University of California, Santa Cruz
OP-10: Biodiversity

Campus Habitat Reserve: Two areas on campus, totaling approximately 25.5 acres, are designated as Campus Habitat Reserve (HAB). The larger of these two, a 13-acre parcel on the southwestern corner of the campus adjacent to Wilder Creek, is designated as a reserve to retain high-quality grassland and forest habitat on the campus for the California red-legged frog (federally threatened species) and the Ohlone tiger beetle (federally endangered species). This reserve was established pursuant to a 2005 Implementing Agreement between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and The UC Regents. The second area, a 12.5 acre parcel, is located in the southern portion of the campus near the main entrance. A portion of the parcel is designated as a management site for Ohlone tiger beetle habitat with the remainder of the site managed for California red-legged frog. HAB lands are protected lands that will remain undeveloped except as permitted by the terms of the Implementing Agreement and associated Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). These areas would qualify as IUCN Cat IV protected areas, as they primarily exist to restore and protect habitat for particular species.

UCSC also manages four Natural Reserves that are part of the UC Natural Reserve System: Año Nuevo Island Reserve (25 acres, part of 4,000-acre Año Nuevo State Reserve), Fort Ord Natural Reserve (605 acres), Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve (9,856 acres), and Younger Lagoon Reserve (72 acres). These lands are dedicated to university-level teaching, research and public service, as well as the protection of species and habitats. These areas would either be classified as IUCN Cat 1a or IV protected areas, depending on the reserve. For more information, see https://nrs.ucop.edu/by-name/.

An assessment of both special status species known to occur on the main residential campus and the Westside Research Park was conducted as part of the 2021 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), which was approved by the UC Regents in September 2021. The following list of special status species known to occur is from the 2021 Long Range Development Plan Environmental Impact Report.

Please see the table attached in the "additional documentation to support the submission" below. The table lists the special status plant and animal species that may occur or are known to occur on the main residential campus: Table Biodiversity -1: Special-Status Plant Species Known to Occur and Their Potential for Occurrence and Table Biodiversity-2: Special-Status Wildlife Species Known to Occur in the Vicinity and Their Potential for Occurrence.

California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii): Federally threatened ranid. Breeds in UCSC Arboretum pond, dispersal and overwintering habitat in the Lower Moore Creek area. Ohlone Tiger Beetle (Cincidela ohlone): Federally endangered tiger beetle that occupies two small meadow areas on the UCSC campus - two of only 15 locations in which the beetle has been found. Santa Cruz manzanita (Arctostaphylos andersonii): rarity ranking of 1B.2 (fairly endangered in California) by the California Native Plant Society. Found in several locations in chaparral and transitional forest communities on the UCSC campus. Dollof's cave spider (Meta doloff) and Mackenzie's Cave amphipod (Stygobromus mackenziei)- both listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Found in Empire Cave on the UCSC campus. Environmentally sensitive areas include the Seep Zone, and areas with several seeps and springs; riparian zones such as those found in Cave Gulch, Jordan Gulch, and Lower Moore Creek; Empire Cave, an accessible karst geology feature that supports several Santa Cruz county endemic invertebrate species.

UCSC has hired contractors to conduct a wide variety of habitat and species assessments as part of multiple campus-wide and project specific studies, including recently as part of the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). Many of these projects have required environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Species-specific assessments have included surveys for listed species (Ohlone tiger beetle and California red-legged frog, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat), nesting migratory birds, bat roosting sites, raptor nesting sites, and rare plants including the Santa Cruz manzanita. Surveys for rare cave invertebrates (including two listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). In addition to these activities on the main UCSC campus, a wide variety of assessments and ecological investigations occur on the four UCSC-managed Natural Reserves within the UC Natural Reserve System.

In September 2021, the Regents certified the Long Range Development Plan Environmental Impact Report. In 2018, UCSC conducted two Environmental Impact Reviews, one for Kresge College and one for the new Student Housing West project: https://ppc.ucsc.edu/planning/EnvDoc.html

Ohlone tiger beetle survey (Cicindela ohlone; OTB): visual encounter surveys along transects and area-constrained searches for adult beetles and larval holes in historically occupied habitat and other suitable habitat locations. Environmental Studies student Tara Corneliesse monitored the beetle on campus habitats from at least 2012-2014. Consultant Dr. Dick Arnold has conducted occupancy surveys from approximately 2006-2017. More recently, Dr. Arnold conducted an assessment of OTB habitat on the main residential campus as part of the Long Range Development Plan in 2020.

The most recent assessments prepared by the university were focused on the main residential campus.

The UCSC campus includes 2040 acres of land. Sixty-nine percent of the campus is designated in the 2021 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) as Campus Natural Reserve, Natural Space, Outdoor Research, and other land use designations that restrict development.

UCSC has undertaken a Water Efficiency Survey and is conducting a study of potential applications for recycled water systems on campus.
UCSC has used an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to control weeds, diseases, insects, and rodents on campus for approximately 15 years with success.

The UCSC Invasive Species Draft Management Plan guides the management of invasive plant species on the campus.

The UCSC Forest Ecology Research Plot is a 16-hectare mapped plot with over 20,000 tagged and mapped woody plant individuals. This plot is part of a worldwide network of long-term forest plots studying forest dynamics and composition over time.

The UCSC Storm Water Program prepared a Stormwater Program Guidance Document that outlines the best management practices to be used on campus to control erosion, minimize the potential for water pollution, and educate the changing campus population on behaviors that affect storm water quality.

2021 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP)