Latest On The Conservation Gateway

A well-managed and operational Conservation Gateway is in our future! Marketing, Conservation, and Science have partnered on a plan to rebuild the Gateway into the organization’s enterprise content management system (AEM), with a planned launch of a minimal viable product in early FY26. If you’re interested in learning more about the project, reach out to megan.sheehan@tnc.org for more info!

TNC-LANDFIRE Team Blogs

   
Team in the field

That's us to the left, out in the field, looking for stories, ideas, facts and adventure. In addition to science and data work, we occasionally write blogs about what we find and think -- from comments on a personal oil spill, to carrying a drip torch, to sweltering in summer prairie heat, and the importance of using the best data for the right reasons. We have opinions, beginning with TNC-LANDFIRE Program Lead Jim Smith, who is passionate about accuracy and uses road maps to prove it.


Jim Smith

Jim Smith, TNC-LANDFIRE Program Lead

Landscape scale data: the LANDFIRE example Jim muses on finding the best application for your project - with or without LANDFIRE data.

Spatial Data Quality Six-part series blog. With a keen eye, Jim looks at spatial data and offers important insight and advice. Think wine, cross-country road trips, map disagreement and more.

Data and Models: Pay Attention to What's Behind the Curtain Jim faces the Wizard of Oz and admonishes him to respect the data.

Ecological Expectations: Keep the Math Simple Jim suggests that computing Ecological Departure is like doing a performance review.

The Good Old Bad Old Days Jim presents a geezer's point of view regarding appropriate scale.

11 Commandments of Data Protocol Jim covers the "thou shalls" and "thou shalt nots" of appropriate data use.

In this short interview, Jim explains how TNC-LANDFIRE fits into The Nature Conservancy's conservation strategy for North America.

Kori Blankenship holding drip torch on prescribed fire lineKori Blankenship, Fire Ecologist

Will Trade Computer for Drip Torch  Kori muses on being in the field vs. doing the important computer crunching.

How Flossing Relates to Modeling  Kori  offers her Top Ten Tips on how to run effective workshops and train experts.




Sarah Hagen in prairieSarah Hagen, Spatial Analyst

No Place Else I'd Rather Be: Troubles and Triumphs of Prairie Restoration  Sarah reflects on working in the field, dealing with nature at its raw best (and sometimes worst), and the long-lasting rewards the prairie offers.





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Randy SwatyRandy Swaty, Ecologist

Life, Work, Reality Revealed  Randy looked into a metaphorical mirror and saw that he'd let some professional warts develop. He shares four revelations that came of the self-examination.

Who? Me? A Modeler?  Randy says that you don't need to be a professional-expert to make good ecological models.

One Man's Oil Spill Randy meditates on preserving resources after an incident with an oil change gone awry.

The Beer and Coffee Manifesto for Successful Conservation  Randy offers guidance on how to build successful partnerships, establish friendships and get work done where everyone wins.

My LANDFIRE Decade  Randy tells the amazing story behind the development of this suite of critical tools designed to aid in the restoration of US landscapes.

Also...

Of Computers and Calculators  Randy and former TNCer Jeannie Patton examine what it's like to live off the grid.

Potatoes, Tomatoes and the Language of Science  Randy and  former TNCer Jeannie Patton explore the gap between science and marketing communications

Is Nature in Trouble? The TNC-LANDFIRE team considers the seriousness of funding conservation efforts. The article upon which this report is based is available online at PLoS One. 

stop sign and large snow bank Storms, Shoveling and Snow Angels  Former TNCer Jeannie Patton says, "Thanks, mom!" for launching her on a trajectory of conservation and land protection from the corner of Bails Place and Dahlia Street in Denver.