A Case for Monitoring

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One of the exciting aspects of my fellowship this summer has given me the opportunity to see the work supported by the California State Coastal Conservancy on the ground. Project monitoring not only gets me out of the office and away from a computer screen but has allowed me to travel to all 9 of the San Francisco Bay Area counties (San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin), most which I had never visited before. Because of this, I’ve come to understand how large the Bay Area really is, with its many different landscapes and communities (and traffic). Continue reading →

Aloha from the Rainbow State

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The fiery archipelago of Hawaii is one of the most fascinating places I have visited. The islands’ stunning landscapes contain high levels of endemism. Walking around the sprawling metropolis of Honolulu, bright, fragrant flowers attract colorful birds with rounded narrow beaks. Diversity in nature intersects diversity in culture as Polynesian traditions blend with Filipino and Japanese influence.

 

Sunset sailing is a great way to enjoy the beauty of Diamond Head

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Where the Rubber Meets the Road

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Palau may be a small country but it is positioning itself as a mighty force in the world of ocean conservation and smart growth. Palau created a shark sanctuary in 2001. In 2007, Palau established a nation-wide Protected Areas Network which is funded, in large part, by a Green Fee levied on foreign tourists. In 2015, Palau took the plunge and designated their entire EEZ as a National Marine Sanctuary, closing all waters to commercial fishing and setting aside 80% as a no-take zone. As of this year, the country is doubling-down on smart growth and responsible tourism. Countless international NGOs, foundations, and foreign governments have a presence in the country and collaborate on everything from tuna tagging to aerial surveys for illegal fishing boats. Continue reading →

Winter is Coming

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I’ve just been hearing reports that all my friends and family in California are dying of heatstroke, and you know what that means- it must be winter! In Fiji, that is. Fijians in the PCEG office at IUCN are all talking about how cold it’s getting here in Suva, but today is the first day I wore a light sweater, and I had to take it off halfway through the day after I got overheated. I actually had to learn how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius from a Polish guy at my hostel when I visited the tourist town of Nadi, in order to tell people about the vast temperature range in my hometown. Something apparently pretty foreign to Fijians. Continue reading →

Where the marine meets the mountains

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It is a peculiar and strange innervation working on issues in the marine space but working in a location that is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The closest saltwater environment is Great Salt Lake while the closest marine environment is surprisingly and amusingly the Gulf of California (Mar de Cortez). Marine scientists more than likely spend more time 60 feet below water than on mountains above 14000 feet, but that has been this summer. A perplexing circumstance of opposites that have raised eyebrows of people who hear about the work I have been doing and where. Continue reading →