Habitats and Geography

The 789 acre UCSC Campus Natural Reserve encompasses a variety of habitat types. From mixed conifer and coast redwood forest, wetlands, coastal prairie, to maritime chaparral; these sectors offer conserved habitat for research and field skill development.

The text in this section of the website, and in susequent descriptions of UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserve areas, is largely extracted from Brown and Norris (1985). Organization, some edits, updates, and the “Management” and “Opportunities…” subsections were added by Alex Jones in spring 2014.

On May 8, 1985, Chancellor Robert Sinsheimer established the 400-acre Campus Natural Reserve (CNR) which includes all the major natural habitats of campus in a single, nearly continuous parcel of land. Some of these boundaries were changed with the 2005 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), resulting in a net growth of 10 acres to the CNR (see Appendix A for a comparison of the 1988 and 2005 CNR boundaries). The reserve represents an important resource for field-oriented teaching and research, as well as the protection of many unique features of the land on campus. The reserve once included the Younger Lagoon and the adjacent pocket beach and intertidal bench at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab, but now this land has been incorporated into the University of California’s Natural Reserve System as the Younger Lagoon Reserve. This reserve joins the suite of UC NRS reserves, also including Año Nuevo Island Reserve, Fort Ord Natural Reserve, and Landels-Hill Big Creek Natural Reserve, managed by UCSC.

The links below provide brief descriptions of each area within the CNR, and highlight special teaching and research values; such as significant or unusual soil types, geologic features, and plant and animal species. It should be noted that many other, non-CNR, campus lands are also utilized for teaching, as they are either conveniently located in close proximity to classrooms or provide other interesting environments worthy of investigation. These areas, however, are not detailed in these pages.

Brown, M., K.S. Norris. (1985). Academic Plan for the campus natural areas reserves. Unpublished report by the Campus Natural Reserve Committee submitted to the chancellor, UC Santa Cruz.

Quick links to genearlized regions of the reserve:
West Marshall Field
Seven Springs
Cave Gulch/Wilder
Lower Moore Creek
The Triangle
Seep Zone

West Marshall Field

General Description: A mix of coastal prairie and mixed evergreen forest, this section of the reserve abuts Wilder Ranch State Park and features Mima mounds, a diversity of spring wildflowers, and a mixture of oak, Pacific madrone, coast redwood, and Douglas-fir.

Geology: Though not as extensive or as well developed as that in southwestern corner of campus (the Mima Meadow, or Inclusion Area A), West Marshall Field includes areas of under-drained claypan soil that support a Mima mound-hogwallow-vernal pool habitat. This geologic anomaly is seen in many areas of the world, and there are many competing theories as to its origin. A recent publication in the peerreviewed journal Geomorphology details the computer modeling work of Gabet et al. (2014), who claim to have proven that the origin of Mima mounds can be explained by bioturbation caused by fossorial mammals, such as gophers, seeking drier, higher ground during times with seasonally saturated soils. The Mima mounds appear as small hillocks, between which occur depressions, or hogwallows. In Inclusion Area A, the largest of the hogwallows sometimes retain winter rain, creating vernal pools which drain very slowly, due to the impermeable claypan soil layer underlying the area. The vernal pools support a specialized, successional flora, which changes as the pools dry. According to Stone (1983), the vernal pool plants must be able to sprout, grow, flower, and set seed in a very short period of time.

Plants: Roy Buck, a campus botanist who conducted a botanical survey in Inclusion Area A, states that the coastal prairie community that occupies the hogwallows is a high-quality example of a plant community that is declining statewide (Buck 1983). Although once widespread, the coastal prairie community has been “…reduced to a fraction of its former area since European settlement” (ibid.). Portions of West Marshall Field fall into this category as well.

