{"title":"West St. Louis Creek NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"40ef616f-702a-458b-bce1-9ba961260ef0"},"type":"site","created":"2020-05-25T09:36:50+02:00","changed":"2025-09-18T14:23:37+02:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"NEON","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"fd9fbc88-0baa-4d02-b824-dc29f721782c"}},"siteCode":"WLOU","verified":true}],"projects":null},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Amy Jacobs","email":"ajacobs@battelleecology.o","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Melissa Marquez","email":"marquez@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":null,"value":"https:\/\/www.neonscience.org\/field-sites\/wlou"}]},"general":{"abstract":"West St. Louis Creek (WLOU) is an aquatic site within the 93 km2 (23,000 acre) Fraser Experimental Forest near Winter Park, Colorado. It is a high elevation mountain stream at around 2902 m (9521 ft.) just west of the Continental Divide. The streams drains a 4.9 km2 (1210 acre) watershed and the forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service. A water diversion feature is present just downstream of WLOU, and aids in bring water from Saint Louis and Vasquez Creeks to the City of Denver. WLOU is part of NEON\u0027s Southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau Domain (D13). D13 has one other aquatic site and two terrestrial sites. WLOU is not colocated with a terrestrial site.","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2017,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":null,"siteName":"West St. Louis Creek NEON","shortName":"WLOU","siteType":"Non-stationary land-based site","protectionLevel":[{"label":"Category V \u2013 Protected Landscape\/Seascape\/Area","uri":"http:\/\/dd.eionet.europa.eu\/vocabularyconcept\/cdda\/IucnCategoryValue\/V"}],"landUse":null,"images":null},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":1.5,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":655,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":null,"biome":"freshwater_rivers","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Fresh Water Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Rivers","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":null,"landforms":null,"geoBonBiome":["Fresh water rivers"],"geology":"The geology at this site is characterized by schist, migmatite, and biotitic gneiss.","hydrology":"WLOU is a high elevation, wadeable stream with pools and some channelization. Stream substrate consists of boulders, cobbles, pebbles, and woody debris. Where the NEON sensors are located, bank width varies from 2.3 m to 2.8 m, and bank height varies from 1.2 m to 1.8 m. The hydrology of the site is dominated by snowmelt.","soils":"Gravel and stone soils are typical of Fraser Experimental Forest owing to the rocky parent material.","vegetation":"Vegetation communities in the Fraser Experimental Forest separate out according to elevation. Upper elevations are characterized by alpine tundra. Below the timberline, subapline fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) dominate, while lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) is commonly seen at lower elevations. Understory herbaceous vegetation is sparse but contains various forb, sedge, and grass species. There are two endemic alpine species: purple-leaf groundsel (Ligularia soldanella) and Rocky Mountain nailwort (Paronchyia pulvinata), plus one lower elevation endemic, wood-rush (Luzula subcapitata)."},"geographic":{"boundaries":null,"coordinates":"POINT (-105.9154 39.89137)","country":["United States of America"],"elevation":{"avg":2908,"min":null,"max":null,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":490,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"mainly experimentation","scale":"catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"entire catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"DNA sequence","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/21400"},{"label":"genetic parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20942"},{"label":"land cover","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22142"},{"label":"landscape parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20943"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"},{"label":"water quality","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22312"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":null,"allPartsAccessible":null,"maintenanceInterval":null,"permanentPowerSupply":false,"operation":{"permanent":false,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":null},"notes":null,"collection":null,"data":{"policy":{"url":null,"rights":null,"notes":null}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":null}}}}