UCR Natural Reserves

Tim Higham Appointed Director of the UCR Natural Reserves System

tomwt — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:30:53 +0000

Tim Higham Appointed Director of the UCR Natural Reserves System tomwt Fri, 04/03/2026 - 10:30 More College News April 03, 2026

Professor Tim Higham

I am very pleased to announce the appointment, after an internal search, of Professor Tim Higham as the new Director of the UCR Natural Reserves System. Professor Higham will succeed Professor Kimberly Hammond, who is stepping down from this position. Professor Higham joined the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology in 2011. Over the past 15 years, Professor Higham has conducted interdisciplinary research on the relationships between the environment and animal function, using a diverse array of measurements of both habitats and animal motion. His studies have included fish, lizards, snakes, small mamals and birds. Professor Higham has maintained a very strong field component to his research, with field sites in Namibia, South Africa, the West Indies, British Columbia, Baja California, and the Mojave Desert.

Professor Higham will commence his appointment on April 1, 2026. The College is sincerely grateful to Professor Hammond for providing overlap with Tim during the next three months and for her phenomenal and inspiring leadership of the UCR NRS over many years. Her contributions to the NRS will be the subject of a future email from me.

Please join with me in welcoming Professor Higham to this important leadership position in CNAS and within the entire UC Natural Reserve System.

Sincerely,
Peter

Peter W. Atkinson, Ph.D.
Dean - College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

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Tim Higham

UCR hosts inaugural Southern California Conference on Ecological Change

owenw — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:41:51 +0000

UCR hosts inaugural Southern California Conference on Ecological Change owenw Mon, 03/17/2025 - 09:41 More Blog Posts March 17, 2025

The UC Riverside departments of Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology, Botany and Plant Sciences, and Environmental Sciences hosted the inaugural Southern California Conference on Ecological Change on February 14.

The inaugural event was organized in response to the effects of warming climate, larger and more frequent fires, urbanization and land development, and invasive species on Southern California's changing ecosystems.

The conference was sponsored by the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, UC Natural Reserves, the Department of Entomology, and the Center for Conservation Biology. Over 90 attendees came together to discuss these ecological changes, share knowledge, and identify research opportunities for sustainable management of our Southern California ecosystems. Attendees included scientists and practitioners from five UC campuses, two California State university campuses, and several county, state, and federal agencies, including USGS, USFS, NPS, CDFW, Caltrans, Riverside County Parks, and MSHCP.

Also in attendance were representatives of the non-profit organizations California Botanic Garden, Dwelling on Carbon, Mojave Land Trust, Nature Conservancy, Point Blue Conservation Science, Rivers & Land Conservancy, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Tejon Ranch Conservancy, Urban Ecology Conservancy, and the Santa Ana Watershed association.

The conference featured plenary speeches by Dr. Megan Jennings of San Diego State University, and Amy Waltz of the Ecological Research Institute at Northern Arizona University, who emphasized collaborative engagement among researchers, land managers and communities to address regional ecological research needs.

The conference also included breakout discussions which tackled pressing environmental issues in Southern California, grant and career panels, and many opportunities for attendees to network, build new collaborations, and share ideas.

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UCR Natural Reserves Celebrates Conclusion 2024 Summer Inclusivity Internship

joanny — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 21:39:27 +0000

UCR Natural Reserves Celebrates Conclusion 2024 Summer Inclusivity Internship joanny Fri, 09/20/2024 - 14:39 More College News September 20, 2024

As part of the UC Riverside Natural Reserves Inclusivity Internship program, undergraduate students from campuses across Southern California celebrated the conclusion of their summer internship experience with the UCR Natural Reserves on August 16.

The 10-week summer internship program paired undergraduate students from UC Riverside, Cal Poly Pomona, Citrus College, Cal State Fullerton and Mt. San Jacinto College with faculty and staff mentors from the UCR Natural Reserves. The program introduced undergraduates from a diversity of student identities, backgrounds, career interests, majors, and perspectives to many possible areas of study and careers in natural areas while building a supportive mentoring network.

“Not only do our students gain valuable research skills, and an understanding of important ongoing research, but they are also exposed to other possible careers in the conservation of natural areas,” said Kimberly Hammond, Director of the UCR Natural Reserves.

Students who participated in the internship program shared their research experiences at the NRS Inclusivity Internship celebration.

