Research use at SNARL remains very high, with housing and laboratory facilities operating at or near capacity from April through September. During the off-season the research groups of the resident scientists (Roland Knapp, David Herbst, Robert Jellison, and Daniel Dawson) create an active core of about a dozen researchers at SNARL. In addition to research users from seven of the general campuses of the University of California, researchers came to SNARL from three other colleges or universities in California, nine universities from outside California, and four state and federal agencies. SNARL is expanding its national research constituency.

TEACHING:

Instructional use of the Reserve stayed the same as last year with ten college level courses using the Reserve. One geology group traveled from Indiana University for an extended stay at the Reserve. Two courses, The Mountain Snowpack (UCSB) and Acquisition and Analysis of Environmental Data (UCR) were taught in their entirety at the Reserve. The Agouron Institute, a non-profit biology think tank, taught a portion of its Geobiology Field Course at SNARL. Given the distance from SNARL to the various campuses this is a high level of education use.

PUBLIC SERVICE:

The VESR Outdoor Science Education Program continues as the showpiece of UC public service in the eastern Sierra. Approximately 1000 Inyo and Mono County elementary school students from nine different schools visited SNARL on field trips this year. Demand exceeds the number of days we have available for the program. The field trip program is underwritten by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area who provided $20,000 in support this fiscal year.

In addition, two summer classes were held at SNARL. This year we signed a cooperative agreement with Caltech whereby one of our summer courses, “Messages from Space” was taught at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). Fifteen elementary and middle school students from Bishop and Mammoth attended class daily in the second story of the 50 m radio telescope. Assisting the instructor Barbara Schuck, were OVRO staff scientist Dr. Tony Beasley and retired Jet Propulsion Laboratory project leader Cathy Thornton. As part of the course each student had the opportunity to program the 50 m dish and point at a radio feature in the sky and listen for SETI signals. More information on the course is available at http://www.ovro.caltech.edu/~tbeasley/GEMS/index.html.

The spring SNARL Seminar Series, held at the Green Church, offered a series of six lectures to the public. Approximately 350 people attended talks this season. This year's speakers and topics were:

May 15 The 'Missing Linkages' project: restoring wildlife connectivity to the landscape of southern California Dr. Paul Beier, Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Northern Arizona University
May 22 Aliens and UFO’s: Is There Life in Outer Space? Dr. Anthony Beasley, Astronomer, Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
May 29 The New Zealand Mud Snail: Invasive Exotic or the Next Naturalized Species? Debra Hawk, Fisheries Biologist, California Department of Fish & Game
June 5 A bug’s eye view of Sierra meadows: Interactions among people, plants and invertebrates.
Dr Jeff Holmquist, Research Biologist, SNARL and White Mtn. Research Station
June 12 Why is Crowley Lake so green? Nutrients in the Upper Owens River Watershed. Dr. Robert Jellison, Limnologist, SNARL, University of California, Santa Barbara
June 19 Climate Change Effects on the Sagebrush Ecosystem near Mammoth Lakes, CA Dr. Michael Loik, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Two additional lectures were offered later in the spring by visiting scientist Dr. Nikolai Aladin from the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. Dr. These lectures, also very well attended were:

July 7 The Aral Sea: One of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century
July 9 Biodiversity and exotic invaders of the Caspian Sea

A series of six topical GIS seminars were offered at SNARL by Talon Associates. Attendees included staff from the US Forest Service, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, UC and local businesses.

Two roadside geology tours of the Mammoth Lakes region were organized and offered by Steve Lipshie. Twenty-five people attended each tour and they were very vocal in

Former State of California First Lady Gayle Wilson continues to seek our help in identifying candidates for the University's COSMOS program, a math and science outreach program for high school students. Mrs. Wilson is the chair of the advisory board for COSMOS. Dan and Leslie Dawson organized a meeting with Mammoth Unified School District Superintendent Stan Halperin and Mammoth High School Principal Mike DeRisi so Gayle could brief them on the opportunity.

