UC Berkeley has published an oral history of Roger Samuelsen, the founding director of the UC Natural Reserve System. The history covers Samuelsen’s formative education at Cal, his leadership of what was then called the Natural Land and Water Reserve System, and his work to establish UC Merced, among many other adventures and endeavors. Samuelsen’s […]
Reserves
Big Creek Reserve partially reopens
After being closed for most of 2017 due to major road and storm damage, the NRS’s Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve is partially open for business again. Highway access to the reserve has been restored from the north, but storm damage continues to limit vehicle access to many parts of the reserve. Accessing the reserve Access […]
NRS joins Tahoe forest partnership
The UC Natural Reserve System has joined a newly created partnership that seeks to improve the health of the forest ecosystems surrounding Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI) will apply science-based forest and watershed management to reduce wildfire risks, arrest tree die-offs, and bolster forest resilience to threats such as climate change. The partnership […]
Baird award supports research at Berkeley NRS reserves
A new award program has been established to supportresearchby UC Berkeley graduate students at NRS reserves. The Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research will fund UC Berkeley graduate students conducting field research based in or around Angelo Coast Range Reserve, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, Hastings Natural History Reservation, Point Reyes Field Station, and Sagehen Creek […]
Archiving NRS history
Peter Alagona’s Natural Reserve System History & Archive Project is working to preserve historical materials from UC reserves statewide By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara Say you’re an ecologist studying the biodiversity of plant communities on a coastal nature preserve. If you knew the land had once been used for ranching and agriculture, would it […]
New director for Boyd Deep Canyon
For the first time in 35 years, a new director is at the helm of the NRS’s Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center in the Coachella Valley. An expert in the physiological ecology of reptiles and amphibians, Christopher Tracy has years of experience chasing lizards and teaching in Australia, Africa, and the United States. His […]
Apply for a 2017–18 Mathias Grant
The UC Natural Reserve System is accepting applications for its 2017–2018 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants. The program supports research by UC graduate students at one or more of the 39 NRS reserves. Graduate students from any UC campus are welcome to apply. This year, the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program is supporting […]
Refuges against rising ocean acidification
Ocean acidification widespread in the California current, but pockets of protection exist By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara First, the bad news: New data reveals that acidified ocean water is pervasive along the West Coast — and is likely to keep spreading. So what’s the good news? Persistent, less-acidic havens in some regions may be […]