NRS Systemwide Office Archive

This collection consists of inactive administrative and other materials generated at the NRS systemwide office. It contains a wide range of materials, including UC system and campus meeting minutes, budget, fund-raising, and financial documents, donor information, files on prospective reserves, and files on now-defunct reserves. Many files pertain to the establishment of the NRS and its early administration and operation.

This collection includes the following series:

University-wide (UW) & Systemwide Committees. This series contains meeting minutes and documents for NRS (NLWRS) committees. Files also contain logistical information such as travel documents and scheduling for the meetings of these committees. Files are organized chronologically according to the meetings of two committees, the university-wide and systemwide committees. These committees both pertain to the NRS as a whole. Systemwide committee files extend from 1976-1979, and the university-wide committee records extend from 1973-2003. Subject matter includes reports on existing reserves, as well as potential acquisitions, funding levels, fundraising, and the inclusion of NRS reserves into the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program. Committee reports mostly contain short updates on individual reserves, campus progress overviews, and summaries of miscellaneous NRS business.

NRS Planning and Land Acquisition Documents. This series includes NRS planning documents at the systemwide and campus levels, records of official plans, correspondence, and records of reserve dedications and events at reserves from 1970-1994.

Former NRS Reserve Properties. This series contains clippings and other materials on sites that the NRS acquired and later sold, including The Frances Ryan property, which was donated to the NRS and later sold, Cheatham Grove, which was acquired  for a reserve and later sold, and the Sawyer property, referred to as Sawyer Trinity Alps, which was acquired by the NRS and later sold.The bulk of these files concern the Ryan property. Ryan property was acquired in 1972 as potential small reserve. Ryan files date from 1972-1989, and contain news clippings from Escondido newspapers, correspondence between Frances Ryan and NRS staff (particularly Roger Samuelson), and legal documents involving the sale of her property. Files also contain a folder related to the publication of an L.A. Times article about the sale of the Ryan property.

NRS Donor Files. This series contains records of donors and potential donors. Correspondence includes letters to and from donors as well as internal correspondence on fundraising efforts. Larger donor files also contain information on the donors, such as news clippings, etc. Major themes include a Ford Foundation matching grant, around which the NRS created a fundraising campaign. Some of these files may be restricted for public use due to donor requests.

Budget Files. This series includes budgeting and NRS promotional materials, with proposals for UC funding.

Prospective and Proposed NRS Reserves. This series includes reports on lands, with information on both monetary and research value. Files cover correspondence between landowners and UCOP, other NRS representatives, and interested parties such as conservation organizations. Files in this series relate to the James Reserve, White Mountain Desert Research Centre, Tick Canyon, and Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

Cooperation with other Organizations. These files document the interaction of the NRS with other agencies on land management issues, including records of UC NRS staff giving input into planning processes.

Annual Reports. This is the UCOP collection of annual reports, covering both the systemwide and campus levels. These reports detail activities at the reserves, use of the reserves for research, publications, financial information, land acquisitions, and other NRS activities, from 1969-99.