Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Reserve Center

At the heart of Deep Canyon, which stretches from the source of its tributaries high on Toro Peak to its outflow in the Coachella Valley, is the Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, a 6,597-hectare (16,301-acre) reserve that is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System. Deep Canyon is one of the largest NRS reserves, containing a major portion of an entire drainage system on the north side of the Santa Rosa Plateau fronting Palm Desert, spanning montane forest to Sonoran desert scrublands. The Center is home to many threatened habitats and more than 50 archeological sites.

Examples of selected research at Boyd Deep Canyon include:

• Population biology of the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard (Uma inornata), a state-endangered and federally threatened species.
• Health and demography of the peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis cremnobates), a state-threatened and federally proposed-endangered species.
• Mountain lion ecology.
• Rattlesnake ecology.
• Physiology of succulents.
• Hybridization of quail species

Learn more: deepcanyon.ucnrs.org or nrs.ucop.edu