Working Lands Programs Coordinator and Senior Partner Biologist
As the Working Lands Programs Coordinator and Senior Partner Biologist, I advance the conservation of California rangelands and agricultural lands by partnering with ranchers, researchers, and conservation partners. I co-lead a team of community-based Partner Biologists that are co-located in USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service field offices throughout California. Our team advances the understanding of rangeland ecology by collecting standardized data on soils, vegetation, and birds and uses this data to recommend conservation actions that enhance rangeland function for people and wildlife.
I joined (then) PRBO Conservation Science in 2005 as an intern on the Clear Creek Floodway Restoration Songbird Monitoring Project in Redding, CA. I was lucky enough to participate in avian field research in Australia, Mexico, and Central America, but soon found myself back in the North State as the project leader for the Clear Creek project training and supervising seasonal crews on songbird nest monitoring, territory mapping, point counting, and bird banding. With the creation of Point Blue’s Working Lands Program in 2011, I joined as a Partner Biologist and transitioned to the Program Director in 2023.
I live in Shasta County with my husband and son. In my free time, I enjoy mountain biking Redding’s world-class trail system, snowboarding at Mt. Shasta, and traveling in Latin America searching for endemic bird species and practicing my Spanish.
Email: Alicia Herrera