Brought to you by the Watershed Education Program of the Telluride Institute.

Dr. David J. Cooper, Senior Research Scientist and Scholar Professor, Colorado State University

I work on ecosystems characterized by a perennial, seasonal or periodic abundance of water, including peatlands (fens and bogs), streams/rivers and their floodplains, marshes, springs, wet meadows, and salt flats. My specialty is mountain wetland ecology and hydrology and I have ongoing and recent projects in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades, Coast Range, Andes, and Carpathian Mountains (Poland and Slovakia). Study sites range from the wettest to the driest climate regions, from the arctic to the tropics, from lowland to mountain tops, and wilderness to urban landscapes. Research projects address theoretical issues in ecology and hydrology, as well as applied problems in land and water management and restoration. We work with all levels of government (federal, state, county, city), for large and small for-profit and non-profit companies, as well as water management agencies, ski areas and mining companies, individuals and conservation organizations to address questions and problems in wetland ecosystem formation, persistence, functioning, management and restoration. Almost all of my work involves graduate students at Colorado State University.