The coastal prairie community should be of special interest to students and faculty studying California native plants. Apparently, introduced species do not compete as well in the vernal pools as they do in other campus grasslands, and thus the coastal prairie supports a high diversity of native species. Natives formerly found in abundance include California oatgrass (Danthonia californica), toad rush (Juncus bufonius), western rush (Juncus tenuis var congestus), and keeled club rush (Isolepis carinata). A number of significant species occur in the coastal prairie community, including Gairdner’s coast yampeh (Perideridia gairdneri ssp. gairdneri) which is listed by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS 2011) as fairly endangered in California (status 4.2). Other significant species found in the grasslands around Marshall Fields are listed in Appendix B.

Animals: In Inclusion Area A, as recent as the early 1980s, the mima mounds, vernal pools, and grasslands supported a number of animal species of interest to individuals and classes studying terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates. The vernal pools are especially attractive to wildlife, according to Roger Luckenbach, a former natural history professor at UCSC who conducted a faunal analysis for a proposed research and development center. He stated, “Grassland seeps and vernal pools are favorite foraging areas for many avian species, breeding sites for amphibians, and drinking holes for larger mammals” (Luckenbach 1983). Marsh and wading birds, including killdeer, snipe, and greater yellowlegs, were attracted to the vernal pools—there are very few other on-campus sites that can support these and other species dependent on riparian habitat.

Management: Edges of the coastal prairie are mowed annually by the UCSC Grounds Department. Management opportunities included prescribed fire, which is used in adjacent prairie by Wilder Ranch State Park.

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: This is the most remote section of the CNR, and is too far to bring students to during a typical 1 hour 10 minute or 1 hour 45 minute class period without transportation. This restricts the educational uses of the parcel to classes that are longer, such as ENVS 15 (Natural History of the UCSC Campus) or ENVS 107ABC (Natural History Field Quarter, for example. Field labs for BIOE 177L (Systematic Botany of Flowering Plants Lab) do transport their students to Marshall Fields for a 2 hour section using vans. Opportunities for research include small mammal trapping and vegetation studies. Stewardship opportunities include the following. Unauthorized bike paths lead through forested sections of the parcel; trail closures and maintenance are needed in this area. Several invasive plant species are established along Empire Grade, which forms the eastern border of this parcel, and forested areas adjacent to the road. The Federally Endangered Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) occurs in nearby meadows in both Wilder Ranch State Park and UCSC’s Lower Marshall Field. It’s possible that maintaining the dirt trail leading from the Empire Grade pull-outs to Chinquapin Fire Road could maintain habitat that OTB could potentially occupy. Carefully prescribed fire could limit forest intrusion and lower thatch build-up from nonnative grasses.

Seven Springs

General Description: The Seven Springs area includes springs that form the headwaters of Cave Gulch, as well as the northern stretches of the gulch’s stream itself and sections of mixed evergreen forest, redwood forest, and northern maritime chaparral. ENVS Professor Greg Gilbert’s 16-ha Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) is also located within the Seven Springs parcel. The western edge of the parcel abuts the Cave Gulch neighborhood of Bonny Doon, from which equestrian enthusiasts and mountain bikers access the reserve without authorization. 

Geology: According to Stanley (1982), three rock units occur in the chaparral and mixed evergreen forest area. Ben Lomond quartz diorite underlies the two small stream courses in this region. A sedimentary cover of Santa Margarita sandstone occurs from just west of Empire Grade to east of the Seven Springs trail. Another narrow strip of Ben Lomond quartz diorite adjoins a large area of schist; some areas of Santa Margarita sandstone also occur there. 

Soil types found in the stream courses of the northwest portion of campus are Sheridan rocky sandy loam and Holland sandy loam. An unnamed sandy loam, in places with claypan, is developed on the Santa Margarita sandstone. Felton loam and Hugo rocky loam overly the schist, with sandy loams overlying the areas of Santa Margarita sandstone.

Plants: The sandy chaparral northwest of the (fire road junction) water tanks is the only stand of this chaparral type left on campus. It grows here in an unusually flat area for this vegetation type (Weiner and Norris 1983. According to Stone (1983), three species of manzanita dominate the shrub element of the sandy chaparral: brittle-leaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos crustacea), heartleaf manzanita (A. andersonii), and sensitive manzanita (A. sensitiva), the southern range limit of which occurs on campus. Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) and warty-leaved ceanothus (Ceanothus papillosus) are also common in the sandy chaparral. Of significance are two hybrid species that are especially abundant in the transition zone between chaparral and mixed evergreen forest: a coast/Shreve’s oak hybrid, and a hybrid between warty-leaved and blue-bush ceanothus (C. thrysiflorus).

