Places We Protect

Santa Cruz Island

California

A man stands on a bluff at sunset and points out towards the ocean over grassy hills.
Santa Cruz Island Scott Morrison, The Victor E. Shelford Director of Conservation Science for The Nature Conservancy, stands at the western edge of Santa Cruz Island overlooking Santa Rosa Island in the distance. © Morgan Heim/Day's Edge Productions

Managing human interaction with native plants and animals is vital to maintaining island health.

Rats! Protecting SCI from Furry Invaders. This month on Notes from the Field, we join Biosecurity Manager Juliana Matos and Software Developer Nathanial Rindlaub on Santa Cruz Island, where our team has installed a state-of-the-art security system to keep out a dangerous invader: rats! Find out how technology is protecting island ecosystems
Experience Santa Cruz Island from the Air Twenty five miles off the coast of southern California and part of Channel Islands National Park, Santa Cruz Island has been a living laboratory for island restoration and conservation since The Nature Conservancy purchased most of the island in 1978.
SCI Fox Recovery Rebounding the world’s smallest fox from sure extinction

Make a Difference in California

We have protected 1.5 million acres of landscapes and 3.8 million acres of sea floor and off our coast in California—habitats that are essential to the survival of nature and people.