May 2026 Newsletter
the power of PLACE
Let the Season Begin!
As we head into summer, RMBL enters the season with both momentum and a critical question. After one of the driest winters on record, how will the Gunnison Valley’s lack of precipitation shape its ecology, including impacts on pollinators, plants, water systems, and wildfire risk? …
Ian Billick | PhD
Executive Director, RMBL
sciencestories
Why This Science Matters
On a summer morning near Gothic, before most of the valley stirs, ecologist Josh “Bear” Grinath is already thinking about questions that stretch far beyond any single field site: How do pollution and predators shape communities of plants and animals? What might those interactions portend for the future? …
Field Notes — May 2026
Marmots and Missing Snowpack
I’m Dan Blumstein and lead (with my colleague Julien Martin) the Marmot Project, one of the longest-running mammal studies in the world, here at RMBL. I just left Gothic after spending a week in the field. And I have to say — this season is unlike anything I have ever seen. …
Staff Spotlight – May 2026
Benn Schmatz: We Are All Caretakers
I am one of five winter residents of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, living at the end of the trail at the end of the road in Gothic, Colorado. On paper, it is a very simple job. …
Alumni Stories – May 2026
Voices of RMBL: From Marmots to Madonna
Neil Losin arrived at RMBL in 2003 as an undergraduate studying red-naped sapsuckers with Chris Floyd. He returned in 2004, gathered more data, and later published the work. “I fell in love with Gothic in the early mornings before breakfast,” Neil recalls. “Give nature a chance to astound you, and it often will.” …