Since last summer, in the wake of a tragic accident, the number of volunteers who can be accommodated on the National Park Service boats has been greatly reduced, for safety. These volunteers generally need to have had some previous experience boarding and debarking small boats, and must be able to demonstrate the motor skills, balance and physical confidence needed to do this safely. As a result of the reduction in passenger capacity, CIR’s volunteer program on Anacapa has needed to transition to smaller groups and less-frequent trips, with priority given to experienced volunteers. We are planning to offer alternate transportation options to accommodate more volunteers in the future.
After three years of concerted effort, restoration and recovery of East Anacapa Island has progressed very well, in spite of the continuing drought. There are no more acres of dense iceplant to pull and haul away! Instead, we are now doing more specialized work, concentrating on eradicating multitudes of small iceplant seedlings, while also observing and sparing seedlings of native plants emerging from carpets of dead iceplant. We continue to produce native plants in the island nursery, and plant them in place of iceplant, limited only, again, by lack of water. From November 2012-October 2013, we planted over 11,000 plants! So far, our nursery production has focused primarily on native plants that grow quickly to produce cover, and that tolerate exposed, salty conditions. Now we are able to add nectar and larval food plants to the palette, as we broaden our restoration goals to re-establish natural habitat structure and food webs.
California brown pelicans nesting on Anacapa Island
(Photo taken by permission, by a monitoring biologist)