UWRL Monthly Bulletin

1. Open Access Materials for Faculty

USU Libraries offers several open access publishing support options, and an email with more details has already been sent to UWRL faculty. If you have not had a chance to review it yet, please keep an eye out. These resources can be especially helpful for federally funded projects, which now require publications and data to be open access.

• The Open Access Fund covers 50% of article processing charges up to $1,500, with application windows opening January 1 and July 1.
• USU also has publisher agreements that fully cover select journals and offer discounts with some publishers.
• DigitalCommons provides a free option for depositing accepted manuscripts, although some embargoes may apply.

More information is available on the USU Libraries Open Access Support page and in this publisher agreement spreadsheet. You can also contact David Advent at david.advent@usu.edu.

2. UWRL Bank Stabilization Project

In August or September, crews will begin work to stabilize the bank both upstream and downstream from the UWRL bridge. This will affect our parking lot, but most lab activities should see only limited disruption. Additional coordination will be shared as we get closer.

3. Legislative Tour at the UWRL

A group of legislators is tentatively scheduled to tour the UWRL on June 22. This is a great opportunity to highlight our impact, particularly related to state water and environmental issues.

More information will be shared as we learn more, but the event is being initiated by the USU President's Office. That suggests we were successful in communicating our work during the earlier visit, so thank you to everyone who helped make those tours so successful. 

4. Canyon Road Access Update

As construction continues on Canyon Road, access to the UWRL will remain via First Dam only. Starting as early as Monday, May 18, access to Herm's Inn and Rudy's Greenhouse will be available via 600 East and Canyon Road only. There will be a hard closure on Canyon Road east of Herm's Inn.

5. UWRL Building Updates and Improvements

Thank you to all of the students who volunteered their time to help with recent improvement efforts around the UWRL. Trees near the lab are now protected from beavers, and we are hopeful they will move through on their own, so no traps are being set at this time.

This effort was coordinated with Utah State University's Beaver Ecology & Relocation Collaborative (BERC). The Utah Conservation Corps also helped by pulling dyers woad around the UWRL.