Photo Credit: Dr. Llyod Glenn Ingles, California Academy of Science After many years as a software engineer, I dedicated the last few years to pursuing a graduate degree in Biology. My research concentrated on wildfire ecology and modeling, so I was particularly interested in a recent news story about how the black-backed woodpecker is in serious decline over much of ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about why I’ve chosen to work in environmental conservation.  Within that piece, I shared a bit of my own experience in working with an endangered species, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard.  In vogue no more, the endangered gray gibbon will not be seen in captivity much longer. There are now too ...

What if I told you that wilderness doesn’t exist?  I’m not talking about some future, apocalyptic scenario. . . but right now.  In Mark Dowie’s book, “Conservation Refugees”, he explains that many of the native people he interviews for his research have no translation for the word “wilderness”.  Nature is not something put in a box and set aside ...

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster, one can reflect the confidence the ship's crew must have had in their ship. Now, just imagine if a group of scientists had been on the ship and had approached the proud captain warning of possible fatal collision with floating icebergs. It is likely that the captain would have ...

I have worked as a Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) scientist with Terra Peninsular and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for the past 3 years to develop a scientific justification to CONANP (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas) that would substantially increase the area protected under its jurisdiction in the Sierra Juarez.  These potential protected areas are now under threat by ...