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UC Davis Natural Reserve System - McLaughlin Reserve
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Home UC Davis NRS ReservesMcLaughlin Links
McLaughlin External Links: |
It is imperative that all reserve users adhere to all the procedures and rules found in the below sections and their respective links. These rules have been developed by the University in partnership with the primary landowner, Homestake Mining Company of California (owned by Barrick Gold Corporation). Please click on the below links for more information.
EXPLORING POSSIBLE USE OF THE RESERVE AND ARRANGING AN INTRODUCTORY VISIT Anyone
who is considering using the reserve for any reason needs to first
contact the Resident Directors via e-mail
or phone to discuss the
feasibility of the planned use and to
arrange an introductory visit. It is standard for Reserve staff to take
first-time visitors on an orientation tour of the Reserve, so please
plan for your visit to include about 3 hours for this tour. Once
you've arranged your visit, make sure to complete a liability waiver
(see below). Please
do not just "show up" at the Reserve or email us that you are coming
at a particular time without having arranged a meeting time with us.
For many reasons, you must arrange with the Resident Directors to visit
at a time that is agreeable to both Reserve staff and yourself.
In order to help you plan your trip, we have provided directions to
the Reserve headquarters from Davis, Sacramento, the Bay Area, and Marin/Sonoma
Counties. If you need directions from elsewhere, or the above
directions in a different format, please let us know. 1. Before visiting the reserve for the first time, all persons except for University of California faculty, staff, or students must read and sign the NRS Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement, available here or from the reserve staff. These waivers may not be altered and electronic signatures are not acceptable. Signed forms should be mailed to Reserve staff in advance of the visit, although with prior approval may be delivered to staff immediately upon arrival. A waiver must be complete by each person once a year. 2.
All minors (i.e. children under the age of
18) visiting the reserve must have the liability form signed by a
parent or legal guardian, and this form must be provided to Reserve
staff before the minor enters the Reserve. For classes visiting the
reserve, it is imperative that these signatures be obtained and forms
provided to the Directors by mail or personally before the class enters
the Reserve. No minors will be allowed on the Reserve without a
properly completed liability waiver. Please be aware that access to a few specific locations on the reserve may require signing of an additional waiver from Homestake Mining Company of California. This will only be necessary if, together with the Resident Directors, you determine at a later date that you need to access those specific locations. Applications fall into three categories: Research, Education, and "Other". Below are links to each of the three types of applications and procedures and policies associated with using the McLaughlin Reserve for each of these categoriesResearch includes: academic studies in art, science, social sciences, humanities, etc. conducted by graduate students, undergraduate students, faculty, professional scientists/researchers, amateur scientists/researchers, high school students under teacher supervision, interns Education includes: University/College classes with official course numbers; K-12 classes; other classes without formal academic standing (e.g. a class offered through a Botanic Garden, an informal course run by a professor for a university geology club, etc.) Other includes: community events such as field trips organized through a group such as a Land Trust, Botanical Society, Boy Scouts, etc; academic retreats or meetings; symposia or conferences; environmental art projects for non-academic purposes; other possible uses as approved by the Reserve Directors. FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCE The
Reserve consists of 7,000 acres (approximately 6,000 acres natural
lands and 1,000 acres that have been impacted by mining, a field
station, tenting area adjacent to the field station, and a
primitive camping area known as the Core Shed. Some equipment may
be available for researchers upon special arrangement with Reserve
staff. Additional informational resources are available regarding
geography, history, natural history, and past research at the Reserve. FACIILITIES The Field
Station is available to approved Reserve users, potential users on
their reconnaisance visits, or scientists undertaking regional research
who need a place to stay while conducting their research. Detailed
information about the Field
Station and use policies can be found at this link. Please
familiarize yourself with these rules if you plan on using the field
station. The field
station has a large
fully-equipped kitchen and dining area, showers, bunk rooms, a small
laboratory workspace, a classroom, and a lounge area
with
DVD and VHS players. Washer/drier are available upon
request.
There is a phone which can be used with a calling
card and which can receive calls for people staying at the field
station (the number is (707) 995 0739; please note this number will not
reach Reserve staff). There is a computer terminal for checking
email, wireless internet service, and internet ports with ethernet
cables. The
field station has 23 beds available across 6 rooms. There are 3-5
beds per room, with one or two of them being upper bunks. Three
of these rooms have a double bed; these can be specifically reserved if
the additional beds in those rooms are not required for other people.
