Research in ecology and conservation biology at the University of Nevada, Reno has a rich tradition. During the 1990’s, the Department of Biology at the University of Nevada Reno established a Biological Resources Research Center with many collaborators working on issues related to biodiversity conservation in Nevada as part of the Nevada Biodiversity Initiative. The director of the BRRC during its eleven years of existence was C. Richard Tracy, who is a professor in the Department of Biology, and a member of the EECB graduate program. Subsequently, UNR established a university-wide Academy of the Environment, and the BRRC was coincidentally closed. Subsequent to that, the Academy was also closed. However, the research on the conservation of biological resources continues with former members of the BRRC such as the Peacock Lab, and the Tracy Lab