Pleasant View Facilities

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Pleasant View Facilities is owned and operated by The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

Table of Contents
Site History Facility Administration Registration and fee schedule Pleasant View Farmhouse Description Rules and responsibilities Drinking water information Computer and internet use Henrietta K. Towers Laboratory Description Rules and responsibilities Use of chemicals and waste generation

Facilities Calendar: Requests for space due - April 1 Field season opening day - April 15 House and lab orientation(s) - May 15, June 1 and June 15 Fire drill - in June (unannounced) Weekly meetings - Thursdays at 4pm beginning in April Pleasant View work day - third Thursday in July Water testing - January, March and August Annual Hubbard Brook Cooperators meeting - second Tuesday and Wednesday in July Requests for off-season space due - November 1 Off-season begins - November 15

Site History

Pleasant View Farm was originally built in the mid-1800's but parts of the house may have been constructed earlier. The house functioned as a home and farm for a long period (it is rumored to have been a stop on the "underground railroad" ) and then, under the auspices of Anna Dobson, became a tourist home in the early 1900's. During this period people, largely from the Boston area, would come to New Hampshire by train to reside in a country setting. As transportation by rail was superseded by car this practice became less and less popular. During the late 1950's and early 1960's scientists from USGS and the USDA Forest Service began using Pleasant View as a residence and base of operations. At this time the home was owned by the Towers family (related to the Dobsons) and still was a functioning tourist hotel. During the mid 1960's when the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem study began to grow, PI's from Dartmouth and the US Forest Service rediscovered Pleasant View Farm and began renting it on a regular basis. Pleasant View has been used by students, workers and PI's associated with the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study ever since. In 1982, Ms. Henrietta K. Towers, the owner and long-time friend of the people working at Hubbard Brook, sold the farm to the joint ownership of Yale and Cornell Universities. At the same time, Drs. Gene Likens and Herb Bormann acquired funding from the National Science Foundation and Yale University to construct the Henrietta K. Towers Laboratory, the garage and make significant improvements to the original house. In 1999, Cornell and Yale donated PVFC to the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation.

The HBRF supports an on-site facilities manager (currently Mr. Scott Nolan) at 50% time (year-round) to oversee the day-to-day operations of the complex. Each year researchers are solicited for their space needs at PVFC, and a roster of residents and users is compiled. Space is granted first to prior long-term users of the facility, and then on a first-come first-serve basis to new applicants. Recent users include students and technicians from Cornell, Syracuse, Institute of Ecosystem Studies and Yale but others, including students from Brown University and Washington State University, use PVFC as well. The HBRF collects use-fees for both the dorm and laboratory and uses these funds to pay the all bills incurred.

Monday - 8am - 3 pm

Wednesday - 9am - 4pm

Thursday - 12 noon - 6pm

Rooms will be assigned by the facilities manager. Seniority, length of stay and gender will be used to assign rooms. The assignments will be posted on the PVF bulletin board beginning April 15.

Request for lab and dormitory space should be made in writing by April 1 for the field season and November 1 for the off-season. Requests can be made by e-mail or by writing the facilities managers at the address below. Request should include the following information:

Make sure that you and anyone you send to Hubbard Brook is familiar with the rules. We require that all individuals who will use the lab or reside at the dorm sign the enclosed statement which attests to the fact that they have read and understand the rules. This procedure will assure that both you and your employees are aware of the rules and will not make plans that will inadvertently violate them. We reserve the right to evict anyone who has not signed the statement and/or does not abide by the rules.

Billing - We do not bill the students and research assistants directly for their use of the facilities. We send the bill to the responsible PI who makes the request for space. We expect to receive prompt payment from the PI and reserve the right to evict the resident or lab user if payment is not received within 30 days of billing. Any financial arrangements you make with your employees is between you and that employee and will not be mediated by the facilities manager.

Registration:

You may register by sending an E-Mail to snolan@worldpath.net or writing to the facilities manager at:

Rental costs for the Dormitory:

Season

Rental costs for the Laboratory:

Season

Description - Pleasant View Farm is a 200 year-old farmhouse that houses 15 people and operates year-round. Pleasant View runs as a cooperative house with chores shared by the residents. The farmhouse has 7 single bedrooms, 3 double rooms and four bathrooms on three floors. Bedrooms have beds with mattresses and some have bureaus and desks. Residents provide their own bedding, pillows and other linens. The house has heat, hot water, electricity and phone access. However, all long-distance phone calls must be dialed using a calling-card. The farmhouse has a self-serve kitchen with basic appliances, pots, pans, dishes and eating utensils. Residents generally buy food and eat cooperatively.

