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Cultivating Connectivity is a deep dive into the world of habitat connectivity in the Upper Feather River watershed. The series will be hosted in collaboration by Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness. |
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Launched in 2024, this series aims to bring the community together to examine issues of habitat connectivity across the Upper Feather River watershed and examine the crucial role connectivity plays in biodiversity conservation. Habitat connectivity facilitates the movement of species, promotes genetic diversity, and supports ecosystem resilience. Regional biodiversity decline can be attributed to landscape fragmentation coupled with the effects of large-scale wildfire and climate conditions.
Together, Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness have jointly organized a series of events featuring experts in connectivity. Speakers will discuss restoration, research, and citizen science initiatives within their respective fields. The series is designed to orient partners and community members about the importance of these initiatives in addition to gathering public input on key areas of focus.
All events in the Cultivating Connectivity series are free and open to the public.
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Sept 18, 2026: Breaking Down Barriers9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at Chester MeadowsJoin Friends of Plumas Wilderness & Plumas Audubon Society on Friday, September 18 for Breaking Down Barriers, the next installment of our 2026 Cultivating Connectivity program series.
We’ll begin the morning with wildlife biologist Paul Hardy of Hardy Conservation for a field-based conversation about wildlife connectivity, how fencing can fragment habitat and impede wildlife movement, and what we can do to make our landscapes more permeable. Then, we’ll put that learning into action. We’ll spend the rest of the day learning from Irene & Roger Smith of Friends Aiding Wildlife In Nature (FAWN) as we work to remove obsolete fencing in the Chester Meadows area near Stover Ranch, helping restore safer passage for wildlife in the Upper Feather River watershed. This free volunteer workshop is presented by Friends of Plumas Wilderness and Plumas Audubon Society in partnership with FAWN and Hardy Conservation, on lands protected by Feather River Land Trust. We’re looking for at least 20 volunteers to help us make a meaningful dent in the old fencing, so bring a friend and come prepared to learn, lend a hand, and help make the landscape a little easier for wildlife to navigate. |
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May 21, 2026: Reading the Landscape: Tracking as a Tool
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM in the Red Clover Valley/Lake Davis area
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Join Friends of Plumas Wilderness & Plumas Audubon Society for the next Cultivating Connectivity workshop on Thursday, May 21st from 9:00am–4:00pm in the Red Clover Valley/Lake Davis area.
This hands-on workshop will explore wildlife tracking as a tool for understanding movement, habitat use, and connectivity across the Northern Sierra. Through discussion, field learning, and hands-on practice, participants will learn how tracking can help bridge the gap between field observation and larger-scale conservation science. The workshop will feature Dr. Libby Ehlers, Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, alongside wildlife tracker Jonathan Shapiro of Fox Paw School, whose work focuses on field-based wildlife tracking and conservation education. The morning session will cover tracking basics, wildlife movement, and some of the tools and technologies used in connectivity science today. In the afternoon, participants will head into the field to practice identifying tracks, scat, and other wildlife signs while applying concepts discussed earlier in the day. SPACE IS LIMITED, RSVP REQUIRED. |
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April 10, 2025: Road Ecology & Citizen Science with Paul Hardy
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM at the Quincy Public Library, 445 Jackson St, Quincy, CA
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Join Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness for a demonstration led by Paul Hardy, founder of the Feather River Land Trust, focused on amplifying citizen science efforts in the Upper Feather River Watershed. Paul will present about barriers to wildlife movement and facilitate participants’ registration to the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS).
Roads and highways can have dramatic effects on wildlife movement and landscape connectivity. Some species may have complete aversion to roads, which would limit their movement through landscapes with roads. Other species may try to cross roads even with traffic present resulting in wildlife mortality and risks to drivers. UC Davis’ Road Ecology Center uses the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), a volunteer driven citizen science database, to study the impact of roads on wildlife movement at multiple geographic scales, from individual animals at road crossing structures, to hypothetical movement pathways at the landscape scale. Information about where wildlife vehicle collisions occur, what animals are involved, on what roads collisions are frequent, and other data can help inform policy, management, and financial investment in reducing roadkill. |
Paul will provide participants with a history of the database, context regarding its relationship to wildlife movement and barriers, as well as provide an overview of the state-wide funding environment in relation to this work. Paul will lead people through the CROS application process and explain the data entry process.
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Paul Hardy founded the Feather River Land Trust in 1999, where he served as its Executive Director for 18 years. His 35 years of conservation, land management, and non-profit experience includes working as an avian researcher for the University of Arizona for 3 years, a wildlife biologist on the Plumas National Forest for 5 years, co-creating the Sierra Land Trust Council and Northern Sierra Partnership, and serving on the boards of the California Council of Land Trusts and Plumas Audubon Society.
Paul was born along the Middle Fork Feather River at the Western Pacific Railroad Hospital in Portola. He and his brother, Mark, were lucky to have parents (Richard and Becky Hardy) who took them fishing, hunting, hiking, wildlife watching, and camping throughout the Feather River Watershed and western U.S. After obtaining degrees in wildlife biology from the Universities of California and Arizona, Paul moved back to the Feather River region in 1998 to help start FRLT. Paul currently works as a consulting conservation biologist with Hardy Conservation; however, his primary focus and joy is currently supporting his teenage kids, Emmalyn and Andrew, as they transition into adulthood.
