ICONInformation for the Conservation of Nature

Information for the Conservation of Nature

Conservation science and information systems for California’s landscapes

ICON helps agencies, land trusts, and research teams plan conservation, model wildlife connectivity, and connect the data they need to decide. Based in Davis, California.

An oak woodland canyon in California with a creek winding along its floor

What ICON does

Three kinds of work, each with a record behind it.

Conservation planning

Regional conservation strategies, priority areas, and mitigation siting.

Example: helped guide the San Joaquin Valley Regional Conservation Investment Strategy for River Partners.

Wildlife connectivity

Movement modeling from GPS-collar, camera, and roadkill data.

Example: doctoral research modeling ecological networks and connectivity across California’s Central Valley.

Conservation informatics and AI

Knowledge graphs, ontologies, and decision-support tools.

Example: the Internet of Conservation, a global knowledge graph for conservation. Its California rollout already holds more than 340,000 links between organizations, projects, places, species, and laws.

Clients and partners include

  • The Nature Conservancy
  • River Partners
  • Grasslands Water District
  • California High-Speed Rail Authority
  • Conservation Biology Institute

Internet of Conservation

One open map of who conserves what, and where.

ICON leads the Internet of Conservation, a knowledge graph that connects the organizations, projects, places, species, laws, and data behind conservation. It is global in scope: its cyberinfrastructure and AI tools are built for use anywhere. It is being rolled out first with California data, and California is only the starting point.

Every fact names its source, and every partnership can start from what is already known.

Organizations
4,081
Places and infrastructure
6,249
Projects
5,568
Links between records
340,878

Counted from the graph on 28 October 2026. The numbers grow daily.