To the west and north of the reserve’s chaparral stand stretches an area of redwood and mixed evergreen forest in and around the FERP, including redwoods, tanoaks, Douglas-firs, and madrone, with a very few remnant knobcone pine (Pimus attenuata) and ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa). The understory includes California hazelnut (Corylus cornuta spp. californica), huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), poison-oak, and California coffeeberry. Data and other information about woody plant species occurring on the FERP are available at ferp.ucsc.edu. The area lies within the Seven Springs area, and as its name suggests, can be rather seasonally wet. Brown and Norris (1985) noted that the area contained some small sedge bogs, where a primitive quillwort used to occur (and may yet lay awaiting rediscovery). A very ancient plant, it is of special interest to botanists and evolutionists. The springs in this area form the headwaters of Cave Gulch; three primary, spring-fed, forks converge in a section of redwood forest to define the main upper channel of the Cave Gulch. 

The ponderosa pines found in this section of the reserve, as well as in Crown Meadow in the Seep Zone section of the reserve, should also be of interest to botanists. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, ponderosa pines are restricted to inland marine sands deposited approximately 10 million years ago (Stone 1983). According to Stone, “The ponderosa pine population in the Santa Cruz Mountains is quite disjunct from 

the continuous range of this species, and the Santa Cruz pines are distinct in some respects from the ponderosas found in some of the neighboring central coast ranges.” Stone (1983) notes that support is growing for the idea that the Santa Cruz ponderosa pine may be worthy of varietal or subspecies status, and in fact the varietal name Pinus ponderosa var. benthamiana has been proposed by Hartweg. 

The large area of the reserve near the West Loop is dominated by mixed evergreen forest. An extensive stand of mixed evergreen forest, which includes the portion of the UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) established in 2007, with small areas of grassland interspersed lies to the northwest of the chaparral community.

Animals: The mosaic of chaparral and the surrounding mixed evergreen forest supports more vertebrate species than any other campus vegetation community. The adjacent stands of chaparral and small grasslands make this area of the reserve a rich site for animal studies. 

Management: The chaparral communities of campus have been the site of a number of class and individual student projects and invasive species management activities. The chaparral patch bounded by West Road, Red Hill Road, and the two Fuel Break Roads—only a small portion of which lies within the CNR— has been subject to prescribed fire in the early 1980s (Brown and Norris 1985). These fire-dependent communities could again receive active management, which could create a patchwork of seral stages. This presence of chaparral in various stages of growth, from newly burned (for fire management) to senescent, could be an especially valuable study resource. 

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: The 16-ha Forest Ecology Research Plot (FERP) lies within the Seven Springs area of the CNR. Woody stems within the long term research plot are re-censused every 5 years by undergraduate interns. The 400 m x 400 m plot is composed of 20 m x 20 m quadrats marked by PVC corner posts. Other studies, such as the Small Mammal Undergraduate Research in Forests (SMURF) project, use this grid of quadrats and have FERP vegetation data available for use. The Seven Springs area is too far of a walk for most course activities, as it takes 1/2 hour or more to walk there from the core of campus. This restricts its use for classes, though longer field trips (3 hours, for example) can allow for exploration of the area. The chaparral patch within the Seven Springs can be used for comparative study with other chaparral patches on campus as well as surrounding forest lands. Stewardship opportunities include trail maintenance, restoration, and potential closures on and around the Seven Springs trail, restoration of a large headcut gully on the Seven Springs trail, use of prescribed fire in the chaparral, and invasive species management. 

