TheUniversity of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) is a system of protected areas throughoutCalifornia.[1] The reserves support UC's mission of teaching, research, and public service. Unlikenational andstate parks, they are not available forrecreational uses, because they were specifically created to enable UC scientists to conduct research free from such distractions.
The system began withUC Berkeley zoology professorJoseph 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 theU.S. national parks for research sites, but became frustrated with theNational 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."[2]
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, theRegents of the University of California voted to accept his proposal and created the oldest reserve in the system, Hastings Natural History Reservation.[2]
On January 22, 1965, at the suggestion ofKenneth S. Norris, the UC Board of Regents voted to formally join together Hastings and six other reserves into the Natural Land and Water Reserves System.[3] In 1970, it was renamed to the Natural Reserve System.
In the NorthernSierra Nevada, north ofLake Tahoe. Operated by the University of California under a long-term special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
An agreement withAnza-Borrego Desert State Park and the Anza-Borrego Foundation makes the park, which is managed by California State Parks, available to field station users.
^abAlagona, Peter S. (2013)."Evolution of the UC Natural Reserves: An Introduction". In Fiedler, Peggy L.; Rumsey, Susan Gee; Wong, Kathleen M. (eds.).The Environmental Legacy of the UC Natural Reserve System. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 9–29.ISBN9780520272002. RetrievedMarch 24, 2023. (at p. 10.)
^Alagona, Peter S. (2013)."Evolution of the UC Natural Reserves: An Introduction". In Fiedler, Peggy L.; Rumsey, Susan Gee; Wong, Kathleen M. (eds.).The Environmental Legacy of the UC Natural Reserve System. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 9–29.ISBN9780520272002. RetrievedMarch 24, 2023. (at p. 12.)
