International Delegation Visits CIR

A delegation from seven countries from East Asia and the Pacific Region visited the CIR offices in

Delegation from East Asia and the Pacific on Santa Cruz Island.

Carpinteria in July as part of their U.S. tour of community-based environmental protection organizations.  The delegation consisted of government officials, educators, and members of not-for profit organizations from Brunei, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, China, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.  Hosted by the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program of professional and cultural exchanges and the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles, the delegation also visited many sites in Southern California, including Channel Island National Park.

The delegation was treated to refreshments at the CIR offices, and Executive Director, Ken Owen,

The delegation visits Carpinteria State Beach with Ken Owen

showed a PowerPoint presentation highlighting CIRs habitat restoration and environmental education projects.  After the presentation Ken led the group on a short walk to Carpinteria State Beach to see the creek restoration project there.  The occasion provided a unique opportunity for the international visitors to learn about local conservation efforts and for CIR staff to learn about the wide variety of projects happening in East Asia and the Pacific.

March CIR Membership Party and Natural History Walking Tours Fun and Educational!

In March, CIR members were treated to a gorgeous day for our annual membership appreciation party at Rincon Beach Park in Carpinteria.

CIR Membership Party at Rincon Beach Park.

Each available picnic table was filled to the brim with the smiling faces of CIR members snacking on chips, salsa, and Duke McPherson’s delicious homemade guacamole, not to mention whole fruit and granola bar baskets to tease the appetite, in anticipation of the feast to come.

The Glendessary Jam making great music!

As festivities got underway, everyone enjoyed the delightful sounds of musician, Lawrence Wallin and the Glendessary Jam, who generously donated their tunes, talents, and time in exchange for helping themselves to the pot-luck buffet and barbecued fare.

With a sighting of coastal bottlenose dolphins from the pavilion, outstanding ocean views and sunny skies, one couldn’t have asked for a better setting.

CIR Board President Duke McPherson and Gretchen Ingmanson prepare BBQ chicken.

One entire twelve-foot picnic table was absolutely overflowing with pot-luck goodies from salads, sides, and snacks to delectable desserts—it truly was an impressive turnout of culinary contributions that satisfied everyone.

After the feast, which featured marinated chicken and veggie burgers provided by CIR and barbecued to perfection by Mr. President himself, Duke McPherson, we all enjoyed a presentation given by Executive Director, Ken Owen, during which he crowned Ron Nichols the first-ever CIR volunteer of the year!

Ron Nichols received an award as CIR’s first member of the year at the CIR Membership Party.
Ron has participated in dozens of CIR volunteer events on the Channel Island and on the mainland.

Ron was applauded and awarded a commemorative wooden plaque, as well as a brand new Anacapa Island t-shirt and CIR cap.

Following the picnic, CIR members took a short drive to the Carpinteria Bluffs Preserve where

Wayne Ferren was the first to speak about the ecology and the plant communities of the area.

Members were then treated to a talk with Tanya Atwater on the beach about local geology, as well as a docent-led program at the Carpinteria Harbor Seal Sanctuary.

The final tour was a visit to the Carpinteria Tar Pits Park.

Here, members were addressed by Wayne Ferren, Tanya Atwater, and John Johnson of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History about the history of the tar pits and the ancient flora and fauna that had been preserved there.

Ron Nichols received an award as CIR’s first member of the year at the CIR Membership Party.

Ron has participated in dozens of CIR volunteer events on the Channel Island and on the mainland.

CIR Busy on San Nicolas Island

CIR is working in partnership with several organizations on four distinct restoration projects on San Nicolas Island.  Starting in February, CIR started growing up to 7,000 native plants in the island nursery.  The nursery was constructed by CIR staff and volunteers in 2012 to grow plants

for an erosion control project.  The latest batch of plants will be used to enhance habitat for the island night lizard and also to mitigate the impacts from a wind generation construction project.  The nursery is now filled to capacity with thousands of plants covering all three of the huge nursery tables.  An expansion of the nursery space is in the planning stages. 

The island night lizard (restricted to just three of the Channel Islands) was recently removed from the endangered species list, because lizard numbers have increased markedly with conservation efforts led by the Navy and the Park Service.  To help insure that the species continues to thrive, Navy staff on San Nicolas have designed a project to enhance the habitat of the lizard.  CIR is growing several plant species that the lizard is known to favor for habitat including, box thorn and three species of cactus.  In the wild, these plants grow in impenetrable thickets that protect the lizards from predators.   The plants will be installed with the help of CIR in the fall.

CIR recently welcomed Sheri Mayta to our staff to oversee the nursery on San Nicolas.  Sheri has over

nine years of experience in native plant nursery management and native plant propagation. She owns and operates Estero Natives, a native plant nursery in Carpinteria.  She worked for Coastal Restoration Consultants (CRC) as a senior restoration ecologist and nursery manager. With CRC she managed the production of up to 50,000 plants per year at on-site nurseries.  Sheri was raised in Ventura, Ca. where she currently resides with her two children.

