A new grant will assist with updating facilities and infrastructure at the Donald and Sylvia McLaughlin Reserve located near Lower Lake, Calif. Photo courtesy of the McLaughlin Reserve.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Thanks to a newly awarded grant, the Donald and Sylvia McLaughlin Reserve near Lower Lake will see new improvements of its infrastructure and facilities.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the California Wildlife Conservation Board voted to approve a proposal from the University of California to fund $1,725,000 in facilities and infrastructure improvements at the McLaughlin Reserve, located at the junction of Lake, Napa, and Yolo counties.

The 7,000-acre reserve is one of five sites managed by UC Davis as part of the statewide UC Natural Reserve System, which is dedicated to supporting research, teaching, and public outreach related to California’s diverse natural ecosystems.

Funding for the project will come from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Fund of 2006 (Proposition 84), according to a Friday report from the reserve.

Matching funds for the entire project, valued at $3.5 million – including property acquisition, construction and long-term management – come from Homestake Mining Co. of California, the National Science Foundation and UC Davis.

The McLaughlin Reserve occupies the site of Homestake’s former McLaughlin mine, and existing facilities and infrastructure were originally constructed for mine use.

Grant funds will be used to rescale industrial infrastructure for academic use, increase the accommodations available to visiting researchers and students, develop new lab and teaching space in existing buildings, construct a greenhouse and shadehouse complex, construct an outdoor classroom and install native landscaping, increase the energy and resource use efficiency of existing facilities, and to construct a staff residence, which will allow for increased staff support for reserve users.

An environmental review of the project has been completed – the project is categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act – and construction will begin immediately.

Project completion is anticipated by the end of 2015, officials reported.

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