Protecting nature starts with science
More than ever before, we rely on science to confront Arizona’s biggest challenges. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has built a 60-year track record of conservation success statewide, yet despite this progress, we now stand at a crucial crossroads. The interconnected crises of wildfires, droughts and the loss of our native plants and wildlife are jeopardizing our past conservation achievements and threatening our collective future.
To deliver solutions fast enough and at a scale large enough to safeguard our communities and our natural world, TNC pursues evidence-based strategies driven by the best available science. Our end goal is to integrate our credible science and conservation into policies and decisions made in the public and private sectors so that people and nature thrive.
How We Work
TNC’s Arizona science team answers the how, where and why of our conservation work. We work in the spaces between science and practice to solve problems, to demonstrate where conservation is effective, and to show where solutions can be applied at larger scales now and into the future to achieve lasting and durable results. Our approach is nimble—when we don’t have the answers, we use a science innovation fund to bring in leading experts whose expertise in emerging technologies or social sciences can unlock solutions.
Our Science in Action
Science is where protecting nature starts. From collecting evidence that demonstrates how and where we are improving conditions for people and nature, to novel uses of emerging technologies that overcome long-standing challenges, to mapping the next great places to protect and restore, our Science in Action series shares stories of how our science advances conservation.
Explore our work
Arizona Forests
After two decades of studying dry forests, our research is informing strategic forest restoration by demonstrating how ecological thinning and prescribed burns can deliver significant benefits.
San Pedro River Wet/Dry Mapping
Since 1999, TNC Arizona has been working with dedicated volunteers and partners to track water presence in streams in the San Pedro watershed during the hottest, driest time of year.
Meeting TNC’s 2030 Goals
Will we take the critical, collective steps necessary to protect our natural world before it’s too late? That’s the million-dollar conservation question.
Our Products
The language of science is communicated through publications, data, tools and maps—they are how we share our story. From peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals, to datasets collected by citizen scientists over decades, to interactive tools that allow you to explore how and where our actions improve conditions for people and nature, our Publications and Tools collection shares a library of evidence and information collected over decades of research and inquiry.
