University of California
TransectS u m m e r 2 0 0 2 • V o l u m e 2 0, N o. 2
A few words from the Director of the NRS
he NRS systemwide Mathias Graduate Student Research T Grants program, now in its fif- teenth year, has supported more than 200 research projects. In this issue of Transect, a sampling of such projects is seen in the account of the first-ever Mathias Symposium (page 6), while the opening story (page 1) describes the outstanding research on the island fox by two-time Mathias award recipient Gary Roemer and his colleagues.
In 1993, the estimated populations for the endemic fox on San Miguel and Santa Cruz Island fox. Photo by Gary Roemer Santa Cruz Islands were 350 and 1,312 adults, respectively. By 1999, only15 NRS research that revealed collapse adult foxes were known to be alive on of island fox population now focuses San Miguel and an estimated 133 on on halting species extinction Santa Cruz. Roemer and his colleagues carried out a series of meticulous stud- ies from 1993 to 1999 and concluded Developing a sound conservation strategy … depends upon gaining demographic Continued on page 16 and genetic information for all populations of concern prior to the onset of any irreversible population declines. — Gary Roemer, 1994 6 First Mathias Symposium highlights 2000-01 winners iologist Gary Roemer and his field assistant, Jeff Howarth, were stuck. January 1995 was the wettest month in recorded history at the NRS 10 CA Coastal Conservancy B reserve on Santa Cruz Island, largest of the California Channel Islands. support initiates Phase II The pair were on the island to do fieldwork for Roemer’s UCLA doctoral disser- of San Joaquin Marsh tation on the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). Twice each month for a year, they Reserve restoration had journeyed out to Fraser Point at the west end of the island, set up camp in 12 Legacy of 20th-century an NRS trailer, and collected data on the social structure and mating behaviors explorer Al A. Allanson of a fox population that roamed the bluffs above the point. enriches desert research Continued on page 2 In This Issue Transect • 20:2
NRS research Present-day Santa Cruz Island Continued from page 1 A journey out to Fraser Point, at the far west end of Santa But once the rain began to fall that January, it didn’t stop Cruz Island, reveals the island’s rugged terrain. Even in the all month. “There was literally water running off the hill- best of weather, only the sturdiest four-wheel-drive vehicles sides,” Roemer recalls. Not only was the road to their study can handle the “road” west, which offers gravel- and boul- site impassable, the road to the boat landing was also un- der-filled riverbed alternating with short sections of im- derwater. The pair couldn’t even get off the island. So they proved dirt road, open fields, and occasional near-vertical took refuge at the field station and waited. “We passed the plunges into, and out of, deeply eroded creek beds. time doing data entry,” Roemer continues, “reading books from the library, and helping Brian [Guerrero, the reserve steward].” The views along the way are spectacular: to the north, loom- ing out of the haze on the mainland 40 miles away, are the Roemer was anxious to get back out to Fraser Point. There Santa Ynez Mountains; to the south, rugged canyons plunge had been a number of fox mortalities the previous year and toward the ocean, their flanks still scarred from decades of he was concerned: “The first mortality was May of ‘94. Then overgrazing by sheep. “There are still places down there I’ve we lost three to four more from May through December.” never seen,” observes the reserve’s director, Lyndal Laughrin. Quite a statement, considering he’s been working on Santa Even after the rains eased up, the muddy roads were still Cruz Island and running its field station for over 30 years. impassable for several months into 1995. Finally, Roemer and Howarth decided to hike to their study site. When they Fraser Point itself feels almost as much a part of the ocean arrived in February, they discovered there had been three as of the land — waves pounding on the unprotected coast, additional mortalities during their absence. Roemer was sure cold windy fogs blanketing the bluffs. he knew the cause. “This was one of the two study sites Gary [Roemer] had set “The forensic information at the kill sites was clear,” he up.” Laughrin gestures to the open bluffs above the point. explains. “Each animal’s pelt had been pierced, some had “He had a grid here and another one in the central valley to holes in their skulls, and that requires powerful feet and compare the populations at the two different sites.” The sharp