March 22, 2020

A message from the UC Santa Barbara Natural Reserve System,

We are reaching out to you, our community of friends, partners, and volunteers, to express our wishes for goodwill, good health, and connectedness during this difficult time. 

As you and your loved ones are faced with navigating the rapid changes and uncertainty associated with COVID-19, operations at our Reserves have also been greatly impacted. Working at the direction of UC Santa Barbara’s Office of Research, in alignment with campus, UC Santa Barbara’s Natural Reserves have temporarily closed for public visitation. We have cancelled or postponed all events, classes, and gatherings through the end of the UCSB Spring 2020 Quarter, and at the direction of the UCSB Office of Research, all research activities have been shut down effective March 20. 

Although we are disappointed about not being able to share our Reserves with you in the near term, our top priority is the health of our community and the public at large. Many Reserve staff members have returned to their homes, and we have implemented “social distancing” and other practices as recommended by the CDC for those that remain at our Reserves.

Moving forward, we will continue to follow the lead of our campus, the UC Natural Reserve System, and the UC Santa Barbara Office of Research, while to our best capabilities, upholding the longstanding mission of the UC Natural Reserve System – to safeguard and steward our human and natural resources - at each Reserve. We find comfort in the resilience demonstrated by nature throughout our Reserves, and we look forward to being available and ready to fully serve you, as our valued community, when this passes. 

In the meantime, we will remain in communication with you and we invite you to stay connected with us. Updates will be posted through the UC Santa Barbara Natural Reserve System website (https://nrs.ucsb.edu), individual Reserve websites, our social media outlets and email.  

We are deeply grateful for your engagement with our Reserves. Please take good care, and we look forward to seeing you back at our Reserves, hopefully in the not too distant future. 

UCSB NRS

Marion, Trish, Andy, Cris, Deby, Kate, Jay, Lyndal, Carol and Keith