Field station
users are also welcome to set up a tent/camper next to the field
station. All indoor ammendities are available to those who choose
to sleep in a tent/camper. Visitors
should bring their own toiletries,
food, and bedding (except that we do provide a pillow,
fitted
sheet, and pillowcase). There is no janitorial service
- users are expected to leave the facilities cleaner than they find
them. Contact reserve staff for more information. Camping
is available through prior arrangement with the Reserve
Directors. The main camping area is the Core Shed Campground,
which has picnic tables, running water (non-potable), and a composting
toilet. It is located approximately one
mile from the field station. Other locations may be available
depending on your needs. No fires are allowed except through
prior arrangement during the winter and spring.
EQUIPMENT
AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Reserve
staff are available to answer questions, give advice, and provide
information. We may also be able to help you out with some basic
equipment needs (eg shovel, ladder, t-post pounder, etc)
which may be available for research uses but require specific
arrangement
with Reserve staff.
Limited-distribution documents about the reserve and the Homestake gold mine are available at the reserve and at the UC Davis NRS office. Also available are a Natural History Handbook; various GIS coverages of the reserve; numerous generations of aerial photographs. Detailed
information is available on edaphic and ecological factors of a
specific locaton on the Reserve known as "The Grid". This
location, established in 2001 as a model ecosystem, spans 500 x 550m
across a diversity of soil types and plant communities. Detailed
data on soil properties and plant occurances are available at 50 m
intervals across the Grid, as well as at 10 m intervals within 6 - 50
x 100 m blocks within the Grid. This area is currently being used
by several research projects which are tapping into the baseline data
available for this area. All research conducted on the grid needs
to be approved by an adhoc committee consisting of the Reserve
Directors and several Davis faculty. 1. FOR EACH VISIT:
After obtaining permission from the Resident Directors to use the Reserve, inform the Directors of each visit to the Reserve and provide the name and status of each person accompanying you. Each person must complete a waiver, or if under 18 that waiver must be completed by a legal guardian prior to arrival at the Reserve (see Waiver policy). 2. STUDY SITES: Provide the Resident Directors with location information of all areas on the Reserve that you will use in your studies or activities. 3. GUESTS or OTHER VISITORS: Reserve staff must be informed, PRIOR to their arrival, of all people you wish to bring to the Reserve/have visit you at the Reserve. Each person must complete a waiver, or if under 18 that waiver must be completed by a legal guardian prior to arrival at the Reserve (see Waiver policy). 4. NO SMOKING on the reserve except for the parking lot area adjacent to the Field Station. 6. CAMPING and CAMPFIRES: a) Camping in any location is by permission only. However, if you are using the field station but prefer sleeping in your tent instead of in a room, feel free to set up your tent next to the field station; this does not require prior approval. b) No campfires or campstoves allowed without permission from the Resident Directors. This is a high fire-hazard area. 7. PETS: 8. DRIVING ON THE RESERVE: 9. GATES:
a) The gate combination changes regularly. Please make sure you ask for the current gate combo when you notify the McLaughlin Directors of your next visit. b) Close all gates behind you, even if you found a gate open. Never leave open any gate that you opened, even if there is another person a few minutes behind you who will need to drive through. The only exception: the main gate to the field station is kept open between the hours of 6:30 am -4 pm on weekdays (when Reserve staff keep it open): if you find it open outside of those hours, please close it. c) For all gates that have more than one lock on them, ensure that you do not lock out any other locks on the chain. 10. USING THE FIELD STATION: 11. IN THE FIELD: 12. OFF LIMITS AREAS:
YOUR SAFETY AND YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT'S SAFETYDo not enter the Mine Pit area, Davis Creek Reservoir, Tailings pond, buildings/structures other than the field station, or any areas signed as requiring special permission for access. Access to these areas is only permitted through special approval: if you need access to any of these areas for your work, discuss your needs with the Reserve directors. If the Reserve directors agree that you need access to these areas in order to do your work, they will obtained permission from Barrick for you to access these areas. Emergency contacts: When you get to the Reserve, make sure you ask Paul or Cathy for a Reserve Map showing roads, feature names, etc. In addition to helping you orient yourself, a map may be of use in an emergency. Contact Reserve staff in any emergency. If you first contact 911, contact Reserve staff immediately thereafter. We will likley be able to help direct emergency response personnel to your location.
