Texas Field Station Network (TFSN)

Explore the field stations here: Texas Field Station Network

Brackenridge Field Lab

The Brackenridge Field Laboratory (BFL) is part of UT’s Biodiversity Center. An 82-acre biological research site, it is part of an almost 400-acre tract of land originally donated to the University in 1910 by George W. Brackenridge, a former University of Texas regent. Here, UT researchers, including faculty and graduate students, make discoveries that contribute to UT Austin’s top-10 ranked program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Research is facilitated through the use of six greenhouses and an 18,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art lab space all located 3 miles from the main campus.

For more info, contact: Larry Gilbert (Director): lgilbert@austin.utexas.edu
Jason Lawson (Field Station Manager): jlawson3414@utexas.edu

Stengl Lost Pines Biological Field Station

As part of the Biodiversity Center, Stengl Lost Pines (SLP) is a 573 acre wild space seated in a relic stand of piney woods located about an hour east of the UT Austin main campus. SLP provides students and researchers in Integrative Biology with valuable study space and inspiration. This research station compliments Brackenridge Field Lab by adding another ecosystem to UT's study sites. The station is used by undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers from around the world.

To visit SLP, contact Steven Gibson (Field Station Manager): gibson.slp@utexas.edu

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center is the newest field station addition to the growing field station network. It supports better understanding of native and managed landscapes—using environmental monitoring, original research and discovery-based student learning activities—to inform decision-making about the best ways to support people, plants, wildlife and the natural systems that they rely on.

For more info, contact Alex Ciongoli (Science & Conservation Lab Manager): saciongoli@wildflower.org

White Family Outdoor Learning Center

The White Family Outdoor Learning Center is a 266-acre living classroom in Hays County in the Texas Hill Country. It provides channels, floodplains and hill slopes that cover a range of steepness and soil occurrences. The topographic, lithologic and hydrologic variability provides an ability to design and implement long-term hydrological and ecological monitoring and data collection for use in research and teaching.

For more info, contact Michael Young (Associate Dean, Jackson School of Geosciences): micheal.young@beg.utexas.edu

Marine Science Institute

The Marine Science Institute (MSI) is a prime location for research on the Texas Coast adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico and local bay systems. They manage the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, a federal partnership that connects research, education and stewardship to
communities. They lead in the mapping of seagrass. They also work with the Amos Rehabilitation Keep which rescues and rehabilitates thousands of animals annually.

For more info, contact Nicole Elmer (Communications Coordinator, Biodiversity Center): nicole.elmer@austin.utexas.edu

McDonald Observatory

The McDonald Observatory is a research unit of UT Austin and one of the world’s leading centers
for astronomical research, teaching, and public education. It is located on 650 acres of mostly
undisturbed land in the Chihuahuan Desert in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. The area is a valuable natural resource, available for the study of the land and the celestial universe.

For more info, contact Nicole Elmer (Communications Coordinator, Biodiversity Center): nicole.elmer@austin.utexas.edu

Hill Country Field Station

With a donation from the Winn Family Foundation, UT Austin is preparing to construct and operate a Hill Country Field Station for research and public outreach. This signifies a new commitment in biodiversity, natural resources, and field station research.

For more info, contact Thomas Schiefer (Field Station Manager): thomas.schiefer@utexas.edu