Guidelines: home | classroom | laboratory | fieldwork | Archbold staff

1. Faculty/instructors are to read this form, sign the 2nd copy and return to the Facilities Coordinator. Faculty/ instructors are to share this important information with fellow faculty/ instructors and with students before students are taken into the field.
2. Visiting faculty/instructors - not Station staff - are responsible for the well being of their students conducting fieldwork. All visiting students and faculty/instructors must read and sign an Archbold liability release before participating in any activities at the Station and be aware of potential risks.
3. Ensure classes take all normal precautions against exposure to adverse conditions in Florida. Faculty/instructors and students are expected to be knowledgeable and take proper precautions such as adequate water supplies, appropriate clothing and footwear (no sandals), sunblock, hats etc.
4. Faculty/instructors should be aware of any medical risks in classes, such as severe bee sting allergies. The FIRST AID KIT is in the large black cabinet and emergency instructions, in case of an accident, are posted on the classroom wall.
5. Be very wary of Florida’s inclement weather, especially thunderstorms and lightning. Return immediately if conditions are threatening. Check out the following Web sites before sending students into the field. You may also check with the Main Office for dangerous weather advisories before going into the field.

   1. www.srh.noaa.gov/tbw
   2. http://weathercenter.com/radar/animatedradar.htm
   3. www.accuweather.com (our local zip code is FL 33960).

6. Station 4 WD vehicles are always in short supply and are a priority for researchers. Visitor vehicles (including many with 4 WD) regularly get stuck in the sugar sands of the scrub (with the concomitant embarrassment and inconvenience of the maintenance crew pulling you out). Hence we strongly recommend that student and class projects be conducted within walking distance of the main buildings, or off the paved roads (Main Drive, Red Hill Drive, Old SR 8, Route 70).
7. A quick orientation to the Florida scrub is available along the Nature Trail, either self-guiding or led by Education staff on request. See the Nature Trail Guide on the reference shelf in the classroom and a virtual tour at http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/trail/trail/index.html
8. For fieldwork we would prefer that classes concentrate use in the area immediately to the east of the main buildings and south of Main Drive (burn units 32, 33, 34B, 35A, 35B, 36, and 63) to avoid disrupting ongoing research projects in other areas. This area has an array of vegetation types (see vegetation map) and burn histories (see burn map). Please note in future the location in which student education activities are to be concentrated may change; for example when burns are conducted we may need to temporarily modify these guidelines (there may be researcher use, and classes may have to move if they need unburned habitat).
9. Student projects and faculty/ instructor led field trips are welcome to use other areas of the Station, but must be fully cognizant that there are ongoing research activities throughout the whole Station property. For example all of tracts 6, 7, and 18, 18E and 18SW (see Tract map) are part of the long-term scrub-jay demography study and researchers may be making behavioral and other observations at any time of day throughout the year.
10. Students and classes are to avoid working in Rosemary balds on the Station (see vegetation map) as these are rare natural communities, vulnerable to trampling, the site of many research projects, and also support numerous federally listed species.
11. Access to some areas of the Station (e.g. Hufty Tract - Lake Annie, Tracts 31, Tract 19), is easiest through locked gates; please consult the Station road map for gate locations. With the exception of those at the main entrance and at railroad crossings, gates at the Station normally are kept closed and locked. Classes needing access to property within locked gates may request a gate key at the Main Office. Please lock gates behind you. The railroad line should be crossed only at the two official crossing points shown on the Station road map. Look out for trains and track vehicles!
12. It is surprisingly easy for students and visitors to get disoriented in the scrub. We advise that students do not work alone in isolated areas of the Station. Faculty/instructors are responsible for establishing their own communication system for classes. We suggest faculty/instructors establish a buddy system for students in the field to promptly identify any that have failed to return. Archbold’s own portable radios are a priority for visiting researchers and are available to classes only under special circumstances (direct request to the Operations Manager). If you use cell phones (good idea) remember to take the list of 24h emergency numbers. Archbold’s office telephone number is 863-465-2571 staffed M-F, 8-5.
13. ON NO ACCOUNT are students or faculty/instructors to disturb any sites with experimentally marked plots; including not trampling within or around marked plots. Nor are faculty/instructors or students to touch or remove existing flags, flagging or tags. Classes must use only red flags and red and black flagging (to avoid confusion with research projects) and must remove all marking and flagging before they leave Archbold.
14. Collecting or capture of vertebrates on Station property by classes is prohibited except with express permission of the Executive Director. Faculty/instructors planning to undertake class exercises or student research on vertebrates, other than simple observations, must complete an Archbold IACUC application, obtainable from the Operations Manager, and submit an IACUC from their own institution well in advance. In addition, any classes planning bird banding projects should contact permit holders Reed Bowman (Station) or Mike McMillian (Ranch) well in advance, regarding sub-permits, auxiliary marking permits, band inventory, and record-keeping.
15. Classes whose activities involve scientific collecting must have all the necessary permits required by State or Federal agencies and the Executive Director’s prior approval. We discourage class activities that involving collecting of, or disruption of federally or state listed species (see http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/regionalecol/archlistedspp.htm)
16. Never feed animals or otherwise alter their natural behavior without permission from a staff Research Biologist or the Executive Director. Many birds, mammals and reptiles have been marked to obtain data on movements and other aspects of their ecology, and it is important that individuals of these species not be disturbed or moved from one part of the property to another without prior approval of staff biologists.
17. Introduced Biota. No native or non-native plant or animal originating off Station or Ranch property is to be introduced or released on the property without prior approval.
18. Classes are welcome to conduct activities at Lake Annie, accessed off Route 70; ask at the Main Office to borrow a gate key. Please check with Education staff (Nancy Deyrup) before using the boat to ensure it is not required for monitoring. Fishing, or collection of fish, at Lake Annie by visiting classes is permitted with prior approval of the Executive Director. Classes must have all proper licenses and permits. Recreational fishing, catch and release only, at Lake Annie is prohibited by classes unless specifically authorized by the Executive Director. Under no circumstances should fish be removed from the lake without permission. Swimming is available at Lake Annie, but swim at your own risk.
19. With the exception of rare, threatened, or endangered species, moderate collection of plants and invertebrates for educational purposes is allowed. Plant collecting requires permission of the staff Plant Ecologist. Special permission is required if large numbers of any organism are to be collected.
20. Faculty/instructors who want to establish long-term projects, or leave long-term marked plots and flagging for repeated investigations by visiting classes are asked to submit a brief proposal for review by the Station scientific staff.
21. Potentially dangerous animals such as venomous snakes and arthropods, alligators, as well as poisonous plants, occur on the Station and Ranch properties. Faculty/instructors and students are expected to be knowledgeable and take proper precautions.
22. Guard against all risk of fire. Check vehicles when you drive off for fires ignited by the catalytic converter (park away from fine fuels). Report all fires immediately to staff (see Wildfire Guidelines posted in the classroom). Visiting classes are not permitted to participate in burns and must stay well clear of wildfires and prescribed burns to avoid dangerous situations for students and Archbold firefighters.
23. Visiting classes must be aware of the location of Archbold boundaries and to respect (i.e. do not enter) surrounding private property. A few areas of the Station are not fenced. We do not want visiting classes to jeopardize relationships with our neighbors.

DATES of CLASS VISIT