This story is part of NRS reserves transformed by Proposition 84 funds, a series describing the facilities improvements and expansions at NRS reserves supported by Proposition 84 bond funds. The Quail Ridge peninsula rises from the southern shore of Lake Berryessa like the corrugated carapace of a tortoise. The peaks of its steep hills curve from Highway […]
Quail Ridge Reserve
2020 wildfires burn six UC Natural Reserves; seventh threatened
Wildfires are burning at an unprecedented six reserves in the UC Natural Reserve System across northern and central California, and threaten a seventh. Blazes sparked by both lightning and arson have consumed nine buildings and one vehicle, as well as an untold number of acres of grassland, forest, chaparral, and other natural habitats. Beginning the […]
NRS reserves adapt to coronavirus shutdown
Spring is prime time around the University of California Natural Reserve System. As winter thaws, and skies dry, scientists and students alike start migrating to the protected lands of the network’s 41 reserves. Field stations bustle with university classes on field trips, who rub shoulders with faculty and student researchers, and may intersect with buses […]
Breaking the frog fungus code
It’s a crisp February morning at Quail Ridge Reserve, and Imani Russell is stalking frogs. Prepared for the chill in a Golden State Warriors ski cap, insulated jacket, and full hiking boots, she is scouting the perimeter of a former cattle pond. She places each foot so carefully that her heavy duty footwear barely raises […]
NRS hosts earthquake warning system sensors
A major effort to warn Californians about impending earthquakes is coming to the NRS. Scientists from UC Berkeley are installing seismometers at four reserves this fall as part of an earthquake early warning (EEW) system for the entire West Coast. Called ShakeAlert, the system will detect the first rumbles of an earthquake, predict its intensity, […]
2015-16 Mathias Grants awarded
Fourteen University of California graduate students have been awarded 2015-16 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants from the UC Natural Reserve System. The students, from six different UC campuses, each received up to $3,000 to fund field projects at 24 different NRS reserves. Virtually all of this year’s successful proposals will study ecology, evolution, […]
New national monument for Northern California
Northern California has a brand-new national monument. On Friday, July 10, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation establishing Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument on more than 330,000 acres of federal lands north and west of Sacramento. The monument extends across a 100-mile stretch ranging from Lake, Glenn, and Mendocino counties in the north to Yolo, […]
Fruitful California-Catalonia Exchange
California and Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, are like sibling landscapes. Both experience the warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters common to Mediterranean-climate habitats. From a distance, their oak-studded hillsides and drought-resistant shrublands are hard to tell apart. And both regions struggle with dense human populations, summer fires, and invasive vegetation. So it should come […]