Nick Jensen behind Caulanthus Heterophyllus in Caspers Wilderness Park, Orange County
by Sandy Namoff A Trifecta of Updates from the Conservation Program
Guest Speaker: Nick Jensen, CNPS Conservation Program Director
Nick Jensen inspecting Lasthenia gracillis
by Sandy Namoff
Nick will provide a trio of updates on big endeavors from the CNPS Conservation Program.
First, Nick will talk about the exciting work that his team and volunteers statewide have been doing to advance the protection of federal lands via national monument campaigns. These efforts have already yielded marvelous results this spring with the expansions of Berryessa Snow Mountain and San Gabriel Mountains National Monuments. He will cover what’s next on the horizon, focusing specifically on the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument, located south and east of Joshua Tree National Park.
Next, Nick will provide an overview of our brand-new Conservation Advocacy Toolkit, released in April, and how this online resource can be used by members to advance the advocacy portion of our mission.
Lastly, he will introduce our latest publication, Wildflowers of California, which is the result of years of collaboration between CNPS staff and volunteers, and Timber Press. This wonderful book was lead-authored by Sandy Namoff (who just happens to be Nick’s wife), and features thousands of beautiful photos, and profiles of 900 common wildflower species.
Bio: Nick is the CNPS Conservation Program Director. In this position, he oversees the conservation work of staff and volunteer advocates statewide. Nick’s work involves state and federal legislative advocacy, project-level work including presiding over litigation, participation in coalitions of environmental organizations, media relations, and supervising a team of talented conservation professionals. Nick earned his BS degree in Environmental Horticulture at UC Davis, and recently completed his PhD in botany at Claremont Graduate University. As a graduate student, Nick produced the first Flora of Tejon Ranch and studied evolutionary patterns in perennial Streptanthus (jewelflowers). He is a fellow of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. From 2006-2010, he was employed by CNPS, first as a Vegetation Program Assistant, and later as the Rare Plant Program Director. Nick has also worked as a botanist for the U.S. Forest Service, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the private consulting industry. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, hiking, gardening, and photographing wildflowers-activities that are often not mutually exclusive.
