Latest Project Updates

“Bird Day” joy: students and teachers visit local heronry

After a two-year break, ACR hosted Bird Day again, which is a special visit to the W. 9th Street heronry in Santa Rosa for the students of Lincoln Elementary School. The heronry on W. 9th Street is home to four species of herons and has over 200 nests, making it an important habitat—especially during nesting season.

ACR awarded $2M for prescribed fire workforce development

The four-year grant received from CAL FIRE will launch a workforce development program, the Fire Forward Intensive, which will train five new full-time prescribed burn leaders each year. “We are thrilled to be able to offer additional pathways to professional fire and forest stewardship careers in communities threatened by the impacts of climate change and century-long lack of stewardship,” said program director Sasha Berleman.

“We care deeply”: why Beatrice Pezzolo chose nature

This blog is part of our Choose Nature series, where we offer behind-the-scenes content that explores a central question in conservation: why did “choosing nature” feel like the fulfilling and right thing to do? Beatrice Pezzolo is a high school sophomore, a passionate birder, and an emerging conservation scientist. The interview is available to watch as well.

Year-long internship offers SRJC students "deeper understanding" of controlled burning

Fire practitioners Max Psaledakis and Eric Radcliffe express how this year-long internship gave them a sense of the community and deeper understanding of prescribed burning. Two of the interns from the first year, Max Psaledakis and Eric Radcliffe, had a chance to reflect on what made their experience unique—and worthwhile. “The community here has been a huge part of why this was a positive experience,” says Radcliffe.

New collaborative research shows how Great Egrets adjust daily flight patterns to feed their growing families.

Conservation science works best when practiced as a team sport. When we share ideas, data, methods, and information, we can so learn more about the natural systems we’re trying to protect, compared to if we work in isolation. A new paper published in the scientific journal Waterbirds is the most recent example of how scientists at ACR’s Cypress Grove Research Center collaborate with researchers from across the country—and for the benefit of stronger, more impactful research.

Young male lion crosses the Russian River: why tracking young lions is vital

Within hours, the mountain lion was collared and entered into the tracking system as P37: a young, 18- to 24-month-old lion. En route he was recorded as having spent 137 hours eating a deer he had caught in a vineyard. He continued walking north until the Russian River, where he paced the river area for several days.