U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2005-3108

September 2005

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center - 2005

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603

Printed on recycled paper

Year Built: 1974–78

Operation and Maintenance Costs: $736K in FY2005

Employees: 68 permanent federal staff; 16 federal term and students; 

17 university cooperators; approximately 36 state field staff.

Structures: Office/lab complex; vehicle and equipment storage, metal/

woodworking shop; 45 experimental ponds and raceways; 3 well 

houses and Effluent Treatment System

Acreage: 65 acres

Square Footage: 72,724 ft2 Office/Lab buildings, 18,866 ft2 shop/

storage/auxiliary space; Total of 91,590 ft2.

Field Stations: Six state-operated field stations in Illinois, Iowa, 

Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin funded through a reimbursable 

partnership.

Mission: The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center 

(UMESC) began in 1959 as the Fish Control Laboratory of the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the mission of developing 

chemical agents to manage undesirable freshwater fish. 

Besides a continuing program of research and development for 

fishery management chemicals, UMESC has added additional 

research elements including River Ecology, Restoration of 

Degraded Habitats, Declining Species, Invasive Species, and 

Decision Support Model Development. Teams of UMESC 

researchers address national issues related to river ecology and 

management, nutrient loading of surface water, wildlife and 

fishery contaminant issues, habitat assessments, and restoration 

of threatened species including paddlefish, sturgeon, mussels, 

and amphibians. The UMESC has lead responsibility for the 

Upper Midwest Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative 

and the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program on the Upper 

Mississippi River. The research of UMESC scientists supports 

the efforts of natural resource managers to develop strategies for 

managing invasive species in the Great Lakes and Mississippi 

River basins. The UMESC has developed decision support 

systems now being used by managers of National Wildlife 

Refuges for development of Comprehensive Conservation 

Plans. 

Special Capabilities: The UMESC is on an island bounded 

by the Mississippi and Black Rivers. The nearly 73,000 

ft2 of space in the main complex encompasses wet and dry 

laboratories, including an aquatic invasive research and culture 

complex; a science library; a fish culture facility; and offices. 

The physical plant also includes several features rarely found 

at other research facilities, such as 45 ponds (0.01–0.5 acres 

in size), 13 raceways, and indoor environmental chambers 

providing controlled conditions for studies under simulated field 

environments. The outdoor mesocosm facility—used for aquatic 

ecology experiments—features controlled water inflow, effluent 

sterilization and filtration, automated systems for supplying 

river water, temperature control, and remote communication 

linkage for automated data collection. The water supply 

capacity is 3,000 gallons per minute. A system of water 

processors, tanks, and pumps provides the high levels of water 

quality needed for laboratory studies. An onsite wastewater 

treatment system also ensures the effluent from the studies is 

properly treated and discharged.

Consolidation Issues: In1999, the previously existing 

Upper Mississippi Science Center (West Campus) and the 

Environmental Management Technical Center (East Campus) 

merged into UMESC. As the consolidation of staff and facilities 

continued, UMESC management decided to allow the lease on 

the East Campus to expire and move all staff and equipment 

to the West Campus facility. Although the decision eliminated 

a difficult facilities and employee management challenge and 

saved the Center $448K in annual lease costs, merging the two 

Centers into one facility created cramped staff quarters. 

To resolve the limited space issue, the Center Director proposed 

the USGS construct an additional building wing (D) at a cost 

of $3.0M to accommodate the merger of the two facilities into 

one. The construction of wing D would provide additional 

required space for offices, meeting rooms, a data processing and 

storage center, and a Geospatial Sciences and Decision Support 

Laboratory to accommodate the combined staff of UMESC. In 

addition, the laboratory, garage, and storage space temporarily 

converted to offices would be returned to their original use. 

In April 2004, the USGS approved the business plan for the 

construction of a new wing (21,500 ft2). The funding strategy 

allows the Center to retain (through Working Capital Fund) the 

lease rent savings for a fixed period beginning in FY2004 as the 

capital investment base for the project.

For more information, contact

Linda E. Leake

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603

608-781-6269