With California’s population on track to reach 50 million people, the demand for energy, water, and land will continue to grow. Climate change will compound the strains on society and the environment. Most of this population growth will be centered in larger cities that are already struggling to maintain aging transportation and water infrastructure.
But nature can play an important role in the redevelopment of these systems. Wetlands treat storm water, oyster reefs buffer storm surges, and shade trees reduce heat, providing the benefits of traditional infrastructure while adding scenery and wildlife habitat.
Conservancy scientists are demonstrating how society can minimize trade-offs between development and conservation through innovative regional planning. And by showing what nature can do for cities–and what cities can do for nature–we can develop models for improving the quality of urban life, with broad application on an urbanizing planet.
Science in Action
Terrestrial | Marine | Science
TNC and FEMA
How do we increase climate resilience in ways that work for people and nature?
Terrestrial | Marine | Planning
TNC and the U.S. Navy
How can we protect natural resource and coastal military assets from sea level rise?
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Restoring coastal wetlands for climate resilience: A case study at Naval Base Ventura County, Pt. Mugu
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…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Coastal Adaptation with the U.S. Navy at Point Mugu
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…
2021 | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science in Action
TNC and the U.S. Navy: How can we protect natural resource and coastal military assets from sea level rise?
Alyssa Mann, Walter Heady, Charlotte Stanley
2021 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
The tree cover and temperature disparity in US urbanized areas: Quantifying the association with income across 5,723 communities
Robert I. McDonald, Tanushree Biswas, Cedilla Sachar, Ian Housman, Timothy M. Boucher, Deborah Balk, David Nowak, Erica Spotswood, Charlotte K. Stanley, Stefan Leyk
Urban tree cover provides benefits to human health and well-being, but it is often inequitably distributed. In this study, researchers Google Earth Engine (GEE) and an automated machine learning…
2020 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Maps & Webmaps
Planting Stormwater Solutions
Brian Cohen, Kelsey Jessup, Sophie Parker, John Randall, Jill Sourial
Cities across Southern California are investing in new infrastructure to address the challenges of stormwater management. We promote the use of nature-based solutions to ensure projects both treat…
2020 | Terrestrial | Technology | Publications & Reports
Remote Property Monitoring at The Nature Conservancy in California
Ethan Inlander, Katie Andrews, Contributors: Jennifer Chin, Sue Pollock, Mike McFadden, Scott Hardage, Scott Butterfield, Tod Rubin
With this publication, TNC in California marks a major shift in its approach to conservation easement monitoring. At the crossroads of conservation, stewardship and technology lies remote property…
2020 | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Santa Ana Mountains to eastern Peninsular Range Conservation Connectivity Infrastructure Planning Project for Interstate 15 and Closely Associated Roadways
Dr. Winston Vickers, Karen C. Drayer, Trish Smith, Brian Cohen
Highways across the greater San Diego region in southern California are major barriers and causes of mortality for mountain lions and are contributing to the species’ genetic restriction and…
2020 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Data
Low-impact land use pathways to deep decarbonization of electricity
Grace C. Wu, Emily Leslie, Douglas Allen, Oluwafemi Sawyerr, D. Richard Cameron, Erica Brand, Brian Cohen, Marcela Ochoa, Arne Olson
California has ambitious climate and energy policies that call for the development of significant amounts of new zero-carbon energy by midcentury. The Power of Place study looks at multiple pathways…
2019 | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Power of Place: Summary of Policy Recommendations
Summary available in English and Spanish.
2019 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Biodiversity Analysis in Los Angeles (BAILA) Report
Parker SS, Randall JM, Pauly GB, Li E, Brown BV, Cohen BS
This report is a product of the Biodiversity Analysis in Los Angeles (BAILA) project. It provides details on why we conducted our analysis, how the partnership between the Museum and the Conservancy…
2019 | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Power of Place: Land Conservation and Clean Energy Pathways for California
Grace C. Wu, Emily Leslie, Douglas Allen, Oluwafemi Sawyerr, D. Richard Cameron, Erica Brand, Brian Cohen, Marcela Ochoa, Arne Olson
California has ambitious climate and energy policies that call for the development of significant amounts of new zero-carbon energy by midcentury. The Power of Place study looks at multiple pathways…
2019 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Data
Biodiversity Analysis in Los Angeles (BAILA) data
Enjie Li, Sophie S. Parker, Gregory B. Pauly, John M. Randall, Brian V. Brown, Brian S. Cohen
This dataset is a product of the Biodiversity Analysis in Los Angeles (BAILA) project, and demonstrates a new way to evaluate urban biogeography—patterns in the distribution of species across…
2019 | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Blogs
Putting Nature on the Map (Literally)
Carrie Schloss, Liz O'Donoghue
2019 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
An urban biodiversity assessment framework that combines an urban habitat classification scheme and citizen science data
Enjie Li, Sophie S. Parker, Gregory B. Pauly, John M. Randall, Brian V. Brown, Brian S. Cohen
This paper presents a new way to evaluate urban biogeography—patterns in the distribution of species across urban areas. The authors developed a hierarchical, quantitative method for classifying…
2019 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
Clarifying Effects of Environmental Protections on Freshwater Flows to—and Water Exports from—the San Francisco Bay Estuary
Gregory J. Reis, Jeanette K. Howard, Jonathan A. Rosenfield
For years the narrative of the San Francisco Bay Delta has been driven by the contention that water use by agriculture was being limited by environmental regulation. Analyzing long-term trends…
2018 | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Impact of solar and wind development on conservation values in the Mojave Desert
Sophie S. Parker, Brian S. Cohen, James Moore
This paper discusses changes in the conservation value of lands in the California Mojave Desert caused by renewable energy development that occurred between 2009 and 2016. The authors remotely assess…
2018 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Conserving California's Coastal Habitats: A Legacy and a Future with Sea Level Rise
Walter N. Heady, Brian S. Cohen, Mary G. Gleason, Joshua N. Morris, Sarah G. Newkirk, Kirk R. Klausmeyer, Hilary R. Walecka, Elizabeth Gagneron
Sea level rise presents a new challenge to coastal conservation. The authors quantified and mapped the vulnerability of habitats, imperiled species, and conservation lands to sea level rise throughout…
2018 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Water Supply and Habitat Resiliency for a Future Los Angeles River: Site-Specific Natural Enhancement Opportunities Informed by River Flow and Watershed-Wide Action
Brian Cohen, Shona Ganguly, Sophie Parker, John Randall, Jill Sourial, and Lara Weatherly of The Nature Conservancy, Land IQ, Natural History Museum Los Angeles County, WRC Consulting Services Inc., Travis Longcore, University of Southern California, Connective Issue, Inc.
As a basic principle of ecological systems, a watershed’s hydrology determines the flow characteristics of its river system. These flows define what the biological characteristics of that…
2018 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Ecological spillover dynamics of organisms from urban to natural landscapes
Jill E. Spear, Erik K. Grijalva, Julia S. Michaels, Sophie S. Parker
This paper discusses the impact of urban-dwelling plants and animals on regional wildland populations, both within and across species. The authors reviewed the global conservation literature and…