Wind River Field Station is located on the Thornton Taft Munger Research Natural Area adjacent to the Wind River Experimental Forest in south-central Washington state, USA (N 45 49.227, W 121 57.125).

Research natural areas are part of a national network of ecological areas designated in perpetuity for research and education and/or to maintain biological diversity on National Forest System lands. Research natural areas are for non-manipulative research, observation, and study. They also may assist in implementing provisions of special acts, such as the Endangered Species Act and the monitoring provisions of the National Forest Management Act (Forest Service Manual full text).

The T. T. Munger RNA was set aside in 1926 originally as the Wind River RNA. It was established to exemplify the old-growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock forest which once covered many valleys in the Cascade Mountains of western Washington. Objectives include preservation of natural plant communities and their associated processes along with other ecological elements as identified by the Washington Natural Heritage Program.

The USDA Forest Service has an outstanding scientific resource in Experimental Forests and Ranges that exist across the United States and its territories. These valuable scientific resources incorporate a broad range of climates, forest types, research emphases, and history. Research sites within the Experimental Forests and Ranges network, provide information about history, climate, vegetation, soils, long-term data bases, research history and research products, as well as identifying collaborative opportunities, and providing contact information.

Wind River Experimental Forest was established in 1932 in two divisions, Panther Creek and Trout Creek. Early on the forest became the central area for studying the great Douglas-fir forests of the Pacific Northwest, and many of the silvicultural practices for managing these forests were developed here. Silvicultural studies continued following World War II and into the 1960s, though many other areas served as important sites for the study of Douglas-fir forests, in the 1980s research at Wind River was rekindled with an increase in ecosystem studies and old-growth/wildlife habitat research. (Experimental Forests and Ranges of the USDA Forest Service Technical Report).