What to Expect at the UC Merced SNRI Wawona Field Station,
andWhat the SNRI Expects from You
The Sierra Nevada Research Institute Wawona Field Station and its related facilities areinside the south boundary of YosemiteNational Park. A “Gate Pass” can be requested at the entry for all official use of the SNRI field station. Gate Passes must be signed by SNRI staff before you leave to validate the fee waiver. Longer term fee waivers may be obtained from the field station director. At the entry, you will also be provided with brochures listing rules and regulations governing behavior in the park. Pay particularly close attention to garbage and trash disposal regulations. Feeding the wildlife is a serious offense. Speed limits are equally important because of the wildlife in the park.Many bears, hundreds of deer, and thousands of small mammals die every year after being hit by speeding cars. Please be sure that you are never in violation of any of the park guidelines or regulations. As a guest of the SNRI, your conduct will reflect on all of us and on the UC Merced.
Office:
There areT1 Internet connections available, but no extra computers. For a fast connection for your own equipment, bring an Ethernet cable. Wireless is also available.
There is poor or no cell phone access in Wawona depending on your carrier. Don’t count on it.There is a general use phone – 209-375-9918 – but bring a calling card for long distance calls.In an emergency, dial 911. Operators will notify Yosemitelaw enforcement or fire personnel.
The office has a small kitchen with dishes, cookware, a small oven, hot plates, coffee maker, electric tea kettle, refrigerator, etc.There is also a shower.
Our custodial services are provided by the same person who does all the maintenance for all seven SNRI buildings.Please keep this in mind and pitch in.Please also pack out your recyclables, or put them in the bins near the dumpsters in the maintenance area up the road (see map).
If you’re the last to leave the office, make sure that all 3 doors are locked.
Houses:
All SNRI housing is supplied at minimal charge for the convenience of those who otherwise would not be able to conduct research so far from home or campus. There is no housekeeping staff, nor anyone available to take care of your day to day needs.In almost all situations, you are expected to take care of yourself. In the event of a serious electrical, plumbing, law enforcement or other problem, there is a white board in the office with emergency contact information.
Please treat the houses with care and respect. They are owned by the National Park Service and are under permit to the UC Merced. It has been a long, arduous, and expensive process to get them assigned, functional, and livable. Please be careful not to damage either the houses or our relationship with the surrounding community.
There are field mice and other rodents as well as insects in abundance in the woods around the houses. Store all your food with all this in mind. Live traps are available at the office if needed.Live-trapped animals should be released unharmed at least 2 miles from any occupied structure.
Know that at any time, other researchers might be assigned to share the space, or might already be there when you arrive. Please consider this when you plan your arrival and your stay. Your children are welcome if you discuss bringing them with the station director in advance and if they are well supervised. There are no day care facilities or baby sitters available in Wawona.
Bring your own linens, pillows, blankets, and towels. Take them with you when you leave.The houses do not have laundry facilities, but there is a coin laundry downstairs at the Redwoods Lodge office on Chilnualna Falls Rd.
The kitchens are equipped with standard large and small appliances, cookware, dishes, silverware, cleaning supplies, etc.When you leave, please do not take anything that doesn’t belong to you, and ensure that everything is just a bit cleaner than you found it. Again, we have no staff available to clean up after the occupants, so the only way that this housing can remain usable and available is for everyone to pitch in. If we have to hire cleaning personnel after you leave, you will be invoiced for the charges and denied any future use.
There are wood-burning fireplaces in most of the houses. We don’t supply firewood, but there may be some around. You are free to bring your own or to gather dead and down wood around the area. Exercise care and ensure that the fires are out before you leave the houses unoccupied for any length of time.
Some of the houses (Landsneas, Vincent, Joyce, and Dull) have phones and wireless internet access. Bring your own computers and any other electronic equipment that you might need.
The houses are a pleasant 1.5 mile walk or bike ride from the office. Please walk or bike whenever possible to avoid creating parking issues around the office.
At both the office and the houses:
Please be respectful of others and ‘leave no trace’
Try to do at least one thing that leaves the place nicer than when you arrived.
Before you leave, please dump your trash in any nearby bear-proof dumpster.
Please pack out or properly dispose of your recyclables.
Please pack out all your leftover food unless you make absolute iron cladarrangements with others who are staying behind. Do not assume that any of your leftovers will be welcomed. Do not leave paper products, clothing, blankets, or any other personal items that you think might be useful unless you ask permission.
Lab:
SNRI Wawona Field Station has a small wet lab, a dry lab, and a workshop with dedicated freezer space and some basic lab equipment (e.g., dissecting scopes).Space is tight, so please speak to the station director about your needs prior to arrival.
Wawona Area:
There is little/no cell phone service in Wawona.
