Point Conception Institute

At the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, we’re transforming 150 acres of former agricultural land back into thriving oak habitat. Coast live oaks are vital to California’s ecosystems, supporting a rich diversity of plants and animals that depend on these iconic trees.

Using a dynamic dashboard, our ecologists track progress across five restoration zones, each designed with different planting densities—from dense woodlands to open oak savannas. Trees are planted as acorns, seedlings, or saplings, and each is tested with various protection methods to guard against gophers, squirrels, deer, and cattle.

Over the next five years, we’ll monitor the health and survival of each tree to learn which techniques work best. These insights will be shared with the broader oak restoration community to support habitat recovery across California.

At the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, The Nature Conservancy and our partners at Rancho San Julian are using conservation grazing to restore and maintain California’s coastal grasslands. Through our rangeland program, we manage cattle grazing to reduce wildfire risk, control invasive species, and support native biodiversity.

Our approach aims to balance ecological goals with operational realities. We rotate cattle across pastures to allow for rest and recovery, and are investing in new infrastructure and technologies to help us monitor, plan, and encourage more streamlined and sustainable operations.

This program is part of a broader effort to demonstrate how well-managed grazing can support resilient ecosystems, vibrant rural economies, and long-term conservation success.

Fire presents both challenges and opportunities at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. Catastrophic wildfires in the Western United States, driven by drought, climate change, and land management practices mean that fire can pose a risk to the biodiversity and safety of people on the Preserve. However, prescribed fire or “beneficial fire” can also be used as a tool in our conservation toolbox to support biodiversity and to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires moving across the Preserve. PCI is in a unique position to combine the practical needs of stewarding the land with scientific research. We are teaming up with a suite of partners, including researchers from Cal Poly SLO, UCSB, Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council, and Santa Barbara County Fire, to study the impacts of fire and provide guidance to land managers and agencies on how to develop fire plans that both reduce fire risk and help reach ecological objectives. Click here to learn more about our fire related work. 

The region around Point Conception and the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve is a unique ecological crossroads—where northern and southern California ecosystems meet. As climate change reshapes habitats, understanding how species might shift across this transition zone is critical. Several projects at the Preserve are addressing this challenge, including a collaborative project led by Dr. Gio Rapacciuolo and supported by The Nature Conservancy’s Point Conception Institute that compiled observational data to begin to model species ranges and define, through literature review, the scientific support for this area being considered an ecological transiton zone. 

In another project graduate students from UCSB, guided by Professor Amy Frazier, developed models for 45 key species. These models help predict how plant and animal communities may move or change in the future.

Dr. Erica Neilsen, Dr. Pete Raimondi, and others are also leading work to understand species ranges shifts in the intertidal using data from the MARINe project.

Explore this innovative work through an interactive biodviersity portal and final presentation that reveal how biodiversity may evolve in this dynamic landscape.

We’re working to restore 300 acres of coastal prairie, dunes, and wetlands by removing invasive iceplant—a species that disrupts natural ecosystem processes and displaces native plants. This large-scale restoration effort is guided by the Iceplant Restoration Science Working Group and supported by cutting-edge research and technology.

To better understand the spread of iceplant, we’ve partnered with NCEAS and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to map its extent using satellite imagery and machine learning. This has resulted in the most comprehensive assessment of iceplant along the Santa Barbara County coast to date.

We’re also learning from local research, including studies by UCSB’s Nick Saglimbeni on effective iceplant removal and native plant recovery techniques. In addition, UCSB researchers Madison Heffentrager and Ian Walker are studying how sand moves and dunes recover after iceplant is removed—key insights for long-term restoration success.

Together, these efforts are helping us bring back the natural beauty and ecological function of California’s coastal landscapes.

Establishing thriving Rockweed Populations

Silvetia compressa, a type of rockweed found along California’s coast, plays a crucial role in the local marine ecosystem. It provides food and shelter for over 100 species.  Traditional restoration methods involve moving whole plants from healthy populations, which can unintentionally harm donor sites. To find a more sustainable solution, we’re testing a new approach: growing young Silvetia in a lab from fertile branches collected at the Dangermond Preserve, then planting them back into the wild. This method could help restore vital coastal habitats while protecting existing ones.

Bringing Black Abalone Back from the Brink

Black abalone, once abundant along California’s coast, have faced steep declines due to overfishing, disease, and climate change. Now, researchers from The Nature Conservancy,  UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries are working to restore this endangered marine snail at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. In 2023, scientists carefully translocated healthy black abalone from surviving populations to the Preserve’s rocky coastline—one of the few undisturbed habitats left.

Early results are promising: surveys show that many of the translocated abalone have survived and settled into their new home. This effort not only supports species recovery but also honors the cultural significance of black abalone to coastal Native communities. Ongoing monitoring will help determine if these resilient creatures can begin to reproduce and reestablish a thriving population.

Understanding how water moves through fractured rock aquifers is key to protecting California’s water resources—especially in coastal regions like the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. In December 2023, we developed a report, Falling Through the Cracks, highlighting the scientific findings at the Preserve and providing recommendations for actionable conservation strategies as we continue to invest in research in this area.