When Nahir Santiago Colon was accepted to the internship program, she questioned whether this was the right program for her. “I was hit with major imposter syndrome. I felt that I didn’t deserve it, that I was underqualified, and other people deserved it more than me. But I had amazing people who encouraged me to take a chance—and I’m glad that I did!”

After her experience, Nahir changed her major from business administration to biology and plans to pursue research. “Without this opportunity, I wouldn't have been able to discover that I could be part of a research project that could make a difference.”

Since the inception of the UCR Natural Reserve Inclusivity Internship program four years ago, students have gone on to do research in academia and careers in state and federal agencies such as the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and many others.

“This internship gave me an idea of what I want to do in the future—I am going to look into Master's programs and start applying,” shared Diego Castaneda, a student from Cal Poly Pomona. “Because of this program, I am encouraged to further my studies and expand my interest in a field that I really enjoy.”

The UC Riverside Natural Reserve Inclusivity Internship program would not be possible without the generous support of donors who help provide undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to explore natural areas.

“This was my first time stepping into this field,” said Elizabeth Alfaro, a student from Citrus College. “No one from my family went to college or graduated from high school. I am trying to figure this out and am grateful to be part of this program.”

For more information about the UC Riverside Natural Reserve Inclusivity Internship program or to help support the program, please visit the UCR Natural Reserves.

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New cabins foster community at James Reserve

ilseu — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 23:01:45 +0000

New cabins foster community at James Reserve ilseu Wed, 08/05/2020 - 16:01 More College News Kathleen Wong | UCR NRS August 05, 2020

New prefabricated buildings funded by state Proposition 84 and donations by longtime reserve supporters the Trailfinders have been placed near the reserve’s existing headquarters, the Trailfinders lodge. The cluster of reserve facilities fosters interactions and a sense of community among reserve visitors from different groups. Image: Becca Fenwick

Nestled in a canyon on the western slope of San Jacinto Peak, the James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve is a place dear to the hearts of many. Educators Harry and Grace James bought the site in 1941 as a campsite for their Trailfinders School for Boys. In the 1960s, the couple sold the land to the University of California to become a UC Natural Reserve. Yet alumni of the school have remained loyal to the site, continuing to gather at and support the reserve across the intervening decades.

Life got more lively at the mountainside site once it became a reserve. Requests from students and researchers to visit grew as the nearby community of Idyllwild became a tourist destination and staying in the mountains got more expensive. Those approved to visit had two accommodation choices: pitch a tent in the reserve’s small campground, or bunk at its Trailfinders Lodge.

Built with donations from Trailfinders alumni, the lodge is sizable. It features a workspace, an office, kitchen, bathrooms, and an upstairs dorm area able to sleep 30. By the early 2000s, however, demand for the reserve had far outstripped the lodge’s capacity.

The modular units had to squeeze through thick forest foliage alongside the reserve access road to reach their installation locations. Image: Becca Fenwick

“The reserve needed more teaching and dorm space to host more than one group at a time,” says Becca Fenwick, who served as director of the James in the late 2000s. She is now director of Environmental Information Technology for the UC Natural Reserve System and the NRS’s California Heartbeat Initiative project.

Passage of Proposition 84 in 2006 made James accommodations expansions possible. The legislation provided up to $20 million to the NRS for facilities and land acquisition, with the proviso that the University invest an amount matching all funds requested.

“The project helped make the facilities into the hub and center of the reserve,” Fenwick says.

The two housing cabins in place and awaiting the installation of the classroom cabin. Winter mud and snow made the job extra challenging. Image: Becca Fenwick

The James Reserve was deeply fortunate to have the Trailfinders in its corner at this time. The stalwart alumni raised and donated a whopping $248,000 toward this unprecedented opportunity to expand the reserve’s facilities. Matched by the state, this qualified the reserve for a $496,000 project.

The most economical solution to the reserve’s housing shortage proved to be prefabricated buildings.

“Instead of having to go through architectural drawings, and the stages of a physical building project, we just had to set up foundations, attach the buildings, and make sewer and electric connections. The process was more straightforward and simple,” Fenwick says.

The classroom unit, like the rest of the reserve’s headquarters area, is encircled by conifer forest. Image: Aldo de la Mora

The reserve ultimately purchased four modular buildings. Two of the cabins have two bedrooms and one bathroom; these are intended to house small groups. A larger cabin holds four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. The smaller cabins each sleep 10; while the larger cabin sleeps 20. Each cabin is outfitted with a kitchen. A second large unit, which also has a bathroom, is used as a classroom. It also houses vertebrate study skins, a herbarium, the reserve’s insect collection, and microscopes.

