The Black Rock Forest is a 3,800 acre (15 km2) natural area located in the Hudson Highlands on the west bank of the Hudson River, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. It is a prime example of the natural ecosystem, which once covered the region. It features numerous ponds, brooks, wetlands and great biological diversity. Despite a rich cultural history, it remains relatively pristine due to the foresight of Dr. Ernest Stillman, who established it as a research and demonstration forest in 1928. The Black Rock Forest was acquired in 1989, from Harvard University, through the efforts of William T. Golden, by the not-for-profit Black Rock Forest Preserve, which set the region aside as a natural area for perpetuity.

The forest is administered and used, as a field station by the Black Rock Forest Consortium, comprised of private and public educational and research institutions. The Consortium provides a center for research and teaching at all levels locally at the Forest and through an information network that links students, researchers, teachers, administrators, and institutions. Its mission:

A Center for Research and Education

• Promote scientific study of the organisms, environment, and interacting processes operating within natural systems.
• Foster research to assess the environmental effects of human activities upon the integrity and stability of the biosphere.
• Build a community for scientists and educators among the member institutions with the goal that educational programs be based in real science, and real science have as part of its purpose the support of vital educational programs.
• Use the Forest as a model site for learning basic scientific principles, emphasizing an experiential approach, and fostering investigative and problem-solving skills.

An Information Network

• Maintain at the Forest a local area network with remote sensors capturing environmental data and distributing it through wide area connections to students and scientists.
• Construct linkages with other institutions by means of the national information infrastructure to collect and to disseminate data for educational and scientific use.

Ecosystem Management

• Provide a model of careful resource management directed at preserving the Forest’s wild and pristine nature and its biological diversity.
• Use scientific principles and an evolving scientific database to manage the Forest as an interacting part of a larger natural system.
• Serve as a public resource for leisure time activities, appropriate to the Forest’s health.
• Work with the surrounding community to share information, build partnerships, and provide leadership on the integrated management of natural resources.
• Design and manage facilities in full cognizance of “green” architectural principles.