Recreation - there are many recreational opportunities at or near PVF. At PVF there is volleyball, basketball and a plot for gardening. Nearby you will find tennis, swimming at nearby Mirror Lake, hiking in the White Mountains and canoeing the Pemigewasset River. Residents are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities.

Transportation - residents must provide their own means of transportation. The farmhouse is about 1 mile from the base of the experimental watersheds and most study sites are another 1 to 3 miles up the access road from this point. There are no common use or research vehicles at the facility.

In order to ensure that the house runs smoothly, we have developed the following rules and responsibilities. We are open to suggestions from the residents and hope that the following guidelines will ensure that everyone has a productive and enjoyable stay at PVF. HBRF reserves the right to evict individuals who do not cooperate with the rules and normal operation of the facility.

Pleasant View if s cooperative house. Please be considerate of others.

No pets. Pets of any kind are not allowed on the property.

Items that have been in the lab are not allowed in the house. It is difficult to determine if an item has been contaminated in the lab, so all materials and equipment that have been used in the lab are prohibited outside the lab.

Smoking is not permitted in the house or the lab.

No Open Flames of Any Kind.

	Due to the design and construction of Pleasant View there is a need to prohibit all sources of potential fire. No Candles, Incense, Cook stoves or any other source of open flame.

Do not deactivate fire, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

The storage of any equipment, gear or samples beyond the field season must have the written approval of the facilities manager.

Guests

	Occasional guests are welcome to stay with you in your room but you are responsible for seeing that they understand and abide by the house rules. If guests stay longer than 2 days, they are subject to a fee of $5.00/person/night.

Children are not allowed to reside in the house.

	Children are allowed as visitors but are not allowed to reside in the house.

There are two sources of water to the house.

Source 1. This is a shallow dug well that has a high quality water source. This water is primarily used for supplying the lab with a good source of water for analytical use. It is also used sparingly in the house. The sink in the kitchen located to the left side of the counter has shallow well water as a supply. This sink should be used for drinking and cooking water. The bathroom located off the general living area has the shallow well as a source also. Unfortunately this well is prone to going dry during drought periods. Conservation measure should be taken always with this source of water.

Source 2. This well is a drilled deep well. The fracture into this well is at 680 feet (just about sea level) and is considered a high iron, manganese, sulfur well. This well supplies all of the bathrooms and sinks in the house other than the ones mentioned above. The State considers this a safe well but can be tough to drink or cook with.

Water testing will be preformed on the following schedule:

The results will be posted in the Dormitory and in the Lab.

The Computer room is located on the first floor of the Dormitory. The room currently has three work stations, one laser printer, and is networked to a T-1 line located at the Pierce Laboratory. The equipment is available for all guests and individuals associated with the Hubbard Brook Project.

A full computer use policy will be posted in the computer room if there are any questions.

The workstations and T-1 line are provided at no cost to the users.

A local ISP will be available for the following fee schedule. This will allow for local dial-up service separate from the new T-1 line. The following chart will allow you to chose the service you need with the associated costs.

Please E-mail your request to Scott Nolan at snolan@worldpath.netsnolan@worldpath.net

Bills will be sent at the end of each month and Payable to the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation.

It is the responsibility of each Principal investigator to be provide their students and employees a basic knowledge of lab safety. The facilities manager will offer advice and will oversee the day to day safety issues. There will be a Lab Safety Manual posted and will be enforced by the lab manager.

Sign-up sheets will be posted by each piece of lab equipment and should be used to avoid conflicts. If you are unsure about the operation of any of the equipment please contact the lab manager before using it.

Lab users should have a working knowledge of all equipment they will be required to use to for their work prior to arriving on site.

All lab users must participate in a lab orientation at the beginning of each field season.

Lab users are responsible for working with their PIs to arrange for the use and disposal fees for chemicals.

Lab groups will rotate weekly cleaning responsibilities.

If you plan to use any chemicals in the lab you must post a MSDS sheet in the folder provided outside each lab. All chemicals must be labeled with the following information :

Before you leave you must check out with the Lab Manager. If you choose to leave any chemicals or solution you will be billed for it's removal. A listing of fees will be posted.