The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) will present Vision for a Wild Coast at Point Conception: Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve as part of its Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 at the museum.

Scientists do research at an intertidal area. (Walter Heady/TNC photo)
Scientists do research at an intertidal area. (Walter Heady/TNC photo)

Tickets are free for Navigators Circle members, $10 for SBMM members, $20 for the general public, and $5 for students and educators with valid school ID or email.

For reservations, visit sbmm.org, email reservations@sbmm.org, or call 805-456-8750.

SBMM members are invited to a pre-lecture reception, 6:15-6:45 p.m.

The program will feature Moses Katkowski, director of the Dangermond Preserve; and Elizabeth Hiroyasu, preserve scientist, who will discuss how The Nature Conservancy is working to protect, restore and study the coastal landscape at Point Conception.

Locally known as the Cojo-Jalama Ranch, the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve was acquired by The Nature Conservancy in 2018.

Over the past decade, The Nature Conservancy has advanced a long-range vision for a wild coast at Point Conception, one that protects a rare and dynamic coastal environment, supports scientific conservation research, deploys technology to accelerate learning and improve management, and inspires future generations of conservation leaders, SBMM said.

Katkowski and Hiroyasu will address the management, restoration and science now underway at the preserve, including the start of the Point Conception Institute, a global conservation science center based at the Preserve.

The institute describes its mission as “building a collaborative research community, advancing open science, stewarding data and technology, and generating insights that can support biodiversity protection, ecosystem restoration, and climate response in California and beyond.”

The talk will explore research and restoration focused on land-sea connectivity at Point Conception and efforts to bring Southern California steelhead back to Jalama Creek.

Attendees will learn about the history of the land, why it was protected, and the partnerships that help make the broad conservation vision possible both on the preserve and across the wider Gaviota Coast region, organizers said.

“Moses Katkowski and Elizabeth Hiroyasu bring a compelling perspective on what it means to care for a place where land, sea, science, and stewardship all meet,” said Dean Noble, executive director of SBMM.

“Their work at the Dangermond Preserve reflects the kind of long-term conservation thinking and collaboration that is deeply relevant to the Santa Barbara Channel and to the future of our coast,” Noble said.

Katkowski has served with The Nature Conservancy since 2006 and has led preserve management and coastal restoration work in both New Jersey and California.

Since 2018, he has lived and worked at the Dangermond Preserve, where he oversees land management activities including rangelands, fire management, invasive species control, cattle grazing as a conservation tool, and preserve operations.

He holds a B.A. in environmental science from Stockton University and a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Hiroyasu is the preserve scientist for the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, where she works with interdisciplinary teams to guide research, conservation and restoration.

Before joining The Nature Conservancy, she supported the organization’s California climate program and earned her Ph.D. and Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. She also holds a B.S. in Biology from UCLA.