The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies

Hello everyone! My name is Ciera Mendoza and I am a Biological Sciences major from Sierra College. As a 2026 CICOES intern, I had the privilege of working with Dr. Sunny Jardine to develop the workflow for creating a national database to assess imperiled species’ dependence on private lands. While the Endangered Species Act provides legal protections for imperiled species, many of these species live on, or depend on conservation actions taken on, privately owned lands. Our research aims to better understand the role private land plays in species recovery, as well as the potential costs these actions may place on landowners.

My work this summer focused on endangered and threatened species in Washington state. I used RStudio to analyze large geospatial datasets and examine how imperiled species’ ranges overlap with land ownership and land use. Coming into the project with limited coding experience, I developed my technical skills using R to create maps, graphs, and datasets while learning to work with complex environmental data. Our results showed that private lands account for at least 30% of the total range area for the majority of taxonomic groups. This highlights the importance of conducting a broader, national assessment to determine the full extent to which imperiled species depend on private lands for successful recovery.

This internship provided me with invaluable experience in conducting scientific research and strengthened my professional and computational skills. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to a larger research project, one that has deepened my interest in pursuing conservation research in the future. Overall, I had a very rewarding experience this summer and offer a huge thank you to my mentor, the CICOES team, and my cohort!

Project Introduction

Research Poster