In addition to growing plants, CIR is helping to eradicate invasive plants that are a priority for the Navy, who owns the island.  Several CIR staff and volunteers have also been helping to eradicate two invasive plants that are particularly troublesome, ecologically.  Sahara mustard (brassica tournefortii) was introduced to the island several years ago and is a highly invasive species that has devastated the ecology of many areas in our mainland deserts.  Carnation spurge (euphorbia terracina) has recently spread to many new areas throughout California, and several populations have been found on San Nicolas.  The Navy is working with CIR and other contractors to eradicate both of these highly invasive plants before they spread any further on the island.

Santa Barbara Zoo And CIR Awarded Grants for Wetland Restoration!

Channel Islands Restoration and the Santa Barbara Zoo have been awarded two grants to continue restoration of the Andree Clark Bird Refuge along Zoo property. Starting in 2010, both agencies (plus the City of Santa Barbara) partnered on the first phase of the restoration project, which involved removing large stands of invasive Myoporum trees and hundreds of other invasive species and the planting of over 900 natives.

Nearly 400 volunteers helped out with the project, which restored almost an acre of refuge.

What started out as a dark and dingy invasive-choked area was transformed into an open wetland habitat thriving with native plants, birds and other animals.

The second phase of the project will restore the remaining 1.5 acres of the Zoo property along the refuge margin. We will plant 1,200 natives and remove many more Myoporum trees and other invasive species will also be removed.

About $60,000 in grant funding has been awarded to the project, half from the County of Santa Barbara's Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund, which is a partial mitigation of impacts from the Point Arguello, Point Pedernales, and Santa Ynez Unit oil projects.

The other half will come from the Southern California Wetland Recovery Project, which also funded the first phase of the project. The Zoo project has been very popular with CIR volunteers. On our first volunteer day, more than 100 people showed up to help out! One of the reasons that the project is so popular is because volunteers are offered free admission to the Zoo at the conclusion of the work day.

The Bird Refuge is also a very scenic location, and the restoration sites are located in areas that the public do not normally have a chance to visit. Watch for announcements seeking your volunteer help in the fall!

A section of the Andree Clark Bird Refuge phase I restoration before non-native plants were removed. 

Note crooked on right for reference.

The same view after non-native plants were removed (note crooked oak tree on right for reference). 

This photo also shows native plants right after installation

The same view after native plants have matured

Nearly 200 CIR Volunteers Help with Refugio State Beach Project

Nearly 200 CIR volunteers of all ages have helped plant natives at Refugio State Beach since January, and the work should continue for the next several months. The project will increase native habitat at the mouth of Refugio Creek by removing non-native flora and planting natives along the creek banks, in an area covering about 30,000 square feet. Starting in October, non-native trees, shrubs and grasses were removed by the State Park and CIR. These include Palms, Myoporum, Arundo, Black Acacia, Pampas Grass, Fennel, Castro Bean, Pepper trees, Eucalyptus, and annual grasses. In January, the planting of 3,000 container plants began, including native riparian trees and coastal scrub species.

The project is led and managed by our partner, South Coast Habitat Restoration, a local non-profit organization. CIR is providing assistance with the removal of non-native plants, and is arranging for the bulk of the volunteer help. California State Parks is another partner, and funding from the project has come from the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Earth Island Institute, the Wildlife Conservation Board and Southern California Edison. The last scheduled planting day is March 8, but volunteers may also be needed to help water the plants until they become established.

End-of-Year Holiday Party Brings Big Winners to CIR!

Photo contest 1st Place: Tommy Wasden “Island Bush Mallow and Hummingbird”

Photo contest 2nd Place: Gretchen Ingmanson: “Back to the Saddle”

On the evening of December 6, 2013 the CIR administrative office was transformed into a festive holiday gathering place with food stations, a wine pouring station, a photo gallery displaying the many entries in our first annual photo contest, a raffle table brimming with great prizes, and at the top of the stairs: the CIR reception table and friendly welcoming brigade!
 
If you missed this party, we hope you’ll attend in 2014, as it was a wonderful time enjoyed by over 70 people and included volunteers, members, friends, and family – all gathered together for an evening of good food, conversation, and fun!

Our dazzling “Holiday Queen,” was none other than CIR Board Member Tanya Atwater who, dressed in a festive gown and crown, was the one to thank for organizing the delicious eats that night. Her food stations were filled with delightful offerings and had something for everyone. She was joined in the kitchenette by food table “tsarina” and Board Member Monica Jones and assisted by CIR Treasurer Karen Telleen-Lawton.

Photo contest 3rd Place: Roland Holzwarth, “Stranded”

Board Member Joel Fithian helped hang lights and greeted party-goers, and CIR President Duke McPherson brought his world-famous guacamole and helped at the reception table. Board Member Dave Edwards and his wife Wanda brought finger sandwiches and decadence in the form of See’s Candy...who can resist!? There were so many helping hands pitching in that night to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves, and we are grateful to them all!

