Motte Rimrock Administrative Collection

This collection consists of administrative documents for the Motte Rimrock Reserve and its satellites: the Box Springs and Emerson Oaks reserves. Created mainly by reserve director Barbara Carlson with some later additions, this collection includes materials on Motte’s operations and its involvement in conservation activities, especially through its contributions to endangered species and habitat protection.

This collection contains reports, correspondence, budgets, planning and research grants, use applications, minutes, clippings, species and plant lists, and photographs. Topics include the early development of the reserve, land donations, K-12 education, equipment inventories, facilities maintenance, conservation, habitat management, bird monitoring, fire management, and neighbor relations. Species of interest include the Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat, several species of birds (including the cactus wren, tricolor blackbird, spotted owl, cowbird, snowy plover, burrowing owl, zone-tailed hawk, California quail, least Bell’s vireo), and several plant species (especially oaks).

There is also a scrapbook of photographs and clippings related to Emerson Oaks created by EOR donor Gertrude Emerson.