The Center for Limnology’s mission is to exemplify the Wisconsin Idea by providing new knowledge and information on aquatic ecosystems to the people of Wisconsin through research, education, outreach and public service.
We strive to facilitate and support research and teaching based around our facilities at the Hasler Laboratory of Limnology and Trout Lake Station. Our vision is to provide local, national, and international leadership and maintain excellence in the fields of limnology, aquatic ecology, and ecosystem science.
UW-Madison is known as the birthplace of limnology in North America, thanks to studies conducted by Edward A. Birge and Chancey Juday in the early 1900’s – much of it right off the campus shoreline on Lake Mendota. Since launching the study of our inland waterways, CFL research has had far-reaching impacts – providing much of the foundation of what we now know about lakes, rivers and streams, modernizing our understanding of abrupt changes and cascading impacts in ecosystems, and even answering the question “How do salmon find their way back to their “home” streams?”
Today, the Center for Limnology operates two field stations, the Hasler Laboratory of Limnology located on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and Trout Lake Station in the Northern Highland Lake District at Boulder Junction.
We boast a talented roster of faculty, graduate students and post docs – all working on world-class research in waters across Wisconsin and around the globe.