Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
# Blue Oak Ranch Reserve

The Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, a unit of the University of California Natural Reserve System, is an ecological reserve and biological field station in Santa Clara County, California. It is located on 3,260 acres (13.2 $km^2)$ in the Diablo Range, northwest of Mount Hamilton, at 1,500 ft (460 m) elevation.

The land, part of the 19th century Mexican land grant of Rancho Cañada de Pala, was donated to the University of California on December 1, 2007 by the Blue Oak Ranch Trust, an anonymous benefactor.

Overnight accommodations for academic researchers and educational groups may be made by permission only.

## Flora

Flora of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve includes:

* purple needle grass (Nassella pulchra)
* barley (Hordeum)
* bluegrass (Poa spp.)
* three-awn (Aristida spp.)
* melic (Melica sspspp
* wildrye (Elymus and Leymus spp.)

### Invasive introduced species

* yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis)
* medusahead grass (Taeniatherum caput-medusae)
* Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus)
* tocalote (Centaurea melitensis)
* Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense)
* bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

### Plant communities

* valley oak woodland
* black oak woodland
* coast live oak woodland
* riparian forest
* chamise chaparral
* Diablan sage scrub
* non-native annual grassland
* wildflower field
* native perennial grassland

## Fauna

Fauna of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve includes:

* Western toad
* Pacific tree frog
* Pacific chorus frog
* red-legged frog
* California newt
* California tiger salamander
* Western pond turtle
* red-winged blackbird
* pied-billed grebe
* Canada goose
* American coot
* wood duck

### Invasive fish

* sunfish
* largemouth bass
* mosquitofish
