A range of habitats is represented, from grasslands and oak woodlands to saltmarsh, tidal mudflats, and open water. An additional 1500 acres are under management of the non-profit Elkhorn Slough Foundation. The protected Reserve and Foundation lands make ideal field laboratories for descriptive and experimental studies. The Reserve has a small research laboratory on site with microscopes, basic labware, and computers. Equipment available for check-out to permitted researchers includes spotting scopes, digital camera and videorecorder, refractometers, soil compaction meter, water quality sondes, transect tapes, minnow traps, plankton nets, GPS unit, mudwalking shoes, and much more.
Small boats are available for some approved research projects.
A modest reference library is available for use on site. Data from continuous water quality and weather monitoring at stations around the Slough is also available. In particular, the research coordinator, Dr. Kerstin Wasson, is available to facilitate, mentor, or collaborate with researchers, according to their needs. Researchers from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, University of California Santa Cruz, California State University Monterey Bay, San Jose State University, and Stanford University, as well as from other local institutions and agencies have a tradition of doing research at Elkhorn Slough. There are frequently opportunities for mentoring from or collaboration with investigators at these institutions.