Regents approve UC Merced's Yosemite station for system

UC Merced said the University of California Board of Regents approved a request to include UC Merced's Yosemite Field Station as part of the UC Natural Reserve System (NRS).

The station, which is part of UC Merced's Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI), is located inside Yosemite National Park in the historic village of Wawona. The designation gives UC Merced its first natural reserve site.

"The addition of the Yosemite Field Station to the UC Natural Reserve signifies our strong commitment as a campus, and as part of the UC system, to develop a sustainable presence in the central Sierra Nevada," said Roger Bales, director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute. "Being a part of the NRS will strengthen UC research to this critically important region."

Opened in 2006, the Yosemite Field Station provides research access to multiple habitats in the central and southern Sierra. The facility includes classroom, office and work space, and overnight accommodations for as many as 30 people.