Rivers and streams are the lifeblood of California. They provide fish and wildlife habitat, regulate water quality, nourish our food, help us recreate, and act as key barometers of natural and human health. When we care for habitat, birds and fish will come. Plants will flourish. People will play. Water will flow. 

Prioritizing environmentally beneficial restoration projects reduces flood and wildfire risk, boosts biodiversity, protects endangered species, and provides recreation – creating a healthier, more resilient future for Californians.

Join us on Wednesday, June 5 at 11:00 AM for Climate Resilience Through Regeneration – Restoring Rivers, Sustaining Communities with Sandra Jacobsen, an ecosystem restoration expert at CalTrout. We’ll discuss restoration projects across the state and explore how focusing on ecosystem health is key to a climate-resilient California.

Speakers:

Sandra Jacobson Ph. D., South Coast & Sierra Headwaters Regional Director, CalTrout   

Sandra Jacobson, Ph.D. is CalTrout’s South Coast and Sierra Director based in San Diego. She manages the South Coast Steelhead Coalition and works with Coalition partners to recover endangered steelhead and restore their habitat in Southern California. She also works with partners in the Sierra to protect source waters, high-elevation meadows, and native trout in this rugged landscape. Sandra brings to this conservation effort a background in molecular biological research and project management in environmental and industrial R&D. With a doctorate in genetics from the University of Colorado and geared toward science-based conservation, Sandra has worked closely with non-profit organizations and governmental entities for the past fifteen years to secure grant funding and build interdisciplinary teams to implement environmental projects in Southern California.

Katie Haldeman, Accelerating Restoration Project Director, Sustainable Conservation 

Katie has more than 10 years of experience supporting the development and implementation of new expedited permitting pathways for restoration. Prior to Sustainable Conservation, Katie worked for Resource Conservation Districts on the Central Coast helping to steward natural and working lands. In the early 2000’s she implemented composting at an auto manufacturing facility as part of a “zero-waste to landfill” goal.

Katie earned her BA in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. She also conducted graduate work in Ocean Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, studying photosynthetic bacteria in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In her free time, Katie enjoys surfing along the California coast and finding ways to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs).