Science. Collaboration. Action.
The Nature Conservancy’s Washington science team is bringing cutting-edge natural and social science to bear on critical conservation problems, to provide the research necessary to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. TNC's scientific capacity is infused with flexibility and vigor by University of Washington undergraduate and graduate students and post-graduate researchers
Latest Updates
Allocating Water as Snowpack Declines
We explore the critical relationship between snowpack, forest management, and water security in Washington State, particularly in the Eastern Cascades and Yakima Basin.
Port Susan Bay Preserve: Where Have All the Chinook Gone?
TNC scientists and partners have launched an investigation to find out why there are so few Chinook salmon in Port Susan Bay.
Science Publication Updates
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Washingtonians value protecting both agricultural and natural lands, and they also recognize the need to rapidly transition to a clean energy economy. The state also has critical obligations to Tribal Nations for safeguarding cultural and natural resources.
Rapidly deploying clean energy while preserving Indigenous rights and protecting agriculture and ecosystems from degradation or conversion is a formidable endeavor. One potential solution to balancing these multiple values is agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is the practice of co-locating solar energy production on farmland in a manner that allows crop or livestock production beneath or between solar installations.
A new report produced by The Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Washington State University, and the Spatial Climate Solutions Lab at UC Santa Barbara reveals the feasibility of agrivoltaics as a tool for expanding clean energy while maintaining agricultural productivity in Washington state.
This assessment took a multipronged approach to understand the feasibility of agrivoltaics from a technical and cultural perspective, and included four key phases:
1. Scientific review:
We synthesized the global body of science to-date on agrivoltaics, interpreting that research in the Washington context.
2. Mapping:
We mapped Washington’s agricultural lands to understand how much land might be easily suitable for agrivoltaics. The results of this mapping exercise are accessible to the public and have been published alongside the report on Washingtong Agrivoltaics map.
3. Modeling crop growth:
We used a modeling approach that merges property-level solar array design with crop growth to assess how we can design agrivoltaic systems for different parts of Washington. This modeling allows us to understand what the consequences (positive, neutral, or negative) might be to crop yield and quality, particularly for one of Washington’s most valuable crops—apples.
4. Surveys and community perspective:
We surveyed farmers across the state to understand their perceptions of and interest in solar energy and agrivoltaics specifically. This included qualitative interviews with farmers and other interested parties to understand opportunities and potential barriers to adoption of agrivoltaics.
This report provides an initial assessment at the biological, geographic, economic and social potential of agrivoltaics in Washington, laying the groundwork for further research and possible implementation.
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In testament to the strong partnership between TNC and UW, a new publication about the ability of forests to mitigate heat during extreme heat events was just released, led by Dr. Aji John and Dr. Kavya Pradhan, with Dr. Ailene Ettinger, TNC quantitative ecologist, Dr. Michael Case, TNC forest ecologist, and Dr. Janneke Hille Ris Lambers as coauthors.
The authors find that forest understories in the Ellsworth Creek preserve were 3 °C cooler than a nearby clear-cut area and 4 °C cooler than regional temperatures during the PNW heat dome in 2021. It was already known that temperate coastal forests buffer average temperatures, and this new research suggests that buffering also occurs during extreme heat events like the heat dome of 2021. This could be good news for forest dwelling organisms that are sensitive to such extreme heat events. The full publication is here: Forest canopy cover affects microclimate buffering during an extreme heat event - IOPscience.
Science Program
Science Collaborations Include:
Investigating Forest Snowpack
We are investigating where to invest in our forests and rivers to improve climate resilience, watershed function and snowpack retention.
Developing a Stormwater Heatmap
We developed a heatmap to help investigate where green infrastructure can have the greatest impact in filtering polluted stormwater runoff and improving water quality for freshwater and marine systems in the Salish Sea.
Advancing Restoration in Estuaries
Since 2012, we have been working with tribal, state, and local partners to develop and analyze restoration efforts to improve Chinook salmon habitat at our Port Susan Bay Preserve in the Stillaguamish River Estuary.
Leading Dry Forests Research
We’re bringing together scientists from throughout The Nature Conservancy to answer key science questions about how proactive forest management can keep carbon in forests and protect communities from wildfires in the West.
Collaborating for Forest Research
We are working closely with our research partners and applying cutting-edge technologies to answer questions about old-growth forest restoration at Ellsworth Creek Preserve.
Green Infrastructure in Urban Spaces
In collaboration with community partners in Tacoma, we’re learning about how trees affect temperature and human well-being.
Enabling Natural Climate Solutions
Our research identifies and enables these natural climate solutions for climate change mitigation, human well-being, and habitat resilience.
Land Management & Healthy Waters
We're using innovative modeling techniques to quantify the effects of forest restoration and warming waters from climate change on salmon populations.
The TNC-UW Partnership
A scientific partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the University of Washington brings an emerging generation of scientists, educators and conservation leaders to this crucial work to create a shared future where people and nature thrive.
Who We Are
Information for Scientific Research Partners
To facilitate collaboration on scientific research, The Nature Conservancy’s Washington Business Unit applies a standing indirect cost rate to agreements for this purpose.