VA -- Front Royal -- Smithsonian Conservation Research Center (CRC):
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- CRC_081004_263.JPG: Feeding time!
- CRC_081004_284.JPG: I asked how they got the crickets to stay in their box. He said some hopped out occasionally but, given that their food was in the box, they usually didn't anywhere.
- CRC_081004_329.JPG: U.S. Army Cavalry Remount Stallion Barn
- CRC_081004_363.JPG: U.S. Army Cavalry Remount Stallion Barn:
During the 1890s and early 1900s, the United States Army frequently conducted cavalry training maneuvers in the Shenandoah Valley. Horses, men, and gear came by rail from Washington, DC, disembarking at Front Royal and marching to Double Tollgate in Clarke County, or Strasburg and Woodstock in Shenandoah County. After the Spanish American War, when the Army began planning for a new Remount Depot system, Front Royal was a natural choice for the only East Coast base.
The US government purchased more than forty farm properties between Chester Gap and the town of Front Royal from local farmers between 1908 and 1911.
Activated in 1911, the Aleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot quickly became an important segment of the local economy, and integral to the social fabric and rhythm of life in Front Royal. Many local citizens found employment working with the Depot's horses and mules.
- CRC_081004_364.JPG: Inside the U.S. Army Cavalry Remount Stallion Barn
- CRC_081004_369.JPG: From Remount to Conservation:
Mechanization of the US Armed Forces was virtually complete by 1948, the year Congress transferred the Front Royal Remount facility to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Working with Virginia Tech, USDA established a beef cattle experiment station here that operated until 1973. By 1975, the National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center (CRC) was established on 3,200 acres. Other parts of the property went to the new Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center and the Customs/ATF Canine Enforcement Training Center.
Acquiring this rural property culminated the Zoo's multi-year search for the right location for new off-exhibit activities. Ever since, NZP-CRC has been dedicated to captive breeding of endangered animals and research of threatened wildlife species and their conservation, typically in collaboration with range-country institutions. CRC will soon become a core site for NEON, the new National Earth Observatory Network, monitoring long-term ecological change, and will participate in the Smithsonian's Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO) program tracking regional effects of climate change.
- CRC_081004_371.JPG: Prisoners of War at Front Royal:
During World War II, the Front Royal Remount Depot became a satellite prisoner of war (POW) camp, receiving prisoners from a main camp at Fort Lee, also in Virginia. The first POWs Front Royal received were Russian soldiers who had originally been captured by German forces, then were re-captured by the Allies in 1944. The second contingent were Germans captured by the Allies in North Africa. Later, Italian prisoners also arrived.
Many local residents still recount their families' good relations with the POWs, who helped ease wartime labor shortages by working on local farms and orchards. The prisoners were hard-working and respectful. The appreciative farmers often provided them with extra rations, though this generosity contravened army regulations.
- Wikipedia Description: Conservation and Research Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Conservation Research Center (CRC) is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution located on a sprawling 3,200-acre (13 kmē) campus located just outside the historic town of Front Royal, Virginia. 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 since its founding in 1974.
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), which 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 a zoological research facility.
Programs:
Amongst the CRC’s most well known research programs are those based on the captive breeding, and reintroduction, of such endangered species as the Black Footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes), the Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), and the Matschie's Tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus matechiei). However, despite its accomplishments, the CRC has not been exempt from controversy. Most recently the former Smithsonian Secretary, Lawrence M. Small, backed by former Zoo Director Dr. Lucy Spellman, proposed the closure of the facility as a cost-saving measure. Opposition from the public and the scientific and conservation communities forced Secretary Small to back down from this decision.
The Collection:
Currently, the CRC’s collection of animals stands at over 400 specimens, including 17 mammalian and 15 avian species. This diverse menagerie is cared for by Dr. Mitch Bush, Chief of Veterinary Services, and the veterinary support staff. In addition to maintaining a healthy population at the CRC, Dr. Bush also makes frequent field trips to Kenya, South Africa, and other African nations, where he conducts research on anesthetization techniques on large free-ranging animals such as giraffes and rhinoceroses.
Ordinarily closed to the public, the Conservation and Research Center hosts an annual open-house event each fall. The “Autumn Conservation Festival” is sponsored by Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ) and provides an opportunity for members of the public to tour the grounds and veterinary facilities, interact with the staff and learn more about the research conducted at the CRC.
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