Nick Jensen

CNPS National Monuments Campaign - Guest Speaker: Nick Jensen CNPS Conservation Program Director. CNPS State Staff

He will be talking about the National Monuments campaign by CNPS especially in regards to Chuckwalla National Monument in Riverside and Imperial County deserts to expand protections to an additional 660K acres of wilderness and BLM lands. He has been instrumental in advocating for and advancing the Molok Loyok National Monument, formerly Walker Ridge in Lake County.

Nick is the Conservation Program Director. In this position, he oversees the conservation work of staff and volunteer advocates statewide. Nick’s work involves state and federal legislative advocacy, project-level work including presiding over litigation, participation in coalitions of environmental organizations, media relations, and supervising a team of talented conservation professionals. Nick earned his BS degree in Environmental Horticulture at UC Davis, and recently completed his PhD in botany at Claremont Graduate University. As a graduate student, Nick produced the first Flora of Tejon Ranch and studied evolutionary patterns in perennial Streptanthus (jewelflowers). He is a fellow of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. From 2006-2010, he was employed by CNPS, first as a Vegetation Program Assistant, and later as the Rare Plant Program Director. Nick has also worked as a botanist for the U.S. Forest Service, Chicago Botanic Garden, and the private consulting industry. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, hiking, gardening, and photographing wildflowers-activities that are often not mutually exclusive.