Research Permits

 

Research Permit Main Page

All research conducted in the park is subject to the park's research permitting policy and requires a permit. The park's research permitting is reviewed and issued by Whiskeytown's Resource Management Office. Resource Management is responsible for issuing and tracking research permits as well as providing support to permitted researchers in the park. Each permit application undergoes a formal, standard process for research permit review and issuance.

Permitted researchers study everything from archeology to zoology in Whiskeytown. All are required to submit an annual report of their study progress and results. These Investigators' Annual Reports (IARs) are then entered into the National Park Service's Research Permit and Reporting System (RPRS), a searchable database that is available for public use.

Please contact the Research Permit Office at 530-242-3444 or e-mail us prior to submitting a proposal so that your project can be discussed personally and you can get an early start on the permitting process.

The following index will help guide you through this web site and the permitting process for Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

• Flight Requirements (Use of Drones): On January 29, 2020 Secretarial Order 3379 was issued from the Secretary of the Interior for the Temporary Cessation of Non-Emergency Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fleet Operations (UAS). Non-emergency UAS drone flights are currently NOT permitted in the park.
• Apply for a Research Permit
• Renew Research Permits/Submit Investigators' Annual Report
• Curation Regulations and Material Transfer Responsibilities
• Closed areas of Whiskeytown NRA
• Whiskeytown Area Map
• Camping and Overnight Studies: campgrounds at Whiskeytown NRA can reach capacity especially during the summer months; advanced reservations are suggested. Find out more about camping at Whiskeytown NRA.

NOTICES

• Until further notice, a COVID 19 safety plan is required with all permit applications. The plan will outline safety precautions to be implemented to reduce the spread of the virus. Such actions will include social distancing and use of masks at a minimum.
• Restrictions on access to watersheds originating on Shasta Bally due to the threat of debris flows post Carr Fire are currently in place. Please contact Whiskeytown NRA for details on area closures.
• Fieldwork during high wind events is restricted due to the post Carr Fire environment and associated hazards. Please contact Whiskeytown NRA for details regarding scheduling.

National Park Service General Permit Conditions

United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service

1. Authority - The permittee is granted privileges covered under this permit subject to the supervision of the superintendent or a designee, and shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations of the National Park System area and other federal and state laws. A National Park Service (NPS) representative may accompany the permittee in the field to ensure compliance with regulations.

2. Responsibility - The permittee is responsible for ensuring that all persons working on the project adhere to permit conditions and applicable NPS regulations.

3. False information - The permittee is prohibited from giving false information that is used to issue this permit. To do so will be considered a breach of conditions and be grounds for revocation of this permit and other applicable penalties.

4. Assignment - This permit may not be transferred or assigned. Additional investigators and field assistants are to be coordinated by the person(s) named in the permit and should carry a copy of the permit while they are working in the park. The principal investigator shall notify the park's Research and Collecting Permit Office when there are desired changes in the approved study protocols or methods, changes in the affiliation or status of the principal investigator, or modification of the name of any project member.

5. Revocation - This permit may be terminated for breach of any condition. The permittee may consult with the appropriate NPS Regional Science Advisor to clarify issues resulting in a revoked permit and the potential for reinstatement by the park superintendent or a designee.

6. Collection of specimens (including materials) - No specimens (including materials) may be collected unless authorized on the Scientific Research and Collecting permit.

The general conditions for specimen collections are:

• Collection of archeological materials without a valid Federal Archeology Permit is prohibited.

• Collection of federally listed threatened or endangered species without a valid U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species permit is prohibited.

• Collection methods shall not attract undue attention or cause unapproved damage, depletion, or disturbance to the environment and other park resources, such as historic sites.

• New specimens must be reported to the NPS annually or more frequently if required by the park issuing the permit. Minimum information for annual reporting includes specimen classification, number of specimens collected, location collected, specimen status (e.g., herbarium sheet, preserved in alcohol/formalin, tanned and mounted, dried and boxed, etc.), and current location.

• Collected specimens that are not consumed in analysis or discarded after scientific analysis remain federal property. The NPS reserves the right to designate the repositories of all specimens removed from the park and to approve or restrict reassignment of specimens from one repository to another. Because specimens are Federal property, they shall not be destroyed or discarded without prior NPS authorization.

