Jonathan Schilling
University of Minnesota, MN·Ecology & Evolution
Field stations give biologists direct access to natural ecosystems for research and teaching. Keeping them useful means deciding what research, teaching and public outreach they should support, and how to maintain their land and buildings.
- Fields
Ecology & Evolution
Earth & Environmental Science
Biology
- Topics
field station
Itasca Biological Station
Itasca State Park
- Grants
- 1 known grant, last ended Oct 2026
What they work on
- Convene an advisory group of 15–25 stakeholders, including university, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, State Park, local and Indigenous community representatives, for facilitated planning sessions at the Itasca Biological Station.
- Produce a strategic plan for the station covering research capacity, teaching and public engagement, with a near-term action plan, a long-range outlook and a 5-year core planning document.
- Assess the sustainability of the station's 64 buildings and 45 hectares of grounds as part of the planning process.
- Build and maintain a stakeholder network that links the field station to the main campus, nearby communities and the State after the planning effort ends.
More about the research
This planning project addresses those questions for the Itasca Biological Station & Laboratories (IBSL), a University of Minnesota field station operating since 1907. IBSL sits on Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, inside Itasca State Park, where three of North America's largest biomes meet. Research there has informed management of regional natural areas, including 14,000 hectares of old-growth forest. The station serves more than 7,000 users a year and maintains 64 buildings on 45 hectares.
Why it matters
A clear plan for IBSL could strengthen environmental biology research and teaching at a field station that has long informed the protection and management of Minnesota natural areas, including old-growth forest. It could also help scientists reach the public across rural and urban communities and build relationships with Indigenous communities of northwestern Minnesota.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Zachary Taylor
Berry College, GA·Ecology & Evolution
Gather guidance from experienced biological field station managers through a panel discussion at the Organization of Biological Field Stations annual meeting.
Jacqueline Richard
Nunez Community College, LA·Earth & Environmental Science
Characterize water and sediment pathways through crevasses on the lower Mississippi River, including how individual crevasses interact with the main channel and with each other.
Richard Nader
University of the Virgin Islands, VI·Earth & Environmental Science
Establish roles at the University of the Virgin Islands that build community and industry relationships and address environmental legacies left by past industrial activity.
The school
University of Minnesota: 88 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 722 research doctorates a year.
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