Cave Gulch/Wilder

General Description: Longer and deeper than the Moore Creek drainage, Cave Gulch forms the campus’s largest riparian corridor (Dashe 1982), carries the largest year-round stream found on campus (Stanley 1982), and supports one of the campus’s most mature and protected forests (Cahn et al. 1973). Cave Gulch also connects the lower portion of the campus reserve with the chaparral and mixed evergreen forest of lands on the upper campus. Cave Gulch is also a location that features the campus’s karst topography, a type of topography that forms in areas underlain by marble or limestone. Karst is rare in the western U.S., but the many sinkholes, swallow holes, and caves on the UCSC campus offer ample opportunity for the study of this formation.

Portions of two stream courses that feed into Meder Creek lie across Empire Grade to the west and are also included in this westernmost portion of the reserve. This area covers a narrow ~850 m N/S strip of redwood and mixed evergreen forest ranging from 80-120 m in width northwest of the main Cave Gulch drainage. 

Other significant features of Cave Gulch include the remains of a gold mining operation, located near West Loop Road. As noted in Weiner and Norris (1983), reminders of the mining activity include several tunnels, and old dam, and the foundation of a steam-powered mill.

This area also features a portion of Porter Meadow and a unique California bay and live oak dominated area on the slopes northeast of Family Student Housing. 

Geology: Schist forms the basement assemblage in the upper stretch of Cave Gulch; further south, marble forms the basement complex. The “arm” of the reserve that branches off of Cave Gulch along the campus boundary is underlain by Ben Lomond quartz diorite (Stanley 1982). 

Within Cave Gulch are many of the reserve’s most interesting geologic features. The caves themselves are an important and unusual resource. According to W.R. Halliday (1956, 1962), who mapped and described some of the caves in detail, caves are infrequent in the Coast Ranges of the western U.S. Empire Cave, the only cave entirely on University property, exhibits a clear fault line and sheetlike deposits of flowstones (Stanley 1982). Extensive human use of Empire Cave since the 1950s have resulted in the destruction of most cave features (CITATION). Bob Curry states that soil samples from caves can be used to tell the climactic history of an area (Curry interview in Weiner and Norris 1983). 

Noting other geologic values within the Cave Gulch ravine, Dr. Richard Stanley writes, 

“The outcrops in Cave Gulch and in the upper and lower quarries provide the very best glimpses of bedrock geology beneath the cover of vegetation, soils, and construction. In Cave Gulch are the freshest outcrops of schist, migmatite, and various granitoids; many details of mineralogy, texture, and small-scale structures are visible and should be interesting to both students and researchers” (Stanley, personal communication 1986). 

Migmatite, the least common rock type on campus, can be found in the stream gravels in the bottom of Cave Gulch, as can rounded, polished cobbles of Ben Lomond quartz diorite (Stanley 1983). 

Sheridan rocky sandy loam is the predominate soil type on the steep slopes in the upper section of Cave Gulch; some Felton rocky loam and Holland sandy loam also occur there. Calera rocky clay loam occurs just above Empire Grade, and Calera clay loam occurs adjacent to Empire Grade. Both of these soil types are fairly unusual, covering only six and ten acres of campus, respectively (Arkley 1963). Even more unusual is a deposit of Calera clay, which occurs just north of Family Student Housing—only 2 acres of this soil type occur on campus. Calera clay is derived from limestone, and its formation is a slow, fragile process (Cahn et al. 1973). The influence of this soil on plant growth has received little study, and is thus a potential research topic. According to Twiss (1966), all of the Calera soils, which develop only on limestone and marble bedrock, are unusual on the west coast. Because they are mined by cement operators, these soils are becoming increasingly rare.

Plants: The botanical resources of Cave Gulch vary considerably from those of Moore Creek. Deeper and shadier than Moore Creek, many parts of Cave Gulch are heavily wooded. Redwoods predominate, and in places little grows on the forest floor except redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregano). More open areas support a varied understory, including madrone, western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale), tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), and coffeeberry (Frangula californica). The campus’s largest Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii)—some almost two hundred feet tall—occur in Cave Gulch. 