talons. Also, the limbs were often ‘degloved’ [the skin foxes have been the focus of basic research on the island pulled back from the flesh], and the sites were often littered since the field station was established in 1965. Lyndal him- with feathers and droppings. There was no doubt in my self wrote his dissertation on them in the 1970s, before shift- mind that golden eagles had done the killing.” ing his focus to restoration ecology. Three other UC gradu- ate students had also done theses on different aspects of the The big question was, why now? Golden eagles (Aquila animals’ behavior and social organization. None of these chrysaetos) were a mainland species. Though they had occa- earlier works noted any major declines in their population. sionally been seen passing over Santa Cruz Island since the late 1800s, they had never been known to nest there or on “Back in the eighties, there was a major effort to remove any of the other Channel Islands. Now the fox kills were sheep from the island,” Laughrin recalls. “Overgrazing had occurring so frequently, the birds must have taken up resi- really devastated many of the hillsides. We thought with dence on the island. During his two-year study, Roemer lost the sheep gone, the island foxes would do great.” 21 animals, at least 17 of these confirmed golden eagle kills. But ecological matters didn’t play out the way everyone had Roemer’s discovery triggered a flurry of follow-up research envisioned. Over the next ten years, the fox population on throughout the Channel Islands. Five of the eight islands Santa Cruz Island dropped more than 90 percent, from — San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara, Anacapa, and 1,300 individuals in 1994, to 133 animals in 1999, to be- Santa Cruz — comprise the Channel Islands National Park, tween 70 and 80 today. That translates, roughly, as one less and Park Service biologists soon discovered similar dramatic fox every other day. But what could have caused this declines of fox populations on San Miguel and Santa Rosa. dramatic shift? As the fox’s dire situation became clear, The Nature Con- servancy (TNC), which owns and protects most of the is- Apparent competition land, and the National Park Service, which manages it, would launch an unprecedented effort to save the species Roemer, whose UCLA graduate research was partially and restore the damaged Santa Cruz Island ecosystem. funded by two NRS Mathias grants, is now a professor at University of California 2 Transect • 20:2
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. In a recent phone have large, multiple litters each year, and adults quickly be- interview, he recalled the breakthrough. “The first golden came too big to serve as eagle prey. eagle I saw on Santa Cruz I flushed off a piglet it had killed,” he says. “Later, it hit me that the eagle had two prey. There’s Interestingly, one major winner of this ecological shift was a concept called ‘apparent competition’ that was developed a true island fox competitor. The island spotted skunk in the 1970s. It states that when two prey species share a (Spilogale gracilis amphiala) population soared as the fox predator, one of the species may be well adapted to high population declined. When Laughrin conducted his stud- predation pressure, while the other species may be more ies in the 1970s, he rarely captured a skunk in his fox traps. vulnerable.” Today researchers capture more skunks than foxes.
In this instance, the two prey species were island foxes and Feral pigs may have initially attracted golden eagles to the feral pigs, the latter descendants of domestic stock brought islands, but the foxes turned out to be the easier prey. Stable to the island in the 1850s. The two species didn’t compete isotope studies conducted on various Santa Cruz Island directly, but, as golden eagle prey, the fox was at a disadvan- samples, including eagle breast feathers, revealed that the tage. It reproduced quite slowly (one litter of one to five golden eagle diet consisted of 51 percent fox, 34 percent kits per year) and even the cat-sized adults were small enough piglet, and 15 percent skunk. to be prey. Feral pigs (Sus scrofa), on the other hand, could Roemer realized immediately that the fox population on Santa Cruz Island was in How an exotic species turned native predators great peril. In collaborating with re- into prey at Santa Cruz Island searchers doing work on other Channel Islands, it soon became apparent that the same pattern was repeating itself in those locations as well. On San Miguel Island, the number of island foxes was found to be dropping dramatically —from 450 to 40 in four years. By 2001, only 15 foxes survived there.
