By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Climate is the hottest topic in California these days. As global warming heats up the West, it’s set off a cascade of effects ranging from toxic algal blooms, to tree die-offs, to wildfires of unprecedented size and ferocity. The situation has everyone asking the same question: what is […]
News
20 years of snowy plovers
By Sonia Fernandez, UC Santa Barbara They’re tiny, fluffy and almost perfectly camouflaged against the sand dunes of the upper beach at Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) at UC Santa Barbara. But for all their diminutive size and near invisibility, Western snowy plovers have staged a spectacular comeback, once again nesting in habitat they had been […]
NRS publishes Capital Campaign Report
By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System The numbers are in, the figures have been totaled, and what they add up to is nothing short of astounding: the NRS 50th Anniversary Capital Campaign raised more than $90.4 million to support educational programs, land stewardship, facilities, and more across the largest university-administered reserve system in the […]
New Swarth Fogel NRS Undergraduate Research Scholarship
From UC Merced UC Merced undergraduates interested in pursuing field research and mentorship opportunities at one of the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS) sites will now have access to vital scholarship support, thanks to a generous gift from Professor Marilyn L. Fogel and Christopher W. Swarth. Inspired by their time on the UC […]
Fundraising campaign gives Kendall-Frost Marsh a fresh start
By Mario Aguilera, UC San Diego San Diego holds a living piece of the natural abundance of marshland that once served as its waterfront… and could be again. Only a fraction of wild marsh remains of the thousands of acres of wetland habitat that naturally thrived across a swath of Mission Bay less than a […]
Survival lessons from a California frog
By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara Frogs’ ability to survive certain infections could help enhance understanding of how to help humans do the same. A new research endeavor involving multiple institutions, including UC Santa Barbara, will explore that possibility. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the partnership will examine the resilience of amphibians and other […]
NRS instrumental in biologist’s ascent to grad school
By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Tim Brown spends his summers on top of the Golden State. While other Californians tan at the beach, hold BBQs, or relax at the pool, he makes a beeline for the high country. Striding across snowfields and rock scree atop eastern California’s highest ranges, this UC Santa Cruz […]
Younger Lagoon to roll out wetland welcome mat for frogs
By Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz The California red-legged frog is a threatened species that has been found on the NRS’s Younger Lagoon Reserve in Santa Cruz, but has not been known to breed there successfully. That may soon change with the construction of a small pond designed to enhance an existing seasonal wetland and […]