Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

08 Sep, 09 AM - 12 Sep, 07 AM

Project Summary: My research will contribute to an oral history program documenting the development, administration, importance, and legacy of the University of Californias Natural Reserve System (NRS) as it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2015. , I will conduct oral histories of four NRS reserve directors, all of whom have served in the system for decades, worked at diverse sites, and are approaching retirement. This effort is part of a larger project already underwaythe UC Natural Reserve System History and Archive Project, led by my major advisor, Peter Alagonato catalog, preserve, study, and make accessible the history of this unique and influential institution, and the diverse California landscapes it encompasses and represents. This visit will be focused on oral history interviews with Dan Dawson. Research Questions & Overview: A successful ecological reserve produces insight into the natural world by attracting researchers and students for the sustained study of a particular place. Ecologists envision field stations as representatives of a given ecosystem or as sites with ecological features that provide specific insights into their research questions. Reserve selection processes emphasize size, intact ecological communities, features such as serpentine soils or vernal pools, and relatively undisturbed land. Yet, beyond these inherent place-based qualities, reserve management also matters to the success of reserves as sites of scientific knowledge production. Facilities, dedicated staff, funding, and effective administration have proven to be key factors in reserve success. Research sites are particular places; each has its own human history, landscape history, neighbors, and idiosyncrasies. Because of these complexities, field stations histories matter. Many of the field of ecologys central questions and methods deal with change over time in the natural world. Thus, the history of research sites themselves is crucial to understanding and adding nuance to ecological research, and for facilitating future success at the reserves. How has the day-to-day management of reserves influenced scientific research and the place of the NRS as part of the quest for ecological knowledge? My research points to the conclusion that reserves are more than sites of scientific knowledge production. They are subjects of political cooperation and activism, university administrative units, places with aesthetic value, recreational areas, and more. Their existence and success is historically contingent on factors including land ownership, personal relationships, ecological suitability, and university involvement and support. By exploring these themes, my project will illuminate the human and nonhuman factors that have shaped our understanding of the natural world by influencing research sites. Reserve managers positions place them at the confluence of reserves ecological and social identities. This proposal identifies four reserve managers who have obtained a deep knowledge of the land, its natural and human histories, and the research conducted there by virtue of their long careers with the NRS. Through oral history interviews, my project will create a narrative-driven dataset that will capture historical trends on the reserves and add valuable primary sources to the history of field sciences and ecology. Methods: My project is designed to combine the strengths of narrative oral history with a comparative approach. As recommended in Valerie Raleigh Yows overview of oral history methods, interviews will proceed from an interview guide, a document circulated in advance of the interviews that will contain topics, themes, and specific questions. This will allow flexible and open-ended responses, yet will maintain a core set of inquiries that can be fruitfully compared across interviews. My project also takes advantage of the geographic and ecological diversity of the NRS, and I have selected sites in order to capture the stories of various ecosystems and regions. Mountainous, marine/coastal, urban, and desert reserves are represented. This project will conform to the Oral History Associations principles and best practices. Most important among these are obtaining informed consent from interviewees, extensive preparation for interviews, training in interviewing techniques and historical research on the topic at hand, and the understanding that the interviewee ultimately holds the copyright to the work and has final approval over its content and distribution. Each oral history will consist of 5-8 hours of recorded material, which will be recorded over the course of 3-4 interviews. This format will allow for an extensive narrative to be recorded, while holding to the recommended interview length of about 2 hours. Each 2-hour interview will be centered on a theme, and the interviewee and I will agree on these themes in advance.

Visit #37254 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 29650 | Research

NRS History & Archives Project

graduate_student - University of California, Santa Barbara

Reservation Members(s)

Andrew Esch Sep 8 - 12, 2014 (5 days)

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Lodging (nightly) 1 Sep 8 - 12, 2014
Miscellaneous 1 Sep 8 - 12, 2014