Almost half of the world’s human population lives in coastal areas, and associated coastal development has significantly degraded or destroyed many coastal ecosystems. Burgeoning human populations and rising sea levels only further constrain the availability of habitat that coastal species depend on.
California’s 1,100 mile coast has more than 200 threatened, endangered or rare species living in coastal habitats. There are hundreds of coastal estuaries that provide critical rearing habitat for marine species, and are also important for recreation, water filtration, and carbon sequestration.
Only 10 percent of California’s historic coastal wetlands remain. Without intervention, we are at risk of losing 40 percent of our remaining coastal wetlands to sea level rise over the coming decades. Conservancy scientists are working to reverse these trends.
California is one of the most hydrologically altered landscapes in the world. As water becomes ever more scarce and… >>
In a normal year, groundwater accounts for 40 percent of California’s water supply. That number jumps to 60… >>
Californians have fundamentally altered many of the state’s rivers and streams with dams, pipes, and diversions, and the… >>
In California, a day’s drive can take a visitor from record-setting desert heat to glaciated peaks to temperate… >>
Nearly half of California is protected in some land status that prevents most kinds of intensive human land… >>
A third of California is privately-owned forestland, woodland or grassland. From redwood forests on the north coast to… >>
California is the leading agricultural state in the country and it’s agriculture generates more than $45 billion annually.… >>
With California’s population on track to reach 50 million people, the demand for energy, water, and land will… >>
Wild capture fisheries supply food and jobs for hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Yet an… >>
Almost half of the world’s human population lives in coastal areas, and associated coastal development has significantly degraded… >>
This webmap shows regions of California converted from rangeland land use to development, intensive agriculture, or other miscellaneous land uses between 1984 and 2008. See related publication and blog.
Cameron DR, Marty J, Holland RF
This study assesses the amount of rangeland conversion between 1984 and 2008 in California. The researchers analyzed data from the California Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program to see where conversion has occurred and what land uses have replaced rangelands. The degree to which rangelands were protected…
Rick, T.C, T.S. Sillett, C.K. Ghalambor, C.A. Hofman, K. Ralls, R.S. Anderson, C.L. Boser, T.J. Braje, D.R. Cayan, R.T. Chesser, P.W. Collins, J.M. Erlandson, K.R. Faulkner, R. Fleischer, W.C. Funk, R. Galipeau, A. Huston, J. King, L. Laughrin, J. Maldonado, K. McEachern, D.R. Muhs, S.D. Newsome, L. Reeder-Myers, C. Still, S.A. Morrison
Understanding the deep history of places and resources, and the interplay between natural and cultural histories, can be critical to science-based conservation management. This paper explores the case study in applied historical ecology provided by the California Channel Islands, highlighting insights gained from transdisciplinary research…
B. C. Mclaughlin, C. N. Morozumi, J. MacKenzie, A. Cole, S. Gennet
Anticipating how species will move as the climate changes is a fundamental concern in 21st century conservation. This study modeled potential responses of blue oak (Quercus douglasii), an endemic, flagship species in California, to future climate and then validated the results in the field. This suggests…
Jeanette Howard, Megan Webb, Katie Andrews
Using maps, images, and video, this interactive StoryMap illustrates how The Nature Conservancy works with partners in Shasta Valley, California to find conservation solutions that work for salmon and people.
H. Scott Butterfield, Miriam Tsalyuk, Carrie Schloss
The Nature Conservancy in California monitors residual dry matter (RDM) on approximately 300,000 acres of conservation lands. Researchers evaluated whether satellite remote sensing data could be used to monitor RDM, thereby decreasing costs and increasing the overall effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the monitoring…
Tim Bean, Laura Prugh, Bob Stafford, Scott Butterfield, Mike Westphal, Justin Brashares
In this study, the authors developed a suite of species distribution models (SDMs) for the endangered giant kangaroo rat using the machine-learning method Maxent. They compared these models with three measures of habitat quality: survival, abundance and body condition. Species distribution models were not correlated…
H.R. Sofaer, T.S. Sillett, K.M. Langin, S.A. Morrison, C.K. Ghalambor
The density of birds in their breeding areas can affect reproductive success in myriad ways – and it is often difficult to distinguish which factors are more influential. For example, areas that have a high density of breeders may have lower per capita reproductive output,…
This webmap provides regional climate projections with information about topography, coastal proximity and level of habitat fragmentation to help land managers identify concrete conservation actions they can take now to help address the threat of climate change to the terrestrial species of California.
