A report regarding Mono Lake published by UC Davis in 1977 alerted California to trouble signs with the ecology of the unique, limestone-studded lake.
Photo by Sam Garza, Los Angeles, USA.
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License. commons.wikimedia.org
Stewarding California’s environment
UC Davis was an early leader in protecting California’s environmental heritage, from the forests and lakes of the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 50 years ago, UC Davis researchers were among the first to warn that Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem was in serious decline. They initiated the search for solutions and created two new UC Davis interpretive centers at the lake to share research findings with the general public and decision makers.
When water levels at Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra dropped drastically in the late 1970s, endangering the habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds, UC Davis researchers again were among the first to sound the alarm. Students, faculty and alumni played pivotal roles in the campaign to save Mono Lake.
Once viewed as a commodity supply, California forests are now considered a valuable natural resource, thanks in part to the UC Davis Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project, conducted at the request of Congress in 1992. Meanwhile, researchers at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory examine significant ecosystem issues in the Pacific such as abalone losses, the “ecosystem services” of sea grasses, marine upwelling and coastal climate change. A captive-rearing program for winter-run Chinook salmon has helped the species survive.
UC Davis’ agricultural and environmental expertise has benefitted the state’s vast agricultural lands, where researchers help reduce pesticide use, protect wildlife and wetlands, conserve open space, and steward water and air quality.