The wine station was manned by Volunteer Coordinator, Linda Benedik (since it was at her desk, after all!), along with volunteer Tim

Honorable Mention: Roland Holzwarth, “Rodrigues in Nature”

Kenney, a wine connoisseur who also poured at the CIR Social in September.  
CIR Accounting Department, Jane O’Dell, created the seasonal ambiance with her merry décor, and volunteer Jane Lumsdaine helped energize raffle ticket sales. Our Executive Director, Ken Owen, gave a rousing speech about CIR that got the crowd cheering and together with Tanya, judged the first annual CIR Natural History Photo Contest and announced the winners! 

The photo contest was a great success and we can’t wait to do it again next year. So keep a camera handy on all your natural adventures...you never know when that “Kodak moment” could turn into a prize-winning photo!

Congratulations to our 2013 Raffle Winners:

• Trip for 2 on Island Packers to Anacapa/Santa Cruz/Whale Watching: Jon Huber
• Collection of CIR Natural History Posters: Dale Parks and Susie Bartz
• Wildflowers of Santa Monica Mountains Gift Baskets: Phil Andrews and Jon Huber
• Wine & Candles Gift Basket: Greg Archbald
• Equestrian-Themed Gift Basket: Jarry Bartz
• See’s Candy: Dale Parks

Private Groups, Individuals Support CIR School Programs

Private Groups, Individuals Support CIR School Programs

Since 2004, CIR has taken 2,137 school children on service school trips to the Channel Islands.  These kids were accompanied by 368 adult chaperones, teachers and parents.  The program targets schools in low income areas and provides bus and boat transportation, a pre-trip presentation in the classroom, plus CIR personnel to lead the trips and to lead the volunteer work.   Each trip, serving about 30 kids, costs about $2,500.

Funding for school science curricula shrinks every year, and the expense of outdoor learning means these curricula suffer first.  CIR provides one of the few outdoor experiences allowing students to actively engage in restoration work within natural habitat.  They see the results of their work year after year and their learning endures.  Most of the kids had never been on a boat, or seen marine mammals or even visited a National Park, and they do all of these things on our school trips. 

CIR received support from state and federal agencies for most of our school trips.  Now with tight budgets government funding sources are becoming harder to find.  So, CIR has turned to our corporate partners, individuals and others to support our school program.

The software company Citrix Online recently provided funding to take a class of 30 kids on a trip as did the Men’s Garden Club of Santa Barbara.  We have also received generous donations from individuals for the program.  

 

Forth Graders from Sheridan Way Elementary School on Anacapa Island

San Marcos Foothills: The Next Phase

San Marcos Foothills: The Next Phase

Since 2011, CIR has been proud to work on several projects at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, one of the most ecologically significant open spaces in Santa Barbara County.  Located between Goleta and Santa Barbara, the Preserve features hundreds of acres of grasslands, oak woodlands, and permanently flowing creeks.  There are nearly 50 mammals found in the Foothills and 126 bird species.  The Preserve has miles of hiking trails that provide spectacular views of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and the Santa Barbara Channel.

CIR has partnered with the San Marcos Foothills Coalition (SMFC) and other organizations to restore habitat along two creeks at the Preserve and to remove invasive plants along trails.  As we enter the rainy season, we will be calling on our volunteers to help nurture the thousands of native plants we have installed at the restoration sites.  The work locations are easy to get to, kid friendly, and workdays are typically on Saturdays.

Starting in 2014, CIR will be training docents to lead public educational hikes at the Preserve.  The SMFC has helped fund the docent program, and CIR has donated a tremendous amount of staff time to the project.

CIR staff, Robert Kessler and Jared Logan demonstrate planting techniques to youth at the San Marcos Foothills

CIR & volunteers donate to Santa Rosa Island Projects

CIR & volunteers donate to Santa Rosa Island Projects

CIR volunteers remove fennel (Foeniculum vulgare).

Fennel, which has taken over large areas on

Santa Cruz Island, is fortunately not common

on Santa Rosa Island.

It is a priority of the

NPS to keep it from spreading.

Channel Islands Restoration continued working on Santa Rosa Island this year, in a project funded mostly by CIR donors and our volunteers with support from the National Park Service (NPS).

We held four trips in 2013 to remove fencing, plant natives, remove invasives and to work in the native plant nursery.

The fencing had been erected to protect sensitive plants and habitats from browsing and trampling by non-native grazing animals.

Since these animals are no longer on the island, the fencing is now an unnecessary eyesore and a potential hazard to visitors and native animals, so it is now a priority to remove it.

Often located in remote areas difficult to access, the fencing can be a challenge to remove.

Volunteers also removed invasive fennel and iceplant in several island locations and planted island-grown

Dudleya

(a native succulent) at China Camp on the island’s southwest side.

Although volunteers put in long hours, they also had the opportunity to visit parts of the island that are not easily accessible.

Although removing the fencing and the restoration work are priorities for the NPS, budgets are tight, so there is no funding to pay for these projects.

