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.

2013 | Marine | Planning | Publications & Reports

Enabling conditions to support marine protected area network planning: California’s Marine Life Protection Act Initiative as a case study

Evan Fox, Melissa Miller-Henson, John Ugoretz, Mike Weber, Mary Gleason, John Kirlin, Meg Caldwell, Sonke Mastrup

In California, after two unsuccessful attempts, statewide planning of a network of marine protected areas (MPA) was achieved through the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. This…

2013 | Marine | Planning | Publications & Reports

California’s Marine Life Protection Act Initiative: Supporting implementation of legislation establishing a statewide network of marine protected areas

John Kirlin, Meg Caldwell, Mary Gleason, Mike Weber, John Ugoretz, Evan Fox, Melissa Miller-Henson

This paper reviews how recommendations developed through the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative supported regulatory decisions by the California Fish and Game Commission to greatly expand…

2013 | Marine | Planning | Publications & Reports

Addressing policy issues in a stakeholder-based and science-driven marine protected area network planning process

Evan Fox, Sean Hastings, Melissa Miller-Henson, Dominique Monie, John Ugoretz, Adam Frimodig, Craig Shuman, Brian Owens, Rebecca Garwood, Darci Connor, Paulo Serpa, Mary Gleason

This paper explores the strategies used to address policy issues that arose in marine protected area (MPA) planning process in California. The authors provide examples from six specific topic…

2013 | Marine | Planning | Technology | Publications & Reports

MarineMap: A web-based platform for collaborative marine protected area planning

Matthew S. Merrifield, Will McClintock, Chad Burt, Evan Fox, Paulo Serpa, Charles Steinback, Mary Gleason

This paper reviews the creation and use of MarineMap, a spatial decision support system that enabled stakeholder participation in designing marine protected areas (MPAs). The authors highlight why it…

2013 | Marine | Planning | Publications & Reports

Adapting stakeholder processes to region-specific challenges in marine protected area network planning

Evan Foxa, Eric Poncelet, Darci Connor, Jason Vasques, John Ugoretz, Scott McCreary, Dominique Monié, Michael Harty, Mary Gleason

This paper examines how differences in regional characteristics and lessons learned influenced three important elements of the stakeholder process of California's Marine Life Protected Area (MLPA)…

2013 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Decline and Recovery of Small Mammals after Flooding: Implications for Pest Management and Floodplain Community Dynamics

Golet G.H., J. Hunt, D. Koenig

Floodplains often are managed both for agriculture and as habitat for native species. On the Sacramento River, farmers have expressed concern that natural areas may be sources of pests to adjoining…

2013 | Marine | Economics | Publications & Reports

Fort Bragg Central Coast Risk Pool Annual Summary Report 2012

Kate Labrum, Dwayne Oberhoff

In 2011, the west coast groundfish fishery transitioned into a catch share fishery, or Individual Fishing Quota management system. Under this type of management system, the annual total allowable…

2013 | Marine | Science | Publications & Reports

Central Coast Trawl Impact and Recovery Study: 2009-2012 Final Report

James Lindholm, Mary Gleason, Donna Kline, Larissa Clary, Steve Rienecke, Michael Bell

This report summarizes the results of a multi-year study (June 2009 to December 2012) to assess the impacts of bottom trawling on seafloor habitats and associated biological communities. This project…

2012 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Differential effects of food availability and nest predation risk on avian reproductive strategies

HR Sofaer, TS Sillett, SI Peluc, SA Morrison, CK Ghalambor

Island archipelagos can provide useful opportunities for comparative studies in ecology. In this paper, for example, breeding ecology of a songbird was studied on two of the California Channel…

2012 | Marine | Planning | Science | Maps & Webmaps

California Coastal and Marine Program: Protecting Fish Stocks and Livelihoods

Matt Merrifield, Megan Webb, Katie Andrews

Since 2007, The Nature Conservancy has pioneered a first-of-its-kind fishery reform approach that aligns communities, the fishing industry, and conservation interests to drive strategic changes in…

2012 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Hierarchical distance-sampling models to estimate population size and habitat-specific abundance of an island endemic

TS Sillett, RB Chandler, JA Royle, M Kéry, SA Morrison

The Island Scrub-Jay occurs only on 250 km2 Santa Cruz Island. This study combined an intensive, short-term field survey with novel statistical modeling to generate estimates of population abundance,…

2012 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Breeding density, not life history, predicts interpopulation differences in territorial aggression in a passerine bird

JongminYoon, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A.Morrison, Cameron K. Ghalambora

When members of a single species display very different behavioral patterns it can present a helpful model for ecological study. This paper examines two breeding populations of a songbird species: one…

2012 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports

An evaluation of monitoring methods for the endangered giant kangaroo rat

Tim Bean, Bob Stafford, Laura Prugh, Scott Butterfield, Justin Brashares

This paper compares the efficacy of different monitoring methods for estimating distribution, abundance, and population growth of the endangered giant kangaroo rat to determine the best practices for…

2012 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Solar Energy Development in the Western Mojave Desert

Cameron, D., S. Parker, B. Cohen, J. Randall, B. Christian, J. Moore, L. Crane, S. A. Morrison

Industrial-scale renewable energy generation facilities can have sizable footprints and therefore significant impact on the conservation values of a landscape. This assessment focused on a region…

2012 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

An Approach to Enhance the Conservation-Compatibility of Solar Energy Development

Cameron, D.R., B.S. Cohen, S.A. Morrison

California, like many regions in the world, needs to plan for emissions reductions and domestic clean energy. Ideally, that would be done in a way that is strategic, not reactionary. Through…

2012 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Economic costs of achieving current conservation goals in the future as climate changes

M. Rebecca Shaw, Kirk Klausmeyer, D. Richard Cameron, Jason MacKenzie, Patrick Roehrdanz

Species will move around the landscape as the climate changes, presenting challenges for traditional conservation strategies like land acquisition. This paper models the cost and total land area that…

2012 | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports

Small Reserves Can Successfully Preserve Rare Plants Despite Management Challenges

Parker, S.S

Small preserves are difficult to manage, but they can be important for rare plant protection. The article outlines the management challenges faced by small preserves, provides a case study from The…

2012 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Science | Publications & Reports

Restoring Salmon Habitat: Garcia River Forest

Jennifer Carah, Jason Pelletier

A two-page summary of salmon restoration efforts at the Garcia River Forest on the North Cost of California focusing on the reintroduction of wood in streams as a strategy.