According to Dash (1982), Cave Creek supports the largest fern population on campus. Significant fern species that occur in the gulch include Dudley’s shield fern (Polystichum dudleyi), California shield fern (P. californicum), deer fern (Blechnum spicant), and licorice fern (Polypodium glycyrrihiza). According to biology professor Dr. William Doyle, deer fern reaches its southern range limit in Cave Gulch (interview in Weiner and Norris 1983). California fetid adder’s tongue (Scoliopus bigelovi) and Alaska oniongrass (Melica subulata) also reach their southern limits in the Cave Gulch area (Stone 1983). 

Porter Meadow features occasionally dense stands of sky lupine (Lupinus nanus) and a population of yellow mariposa lily (Calochortus luteus), uncommon in Santa Cruz County. 

Animals: Cave Gulch provides an important faunal as well as floral habitat. Like the other campus riparian corridors, it serves as a living and transportation area for predators (coyotes, raptors, etc.) (Margaret Fusari, interview in Weiner and Norris 1983). Shrews, moles, and shrew-moles inhabit the deep redwood forest, and Pacific wrens are restricted to the deep ravines (Luckenbach 1983). A red-tailed hawk nest was found high in the trees in Cave Gulch in 1976 (Cahn et al. 1976), and Luckenbach (1983) also maps two raptor nest sites as occurring there. Pileated woodpeckers have been reported from campus and may be year-round residents of Cave Gulch (Cahn et al. 1976). Another significant vertebrate, the California giant salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) also occurs in Cave Gulch. This is the largest land salamander in the world, growing to almost a foot in length (including the tail). According to Stebbins (1985), Santa Cruz County is the southern range limit for this species. It is possible that some of the paedomorphic D. ensatus found within Cave Gulch, and in Empire Cave itself, may actually be a distinct species (B. Sinervo, pers.comm.; LRDP 2005). 

The caves of the gulch create another faunal habitat. R.E. Graham (1976) writes, “Empire Grade contains one of the most important crepusculate faunas in the Central Coast Ranges…” Four species of invertebrates from Empire Cave are considered federal species of special concern: the Santa Cruz Telemid spider (Telemid sp.); Meta dolloff, a spider in the Araneidae family; Stygobromus mackenziei, an amphipod; and Fissilicreagris imperialis, a pseudoscorpion (LRDP 2005). Six species of cave invertebrates are thought to be endemic to the Cave Gulch drainage (Ubick 2001). 

Management: Current management includes invasive species management and signage attempting to reduce impacts to Empire Cave. See below for stewardship management opportunities.

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: CNR areas around Family Student Housing, Porter Meadow, and the section of Cave Gulch near Empire Cave are readily accessible for course field trips. Having groups meet at the Porter Squiggle (the red metal sculpture on the hill above the Porter/College 8 

bus stop) allows for easy and quick access to these reserve areas. Karst geology, cavernicolous fauna, California giant salamanders, Sudden Oak Death, grasslands, forest intrusion, and redwood forest are all rich topics for study. These topics could be investigated by researchers as well. Stewardship opportunities include cave and meadow clean-ups, trail maintenance, erosion control, removal of coyote brush and tree saplings to slow forest intrusion, mowing and/or grazing of meadow areas (no fencing currently exists, however). 

Seep Zone

General Description: Stretching between West Road and Fuel Break Road/Chinquapin Road above College 9/10 is a steep, gullied area of damp redwood forest, mixed evergreen forest, and a small grassland known as Crown Meadow. Known as the seep zone, this area of the reserve contains a number of springs and seeps which originate in upper west campus (Stanley 1983). The seep zone and adjacent meadow receive extensive use by a number of field classes, as well as by recreating students and members of the general public. This portion of the reserve exemplifies one of the campus’s greatest values, the juxtaposition of a number of habitat types—in this case, redwood forest, riparian areas, mixed evergreen forest, chaparral, and grassland—in a small area. The seeps and springs of the seep zone create riparian habitats; the least extensive habitat type on campus, riparian areas cover less than one percent of the campus lands (Twiss 1966). Fortunately, the reserve contains most of the campus’s riparian habitats, including Moore Creek, Cave Gulch, the seep zone, and the headwaters of Jordan Gulch. This section of the reserve also exemplifies the challenges of managing a reserve situated in a popular recreation destintation. 

