UC Nature has come a long way from its early days when a small number of reserves were managed by a dedicated few facing limited problems, many of which could be solved by a few phone calls or by biting the bullet and making precedent-setting decisions. From the original seven reserves, the number of reserves has expanded more than sixfold, and administration of the network at both campus and Systemwide levels now involves more people dealing with issues of greater complexity. Individual reserves are now involved with advisory committees and caretakers. This administrative manual was developed to provide consistent policy guidance to facilitate the continued development of UC Nature and to ease the burden of uncertainties in making administrative and management decisions.
We hope you will take the time to read this document and come to refer to it frequently. We also urge you to take your suggestions for improving the handbook to the President’s Universitywide UC Nature Advisory Committee for approval. This handbook should be a dynamic document able to meet UC Nature’s changing needs.
—UC Nature Systemwide Staff