Plant communities include palouse prairie grasslands, montane fir, cedar and pine forests, subalpine meadows, and tundra. Water is everywhere and aquatic ecologists will find lakes, ponds, swamps, bogs, spring brooks, streams and rivers up to 7th order. Four national wildlife refuges are located nearby. Most of the Rocky Mountain fauna, including rare species such as the grizzly bear, bald eagle, and westslope cutthroat trout, may be observed at or near the Station. A virgin stand of larch, Douglas fir, grand fir, and ponderosa pine, two springbooks, shoreline marsh habitat, several islands and nature trails encompass the Station grounds.
Visitors are welcome.
The Director, some of the research staff, and two caretakers live with their families in homes and apartments on the Station grounds. Students and faculty dine together in the new Prescott Center, a modern commissary-meeting complex. Four laboratory buildings house the inside course work and some research projects. Rental housing and lab space are available for visiting scientists. The Biological Station is an excellent site for professional meetings and short courses.