Point Blue Conservation Science supports the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Learn more here.

We work with local communities and public and private partners to increase the pace and scale of climate-smart restoration. To achieve this, we combine our expertise in restoration, conservation science, monitoring, and high-performance partnering.

Worldwide, habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction and the loss of the services nature provides. In California, more than 90% of all wetlands and riparian areas have been completely destroyed and what remains is highly degraded. Accelerating climate and land-use change adds additional stress to our already imperiled environment. Climate-smart restoration can repair the damage of habitat loss and maintain ecosystem resilience in a changing climate.


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Kristy Dybala, Ph.D.

Email: kdybala@pointblue.org

Principal Ecologist

OR

Brent Campos

Email: bcampos@pointblue.org

Northern Sierra Program Leader

What is Climate-Smart Restoration?

At Point Blue, we define climate-smart restoration as the process of enhancing ecological function of degraded or destroyed areas in a manner that prepares them for the consequences of climate change. We restore biodiversity, ecosystem function, and water quality to prepare our watersheds for climate change.

Ecological restoration is a relatively new discipline, and climate-smart restoration is an even newer concept. As such, science is critical to inform and improve restoration strategies. We believe restoration actions will be successful if they are based on sound science. Our scientists are working to (1) provide answers to key uncertainties, (2) develop tools to access important information, and (3) help evaluate effectiveness.

Please reach out and work with us! We collaborate and consult on Climate-smart restoration in California and beyond.


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Brent Campos

Email: bcampos@pointblue.org

Northern Sierra Program Leader

Targeted Restoration Partnerships & Guidance

Point Blue works in partnership to restore important ecosystems in California, such as Sierra meadows, tidal marshes, and Central Valley rivers.

We use several approaches to help our partners restore ecosystems in a way that prepares them for the consequences of climate change. Our main approach centers around information sharing – we hold workshops, give presentations, produce peer-reviewed science, and create freely available tools.

Restoring Meadows & Marshes

Meadows comprise less than one percent of Sierra Nevada lands and yet they provide extraordinary benefits to innumerable birds, other wildlife, fish, and people. We are working with the Sierra Meadows Partnership to restore and protect 30,000 acres of meadows.

Point Blue provides the science to prioritize where to conduct tidal marsh restoration projects to meet multiple goals. We offer expert recommendations based on a robust history of San Francisco Bay tidal marsh and waterbird monitoring dating back to the 1980's.

Sierra Meadows Partnership website

Contact Ryan Burnett for further meadow inquiries

Contact Julian Wood for further marsh inquiries

Restoring Rivers

Rivers provides a plethora of resources and functions for both wildlife and human communities. For wildlife, abundant food, shelter, and nesting areas. For people, clean water, carbon sequestration, flood buffer, a source for crop pollinators, and erosion control.

Contact Kristen Dybala for further inquiries


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Laurette Rogers

Email: lrogers@pointblue.org

STRAW Founder and Ambassador

Communities Restoring for the Future

Point Blue’s STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) Program is combating climate change with every restoration project it takes on. STRAW coordinates and sustains a network of teachers, students, restoration specialists, and community members to plan and implement professional watershed restoration.

STRAW empowers communities to heal the land, revitalize habitats, generate cleaner water, sequester carbon, empower children, and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders.

Please reach out to us to become a STRAW restoration partner or if you are a teacher who would like to learn how to join our network.

Video

Watch a short video about the STRAW Program.

Watch Video

Learn more about STRAW education

STRAW Stats

As of 2023, STRAW has collaborated with over 60,000 students to restore 46 miles of stream using over 83,000 plants. Over 30 years, STRAW has hosted over 1,000 restoration days with over 130 schools in over 15 California counties to create water quality, carbon storage, and wildlife benefits.

Some Key STRAW Restoration Sites

Point Blue's STRAW Program engages communities from the Sierra Nevada to the South San Francisco Bay Area to actively restore mountain meadows, tidal wetlands, creekside forests, and hope for the future. The program manages hundreds of projects each year across this geography and we're including a few key restoration efforts below.

Novato Baylands

Sonoma Baylands

Childs Meadow

Pajaro River

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