A landmark 2019 report in Science describes a loss of 3 billion birds in North America since 1970. Seventy bird species have lost two-thirds of their population over this period. The causes are numerous, many threats continue, and climate change brings more challenges and uncertainties. Despite over a century of bird conservation, losses continue. Yet conservation opportunities, informed by science, bring pathways to reversing and avoiding declines. These include advances in regenerative agriculture, smart siting of land-transforming renewable energy, investments in green infrastructure and nature’s contributions to climate resilience, and large landscape collaborative conservation.
Please join us as our presenter, Lynn Scarlett, draws upon her years of experience at the Department of the Interior, The Nature Conservancy, and with collaborative conservation partnerships across the nation to explore conservation opportunities, their complexities and challenges, and their relevance to California and Santa Barbara.
Lynn Scarlett retired in December 2021 from The Nature Conservancy, the largest conservation organization in the world, where she served as Global Chief External Affairs Officer. Prior to her role at the Conservancy, Scarlett served at the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2001-2009 in the GW Bush Administration, where she was the Deputy Secretary/Chief Operating Officer of the department; she served as Acting Secretary of the Interior in 2006. She serves on the advisory board of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Dean’s Advisory Council of the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. She serves on the boards of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, National Wildlife Refuge Association, Sand County Foundation, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Photo credit: Lynn Scarlett
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