Bretz UC Irvine Collection

This collection consists of administration and management documents for UC Irvine NRS reserves and projects. Most files were created by William Bretz, the reserve manager of San Joaquin Marsh Reserve (SJM). The collection describes the important role of SJM and UCI NRS staff in broader conservation issues in the City of Irvine and Orange County. The collection is broken down into five series detailed below.

The first series consists of Bretz' general SJM and NRS files. Detailed contents include: (1) informational files on Day Canyon for potential reserve acquisition, and (2) files on potential donations to expand SJM, including the Buck Gully site, (3) a 1986 honors thesis on SJM by Mark P. Taylor, (4) files on the development of the Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital and environmental mitigation projects, including correspondence and annual reports from 1997-2005, (5) files related to Army Corps of Engineers projects affecting SJM, (6) files concerning waste and water discharge by Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD), under the title of Wetlands Water Supply Project (WWSP), and the monitoring of waste flowing into duck ponds and other areas of SJM from 1980-97, (7) planning documents for the UCI North Campus area (location of SJM) including the UCI Long-Range Development plan, (8) clippings on San Diego Creek and its preservation, (9) reference files on SJM, including organizations related to SJM, history of the watershed, species lists, aerial photo reprints from 1928-1998, monitoring reports on archeology and environment, brochures, reports on habitat restoration, reserve use data and assorted notes (some also for Burns Piñon Ridge, BPR) from 1997-2007, and information on creating vernal pools in SJM, (10) clippings on SJM, (11) research related to SJM (published and unpublished), (12) equipment, infrastructure, and other operations files for SJM, (13) files on the San Joaquin Landfill, which is adjacent to SJM, including clippings and reports on environmental quality. This series dates from 1980 to 2007.

The second series consists of Gordon Marsh's files. Marsh was a curator for the museum of systematic biology, which operated the NRS unit on campus at UCI from approximately 1970 to the mid 1980s. Marsh’s files include: (1) general administrative documents, (2) annual report information such as use statistics for SJM from 1970-1982, (3) correspondence related to land acquisition, water management, crayfish aquaculture, and marsh management, (4) files on the Friends of the Marsh (a booster organization for SJM) and UCI committees on the reserve from 1971-1981.

The third series consists of more of Bretz' SJM and NRS files. Detailed contents: (1) files on the UCI Open Space Reserve (OSR), a campus site that was considered for acquisition by the NRS, including documents from the Open Space Reserve Committee, clippings, and reports, (2) soil data, (3) files on habitat restoration of SJM, (4) mosquito monitoring data (mosquito monitoring and control expenses have been major issues for SJM), (5) files on negotiations with the City of Irvine and the California Coastal Conservancy over marsh enhancement/rehabilitation, (6) files on grant proposals to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and other organizations, (7) various financial documents, (8) administration files BPR including acquisition documents, files on other areas in the region, documents used for generating annual reports (1982-1993), and correspondence with Jean and Bruce Burns, who donated the land for the reserve, (9) assorted campus and system-wide NRS materials including information on other reserves and potential acquisitions, (10) materials pertaining to outdoor outings in the desert with students administered by Peter Bowler (UCI NRS faculty manager), (11) researcher files, final report documents, and reviews of activities for SJM, (12) publicity clippings concerning water issues for Brinderson Towers Development & other development issues that had potential environmental impact on SJM including phone logs from 1987-1988, and a (13) hand drawn guide to SJM plants from 1971.

The fourth series consists of Bretz' marsh restoration project files. Detailed contents: (1) planning documents for the Marsh Phase II project for enhancement and restoration of SJM (planning meetings included representatives of Orange County, Vestar Development Corporation, DFG, California Coastal Conservancy, and UC Irvine campus administrators), (2) reports on the Santa Ana River Basin, (3) files on the San Diego creek watershed. A group of parties, including UCI NRS, environmental consultants, and nearby municipalities, involved in shared management of the watershed, created a Special Area Management Plan, (4) files on administrative issues dealing with herbicides and pesticides (including waivers, log sheets, notes from trainings, permits, and manuals), (5) files on selenium in SJM as well as San Diego Creek and plans to test for selenium with mosquitos (file includes mosquitos carcasses for testing). Series dates from 1994 to 2009.

The fifth series consists of Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve (BPR) files. Series consists of administration, operations, and teaching documents for BPR. Contents include: photos of student trips to BPR, scenic photos, legislation relevant to its administration, use waivers, files on the Burns house project, maps of the area, regulations for use of the reserve, brochures, sign-in logs, and information on desert tortoise endangered species listing. Series dates from 1974 to 2009. Note: Some BPR documents appear in other series in this collection, and in other collections.