Geology: Santa Margarita sandstone covers the underlying schist in an east-west band along the upper edge of the seep zone. Schist also underlies the remainder of this section, but the sandstone has been removed through erosion (Stanley 1982). As mentioned above, water that feeds the springs and seeps of this zone originates in the level section covered by Santa Margarita sandstone just north of the seep zone. According to Stanley (1983), the sandstone forms an aquifer that stores winter rains; water then flows through fractures in the underlying schist and reappears as springs in the seep zone. 

Campus soil types found in the seep zone include an unnamed sandy loam, Felton loam, and Felton loam and Felton rocky loam on the hillside and in the steep gully of Upper Jordan Gulch’s west fork. Felton loam and Felton rocky loam also occur on Upper Jordan Gulch’s east fork, along with an unnamed sandy loam. The area to the north and east of the North Remote parking lot is a mosaic of Hugo rocky loam, Holland loam, Felton loam, and unnamed gravelly sandy loam (Arkley 1963). Hugo rocky loam is subject to severe erosion when cleared, as can be seen on the steep trail just north of the drainage/culvert under West Road just past the parking lot.

Plants: Within the seep zone is the only extensive example of wetlands redwood forest on campus (Weiner and Norris 1983). A variety of fern populations grows here, as does a well-developed understory of such species as redwood sorrel, Pacific star-flower (Trientalis latifolia), and redwood violet (Viola sempervirens), and a beautiful azalea stand. Brown and Norris (1985) reference several species that were found around the forest springs—three species at their southern range limit in Santa Cruz: western raspberry (Rubus leucodermis), Torrey’s trefoil (Lotus oblongifolius var. nevadensis) and ample-leaved sedge (Carex amplifolia) (Keeler-Wolf and Keeler-Wolf 1974); and three other species rare in the Santa Cruz Mountains: floriferous monkey flower (Mimulus floribundus), keeled club-rush (Isolepis carinata), and Olney’s hairy sedge (Carex gynodynama) (Stone 1983). Of these six species, only Olney’s hairy sedge has been observed in recent years (A. Jones, pers. obs.). Also significant is the oracle oak (Quercus morehus), a form intermediate between coast live oak and California black oak (Q. kelloggii). According to Stone (1983), the oracle oak is of scientific interest because black oak is confined to the Santa Cruz Mountains’ higher ridges and does not occur on or near the campus. In reference to this phenomenon, Stone (1983) writes, 

“Therefore the occasional occurrence of oracle oak in areas approaching the coast, as at Bonny Doon (Thomas 1961) and on the north coast (Buck 1982) as well as on campus, may represent gene pool remnant from a period 10,000 to 6,000 years before present, when the California climate was significantly warmer and drier that it today (Pielou 1979). During this time black oaks may well have occurred this close to the coast.” 

Adjacent to the seep zone, near the intersection of Spring Road and Fuel Break Road, lays a small grassland called the Crown Meadow. One of the ungrazed grasslands on campus, it provides habitat for a large number of plants and insects, formerly including five plant species rare in the Santa Cruz Mountains (Norris 1985). One of these, the grape fern (Sceptridium multifidum ssp. silaifolium) is only known in Santa Cruz County from two sites on campus (LRDP 2005), only one of which was located during a search in 2012 (A. Jones, pers. obs.). The meadow edges, which adjoin forest and chaparral, provide sites to study vegetation succession and valuable animal habitats. 

The Seep Zone parcel also includes a section of knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata) forest, which in 2014 was becoming dominated by Douglas-fir and huckleberry in the absence of fire to promote regeneration.

