Summer 2026 Newsletter

Celebrating 2026 Docents and Honoring Ehrlich and Mooney

• Jasper Ridge's 2026 graduation welcomed new docents while honoring Professors Paul Ehrlich and Hal Mooney, conservation pioneers who established the preserve in 1973. The celebration featured alumni testimonials, performances, and recognition of the preserve's 50+ years impact in research and education. To read a full narrative and enjoy pictures from the day, visit the blog.

Adriana Hernández selected to join the Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute

• Our very own, Adriana Hernández, has been selected as one of only 20 STEM professionals nationwide to join the prestigious 2026 Linton-Poodry SACNAS Leadership Institute (LPSLI) cohort. This immersive five-day leadership experience, SACNAS's premier leadership development program, will equip her with skills to advance diversity and equity across all STEM sectors through expert-led training and networking with leaders from across the country. To read more, visit the website

Trail 2 is now open

• John Stannard, from our operations team, has opened up Trail 2! He sent me a note saying: "Trail 2 is open for the season and ready for hiking! The Rangers have been helping to ride it on their patrols and pack it out, so it's nice out there."

In the News

• Mountain lions have major ecological impact in small preserve. A Stanford study found that mountain lion visits to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve triggered cascading effects on deer, smaller predators, and vegetation. To read more, visit the Stanford Report article.
• Stanford's Ornithology course brought students to Jasper Ridge this spring for hands-on bird banding, giving many their first experience holding live birds. The student-taught course helped participants of all experience levels learn to identify 70 California species! To read more, visit the Stanford Report article.
• What a Place Remembers. Jeffrey Dukes, a Staff Scientist at Carnegie’s Biosphere Sciences and Engineering division, reflects on the transformation of Jasper Ridge from open water to a dense willow forest. He also shares his ongoing research on microclimates as part of a long-term data collection project that explores ecosystem responses to climate change. To read more, visit the Carnegie Science article.
• Devaki Bhaya's engaging seminar course, "Peregrinations With Trees," encourages students to explore the Stanford campus's diverse tree species through observation and interaction with nature, including hands-on visits to Jasper Ridge. Devaki truly designed a course that fosters appreciation for the environment and scientific inquiry. To read more, visit the Carnegie Science article.

New blogs

• Scholars presenting on Indigenous stewardship and sovereignty. This winter, Jasper Ridge hosted three scholars who shared research on Indigenous cultural landscapes, tribal land rights, and colonial land dispossession in the Bay Area. To read more, visit the blog
• California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot visited Jasper Ridge in May to discuss the state's climate and conservation progress, including achieving 26% toward its 30x30 protection goal and establishing tribal co-management agreements on 57% of state park lands. His visit connected Stanfords Indigenous partnerships and wildfire resilience work to California's broader conservation strategy. To read more, visit the blog.

Visit the Research Projects page to continue learning about the research projects at Jasper Ridge

New Research

• As inaugural recipients of the Morgenthaler-Chiariello Grants for Research, two postdoctoral fellows in Biology, Bertie Ansell and Deborah Narh, are establishing a baseline of mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial diversity associated with willows (Salix spp) in the riparian delta, with mentees Lauren Ward and Aditi Bhaskar, in the Peay lab. The team ultimately aims to elucidate the role of fungal spore dispersal dynamics on willow recovery and restoration efforts. Learn more from their project page.
• Prof. Tad Fukami in Biology and ESS, and postdoctoral research collaborators from UC Berkeley are using eDNA technology to understand the relationship between plant-animal-microbe in monkeyflowers at Jasper Ridge. Environmental DNA data will be compared with previous results from direct nectar DNA sequencing to test the ability of eDNA to capture similar or new trends, potentially identifying other insects and microbes interacting with monkeyflowers.

Publications

• Sonawane C, Leempoel K, Nova N, Meyer JM, Hébert T, Zuckerwise A, Dirzo R, Hadly EA (2026) Mammal Community Responses to Increasing Puma Activity in a Suburban Preserve. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73775. Click here to read the Stanford Report article.

Theses - Congratulations!

• Johannah Farner, Biology Ph.D., Mordecai lab: Disease ecology under global change: temperature and landscape impacts on mosquito systems.
• Peter Muhitch, Earth Systems M.S., Fendorf lab: Invasive Cover Crops: Management and Edaphic Feedbacks of Invasive Annual Grasses on California’s Serpentine Grasslands.
• Varun Shirhatti, Earth Systems M.S., Dirzo lab: Where There's a Willow: Water Availability and Willow Cutting Establishment at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
• Allie Skalnik, Earth Systems Honor’s Thesis, Dirzo lab: Assessing The Exposure Of Bobcats To Select Anticoagulant Rodenticides At Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma

Maya Xu and Katie Huy named 2026 Environmental Education Scholars 

• Please join us in congratulating Maya Xu (M.S. Biology, 2026) and Katie Huy (Ph.D Candidate, Earth System Science) on their selection as 2026 Jasper Ridge Environmental Education Scholars.  You can read more about Maya and Katie’s accomplishments, past scholars, and award criteria in our website.

Review Past Community Lectures

• Thank you all for a successful year of community lectures that welcomed the public for the first time. Feel free to catch up on any missed talks through video recordings available on our "Past Events" page before we kick off again in October.

Monitoring and Maintaining Resilience

• This summer Jasper Ridge continued proactive wildfire risk management through fuel reduction using staff mowing along fire roads and buildings. In June, an outside contractor completed annual work on our Westridge boundary, using masticators to remove understory and flashy fuels along a 50-foot band to reduce fire propagation speed and give firefighters an edge on containment. In July, goats and sheep will be utilized to further reduce flashy fuels in targeted areas
• Additionally, summer student intern Dan Kubota is collaborating with Jorge Ramos to develop a research project as part of her internship. This project will monitor Live Fuel Moisture Content of chaparral plants along the maintained fuel break along the Westridge boundary, providing valuable information for ongoing science-based stewardship projects at Jasper Ridge. For more information visit our website.