Jepson Prairie Reserve

Located in the southern Sacramento Valley, the Jepson Prairie Reserve is an island of remnant natural prairie in a wide alluvial floodplain used primarily for agriculture. The reserve protects one of the best few remaining vernal-pool habitats, which are found only in the western United States and few other places in the world, as well as precious remnants of native bunchgrass prairie that once covered one-fourth of California. Research at Jepson includes: Amphibian decline in California, Nesting biology of bees, Systematics of the genus Downingia, Spatial structure and plant-pollinator interactions, and Effects of controlled burning of native bunchgrasses