Point Blue

Pyrodiversity and Biodiversity in the Sierra

By Dr. Grant Ballard, Chief Science Officer Point Blue has monitored California’s iconic Sierra Nevada ecosystems since the 1970’s, with a particularly extensive study of birds and vegetation covering thousands of locations across the entire mountain range beginning in 2009. This long-term study serves as a witness to the transformation of Sierra ecosystems that is

Science News: Fire, Owls, and Farallon Gulls

The Benefits of Fire for Birds Fire is a phenomenon that may not be easy to think positively about when it comes to areas where we live, especially in California right now. But the story is more complicated than whether fire is all good or all bad. In the Sierra Nevada our research has revealed

An Abundance of Insight into Community-Based Restoration

by Celida Moran, Restoration and Education Technician For many people on the San Francisco Peninsula, Half Moon Bay has long been a weekend destination to enjoy locally caught seafood, coastal hikes, accessible beaches, and plant nurseries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the area has only increased in popularity as people continue to seek outlets for outdoor

Major Grant Launches New Project to Advance Soil Stewardship on Working Lands

Working lands, like farms and ranches, are often seen as a climate change contributor. However, farms and ranches also have great potential to be a part of the climate solution. Soil carbon sequestration is an important key to unlocking that potential, and rebuilding soil carbon on working lands will also help to achieve many other

Antarctica 2020-21: An Unusual Season

This update on our conservation work in Antarctica comes to you from the only three biologists that were able to go this past season due to restrictions with the COVID-19 global pandemic. We start with some video field updates from Seasonal Field Technician Parker Levinson and then we hear from Antarctic Program Director Dr. Annie

Big Partnerships for Big Impact

by Tom Gardali, Group Director, Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group Conservation is challenging. But partnerships make it possible. The California Landscape Conservation Partnership (LCP) is an alliance of public and private land managers, scientists, and interested groups committed to solving natural resource challenges that are too large or complex for any single entity to

Attractive and Beneficial: Groundwater Recharge Basins Can Be Both for People and Wildlife

With the lack of rain this fall and winter, comes anxiety about California’s water future for people, wildlife, and agriculture in California’s Central Valley. Our rainfall not only produces benefits at the surface like wildlife habitat and food crops, but it also recharges our stores of water below ground, otherwise known as groundwater aquifers. Even

The Case for Nature-based Solutions

By Mani Oliva, C.E.O. Recently, President Biden issued an Executive Order to raise the level of our ambition to fight climate change. This Executive Order recognizes the urgent need as well as the short time-frame we have to act. Therefore, the Executive Order creates a roadmap of how the federal government will take on a

Science News: Winter Science and the UN’s Declaration

The UN’s 2021 Resolution: More Restoration! The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration starts this year! Point Blue is excited to use our decades of restoration experience to contribute to this global effort. Habitat restoration is one of the major solutions to wildlife declines, the climate crisis, and human health challenges. In recent years, we’ve

An Important Day for Democracy and Conservation

By Mani Oliva, CEO These past two weeks we have witnessed both the fragility and the resilience of democracy. From the violent attacks where messages of hate were prevalent, to the words of support and unity during the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris – ironically both occurring on the steps of the

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