Welcome | UCR Natural Reserves

James San Jacinto Mountain Reserve (c) Mark Chappell

UCR Natural Reserves

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UCR Natural Reserves

Motte Rimrock UCR Natural Reserve (c) UCR / Stan Lim

UCR Natural Reserves

Boyd Deep Canyon, Cholla cacti

UCR Natural Reserves

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UCR Natural Reserves

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UCR Natural Reserves

Mission Statement

The mission of the Natural Reserve System is to contribute to the understanding and wise stewardship of the Earth and its natural systems by supporting university-level teaching, research, and public service at protected natural areas throughout California.

The Natural Reserve System at UC Riverside

The University of California maintains more than thirty Natural Reserves distributed throughout the state. The establishment of the system-wide UC Natural Reserve System was due in large part to the efforts in the 1940s and 1950s of Professors Ken Norris of UCLA and UC Santa Cruz and Wilbur Mayhew of UC Riverside, along with many others, who became concerned with the ever-increasing vandalism and disappearance of their field sites for research and teaching.

The Reserves

UCR- Boyd Deep Canyon

Boyd Deep Canyon

Box Springs Reserve

Emerson Oaks Reserve

James San Jacinto Mountain Reserve

James San Jacinto Mountain

Motte Rimrock UCR Natural Reserve (c) UCR / Stan Lim

Jack and Marilyn Sweeney Granite Mountains UCR Natural Reserve (c) Douglas Stinson

Sweeney Granite Mountains

Unsplash- Baby Pine

Give to the UCR Natural Reserves

Help us continue to provide protected natural areas for research,
teaching, and public service for future generations.

Featured News

Field station buildings among rocks in snow

State Funds Secured Water and Buildings for the Granites

Voter-approved Proposition 84 funded improvements at Sweeney Granite Mountains

Picture of birds

February 08, 2021

Bloom-Hays Grant Opportunity

The Sea and Sage Audubon Society chapter of Orange County, CA administers the Bloom-Hays Grant for ecological research. Awards up to $2,500 are granted for ecological research projects, including but not limited to bird research. Instructions on how to apply...

person standing in river with net

October 23, 2020

Field Science Fellowships 2021

Applications welcome from undergraduate/faculty teams for field research. The deadline to apply for $6,000.00 is January 20, 2021.

Antelope ground squirrel Photo by Chappell

Call for Applications for the Mayhew Award

Research awards are available for graduate students conducting research at Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center. The competition is open to any graduate student enrolled in any accredited college or university. However, preference for awards will be to those enrolled...

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Motte Rimrock snow capped mountains (c) Mark Cappell

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