U of A closing biological research station

With crumbling buildings and a lack of interest from scientists, a biological research station operated by the University of Alberta near Athabasca is being shuttered.

University researchers have used the Meanook Biological Research Station since 1983, when the school started leasing the site from the federal government.

The station is located about 14 kilometres south of Athabasca and served as a base for a variety of water quality, wildlife and forestry research projects at the university.

But the station’s lead researcher left the school more than 10 years ago, and few others have taken up research there. Some of the most recent university work at Meanook included studies of the ecology of song birds and experiments in fish ponds.

“The loss of the facility is a minor inconvenience to our researchers who continue to work in the boreal and in the Athabasca region and there is little in terms of the environment or biology of Meanook that draws our current researchers to conduct new research there,” the university stated in an email.

The facility was once touted as offering, “the most extensive facilities for aquatic and terrestrial research on the Western Plains,” according to a university publication.

The university invested almost $800,000 to refurbish the facility soon after starting its lease in 1983. The facility comprises 12 permanent buildings and two trailer complexes, with enough room for 37 fulltime researchers. It included a fully supplied chemical laboratory and experimental ponds. There were once plans to create more controlled outdoor ponds and increase the amount of accommodation.

Without regular use by university researchers, the buildings have fallen into disrepair and the main building was destroyed by a fire about three years ago. The remaining buildings are slated for demolition.

“Environment Canada is in the process of assessing what they want for the site in the future, and if they do not want to operate it as a field station, determining what will be required to return the site to its original condition,” the university stated.

Some of the more recent users of the station included researchers from other institutions.

Kel Wieder, biology professor from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, used Meanook as a base while studying bogs and fens in northern Alberta for years.

“It’s a sad thing to see it go,” said Wieder, who recalled a time when Meanook was full of international scientists studying everything from birds and mammals to forests.

“For us it was a home away from home.”