In 1961, members of the Arctic Institute of North America’s (AINA) Icefield Ranges Research Project (IRRP) touched down on the shores of Kluane Lake in the Yukon to establish an international, multi-disciplinary research station.  The Kluane Lake Research Station opened a year later.  AINA moved from McGill University to the University of Calgary in 1976 and became a university research institute in 1979.  At that time, the complex consisted of eight summer cabins that accommodated six to eight, a winterized log house that accommodated four, a lab/library building, a mess hall (an old WWII US Army building used on the Alaska Highway project, bought for $1 and moved to the site), washhouse, a storage/workshop building, a campground, and a communications trailer.

In 1990, KLRS received a three-year infrastructure grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) of $75,000 per year.

In 2010, KLRS received a federal grant of $3.4 million to “upgrade Canada’s northern-research infrastructure.” AINA’s plans for upgrading included new dining facilities, a bunkhouse, warehouse, power station, showers, and winterization all existing buildings. An article in Canadian Geographic called the station one of Canada’s top three northern science caps, even before the infrastructure improvements.

An aerial view, and a tour of the facilities and cabins is available here.