Working with NPS Restoration Ecologist Sarah Chaney,

CIR volunteers work in the native plant

nursery on Santa Rosa Island.

CIR developed a program where volunteers paid for a portion ofthe needed funding, CIR paid for the rest, and the NPS provided staff support, on-island transportation and camp sites.

While CIR spent more than $5,000 on the four trips, this project would not have happened without the generous support of volunteers and CIR donors.

Volunteers camped at the NPS campground at Water Canyon, and on one occasion, stayed at the bunkhouse that housed island ranch hands when the island was privately owned.

The bunkhouse is now part of a new research station run by California State University Channel Islands, and CIR is grateful that we received special permission to stay there.

CIR volunteers use special jacks to remove fence posts at East Point.

Volunteers also remove invasive iceplant at East Point.

CIR volunteers plant natives at China Cap on Santa Rosa Island

NPS Restoration Ecologist Sarah Chaney shows volunteers the work location near Carrington Point.

Volunteers removed fencing at the work site, which was located several hundred feet below the pictured location.

Over 6,000 Volunteer for CIR since 2002

Over 6,000 Volunteer for CIR since 2002

Volunteers from REI volunteer for CIR on Anacapa Island.

REI is one of several groups that have joined thousands

of other volunteers on CIR projects

Since Channel Islands Restoration regularly started working with volunteers in 2002, a total of 6,273 people have volunteered for our program on nearly fifty projects on the Channel Islands, and at many mainland locations.

At a recent social event held in appreciation of CIR supporters, Executive Director, Ken Owen, reviewed CIR’s history and directly attributed our success to the tremendous support of our volunteers.

CIR has grown from a two-person volunteer operation centered on an invasive tree removal program on Santa Cruz Island, to a full-service environmental restoration and education non-profit organization with ten employees.

We have worked on all eight of the Channel Islands and have projects in dozens of mainland locations, from Orcutt in the north, to San Pedro in the south.

CIR volunteers on Santa Cruz Island in 2002

CIR founders Ken Owen and Duke McPherson met on Santa Cruz Island and quickly realized they shared a passion for the unique native habitat of the Channel Islands.

Before there was a regular habitat restoration program on Santa Cruz, Duke and Ken made quarterly trips to Nature Conservancy property

with the Restoration Club from U.C. Santa Barbara to remove invasive plants, particularly Eucalyptus trees.

Later, Ken joined Duke on his small speed boat to regularly visit the island on multiple volunteer trips that took place over several weekends a month.

This evolved into a larger program after Ken began recruiting volunteers for the project.

The Nature Conservancy provided equipment, the National Park Service provided boat transportation and the U. C. Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Island Reserve provided housing and pick-up trucks to help facilitate the volunteer work.

Near the end of 2002, Kate Symonds with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arranged for grant funding for the project.

Duke and Ken initially formed CIR as a partnership, and it was at this time that the Santa Cruz Island project had become a professional operation.

Ken provided volunteer coordination and trip logistics, and Duke contributed his many skills as an arborist and professional contractor.

CIR volunteers on Santa Cruz Island in 2002

Although the program had expanded into regular monthly trips with large volunteer groups and grant funding, CIR was still very much the “Duke and Ken Show,” as some people began calling it.

It would be several years before CIR needed to hire employees, because Duke and Ken could rely on the help of hundreds of volunteers a year.

This made for a very economical operation, and the grant funding that was supposed to pay for twelve trips, lasting just a year, actually paid for almost double that.

In 2005, the first of many school groups began working with CIR on Santa Cruz Island.

That same year, David Chang from the County of Santa Barbara, hired CIR to work on two important invasive plant removal projects.

One was on Santa Rosa Island, where CIR led volunteer groups surveying for, and removing a thistle listed as a “noxious weed” by the State of California.

This multi-year project marked the first time CIR worked outside of Santa Cruz Island.

In later years, CIR led volunteers to plant natives on Santa Rosa and to install fencing around sensitive plants to protect them from grazing by non-native deer and elk.

Recently, CIR has been removing this fencing now that the non-native animals are gone.

We also work in the island nursery, and we continue to plant natives.

With funding arranged by David Chang, CIR began a large project to supervise the removal of giant reed (“

Arundo”

) from three miles of the Carpinteria Creek watershed with the California Conservation Corps.

This was the first time that CIR was hired to work on a mainland project.

In 2007, CIR was hired by the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County to remove

Arundo

from the Refugio Creek watershed.

The following year, CIR hired employees to help with that project, including Kevin Thompson, who later became the CIR Operations Manager.

The Arundo removal at the Carpinteria and Refugio watersheds (plus others that followed) were large-scale projects requiring equipment, paid personnel and expertise.

CIR continued to work with hundreds of volunteers each year, on projects elsewhere, but the Arundo projects were not suited to volunteers.

Oak Grove School volunteering with CIR

on Santa Cruz Island 2006

Also in 2007, CIR began taking volunteer school groups to Anacapa and East Santa Cruz Islands in partnership with the “Once Upon a Watershed” program in Ojai.

