At the Cypress Grove Research Center and at other ACR sanctuaries, we conduct scientific studies and develop land management strategies that inform environmental policy, the scientific community and thousands of concerned citizens in the Bay Area and beyond. Through the careful stewardship of wildlife sanctuaries, participation in regional habitat protection, and formal scientific contributions that address important issues in conservation, ACR works to preserve biodiversity and protect endangered and threatened species at local, regional, and global scales. Within the San Francisco Bay area, ACR seeks to develop a community of people who work together to restore and preserve natural habitat values in the region—including a growing network of natural preserves, protected wetlands, restoration sites, watershed protections, connected open space, and urban parks.

ACR’s areas of expertise include:

-Heron and egrets
-Wetland ecology
-Coastal and estuarine birds
-California grasslands
-Vernal pools
-Serpentine plants
-Invasive species
-Ecological restoration
-Introduced wild turkeys
-Sudden oak death

Examples of ACR’s work in Conservation Science and Habitat Protection include:
-Scientific contributions that led to Ramsar recognition of Tomales Bay and Bolinas Lagoon as wetlands of international importance.
-Publication of the first complete assessment of the status of heron and egret populations of the region, “Status, trends, and implications for the conservation of heron and egret nesting colonies in the San Francisco Bay area.”
-Key work on the regional status and ecology of Common Ravens. -Lead roles in establishing, the Marin Sonoma Weed Management Area Group, and the Bay Area Early Detection Network.

Published Papers: Recently, ACR’s Director of Conservation Science, Dr. John Kelly, Ph.D., published two papers in peer-reviewed journals. Selected as the lead article in Waterbirds (the primary international scientific journal on colonial waterbirds) was “Status, Trends, and Implications for the Conservation of Heron and Egret Nesting Colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area.” Also published in Wetlands was “Landscape Influence on the Quality of Heron and Egret Colony Sites.”