The bald eagle The rescue plan disappears from the island due to DDT The golden eagle arrives at the island and stays because of Fast forward to 2002. The current sta- readily available prey, filling a niche tus of the island fox on Santa Cruz Is- that opened when the bald eagle land comes clear on a high ridge over- disappeared looking China Harbor. A series of six large chain-link pens — four walls and
preys on a roof — have been scattered along the ridge as part of a captive breeding pro- gram begun earlier this year. Inside each The island skunk — a predator itself, pen, hidden among large branches, is a but largely spared eagle predation. pair of foxes. The animals aren’t shy; as the island fox population is when humans approach, they peer curi- depleted, the skunk population rises ously from their den to see if it’s time to eat. One of the pens holds five kits, a single large litter that represents the only successful mating so far at the Santa Cruz
The feral pig, The island fox — a Island facility. With 17 foxes here, and whose species is predator, but its 50 to 60 still in the wild, the population surviving golden species cannot eagle predation withstand golden is on the verge of extinction. eagle predation (Photo of bald eagle by Brian Latta; Continued on page 4 Photos of golden eagle, skunk, pig, and island fox by Gary Roemer)
Natural Reserve System 3 Transect • 20:2 NRS research Continued from page 3 The Prey: Island Fox On the next ridge is another nursery: a tall fledging tower s often happens in island ecosystems, the island that provides a panoramic vista for four bald eagle chicks. fox (Urocyon littoralis) evolved as a dwarf ver- Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) once played a key role A sion of a larger species — in this case, the mainland in the Santa Cruz Island ecosystem population and, because gray fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus). Island species tend they fed almost exclusively on fish and carrion washed up to be smaller due to limited and uncertain food sup- on the beaches, they posed no threat to the foxes. In fact, ply. About the size of a house cat, the island fox is om- many scientists believe the presence of bald eagles protected nivorous, feeding on insects, mice, birds, eggs, and fruit. the island from encroaching golden eagles. But the once- Quick and agile, they are excellent climbers. common bald eagles disappeared from the Channel Islands in the 1950s, a decline believed to be the result of agricul- Their natural history is largely a result of what biolo- tural pesticides, primarily the insecticide DDT, dumped off gists call “jackpot selection,” a form of evolution the coast of Los Angeles into the ocean near Santa Catalina unique to island ecosystems. It’s a jackpot because Island, about 75 miles southeast of Santa Cruz Island. The the food chain is created by random chance: which- four bald eaglets on this fledging tower were hatched at the ever animals wash up on the island and survive be- San Francisco Zoo from eggs taken on Santa Catalina. They come part of the system. At Santa Cruz Island, foxes were brought to the site to re-establish the Santa Cruz Is- and skunks are the largest surviving land fauna to land population. More chicks will be brought in over the make it from the mainland, crossing the channel about next four years, 12 per year for a total of 60. 15,000 years ago when the sea level was low and the four northern Channel Islands were a single land mass. Elsewhere, predatory bird specialists are working hard to capture and remove the last three golden eagles nesting on The fox has little reason to fear humans. The the island. Since November 1999, 22 golden eagles (12 Chumash who arrived on Santa Cruz Island about adults, 7 subadults, 3 chicks) have been captured and re- 7,500 years ago co-existed with the foxes, even tak- moved. The adults were radio-tagged and taken to the far ing them as pets. It was the Chumash who carried northeast corner of the state. So far, none has returned to the foxes to the southern Channel Islands. As late as southern California. Each capture, however, has become the 1950s, humans made pets of the foxes, until the more difficult. State of California gave them protected status. “I knew it would get harder,” says Brian Latta of the Preda- The fox is native to six of the eight Channel Islands. tory Bird Research Group at UC Santa Cruz, “but I didn’t Each island supports a genetically unique subspecies, know it would get this hard. These birds are very smart and and populations on all of the islands are in extreme very cryptic. We have to constantly develop new capture danger. Currently, four subspecies have been recom- techniques, because they won’t fall for the same trick twice.” mended to be listed as endangered — on San Miguel The latest strategy — chasing the birds to exhaustion with and Santa Rosa Islands, where they are considered a helicopter and then netting them when they land — has Extinct in the Wild (the only surviving animals be- proven difficult on the island’s rugged terrain. The first week ing bred in captivity), and on Santa Cruz and Santa of work produced no new captures. Catalina Islands, where the populations have dropped 90 percent over the last ten years. These recommen- Meanwhile, thousands of feral pigs continue to roam the dations were submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 96-square-mile island, and extracting them from the remote Service in December 2000 and are still pending. canyons will be extremely time-consuming. Under a Na- ture Conservancy effort beginning this fall, fences will be Many scientists believe all six subspecies should be listed. built that divide the island into six sections. The plan is They note that the San Clemente Island population that each year the pigs will be removed from one section has dropped 50 percent in ten years, while the San until they’re all gone. Nicolas Island population is now under 1,000 and con- Continued on page 5 tains so little genetic variability that it is vulnerable to potentially devastating diseases like distemper, which was passed to Santa Catalina foxes by house pets. — JB