Animals: Brown and Norris (1985) referenced the seep zone’s importance for invertebrate study, as both a field trip locale and a collecting site. According to Luckenbach (1983), many species of invertebrates, including Tricoptera, Plecopetera, and Odonata, are dependent on the year-round riparian habitats created by springs and seeps. Emeritus biology professors Todd Newberry and John Pearse (K. Norris, pers. comm., 1986) noted the value of the seep zone to their classes, and mentioned the abundance of wingless insects, such as centipedes and millipedes, and micrometazoa, such a tardigrades and rotifers, that are available there for study and collection. 

The seep zone is also a valuable site for the study of larger animals. The dense vegetation around the seeps and springs create important habitats for many mammals, such as shrews (Sorex spp.), the California meadow mole (Microtus californicus), and other insectivores. An Environmental Studies 100 in the early 1980s class studied use of springs by larger mammals, and discovered high visitation by foxes, bobcats, and mule deer (Luckenbach 1983). 

Management: The UCSC Grounds Department mows fire breaks along the edges of Crown Meadow and removed coyote brush from the southwestern corner of the meadow in summer 2012. The Seep Zone Interpretive Trail is maintained by CNR staff and spur trails are routinely blocked off. 

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: The close proximity to the science complex, along with a well-developed network of fire roads, makes this part of the reserve one of the most heavily used by classes. The Seep Zone Interpretive Trail features 13 interpretive signs that educate hikers along the trail; these signs replaced the numbered posts/interpretive pamphlet in fall 2012. EEB professor Ingrid Parker has several deer exclosure plots in the Seep Zone area that are visited annually by her Plant Ecology class. Other research includes a sword fern citizen science project supported by Save the Redwoods League and EEB professor Jarmila Pittermann. The Seep Zone parcel’s proximity to Crown, Merrill, and Colleges 9 & 10 also results in heavy use from students, who routinely use Crown Meadow and the surrounding redwood forest areas as party sites. Students and Santa Cruz (and beyond) residents also use the dense network of unauthorized trails for mountain biking. Stewardship opportunities include trail maintenance and closures, sign maintenance, invasive species management, trash pick-ups, stick fort and campfire removal, and native plant restoration within Crown Meadow. 

“Under-drained Depression” 

The under-drained depression lies between North Fuel Break Road and Chinquapin Road, north of the seep zone. Very little of this area remains in the CNR; the land-use designations of much of the under-drained depression area of land contained within 1988 LRDP CNR boundaries was reclassified by the 2005 LRDP as Physical Education, Academic Core, and Protected Landscape (LRDP 2005). 

Nevertheless, this area is rather unique. Schist forms the underlying bedrock of the site, with a cover of Santa Margarita sandstone (Stanley 1983). According to Arkley (1983) the plant community found here probably occurs at only a few other sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The southern half of the site is classified as live oak-manzanita chaparral, and the northern half as mixed evergreen forest by Stone (1983). Since that classification, it has been reclassified as Chaparral-Forest-Transition and Mixed Evergreen Forest by the URS and Jones and Stokes consulting firms (LRDP 2005). Brown and Norris (1985) noted that many hybrids between coast and Shreve’s oak (at the time identified as interior live oak) occur in the chaparral. Douglas-firs and redwoods are abundant in the mixed evergreen forest (Buck 1983). Riparian species, such as sedges and rushes, occur in the under-drained depressions, and historically western bent grass (Agrostis exarata) and coyote-thistle (Eryngium armatum) were noted. As with the seep zone, the underdrained depression supports a number of springs and watercourses which ultimately feed the seep zone. 

Lower Moore Creek

General Description: The Lower Moore Creek section of the CNR encompasses a large area of grassland intersected by three drainage forks that meet in the old Cowell reservoir within the UCSC Arboretum. This section of the reserve is jointly managed by the CNR and the Arboretum. The Arboretum, located on the lower campus adjacent to Empire Grade, maintains an extensive botanical collection that contains representatives of nearly 300 plant families. It also supports various collections of rare plants of unusual scientific interest, including a large collection of plant families from the Southern Hemisphere. The Arboretum facilities are available for both research and teaching, and serve undergraduates, advanced scientists, and the public. The jointly managed area features the Arboretum’s Ecoregions of California plantings, a collection of rare and representative native plants from a variety of California ecosystems, as well as the Amah Mutson Re-learning Garden, a center for local tribes people to educate others about and maintain traditional uses of native plants. 