In partnership with researchers from UCSB, including hydrologist Scott Jasechko, The Nature Conservancy is pioneering new methods to monitor groundwater recharge in real time.

Using a network of Ranchbot, and other sensors—many installed on remote ridgetop wells—our team is collecting live data on groundwater levels, rainfall, and streamflow. This system represents one of the densest groundwater monitoring networks globally, offering a rare look into recharge dynamics.

This work is part of a broader effort to build a “digital twin” of the watershed, enabling scientists to model water movement and test restoration strategies. Insights from this project will help inform sustainable water management practices and support the recovery of streamflow-dependent ecosystems across California.

The Central Coast Ambient Monitoring Program (CCAMP), led by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, is conducting long-term water quality monitoring at Jalama Creek. This site helps track trends in water quality over time, supporting efforts to protect and restore central California’s coastal waters.

Ambient measurements include pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and salinity, along with quarterly sampling for nutrients and other indicators. All data collection follows the State Water Board’s SWAMP Quality Assurance Program Plan and is shared publicly via https://www.ceden.org and the http://www.ccamp.org.

To complement this work, researchers Walter Heady and Matt Mensinger have deployed a network of dissolved oxygen and temperature loggers throughout Jalama Creek. These sensors are strategically placed in pools and tributaries to assess steelhead habitat suitability, detect groundwater contributions, and monitor seasonal changes in water quality. The deployment includes HOBO MX800 Series loggers and dissolved oxygen sensors, with multiple sensors installed at different depths to capture stratification and cold-water refugia.

This integrated monitoring effort is helping scientists understand how habitat conditions evolve and guiding restoration strategies to support endangered species like Southern California steelhead.

At the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, The Nature Conservancy is restoring vital habitat for endangered Southern California steelhead by removing two major barriers to fish passage along lower Jalama Creek. These concrete and bridge structures previously blocked the seasonal movement of juvenile and adult steelhead, preventing access to over 12 miles of high-quality spawning and rearing habitat.

By removing these impediments, we’ve taken the first steps toward reconnecting up to 21 miles of stream—from the Pacific Ocean to the upper watershed. This effort not only supports steelhead recovery but also benefits other sensitive species, including the tidewater goby, California red-legged frog, and western pond turtle.

With 94% of the Jalama Creek watershed protected within the Dangermond Preserve, this project represents a rare opportunity to restore an intact coastal ecosystem and help endangered species thrive once again.

PCI partnered with NASA-Jet Propulsion Lab and University of California on Project SHIFT (for Surface Biology and Geology High Frequency Time series). This is a first-of-its-kind deployment of AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer) optical sensor technology and on-the ground vegetation sampling to calibrate and validate vegetation observations for NASA’s Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission. This coordinated effort will, for the first time, document large-scale seasonal change in vegetation of Mediterranean ecosystems through weekly flyovers coupled with ground-based sampling. Check out the data and SHIFT media and stay tuned for emerging research.

Dangermond Preserve’s Jalama watershed is a medium-sized, intact southern California watershed. Without major dams, diversions, or development, over 90% of the watershed is within The Nature Conservancy’s conservation ownership of the Dangermond Preserve. This makes it ideal for deploying a combination of ground-based, airborne, and satellite sensing to create pipelines of data on freshwater ecosystems—a freshwater digital twin.

Through the development of a wireless network of weather stations, stream gauges, and groundwater level loggers, and in situ sampling of isotopes and water quality we are working with partners (UCSB, etc) to understand the “pulse” of the Preserves freshwater resources and use information pipelines to make sustainable water decisions.

Specifically, our goal is to:

• Develop data and evidence to guide conservation actions in ecologically similar, but more impaired, watersheds (e.g., impaired watersheds throughout the global Mediterranean biome).
• Create and demonstrate efficient, technologically-enabled approaches for monitoring data-poor freshwater systems.
• Create a rich database (digital twin) to allow for new approaches and integration of in situ data with airborne and satellite technologies for water system monitoring.
• Invest directly in developing scalable approaches by convening water resource managers and decision makers, presenting approaches, data and findings to help determine the impact pathway forward.

To support a growing community of researchers and conservation practitioners, The Nature Conservancy has built a powerful digital ecosystem at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. At the heart of this system is the Research Application Management Portal (RAMP)—a custom Salesforce-based platform that streamlines the research approval process. RAMP allows applicants to submit proposals, track progress, and receive updates, while staff manage workflows, approvals, and reporting.

Complementing RAMP is the Research Repository for Data Discovery (R2D2), a public-facing portal hosted on the DataONE network. R2D2 provides open, secure access to well-documented Earth observation datasets, making it easier for researchers to publish, discover and share data from the Preserve 

All of this is integrated with the Dangermond Geospatial Hub, a dynamic online platform where anyone can explore interactive maps, dashboards, and stories about the Preserve’s science and stewardship. From freshwater monitoring to fire management and species tracking, the Hub showcases how geospatial data is driving conservation outcomes.

Together, RAMP, R2D2, and the Geospatial Hub form a robust digital backbone for conservation science—supporting transparency, collaboration, and innovation across disciplines.