Conservation and Research Center

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Conservation and Research Center


Date opened	1974
Location	Front Royal, Virginia, USA
Land area	3,200 acres (12.95 km²)
Website
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Located on a sprawling 3,200 acre (12,950 hectare) campus, just outside the historic town of Front Royal, Virginia, lies the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Research Center (CRC). An extension of the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., the CRC has played a leading role in the fields of veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology, and conservation biology research since its founding in 1974, and continues to play a vital role to this day.

1 The Site
2 Programmes
3 The Collection
4 External links

[edit] The Site

The land on which the CRC lies has a long and rich history, dating back to 1909 when the U.S. Army leased some forty-two area farms. In the years predating World War I, the land served as a series of cavalry remount stations, supplying horses and mules to the military. The Federal Government ultimately purchased the land in 1911, and began construction on the Ayleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot. Completed in 1916, the Depot consisted of eleven barn and stable facilities, hundreds of miles of split-rail fencing, many miles of access roads, and even a rail yard facility for the import and export of animals. The Ayleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot remained in operation throughout both world wars, and was eventually expanded to include a canine training facility and detention barracks for 600 German and Italian prisoners of war.

In 1948 Congress passed legislation transferring ownership of the land to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), who redeveloped the property into a beef cattle research station. In conjunction with the Virginia Polytechnic Institution and State University (a.k.a. Virginia Tech), the USDA experimented with various environmental and husbandry conditions, designed to quantitatively and qualitatively improve the meat production of various cattle breeds. The U.S. Department of State leased part of the compound from USDA, for use as an emergency relocation and communications site, with support infrastructure for the Secretary of State and 700 other departmental employees. The USDA closed the station in 1973, leaving the site temporarily vacant.

The Conservation and Research Center was founded in 1974 when the director of the National Zoo, Dr. Theodore Reed, recognized the need for a captive breeding facility, and initiated negotiations to obtain the land. The title was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1975, and work was begun immediately on developing the site into one of the world’s most preeminent zoological research facilities. Continuing the Smithsonian Institution’s legendary reputation for research and discovery, an international team of researchers continues to develop cutting edge techniques pursuant to the CRC’s mission of wildlife conservation. A current example is how Orangutans are being taught language using a computer system originally developed by Dr. Francine Neago in conjunction with IBM.

[edit] Programmes

Amongst the CRC’s most well known research programs are those based on the captive breeding, and reintroduction, of such exotic endangered species as the Black Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes), the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and the Matschie's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matechiei). However, despite such noble aspirations, the CRC has not been exempt from its share of controversy. Most recently current Smithsonian Director, Lawrence M. Small, backed by former Zoo Director Dr. Lucy Spellman, proposed the closure of the facility as a cost-saving measure. This plan proved wildly unpopular, prompting a terrific outcry from the public and the scientific and conservation communities. Secretary Small eventually backed down from this decision, and the CRC remains open to this day.

[edit] The Collection

Currently, the CRC’s collection of animals stands at well over 400 specimens, including 17 mammalian, and 15 avian species. The gargantuan task of caring for such a broadly diverse menagerie falls on the shoulders of Dr. Mitch Bush, Chief of Veterinary Services, and an immensely talented veterinary support staff. In addition to maintaining a healthy population at the CRC, Dr. Bush also makes frequent fieldtrips to Kenya, South Africa, and other African nations, where he pursues cutting edge research on developing new, and improving current, anesthetization techniques on such large free-ranging animals as giraffes and rhinoceroses.

Ordinarily closed to the public, the Conservation and Research Center hosts an annual open-house event each fall. The aptly named “Autumn Conservation Festival” is sponsored by Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), and provides a superb opportunity for members of the public to interact with the facility’s staff, tour the grounds and top-notch veterinary facilities, and to learn more about the essential research that occurs at this unassuming yet innumerably valuable site.