Planning Workshops for the Development and Implementation of the University of California Natural Reserve System Strategic Plan

University Of California, Office Of The President, Oakland, Oakland CA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of California at Oakland is awarded a grant for planning workshops develop and implement the University of California Natural Reserve System (UC NRS) Strategic Plan that will build capacity in the UC NRS to improve science by developing shared vision and expertise across the Reserve System. Since 1965 the UC NRS has offered unique opportunities to study California's world-renowned, diverse ecosystems through a system of 38 natural reserves, research centers and gateway reserves dedicated to teaching, research, and public service and spans more than 750,000 acres with access to millions of additional acres of federal lands. The UC NRS provides strong legacies of data, land, specimens, and accumulated knowledge, and promotes convergence of disciplines and cross-fertilization typical of 21st-century science. Such legacies represent an essential framework for documenting and understanding the nature and pace of ecosystem, regional, and global changes in environmental conditions, ecological processes, and biodiversity. As California's population growth continues to be the highest in the country the UC NRS is critical to understanding natural phenomena at multiple spatial scales and informing stewardship of the state's resources. Many of today's most pressing scientific questions, including how climate change and population growth will affect California's plant and animal species and ecosystem functions providing essential ecosystem services. Planning for a fully integrated informatics and collaboration infrastructure to catalyze more effective long-term, cross-site integrative research motivated by comprehensive scientific studies will capitalize on the diversity of data and intellectual resources encompassed by the UC NRS. The UC Natural Reserves are well utilized by individuals and institutions at every educational level within California, from K-12 up through all units of the state higher education system. The reserves serve as important training centers for students and teachers and as research platforms for a variety of individuals and organizations concerned with advancing understanding and appreciation of the natural environment. Research and education within the UC NRS are widely publicized in scholarly journals and books, technical reports, conference proceedings and presentations, and in media ranging from the web to radio, television, documentaries, newspapers, and other forms of dissemination. Strategic planning will help ensure that research and teaching conducted at the UC NRS reserves uses collaborative technologies that enable integrative ecological science research as well as informed resource management. For more information on the University of California Natural Reserve System please visit: http://nrs.ucop.edu/