Apply to do Research

A primary mission of the UC Natural Reserve System is to facilitate research. We welcome both new projects and the continuation of long-term research at Boyd Deep Canyon. With over forty projects running each year, 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 on-line application process provides this essential research coordination.

Contemplating Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center as a Research Site?

Please contact the Boyd Deep Canyon Reserve Director to discuss preliminary research plans that involve the reserve. 951-827-3655 or christopher.tracy@ucr.edu.

Be prepared to discuss the following:

The nature of your request.
Frequency/duration/seasonal timing of your visit(s).
Your anticipated need for housing, transportation and/or equipment.
How/whether specimens will be collected.
How you will avoid the intentional or inadvertent introduction of non-endemic genetic material within the boundary of the reserve.
Your plans to construct or devise (and later remove) experimental manipulations during the scope of your work.

A letter of support from the reserve director is required for any grant administered by the University of California Riverside. Please submit a final (or nearly finalized) proposal to the reserve director at least three weeks prior to the grant submission deadline if you need to obtain a letter of support.

Research applications submitted to the NRS should be based on peer reviewed research proposals that meet reasonable criteria of scientific rigor. It is expected that research conducted at Boyd Deep Canyon will be suitable for publication in an appropriate scientific venue.

When to File an On-line Research Application:

Any time a new research project is proposed at UCR Boyd Deep Canyon Reserve.
After reviewing the NRS Use and Guidelines and you are confident that your project will be deemed feasible and appropriate for a UCNRS site.
If a previously approved project is expanded, altered, significantly revised or extended beyond the period stated in the approved proposal.
Separate applications must be filed for each project if multiple research projects are proposed.

The Research Application process:

There is a 2-step process for applying to do research at Boyd Deep Canyon:

Submit an on-line research application at the Reserve Application Management System (RAMS) website (https://rams.ucnrs.org) for project approval.
Once your research application has been approved, you must submit a Reservation for each visit under the approved project, through the RAMS website, under your approved project. Many projects requires several visits to Boyd Deep Canyon; each one requires a separate reservation, but all visits for a particular project can be submitted under the same research application.

What to include in your application:

All the standard information required in a scientific research proposal – title, principle investigator information, a brief introduction/summary of the project and research methods you plan to use to complete your project.
Specific information on how the project will be completed on the Boyd Deep Canyon Reserve – logistical and methodological issues including frequency/duration/seasonal timing of your visit(s); anticipated need for housing, transportation and/or equipment; how/whether specimens will be collected; how you will avoid the intentional or inadvertent introduction of non-endemic genetic material within the boundary of the reserve; and your plans to construct or devise (and later remove) experimental manipulations during the scope of your work.
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) in order for your application to be approved.
Applications should be submitted at least two weeks prior to your intended visit.
Be sure to record the user name and log-in password you used when submitting your original application so that you can easily update your application and post activities.

Coordinating with the Reserve Once Your Application/Activity has been Approved:

You will receive an on-line confirmation that your application has been approved. After an application is approved a separate email will be sent to you with the gate codes and confirmation of your housing assignment.
A RAMS reservation request must be submitted and approved prior to visiting the reserve. Security will not permit access without notice from the Director in advance of your arrival.
Your arrival time for the first visit should be planned for normal university business hours so that a staff member will be present to give you an orientation and review reserve policies.
All reserve users must sign-in when they arrive and sign-out when they leave on the last day of their visit.
No firearms, no smoking, no visitors, and no pets are permitted anywhere on the reserve. If you violate these rules, then permission to use Boyd Deep Canyon will be revoked. Additional user information will be provided after your reservation is approved.