The school program (later funded solely by grants raised by CIR) targeted fourth and fifth graders from schools in low income areas.

The funding paid for the cost of bus and boat transportation, plus CIR personnel to lead the trips and to lead the volunteer work.

Most of the kids had never been on a boat, or seen marine mammals or even visited a National Park, and they did all of these things on these school trips.

Since the inception of the CIR school program, 2,137 students, accompanied by 368 adults have worked with CIR on the Channel Islands!

Around the same time, CIR held its first volunteer trip to work with the U.S. Navy on San Nicolas Island.

We took a small volunteer group to the island to remove non-native plants.

In the last two years CIR has built a nursery on the island, grown and installed native plants, and has expanded the invasive plant removal in cooperation with the Navy.

In 2008, David Chang helped CIR raise additional funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for expanded work on Santa Cruz Island.

The grant funded projects in more than twenty locations on the island and included specialized work with endangered plant species.

In 2010, CIR held our first natural history tours.

These trips, which were purely educational in nature and did not include restoration work, were immediately popular and successful.

We started with a trip to Death Valley National Park and then to the White Mountains of eastern California.

Geologist Tanya Atwater and Botanist, Steve Junak have been leading CIR trips to these locations and to other amazing locations ever since.

CIR personnel construct Anacapa Nursery 2010

That same year, CIR partnered with Channel Islands National Park (NPS) on an iceplant eradication project on East Anacapa Island.

CIR worked with the NPS to build a native plant nursery on the Island, with initial funding from the Ventura Patagonia store and from CIR Board members.

Gordon Hart (of the CIR Board) led the construction project with help from other CIR volunteers and NPS staff.

Additional funding (arranged by NPS Restoration Ecologist Sarah Chaney) enabled the nursery to be completed.

The following year, NPS received three years of funding (from highly-competitive NPS restoration project grants) and entered into a Cooperative Agreement with CIR under which CIR provided skilled staff and experienced volunteer leadership in support of

iceplant eradication and restoration of native vegetation on the island.

CIR recruited large numbers of volunteers from the general public, and also worked with established groups of volunteers recruited by NPS from local high schools.

Regular CIR volunteer trips began on Wednesdays, the normal NPS transportation day for Anacapa.

The ongoing work on the iceplant, plus the growing and installing of plants continues.

CIR removing iceplant on San Clemente Island 2011

CIR began working with the U.S. Navy on San Clemente Island in 2011.

On our first trip, twenty volunteers spent five days pulling iceplant from sensitive habitat on the island.

We removed hundreds of patches of iceplant over forty acres, which highly impressed the personnel we were working with from the U.S. Navy and San Diego State University.

Since then, CIR has returned to the island to remove iceplant and other invasive plants.

We remove some of these invasive plants where they are smothering endangered plant species.

CIR staff have also used climbing gear to rappel down steep canyons to remove invasive plants in very remote sections of the island.

We plan to increase our work on San Clemente Island in 2014 and beyond.

Also in 2011, CIR started working on three important invasive removal and planting projects on the mainland.

One was at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve (at two different sites) with funding from the Goleta Valley Land Trust and the San Marcos Foothills Coalition (SMFC).

We planted several thousand native plants at the sites, and we continue to work on this project with our volunteers.

On one workday, more than 150 people from several outdoor companies volunteered at the Preserve for CIR.

Last year we received grants from Patagonia and REI to work in other sections of the Foothills.

Recently CIR has started developing a docent program for the Foothills in partnership with the SMFC.

By Spring we will be training volunteers to lead hikes at the Foothills that will highlight the ecology and history of this important open space.

Before and after views of a portion of the CIR restoration site at the Santa Barbara Zoo:

LEFT: invasives like cape ivy,

Myoporum

and nasturtium block the view of the Andree Clark Bird Refuge

Middle: the same view after the invasives have been removed and soon after native plantings installed

Right: A year after restoration; native plants have matured

Another of the mainland projects CIR started in 2011 was along the Andree Clark Bird Refuge at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

CIR removed many dozens of invasive trees that were crowding out native habitat along the refuge, which is an important bird nesting area.

We also planted several thousand native plants.

This ended up being one our most popular volunteer projects, since it is a beautiful place to work and participants were offered free admission to the Zoo after volunteering.

On one Saturday, over 100 people volunteered!

The third mainland project started in 2011 was along the Santa Clara River near Santa Paula.

Working with BioResource Consultants, CIR removed Arundo from about five acres in breeding habitat for several threatened and endangered species.

We also installed native plants, spread seed and installed a large irrigation system.

CIR has removed Arundo from several locations on the Santa Clara River, but this is the largest site we have worked on there.

In 2012 and 2013, CIR continued work on many of the projects discussed above and on many others.

We held our first large volunteer trip to Catalina Island, and we plan more trips there in the coming years.

In 2014 we look forward to improving our outreach to our many friends who support CIR behind the scenes.

