California Institute of Environmental Studies

California Institute of Environmental Studies (CIES) is a non-profit organization that was established with the purpose of promoting conservation of marine and coastal birds and their habitats. In recent years, CIES has expanded its role in habitat conservation to include working with a variety of heavily impacted island habitats within the Channel Islands.During fiscal year 2022-2023, CIES continued to be a leader within California for marine bird conservation. CIES conducted numerous studies and conservation actions for 16 species of marine birds working with over 10 clients. Efforts were focused primarily within the Channel Islands, where CIES conducted work on 7 or 8 Channel Islands. In addition, CIES staff assisted Oregon State University with a long-term study of marbled murrelets within the State of Oregon. CIES produced numerous annual reports for its clients, presented results at several scientific conferences, and submitted 1 papers for publication during the year.Furthermore, CIES continues to expand its role in island habitat conservation within the Channel Islands. CIES conducted extensive restoration work for The Channel Islands National Park working with the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and The Nature Conservancy. Restoration work benefiting marine and coastal birds as well as a wide range of plant and animal species were conducted on Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara and San Miguel islands. CIES conducted restoration work over hundreds of acres and outplanted over 7,000 plants as part of these restoration efforts. In this past year, CIES also assisted with significant monitoring efforts for island fox and island skunks and took on a lead role in efforts to eradicate Argentine ants from Santa Cruz Island. During this past year, CIES was a key stakeholder in the conservation of natural resources, particularly marine birds and their habitats, within the Channel Islands.Finally, CIES initiated a high school environmental education program aimed at providing high school students an opportunity to camp at Santa Rosa Island and participate in the habitat restoration work occurring at this island. The project was a success and CIES anticipates expanding the project in FY 2023-2024.