Canyonlands Research Center

General Information

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Located at the doorstep of Utah's Canyonlands National Park, in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, this historic cattle ranch encompasses more than 300,000 acres of private property and public land leases, and is known for spectacular scenery as well as critical plant and animal habitat.

The Ranch, preserved by The Nature Conservancy in 1997, is the foundation for the Canyonlands Research Center, the first facility dedicated to climate change research within the heart of the Colorado Plateau. The Center will increase our understanding of the interactive effects of climate change and land-use, and arm decision-makers with new information to adapt to challenges such as diminished Colorado River water quantity and quality, grazing and recreation impacts, and invasive species.

canyonlands3Selected Research

Land use and climate change interactions on the Colorado Plateau

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Contact Information

Barry Baker
820 W. Kane Creek Blvd.
Moab, UT 84532
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
435-259-4629

Location

Dugout Ranch is in San Juan County, 20 miles northwest of Monticello, Utah.

Headquarters:

Latitude 38.07056 Longitude -109.56333

Size

5,200 acres and ~335,000 acres of grazing allotment

Elevation range

1100-3600 m

Annual Precipitation

206 mm

Minimum and max mean temperatures

Jan. -2,84 °C; July 30.7 °C

Facilities

Currently no, but planned

Personnel

Station manager in Moab

Databases

Weather data since 1964; Rangeland assessment of all major vegetation types since 1987

Established

2009