Point Blue Conservation Science, founded as and formerly named the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO), is a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

-based wildlife conservation and research

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization.

Overview

Point Blue was founded in 1965 to study bird migration along the

Pacific flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

, and has the longest running population study of landbirds in North America west of the Mississippi river (continuous since 1966) located in Marin County, north of San Francisco, as well as maintaining a year-round research presence on the Farallon Islands since 1969. Point Blue is headquartered in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

with several active field research stations and sites throughout California. Their field station in Bolinas, Ca offers environmental education, guided tours of the mist-netting process used to study birds, and seasonal interns are there all year learning about banding/studying birds. In June 2013, the organization changed its name to Point Blue Conservation Science.

Initiatives

The organization's top priorities are to understand and project the effects of climate change and other environmental stressors on nature and wildlife in order to benefit birds, other wildlife and people. In collaboration with Conserve.IO (EarthNC),

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary is a marine sanctuary located off the coast of California. It protects an area of of marine wildlife. The administrative center of the sanctuary is on an offshore granite outcrop by , located on the con ...

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

and

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a sanctuary off the Pacific coast of Southern California. The National Marine Sanctuary program is under the administration of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Established ...

, Point Blue has developed the “Whale Aware” program, a new system for gathering near-real-time data on where whales are congregating so marine management agencies can alert ship operators and help prevent collisions with endangered whales in the San Francisco and Channel Islands regions.

Personnel

Point Blue employs around 140 staff and seasonal biologists and around 14 education and outreach staff, who focus on scientific research, conservation biology, and outreach.

Overview

Initiatives

Personnel

References

Further reading