The University of California's Natural Reserve System (NRS) provides a diversity of sites throughout the state for such research. Sedgwick Reserve (SR), administered by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Natural Reserve System since 1993 and located in the Santa Ynez Valley of central coastal California, is the most recent addition to the NRS, SR serves as a site for scientists and educators from the University of California and other university campuses throughout the state and country to study ecology, evolutionary biology, geography, soil science, geology, agricultural science, anthropology and natural history. Because of its recent history as a working cattle ranch and farm, SR offers unique opportunities for studying interactions between natural and agricultural and rangeland ecosystems. With its recent inclusion in the NRS and the hiring of full-time, on-site directors, Sedgwick Reserve is poised to develop its scientific, education and public service missions. SR is located 35 miles north of the city of Santa Barbara and the UCSB campus in the Santa Ynez Valley. The 2050 ha reserve encompassess an extremely wide variety of plant communities including coastal sage scrub, blue oak woodland, valley oak savanna, coast live oak forest, serpentine chaparral, serpentine grassland, foothill pine woodland, willow riparian forest, vernal pools, seeps and springs. A comprehensive planning effort by UCSB faculty and staff is underway to develop SR's scientific, education, stewardship and public service missions. When fully developed, SR will fulfill the needs of interdisciplinary research and instruction in the field sciences, of preservation of critical and sensitive habitats, and of environmental education and outreach for the general public. To further this multiple mission of research, education, stewardship and community service, this project will support a workshop to develop a long-range research plan for SR. The product of th e project will be a long-range scientific research plan for the next 10 years