The additional buildings have doubled the reserve’s bed capacity to 70, and quadrupled the number of kitchens to four.

The plan called for the buildings to be trailered from Arizona, where they were constructed, up San Jacinto Mountain, then along the reserve’s wooded access road to an open area next to the Trailfinders Lodge.

The classroom holds the reserve’s study collections and offers indoor space for groups. The sink and bathroom can be seen at the rear. Image: Aldo de la Mora
The classroom building also has a bathroom. Image: Aldo de la Mora

Preparing the reserve drive for these oversized loads posed a lot of work for Fenwick and reserve stewards Augie Valadez and Taylor Jeffrey. The trailer company brought in a consultant to indicate where the road needed to be widened and straightened.

“There were 120-foot pine trees in the way. Valadez and Jeffrey taught me to use a chainsaw to fell those trees. There were no overhead wires in the way, so there was no fear if a tree didn’t go exactly where we wanted it to,” Fenwick says. “It’s not the skill I thought I would be learning in that job, but it was tremendous fun.”

This residential cabin features a spacious deck. Image: Aldo de la Mora

Fenwick and Jeffrey also performed much of the site preparation themselves. They enlarged the cleared area to accommodate the additional septic systems and a parking area, leveled the ground, and installed retaining walls. They also dug trenches for foundations and electrical cables that would connect to the reserve’s off-grid solar panel system.

Once construction began, the project proceeded quickly. The foundations were poured in October 2011, then the cabins arrived in November. The utilities were connected and the foundation wall was finished by the close of December 2011.

The project entered its final stages just as Fenwick was hired as reserve director at the NRS’s Yosemite Field Station. “For my first few months at Yosemite I was still going back down to the James to get everything squared away,” Fenwick says.

The kitchen in one of the two small cabins. Image: Aldo de la Mora

So the first time Fenwick got to experience the new facilities in action was October of the following year. New reserve director Jen Gee had invited NRS staffers from across the reserve system to the James for the NRS’s annual Management Workshop.

“It was a great feeling seeing staff from around reserve system stay at and use those new cabins,” Fenwick says.

Eating at the reserve is a breeze now that multiple groups no longer need to compete for kitchen time. “Mealtimes were a struggle before. There are now three more kitchens in the new facilities. That gives groups more independence to cook and eat whenever they want.”

And because the new facilities are ADA compliant, including the parking, the reserve can now better accommodate people with disabilities.

One of the bathrooms typical of the new cabins. Image: Aldo de la Mora

To Fenwick, however, the most important aspect of the new buildings is the social spark they ignite among reserve visitors. “Having multiple groups in the same area, using the same space, created more of the atmosphere and spirit of a field station. People could talk about science and the great things they were doing in the spirit of collaboration and community. That feeling is essential to a good field station,” she says.

It is fitting, says Fenwick, that the community of Trailfinders who helped fund the expansion have made this brighter, buzzier incarnation of the reserve possible.

“The Prop 84 funding was instrumental in taking the James Reserve to the next level, to a place where you can have groups interacting and have that catalyst for new collaborations and partnerships in science. Without those additional facilities, we wouldn’t be able to create those opportunities for people.”

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UC Natural Reserve System Symposium 2020 announced

ilseu — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 23:02:42 +0000

UC Natural Reserve System Symposium 2020 announced ilseu Mon, 01/27/2020 - 15:02 More CNAS in the Media Kathleen Wong | UC Natural Reserve System January 22, 2020

UC NRS - The world’s largest university-administered reserve system will hold a symposium this fall to commemorate 55 years of field research and teaching. The UC Natural Reserve System Symposium, to be held in Berkeley from November 12–13, 2020, will feature more than three dozen talks showcasing research, immersive field education, and public service conducted across the NRS. A poster session will showcase even more research and teaching activities, while field trips will enable attendees to experience reserves for themselves.

“The Symposium will highlight the 55 years of groundbreaking work done at our network of field stations, research centers, and partner reserves,” says Peggy Fiedler, executive director of the NRS. “We look forward to demonstrating the extraordinary contributions our reserves have made to California and the world.”

Learn more at the UC Natural Reserve System Symposium homepage, where you can enter your email to receive additional notifications about the Symposium, including when registration opens.

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