At the Niwot Ridge Long-term Ecological Research Program (NWT LTER), we study species and ecosystems in the high mountains of the Colorado Rockies. As a member of the LTER network, our mission is to provide the scientific community, policy makers, and society with the knowledge necessary to conserve, protect, and manage our mountain ecosystems, their biodiversity, and the services they provide — in Colorado and beyond.
We study the wondrous forest, treeline, tundra, and lakes in the high-elevation mountains of Boulder County. We believe that the more we understand how and why these systems are changing the more we can help conserve and manage alpine habitats into the future.
We are passionate about long-term studies and team science that integrates across disciplines. Our core research sites are within the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forest and City of Boulder Watershed. Discover what we’re learning about the ecosystems at Niwot Ridge and what it means for the future.
Niwot Ridge is 1 of 28 US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network sites, funded by the National Science Foundation.
Within the Niwot LTER, you’ll find all of the alpine and montane ecosystems available in the southern Rocky Mountains, including alpine tundra, subalpine coniferous forests, cirque glaciers and glacial landforms, lakes and moraines, cirques, talus slopes, patterned ground, and permafrost. We maintain the longest continuous record of atmospheric conditions in the continental US and the highest elevation climate station in the US.
Research at Niwot Ridge began in the 1940s. The Niwot Ridge LTER is one of the six original NSF-funded long-term ecological research sites and the only LTER site in Colorado. We are part of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and based at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
3798
Height of the Arikaree Glacier in meters (12,460 feet!)
40
Percent of the City of Boulder’s water comes from the Green Lakes Valley
1980
Year the Niwot Ridge LTER was established
80
Percent of precipitation at NWT that falls as snow
