2026 RMNP Biennial Research Conference Details

 
 
A man reads a scientific poster.
Poster session at the RMNP Biennial Research Conference.

NPS Photo/A. Schonlau

The Basics

When: March 4-5, 2026, 8:00am - 5:00pm
Where: The Holiday Inn Estes Park
101 S Saint Vrain Ave, Estes Park, CO (Click here for venue information)
Presented by: Rocky Mountain Conservancy
Theme: Park Stewardship: From Discovery to Decision
Registration: No pre-registration required. This conference is free and open to the public.
Questions: Please direct all questions to event staff at ROMO_Research@nps.gov

Join Us Virtually!

The Biennial Research Conference will include virtual access to three oral presentations on alpine tundra ecosystems from 2:50pm - 4:10pm MST on March 4, 2026.

Real-time caption (CART) service will be available for virtual presentations through a separate link that must be opened in an additional window.

 

Research Conference Schedule

A printable version of the schedule is available here

Wednesday March 4, 2026
8:00 – 8:30 AM Morning Mixer and Coffee
Welcome
8:30 – 8:50 AM Gary Ingram
CDRLC Staff		 Conference Introduction, Land Acknowledgement, and Awards
Fire Effects and Forest Management
8:50 – 8:55 AM Moderator Session Introduction
8:55 – 9:15 AM Jill Baron Distinguishing Wildfire and Anthropogenic Sources of Nitrogen Deposition in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park
9:15 – 9:35 AM Leah McTigue Colorado Fires and Biodiversity
9:35 – 10:00 AM Nate Williamson
Christina Fossum		 A tale of two fires: Exploring Forest community change within RMNP’s Lodgepole Pine ecosystem following the East Troublesome Fire and the re-introduction of prescribed fire to RMNP’s front country Ponderosa pine ecosystem
10:00 – 10:20 AM Benjamin Helms Terrestrial Laser Scanning Estimates of Frequent-Fire Forest Structure in the Colorado Front Range
10:20 – 10:40 AM Kevin Willson A management tool to visualize restoration treatments that achieve historical overstory structure from present-day forest structure
10:40 – 11:00 AM Break
Learning from Historic Structures
11:00 – 11:05 AM Moderator Session Introduction
11:05 – 11:25 AM Nicole Arendt This is NOT HGTV – Mission 66 and Learning to Love and Preserve Boring Midcentury Buildings
11:25 – 11:45 PM Michael Welsh Archival Research, Document Analysis, and Database Development of Historic Irrigation Structures in Rocky Mountain National Park
11:45 – 1:00 PM Lunch
Next Generation Science: Rocky Mountain Conservancy Research Fellows
1:00 – 1:10 PM Moderator Session Introduction
1:10 – 1:30 PM Chris Maienza Arboreal Armageddon: Post-fire Plant Communities in Rocky Mountain National Park
1:30 – 1:50 PM Theo Kuhn Long-term stream temperature trends, sensitivity, and the role of groundwater in RMNP streams
1:50 – 2:10 PM Katie Gannon Algal Blooms in Mountain Lakes: What drives their growth? And what are the consequences for nearshore biogeochemistry?
2:10 – 2:30 PM John Lambert A field survey of the preparedness of wilderness day hikers and trail runners in Rocky Mountain National Park
2:30 – 2:50 PM Break
Challenges and Changes for Alpine Ecosystems
*Presentations within this session are available virtually. The link for virtual participation can be found at go.nps.gov/RMNPConference2026
2:50 – 3:00PM Moderator Session Introduction
3:00 – 3:20 PM Daniel F. Doak
Claire Powers		 Analysis of GLORIA alpine plant community data across the southern Rockies: Climate and species traits shape responses of the alpine flora to a changing world
3:20 – 3:40 PM Chris Ray Will pikas be lost from the park?
3:40 – 4:10 PM Ann Mills
Michelle Gibbons		 Rocky Mountain National Park Alpine Tundra Restoration: Past, Present, and Future
4:10 – 4:45 PM Panel: Alpine Tundra Ecosystems Stewardship
Join park staff and partners for a Question and Answer panel discussion on alpine ecosystem stewardship.
Kyle Patterson – Management Specialist, Jim Bromberg – Restoration Ecologist
Mitch Hauptman – Law Enforcement Specialist
4:45 – 4:50 PM CDRLC Staff Day 1 Wrap Up
Thursday March 5, 2026
8:00 – 9:00 AM Poster Session
The poster session is an opportunity to read about a variety of research projects and activities in the park and engage in discussion directly with the presenter.
Join us for coffee and light breakfast snacks.
Welcome
9:00 – 9:05 AM CDRLC Staff Welcome and Introduction
Restoration in Action: Wetland Ecosystems
9:05 – 9:10 AM Moderator Session Introduction
9:10 – 9:30 AM Isabel de Silva Shewell From Design to Digging in: Updates on Wetland Restoration in the Kawuneeche Valley
9:30 – 9:50 AM Itai Bojdak-Yates Stream Restoration Monitoring on Beaver Creek, Kawuneeche Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park
9:50 – 10:10 AM Linda Zeigenfuss Coming of Age… EVMP at 15 Years
10:10 – 10:30 AM Hanem Abouelezz
Will Deacy		 High-altitude thermal infrared aerial surveys for estimating moose populations and demographics in Rocky Mountain National Park
10:30 – 10:35 AM CDRLC Staff Announcements
10:35 – 10:50 AM Break
10:50 – 11:50 AM Conversation Café: Exploring Wetland Ecosystems
Join RMNP staff and partners for structured, small-group discussions on wetland ecosystems and their importance in the park.
Advanced Sign Up is Required for Participation
11:50 – 1:00 PM Lunch
Science for Adaptive Wildlife Management
1:00 – 1:10 PM Moderator Session Introduction
1:10 – 1:30 PM Rachel Billings A Tale of Two Pikas: Acoustic & Genetic Characterization of Hybrid Zone Dynamics
1:30 – 1:50 PM Airy Peralta Accounting for thermal refugia in American pika habitat in Rocky Mountain National Park
1:50 – 2:10 PM Emily Golden-Beam Coyote Microbiomes Reveal Biological Responses to Human Recreation and Urbanization
2:10 – 2:30 PM Boyd Wright The Poudre Headwaters Project: A Cornerstone of Greenback Cutthroat Trout Recovery Efforts
2:30 – 2:50 PM Break
Understanding Change with Long Term Monitoring
2:50 – 3:00 PM Moderator Session Introduction
3:00 – 3:20 PM Noah Estrada Vegetation Shifts in the Colorado Front Range, 1972-2025
3:20 – 3:40 PM Scott Rashid Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) and Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) Research in RMNP
3:40 – 4:00 PM Mary Jade Farruggia Long-term trends in the biogeochemistry of Rocky Mountain headwater lakes reveal complex patterns and drivers
4:00 – 4:20 PM Jennifer Nestler From Backlog to Action: Collaborative Data Management in the Rocky Mountain Network
4:20-4:30 PM CDRLC Staff Conference Wrap Up
 

