The California Current is one of only four temperate upwelling systems in the world. Seasonal upwelling of nutrient-rich waters fuels a highly productive ecosystem, supporting biodiversity and fisheries that, along with coastal tourism, are a foundation of California’s economy.
Yet California’s coasts and oceans are also under increasing threat. Relatively few fisheries are managed based on robust scientific assessments, and more needs to be done to avoid overfishing and reduce bycatch. Plastics and other pollutants are pervasive. Climate change compounds these challenges. Ocean chemistry is changing. Sea levels and temperatures are rising – threatening important resources, biodiversity, and human populations.
Fortunately, the coastal and ocean ecosystems of California are bolstered by a network of marine protected areas and some of the most science-based marine policies in the world. Conservancy scientists look to build on those foundations by applying science and technology to enhance resilience of marine resources in the face of emerging threats.
Freshwater Systems
California is one of the most hydrologically altered landscapes in the world. As water becomes…>>
Groundwater
In a normal year, groundwater accounts for 40 percent of California’s water supply. That…>>
Surface Flows
Californians have fundamentally altered many of the state’s rivers and streams with dams,…>>
Terrestrial Systems
In California, a day’s drive can take a visitor from record-setting desert heat to glaciated…>>
Wildlands
Nearly half of California is protected in some land status that prevents most kinds of intensive…>>
Harvested Landscapes
A third of California is privately-owned forestland, woodland or grassland. From redwood forests on…>>
Cultivated Landscapes
California is the leading agricultural state in the country and it’s agriculture generates…>>
Urban Areas and Infrastructure
With California’s population on track to reach 50 million people, the demand for energy,…>>
Fisheries
Wild capture fisheries supply food and jobs for hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Yet…>>
Coastal Conservation
Almost half of the world’s human population lives in coastal areas, and associated coastal…>>Science in Action
Terrestrial | Planning | Technology
Wildfire and Communities
How can land protection and restoration help protect communities from wildfire?
Terrestrial | Marine | Science
TNC and FEMA
How do we increase climate resilience in ways that work for people and nature?
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2017 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Publications & Reports
Market-Based Mechanisms For Securing Environmental Water In California
California’s water supply is becoming increasingly unreliable. During dry times, consumptive use often outstrips supplies. As a result, people and nature suffer. This imbalance of supply and…
2017 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Population and habitat objectives for avian conservation in California’s Central Valley riparian ecosystems
Kristen E. Dybala, Neil Clipperton, Thomas Gardali, Gregory H. Golet, Rodd Kelsey, Stefan Lorenzato, Ron Melcer, Jr., Nathaniel E. Seavy, Joseph G. Silveira
The Conservancy and partners are working to establish riparian ecosystems that provide sufficient habitat to support genetically robust, self-sustaining, and resilient bird populations in…
2017 | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
A General Framework for Setting Quantitative Population Objectives for Wildlife Conservation
Kristen E. Dybala, Neil Clipperton, Thomas Gardali, Gregory H. Golet, Rodd Kelsey, Stefan Lorenzato, Ronald Melcer, Jr., Nathaniel Seavy, Joseph G. Silveira, Gregory S. Yarris
Quantitative population objectives are necessary to achieve conservation goals of secure or robust wildlife populations, however, existing methods for setting them often require extensive…
2017 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
Oren Pollak Memorial Research Fund - 2017 Annual Report
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…
2017 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports
Informing watershed planning and policy in the Truckee River basin through stakeholder engagement, scenario development, and impact evaluation
Kristen Wilson, Erik Lowe, Stacey Wolny, Barry Nickel , Rodd Kelsey
This study demonstrates how science-based planning with stakeholder input can improve and direct conservation investments across existing state and jurisdictional boundaries. The authors set out to…
2017 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
Protocols for Argentine ant eradication in conservation areas
C. L. Boser, C. Hanna, D. A. Holway, K. R. Faulkner, I. Naughton, K. Merrill, J. M. Randall, C. Cory, D.H. Choe , S. A. Morrison
Argentine ants are highly invasive and ecologically damaging. This paper presents a method demonstrated to reduce even large-scale (~400 ha) infestations to non-detectable levels. This protocol…
2017 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
The relationship between female brooding and male nestling provisioning: does climate underlie geographic variation in sex roles?
Jongmin Yoon , Helen R. Sofaer, T. Scott Sillett , Scott A. Morrison, Cameron K. Ghalambor
Climate is an important factor in how birds apportion time tending their nests, e.g., how much time they spend brooding versus foraging. This study examines how the roles of males and females of one…
2017 | Freshwater | Planning | Publications & Reports
Water for nature: What we can do today to help California’s rivers, streams and wetlands
Burns, C.E., A. Hoss, N. Smith, K. Klausmeyer, K. Fesenmeyer, A. Campbell, J. Carah, E. Forsburg, S. Heard, J.K. Howard, L. Hulette, S. Liu, P. Spraycar, B. Stranko, G. Werner, D. Wordham
This report identifies a set of strategies that will have the greatest impact on environmental flows, and to provide a resource for conservation organizations, resource agencies, and other…
2016 | Marine | Science | Publications & Reports
Market and design solutions to the short-term economic impacts of marine reserves
Daniel Ovando, Dawn Dougherty, Jono R. Wilson
No-take marine reserves are a management intervention that can provide long-term fishery benefits. But, impacts of reserve implementation can negatively affect fishermen profits in the short term.…
2016 | Marine | Technology | Science | Video
Sustainable Management of Abalone Fishery in California
The Nature Conservancy, Jono Wilson
California fisheries, like the red abalone fishery, are facing increasing environmental variation and uncertainty due to climate change, complicating the sustainable management of commercial and…
2016 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
Benefits and Economic Costs of Managed Aquifer Recharge in California
Debra Perrone, Melissa M. Rohde
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) projects can play an important role in ensuring California manages its groundwater sustainably. This study, the first to investigate the benefits and economic costs…
2016 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
A picture is worth a thousand data points: an imagery dataset of paired shrub-open microsites within the Carrizo Plain National Monument
Taylor J. Noble , Christopher J. Lortie , Michael Westphal, H.Scott Butterfield
This paper presents camera trap data comprising over 425,000 images from the Carrizo Plain National Monument. This unique collection of digital images allowed the authors to capture animal behaviours…