The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory is a research and teaching unit at Colorado State University with a mission “to ensure the sustainability of the Earth’s ecosystems through the generation and application of new knowledge.” The department’s interdisciplinary, ecosystem research promotes collaborations among disciplines and across fields of expertise at CSU and throughout the world. As a soft-money research unit, this role is critical to ensure adequate funding to sustain its vital role in the research community both locally and across the globe. Colorado State University, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, is situated on nearly 5,000 acres of land, including the main campus, a foothills campus, an agricultural campus, and a mountain campus. Colo