There are two small general stores in Wawona and large supermarkets 22 miles south in Oakhurst. There is an urgent care facility in Oakhurst that is open until 9 pm. Drugstores, restaurants, auto repair shops, etc, can also be found there.
There is a nice, if a bit expensive, restaurant at the Wawona Hotel (559-253-5635). Note that the hotel is not open year round, and that there are NO other restaurants in Wawona.
There is a post office next to the general store near the Wawona Hotel.
To receive regular USPS mail at SNRI, have it sent to:
Your Name
c/o SNRI
Wawona Field Station
Yosemite National Park, CA95389
To receive packages (e.g., UPS, FedEx) at SNRI, have it shipped to:
Your Name
SNRI Field Station
7799 Chilnualna Falls Rd
Wawona, CA93623 (note different zip than regular mail)
SNRI Use Requirements and Preconditions
In applying for use ofSNRI facilities, all guests agree to abide by the following:
Application Procedure
Visitors are asked to use our on-line registration system and calendar to apply for access to thefacility and to describe their intended use (see website). Applicants can use the system torequest specific housing and classroom space; every effort will be made to accommodaterequests within the limits of congruent station use. All reservations must be approved inadvance by the station manager.
Waiver of Liability
Non-UC visitors wishing to use the field station must submit a signed “Waiver of Liability,Assumption of Risk and Indemnity Agreement” form prior to or upon arrival (available fordownload from our website).
Visitors must also listen to an orientation talk upon arrival, agree to adhere tothe station rules outlined in this document,and acknowledge that they have reviewed and understood the safety-related information (see the“Fire, Emergency and Medical Information,” “Vector-borne Disease,” and “Living with WildAnimals”) contained both in the visitor manual and on our “info” webpage.Failure to comply or breach of agreement will result in immediate expulsion from the facility. Some failures are violation of federal law and could even result in a citation.
Permits
SNRI Wawona FieldStation is in YosemiteNational Park. Station visitors are required to research and obtain any applicable permits prior to beginningwork in the park or in the adjacent SierraNational Forest. See our website for more information.
Fees
Fees will be assessed for your stay at the SNRI Wawona Field Station. All guest fees go directly toward operation ofthe station. For current rates, see our website.
Guests of SNRI Guests
Your personal guests are welcome at SNRIif the station director is notified in advance.
Since they do not receive the standard SNRI orientation, it is your responsibility to informyour visitors of the rules outlined here. Any breach ofrules by your guest(s) is your responsibility and may result in your ownloss of privileges.Guests are expected to fulfill all the duties of regular station guests, includingcleaning and payment of applicable fees.
Safety
Visitors should be familiar with the safety information available on our “info” webpage.
SNRI Pet Policy
No pets are allowed.
Annual Summary
Researchers agree to provide an annual summary of work undertaken in relation to studies done at the SNRI field station. Please provide the following by June 30 of each year (the summary and list ofpublications will be published in the SNRI Annual Report and on the SNRI webpage):
• brief summary of your research accomplishments, including the title of the project, a
list of all participants on the project with their affiliations
• list of your current publications based on research done at the SNRIfield station (completereferences)
• one electronic copy of all published materials (e.g., papers, book chapters, abstracts, tech reports, etc.) resulting fromyour research (email to ).Please acknowledge theUniversity of California, Merced, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, Wawona Field Station, YosemiteNational Park in any publication resultingfrom use of the reserve.
• source of funding for your project, dates of funding, and the funding amount
SNRI Acknowledgment
To ensure that the University of California,the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, and Yosemite National Park are properlyrecognized, the following acknowledgments must be included in all publications, theses, reports, etc.that benefit from use of SNRI sites or research support:
“This work was performed (in part) at the University of California, Merced, Sierra Nevada Research Institute, in YosemiteNational Park”
“This work was supported by a grant from the University of California, Merced, Sierra Nevada Research Institute”
Submission of Bibliographic Data
Whenever you work at an SNRI field station, you must provide the SNRI with the full bibliographic citation - whether you did a report,thesis, book, research paper, conference proceedings, or other publication. You must do thiswithin six months of publication.
Please include “Sierra Nevada Research Institute” and “YosemiteNational Park” as keywords in every manuscript you prepare. You must provide an electronic version (PDF file) to the manager of your reserve. Failure to deposit bibliographicinformation as requested may lead to automatic denial of future use applications.
Submission of Metadata
Whenever you create a dataset from work you do atthe SNRI, you must fill out a form thatdescribes your dataset, including:
?title of the dataset
?your name
?your mailing address
?your e-mail address
?an abstract (500 words maximum)
?keywords, and
?the temporal/spatial coverage of your data.
Please email these metadata to the SNRI station director.
If yourwork involves ongoing, multiyear studies, please submit your metadata database entry at theend of the second year of your investigations and, once again, when you complete the study.Failure to deposit Metadata information as requested may lead to automatic denial of futureuse applications.