This article is based on a PowerPoint presentation shown to our supporters at a recent “CIR Social” designed to thank those who help CIR financially.

We present it here, so that the many thousands of people who have volunteered for CIR can also appreciate the journey we have all taken together since Duke and Ken started removing invasive trees on Santa Cruz Island, nearly thirteen years ago.

CIR mainland projects, from Orcutt in the north to San Pedro in the south

CIR Expands Work on San Nicolas Island

CIR Expands Work on San Nicolas Island

Plants grown by CIR at the

San Nicolas Island nursery

Channel Islands Restoration will grow at least 3,000 plants on San Nicolas Island in 2014, which will be used to restore habitat for the endangered island night lizard.

We will also return to our ongoing project of removing invasive plants in sensitive habitat occupied by rare native plants.

In 2012, CIR constructed a native plant nursery on the island and grew and planted more than 1,200 plants for an erosion control project on the eastern side of the island.

This year we continued working to eradicate several invasive plants, including Sahara mustard from habitat of

Cryptantha traskiae

, a threatened plant in the Borage family. Sahara mustard is a highly invasive plant that has caused great ecological damage in the deserts.

The U.S. Navy is committed to controlling or even eradicating the mustard from the island and to supporting the recovery of the island night lizard.

CIR donated much of our staff time to the eradication project over the last several years.

The island night lizard, which is found on only three of the Channel Islands, thrives in native plants like prickly pear cactus and boxthorn.

CIR will grow several species in the island nursery that are important to the recovery of the lizard habitat.

The eastern coast of San Nicolas Island with

giant Coreopsis in boom

Volunteers will help remove the invasives and will help with growing the plants.

These projects would not happen without the help of volunteers, but the logistics of taking volunteers to islands owned by the Navy are complicated.

Each volunteer must undergo a background check and obtain a pass before they can enter the Point Mugu Naval Air Station, where we board flights to the island.

Once on the island, volunteers stay at motel-like housing, at the volunteer’s expense.

Although this can add up to nearly $200 per trip, for most volunteers the price is well worth it.

Volunteer opportunities on the Navy islands are rare, and San Nicolas Island is a particularly interesting place to visit.

Volunteers pose while removing Sahara Mustard

from San Nicolas Island

In 2013, CIR made several trips to the island to remove invasive plants.

In addition to the mustard and other invasives, CIR staff and volunteers worked to remove carnation spurge (

Euphorbia terracina

) on the island.

Carnation spurge is quickly spreading in California, and the Navy hopes to eradicate it from San Nicolas Island.

CIR is proud of our partnership with the U.S. Navy on San Nicolas Island.

We also work closely with ACS Habitat Management and the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens on the San Nicolas Island projects.

Although CIR has received funding from the Navy to work on all of these projects, we have also donated many thousands of dollars in staff time when funding has not been available.

CIR volunteers plant natives on San Nicolas Island

Island Fox seen by CIR volunteers on San Nicolas Island

CIR Builds Nursery on San Nicolas Island, grows 1,100 Plants

1,100 plants have been grown at the nursery on

San Nicolas Island so far

Channel Islands Restoration staff and volunteers teamed up with the United States Navy in April on San Nicholas Island to completely rebuild and expand an old native plant nursery.

More than 1,100 plants have been grown so far, and CIR staff and volunteers recently planted most of these at a restoration site on the island.

The nursery, which consisted of a shed and small planting benches, had fallen into disrepair over nearly two decades.

CIR built new benches, erected a shade structure and installed an irrigation system.

The three benches (each forty feet long and six feet wide) include custom designed “biosecurity” measures that prevent introduced pests like Argentine ants from infesting the plant pots.

The nursery shed required major cleaning, and it will soon receive repairs to its roof and doors.

Funding to build the new nursery and to grow the plants has been provided by the Navy.

The nursery has an automated irrigation system, so CIR staff only needs to visit the island approximately once per week. 

The plants were installed at a restoration site on the eastern side of the island to help prevent erosion along roadside dune habitat.

More plants will be grown in the nursery to revegetate sites impacted by upcoming construction projects on the island.

CIR Board Member Gordon Hart designed the nursery and led the construction project along with volunteers Dave Edwards (also a Board Member) Don Mills and John Reyes.

The plants were grown by Norma Hogan, who recently joined the CIR team.

CIR built the nursery in partnership with the Navy,

and most of these plants have been installed at a restoration site on the island.

CIR has been working on the island for several years eradicating Sahara mustard from habitat of the threatened

Cryptantha traskiae

(a threatened plant in the Borage family).

Sahara mustard is a highly invasive plant that has caused great ecological damage in the deserts.

It has spread quickly on San Nicolas Island, and the Navy staff is committed to eradicating it from the island.

CIR has donated the staff time on this project for several years, but the Navy has recently contracted with CIR to perform this service.

Our staff and volunteers are trusted to work around these sensitive plants and around protected archeological sites.

CIR greatly values our relationship with Naval Base Ventura County and the U.S. Navy as a whole.

