The University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughout California. The reserves support UC's mission of teaching, research, and public service. Unlike national and state parks, they are not available for recreational uses, because they were specifically created to enable UC scientists to conduct research free from such distractions.

The system began with UC Berkeley zoology professor Joseph Grinnell. In 1937, near the end of his career, Grinnell began to work on a proposal to establish UC's first wildland field station for zoology teaching and research. He had initially looked to the U.S. national parks for research sites, but became frustrated with the National Park Service and how its other priorities often got in the way of his priorities. Grinnell became convinced that only a natural reserve owned by the university itself "would provide the permanent protection necessary for long-term teaching, research, and monitoring of California's ecosystems." (at p. 10.)

Grinnell did not live long enough to see his proposal succeed. In May 1939, two weeks after Grinnell's sudden death from a heart attack, the Regents of the University of California voted to accept his proposal and created the oldest reserve in the system, Hastings Natural History Reservation.

On January 22, 1965, at the suggestion of Kenneth S. Norris, the UC Board of Regents voted to formally join Hastings and six other reserves into the Natural Land and Water Reserves System. (at p. 12.) In 1970, it was renamed the Natural Reserve System. In 2026, the organization was renamed UC Nature.

List of reserves Reserve Campus Area (ha) Area (Acre) Coordinates Web Notes Angelo Coast Range Reserve Berkeley 1,755 4,336 Angelo Coast Range Reserve On the South Fork of the Eel River.Protected by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Año Nuevo Island Reserve Santa Cruz 10 25 Año Nuevo Island Reserve UC manages site within the larger Año Nuevo State Reserve, owned and operated by California State Parks. Blue Oak Ranch Reserve Berkeley 1,319 3,259 Blue Oak Ranch Reserve In the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton. Bodega Marine Reserve Davis 146 362 Bodega Marine Reserve On Bodega Bay. Box Springs Reserve Riverside 65 160 Box Springs Reserve Adjacent to UC Riverside. Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center Riverside 2,477 6,122 Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center In the Santa Rosa Mountains, near Palm Desert. Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve Irvine 129 320 Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve In the Mojave Desert, near Joshua Tree National Park. Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve Santa Barbara 49 120 Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve In Carpinteria. Chickering American River Reserve Berkeley 6,829 16,875 Chickering American River Reserve In the headwaters basin of the North Fork of the American River, Sierra Nevada. Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve Santa Barbara 68 170 Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve Adjacent to the Santa Barbara campus. Coal Oil Point seep field is offshore. Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserve San Diego 95 234 Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserve Within the town of Vista. Elliott Chaparral Reserve San Diego 74 183 Elliott Chaparral Reserve At former Camp Kearny, on the Kearny Mesa. Emerson Oaks Reserve Riverside 98 241 Emerson Oaks Reserve In the Temecula Valley, southern Riverside County. Protected by TNC. Fort Ord Natural Reserve Santa Cruz 245 605 Fort Ord Natural Reserve At the former Fort Ord, near Monterey Bay. Hastings Natural History Reservation Berkeley 960 2,373 Hastings Natural History Reservation In the Santa Lucia Mountains, upper Carmel Valley. James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve Riverside 77 190 James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve In the San Jacinto Mountains.Satellite site Oasis de los Osos (west end of the Coachella Valley) protected by TNC. Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve Berkeley 28 70 Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve Above the coast in Mendocino County.Protected by TNC. Jepson Prairie Reserve Davis 634 1,566 Jepson Prairie Reserve In the Central Valley.Protected by TNC and the Solano Land Trust. Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve San Diego 8 21 Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve On Mission Bay. Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve Santa Barbara 202 500 Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve Coast near Cambria. Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve Santa Cruz 1,584 3,911 Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve In the Santa Lucia Mountains, along the Big Sur coast.TNC involved in the protection of this site.Lassen Field StationDavisN/AN/AAn agreement with the National Park Service makes Lassen Volcanic National Park available to users. McLaughlin Natural Reserve Davis 2,800 7,050 McLaughlin Natural Reserve Within the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area.Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland ReserveMerced2,6566,561Next to the UC Merced campus Motte Rimrock Reserve Riverside 289 715 Motte Rimrock Reserve In western Perris Valley, Peninsular Ranges.Point Reyes Field StationBerkeleyN/AN/AWithin Point Reyes National Seashore. Quail Ridge Reserve Davis 1,011 2,500 Near the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. QuRiNet deployed here. Sagehen Creek Field Station Berkeley 3,642 9,000 Sagehen Creek Field Station In the northern Sierra Nevada, near Truckee and north of Lake Tahoe.Operated by the University of California under a long-term special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service. San Joaquin Marsh Reserve Irvine 82 202 San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve Upper Newport Bay. Santa Cruz Island Reserve Santa Barbara 18,624 46,020 Santa Cruz Island Reserve Santa Cruz Island.Protected, owned, and managed by TNC. Scripps Coastal Reserve San Diego 342 844 Scripps Coastal Reserve Adjacent to the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Sedgwick Reserve Santa Barbara 2,358 5,896 Sedgwick Reserve In the Santa Ynez Valley and the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains.Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research LaboratorySanta Barbara22.6 56South of the town of Mammoth Lakes and southwest of the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. Land is leased from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve Davis 233 583 Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve Within the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center Irvine 35.6 88 Steele Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center An agreement with Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Anza-Borrego Foundation makes the park, which is managed by California State Parks, available to field station users. Strathearn Ranch ReserveSanta Cruz1,0932,700Near Hollister. Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve Los Angeles 126 310 Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve In Los Angeles County, within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center Riverside 3,600 9,000 Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center In the Granite Mountains, within the Mojave National Preserve. Valentine Camp Santa Barbara 62 154 Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve Within the town of Mammoth Lakes. White Mountain Research Center Los Angeles 18 45 White Mountain Research Center Five research facilities ranging from the Owens Valley to the highest point of the White-Inyo Mountains east of the town of Bishop. Yosemite Field Station Merced N/A N/A Yosemite Field Station An agreement with the National Park Service makes Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada available to users. Younger Lagoon Reserve Santa Cruz 10 26 Younger Lagoon Reserve The northwest edge of Monterey Bay on the west side of the city of Santa Cruz.

References

Further reading Harrison, S., Waddell, S. M. and Boucher, V. L. 2004. UC Davis Natural Reserve System-Four-Year Report (1999–2003) . UC Davis Natural Reserve System. Herring, Margaret. 2000. Studying Nature in Nature: The History of the University of California Natural Reserve System . Reprinted from Chronicle of the University of California, No. 3 (Spring 2000).

External links

UC's Natural Reserve System use data UC Nature Reserves at Flickr