The California State Fish and Game Commission visited SNARL as part of a regular meeting in Mammoth Lakes. They toured the facility and heard a presentation from Roland Knapp and Trip Armstrong on their research on high sierra lakes.

STEWARDSHIP & ADMINISTRATION:

Dan Dawson served on the steering committee for the DANR Natural Resource Coordinating Conference which was held in Monterey. The conference focused on DANR field research facilities including the NRS. Dawson attended the meeting and represented the NRS in the opening panel discussion.

Architectural and engineering plans for a new lecture hall for SNARL are complete. Construction of the new building will be funded by the Federal Aviation Administration through the Town of Mammoth Lakes as mitigation for impact to the Green Church, which will no longer be usable due to airport expansion. The new 1400 sq. ft. structure will be just east of the existing dorm building and connected to that building with a substantial deck. The airport project has been delayed; hence the construction project is on hold. Dan Dawson will write specifications for the project during the winter 2003. Plans and specifications will then go to UCSB for review.

A new rate structure was developed for VESR in consultation with the resident SNARL researchers. New rates went into effect July 1, 2003.

VALENTINE CAMP

RESEARCH:

Research use of the Reserve is increasing. Dr. Rachel Levin of Pomona College continues her work on the nesting behavior and endocrinology of House Wrens at SNARL and Valentine. She is interested in the effects of latitude and altitude on mate fidelity and the degree to which hormones control behavior. Valentine provides a higher elevation site with a shorter breeding season. UCD professor Rick Karban continued his projects on plant-insect interactions. UCSC grad student Aaron Gabbe and UCSB grad student Ken Welch both started projects on aspects of hummingbird behavior and physiology respectively. Due to excessive snow, the Reserve is closed from November-May.

TEACHING:

With a short season and limited housing Valentine Camp is generally not an overnight host for university level courses. Typically, courses staying at SNARL use Valentine for part of their teaching activities. However, this year a graduate level field trip from the University of Constance, Germany used Valentine as a base of operations for the exploration of the ecology of the western U.S.

PUBLIC SERVICE:

The VESR Outdoor Science Education Program is just active at Valentine Camp with approximately 1000 Inyo and Mono County elementary school students from 7 different schools visiting on field trips this year. In addition, 1o0 students attended two-week summer courses at Valentine. We offered some new classes this summer and employed seven teachers in addition to our permanent staff of Leslie Dawson and Sherry Taylor. Each class also has a volunteer teacher's aide resulting in a student/adult ratio of 5/1. These volunteers or docents have been trained by Leslie and also assist with the school field trips. .

As part of our Community Outreach Program VESR Education Coordinator Leslie Dawson offered several public tours of the Reserve. Most of these took place at Valentine Camp and replace our annual open house. The tours are advertised via local media and an email list and were all fully subscribed.

STEWARDSHIP & ADMINISTRATION:

Activities have focused on forest management at Valentine Camp. The Modified Timber Harvest Plan submitted to CA Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection was approved. This is the regulatory document required to implement our Forest Management Plan. Dan Dawson secured a $50,000 grant from the USDA to implement the plan. Trees for thinning were marked in the fall, 2002 and work began spring, 2003 with the construction of a road extension and culverted crossing into the Reserve near the SW corner. Thinning work proceeded into the summer. For implementation of the project Dawson attended training to upgrade his Timber Operator’s License.

Fence construction along Old Mammoth Road that was started in 2001-2 continued in 2002-3. An additional 500’ of fence along the rear of the private lots along Old Mammoth Road was complete with the assistance of CDF inmate crews.

Private fundraising continues at the Reserve. A luncheon was held to thank Rusty Gregory and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area for their support. Chancellor Henry Yang, Vice Chancellor John Wiemann, Vice Chancellor Steve Gaines, and their wives attended the luncheon. The Chancellor presented Gregory with a plaque. All three administrators were briefed about Reserve activities.

Page last updated Wednesday, October 29, 2003

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