Qaim Naqvi

Partner Biologist, Sonoma & Marin

As a Working Lands Partner Biologist, I work with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to plan and implement climate-smart wildlife conservation programs on the working lands of Sonoma and Marin counties through Farm Bill and other federal and state funding programs. My work focuses on building and maintaining strong working relationships with local farmers and ranchers as well as assessing and monitoring conservation practices to ensure that they are effective in conserving a variety of bird, herp, insect, and plant species while allowing farmers and ranchers to optimize production.

My work is driven by my wide-reaching curiosity in understanding how our complex ecosystems function, as well as concern regarding climate change and negative effects of human actions, development, and disturbance. I hope to contribute to our knowledge of how our use of open lands can affect wildlife and natural resources and hope to help find a way forward in which human development and ecosystem health can coexist into our uncertain future.

I was born and raised near Chicago, Illinois where I developed a love for the few natural areas left in an ocean of urban sprawl. I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I participated in and led research projects in an ecology lab, specifically research developing new pollinator monitoring techniques. I then headed West for the wide-open lands of Idaho, where I completed two field seasons in the massive Salmon-Challis National Forest and Frank Church Wilderness. In partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, I led and worked on various trail work projects in the mountains as well as data collection and surveys on rangeland and in riparian areas.

I enjoy oil painting, rock climbing, and playing with my cat Caesar. You can find me at the Point Blue Headquarters or NRCS office in Petaluma, or on various working lands in Sonoma and Marin county.

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