-Mark Reynolds, PH.D, Senior Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy.

"PRBO has distinguished itself as a leader in conducting important,
applied science to benefit birds. Even more importantly, they excel in
making the information available to and relevant for managers, who
can then use it to improve habitat for birds and other wildlife.”

— Peter Stangel, PhD,
Southern Region Director,
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

"The rich history of PRBO maintains it as one of the most important
centers for avian studies in the western US.”

— Grant Reviewer
National Science Foundation

"PRBO's leadership and pioneering research are critically important
to conserving the food webs and ecosystems of the California Current
marine ecosystem.”

— Don Croll, PhD,
Center for Ocean Health,
UC Santa Cruz

"PRBO advances our understanding of ecosystem dynamics. By implementing their management recommendations we have been successful in promoting the recovery of a wide range of species, including birds, beetles and bats."

--Greg Golet, Senior Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy of California

Founded as Point Reyes Bird Observatory in 1965, our award-winning bird ecology research, management tools and field training programs are advancing biodiversity conservation on land and at sea. Birds are excellent indicators of environmental health. Relatively inexpensive to monitor and widely distributed, birds serve as ideal proxies for the ecosystems they inhabit.

PRBO has doubled in size over the past 5 years in response to the ever–increasing demand for sound science to guide and evaluate conservation investments. Our 2006 budget is $5.5 million, supporting 65 staff scientists, 55 seasonal biologists and another 85 conservation biology interns in United States and Latin America.

PRBO has catalyzed the development of some of the most innovative conservation partnerships and decision support tools in the nation. Major conservation initiatives are achieving more effective outcomes as a result of PRBO’s innovative science, training and outreach.

Working in partnership with wildlife and habitat management agencies, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, private landowners, fisheries and others, our award-winning science advances win-win solutions to today’s conservation challenges.

PRBO helps to ensure that every dollar invested in conservation yields the most for biodiversity- benefiting our environment, our economy and our communities!

In recognition of our accomplishments and outstanding contributions to environmental conservation in California, Senator Barbara Boxer awarded PRBO with a Conservation Champion Award in 2006. PRBO was honored with the Partners In Flight “Leadership Award” from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the national “Conservation Partner Award” from the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

As a result of our expertise and achievements, PRBO is also an invited leader in major regional, national and international conservation initiatives, including the:

§ North American Bird Conservation Initiative- US Committee (13-member national committee),

§ US Shorebird Conservation Plan Council (Chair),

§ Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (US Chair),

§ International Partners in Flight (US Steering Committee, CA Co-Chair),

§ Pacific Coast Ocean Observing System (Governing Board), and

§ Management Boards and Technical Committees of three Habitat Joint Ventures of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (San Francisco Bay Joint Venture [Chair], Central Valley Joint Venture and Sonoran Joint Venture; PRBO also serves on the national Association of Joint Venture Management Boards), and,

§ Various California state science teams (e.g., Marine Life Protection Act, South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project and Salton Sea Restoration Project).

Since our inception, PRBO has provided the scientific basis for:

• Establishing three national marine sanctuaries and an International Biosphere Preserve;
• Designating San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley (CA) ricelands as vital habitat for shorebirds through the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, advancing conservation of these critical regions;
• Establishing the 1993 California law protecting white sharks, a vital top predator in marine ecosystem dynamics;
• Ending gill net fishing, halting catastrophic mortality of seabirds & marine mammals off California’s central coast;
• Establishing new guidelines on commercial fishing for squid in California waters to protect breeding seabirds; and,
• Protecting and restoring Mono Lake (a vital bird breeding and migratory stopover site in the Eastern Sierras).

PRBO has also:

• Co-authored the guide to standardized songbird monitoring published by the USDA Forest Service (in English and Spanish) now being used across North America, Mexico and Central America; and developed a first-of-its-kind guide to statistical analysis of bird monitoring data published by the US Fish and Wildlife Service;
• Developed new approaches to riparian (streamside) habitat restoration to reverse declines in breeding songbirds, resulting in increased species diversity and abundance, and benefiting other animals including commercially valuable fish in California’s Central Valley;
• Developed oiled bird response protocols for the state of California that are in use around the world to protect marine wildlife and ecosystems in the future;
• Graduated over 1,000 college and graduate students from the US and dozens of other countries in our renowned conservation biology internship program;
• Developed a first-of-its-kind Habitat Conversion Model to minimize impacts on bird populations from the conversion of salt ponds to tidal habitats and guide effective restoration in south San Francisco Bay;
• Amassed the longest term data set in North America on breeding seabirds and marine mammals at the Farallon Islands- 27 miles west of San Francisco and site of the largest seabird and marine mammal colonies south of Alaska- demonstrating human and natural changes in the ecosystem and helping to conserve this rich ocean environment;
• Initiated the Bird Conservation Network in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean with dozens of locally based partners and biologists to conserve migratory birds across their ranges as well as resident birds; PRBO and partners have established 14 bird and habitat monitoring stations and have trained over 150 biologists in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean during the past 3 years.
• Spearheaded the collaborative development of seven habitat-based songbird conservation plans and the Southern Pacific Shorebird Conservation Plan now in wide use by every major habitat and wildlife management agency in the West;
• Developed the first-of-its-kind California Current System (CCS) Marine Bird Conservation Plan that reviews threats to and ecological needs of key seabird species with numerous research and management recommendations, covering the Pacific Ocean from southern British Columbia to Baja California and offshore to 200 miles;
• Spearheaded successful efforts to increase populations of the endangered Western Snowy Plover and San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike while continuing ongoing studies of other threatened species including Black Rail, Least Tern, Spotted Owl, and Steller’s Sea Lion;
• Produced unparalleled data on wetlands and migratory shorebirds in the Pacific Flyway, identifying priority sites for conservation from Mexico to Alaska;
• Developed quantitative models based on seabird diet and productivity that have the potential to dramatically improve fisheries management, to predict return rates and set fishing quotas for commercial fish such as Pacific herring and Chinook salmon;
• Led the development of the 2003 Bird Species of Special Concern priorities guiding the California Department of Fish and Game (first update since 1978); and,
• Published over 1,000 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, reports and publications.