Poster Session

The poster session offers a relaxed environment to explore diverse research topics at your own pace and engage in one-on-one conversations with presenters.

Move freely between posters, ask detailed questions, and discuss findings directly with researchers. This format encourages deeper discussions and allows you to focus on the work most relevant to your interests. It's an ideal setting for networking, discovering new collaborations, and getting personalized insights into current research.

Presentations by Last Name

  • Van Baronofsky - Who colonizes and who persists? American pika territory occupancy in the current Rocky Mountain climate
  • Danny Basch - Not just Bears in the Woods: Managing Human Waste in the Wilderness of Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Dan Cribby - Plains to the Park: Community Science in the Rocky Mountains
  • Alex Ertel - A National Park for Whom? Why Browns Bears Could Not Find Refuge in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
  • Jessie Foster - Hidden History Revealed: Sharing the Story of Yaye and Ryoji Kato as a Means of Stewardship
  • Wade Frisbey - Rocky Mountain National Park Hazard Tree Program Overview
  • Jules Hamlin - American pika call complexity across sites, possibly suggesting hybridization of Colorado subspecies
  • Natalie Hieber - Using Next Generation Sequencing to Address Taxonomic Uncertainties Surrounding Potentilla rupincola
  • Madelyn Hill - Mapping Historic Landownership Prior to the Creation of Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Jonathan Hughes - Managing no-shows in public resource allocation: The economics of campground reservations
  • Christopher Jones - Landscape-Scale Assessment of Forest Composition and Regeneration Following Bark Beetle Outbreaks and Wildfire Disturbances
  • Adeline Kelly - Investigating the impact of wildfire on high-elevation lake water quality
  • John Lambert - The Epidemiology of Search and Rescue in Rocky Mountain National Park, 2018-2024
  • Cynthia Langguth - Tracking Alpine Plant Communities: Creating Phenological Datasets Through Community Science
  • Katie Marascio - Merging Vegetation Plot Datasets
  • Sarah Nalley - Wildfire severity filters dragonfly assemblages by mating-related traits
  • Dr. Kyle Nardi - Leveraging an Earth System Model to Understand Rain-on-Snow Flooding Events in National Parks and Gateway Communities
  • Dr. Megan Oldfather - Bridging the Gap Between Research and Action - A Front Range Mountain Consortium
  • Dr. Isabella Oleksy - On thin ice- implications of shorter winters for the future of freshwater phytoplankton phenology and function in Loch Vale and beyond
  • Ailey Pittman - Local pikas might be more vulnerable to changes in winter snowpack than summer temperature
  • Madison Tucker - Mapping Water Histories: Archival Reconstruction of Historic Ditches in Rocky Mountain National Park
  • Abigail Volk - The First Synthesis of North American Alpine Environments
  • Nathan Williamson - Rocky Mountain Fire Effects Data Dashboard for Decision Support
 

Conference Proceedings

A printable version of the 2026 Biennial Research Conference Proceedings are available here

 
 

Last updated: February 19, 2026

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