Paul was born along the Middle Fork Feather River at the Western Pacific Railroad Hospital in Portola. He and his brother, Mark, were lucky to have parents (Richard and Becky Hardy) who took them fishing, hunting, hiking, wildlife watching, and camping throughout the Feather River Watershed and western U.S. After obtaining degrees in wildlife biology from the Universities of California and Arizona, Paul moved back to the Feather River region in 1998 to help start FRLT. Paul currently works as a consulting conservation biologist with Hardy Conservation; however, his primary focus and joy is currently supporting his teenage kids, Emmalyn and Andrew, as they transition into adulthood.
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View the event flyer: |
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May 13th, 2025: Ungulates Presentation with Dr. Libby Ehlers
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM at the Quincy Public Library, 445 Jackson St, Quincy, CA
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About the program: Ungulate species like deer, elk, and pronghorn play a critical role in the ecological fabric of the Northern Sierra. Their seasonal migrations span vast distances and depend on healthy, connected habitats. Yet increasing habitat fragmentation and climate impacts—like catastrophic wildfire—pose significant challenges to their movement, survival, and population recovery. This Cultivating Connectivity event brings together perspectives from research and conservation to look at the current state of ungulate populations in the region and approaches to support their recovery. Biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will share insights on migration routes, population trends, and the science informing habitat conservation for these hooved species. |
Dr. Libby Ehlers will highlight both the challenges and opportunities in supporting the long-term health of ungulate species, and attendees will come away with a deeper understanding of how science, stewardship, and citizen engagement can work together to support wildlife connectivity in the Upper Feather River Watershed.
About the speaker: Dr. Libby Ehlers is an applied ecologist with over two decades of experience applying analytical, collaborative, programmatic, and technological skills to the conservation of endangered species across montane, boreal, marine, and arctic landscapes. As a conservation scientist, Libby brings a lifelong commitment to applying science to understand human impacts on ecosystems and societies in addition to her visceral enthusiasm for conserving diverse landscapes.
Libby is particularly experienced in the use of spatial models to identify critical habitats for larger mammals: for example, to understand predator-prey dynamics for wolf, elk, and bison in Yellowstone National Park or, the effects of industrial development on woodland caribou in the Peace Region of British Columbia. During her PhD (Wildlife Biology, University of Montana), Libby combined observational data with animal locations to test classical ecological theories about the behavior, foraging, and population dynamics of migratory caribou across Alaska and the Yukon. She has integrated applications of animal-borne GPS video collars, drones, and principles of remote sensing into these studies of remote and far-ranging species threatened by rapid climate change. All the while, collaborating with diverse partners for shared outcomes.
Currently, Libby recently started a position as a Senior Environmental Scientist and Wolf Coordinator with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, leading complex, multi-species conservation efforts and policy coordination across agency and community landscapes. With over two decades of experience working with keystone species (like beaver, caribou, and grizzly bear) and a track record of mitigating human-wildlife conflict both in the field and through research, she’s built a career rooted in integrating science, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, and collaborative leadership.
Libby enjoys collaborating with partners across academic, government, Indigenous and Tribal community and government, NGO, and public sectors to advance science initiatives while contributing her combined strengths and experiences as a hands-on educator, field biologist, program manager, and applied wildlife ecologist. Libby has lived in the Missoula, Montana area with her family and shares her career journeys with her wonderful husband and two children. Libby is currently transitioning to the Northern Sierras. Outside of work, Libby can be found exploring the flora and fauna of the Rocky Mountains with her family, most often interacting with a body of water, in any of its enjoyable states.
About the speaker: Dr. Libby Ehlers is an applied ecologist with over two decades of experience applying analytical, collaborative, programmatic, and technological skills to the conservation of endangered species across montane, boreal, marine, and arctic landscapes. As a conservation scientist, Libby brings a lifelong commitment to applying science to understand human impacts on ecosystems and societies in addition to her visceral enthusiasm for conserving diverse landscapes.
Libby is particularly experienced in the use of spatial models to identify critical habitats for larger mammals: for example, to understand predator-prey dynamics for wolf, elk, and bison in Yellowstone National Park or, the effects of industrial development on woodland caribou in the Peace Region of British Columbia. During her PhD (Wildlife Biology, University of Montana), Libby combined observational data with animal locations to test classical ecological theories about the behavior, foraging, and population dynamics of migratory caribou across Alaska and the Yukon. She has integrated applications of animal-borne GPS video collars, drones, and principles of remote sensing into these studies of remote and far-ranging species threatened by rapid climate change. All the while, collaborating with diverse partners for shared outcomes.
Currently, Libby recently started a position as a Senior Environmental Scientist and Wolf Coordinator with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, leading complex, multi-species conservation efforts and policy coordination across agency and community landscapes. With over two decades of experience working with keystone species (like beaver, caribou, and grizzly bear) and a track record of mitigating human-wildlife conflict both in the field and through research, she’s built a career rooted in integrating science, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, and collaborative leadership.
Libby enjoys collaborating with partners across academic, government, Indigenous and Tribal community and government, NGO, and public sectors to advance science initiatives while contributing her combined strengths and experiences as a hands-on educator, field biologist, program manager, and applied wildlife ecologist. Libby has lived in the Missoula, Montana area with her family and shares her career journeys with her wonderful husband and two children. Libby is currently transitioning to the Northern Sierras. Outside of work, Libby can be found exploring the flora and fauna of the Rocky Mountains with her family, most often interacting with a body of water, in any of its enjoyable states.
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View the event flyer: |
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Stay tuned for more information on our 2025 Cultivating Connectivity series!
