When: March 6-7, 2024, 8:00am - ~5:30pm Where: The Holiday Inn Estes Park (formerly The Ridgeline Hotel) 101 S Saint Vrain Ave, Estes Park, CO (Click here for venue information) Theme:Challenges and Collaborations for Changing Landscapes Sponsor:Rocky Mountain Conservancy Additional Details: This conference is free and open to the public. Reasonable Accommodations: Please direct all questions and requests for reasonable accommodations to Paige Lambert (Paige_Lambert@nps.gov)
Join Us Virtually!
On March 7, oral presentations as part of the Facing Ecosystem Collapse: Wetlands and Stressors session will be available virtually via the link below. This session runs from 8:30am - 10:30am MST. Click here to join the session virtually.
Real-time caption (CART) service will be available for this session through a separate link that must be opened in an additional window. Click here to access CART services.
Research Conference Events
Join us March 6-7, 2024 for Rocky Mountain National Park's Biennial Research Conference. Conference events begin at 8:00am each day and conclude at 5:30pm on March 6 and 5:00pm on March 7.
Join us March 6 - 7 for oral presentations by research partners and park staff that cover current and ongoing research and resource management in RMNP. Oral presentations are ~20 minutes each with opportunities for audience questions.
Fire Recovery in a Warming World
Dynamic water-quality responses to wildfire in Rocky Mountain National Park - David Clow, U.S. Geological Survey
The Influence of Wildfire on Genetic Diversity of Trout in Rocky Mountain Headwater Streams - Taylor Stack, Colorado State University
Patterns of lodgepole pine regeneration following mountain pine beetle and fire disturbance in Rocky Mountain National Park - Mattie Horn, Colorado State University
Post Fire Recovery: Management Actions to Facilitate Habitat Regeneration - Michelle Gibbons and Ann Mills, Rocky Mountain National Park
Towards Co-Stewardship: Past, Present, Future
Protecting Archeology with Fire - Katelyn Mohr, Rocky Mountain National Park
Ethnographic Resources: Complex Resources that Require Collaborative Stewardship - Ellyn DeMuynck, Rocky Mountain National Park
Indigenous Connections: Embracing People as Part of the Landscape - Kelly Dick and RisingBuffalo Maybee, Rocky Mountain National Park
Science for Adaptive Vegetation Management
Impact of slash pile burn scars on plant community composition across a 5-year chrono sequence - Claire Visconti, University of Wyoming
Limber pine seed viability and seedling survival of treeline and subalpine provenances: trends over a high-elevation stress gradient - Dr. Laurel Sindewald, Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Proactive Limber Pine Conservation Program – Going Strong After 15 Years - Anna W. Schoettle, USDA Forest Service
Collaborative Research for Visitor Use Management
The Timed-Entry Permit System (TEPS) in Rocky Mountain National Park: A Multi-Year Study of the effects on the Visitor Experience and Visitor Evaluations - Noah Creany, Utah State University
A collaborative approach to identifying indicators and developing monitoring protocols for visitor use management - Dr. Ashley D'Antonio, Oregon State University
Perceptions of human waste impacts in the Longs Peak area of Rocky Mountain National Park - Dr. Derrick Taff, Penn State University
Panel: Visitor Use Management at Rocky Mountain National Park - Kyle Patterson, John Hannon, and Scott Esser, Rocky Mountain National Park
Facing Ecosystem Collapse: Wetlands and Stressors
Riparian ecosystem collapse in the Colorado River headwaters - Dr. David J Cooper, Colorado State University
Climate and water balance effects on Rocky Mountain wetland hydrology: Challenges and opportunities - Dr. E. William Schweiger, National Park Service
Management Perspectives: Kawuneeche Valley Wetland Restoration - Isabel de Silva, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fifteen Years of the Elk and Vegetation Management Plan: Progress and Emerging Challenges - Will Deacy, Rocky Mountain National Park
Wildlife in a Changing World
Legacy effects of historical beaver structures on the vegetative community and structure of montane riparian ecosystems - Kara Brunngraber, Colorado State University
Exploring White-tailed Ptarmigan Habitat Selection in Rocky Mountain National Park - Nicholas Parker, Colorado State University
Using Genetic Markers to Study Evolutionary Mechanisms of White-tailed Ptarmigan - Meg Mahoney, Colorado State University and U.S. Geological Survey
Multi-decadal Monitoring Reveals Negative Visitor Effects on Occupancy of Amphibians in Rocky Mountain National Park - Dr. Amanda Kissel, U.S. Geological Survey
Of Toads and Tolerance: Quantifying Intraspecific Variation in Host Tolerance and Resistance to a Lethal Pathogen - Dr. Bennett Hardy, Chapman University
Management and Recovery Efforts of a Declining Population of Boreal Toads in Rocky Mountain National Park - Jonathan Lewis, Rocky Mountain National Park
Monitoring Air and Water Quality
Evaluating Ground-level Ozone Risks to Vegetation at Rocky Mountain National Park - Dr. Emmi Felker-Quinn, National Park Service
Marmots Still Don’t Drink Coffee. What We Learned from Studying the Contributions of Human Urine to Loch Vale Watershed - Jill Baron, U.S. Geological Survey
Agency and Industry Collaboration to Reduce Nitrogen Deposition Impacts to Rocky Mountain National Park - Jim Cheatham, National Park Service
Poster Presentations (Ordered by last name of author)
Join us March 6 from 4:30-5:30pm for poster presentations. 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.
