About the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station...

The Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station is the field station of the Claremont Colleges in Claremont, CA. The 86-acre station is located within the Claremont Colleges Campus on Foothill Blvd, between College and Mills Aves. It consists of 86 acres of primarily coastal sage scrub, Riversidian alluvial fan scrub, live oak forest, and grassland. In addition, an artificial lake with surrounding riparian woodland and several created vernal pools add to habitat diversity. This rich variety of habitats in close proximity to the colleges makes the Bernard Field Station a rare jewel.

Although the primary users are biology students and faculty from Harvey Mudd College, Pomona College, and the Joint Science Department of Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna Colleges, the station is also used by classes and research in environmental science, astronomy, geology, and art. It is also used by other area colleges and universities, K-12 classes, and local organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.

As of May, 2012: The entire area between College Ave and Mills Ave has been in continual use as the Bernard Field Station for over 30 years. The western part of the BFS is now owned by HMC and GCU. The center part is the Temporarily Restricted Property (TRP) and is currently protected, although this protection is conditional and can be removed. In the summer of 2011, the Colleges announced that the east part of the BFS was to be sold to Pitzer, HMC, and Scripps. None of the colleges, except for Pitzer, have indicated their plans for their portion(s) of the BFS. Pitzer intends to renovate the Infirmary as a new environmental institute and has indicated that it will not destroy habitat on the rest of its 12 acres. (Note that the colleges tend to equate the BFS only with the TRP and often say that the development of the east and west portions therefore will not affect what they call the field station.)

For more information, see:

• Bernard Field Station FAQs
• Current Situation
• Bernard Field Station Timeline
• The Bernard Field Station web site