The ecological function of rangelands generates productivity, sequesters carbon in the soil, supports robust wildlife populations, and can be a key determinant of financial and ecological sustainability. Point Blue’s Rangeland Monitoring Network (RMN) seeks to preserve the ecological value of rangelands and recommend conservation actions that enhance their function for people and wildlife. Since the inception of RMN in 2014, our biologists have collected information on soils, plants, and birds from over 500 unique locations on 100 ranches across the state. We evaluate key indicators of ecological function related to soil health, vegetation, and the bird community. RMN’s data inform across ranches, relationships between management practices and ecological function, and provide ranchers and other stewards of the land with tools to monitor ecological function on California rangelands. RMN’s conservation recommendations are being put into action with restoration projects across the state via the Roots Program, a wildlife habitat restoration program led by Point Blue Conservation Science and funded by the California Wildlife Conservation Board.

Brian is a working lands partner biologist for Point Blue Conservation Science and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Tulare County, California. He works within the nexus connecting agriculture, human communities, and nature to help create a more wild and resilient future. At Cal Poly Humboldt Brian completed a BA Geography and BS Wildlife Conservation and Management in 2012, and a MS Natural Resources Wildlife in 2022 assessing the ecosystem service of Aleutian cackling geese on livestock pastures. They have worked at non-profits, consulting firms, and government agencies surveying and restoring habitat for amphibians, birds, mammals, pollinators, and salmonids.