• Each specimen (or groups of specimens labeled as a group) that is retained permanently must bear NPS labels and must be accessioned and cataloged in the NPS National Catalog. Unless exempted by additional park-specific stipulations, the permittee will complete the labels and catalog records and will provide accession information. It is the permittee’s responsibility to contact the park for cataloging instructions and specimen labels as well as instructions on repository designation for the specimens.

• Collected specimens may be used for scientific or educational purposes only, and shall be dedicated to public benefit and be accessible to the public in accordance with NPS policies and procedures.

• Any specimens collected under this permit, any components of any specimens (including but not limited to natural organisms, enzymes or other bioactive molecules, genetic materials, or seeds), and research results derived from collected specimens are to be used for scientific or educational purposes only, and may not be used for commercial or other revenue-generating purposes unless the permittee has entered into a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) or other approved benefit-sharing agreement with the NPS. The sale of collected research specimens or other unauthorized transfers to third parties is prohibited. Furthermore, if the permittee sells or otherwise transfers collected specimens, any components thereof, or any products or research results developed from such specimens or their components without a CRADA or other approved benefit-sharing agreement with NPS, permittee will pay the NPS a royalty rate of twenty percent (20%) of gross revenue from such sales or other revenues. In addition to such royalty, the NPS may seek other damages to which the NPS may be entitled including but not limited to injunctive relief against the permittee.

7. Reports - The permittee is required to submit an Investigator’s Annual Report and copies of final reports, publications, and other materials resulting from the study. Instructions for how and when to submit an annual report will be provided by NPS staff. Park research coordinators will analyze study proposals to determine whether copies of field notes, databases, maps, photos, and/or other materials may also be requested. The permittee is responsible for the content of reports and data provided to the National Park Service.

8. Confidentiality - The permittee agrees to keep the specific location of sensitive park resources confidential. Sensitive resources include threatened species, endangered species, and rare species, archeological sites, caves, fossil sites, minerals, commercially valuable resources, and sacred ceremonial sites.

9. Methods of travel - Travel within the park is restricted to only those methods that are available to the general public unless otherwise specified in additional stipulations associated with this permit.

10. Other Permits- The permittee must obtain all other required permit(s) to conduct the specified project.

11. Insurance - If liability insurance is required by the NPS for this project, then documentation must be provided that it has been obtained and is current in all respects before this permit is considered valid.

12. Mechanized equipment - No use of mechanized equipment in designated, proposed, or potential wilderness areas is allowed unless authorized by the superintendent or a designee in additional specific conditions associated with this permit.

13. NPS participation - The permittee should not anticipate assistance from the NPS unless specific arrangements are made and documented in either an additional stipulation attached to this permit or in other separate written agreements.

14. Permanent markers and field equipment - The permittee is required to remove all markers or equipment from the field after the completion of the study or prior to the expiration date of this permit. The superintendent or a designee may modify this requirement through additional park specific conditions that may be attached to this permit. Additional conditions regarding the positioning and identification of markers and field equipment may be issued by staff at individual parks.

15. Access to park and restricted areas - Approval for any activity is contingent on the park being open and staffed for required operations. No entry into restricted areas is allowed unless authorized in additional park specific stipulations attached to this permit.

16. Notification - The permittee is required to contact the park’s Research and Collecting Permit Office (or other offices if indicated in the stipulations associated with this permit) prior to initiating any fieldwork authorized by this permit. Ideally this contact should occur at least one week prior to the initial visit to the park.

17. Expiration date - Permits expire on the date listed. Nothing in this permit shall be construed as granting any exclusive research privileges or automatic right to continue, extend, or renew this or any other line of research under new permit(s).

18. Other stipulations - This permit includes by reference all stipulations listed in the application materials or in additional attachments to this permit provided by the superintendent or a designee. Breach of any of the terms of this permit will be grounds for revocation of this permit and denial of future permits.

