The first European settlers to set foot on California soil didn’t arrive alone. Clattering behind the sandals and boots of the Spanish missionaries were the hooves of their cattle and sheep. Over the next few centuries, the number of imported livestock grazing California rangelands swelled into the millions. The hungry mouths and trampling feet of […]
Sedgwick Reserve
La Kretz Research Center at Sedgwick Reserve
A major gift from US Santa Barbara alumna Linda Duttenhaver and her father, Morton La Kretz, will further research and teaching at UCSB’s Sedgwick Reserve By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara Public Affairs Devotion to environmental causes runs deep in the La Kretz family; so does a passion for philanthropy. Put them together and it’s […]
NRS on Open Road TV
The scenic and scientific glories of the NRS will grace TV airwaves next Sunday, July 24, on an episode of Open Road with Doug McConnell. The longtime Bay Area television host takes viewers on journeys to explore the natural, historical and cultural treasures of the Bay Area and California. The show focuses on parks and open spaces protected […]
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem stability
The idea that natural communities rich in species are healthier and more productive has been an axiom in ecology for decades. The theory has been cited to support conservation programs and other efforts to maintain the complexity of natural systems. But hard evidence for this relationship has been tough to come by. The dynamics of […]
UC Santa Barbara celebrates 50 years of the UC Natural Reserve System
Celebrating the UCSB Natural Reserves from UC Santa Barbara on Vimeo. Additional footage and aerials by Alexander Mark Romanov and NOAA Fisheries. Founders foresight “The founders of the reserve system wanted these places to have historical significance because they knew the state would change rapidly,” said Alagona, who is the faculty advisor for Kenneth S. […]
Warmer, drier climate shifts forest structure
By Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley Media Relations Historical California vegetation data that more than once dodged the dumpster have now proved their true value, documenting that a changing forest structure seen in the Sierra Nevada has actually happened statewide over the past 90 years. A team of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, UC […]
Sedgwick ranch house revival
UCSB alumna’s gift will improve efficiency of historic building by Shelly Leachman, UCSB Public Affairs Situated between what were once the two largest Chumash villages in the Santa Ynez Valley and part of the historic 1845 Mexican land grant Rancho la Laguna de San Francisco, the property now known as Sedgwick Reserve has a storied […]
NRS Summer Artist-in-Residency Program
Long known for supporting science research and teaching, the Natural Reserve System has teamed up with UC’s leading arts research organization to encourage reserve use by artists. Together with the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts (UCIRA), the NRS is offering summer artist-in-residency opportunities at one of eleven reserves. The Arts2NRS program […]