I attended a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in Kenya for a portion of my last year of college. I learned more about fresh water during those four weeks than at any other time in my life. From collecting water in Mt. Kenyan streams to visiting African towns that had unreliable water systems, I realized then [...] More

Fire — that magical, powerful phenomena — can threaten societies. It can also do wonders for nature at the same time. Some Conservancy scientists recently published a paper discussing this very thing. It’s short and well worth reading — it gives you a basic understanding of the importance of fire to the health of many ecosystems [...] More

When I think about Hawai’i, my eyes sparkle with thoughts of the beautiful colors one can find there. Colors that, to me, speak of health and vibrancy and diversity. Take coral reefs, for example: The brighter and more colorful they are, the healthier. But like a ’50s-era horror movie, alien species of algae — most likely brought [...] More

When I was a kid, I dreamed of working for The Nature Conservancy because I thought that their method of conserving nature was ingeniously simple: Buy and set aside land so that it can’t be developed and so all the cute furry animals have a place to live. Of course, the Conservancy’s methods of conservation were [...] More

“Pomp and Circumstance” has been played, celebratory meals have been had, and President Obama and the First Lady have danced and mingled. Now it’s time to get down to business. President Obama, in the first few lines of his inaugural speech, said: That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. …and  each day brings [...] More

I’m not a resolutions-making kind of gal. I tend to think New Year’s Resolutions are just a way to make yourself feel good by pretending that you’re actually going to do something that’s good for you when you’ve never made a habit of doing it in the past. But I’m making a resolution for 2009 — and [...] More

Economic stimulus bills — and what should be in them — are a hot topic right now. The Nature Conservancy isn’t influencing the overall debate about what these bills should contain, but we do believe that we can improve the economy and the environment by investing in restoration and reducing the damages to natural environments caused [...] More

Another gloomy report on the effects of all of the carbon dioxide we humans are spewing into the atmosphere: Oceans are becoming more acidic. This is particularly bad for living coral, the delicate little creatures that literally build the reefs that support an incredibly diverse amount of ocean life. As reported in the latest issue of Science [...] More

President Bush designated three areas in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean as Marine National Monuments today. These monuments span 195,280 square miles and will help to protect some of the world’s most ecologically diverse marine areas. Under the Antiquities act of 1906, a President can quickly declare an area a National Monument without the approval of [...] More

President-Elect Obama’s transition team have released a video of their energy and environment working group meeting with leaders of prominent green groups to discuss the transition plan the groups have proposed. The Nature Conservancy’s President and CEO Mark Tercek — as well as leaders from World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and the Pew Environmental Group — was [...] More