Hospital: the nearest Hospital is Redbud Hospital, located in the town of Clearlake, approximately 30 minutes from the Reserve. The Hospital is located 2 traffic lights north of Lower Lake: to get to the hospital from the Reserve, drive west from the Reserve to Lower Lake, turn right at the traffic light, and turn right again at the second traffic light (18th Avenue). General Safety Information: We try to ensure that reserve users and their plots/equipment in the field are safe and free from disturbance. In order to do this, we need you to comply with all regulations covered in above sections and their respective links, as well as in the information below. During your first visit, Reserve Staff will discuss with you any safety issues that may pertain to your specific use of the Reserve. For the most part, when you are on the Reserve you will need to comply with safety policies of the University. However, be aware that most of the Reserve property is still owned by Homestake Mining Company, which operated a gold mine here from the early 1980s through 2002. Homestake still has 5 employees on site who are engaged in maintaining environmental integrity of mining-impacted lands and completing some reclaimation tasks as required of them by regulatory and permiting agencies. The University and its Reserve users need to respect work needs and safety policies of the mining company. Do not enter or otherwise access any heavy equipment, structures or facilities in the field, or any structures near the field station unless you have received special permission from Reserve staff. Discuss with Reserve staff any activities that will take you near any equipment, buildings, pipelines, powerlines, etc prior to engaging in these activities. Finally, a few specific locations on the Reserve are available for use only by permission of the mining company. These locations include but are not limited to the Davis Creek Reservoir, Tailings Pond, Mine Pit, and all areas that have been directly impacted by past mining. If you wish to use any of these areas in your work, the Reserve Directors will work with you to determine the level of use you require and to gain permission from Barrick to access these locations. Once use of the area is approved, you will need to comply with additional safety policies of Barrick. Not all Barrick-approval zones are obvious; in order to avoid accidentally starting work in a Barrick-approval zone without having obtained prior approval, please clear all your research locations with the Reserve Directors before setting them up. Please also avoid setting up research next to areas that have man-made structures unless it is only for very short term. Typically, such structures need to be accessed at some point, and we would like to ensure that your research is not adversely affected by this. For example, the power company annually drives beneath powerlines on the property, and thus plots should not be placed within 50 feet of powerlines. Be
aware that from many parts of the reserve, the nearest phone is a
several-mile walk away. Carry a spare tire, a jack, first aid
equipment, and extra water. Cell phone service is patchy; if
you need to try using your cellphone, try walking to a local high
point (although even that may not work). The
Reserve provides two-way radios which may be borrowed on a daily
basis by researchers. These radios have excellent coverage across
the property and provide direct communication with Reserve staff and
Homestake staff. Be
aware that hunters and off-highway vehicle enthusiasts use the
surrounding areas, and trespassing and poaching do occasionally occur.
Please help
ensure everyone's security by notifying Reserve staff of any suspicious
activities. As soon as you can,
call us on the radio,
leave us a note at the field station, or leave a message on the phone. Potential hazards include, but are not limited to, the following: Rattlesnakes. Long pants, hiking boots, and caution when hiking over rocks, logs, or in tall grass are recommended. Please read http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/995_snakes.html on first aid treatment for and other information about snake bites. Poison Oak. Common in riparian areas and shaded north facing slopes. May be avoided. "Leaves of three, let them be." For more information on Poison Oak try: http://poisonivy.aesir.com/ Ticks. Ticks in this area may carry Lyme disease. Routine body-checks for ticks are advised. If bitten, monitor symptoms and consult with a physician. For more information on Lyme disease see a Lyme Disease Brochure produced by the California Department of Health Services Vector-bourne Diseases Section or visit http://www.dhs.ca.gov/dcdc/disb/lymedisease.htm Mountain Lions. Avoid hiking alone, make noise and if confronted, throw things and yell. Do not bend down. Do not run. For more information on California Mountain Lions try:http://www.395.com/generalinfo/mtlion.shtml or http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/lion.html Rugged
Terrain. McLaughlin is a wildland environment. There are downed
logs, unstable rocks, steep slopes, cliffs, ground squirrel holes,
steep and narrow roads, and many other potential hazards. Use caution
and good judgment. Hantavirus. Potentially fatal disease caused by a virus shed by deermice. Do not handle live or dead rodents or their feces or urine. For more information on Hantavirus try the California Department of Health's Hantavirus brochure or http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/ddwem/environmental/Institutions/PDFs/hantaviruspulmsynfactsheet.pdf
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This page last updated: November 6, 2006 |
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