Natural Reserve System
Peggy L. Fiedler, NRS Director
"The mission of the UC Natural Reserve System is to contribute to the understanding and wise management of the Earth and its natural systems by supporting university-level teaching, research, and public service at protected natural areas throughout California."
In the 1960s, the University of California began to assemble a system of protected sites that would broadly represent this state's rich ecological diversity and support long-term study in a variety of disciplines that require fieldwork in wildland ecosystems. This systemwide program became known as the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS).
For nearly half a century, the NRS has made relatively undisturbed samples of California's natural ecosystems - and the facilities needed to support research and instruction - available not only to scientists, teachers, and students from the University of California, but to any qualified user from any institution, public or private, throughout the world. While other colleges and universities may have one or more sites for fieldwork, none can match the size, scope, and ecological diversity of the NRS. Currently overseeing 36 sites that encompass over 135,000 acres across the state, the NRS is the largest university-operated system of natural reserves in the world.
The NRS systemwide office oversees administration of UC's reserve system with advice from the Universitywide NRS Advisory Committee. Major functions of the systemwide office include:
- Policy-making
- Legal issues
- Trustee Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
- Real estate
- Publications
- Universitywide budget proposals coordination
- NRS endowment and gift-fund administration
- Periodic comprehensive reviews of existing reserves
- New reserve proposal review and evaluation
- NRS system information management of:
- On-line Reserve Application Management System,
- Bibliographic database,
- Metadatabase,
- NRS website
- Competitive graduate student grants
- Graduate student research symposia
Learn more about the UC Natural Reserve System, or contact our staff below.
Staff Directory
Director
(510) 987-0143
Associate Director
(510) 987-0151
Coordinator
(510) 987-0161
Principal Publications Coordinator
(510) 987-0154
Senior Public Information Representative
(510) 987-0142
Management Services Officer
(510) 987-0159
Administrative Specialist
(510) 987-0150