UNC Bears In The Park: How High Impact, Career And Experiential Learning Opportunities Connect First Generation Student Populations To Parks And Protected Areas - Karen Barton, University of Northern Colorado
The Great Outdoors? Discrimination Theory And Black Park Use - Kristina Bell, Northwestern University
Recreation Ecology Meets Landscape Ecology: Understanding Visitor Use Disturbance On Habitat Connectivity And Potential Habitat Fragmentation - Dr. Evan Bredeweg, Oregon State University
Specimens, Artifacts and Archives into a Digital Landscape - Kelly Cahill, Rocky Mountain National Park
Plains To The Park: Community Science In The Rocky Mountains - Dan Cribby, Westview Middle School, St. Vrain Valley Schools
Clonal Plants In Alpine And Ecotone Communities - Dr. Scott Franklin, University of Northern Colorado
Direct And Indirect Effects Of Wildfires On Rocky Mountain Lake Ecosystems - Mollie Hendry, Colorado State University
Metal And Nitrogen Contamination In Poudre Lake And The Potential Impacts On Microbial Nitrogen Cycling Activities - Dr. Memphis Hill, University of Alaska Anchorage
Activating Volunteers For Ecological Monitoring And Building Visitor Engagement In Conservation In Rocky Mountain National Park - Julie Krajewski, Denver Zoo
Tracking Plant Phenology In The Alpine Using Community Science - Jackson Maldonado, Rocky Mountain Conservancy and Rocky Mountain National Park
Restoration Prioritization Of Upper Colorado Tributaries In The Kawuneeche Valley: Preliminary Results - Connor Mertz, Colorado State University
Detecting Invasive Grasses Across Elevational Gradients Using Predictive Phenology Models And Remote Sensing - Dr. Janet Prevéy, U.S. Geological Survey
Soil Carbon Stability In Alpine Tundra - Dr. Sarah Schliemann, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Development Of A Hyperspectral Endmember Library For Limber Pine And Other Treeline Plant Species In Rocky Mountain National Park: Convolutional Neural Network Classification Of Species Reflectance Profiles For Remote Sensing Applications - Dr. Laurel A. Sindewald, Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Convolutional Neural Network Classification Of Six Alpine Treeline Ecotone Plant Species Using High-Resolutionworldview-3 Satellite Imagery: Applications For Limber Pine Conservation - Dr. Laurel A. Sindewald, Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Interpretive Perspectives: Concentrated And Effective Efforts - Sabrina Stoker, Cache la Poudre River National Heritage Area
Examining Boulderers’ Perceptions Of Leave No Trace In RMNP From 2015 And 2023 - Dr. Derrick Taff, Penn State University
Genetic Diversity of Montane Grasshoppers Under Climate Change - Michael Troutman, University of Wisconsin-Madison
NEON In Rocky Mountain National Park: Expanding The Scope Of Ecological Science Through Long-Term, Open Access Ecological Data - Alexandra Tworek, National Ecological Observatory Network
Moose Herbivory On Subalpine Fir In Rocky Mountain National Park - Linda Zeigenfuss, Linda Zeigenfuss Ecology
Conversation Café: Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park
Join Rocky Mountain National Park staff on March 7 from 10:50-11:50am for structured, small-group discussions on moose and their impacts on vital wetland ecosystems. Advanced sign up is required for participation and will be available in-person at the conference registration and welcome table.