It is a primary mission of the UC Natural Reserve to facilitate scientific research. Valentine Reserve is comprised of 156 acres, has been protected from entry and grazing since the early 1900s. The reserve features remarkably pristine sub-alpine habitat including montane forest, montane chaparral, Great Basin sagebrush, high montane riparian vegetation, wet montane meadow, and seep and spring vegetation.
Facilities
The reserve offers housing for 16 people in three renovated log cabins
We welcome a wide range of research at Valentine and facilitate research throughout the eastern Sierra region. Please reach out to us at vesr@nrs.ucsb.edu if you have questions about conducting research using Valentine. We maintain a Bibliography of all published research connected to Valentine and our sister location SNARL, and other resources can be found at the Natural Resources of Valentine page.
The first step to apply to do research at Valentine is to create an account and submit an Application in our Research Access Management System (RAMS).
During the application process your project will be reviewed for research value and suitability of the project based on a number of factors including natural resources, permits, other research projects, infrastructure, environmental conditions, and staff resources if required. We will make every effort to work with applicants and welcome new projects.
What information should I provide in the application?
- Title, principle investigator, a brief introduction/summary of the project, and research methods you plan to use to complete your project
- Approximate dates of the proposed research project. The application will require you to provide dates and an “activity” (what you are going to be doing on those dates)
- Frequency/duration/seasonal timing of your visit(s)
- Your anticipated need for housing, transportation and/or equipment
- How/whether specimens will be collected and specifically how many/ how much you require
- How you will avoid the intentional or inadvertent introduction of non-endemic genetic material within the boundary of the reserve
- Your ability to accurately document metadata associated with your project and share it with Reserve staff in a timely fashion. Your plans to construct or devise (and later remove) experimental manipulations during the scope of your work
Additional Approvals
Installation of equipment will require a consultation and plan for installation, upkeep, and removal. Larger installations will require CEQA approval.
A letter of support from the Reserve Director is required for any grant administered by the University of California Santa Barbara. Please submit a final (or almost finalized) proposal to the Director at least three weeks before the grant submission deadline if you need a letter of support. Contact us at vesr@nrs.ucsb.edu for more info
If your project will involve vertebrate animals, you will need approval of the UCSB Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). For more information visit UCSB Animal Subjects and read Using Wild Vertebrates in Research.
If you project includes human subjects, you will need approval of the UCSB Human Subjects Committee (HSC) which serves as the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
If your project involves drones, you will need to complete an application to fly drones at the Reserve. For questions on drones or the permitting process, reach out to Dr. Brandon Stark at uassafety@ucmerced.edu
Make a reservation for every visit
As one of the busiest research stations in the UC Reserve system, coordination is essential to ensure that researchers’ needs are met and conflicts with housing, equipment, vehicles, and research sites are avoided. Your adherence to the online reservation process provides this essential research coordination.
- Learn about facilities you can rent as a researcher and the rates of the amenities offered.
- Create a reservation in RAMS every time you plan to come to Valentine. If you are planning to visit during our busy season (June-August) please submit your reservation several months in advance.
- Staff will review your reservation and notify you as to whether you have been approved. During the reservation process, staff are looking at accommodation availability, road and weather conditions, fire risk, personnel availability, and other activities on the reserve.
- Part of our job is to help you conduct a successful research project, so let us know how we can help. However, beyond basic administrative and field support, we would bill you for our time helping you get your project started.
Understanding Applications vs Reservations in RAMS
New research projects are submitted as an application. Individual visits within a project are submitted as reservations linked to the application.
When to file a new application:
- Any time a new research project is planned
- If a previously approved project is expanded, altered, significantly revised or extended beyond the period stated in the approved proposal.
- When multiple research projects are proposed (separate applications must be filed for each project)
When to file a new reservation:
- You may submit your first reservation at the same time as your application
- Any time you plan to visit Valentine as part of an approved research application
Guidelines for Research Visitors:
- Before you arrive review our Code of Conduct
- Make sure you have completed all the necessary Permits and Waivers prior to your arrival
- Review the information on Infectious Diseases found in the area
- Review and download the General Information Guide. Please email vesr@nrs.ucsb.edu for any questions.
- Please check in with the Reserve Director regarding an appropriate place to park. Please do not park in Handicapped spaces if you do not have the necessary documentation, do not park in EV charging spaces if you are not charging an EV, do not park in fire lanes or other areas where parking is restricted, do not park in front of garages or in front of the garbage dumpster.
- Spouses and family members not engaged in research will be accommodated on a space-available basis. Public accommodations, including campgrounds, are available in the Mammoth and Convict Lake areas.
- Let reserve staff know if you see anything broken or unusual out in the Reserve.
- NO firearms, NO smoking, and NO pets are permitted anywhere on the Reserve. If you violate these rules, you will be asked to leave.
DO NOT disturb reserve residents, animals, or experiments.
DO NOT visit without having made reservation and receiving Reserve staff approval. Requests for personal or recreational visits to the Reserve will not be approved.
In an effort to keep our facility use rates low no janitorial services are provided. Users are expected to leave residences, labs, offices, and shops cleaner than they found them. In this way conditions will improve instead of degrade. Cleaning supplies are provided in all buildings. Failure to adequately clean up will result in cleaning fees and prejudice future visits by the group.
- Invoices will be emailed to the indicated person on the application after your visit. Let us know if you used different facilities than were on your RAMS reservation.
- Make sure to include the Valentine Reserve DOI: 10.21973/N3JQ0H for all publications
- Mention The Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratories in your manuscripts and send us your research! We keep records of published work Zotero
- Tag, follow, and like us on all our social media platforms. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Inform SNARL staff when projects are soon to be completed at vesr@nrs.ucsb.edu