Sierra Nevada Foothill Zone Conservation Assessment

In recent years the state has narrowed the gap between state concerns regarding biodiversity and ecosystem management, and the processes of local government and agencies that affect those concerns. While these efforts made some progress, none was sufficient to ensure the integration of existing data and analysis into local processes. It became clear that in addition to generalized institution building, the situation requires active participation to locate relevant real-world opportunities within the local government arena and work within those processes to bring data and analysis generated by the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP) and other regional, university, state and federal programs to bear on the decision processes that affect the fate of the Sierra Nevada.
The California Resources Agency recently awarded funding to the Sierra Nevada Network for Education and Research (SNNER) to conduct a conservation analysis of the Sierran foothill zone. This project, which was initiated in July 2000, is being conducted at UCSB and involves integrating and refining existing biological data and combining those data with socioeconomic data and information to help prioritize foothill sites for conservation and restoration activities.

PI(s): 

Frank W. Davis

Funding Agency: 

California Resources Agency

Project Period: 

July, 2000 to June, 2001

Research Area: 

Status: 

Completed