The reserve encompasses a pocket beach, seasonal lagoon, wetlands, and coastal prairie on the western edge of the city of Santa Cruz.

Donald and Marion Younger, whose family had owned a ranch in the area for over a century, donated the reserve to the University of California in 1972 to enable development of Long Marine Laboratory and protect the lagoon.

The university added 47 acres of adjacent farm fields, an area known as Terrace Point, to the 25-acre reserve in 2008 as part of the establishment of its Coastal Science Campus.

Their experiments revegetating bluffs covered with non-native iceplant and remnants of brussels sprout fields inform research on habitat restoration.

[3] Published work from the reserve indicates that certain traits such as slow growth rates and high leaf lobedness can decrease mortality risk when plants experience drought.