The National Park Service (NPS) established Research Learning Centers through the Natural Resource Challenge. The Urban Ecology Research Learning Alliance (UERLA) at the Center for Urban Ecology (CUE) facilitates research in all parks within the National Capital Region (NCR). UERLA's goal is to increase research on the natural and cultural resources in the NCR and to communicate new knowledge about NCR parks. As the primary outreach of NCR's Natural Resource Challenge, UERLA communicates about scientific research and Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) information to parks' staff and the public. UERLA's projects provide opportunities for education and interpretation of the region's natural resources. UERLA's interdisciplinary research projects have developed through partnerships with various researchers, agencies and institutions, as well as the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CW-CESU).