CIR Board member Gordon Hart

builds benches in the new nursery constructed by CIR on San Nicolas Island

shade structure under construction

CIR staff and volunteers plant natives at the Thousand Springs restoration site on the north east end of San Nicolas Island.

volunteer John Reyes (left) and CIR nursery manager Norma Hogan (right) in front of the completed shade structure

CIR volunteers plant natives at the Thousand Springs restoration site on the north east end of San Nicolas Island.

CIR School Program Brings 2,300 People to the Islands Since 2004

Students from Carpinteria Family School volunteer 

at the Anacapa Island nursery on a class trip

Channel Islands Restoration has brought 2,055 young people and 248 teachers and chaperones to Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands as part of our school and youth program since its inception in 2004.

CIR raised most of the funding to pay for boat transportation and other costs for these trips, which focused on involving students from underserved areas of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. These trips provided the first opportunity for most of these young people to travel on an ocean-going boat, to directly experience marine wildlife and to visit the Channel Islands.

Funding was provided by a combination of public and private sources, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the California Coastal Commission, Sempra Energy Foundation and Citrix Online.

Students from Sheridan Way Elementary

School (Ventura) on Anacapa Island

CIR worked with 36 schools and youth groups from all over Southern California and beyond.

Participants performed many service tasks including removing invasive plants, collecting seed, growing plants in the Anacapa nursery and care of these plants once they were in the ground.

CIR visited participating schools before each trip to make a presentation on island ecology and conservation biology.

We particularly emphasized the connection between the pollution of mainland streets and watersheds and thereby of the ocean and island environments.

Instruction was curriculum based, reinforcing lessons the students were already learning in the classroom.

Even with fares generously discounted by Island Packers (the official provider of transportation to Anacapa), transportation costs add up quickly.

Boat transportation for an average-size class is $1,500 to $2,000, with additional costs incurred for bus transportation and for CIR staff to organize and lead each trip.

As public sector budgets tighten, CIR is seeking corporate support to help fund these important service-learning programs for local schools.

Fifth graders from Meiners Oaks Elementary volunteer on Santa Cruz Island.

CIR Teams with Local Companies to Restore Mainland and Island Sites

Employees from outdoor corporations volunteer for CIR at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. More than 150 people from six local companies volunteered for Channel Islands Restoration on a single day in April at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve.

Taking part in an annual corporate volunteer day, employees from Deckers, Patagonia, REI, Horny Toad, Vapur and Channel Islands Outfitters planted natives and pulled weeds at the Preserve located between Santa Barbara and Goleta.

CIR is promoting partnerships with local companies, particularly those with an outdoor focus, to raise money for restoration projects and to recruit volunteers.

Employees from many of these same companies, plus Amgen and Citrix Online, have also volunteered for CIR on many island trips. All of these companies encourage their employees to volunteer, and some even pay their employee’s wages while volunteering.

In addition to volunteer help, Patagonia, REI (Santa Barbara store and the new Oxnard store) and Citrix Online have all contributed grant funding to CIR. This funding will support a new project in the San Marcos Foothills, help pay for school field trips to the Channel Islands and more.

With public sector budgets continuing to tighten, CIR seeks to diversify our funding base, and we are very grateful for the support of our corporate partners.

CIR Teams with Local Companies to Restore Mainland Sites

Restoration plantings installed by CIR volunteers

at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve

CIR will start a third restoration project in December at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, an open space located between Santa Barbara and Goleta.

Funding for the project will be provided by the REI Santa Barbara store, the Ventura Patagonia store and the San Marcos Foothills Coalition.

We will focus on removing invasive plants along in the most sensitive habitats, and we will plant several species of natives at the main entrance to the Preserve.

This project will rely heavily on the support of volunteers!

The San Marcos Foothills is one of the most ecologically valuable sites on the South Coast, with hundreds of acres of grasslands, oak woodlands, and permanently flowing creeks.

There are nearly 50 mammals found and the Preserve and 126 bird species.

The Preserve has miles of hiking trails that provide spectacular 360 degree views of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and the Santa Barbara Channel.

For the last three years CIR has been working with project partners and volunteers to restore habitat along Atascadero and Cieneguitas on the Preserve.

We will be doing some additional planting at those sites as well, so there is ample opportunity for the public to get involved in these highly successful restoration projects.

Santa Rosa Island Volunteer Project

Channel Islands Restoration and Channel Islands National Park worked together to organize and lead three volunteer trips to Santa Rosa Island in July and October to remove fencing that had been erected to protect sensitive plants from non-native grazing animals.

Removing the fencing was difficult, but the hardy volunteers put in long hours and were able to visit some remote parts of the island that few visitors have a chance to see.

Volunteers camped at Johnson’s Lee (with special permission) on the south side of the island on two of the trips.

CIR volunteers receive instruction on Santa Rosa Island

from NPS restoration biologist Sarah Chaney

The fencing was originally installed by mostly volunteer labor (including CIR volunteers) under the direction of the National Park Service.

