# University of California Natural Reserve System

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."
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 together Hastings and six other reserves into the Natural Land and Water Reserves System. In 1970, it was renamed to the Natural Reserve System.

## List of reserves

| Reserve | Campus | Area (ha) | Area (Acre) | Coordinates | Notes |
| Angelo Coast Range Reserve | Berkeley | 3,166 | 7,915 | 39°43′45″N 123°38′40″W﻿ / ﻿39.72917°N 123.64444°W﻿ / 39.72917; -123.64444﻿ (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 | 37°6′30″N 122°20′10″W﻿ / ﻿37.10833°N 122.33611°W﻿ / 37.10833; -122.33611﻿ (Año Nuevo Island Reserve) | On Año Nuevo Island. UC manages site within the larger Año Nuevo State Reserve, owned and operated by California State Parks. |
| Blue Oak Ranch Reserve | Berkeley | 1,319 | 3,260 | 37°22′53″N 121°44′14″W﻿ / ﻿37.38139°N 121.73722°W﻿ / 37.38139; -121.73722﻿ (Blue Oak Ranch Reserve) | In the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton. |
| Bodega Marine Reserve | Davis | 176 | 436 | 38°18′25″N 123°3′54″W﻿ / ﻿38.30694°N 123.06500°W﻿ / 38.30694; -123.06500﻿ (Bodega Marine Reserve) | On Bodega Bay. |
| Box Springs Reserve | Riverside | 65 | 160 | 33°59′31″N 117°17′43″W﻿ / ﻿33.99194°N 117.29528°W﻿ / 33.99194; -117.29528﻿ (Box Springs Reserve) | Adjacent to the Riverside campus. |
| Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center | Riverside | 6,749 | 16,873 | 33°35′N 116°20′W﻿ / ﻿33.583°N 116.333°W﻿ / 33.583; -116.333﻿ (Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center) | In the Santa Rosa Mountains, near Palm Desert. |
| Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve | Irvine | 124 | 306 | 34°8′20″N 116°27′10″W﻿ / ﻿34.13889°N 116.45278°W﻿ / 34.13889; -116.45278﻿ (Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve) | In the Mojave Desert, near Joshua Tree National Park. |
| Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area | Santa Barbara | 68 | 170 | 34°25′N 119°52′W﻿ / ﻿34.417°N 119.867°W﻿ / 34.417; -119.867﻿ (Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve) | Adjacent to the Santa Barbara campus. Coal Oil Point seep field is offshore. |
| Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve | Santa Barbara | 93 | 230 | 34°24′N 119°31′W﻿ / ﻿34.400°N 119.517°W﻿ / 34.400; -119.517﻿ (Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve) | In Carpinteria. |
| Chickering American River Reserve | Berkeley | 695 | 1,720 | 39°14′48″N 120°19′31″W﻿ / ﻿39.24667°N 120.32528°W﻿ / 39.24667; -120.32528﻿ (Chickering American River Reserve) | In the headwaters basin of the North Fork of the American River, Sierra Nevada. |
| Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserve | San Diego | 93 | 230 | 33°8′30″N 117°15′20″W﻿ / ﻿33.14167°N 117.25556°W﻿ / 33.14167; -117.25556﻿ (Dawson Los Monos Canyon Reserve) | In the northwestern Laguna Mountains. |
| Elliott Chaparral Reserve | San Diego | 43 | 107 | 32°52′6″N 117°8′33″W﻿ / ﻿32.86833°N 117.14250°W﻿ / 32.86833; -117.14250﻿ (Elliott Chaparral Reserve) | At former Camp Kearny, on the Kearny Mesa. |
| Emerson Oaks Reserve | Riverside | 102 | 255 | 33°28′N 117°2′W﻿ / ﻿33.467°N 117.033°W﻿ / 33.467; -117.033﻿ (Emerson Oaks Reserve) | In the Temecula Valley, southern Riverside County. Protected by TNC. |
| Fort Ord Natural Reserve | Santa Cruz | 242 | 606 | 36°40′N 121°46′W﻿ / ﻿36.667°N 121.767°W﻿ / 36.667; -121.767﻿ (Fort Ord Natural Reserve) | At the former Fort Ord, near Monterey Bay. |
| Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve | Berkeley | 28 | 70 | 39°17′N 123°45′W﻿ / ﻿39.283°N 123.750°W﻿ / 39.283; -123.750﻿ (Hans Jenny Pygmy Forest Reserve) | Above the coast in Mendocino County. Protected by TNC. |
| Hastings Natural History Reservation | Berkeley | 932 | 2,392 | 36°12′30″N 121°33′30″W﻿ / ﻿36.20833°N 121.55833°W﻿ / 36.20833; -121.55833﻿ (Hastings Natural History Reservation) | In the Santa Lucia Mountains, upper Carmel Valley. |
| James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve | Riverside | 12 | 29 | 33°48′30″N 116°46′40″W﻿ / ﻿33.80833°N 116.77778°W﻿ / 33.80833; -116.77778﻿ (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. |
| Jepson Prairie Reserve | Davis | 634 | 1,566 | 38°16′N 121°49′W﻿ / ﻿38.267°N 121.817°W﻿ / 38.267; -121.817﻿ (Jepson Prairie Reserve) | In the Central Valley. Protected by TNC and the Solano Land Trust. |
| Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve | San Diego | 7 | 16 | 32°47′N 117°13′W﻿ / ﻿32.783°N 117.217°W﻿ / 32.783; -117.217﻿ (Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve) | On Mission Bay. |
| Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve | Santa Barbara | 200 | 500 | 35°31′41″N 121°4′35″W﻿ / ﻿35.52806°N 121.07639°W﻿ / 35.52806; -121.07639﻿ (Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve) | In the Santa Lucia Mountains, near Cambria. |
| Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve | Santa Cruz | 1,584 | 3,911 | 36°4′N 121°35′W﻿ / ﻿36.067°N 121.583°W﻿ / 36.067; -121.583﻿ (Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve) | In the Santa Lucia Mountains, along the Big Sur coast. TNC involved in the protection of this site. |
| McLaughlin Natural Reserve | Davis | 2,800 | 7,050 | 38°52′N 122°24′W﻿ / ﻿38.867°N 122.400°W﻿ / 38.867; -122.400﻿ (McLaughlin Natural Reserve) | Within the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. |
| Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve | Merced | 2601 | 6,428 | 37°22′31″N 120°24′47″W﻿ / ﻿37.3753°N 120.413°W﻿ / 37.3753; -120.413﻿ (Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve) | Next to the UC Merced campus |
| Motte Rimrock Reserve | Riverside | 289 | 715 | 33°48′45″N 117°15′30″W﻿ / ﻿33.81250°N 117.25833°W﻿ / 33.81250; -117.25833﻿ (Motte Rimrock Reserve) | In western Perris Valley, Peninsular Ranges. |
| Quail Ridge Reserve | Davis | 784 | 1,937 | 38°28′59″N 122°8′58″W﻿ / ﻿38.48306°N 122.14944°W﻿ / 38.48306; -122.14944﻿ (Quail Ridge Reserve) | Near the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. QuRiNet deployed here. |
| Sagehen Creek Field Station | Berkeley | 183 | 452 | 39°25′57″N 120°14′13″W﻿ / ﻿39.43250°N 120.23694°W﻿ / 39.43250; -120.23694﻿ (Sagehen Creek Field Station) | In the Northern Sierra Nevada, 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 | 33°39′30″N 117°51′30″W﻿ / ﻿33.65833°N 117.85833°W﻿ / 33.65833; -117.85833﻿ (San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve) | Upper Newport Bay. |
| Santa Cruz Island Reserve | Santa Barbara | 18,624 | 46,020 | 34°0′N 119°44′W﻿ / ﻿34.000°N 119.733°W﻿ / 34.000; -119.733﻿ (Santa Cruz Island Reserve) | Santa Cruz Island. Protected, owned, and managed by TNC. |
| Scripps Coastal Reserve | San Diego | 342 | 844 | 32°52′30″N 117°15′15″W﻿ / ﻿32.87500°N 117.25417°W﻿ / 32.87500; -117.25417﻿ (Scripps Coastal Reserve) | Adjacent to the UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography. |
| Sedgwick Reserve | Santa Barbara | 2,358 | 5,896 | 34°42′N 120°1′W﻿ / ﻿34.700°N 120.017°W﻿ / 34.700; -120.017﻿ (Sedgwick Reserve) | In the Santa Ynez Valley and the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains. |
| Sierra Nevada Research Station—Yosemite Field Station | Merced | | | 37°32′23″N 119°39′29″W﻿ / ﻿37.53972°N 119.65806°W﻿ / 37.53972; -119.65806﻿ (Sierra Nevada Research Institute--Yosemite Field Station) | Yosemite National Park, Sierra Nevada. |
| Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve | Davis | 233 | 583 | 38°30′32″N 122°5′50″W﻿ / ﻿38.50889°N 122.09722°W﻿ / 38.50889; -122.09722﻿ (Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve) | Within the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area. |
| Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center | Irvine | 248,882 | 615,000 | 33°14′N 116°23′W﻿ / ﻿33.233°N 116.383°W﻿ / 33.233; -116.383﻿ (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. |
| Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve | Los Angeles | 126 | 310 | 34°6′N 118°39′W﻿ / ﻿34.100°N 118.650°W﻿ / 34.100; -118.650﻿ (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 | 34°48′20″N 115°39′50″W﻿ / ﻿34.80556°N 115.66389°W﻿ / 34.80556; -115.66389﻿ (Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center) | In the Granite Mountains, within the Mojave National Preserve. |
| Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve | Santa Barbara | 87 | 205 | 37°37′30″N 118°59′30″W﻿ / ﻿37.62500°N 118.99167°W﻿ / 37.62500; -118.99167﻿ (Valentine Eastern Sierra Reserve) | In the high Sierra Nevada and the upper Owens Valley. Includes Valentine Camp and the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL). |
| White Mountain Research Center | Los Angeles | 18 | 45 | 37°21′41″N 118°19′36″W﻿ / ﻿37.36139°N 118.32667°W﻿ / 37.36139; -118.32667﻿ (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. |
| Younger Lagoon Reserve | Santa Cruz | 10 | 26 | 36°57′3″N 122°3′57″W﻿ / ﻿36.95083°N 122.06583°W﻿ / 36.95083; -122.06583﻿ (Younger Lagoon Reserve) | The northwest edge of Monterey Bay on the west side of the city of Santa Cruz. |