Products
We identify issues and uncertainties that pose obstacles to conservation and then—in collaboration with internal and external colleagues—develop science products that help overcome those obstacles.
2026 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
The Future of Floodplains: Restoring Nature, Reducing Risk
Aryeh Cohen, Victoria Salgado, J.D. McLandrich, Nicholas Wellbrock, Deborah Glaser, Piper Wallingford, Charlotte Stanley
Across California, climate change is making floods more frequent, intense, and damaging. Powerful atmospheric rivers now deliver enormous volumes of rainfall over short periods, overwhelming rivers,…
2026 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Comparison of conservation strategies for California Channel Island Oak (Quercus tomentella) using climate suitability predicted from genomic data
Alayna Mead, Sorel Fitz-Gibbon, John Knapp, Victoria L. Sork
Oaks are a foundational species, supporting thousands of other species including California’s Channel Islands. Climate change threatens the persistence of oak species across the Channel Islands,…
2026 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Landscape genomic analyses of Quercus agrifolia Née predict patterns of adaptedness to future climate and provide guidance for conservation
Ryan C. Buck, H. Scott Butterfield, Elizabeth Hiroyasu, Jeanette Howard, John Knapp, Zachary Principe, Victoria L. Sork
Coast live oaks serve important foundational roles across California oak woodland ecosystems, including across The Nature Conservancy’s grassland and oak woodland preserves. In the most recent…
2026 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Applying both landscape genomic and ecological niche model predictions to inform conservation strategies of a California foundational oak species
Ryan C. Buck, H. Scott Butterfield, Elizabeth H. T. Hiroyasu, , Jeanette Howard, Zachary Principe, M. Brooke Rose, Victoria L. Sork
Oaks are a foundational species across the globe, supporting the survival of thousands of plant and animal species. In the last drought in California, there was significant oak dieback and, coupled…
2026 | Freshwater | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Pairing OpenET remotely sensed evapotranspiration with streamflow data to assess the effectiveness of irrigation curtailment for aquatic conservation
J. Eli Asarian, Bronwen Stanford, Nicholas P. Murphy, Michael M. Pollock
Monitoring water conservation can be challenging in locations without adequate metering. Here the authors use satellite-derived estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) to assess watershed-wide responses…
2026 | Freshwater | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Lagged streamflow depletion due to pumping-induced stream drying: Incorporation into analytical streamflow depletion estimation methods
Sam Zipper, Ian Gambill, Monty Schmitt (TNC), Claire Kouba, Leland Scantlebury, Thomas Harter, Nicholas Murphy
At regional management scales, streamflow depletion due to groundwater pumping cannot be measured directly. Analytical depletion functions (ADFs) are a low-cost, low-complexity modeling approach to…
2025 | Freshwater | Planning | Technology | Microsite
Functional Flows Calculator
Kirk Klausmeyer, Bronwen Stanford, Nathan Enerson, Steven Sonvisen, Falk Schuetzenmeister, and Jam Hamidi
To protect water for nature, we first need to understand current flow conditions in our rivers, and how that flow is altered from natural conditions. Under the California Environmental Flows Framework…
2025 | Freshwater | Planning | Technology | Microsite
California North Coast Water Availability Tool
Jennifer Carah, Ben Kerr, Mia van Docto, Anders Farr, Kirk Klausmeyer, Steven Sonvisen, Siena Testa, and Jam Hamidi
Water is essential for California’s people, economy, and environment, yet water availability for people and nature is not well understood. This tool efficiently assesses water availability in…
2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Publications & Reports
Real-time island biosecurity surveillance: evaluating a wireless camera network for AI-assisted early detection of invasive mammals on Santa Cruz Island, CA
Lara J. Brenner, Nathaniel Rindlaub, Juliana Matos, Scott Meyler, Sue Pollock, Falk Schuetzenmeister, Nick D. Holmes
Invasive mammals like rats pose a major threat to island ecosystems and endemic species. This study tests a wireless camera network on Santa Cruz Island that uses AI to detect nonnative mammals in…
2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Phylosymbiosis and Elevated Cancer Risk in Genetically Depauperate Channel Island Foxes
Alexandra L. DeCandia, Jasmine Lu, Emily E. Hamblen, Lara J. Brenner, Julie L. King, Calypso N. Gagorik, Juliann T. Schamel, Stacy S. Baker, Francesca J. Ferrara, Melissa Booker, Andrew Bridges, Cesar Carrasco, Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jesús E. Maldonado