Non-native deer and elk were present on the island as part of a commercial hunting operation run by the island’s previous owners in an agreement with the NPS.

The fencing protected rare plants from grazing by the animals and protected sensitive environments threatened by erosion.

With the expiration of the hunting agreement at the end of 2011, all non-native animals are now gone from the island and the protective fencing is no longer needed.

No funding was available for the trips, so CIR and the NPS needed to come up with creative ways to finance the project.

Volunteers paid for the cost of the boat transportation and the wages of one CIR staff person.

CIR donated the wages of a second staff person and the cost of coordinating volunteers.

The NPS provided vehicles, logistical and staff support and campsite use.

Prominent Ecologist Wayne R. Ferren Jr. Joins CIR Staff

Wayne R. Ferren Jr. has joined the Channel Islands Restoration team as Principal Ecologist and head of the newly formed Research Program, which will expand the scope of CIR to include a broad array of ecological and environmental functions.

Wayne brings over 40 years of experience with institutional, non-profit and for-profit botanical, ecological, and environmental programs including employment with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Maser Consulting and the Rancocas Conservancy in New Jersey.

Wayne has extensive experience in environmental and programmatic management and oversight.

He was Botanical Collections Manager at ANSP, Curator and Executive Director of the UCSB Museum of Systematics and Ecology, Assistance Director of the UCSB Natural Reserve System, Director of Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Project Manager at Maser Consulting and Trustee at the Rancocas Conservancy.

Wayne also has served as President of the California Botanical Society and Editor of Madrono. He has authored over 90 technical papers, reports, and chapters, provided numerous classes, workshops, and presentations; and is the recipient of eleven environmental awards for his work and projects.

At CIR Wayne will oversee research elements of restoration projects, environmental monitoring, and field experiments. He will oversee project design; manage the production of technical reports; manage project permitting; and assist with marketing and business development.

Wayne also will assist with the development and execution of the Education Program including lectures and field trips.

Wayne’s technical focus will include restoration ecology, wetland ecology, plant sciences, and environmental review and planning.

Who Pays for CIR Programs?

Although CIR staff and volunteer board members spend countless hours writing grants to many different funding agencies, much of the work that we do is completely unfunded by any agency.

In these cases, CIR relies on individual contributions to help carry out these important projects.

As an example, CIR board members and other individual donors raised a big portion of the funding needed to purchase and construct a shade house on Anacapa Island as part of the nursery project there.  Although we are glad to work with our partners in the Park Service and Patagonia to help fund the nursery, individual donors helped make that project possible.

Also, CIR regularly contributes staff time (and the associated wages) so that adults can volunteer on the Channel islands.

Contributions from CIR supporters help fund these types of projects. 

Funding is often available for targeted schools to work with us on the Channel Islands, but many other schools must raise the money for the boat and other costs.

In those cases, CIR often donates the pay for our staff person to join the group and lead them in a restoration project.

Although CIR is a non-profit organization, we still need to pay the costs of doing "business" like for-profit companies.

The difference is, we operate on a near break-even basis, and we work on many projects because of their ecological or educational value and not their monetary value.

CIR is required to pay considerable overhead expenses in order to work on our restoration projects.

These include workers compensation and liability insurance, accounting fees, rent for equipment storage and an administrative office, equipment purchases and maintenance, and staff time to administer a wide-ranging and busy organization.

As a percentage of our budget, these expenses are relatively low, but there is no funding available to pay for these costs other than contributions from our supporters.

We are always proud to announce that we have received grants from foundations or other agencies, but it is important to remember that CIR must raise a great deal of our funding from individuals to keep operating.

That is why we ask for contributions, and we hope that people who support our work will also support us financially.

Please join CIR today!

Internet and Social Media Helps CIR Organize

Over 1000 people are now fans of our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cirweb) adding a powerful social media component to or organizing capability.  We have been using a huge email list and an extensive web page to communicate with volunteers since the year 2000, but our Facebook page has only recently become a relevant component of how we recruit volunteers for habitat restoration projects.  Facebook is attracting new people to our organization, and we plan to use the page to post news and interesting features about the islands soon.

Just 20 year ago, non-profits would use written newsletters and phone trees to publicize events.  Now we can use the web, email, blogs Facebook and soon Google Plus to reach volunteers.  Using these tools to their fullest extent can be rather time consuming, but we are able to reach thousands of people quickly and at short notice. 

As popular as CIR is with the public, attracting fans to our Facebook page requires a little finessing.  Earlier this year we publicized the page to our email list (of nearly 1,100 people) which provided an initial surge of fans to the page.  We also created a custom "landing page" so that people who visit the page for the first time see an attractive graphic urging them to "Like" us and learn more about the organization.  Links to the Facebook page can be found on our of our promotional materials, including business cards, brochures and on our web page. 

We look forward to adding more fans in the future, and we plan to use the page for more than just announcing volunteer opportunities.  Watch the page for interesting news and tidbits about all eight of the Channel Islands and about environmental restoration in general.