Reserve

The mission of the Natural Reserve System is to contribute to the understanding and wise stewartship of the Earth and its natural systems by supporting university-level teaching, research, and public service at protected natural areas throughout California.

The Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center is a field station of the University of California, Riverside and the Natural Reserve System.

Established:

In 1958 as a University of California, Riverside campus reserve and in 1965 as a Natural Reserve System site.

Location:

Riverside County, five miles south of the City of Palm Desert; a two-hour drive from the Riverside campus; in the Colorado Subdivision of the Sonoran Desert.
PDF of Boundary, Google KML, ARCINFO Shape Files

Facilities:

Two laboratories with basic equipment, herbarium, small library, housing facilities for 14 researchers, and reserve office at Boyd Center (all with wireless internet access); teaching area and campground for classes; small four-bunk facility with workspace and wireless internet access at Agave Hill; cabin on Santa Rosa Mountain.  Reserve Facilities

Databases:

Complete herbarium and synoptic collections; data from six weather stations and ongoing plant/animal monitoring; maps of various scales; reference library with extensive bibliography of on-site research.

Personnel:

Director in residence, staff biologist, facilities manager.

Size:

2,477 ha (6,122 acres) with access to the surrounding public land.

Elevation:

290 m (950 ft) at Boyd Center with access to habitats on- and off-site between below sea level to 2,657 m (8,717 ft).

Weather:

At Boyd Center, average annual rainfall is 15 cm (6 in); average monthly temperatures range from a minimum of 10 °C in January to a maximum of 39 °C in July.

Grants:

Graduate Students   Mayhew Graduate Research Award for Boyd Deep Canyon