Field Station

Located on 223 wooded acres in northern Baltimore County, the TU Field Station is adjacent to the Gun Powder Falls State Park and is protected from development by a conservation easement. This makes the area one of the largest natural preserves in central Maryland.

The property includes forested uplands and a floodplain adjacent to the Gunpowder Falls River. A permanent wetland has been created at the interface between the uplands and the floodplain, creating an extensive aquatic habitat known as Bosquedor Slough. This natural impoundment supports an impressive list of aquatic plants and animals. The steep ridge above the floodplain rises to an elevation of more than 620 feet above sea level, making it one of the highest points in Baltimore County.

Academic Resource

As an academic resource for Towson University, the TU Field Station is used for field trips and as an outdoor laboratory for student and faculty research. Classes that have used the Field Station as a resource include:

• Alternative Process (ART 237)
• Fish Biology (BIO 455)
• General Zoology (BIO 207)
• Herpetology (BIO 467)
• Mammalogy (BIO 458)
• Ornithology (BIO 456)
• Plant Ecology (BIO 435)
• Wetlands Ecology (BIO 452)

Research Center

To support long-term ecological research, the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Math has funded the construction of eleven 100-square-meter fenced plots called deer exclosures. Each plot is paired with an adjacent, unfenced control plot.

Throughout the year Towson scientists and students monitor the plots to determine the impact that deer browsing has on the forest vegetation, leaf litter, soil invertebrates and salamanders.

A portable weather station was installed in 2014 to enable TU scientists to monitor the influence of climate change on the health of the forest ecosystem. There are also plans to study honeybee populations as well as dung beetles.

Visits to the TU Field Station are by appointment only.