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About Us
Creekside Center for Earth Observation was founded in 2006 by Drs. Stuart
B. Weiss and Paul M. Rich to apply the latest science and technology to
address challenging conservation problems. We specialize in experimental
design, field measurement, and quantitative analysis. Clients include city,
state, and federal agencies, private companies, academic institutions, and
non-profit organizations. Projects include protection of the threatened Bay
Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis), evaluation of biodiversity
impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, characterization of habitat for
federally listed aquatic organisms such as steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus
mykiss), and modeling of climate change impacts in mountain ecosystems.
Our Philosophy: We subscribe to the worldview of Aldo Leopold, who
expounded a “land ethic”, in which the basic ethical considerations given to
human beings are expanded to include the natural world around us. As
such, while our work is founded in science, it is also rooted in a deep
philosophical commitment to achieve and maintain ecosystem health,
preserve vital ecosystem functions, protect rare and endangered species,
and expand consciousness about conservation through education and
outreach.
Why do we care about conservation?
Ecological Services = from a utilitarian perspective, the broad set of
essential functions provided by healthy ecosystems, such as flood control,
water purification, waste decomposition, absorption and detoxification of
pollutants, pollination of crops, soil formation, and moderation of weather.
Economic Value = from an economic perspective, the importance of key
natural resources (food, fuel, fiber, building materials, etc.) on which human
existence and modern civilization depend.
Scientific Value = from a scientific perspective, the importance of the
natural world as a source of knowledge and living laboratory.
Aesthetic/Cultural Value = from a nonutilitarian perspective, the natural
world as a source of beauty and in a vital role for continuance of many of our
cultural practices.
Intrinsic Value = from an ethical perspective, the basic right of living
organisms to exist. Aldo Leopold’s land ethic expands the concept of
intrinsic rights beyond humans, to encompass “soils, waters, plants, and
animals, or collectively, the land.”
Some Influences
Creekside Center for Earth Observation was founded in 2006 by Drs. Stuart
B. Weiss and Paul M. Rich to apply the latest science and technology to
address challenging conservation problems. We specialize in experimental
design, field measurement, and quantitative analysis. Clients include city,
state, and federal agencies, private companies, academic institutions, and
non-profit organizations. Projects include protection of the threatened Bay
Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha bayensis), evaluation of biodiversity
impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, characterization of habitat for
federally listed aquatic organisms such as steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus
mykiss), and modeling of climate change impacts in mountain ecosystems.
Our Philosophy: We subscribe to the worldview of Aldo Leopold, who
expounded a “land ethic”, in which the basic ethical considerations given to
human beings are expanded to include the natural world around us. As
such, while our work is founded in science, it is also rooted in a deep
philosophical commitment to achieve and maintain ecosystem health,
preserve vital ecosystem functions, protect rare and endangered species,
and expand consciousness about conservation through education and
outreach.
Why do we care about conservation?
Ecological Services = from a utilitarian perspective, the broad set of
essential functions provided by healthy ecosystems, such as flood control,
water purification, waste decomposition, absorption and detoxification of
pollutants, pollination of crops, soil formation, and moderation of weather.
Economic Value = from an economic perspective, the importance of key
natural resources (food, fuel, fiber, building materials, etc.) on which human
existence and modern civilization depend.
Scientific Value = from a scientific perspective, the importance of the
natural world as a source of knowledge and living laboratory.
Aesthetic/Cultural Value = from a nonutilitarian perspective, the natural
world as a source of beauty and in a vital role for continuance of many of our
cultural practices.
Intrinsic Value = from an ethical perspective, the basic right of living
organisms to exist. Aldo Leopold’s land ethic expands the concept of
intrinsic rights beyond humans, to encompass “soils, waters, plants, and
animals, or collectively, the land.”
Some Influences
| John Muir (1838-1914): “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” |
| Aldo Leopold (1887-1948): "Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity." |
| Rachel Carson (1907-1964): “Like the resource it seeks to protect, wildlife conservation must be dynamic, changing as conditions change, seeking always to become more effective.” |
| Paul R. Ehrlich (1932 - ): “The increasing human ability to do things outstrips the evolution of our ability to understand both what we should be doing and the full implications of what we are now doing.” |
| Harold A. Mooney (1932 - ): “The rate of change and environmental impact in the next 50 year will far exceed the enormous rate of change that has occurred during the last 50 years." |
| Kenneth S. Norris (1924 - 1998): “Nature is the ultimate authority.” |
| Edward O. Wilson (1929 - ): “The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.” |
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Creekside Center
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