Who We Are

Land Acknowledgement

The UC Natural Reserve System recognizes that reserves sit on the territory of Native peoples of California, and that these lands were and continue to be of great importance to those peoples. Every member of the NRS community has and continues to benefit from the use and stewardship of these lands. Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we acknowledge with gratitude and make visible the University’s relationship to Native peoples.

The University of California Natural Reserve System is the largest and most diverse network of university field stations in the world. Its 41 reserves include examples of most major ecosystem in the state. These reserves provide secure sites for long-term environmental research, education and public outreach. They enable monitoring of environmental health and provide a baseline for ecosystem restoration, in the context of California’s growing population and a changing global environment.

The Natural Reserve System offers relatively undisturbed samples of the state’s natural ecosystems – and the facilities needed to support teaching and research – to students, teachers, and researchers from the University of California, and to qualified users from other institutions of higher education throughout the world.

Six reserves are administered by the Davis campus: Bodega Marine Reserve, Jepson Prairie Reserve, Lassen Field Station, Donald and Sylvia McLaughlin Reserve, Quail Ridge Reserve, and Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. These reserves represent a wide variety of habitats in close proximity to the campus.

Download the Natural Reserve System map flyer.