UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.
The UC Board of Regents approved the property acquisition—valued between $7-$10 million—at the Nov. 14 board meeting. The reserve, which has operated as a cattle ranch for most of the last century, was donated as an anonymous estate gift to the Santa Cruz campus.
A press release from UC Santa Cruz said the property “will provide invaluable ecological, educational and research opportunities for UC students, faculty and other researchers.”
The property is the 42nd reserve in the University of California’s Natural Reserve System and the seventh UC Santa Cruz reserve.
“Natural reserves are such a special feature of our university system and of our campus,” said Chancellor Cynthia Larive. “I was fortunate to have had an early preview of the property and to have seen first-hand the beauty of the landscape and the vast research and educational opportunities it offers.
“I also learned what inspired the donor to entrust us with such an extraordinary place, and take seriously the responsibility of stewarding it.”
Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve’s unique habitat, species diversity and proximity to UC Santa Cruz—about a 90-minute drive from campus—make it an ideal location to advance the NRS mission of university-level teaching, research and public service at protected natural areas throughout California, says the press release.
The reserve will serve as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom for field courses, research projects and hands-on learning experiences, according to UC Santa Cruz. The campus anticipates the reserve will host a variety of undergraduate and graduate-level courses, offering students the chance to study ecology, conservation biology, geology, and environmental science in a unique and diverse setting.
UC Santa Cruz students in these programs will be able to stay overnight, enabling extended field trips and immersive learning experiences. The reserve’s accessibility to area K-12 schools and community colleges will provide valuable educational outreach opportunities.
“The beauty of the reserve system is the transformative impact it can have on students from all disciplines,” said Gage Dayton, director of the UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserves. “Through introductory courses, we can bring engineering students, art majors, students studying literature, ecology, astronomy, evolutionary biology, whatever, to a part of California they don’t get to see every day.
“By going through the process of observing nature, learning and walking through the scientific method, students gain important skill sets like critical thinking, teamwork, making presentations and problem-solving—skill sets that we all need to be successful in life. We are confident that the Strathearn Ranch Reserve will be a great reserve for us to fulfill that niche.”
Jerald Heisel, trustee of the landowner’s estate and contributing donor to the reserve, said he is proud to help fulfill the owner’s wishes to create the Strathearn Ranch Reserve.
“Over the past 50-plus years I have had the privilege of caring for the Strathearn Ranch,” Heisel said. “I am looking forward to seeing the ranch transform from a cattle ranch to a center for learning, teaching, research and discovery.”
The reserve complements existing NRS reserves with oak woodland, providing opportunities for multi-site and comparative studies of oak woodland ecology, the press release continues. The reserve’s diverse habitats—including oak savannah, chaparral and sycamore woodland—are home to several species sensitive to environmental changes.
“The Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve provides exciting new opportunities for research critical to the state including studies of the impacts of climate change on important oak woodland and grassland habitats across multiple scales,” said Don Croll, faculty director of the UC Santa Cruz Natural Reserve System.
The reserve’s geological features, including its volcanic history and proximity to the San Andreas Fault, offer research potential in geology and the earth sciences.
The reserve had been used for nearly a century as a working ranch. This land-use history presents the opportunity to study grazing impacts on native flora and fauna, according to UC Santa Cruz.
The new reserve will also offer additional opportunities for the campus to collaborate with Native American groups. University leaders have a strong working relationship with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, whose traditional territory includes all or portions of San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
“Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve will be here in perpetuity to help support and answer important conservation questions while providing invaluable experiential learning opportunities for students,” Dayton said. “We’ll be able to use the reserve for research, for conservation, for training our future leaders, for working with and learning from tribal and community partners, and for giving our students and community the experience of being in nature in a hands-on way.”
The landowner, who passed away earlier this year, felt strongly the property should remain in its natural state, Dayton said. The donor was impressed by the UC Natural Reserve System—properties in their natural state with students and scientists deeply engaged in education and research.
With the regents’ approval of the reserve designation complete, UC representatives will next work with the estate trustee to finalize conveyance of the property to the UC Regents, says the press release. That is expected to occur in 2025.
