This report summarizes recommendations from a panel of independent scientists concerning how Region 5 of the U.S. Forest Service should consider performing monitoring of plant and animal species and their habitats within the Sierra Nevada National Forests (SNF). It was motivated by a settlement agreement between the Forest Service and several conservation organizations concerning how the Service had been ...

In 2016, the San Diego Association of Governments issued a task order to AECOM Technical Services, Inc. (AECOM) to implement the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program (SDMMP) project, Management Strategic Plan (MSP) 2016 Monitoring Protocol for Rare Plant Occurrences on Conserved Lands in Western San Diego County. The Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) teamed with AECOM (CBI/AECOM team) to ...

The Department of the Interior (DOI) oversees roughly 20 percent of US lands and 20 percent of the development of US energy supplies, mediates the use of water in the Nation’s 17 western states, and serves more than 500 federally recognized tribes and native communities in Alaska.  Recently Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell issued Secretarial Order 3330 “Improving ...

The Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) is working with project partners to enhance the resilience of five edaphic endemic plant species across their ranges. Our approach is to identify and describe geographic areas that could potentially support these species and their habitat in a design that enhances regional population structure and resilience. Results will help refine our understanding of environmental correlates ...

The San Joaquin Valley (“Valley”) is positioned to play a pivotal role in helping California achieve its ambitious goal to meet half of the state’s electricity demand by 2030 from renewable sources.  The Valley’s temperate climate and high solar insolation has already attracted investment in over 120 solar energy facilities, which are either already operating or in the planning ...