Geology: Scattered outcroppings of limestone, marine terrace deposits, marble, and quartzite underlie this portion of the reserve (Stanley 1982). Soil types noted by Arkley (1963) include Felton loam, Pinto sandy loam, Pinto loam (claypan variant), and Hugo rocky loam. A small area of recent alluvium, only 1 acre of which occurs on campus, is located in the west fork of Lower Moore Creek (the drainage just east of Empire Grade). 

Plants: The grasslands in this area are typical of other campus grasslands. Non-native species are dominant, although some native species occur, including purple needlegrass (Stipa pulchra) and California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) (Buck 1983). Two significant plant species are found in this area: harvest brodiaea (Brodiaea elegans), which occurs here unusually close to the coast, and yellow mariposa lily (Calochortus luteus), which is uncommon in Santa Cruz County (Note—yellow mariposa lily has not been observed in this meadow in recent years—A. Jones, pers. obs.). The small drainage supports a stand of coastal scrub species, including coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis), poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum), and California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), as well as invasive plant species such as French broom (Genista monspessulana) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). The presence of invasive species provides both opportunities for restoration ecology education and land management/stewardship work. 

Animals: The grasslands of the reserve also form part of a hunting ground for raptors such as American kestrels, red-tailed hawks, and a pair of golden eagles. Other significant species of the grasslands include coyotes (Canis latrans), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), ringneck snakes (Diadophis punctatus amabilis), and California kingsnakes (Lampropeltis californiae) (Luckenbach 1983). According to Deborah Letourneau, professor of entomology for Environmental Studies, grasslands are also important insect study areas (pers. comm. with K. Norris 1985). The federally threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) breeds in the Arboretum pond and likely overwinters and disperses into nearby grassland, upland, and riparian habitats. Camera traps have recorded a variety of mammal species, including mountain lions (Puma concolor), bobcats (Lynx rufus), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), coyotes, and black-tailed deer (Odocoilus hemionus ssp. columbianus), using trails crossing the riparian areas.

Management: Willows were planted in the drainages in the 1990s and check dams were built to create breeding habitat for California red-legged frogs (these have since grown-in and are no longer suitable breeding habitat). Grassland areas are periodically mowed by Arboretum personnel. Coyote brush was mowed along the western fork of the drainage during summer 2013 by Arboretum personnel in an effort to maintain grassland area. Several wooden check dams were placed within Lower Moore Creek’s main/eastern stream channel during summer/fall 2013 as part of the campus’s Stormwater Management Plan’s Stormwater Improvement Projects (CITATION). These check dams are designed to slow the flow of stormwater through the drainage and reduce sediment transport. 

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: Classes can meet at the Arboretum’s Horticulture 2 building (or in several outdoor locations) and explore the Lower Moore Creek reserve parcel’s varied habitats. These areas are especially suitable for the study of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. Stewardship opportunities include invasive species management, riparian corridor restoration, and coastal prairie restoration. 

The Triangle

General Description: South of the Arboretum and Empire Grade, Moore Creek flows through a gulch within the campus reserve. This area also includes a tiny patch of grassland adjacent to Empire Grade. 

Plants: The gulch is densely vegetated and rich in species, including coast live oak, coyote brush, willows (Salix spp.), Ceonothus species, madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and rushes (Juncus spp.). 

Animals: This riparian and edge habitat, bordering on the grasslands, supports many bird and small mammal species (Luckenbach 1983). 

Management: Invasive species management activities began along the western edge of this parcel in spring 2014, where a dense stand of French broom is established. 

Opportunities for teaching, research, and stewardship: This parcel is relatively inaccessible for classes, as it requires either walking along Empire Grade to the small grassland patch or climbing over a barbed wire fence along its Mima Meadow (western) border. Research involving riparian ecology, water quality, or the effectiveness of invasive species management could occur within this parcel. The main stewardship opportunity in the Triangle parcel is invasive species management.