Beltran Lab Tacoma

The Beltran Lab has a dedicated truck (Green 2022 Tacoma-TRD Sport, #7682) for transportation between UCSC and Año Nuevo Reserve. Funding was provided by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation as part of Dr. Beltran’s Beckman Young Investigator award. The primary goal of the truck is to provide hands-on animal handling experience to undergraduate and graduate students participating in the elephant seal program at Año Nuevo Reserve.  Use of this truck incurs a $1/mile cost that will be charged to each Principal Investigator’s FOAPAL annually (calculated from the Google Calendar use data). This recharge rate covers charging, wear & tear, and fleet services costs.

Beltran Lab Tacoma (7682)

Procedure:

1. Only authorized drivers are allowed to drive the Green Truck or sign-up in the Google Calendar. Contact Roxanne Beltran (roxanne@ucsc.edu)

2. See prioritization list below - morning trips to Año Nuevo Reserve will be common. For other uses, please try to schedule the car in the afternoon/evening.

3. Always sign-out the truck in the Google Calendar prior to use and include your Name, Destination, and Purpose. (Please be sure to select the correct calendar and not your personal google calendar!)

4. The truck lives in the parking lot on the inland side of the Coastal Biology Building.

5. The key lives in the Beltran Lab (CBB 169) on the whiteboard (see picture below)

6. Please drive slowly (10mph) on the Año Nuevo equal access road to preserve the road condition and watch for snakes!

7. If you get into an accident, please refer to the information in the glove box.

8. Please re-fuel the truck before it gets down to ¼ full (it takes ~1/5 of a gas tank to get from the lab to Año Nuevo and back). The truck has a gas card in the center console, which you can use at the gas stations on Mission Street (be prepared to enter the odometer mileage and the last four digits of the gas card number).

9. Upon return, immediately return the key so it is ready for the next user.

10. Keep the inside of the truck clean (remove trash, vacuum, etc. as needed)

11. Please remember that the speed limit between Santa Cruz and Año Nuevo is 55mph

12. Please report any problems to Roxanne Beltran (roxanne@ucsc.edu, 619-820-7839)

Requests for use will be prioritized as follows:

1. Beltran Lab projects at Año Nuevo Reserve

2. Long-term elephant seal monitoring at Año Nuevo Reserve

3. Transportation of grad students to main UCSC campus