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Urban Field Stations


Did you know? The Urban Field Station Network is a composite of pre-existing Urban Field Stations and place-based urban research locations and investments throughout the country. Scientists and specialists at these locations work together across jurisdictions and boundaries to advance our understanding of urban and suburban ecology and communities.

Urban Field Stations

The Urban Field Station Network is a composite of pre-existing Urban Field Stations and place-based urban research locations and investments throughout the country. The Network represents the premiere urban-and residential landscape-focused natural resource science-management network in the country. Scientists and specialists at these locations work together across jurisdictions and boundaries to advance our understanding of urban and suburban ecology and communities. Research & Development, State & Private Forestry, the National Forest System and International Programs – as well as other agencies – are represented within and across the research, projects, and applications of the Urban Field Station Network.

Urban Field Stations and place-based urban research represent both a physical investment and an extensive network of interdisciplinary and cross-deputy scientists, specialists, and partners working to answer critical questions and solve complex problems. Each location is “place-based but not place-bound” with scientists and specialists collectively working with hundreds of partners at regional to national levels. Much like the Forest Service Experimental Forest & Range Network, these locations collect and analyze long-term data that is used to tackle today’s challenges and provide an invaluable reference into the future when new problems emerge. Staff at these locations also work directly with managers, practitioners, and policymakers in real-time to apply tools or define questions and develop knowledge to solve real-world problems.

The 21st century is a time of unprecedented social and ecological change. Our dependence upon and responsibility to steward the natural systems that sustain us has never been more pronounced. The Urban Field Station Network is at the forefront of working with communities across the nation to create the scientific knowledge and tools that are essential to navigating this social-ecological change and to nurturing sustainable, economically thriving, and environmentally just communities throughout the nation and world. See more about where we work.

Last updated April 12, 2023