Whiskeytown NRA Permit Conditions

This permit requires the PI and associated researchers to:

• Coordinate with park staff of when the project activity is to commence, one week ahead of time.
• Utilize “Leave No Trace” ethics (www.LNT.org) while working in the park.
• Minimize the development of social trails.
• Report anything unusual to park staff (e.g., irrigation hose, suspicious behavior, dead or sick animals, etc.).
• Provide copies of documents, spatial data, products, interim and final reports associated with the permit to the NPS upon project completion. All filings should include sufficient supplemental information such that this research and its methodologies can be reviewed, analyzed and/or repeated by potential future researchers.

• Collection of specimens (including materials) - No specimens (including materials) may be collected unless authorized on the Scientific Research and Collecting permit.

• Until further notice, a COVID 19 safety plan is required. The plan will outline safety precautions to be implemented to reduce the spread of the virus. Such actions will include social distancing and use of masks at a minimum.

How To Apply

Every project must be reviewed to ensure that it satisfies regulatory requirements, is appropriate to the park setting, meets accepted scientific criteria, and does not unduly impact park resources or the visitor experience. Understanding Whiskeytown’s resources is vital to improving park management and expanding scientific knowledge.

To apply for a permit on the Service’s Research Permit and Reporting System web page, go to https://irma.nps.gov/rprs and submit the following.

1. An application.
2. A full research proposal (see the Guidelines for Study Proposals at the same web site).
3. Safety Plan for field activities

Proposals submitted to other agencies and peer reviews received from that process may be photocopied and submitted in partial fulfillment of these requirements.
Please be sure to review the National Park Service General Permit Conditions as well as the Whiskeytown NRA Permit Conditions. Submit all paperwork as far in advance as possible to allow time for the review process, which takes at least 60 days.
Any direct assistance you might need from the park, such as logistical support or study site selection, should be requested with your permit application. Whiskeytown's logistical support capabilities are quite limited and will be assigned according to management priorities.
For assistance please contact the Research Permit Office at 530-242-3444 or e-mail us.

 

Repository and Material Transfer Responsibilities

• Go to Mandatory Curatorial Responsibilities section to review the procedure to document long-term holdings of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area specimens. This involves accessioning and cataloging them into the National Park Service’s Automated National Catalog System.
• Before sending Whiskeytown National Recreation Area specimens (or their progeny or derivatives) to a colleague outside of your own laboratory your colleague must complete a Material Transfer Agreement with Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Contact the Research Permit Office for assistance at 530-242-3444 or e-mail us.

Material Transfer Agreements

Any specimens removed from Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (including anything derived from such material) remains federal property. If you wish to send specimens (or their progeny or derivatives) to a colleague outside your own laboratory for further analysis, your colleague must complete a Material Transfer Agreement with Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and may also be required to apply for a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit. No materials can be transferred until the appropriate paperwork has been completed. For assistance with specimen transfers, please contact the Research Permit Office at 530-242-3444 or e-mail us.

Mandatory Curatorial Responsibilities of Research Permit Holders

Your collecting permit outlines your curatorial responsibilities as the collector (see conditions section of permit).
All specimens, as well as their derivatives and byproducts, remain the property of the United States Federal Government. If you collect specimens that are to be retained (not destroyed during analysis), they must:

• be accessioned and cataloged into the National Park Service's Interior Collection Management System (ICMS) according to NPS standards;
• bear National Park Service (NPS) accession and catalog numbers (in accordance with 36 CFR section 2.5).

Before you begin collecting

1. Call Whiskeytown NRA Cultural Resource Program office [phone] to obtain an accession number for collected material that will be suitable for long term retention. If you are unsure if your collections will be "suitable" for long term retention, please call for clarification. The accession number links all of the specimens, data, and meta-data in one collection.*
2. Obtain approval for the final repository for the park owned specimens. The proposed repository for specimens collected must be discussed with the Curator's office as part of the permit application process. Please note that the NPS does not loan specimens to individuals – institutional sponsorship is required.*

*Specimens may not leave the park until an accession number is issued and the repository approved.

