Conservation Science

Fellow Story

Beal to head Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

In her last Cabinet nomination, Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday (January 18 ,2019) afternoon that she has chosen the president of Maine Farmland Trust to head the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
January 23, 2019
Fellow Story

Can genetic engineering save disappearing forests?

Humans have not yet released a genetically engineered plant that is intended to spread and persist in an unmanaged environment. Biotech trees – genetically engineered or gene-edited – offer the possibility of releasing genetically engineered trees into forests to counter threats to forest health and represent a new frontier in biotechnology, writes Fellow Jason Delborne.
January 23, 2019
Fellow Story

Conserving southern California's native flora

Switzer funds assisted the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to create a new position for Fellow Nick Jensen as Southern California Conservation Analyst. Nick, a recent PhD graduate in botany from Claremont Graduate University, joined the organization to further his ambition of putting his botany expertise to applied use in an advocacy-oriented organization. After nearly a year in the new position, it is clear to Nick Jensen that effective conservation advocacy requires diverse networks, and that building these relationships takes time.&n
January 16, 2019
Fellow Story

Jensen and colleagues kicked out of Tejon Ranch project after criticism

To fend off lawsuits over its plans to build a new city in the rugged countryside northwest of Los Angeles, Tejon Ranch Co. made a landmark concession to environmentalists. It promised a decade ago to preserve 90% of its land — 240,000 acres — as an untouched ecological conservancy for public enjoyment through educational and research programs.
December 10, 2018
Fellow Story

Gallo publishes on fish populations thriving in waters containing almost no oxygen

Scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have discovered that two species of fish are capable of living in ocean waters almost completely devoid of oxygen.
December 10, 2018
Network Innovation Grant Grant

Whither Phalaropes? Convening a working group to propel shorebird conservation research in Great Basin saline lakes

Ryan Carle, Conservation Coordinator at Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, and Margaret Rubega, Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, will convene and lead a working group of researchers...
December 5, 2018
Fellow Story

Cornelisse petitions for ESA protection for Mojave desert bee

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition today asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to give Endangered Species Act protection to the Mojave poppy bee, which is known to survive only in seven locations in Clark County, Nev.
December 4, 2018
Fellow Story

Cracks in the Future of the Antarctic

The future of the Antarctic ecosystems depends on the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) rising swiftly to the challenge of climate change. If they do, writes Fellow Cassandra Brooks, Antarctica will continue to be a beacon of international diplomacy, scientific collaborations, peaceful cooperation, and thriving ecosystems.
December 3, 2018
Fellow Story

Dudney, Heilmayr publish on rethinking resilience-based management before it’s too late

Ecosystems around the globe are resisting and adapting to human-induced change: infrastructure invades wild spaces, new species are introduced or disappear, and climate change continues to shape the natural world. A new paper from UC Berkeley scientists addresses an important resource management issue: the need to track environmental change while supporting healthy levels of adaptation.
October 29, 2018