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.
The Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund was established in 2000 in memory of Dr. Oren Pollak, a leading grassland ecologist and restoration pioneer, as well as an ardent champion and mentor for grassland ecology students. As The Nature Conservancy’s lead ecologist in California in the…
Brynn Pewtherer, Scott Morrison
The Nature Conservancy deploys science to help overcome major challenges facing people and nature. In today’s fast-paced world, turning threats to nature into opportunities for conservation requires agility. The Conservation Science Catalyst Fund enables our science team to mobilize quickly — and produce the information…
Case study by: K.D. Holl, G.H. Golet
Advancing conservation requires understanding the constraints imposed on natural systems by human societies. This understanding typically comes from engagement with local stakeholders, as opposed to from scholastic training. A recent textbook on restoration ecology by Karen Holl seeks to alleviate this problem by providing real-world…
O.J. Robinson, V. Ruiz-Gutierrez, M.D. Reynolds, G.H. Golet, M. Strimas-Mackey and D. Fink
Information on species’ habitat associations and distributions, across wide spatial and temporal scales, is fundamental for guiding conservation. Yet these data are often in short supply. In recent years citizen science data, such as that derived from eBird, has increasingly become available to fill…
Case study by: Khara Strum (Audubon California), Kristin Sesser (Point Blue Conservation Science), Greg Golet (TNC)
This case study communicates lessons learned by TNC and partners from years of research and monitoring of habitat enhancement projects in Sacramento Valley rice agriculture. It is a contribution to the Shorebird Management Manual that was developed by Manomet with guidance from shorebird…
Moses Katkowski, H. Scott Butterfield, John Knapp, Kelly Easterday, Laura Riege, Mark Reynolds
This 5-year action plan describes the vision for invasive plant species mapping, monitoring and treatment at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve in Sourthern California. The plan is adaptive and will updated as new species, management approaches (including new and emerging technologies), and monitoring results…
Maria C Viteri, Mary Allison Stegner, Elizabeth A. Hadly
Biodiversity monitoring is a core part of conservation practice, however all sampling methods include biases. In particular, small mammal live-trapping, the field standard, produces highly skewed results and is both invasive and labor-intensive. The identification of small mammal bones from pellets produced by raptors, or…
Eric D. Stein, Julie Zimmerman, Sarah M. Yarnell, Bronwen Stanford, Belize Lane, Kristine T. Taniguchi-Quan, Alyssa Obester, Theodore E. Grantham, Robert A. Lusardi, Samuel Sandoval-Solis
The first step to protecting rivers is figuring out how much water they need to protect species and ecological functions - known as ecological flow criteria. Scientists have struggled to develop flow criteria to protect species and ecosystems across large regions, which means the vast…
Kelsey Jessup, Sophie S. Parker, John M. Randall, Brian S. Cohen, Rowan Roderick-Jones, Shona Ganguly, Jill Sourial
This paper presents results from Planting Stormwater Solutions, part of TNC’s Urban Conservation work in Los Angeles. The authors develop a methodology to prioritize siting of vegetated nature-based solutions for stormwater capture so that these projects maximize benefits to biological diversity, social and public…
S. L. Hamilton, V. R. Saccomanno, W. N. Heady, A. L. Gehman, S. I. Lonhart, R. Beas-Luna, F. T. Francis, L. Lee, L. Rogers-Bennett, A. K. Salomon and S. A. Gravem
The sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is an important mesopredator in kelp forest ecosystems that was devastated by the outbreak of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). This study quantifies how SSWD impacted this iconic animal across its range and documents that the outbreak occurred more…
P. Manley, K. Wilson, N. Povak
The Framework for Resilience offers a shared vision for resilience that recognizes the interdependent nature of social and ecological values. These values are described by ten pillars that represent the desired outcomes of landscape resilience. Each of the pillars provide metrics for assessing landscape conditions…
Kristen N. Wilson, Patricia N. Manley
Climate change, high-severity wildfire, and drought threaten the resilience of forests and communities in the Sierra Nevada. The Tahoe–Central Sierra Initiative (TCSI) is a partnership of state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, the timber industry, and researchers that was established to improve resilience to climate…
Kristen Wilson, Dale W. Johnson, Douglas F. Ryan, ed.
Authored by TNC staff and colleague, Chapter 8 of this report synthesizes environmental monitoring and studies performed at Sagehen Experimental Forest that are relevant to water quality regulatory agencies. Water quality in the basin is mainly controlled by groundwater emerging in springs, but wildland fires,…
Environmental Science Associates (ESA) for The Nature Conservancy and Naval Base Ventura County
Charlotte Stanley, Alyssa Mann, Walter Heady
The United States operates thousands of military installations in the U.S. and worldwide, worth about $1.2 trillion. These facilities are where personnel train and test weaponry, with the specific aim of ensuring the nation’s security. With climate change, coastal installations are now being impacted by rising sea levels, erosion and…
Walter Heady, Alyssa Mann, Stacey Solie, Bob Battalio, James Jackson, Kendall Lousen, and Bob Barnes
The U.S. Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) have determined that climate change is a threat to national security and have required military installations to develop plans to improve the climate resilience of both military installations and key supporting civilian infrastructure. This report, co-authored…
Alyssa Mann, Walter Heady, Charlotte Stanley
TNC and the United States Navy partnered together to prepare for the impacts of climate change on Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Point Mugu in California. NBVC is a critical and strategic asset of the U.S. Navy. It is also home to Mugu Lagoon, the…
Alyssa Mann, Walter Heady, Charlotte Stanley
Christopher Dillis, Van Butsic, Jennifer Carah, Samuel Zipper, Theodore Grantham
Water management practices for cannabis farming in California are not well understood. This study examined permit reporting data and found that the vast majority (>75%) of permitted cannabis farms use groundwater wells to source water, with many wells located outside regulated groundwater basins. Groundwater pumping…
Elizabeth S. Forbes, Peter S. Alagona, Andrea J. Adams, Sarah E. Anderson, Kevin C.Brown, Jolie Colby, Scott D. Cooper, Sean M. Denny, Elizabeth H.T. Hiroyasu, Robert Heilmayr, Bruce E. Kendall, Jennifer A. Martin, Molly Hardesty-Moore, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Brian P. Tyrrell, Zoë S.Welch
Species reintroductions in a changing world are difficult and highly uncertain. This paper introduces a framework to assess habitat suitability using historic, geographic, and taxonomic analogies to triangulate places best suited for reintroduction using the California Grizzly as a case study.