Rebecca Shaw, director of conservation science and planning

The California program's director of conservation science and planning takes a break from her busy schedule to talk about why conservation in California is so important.

“Identifying what needs to be conserved is only 50 percent of the process. The other 50 percent is identifying how you get it done,” says Rebecca Shaw. As the California program’s Director of Conservation Science and Planning, her job is to bridge these two objectives.

With a master’s degree in environmental policy and a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Berkeley, Shaw is well suited for the challenge. She conducted research on the ecological impacts of global warming at Stanford University before joining the Conservancy in 2002 to lead the Invasive Species Initiative in California.

	Scientists monitoring plants on Santa Rosa Plateau © Stephen Francis

In her current role, Shaw directs an interdisciplinary team of scientific and technical experts in a constant quest for "better data and better thinking." She believes that the California program is uniquely positioned to pioneer new strategies for conservation.

"California is a state that innovates on so many fronts—technology, the arts, politics, academics —and conservation," she explains. "It’s an exciting place with a tremendous diversity of resources."

Over the past three years, Shaw has been striving to utilize these resources by strengthening the California program’s ties to academia. "There is a lot of creative thinking about conservation being done by legal scholars, economists, political scientists and others. We want to bring the very best minds to bear upon not only the science of conservation, but also the real world application of that science."

Nowhere are this innovation and collaboration more evident—and crucial—than on Santa Cruz Island, where a diverse team of scientists, ecologists, policy-makers, legal experts and historians is working together to preserve the island’s biological richness for future generations. The results are positive: since 2002 more than 30 endangered island fox pups have been born through a captive breeding program, and threats to the island’s flora and fauna are being removed.

Along with her knowledge and experience, Shaw brings infectious enthusiasm and curiosity to her work. Asked why she is devoted to leading this charge, her eyes light up: “I have the best job on the planet, bar none. The opportunity to apply my scientific and creative skills to address conservation issues in a state that I absolutely love—there’s no better job than that."