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 […]
Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve
Hiking Stebbins Cold Canyon sparks positive wildfire perceptions
by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis When hikers returned to Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve in 2016, a year after a wildfire swept through its expanse of oak trees and chaparral in Northern California, half of them expected to see a devastated landscape. But surveys conducted before and after hikes at the UC Natural Reserve System site reveal that […]
Summer hiking warning for Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve
By Cody Kitaura, UC Davis Staff who oversee the NRS’s Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, which has popular hiking trails, are taking a broader approach to keeping visitors safe in the wake of another heat-related rescue over the weekend. A woman who ignored warnings and hiked Stebbins Cold Canyon on a 106-degree afternoon had to be airlifted to […]
Dramatic wildlife rescue at Stebbins
By Jeffrey Clary, Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve Director The subject line read, “EMERGENCY — ANIMALS IN TRAPS.” As the director of UC Davis’ Stebbins Cold Canyon Natural Reserve, I received this urgent email last Friday morning (July 7) from a researcher studying small mammals on the reserve. For the fifth time in five years, wildfire had broken […]
Stebbins reserve reopens to public
by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis Nearly one year after the Wragg Fire burned UC Davis’ Stebbins Cold Canyon Natural Reserve and forced its closure, the reserve has reopened to the public. When the Wragg Fire ignited on July 22, 2015, the 638-acre reserve was first in its path. It ripped through the reserve, burning cottonwoods, thick […]
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, […]
Mediterranean Cooperative Fellowships Awarded
The inaugural 2011 Mediterranean Reserve Managers International Cooperative Fellowships have been awarded to two scientists with extensive experience working in Mediterranean-type regions. Both proposals seek to improve the flow of knowledge and the establishment of cooperative projects in regions facing similar conservation problems. Jeffrey Clary is a reserve manager at Quail Ridge, Stebbins Cold Canyon, […]