our programs:
collaboratories
We co-produce durable conservation solutions through our “Collaborative Laboratories” (AKA Collaboratories). These programs convene novel groups of experts and connect science, management, and policy with local action.
Parks Collaboratory
We are exploring how to support durable and resilient ecosystems across connected landscapes. The Parks Collaboratory convenes researchers, agencies, and local communities and applies science to collaboratively solve problems on public lands and protected areas. This work carries on the legacy of the UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity and the university’s century-long collaboration with the National Park Service. Read more.
National Geographic Society Collaboration
UC Berkeley and the Stone Center are providing research support to the National Geographic Society through two initiatives. First, “American Keystones” aims to tell stories about the role that keystone species and landscapes have played in the history of North America to inspire public dialogue and catalyze on-the-ground conservation efforts that protect our natural resources into the future. Second, the Stone Center team, in collaboration with Professor and Stone Center Advisor Justin Brashares, provided science expertise and a decision support tool to help the Society prioritize their work on freshwater wetlands.
Conservation Roadmap
Conservation at a critical juncture, and the urgency to address biodiversity loss, climate change, and water scarcity has never been greater. While most Americans support conservation (even if they disagree about specific policies), many of today’s approaches alienate would-be allies, exacerbating divides between red and blue areas, and urban and rural communities. We are working to catalyze a shift in the priorities of the US conservation movement towards federal policies that build on the legacy of past conservation gains with new, more flexible and collaborative approaches.
Greater Yellowstone Wildlife Corridors Campaign
With partners from the University of Wyoming, Jackson Hole Land Trust, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment, and the Property Environment Research Center, we are developing prioritization frameworks to accelerate and scale up conservation action in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Through this effort, we are evaluating novel tools that incentivize collective, landscape-scale action and identifying where strategic investments can deliver the greatest ecological impact and socioeconomic benefits.
Berkeley Wildlife
A problem-driven, interdisciplinary program that conducts cutting-edge research and trains future leaders to tackle complex problems in wildlife ecology, management and policy. The Stone Center partners with faculty and students in Berkeley Wildlife on research initiatives and publications.
California Wolf Project
Part of Berkeley Wildlife, the California Wolf Project works to understand the ecology and wolf-human interactions of the recolonizing population in California. Utilizing innovative and interdisciplinary methods, they gather data on wolf spatial ecology, diet, predator-prey dynamics, and recolonization, while contributing to conflict reduction strategies for rural communities and agricultural producers.
Federal Policy Advocacy
Faculty co-director Arthur Middleton served as the first Senior Advisor for Wildlife Conservation at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2021-2024. Arthur focused on improving USDA coordination and action, such as with Working Lands for Wildlife, to benefit migrating wildlife and rural communities. We worked with state and Tribal authorities to improve public land management and enhance voluntary-locally led conservation that respects private property rights.
Credit: Ken Miracle / Working Lands for Wildlife