The key event in the development of research in the Upper Kuparuk/Toolik Lake region was the construction of the Alaska oil pipeline and Haul Road (later named the Dalton Highway) in 1974- 1976 . Before that time, access to interior regions of the North Slope was limited by the lack of roads and the small number of widely scattered locations where aircraft (mostly fixed-wing) could land, take off, and be fueled or serviced. Completion of the Haul Road in September 1974 suddenly opened up a magnificent environmental transect across the heart of northern Alaska. Toolik Lake and the Upper Kuparuk River lie near the center of this transect, and ecologists and other environmental scientists were quick to exploit the opportunities for new research in the surrounding area.
Intensive research in the Upper Kuparuk/Toolik Lake region began in the summer of 1975, when a group of aquatic ecologists set up a small camp on a disused airstrip near the outlet of Toolik Lake. Most of the members of this group, led by John Hobbie of the Marine Biological Laboratory, had just finished the Tundra Biome Study at Barrow. Toolik Lake was chosen for study because the group was looking for an easily accessible, large, deep arctic lake to compare with the small, shallow coastal ponds they had studied previously.
Toolik Field Station, initially set up to support aquatic researchers at Toolik Lake, soon became known as a convenient spot for terrestrial researchers to camp as well. In 1987 the site became part of the US LTER Network. The overall aim of the new ARC-LTER was to develop a landscape understanding of ecological functioning based on the interactions among tundra, stream, and lake ecosystems near Toolik Lake, Alaska. The specific focus evolves continuously and changes with each renewal cycle, as understanding has grown and as new opportunities and questions are recognized.
