Loch Vale Long Term Ecological Research Program: Celebrating Stewardship and Science Since 1982

Sky Pond, an alpine lake in the Loch Vale Watershed.

NPS Photo

The Loch Vale Watershed is a glacially carved, high-elevation catchment and long-term ecological research site in the Bear Lake Corridor of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The watershed spans alpine and subalpine ecosystems and includes alpine lakes, glaciers, subalpine forests, and wetlands. For researchers, Loch Vale offers a comprehensive look at watershed-scale ecological processes and how global change effects high-elevation ecosystems.

Initial research in Loch Vale was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and focused on the ecological effects of acidic atmospheric deposition (acid rain) to soils, plants, and lakes. Since then, collaboration between USGS, Colorado State University (CSU), and the National Park Service (NPS) has expanded research to explore the ecological consequences of nitrogen deposition, carbon cycling, and the effects of climate change. Within each field, researchers strive to disentangle natural processes from human-caused drivers of change.

Explore Data Here

• Loch Vale Open Data

Myriad long-term, open-source datasets are available for the Loch Vale Watershed thanks to efforts by USGS and CSU. These datasets include atmospheric deposition chemistry, streamflow, stream and lake chemistry and biology, weather, and plant species lists. Long-term datasets and monitoring efforts are essential to understanding change over time, as they provide continual data and baseline conditions for which to compare.
 

Visitation in Loch Vale

The same features that attract scientists to Loch Vale also attract thousands of park visitors every year. In summer 2020, nearly 60,000 visitors utilized the trail network in this area, which includes popular hikes to The Loch, Sky Pond, and Andrews Glacier. Rising visitation in this area, and across the park, prompted researchers to explore the effects of recreation on water quality.

Explore Research from Loch Vale

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  Mountain Lakes

  Nutrients and warming in mountain lakes
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  Snowpack Chemistry

  Rocky Mountain Regional Snowpack
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  Mountain Streams

  CO2 Gas Exchange from Mountain Streams