When you are finished collecting

1. Contact the Cultural Resource Program office by end of the permit period of the same year to obtain catalog numbers for specimens that will be retained. When you call, please have the following information ready:

• Your permit number;
• Dates collecting began and ended;
• If additional collections are made in subsequent years, you are required to contact the Curator's office every year you collect. Accession and catalog numbers are assigned on an annual basis. If you have already been assigned an accession number from previous year's collections, regardless of whether or not the collection was done under the same permit for the same continuing project, you must obtain a new accession number every year you collect and intend to retain samples/specimens.
• Number of specimens collected (estimates are acceptable for large collections until an accurate count is completed);
• The name and complete address of the approved repository (unless returning specimens to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area);
• The name, title, and contact information of the responsible official tasked with the care and management of the specimens at the approved repository where the specimens will be housed (unless you are planning to return the materials to Whiskeytown for long term storage).

2. Catalog the specimens into the NPS's Interior Collection Management System (ICMS). The Curator's office will provide you with instructions. If you are already using a cataloging system that is compatible with ICMS, the Curator's office may approve the database or workbook for use as an alternative to ICMS. If you are processing your collections using an Access database or an excel spreadsheet, a common delineated file format can be mapped and data can be dumped directly into ICMS using instructions in the handout, "Data File Submission," provided by the museum registrar.
3. You must label the specimens with either NPS labels or archival quality labels (such as acid-free paper or Tyvek, imprinted with archivally stable ink). All labels MUST contain Whiskeytown National Recreation Area catalog numbers in a permanent manner, in this format: WHIS 99999.
4. Upon completion of analysis, any specimens that are to be permanently retained, along with your associated documentation, are to be stored in an approved repository or Whiskeytown National Recreation Area's collection facility. If the specimens will be housed at a non-NPS repository, the Curator's office will issue a loan agreement form to be signed by the individual responsible for the specimens. All specimens, as well as their derivatives and byproducts, are the property of the United States. NPS policy requires that long-term loans be renewed every 10 years.

Please submit an electronic copy of completed ICMS catalog records, records from an approved database, or the excel spreadsheet template (provided by the curator) to the Curator's office within a year of final data collection (unless other arrangements have been made with the curation staff).
Send copies of all of your field records (notes, maps, images, etc.) and final reports or publications to the Whiskeytown Curator's office within a year of final data collection.
If you will have trouble meeting these deadlines, call or write the Curator's office at the address below to make other arrangements. We are here to help you comply with the terms of your permit and make compliance as easy as possible.

Glendee Ane Osborne
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
National Park Service
P.O. Box 188
Whiskeytown, California 96095
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: Fax: [phone]
e-mail us

Repository and Material Transfer Responsibilities

• Go to Curatorial Responsibilities to review the procedure to document long-term holdings of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area specimens. This involves accessioning and cataloging them into the National Park Service’s Automated National Catalog System.
• Before sending Whiskeytown National Recreation Area specimens (or their progeny or derivatives) to a colleague outside of your own laboratory your colleague must complete a Material Transfer Agreement with Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Contact the Research Permit Office for assistance at [phone] or e-mail us.

Material Transfer Agreements

Any specimens removed from Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (including anything derived from such material) remains federal property. If you wish to send specimens (or their progeny or derivatives) to a colleague outside your own laboratory for further analysis, your colleague must complete a Material Transfer Agreement with Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and may also be required to apply for a Scientific Research and Collecting Permit. No materials can be transferred until the appropriate paperwork has been completed. For assistance with specimen transfers, please contact the Research Permit Office at [phone] or e-mail us.

Permit Renewal Information

Research permits are authorized on a calendar year basis, starting when your permit is issued and expiring on December 31 of that same year. After this date, your permit is no longer valid. Your permit may be renewed if your project needs additional time to be completed. Modifications or amendments to your originally proposed project must be submitted 30-60 days in advance of any fieldwork. We recommend that you submit these changes when you are renewing your permit at the beginning of the calendar year.
By March 31st of each calendar year, you are required to take the following three steps whether or not you plan to renew your research permit.

1. Complete an Investigator's Annual Report at https://irma.nps.gov/rprs. You may access the system by logging on to your Investigator Profile (unique username and password required)
2. Complete a Field Check-out Report filed on-line using your Investigator Profile: https://irma.nps.gov/rci/.
3. Complete a permit application for renewal through your profile at https://irma.nps.gov/rprs or send a note indicating that you are finished with your research project.

Please remember that you are obligated to provide us with a final Investigator's Annual Report. We would also like copies of all reports, papers, etc. related to your work in Whiskeytown NRA.