SNRAL

About Us


The Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) was established in 1935 by the US Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife as the Convict Creek Experiment Station. The goal of the station was to study the success of hatchery trout in a native stream. Acquired by UCSB in 1973, the site now serves as a base for research and teaching in eastern and central California and western Nevada. With some of the most developed facilities in the UC Natural Reserve System and a considerable outreach program, SNARL is UC’s outpost in eastern California, a region of the state with no university campuses.

The 55-acre SNARL site is an ideal base for field research throughout the eastern Sierra and the Owens Valley. A former US Fish and Wildlife Research station since 1935, the facilities at SNARL were transferred to the University in 1973. SNARL provides a modern laboratory, which includes a molecular diagnostics facility, and experimental stream complex that promotes and encourages scientific research all year long. SNARL lies immediately at the base of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, along the borderline that separates the montane environment of the Sierra from the arid Great Basin Desert to the east. The reserve provides easy access to the high Sierra Nevada, Mono Lake, Long Valley, Owens Valley, Yosemite National Park, and the Great Basin.

Convict Creek provides a perennial water supply that contributes to SNARL’s habitat diversity. Three major types of vegetation occur on the relatively uniform terrain found at SNARL. Each is characterized by floristic composition and accompanying physical features, including soil type, exposure, and water availability. The three vegetation types found at SNARL are: 1) Great Basin Sagebrush Vegetation 2) High Desert Riparian Woodland 3) Riparian Meadow Vegetation. Non-aquatic research is permitted and encouraged.

Selected Research Projects

Ecology of Mono Lake 

UC research on Mono Lake has helped restore the ecosystem of this critical resource for waterbirds and other wildlife. Ongoing projects include modeling and monitoring. See more about Mono Lake.

Sierran Snowpack

SNARL scientists operate a snow laboratory on Mammoth Mountain; the National Science Foundation and NASA Earth Observing System Project fund ongoing studies of snowpack properties and snowmelt runoff.

Aquatic Biology

Ongoing studies examine impacts of livestock grazing on stream ecology and effects of non-native trout on Sierra Nevada lake ecosystems.

Endangered Species Conservation

Ongoing studies are examining the causes of declines in populations for the mountain yellow-legged frog, and the potential for recovery of this species. See Mountain Lakes Research Group for more information

Graduate Student Research

SNARL and Valentine offer a home base and facilities for a wide variety of graduate student research projects on topics ranging from plants, to insects to climate change biology. We provide funding support to students conducting research based at SNARL and Valentine through our VESR Student Grant program. Graduate students working at SNARL may also receive funding through the UCNRS Mildred Mathias Grant Program.