UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
SIERRA FOOTHILL
RESEARCH & EXTENSION CENTER
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
Center Project
No:
Field Location:
Date Received:
Initiation Date:
RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER PROJECT PROPOSAL
Title of Proposed Research Project:
Diamond in the Rough –An ongoing history of the UC SFREC
CEFS No./AES No. and Title:
Not applicable
Project Leader:(
Charles A. Raguse, Professor emeritus, Agronomy & Range
Science (now Plant Science); Mailing address: P.O, Box 1141,
Woodland, CA 95776; caraguse@ucdavis.edu
Project Cooperator:
Paul D. Raguse, Computer Systems Manager (Not affiliated with
the University of California);
Proposed Initiation Date:
July 1, 2012
Proposed Completion Date:
June 30, 2013
(Note: This document was updated and slightly revised on 13 April 2013)
1. Abstract.
The project will build upon the Project Leader’s previous work, conducted over the past five
years and earlier, and generously assisted by his son Paul,. The project will achieve the goal
of a multi-formatted set of document that summarize research, outreach, and administrative
information gathered during the development of the SFREC over more than five decades,
and in addition a review of relevant formative-events, documents and publications prior to
1960, many reaching back into the 1940s and 1950s. These resources will be organized and
interpreted in light of present times, and should be useful as an aid in application of the
SFREC’s physical and human resources to current & future local-area, state, and societal
needs.
2. Justification
We live in times of severe economic stresses. Property holdings of all kinds are subject to
sacrifice. (Note, for example, the closure of some of California’s State Parks.) The ANR REC
System is not immune to these concerns.
Arguably, the SFREC is the flagship of the State’s REC System, when viewed in terms of its
location, its resources, its research records, its accumulated history of a multitude of land
management practices, and its ecosystem diversity. It could be a prime location for longterm monitoring of the effects of climate change in the transitional zone of the Sierra Nevada
foothills. However, in the event its value to California and elsewhere is questioned, a
scholarly and credible accounting of its past and current productivity and future potentials
would be of value.
3. Previous Work
I was hired on as faculty (in 1964) in the (then) Department of Agronomy at UC Davis, as part
of a three-departmental team (Agronomy, Animal Science, and Soil & Water Science) to
work in the area of irrigated pasture and dryland annual range establishment, management,
and utilization in support of beef cattle production. Upon Agronomy Chairman R. Merton
Love’s retirement I “inherited” a treasure trove of historical documents (as mentioned above
in the Abstract). To date, I have produced a “stand-alone” draft summary of these
irreplaceable items.
I was a member of the Station Research Advisory Committee (RAC) for many years, and its
Chair for a major portion of that time. A number of substantive issues came before the RAC,
including an attempt by the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct a major debris-control
dam in addition to the Harry L. Englebright Dam completed in 1941, first at the so-called
“Marysville Dam” site and later at the “Parks Bar” site closer to the Station. If built, either dam
would have done much to isolate the Station, especially at Parks Bar, as it would have
flooded the Haworth Fields area and major portions of access roads, including parts of Scott
Forbes Road.
Other, and perhaps more prescient, issues included an ANR-proposed switch to Station
ownership of the Animal Science-owned herds of cattle during Dr. Harold Myers tenure as
Director of Agricultural Field Stations; Station access for purposes of recreation, deer and
quail hunting; and access to the Yuba River, an issue of long standing, but also of current
concerns
Much of this history occurred during the tenure of Dr. Paul Rowell as Superintendent. Paul.
Rowell did much to frustrate the persistent dam-building objectives (see my account of the
“Marysville Dam” and “Parks Bar Dam site” efforts) of the US Army Corps, and also the ongoing difficulties of obtaining timely and adequate supplies of irrigation water from the local
Browns Valley Irrigation District’s “Upper Main” supply ditch.
During those years, Superintendent Rowell, the RAC, the UC Division of Agriculture’s Vice
President James B. Kendrick, local residents and State government officials, worked closely
together with the RAC to resolve these and other issues. In fact, Paul Rowell’s time as SFREC
Superintendent and RAC tenures would serve as an excellent model for future efforts of the
new SFREC Director.
As for me, the personal experience and perspective gained by service in the RAC over the
decades have done much to enable useful contemporary insights emanating from these
written historical records.
4. Objectives
1. To construct a comprehensive “history” as partially described above. To date (early
March, 2013) I have produced four prototype versions as a series of “Books”, all differing in
informational content. All were available for review at the RAC meeting on March 19, 2013.
2. Provide for internet and hard-copy accessibility to the whole, or to selected parts as
requested.
3. I expect that the finished product can be disseminated via a laptop computer or a set of
DVDs that, given formatting compatibility, can be installed on the user’s own computer.
4. Widespread visibility might be achieved through ANR system access.
5.Periodic updating, revisions, inclusion of new and current information, as well as a blog
feature will make this venture “alive”, relevant to current issues, and a forum for stimulating
discussion.
(For unknown reasons, ANR does not consider # 3011 to be a valid Project; therefore, a
request to the SFREC headquarters for a list of current Projects will not include # 3011.)