The following column was written by UIS professor Thomas Rothfus, director of the UIS Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon and the UIS Field Station at Lake Springfield, and published by the Illinois Times on Feb. 24, 2025.
“The idea of a field station is not a familiar one to most people. Field stations serve as a home base for researchers and students seeking to understand the surrounding environment and its relationship to the rest of the world. They are also sites of education and outreach and play a vital role in training students.”