Merced’s own super bloom is here

Merced’s own super bloom is here

Locals call the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve “UC Merced’s backyard,” and it’s a backyard unlike any other.

Merced's own super bloom is here. How this grassland reserve protects endangered species

Reading Time: 5 minutesMerced, Calif. — Locals call the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve “UC Merced’s backyard,” and it’s a backyard unlike any other. Picture a 6,500-acre stretch of land that has thousands of vernal pools in the winter, blankets of vibrant flowers in the spring, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the distance, and countless animals to watch, including the famously-elusive “fairy shrimp.” Established in 2001 and locate…