UCI to run new desert research site

UC Irvine is going to run a new 17-acre research site at Anza Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County where scientists will pay special attention to studying how climate change affects the vast region’s plant and animal life.

The parcel near the small town of Borrego Springs will become the newest piece of the University of California’s Natural Reserve System, which features research, teaching and public education sites at 36 spots around the state. UCI already manages two NRS sites: San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve in Irvine and the Burns Pinon Ridge Reserve in the Mojave Desert.

UCI is helping to negotiate a formal agreement with California State Parks and the Anza Borrego Foundation to operate the new site, which eventually will feature a field station where scientists and students can live and work for varying period of time. (Click map to enlarge.) Money has yet to be raised for the field station, but the land agreement is nearly done, and the attention is drawing applause from the state. The university’s Department of Earth System Sciences — an international leader in climate change research — is involved in the negotations.

“We think this will be a good partnership,” says Mark Jorgensen, superintendent of Anza Borrego, the state’s largest park. “We have a lot of land out here and we welcome researchers who will further our understanding of the ecosystem. It’s anticipated that climate change could have profound effects on the desert.”

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