Field Stations

The Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit maintains partnerships with the University of California Natural Reserve System and several University of California and California State University campuses to manage eight national park-based field stations and five Berkeley Forest field stations in California. These field stations allow the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and partner universities to collaborate on research and educational programs valuable to the management of park and forest resources while providing access to natural laboratories for the research, education, and service missions of the university. Hundreds of research programs and thousands of students use these field stations each year. Click the links below to find out more about each field station.

Five University of California campuses and eight California State University campuses collaborate to operate eight field stations within national parks under CESU authority. The field stations allow the National Park Service and universities to collaborate on research and educational programs valuable to the management of park resources while providing access to natural laboratories for the research, education, and service missions of the university. Hundreds of research programs and thousands of students use these field stations each year. Click below to learn more about each field station.

Rauser College of Natural Resource's Berkeley Forests operates five field stations in the Sierra Nevada Region spannning five counties across California. Because of the adjacency of properties and shared objectives of forest restoration and resilience, the Californian CESU provides a logical and beneficial framework for projects that cross both conceptual and physical boundaries between Berkeley Forests and the U.S. Forest Service. Currently, the Californian CESU is facilitating large projects that leverage Berkeley Forests properties along with U.S. Forest Service expertise and funding to result in treatments that build resilience across the landscape.  Click below to learn more about each field station.