Background: The White Mountain Research Station Owens Valley Laboratory (WMRS OVL) began in 1962 as a logistical support facility for the high-altitude laboratories at Barcroft and Crooked Creek. Over the years OVL evolved into a center of scientific and educational activity, and is now a major contributor to the mission of the WMRS, supporting over half the station's research and teaching load. Of particular note is OVL's role in supporting geoscience research and field training, and in supporting regional collaborations between agencies and the University of California. Some useful recent documents include "Power of 10" , a color brochure highlighting how the 10 UC campuses use WMRS and "WMRS Field Stations: Barcroft, Crooked Creek and Owens Valley" an updated color brochure describing how the different stations support complement each other. .

The problem: In spite of its important role, OVL facilities and infrastructure have been pieced together from surplussed trailers and re-cycled buildings, with a correspondingly high cost of maintenance.

• Nearly all the buildings and trailers are old and in need of deferred maintenance, with leaking roofs, poor energy efficiency, and inadequate space.
• Most of the 50 beds needed to support OVL teaching and research programs are crowded into tiny bunk rooms in which the students don't have room to manage their personal gear.
• Graduate students and faculty are often assigned used trailers without plumbing or adequate air conditioning.
• The computer/GIS lab, a key resource used by many field classes and researchers, has outdated equipment in need of replacement.
• The OVL shop and storage locker facility which house the vehicle and building maintenance staff and equipment, is in need of renovation.
• The WMRS Office is split such that the business office is located in a trailer at the back of the station, physically separated from the front office and the associate Director's office.
• Some of our water and electric utilities are at maximum capacity and need to be augmented or replaced.

The solution: The OVL Renovation Project is aimed at solving the worst of these problems by re-organizing the building space, replacing old trailers, adding rooms to the office and installing some new portable buildings. The shop needs to be renovated by installing new electric receptables and lighting, and our storage lockers need to be renovated and waterproofed. We also need to re-route and install the corresponding utility lines, including water, electric and communications lines. These changes will greatly augment the ability of OVL to carry out its vital role within WMRS.

Proposal for funding: As of March 2009, we plan to prepare and submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation Field Stations and Marine Laboratories Improvement Program (FSML), to obtain funding to initiate this project.

Planning tools: We hope to use this web site as a clearinghouse for ideas and planning documents for this project. We encourage current and former WMRS station users, alumni, friends and other interested parties to tell us their ideas for how to improve OVL. Please email, telephone 760-873-4344, or drop by the station and let us know what you think.

The OVLRP resources page lists useful documents and other resources for this planning process.