When should managers intervene if threats from climate change are likely but there is uncertainty about when those threats would actually jeopardize a conservation value? This paper presents a case study that brings that question into sharp focus. Should Island Scrub-Jays be re-introduced to Santa…
Parker, Sophie, Remson, E.J, Verdone, Lily
This paper reviews how the Conservancy has maximized its return on investment on the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California by focusing riparian restoration efforts in a few methodically-chosen conservation nodes that include properties with high conservation value or high restoration potential. The Conservancy is…
Brian L. Sullivan, Jocelyn L. Aycrigg, Jessie H. Barry , Rick E. Bonney, Nicholas Bruns, Caren B. Cooper, Theo Damoulas, André A. Dhondt , Tom Dietterich, Andrew Farnsworth, Daniel Fink, John W. Fitzpatrick, Thomas Fredericks, Jeff Gerbracht, Carla Gomes, Wesley M. Hochachka, Marshall J. Iliff, Carl Lagoze, Frank A. La Sorte, Matthew Merrifield, Will Morris, Tina B. Phillips, Mark Reynolds, Amanda D. Rodewald, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Nancy M. Trautmann, Andrea Wiggins, David W. Winkler, Weng-Keen Wong, Christopher L. Wood, Jun Yu, Steve Kelling
This paper outlines how eBird has evolved from a basic citizen-science project into a collective enterprise, taking a novel approach to citizen science by developing cooperative partnerships among experts in a wide range of fields: population and distributions, conservation biologists, quantitative ecologists, statisticians, computer scientists, GIS…
S.A. Morrison, K.A. Parker, P.W. Collins, W.C. Funk, T.S. Sillett
Pest eradication as a means to restore island ecosystems may come too late for populations that have already been driven extinct. Over decades, the California islands have been the focus of numerous eradication projects. With most vertebrate invasive species now removed, there is the opportunity…
CL Boser, C Hanna, KR Faulkner, C Cory, JM Randall, SA Morrison
Argentine ants are a highly aggressive and impactful non-native species introduced to California and around the world, impacting ecologically sensitive areas, commercial industries and residential homes. This paper describes a new method of eliminating Argentine ant nests from a conservations area using low concentration toxicant…
TJ Coonan, V Bakker, B Hudgens, CL Boser, DK Garcelon, SA Morrison
The island fox is a rare carnivore existing on only six California Channel Islands. In the late 1990’s, due to new and excessive golden eagle predation, it was threatened with extinction on the three northern islands. After extensive and carefully-managed conservation efforts spearheaded by the Conservancy…
Jeanne M. Robertson, Kathryn M. Langin, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
Conservation of biodiversity can be complicated when there are many priority taxa and tradeoffs in management need to be made. This can be especially challenging on islands, where populations with relatively low dispersal ability often develop some degree of genetic distinctiveness. Natural communities on islands…
Mario B. Pesendorfer, Kathryn M. Langin, Brian Cohen, Zachary Principe, Scott A. Morrison, T. Scott Sillett
Acorns are an important food resource for many species that occupy oak habitats. Patterns of acorn abundance across time and space, however, are often difficult to characterize. This paper describes observed patterns associated with a dominant and keystone species of oak on Santa Cruz Island,…
CL Boser, C Cory, KR Faulkner, JM Randall, JJ Knapp, SA Morrison
Biosecurity is the prevention of damaging non-native species’ arrival and establishment to new areas, for the protection of native plants and animals. This paper discusses the first iterations of a biosecurity program on Santa Cruz Island, California, wherein wildlife cameras were used to search for…
