Mount Mansfield is available here (583 KB pdf).

To explore Mount Mansfield with Google Maps, click here.

Services

The Mansfield Center will provide the following services to natural resource agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations, policy makers, and professionals working in the fields of forestry, recreation, wildlife, air and water quality, environmental engineering, and natural areas stewardship.

A recent survey of prospective Mansfield Center users revealed a strong interest in these services among scientists, educators, and natural resource professionals. Survey results, summarized in this report, are being used to plan Mansfield Center facilities and programs.

• Leadership and coordination for collaborative projects
• Affordable and convenient access to a high-elevation field site
• Secure lodging, meeting, laboratory, and storage spaces
• Opportunity to connect with other mountain scientists and stewards
• Computing and communication infrastructure
• Science-based guidance on policy and management issues

In addition, the Center will offer educational exhibits and programs to mountain visitors and to residents of the surrounding towns.

Mansfield Center Timeline

Photo Gallery

Resources

• Mansfield Center Program, Facilities and Business Plans (2016)
• Mount Mansfield Science and Stewardship Center Strategic Plan, 2017 to 2021 (2016)
• 2016 Northeast Mountain Science Conference Final Program (2016)
• External Review Report of the Proposed Mount Mansfield Science and Stewardship Center (2016)
• Building New Knowledge in a Special Place(2015)
• Mount Mansfield Science and Stewardship Center - 2015 Planning Survey Report (2015)
• 2014 Vermont Monitoring Cooperative and Mt. Mansfield Science and Stewardship Conference
• Mount Mansfield Science and Stewardship Center - Draft Programmatic Framework (2014)
• Songbird Research and Conservation on Mount Mansfield