UC Natural Reserve System

Sagehen basin
The Sagehen Experimental Forest at sunrise
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Tracking the movements of mule deer and their interactions with Hwy-89
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Invisible Barn, an art installation at Sagehen Creek Field Station
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The Sagehen Forest Project study plots, monitoring sites, and forest treatment units
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The Hwy-89 Stewardship Team dedicates their new animal undercrossing
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The Sagehen Outdoor Education Program orients a new crop of 5th Graders
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Sarah Oktay, Jeff Brown and Tom Arsuffi present on field stations at the
US House of Representatives
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The media crowds in for a shot of cubs in a culvert trap during a CDF&W black bear reintroduction at Sagehen
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A photo drone flies out over Kiln Meadow in the Sagehen Experimental Forest
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A Sagehen snowcat track packs a trail to the upper basin weather stations
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Who Are We?

Excellence in Research, Education and Public Service since 1951

Our vision is to foster and conduct applied and basic research on the function and operation of the natural and managed ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, to apply this learning to resource management, then connect this knowledge to the broader public.

Established in 1951, Sagehen Creek Field Station is a research and teaching facility of the University of California at Berkeley located in the Central Sierra Nevada north of Truckee, California.

The station is embedded within the 9,000-acre Sagehen Experimental Forest, which is cooperatively and collaboratively managed in a partnership between the University of California, the US Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station and the Tahoe National Forest.

Sagehen serves as the hub of a broader regional network of research areas known as the Central Sierra Field Research Stations. CSFRS also includes the Central Sierra Snow Lab, Onion Creek Experimental Forest, North Fork Association Lands and the Chickering American River Reserve.

Sagehen Creek Field Station is a member of the University of California Natural Reserve System, the Organization of Biological Field Stations, and a founding member of the Global Network of Mountain Observatories. Sagehen partners with the Nevada Museum of Art’s Center for Art + Environment to combine art and science in pursuit of basic discovery,  community connection, and social transformation.

How We Make A Difference

We feel that our three-pronged mission works best when science, education, and public service outreach all feed into each other and provide new opportunities and deeper insights to each.