NATL’s restricted areas.

The part of NATL-west that lies south of Division Trail and all of NATL-east (see map) are designated for academic use only. The public is excluded, but students, faculty, and classes have free access for academic purposes.

The reason access is restricted in these areas is to make them more suitable for student research projects that require equipment and markers to remain undisturbed. Consequently, those using the areas are asked to avoid sites where projects are ongoing as evidenced by equipment and markers that identify the project. In no case should markers or equipment be taken or moved.

If you wish to leave equipment or markers in the restricted areas for more than a single semester, you must describe your project and the Natural Area Advisory Committee must approve it.

Procedures for projects in NATL’s restricted areas.

Each project in NATL-west south of Division Trail or in NATL-east must have a faculty sponsor (unless the proposer is a faculty member or other professional researcher).

A proposal must be prepared for each project. The proposal should be brief but must include:

(1) Project proposer (name, department, e-mail address, university and home
phone nos.).

(2) Faculty sponsor (name, department, e-mail address).

(3) Description of project (title, objective, justification, methods and schedule,
nature of final report) [Make this part concise.]

(4) Expected and possible impacts on NATL (flags, markers or equipment that
will be left unattended, where [use NATL's grid] and when they will be left, what initials or name will identify them; temporary or permanent changes in NATL ecology that are expected or might occur).

Once the proposer of the project has his/her sponsor's approval of the proposal, it should be sent by e-mail to natl@ufl.edu [the e-mail address of the Advisory Committee chair]. If the proposal meets the criteria above, the chair will forward it to the Advisory Committee for approval, disapproval, or required revisions.

In most cases, Committee action on a proposal should be completed in one week.

When marked plots or transects are established, their locations should be plotted on a NATL grid map and sent by campus mail to the chair of the Natural Area Advisory Committee.

If a project lasts longer than one year, a one-page e-mailed progress report is due on each anniversary date of the project's approval. The report should describe progress and any changes or additions to the original proposal.

When the project is completed, a final report must be submitted in a form that can be posted on NATL's Web site. (This would presumably be the same information as in a hardcopy report of the project. If it is a thesis or dissertation, NATL's Web site should be able to link to UF's site for theses and dissertations.)

 These procedures approved by the Natural Area Advisory Committee on 19 March 1998, slightly revised 12 October 2001, and modified to include NATL-east in July 2005.