Geoff Cline
Staff Ecologist

Mr. Cline is a California native, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. While earning his Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he volunteered at the Marine Mammal Center rehabilitating malnourished California sea lion and Harbor seal pups, and at the UCSB Marine Science Institute conducting research scuba diving. He also undertook an internship with the Nature Conservancy, learning about endangered species monitoring and restoration on California’s Channel Islands. As an Institute for Wildlife Studies and a National Park Service employee, Geoff was part of the team that reintroduced the federally endangered Channel Island fox from captivity to Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel Islands.

Geoff’s interest in island conservation inspired him to pursue a graduate degree focused on endangered species restoration. Geoff spent the next two and a half years at the University of Otago, New Zealand completing a Master’s thesis on the reintroduction of a critically endangered wading bird, the Kaki or Black stilt. His findings and recommendations altered the management and release strategy for these birds. He also assisted with restoration and research projects on Yellow-eyed penguin, South Island saddleback and South Island robin.

Before joining Live Oak in 2010, Geoff spent two years working for the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project, Fisher Team, based out of Oakhurst, California. His position focused on how forest fire vegetative management treatment plans imposed by the US Forest Service affect the Pacific fisher, a threatened species candidate for the state of California.