Isolated island species may be more susceptible to disease because of their lack of genetic diversity. Santa Catalina Island foxes have the highest rate of cancer ever measured in wildlife - over 50%…
2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
The gut microbiomes of Channel Island foxes and island spotted skunks exhibit fine-scale differentiation across host species and island populations
Samantha Pasciullo Boychuck, Lara J. Brenner, Calypso N. Gagorik, Juliann T. Schamel, Stacy Baker, Elton Tran, Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Jesús E. Maldonado, Alexandra L. DeCandia
On California’s Channel Islands, two rare carnivores—the island fox and island spotted skunk—have coexisted for millennia despite competing for similar resources. This study explores…
2025 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Evaluating UAV LiDAR and Field Spectroscopy for Estimating Residual Dry Matter Across Conservation Grazing Lands
Bruce Markman, H. Scott Butterfield, Janet Franklin, Lloyd Coulter, Moses Katkowski, and Dan Sousa
Residual dry matter has been widely used to monitor grazing impacts across conservation grazing lands for more than 75 years, largely done with time-intensive, expensive, and hard-to-reproduce…
2025 | Marine | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Ship collision risk threatens whales across the world’s oceans
Nisi A, H Welch, S Brodie, C Liephardt, R Rhodes, E Hazen, JV Redfern, TA Branch, A S Barreto, J Calambokidis, T Clavelle, L Dares, A de Vos, S Gero, J A. Jackson, RD Kenney, D Kroodsma, R Leaper, DJ McCauley, SE Moore, E Ovsyanikova, S Panigada, CV Robinson, T White, JR Wilson, B Abrahms
Collisions between whales and ships are a leading cause of death for threatened whale species across the globe. In this paper, scientists identified high risk areas for whale-ship collisions by…
2023 | Marine | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
The CALFISH database: A century of California's non-confidential fisheries landings and participation data
Christopher M. Free, Camila Vargas Poulsen, Lyall F. Bellquist, Sophia N. Wassermann, Kiva L. Oken
Commercial and recreational fisheries in California influence a long and dynamic history of coastal economies, cultural heritage, and marine ecosystem health. Fisheries-dependent data sources are…
2023 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Floristic patterns and conservation values of Mojave and Sonoran desert springs in California
Naomi S. Fraga, Brian S. Cohen, Andy Zdon, Maura Palacios Mejia, Sophie S. Parker
This paper presents novel botanical inventories of 48 desert springs as part of the Mojave Springs Research Project. The authors assess plant species composition and richness within and between…
2023 | Terrestrial | Marine | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Minimizing conservation impacts of net zero energy systems in the western United States
Grace C. Wu, Ryan A. Jones, Emily Leslie, James H. Williams, Andrew Pascale, Erica Brand, Sophie Parker, Brian Cohen, Joseph Fargione, Julia Souder, Maya Batres, Mary G. Gleason, Michael H. Schindel, Charlotte K. Stanley
This paper presents the results of the Power of Place-West project. The authors combined energy modeling with ecosystem and wildlife habitat data to determine the costs and impacts associated with…
2022 | Marine | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Using unoccupied aerial vehicles to map and monitor changes in emergent kelp canopy after an ecological regime shift
Vienna R. Saccomanno, Tom Bell, Camille Pawlak, Charlotte K. Stanley, Katherine C. Cavanaugh, Rietta Hohman, Kirk R. Klausmeyer, Kyle Cavanaugh, Abby Nickels, Waz Hewerdine, Corey Garza, Gary Fleener, Mary Gleason
Kelp forests are complex underwater habitats that provide valuable services for both people and nature. Despite their importance, increasingly severe stressors have resulted in declines in kelp…
2022 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Soil microbial community composition and tolerance to contaminants in an urban brownfield site
Maura Palacios Mejia, Connie Rojas, Emily Curd, Mark Renshaw, Kiumars Edalati, Beverly Shih, Nitin Vincent, Meixi Lin, Peggy Nguyen, Robert Wayne, Kelsey Jessup, Sophie Parker
This paper presents results from a study conducted at TNC’s multi-benefit stormwater management and habitat enhancement project site adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Due to a history of…
2022 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Predictive ecological land classification from multi-decadal satellite imagery
Daniel Sousa, Frank W. Davis, Kelly Easterday, Mark Reynolds, Laura Riege, H. Scott Butterfield, Moses Katkowski
This paper details a first of its kind approach to land classification, using random forests and multivariate regression trees and historical Landsat satellite imagery to map and then assess changes…