I am a conservation biologist, conservation land planner, and restoration ecologist who applies that knowledge to permanently protect our most valued ecological resources in one of the planet's 10 most species rich regions - the California Floristic Province. Through my career in the non-profit sector, I helped to permanently protect more than 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of land in California for endangered species, unique plant communities, and the headwaters of our most important salmon streams. Most of the habitat I protected is on privately-owned land, and it is now the responsibility of our farmer and forester friends who own the land to keep the habitats viable in perpetuity.Currently, I am focused on securing the seasonal wetlands with the highest caloric production of small seeds and grass in the Sacramento Valley and Upper Klamath Basin where millions of ducks and geese spend the winter, ensuring that future generations of birds can store enough fat to fly as far as Siberia each spring to raise their young. While natural wetlands provide the highest nutritional productivity for waterfowl, only 5% of the Central Valley's wetlands remain unaltered. Rice farms now provide 75% of the winter food energy consumed by today's Sacramento Valley waterfowl, so we are working with the rice producers to prevent this important alternative habitat from ever being converted to orchards or vineyards that provide no habitat value for waterbirds.