20th Anniversary Program Spotlight: Monitoring and Research

For the past two decades, Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC) has remained dedicated to the mission of protecting, restoring, and enhancing the ecological health of Orange County’s urban wildlands while connecting the community to nature. During this time, IRC has cared for tens of thousands of acres of natural wildlands while empowering hundreds of thousands of people to experience nature firsthand. Essential to fulfilling their mission is monitoring and research, which guides every aspect of IRC’s work.

Although the Monitoring and Research team only became an official program area in recent years, its work predates IRC itself. In fact, one of the driving reasons behind IRC’s creation in 2005 was the need to better understand the relationship between humans and nature in urban wildland settings. The goal was to create an organization that would help ensure the wildlands were cared for and enjoyed forever. These landscapes provide communities with opportunities to experience nature; however, their proximity to dense urban areas makes them vulnerable to the impacts of modern human life. By continuously gathering data and studying these lands, IRC staff can track how they are shaped, and reshaped, by forces around them.

The team follows a rigorous process for assessing the current state of the wildlands, setting goals for their continued health and tracking progress over time. Their monitoring techniques provide the essential data needed to adapt their land management strategies, ensuring the most effective interventions via projects are implemented. This information also allows staff to better target their work to support the long-term health of these important habitats. Whether it means limiting public access to reduce human disturbance, restoring degraded areas from human impact, or supporting vulnerable species impacted by urban development, all decisions are rooted in monitoring and research.

To accomplish this, IRC engages dedicated volunteers, researchers, and partner organizations. Together, they collect data track changes across the wildlands, and interpret findings through two primary approaches:

Status Monitoring

• Evaluates the current condition of wildlands, including monitoring populations of threatened or sensitive species.
• Tracks long-term ecological health by collecting data on everything from butterflies and birds to human activity.
• Partners with researchers to understand how populations are affected by climate change, urban growth, fire frequency, and other pressures.

Success Monitoring

• Measures the effectiveness of restoration projects implemented by IRC.
• Restoration needs are identified through status monitoring. Success monitoring comes after the restoration is complete. 
• Progress is tracked after restoration to determine whether efforts succeeded, informing future projects and long-term habitat health.

While crucial, monitoring can be a time-consuming, tedious job and often labor-intensive. Staff and volunteers rely on two main methods to collect data:

• Field Surveys: Teams conduct counts of specific populations, such as birds, butterflies, or western spadefoot toads, at designated times and locations. IRC also partners with environmental consulting organizations to help monitor raptor nests, recording both nest numbers and hatchling success.
• Wildlife Cameras: Cameras capture hundreds of thousands of images of passing wildlife. Reviewing these is time-consuming, but a partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s Master of Science in Business Analytics program has advanced the process. The partnership produced an AI classification model with over 90% accuracy in identifying certain animals, which can significantly reduce the time required to classify animals in camera trap images.

The data collected through these long-term monitoring efforts is vital. The Monitoring and Research team uses the data collected to assess the current state and track the progress of wildlife on the wildlands. It informs land management decisions, supports collaboration across IRC’s program areas, and guides restoration projects that strengthen the long-term health of Orange County’s wildlands.

“Long-term monitoring is so important because you don’t know if the data is trending positive or negative in just a few years,” explains Eliza Hernandez, Program Manager for the Monitoring and Research Program. “Celebrating 20 years with IRC means acknowledging our deep, long-term commitment to protecting and enhancing urban wildlands. I can easily see IRC continuing for another 20 years, adding to the impressive data longevity and research collaborations we’ve already built.”

Looking ahead, the Monitoring and Research team is committed to expanding its long-term datasets, adding to the understanding of the wildlands and ensuring future generations can enjoy the beauty of Orange County’s wildlands.

Stay tuned this year for more ways to help celebrate 20 years of stewardship with IRC!