Fact Sheet - Natural Reserve System

PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS		GRANT FUNDING

A VITAL RESOURCE

SYSTEMWIDE INITIATIVES
Institute for the Study of Ecological and Evolutionary Climate Impacts Uses 24 NRS reserves as laboratories to study the effects of climate change on a wide variety of California ecosystems. Funded by $1.9 million President’s Research Catalyst Award.		Field Studies Program Brings students to NRS reserves for courses and workshops that are open to students from all nine UC general campuses. Inaugural course, California Ecology and Conservation, begins fall 2015.
NRS Climate Monitoring Network A system of 26 climate stations at 22 reserves using identical, high-precision equipment and data collection protocols; provides comparable environmental data critical to a wide variety of reserve research.		California Phenology Project Tracks life stage events in selected native plant species to observe climate change effects; >100 sites monitored at eight reserves.
BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION
Over 2,100 species of native vascular plants 15 of California’s 24 imperiled amphibian species Returning the endangered southern mountain yellow-legged frog to the wild First wolverine sighted in California in 86 years First wild-fledged condor chick in 100 years
RESEARCH PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
Critical Zone Observatories • CZOs Water cycle research at the NRS’s Angelo Coast Range Reserve resulted in the establishment of the Eel River Observatory in and around the reserve. The Eel River Observatory is one of just nine National Science Foundation-funded Critical Zone Observatories in the United States. CZOs study the outer skin of Earth, a layer that extends from the bottom of groundwater basins to the treetops and is essential to aquatic and terrestrial life.		Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments • GLORIA GLORIA monitors alpine plants at risk from climate change at the tops of the world’s highest mountains. The first GLORIA sites in North America were established in the White Mountains in 2004. Since then, government agency and university scientists, graduate students, and volunteers have all collected data for this collaborative project while utilizing facilities at the NRS’s White Mountain Research Center.
Long-Term Ecological Research Network • LTER Four reserves supply data on giant kelp forest ecosystems for the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER, one of 27 such sites around the world.		USDA Forest Service Experimental Forests Experimental forests provide places for long-term science and management studies in major vegetation types. The NRS’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, part of the Sagehen Experimental Forest, is the site of a pilot project to improve quality forest habitat while reducing wildfire fuel loads.
EARLY CAREER SUPPORT
Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants The NRS has provided $753,264 to support 415 UC graduate students conducting research at NRS reserves over 26 years. Mathias Symposium Recipients of Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants are invited to present the results of their studies at a biennial weekend symposium.		Mayhew Graduate Research Award Open to all graduate students conducting research at the NRS’s Boyd Deep Canyon. $12,000 awarded to ten graduate students since 2008. Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve Grants 56 students received 72 grants totaling $86,540 over ten years to conduct research at the NRS’s Valentine Camp or Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Mapping the Future A one-hour documentary on climate change research at the NRS’s Angelo Coast Range Reserve.		Lands of Two Seasons Natural history video series on the world’s five Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, which include California.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
Lead of MTEG The Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems Thematic Group advises the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, an Official Observer of the United Nations General Assembly.		Founded INCOMME The International Cooperative for the Management of Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems is a consortium of organizations dedicated to preserving biological diversity in Mediterranean-climate regions such as California.