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Tag: Director of Conservation

Jaime Stephens, MS

Written by KBO on . Posted in KBO Staff.

Director of Conservation

As Director of Conservation, Jaime integrates a foundation of forest ecology, bird conservation priorities, and regional avian science to inform land management decisions. She collaborates with a diverse suite of partners to guide resource management strategies and conservation actions that improve outcomes for birds and ecosystems.
Her current work focuses on oak woodland restoration in southwest Oregon and northern California and, more broadly, across the Pacific Northwest; oak habitats host some of our most at-risk bird species. At the local level, she coordinates the Klamath-Siskiyou Oak Network, a partnership with a proven track record of leveraging multi-million-dollar projects to restore imperiled oak habitats. She is also involved in several forest collaboratives working to restore forests to reduce wildfire risks, increase climate resilience, and enhance wildlife habitat.
Jaime works closely with the science team at KBO to answer the most pressing questions to inform efforts to halt the decline of western birds. As science continues to elucidate the causes of decline for at-risk bird species, Jaime ensures we take the next steps to co-produce outcome-oriented conservation efforts that are inclusive of not only conservation decision-makers but also impacted communities, interested parties, and rights-holders.
Jaime has 25 years of experience working in ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. She earned her BS in Zoology and Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined KBO in the spring of 2002 as a Master’s student at Southern Oregon University. She completed a thesis comparing the effects of various timber harvest prescriptions of forest interior songbirds. From 2008-2022, Jaime was KBO’s Science Director, overseeing and growing our long-term monitoring and applied ecology programs. During that time, she published more than 20 papers examining focal species; bird communities related to environment and climate; and avian response to grazing, wildfire, hazardous fuel reduction, and restoration. Her publications have also examined migratory movements, connectivity, spatial and temporal components of molt, and site fidelity. In addition, she has authored five conservation plans that are the foundation of her current work.
Klamathbird.org/jaime-stephens

KBO is growing: Announcing our expanded conservation delivery capacity to be led by Jaime Stephens in her new role as KBO’s Director of Conservation

Written by Elva Manquera on . Posted in Klamath Call Note, Conservation, KBO Family, KBO Science, Press Room.

Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO) has seen incredible progress in our efforts to advance science-driven conservation. This has come as we are seeing growing public awareness of the environmental crisis unfolding around us. The Three Billion Birds Lost movement (#BringBirdsBack) brings broad attention to recent science suggesting that we have lost one in four birds since 1970. While alarming, science also shows that when we invest in conservation, conservation works for birds and people.

White-breasted Nuthatch (c) Karl Schneck

Over the past decades, much of KBO’s work has focused on Pacific Northwest forests, where nearly half of the associated bird species are in decline. Our oak woodland forests host some of our most at-risk bird species. Over the past 50 years, we have seen dramatic losses in oak and associated prairie habitats. What remains faces many threats, including the interruption of low-severity fire cycles. There is an urgency at this moment, and the time is now to take action to recover forest bird populations while increasing the resilience of western forests, specifically oak woodlands.

 

“As KBO grows, we must continue adapting our organizational model to meet new opportunities to scale up our science-driven bird conservation efforts. As highlighted in the 2022 State of the Birds, there is an urgent need to address the Three Billion Birds crisis. With nearly half of our western forest bird species in decline, we must act now, and that is exactly what we are doing. New investments in forest restoration efforts through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the America the Beautiful Initiative, the Oregon Watershed Enhancements Board’s Focused Investment Program, and other anticipated funding opportunities present KBO with an unprecedented opportunity. We are poised to help guide these new investments in forest restoration to ensure they pay off in measurable bird conservation outcomes. Jaime Stephens is a respected regional and national conservation leader, and she is the perfect person to take on this Director of Conservation position. In her new position, Jaime will be pioneering a game-changing approach identified by the Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Initiative as a priority next step that must be taken if we are to address the Three Billion Birds crisis. By developing a new conservation delivery program area at KBO, we will be helping to develop a novel model of conservation action.” John Alexander, KBO Executive Director.

To align KBO’s staffing to meet this forest bird conservation need, we are developing a new conservation delivery program area to help us further focus and scale up our efforts to translate science into even more conservation action. This new program area is poised for success because Jaime Stephens, who has been a leader at KBO for over 20 years, will be taking on a new role as KBO’s first Director of Conservation. Jaime has served as KBO’s long-time Science Director for many years, leading our extensive monitoring and research efforts. As the Science Director, Jaime has worked tirelessly to develop the partnerships and deliver our science, helping to grow KBO’s direct involvement in on-the-ground conservation efforts. These efforts have reached a level that warrants the creation of this new position.

As KBO’s Director of Conservation, much of Jaime’s work will focus on the Klamath-Siskiyou Oak Network‘s efforts to implement restoration actions in the oak and prairie habitats of southern Oregon and northern California while also contributing to the broader Pacific Northwest Oak Alliance. Additionally, Jaime will continue working with Rogue Forest Partners and the Northern Blues Forest Collaborative to ensure investments in these large-scale forest efforts pay off for birds and people.

Jaime Stephens, MS, Director of Conservation

“I am incredibly excited to shift my focus here at KBO. This new role will allow me to increase the integration of KBO’s conservation science and range-wide bird conservation objectives into land management actions guided by local and regional partnerships. Funding for several new oak initiatives has elevated the need for this program area at KBO.” Jaime Stephens, KBO Director of Conservation.

As Jaime transitions into this new role, she will continue to work with KBO’s Science Team to answer the most pressing questions to inform efforts to halt the decline of western birds. As KBO continues to elucidate the causes of decline for at-risk bird species, Jaime will ensure we take the next steps to co-produce outcome-oriented conservation efforts that are inclusive of not only conservation decision-makers but also impacted communities and rightsholders. Through her new role as KBO’s Director of Conservation, Jaime will employ this co-production process to help eliminate what is often referred to as the research-to-implementation gap.

We thank all of our supporters and partners for helping KBO to take this next step towards broad scaled conservation action and continue to grow as a regional, national, and international leader in bird conservation.