Dear RMBL Community,

February is a time to reflect on water at its source. National River Day and World Wetlands Day, both on Feb. 2, remind us that everything downstream depends on what happens upstream — at the headwaters. Snowpack becomes wetlands. Wetlands feed rivers. Rivers sustain ecosystems, agriculture, and communities far beyond the mountains where they begin. 

RMBL sits at one of those sources — the headwaters. 

This winter has made that reality feel especially tangible. On Christmas Day, my family skied in garbage bags because it was raining so hard. Standing in the middle of winter rain in Crested Butte forces you to pause and ask bigger questions about weather, long-term patterns, and how changing weather patterns affect our community as well. 

Those questions were at the heart of our first Après Science Talk this winter, featuring guest scientist Dr. David Inouye. His talk, “What Do Weather Stations in Crested Butte and Gothic Tell Us About How the Climate Has Been Changing Since 1910?” sparked a powerful community conversation about what decades of data reveal and what those trends may mean for the future. It reminded us that long-term datasets matter for better predictive models, and that understanding change requires patience, consistency, and place-based science. (Check out winter programming at RMBL!) 

Over New Year’s, my family skied into Gothic and spent time with billy barr talking through the weather records and winter observations. According to the data, this winter is shaping up to be among the driest since the “winter of no snow,” 1976–77. That raises important questions and concerns. What does this mean for our ecosystems this summer? How will flowers respond? What happens to migration patterns, fire risk, and water availability? How should communities think about water resource management in the months and years ahead? 

These are exactly the kinds of questions RMBL exists to ask — and seeks to answer. 

High in the Upper Gunnison and East River headwaters, RMBL science begins where water first takes shape. Researchers study snowpack dynamics, wetlands, streamflow timing, carbon cycling, and ecosystem change in one of the most sensitive headwater systems in North America. What we learn here does not just stay here. It informs water management, climate understanding, biodiversity protection, and community decision-making across the West and beyond. 

Education is woven directly into this work. Students do not just study science at RMBL; they practice it alongside scientists in the field, learning how knowledge is built over time in one place. Many alumni trace their paths in science, medicine, policy, and leadership back to those early experiences at the headwaters. 

There is also responsibility in being at the source. What happens here shapes what flows outward. Stewardship at the headwaters is not abstract. It is daily work grounded in careful observation, shared knowledge, and long-term commitment to place. 

As winter continues and snowpack slowly accumulates, RMBL remains focused on asking the hard questions, generating the data and tools needed to address them, protecting long-term science and inquiry, and educating the next generation of scientists and leaders. 

Thank you for being part of this community and for supporting work that begins at the source and flows far downstream. 

Jeni Blacklock, PhD 
Executive Director
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

Link to winter programming: https://www.rmbl.org/winter-outreach-events-schedule/