University of California 4 Transect • 20:2 NRS research The Predator: Golden Eagle Continued from page 4
olden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are large, Future lessons Gwith wingspans up to 80 inches, but they’re not easy to spot. They nest in remote areas and disappear Island ecosystems have been crucial in the development of when they sense humans around. While hunting, they evolutionary theory. Beginning with Darwin’s work on usually contour low along the ground, invisible to their Galapagos finches, the rapid divergence of island species prey (and to onlookers) until the last moment. has fueled the fires of scientific debate on how life evolves. Islands have also served as major test cases for conservation In the fall of 1999, researchers Brian Latta and Gary strategies, because small population sizes and lack of ge- Roemer rappelled down to a nest on a steep canyon netic variation put island species at risk. Birds provide a wall, looking for conclusive evidence that golden eagles good example of this. Fewer than 20 percent of all bird were nesting on Santa Cruz Island and feeding on is- species are restricted to islands, but more than 90 percent land foxes. The nest was huge — a foot-deep pile of of extinctions of bird species in historic times have occurred sticks and branches, eight feet by three and a half feet, on islands, and 39 percent of all threatened bird species are tucked into a “pothole” in the side of the cliff — and island species. full of prey evidence: piglet bones, cormorant and gull feathers, and, significantly, two island fox mandibles. Santa Cruz Island will be an important conservation story, No eagle feathers were found that day, but the scien- because restoring a native ecosystem is like trying to put tists collected a number of eggshell fragments. Tests Humpty Dumpty back together again. All of the pieces must later confirmed they had belonged to a golden eagle. fit into place — the pigs and golden eagles successfully re- moved, the bald eagles reintroduced, and the island foxes Santa Cruz Island is an unusual place to find golden restored — to reconstruct a species assemblage long since lost. eagles. Although they range over much of North America, from the Canadian Arctic to the deserts of As animal populations throughout the world become fewer central Mexico, no other population in the Western in numbers and more fragmented, the chances of entire Hemisphere nests so near the coast. They prefer open food chains suddenly collapsing become greater. This is why woodlands and savannas, where they prey on small it is crucial we do basic research on the animals that survive mammals, such as jackrabbits, prairie dogs, and squir- today to acquire an understanding of a species before it rels, along with occasional birds and reptiles. One of reaches a crisis. their densest nesting populations is in the San Fran- cisco Bay Area, near Altamont Pass. It has taken eight years for us to assess and respond to the plight of the island fox. During that time, their situation The birds mate for life and often build alternate nests. has become much more desperate. Roemer observes: “The On Santa Cruz Island, Latta later discovered a second government has to be able to respond to scientific input nest right around the corner from the first, which the much more quickly, in six months rather than four to five birds were apparently using every other year. When years. We also need to facilitate basic research before we get he reached it, he found two juveniles. An attempt to to a crisis like we have today. Without a basic understand- net the female with her young was unsuccessful, so ing of how the system functions, we will be unable to insti- Latta settled for moving the juveniles. tute any mitigating actions.” — JB
Currently, three golden eagles are still known to re- For more information, contact: side on Santa Cruz Island: the female described above Lyndal Laughrin, Reserve Director and two others, thought to be her female offspring. Marine Science Institute Attempts to capture them will resume this October. Trailer 342 Will that be the end of the story? Latta isn’t so sure. University of California “There have been a number of sightings on Santa Rosa Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Island,” he notes, referring to the next island in the Phone: 805-967-2224 chain. “We’ll have to make sure they aren’t nesting Email:
Natural Reserve System 5 Transect • 20:2 First Mathias Symposium highlights graduate research
raduate research, like profes- cial interactions of pocket gophers Systemwide Director Alexander Glazer, sional research, requires (Thomomys bottae), she had no idea who conceived of the idea, was pleased G quick adaptation, hard work, she’d need a backhoe to dig a kilome- by the outcome of the weekend event. and careful observation. Its demands ter of trench lined with wire mesh to “The diversity and quality of the pre- became evident when eleven recipients control the subjects of her study. She’s sentations was excellent, really tremen- of the Mildred E. Mathias Graduate still trying to perfect techniques for dous,” he observed. “But almost as im- Student Research Grants for 2000- tracking their extensive tunnel systems. portant was the opportunity the students 2001 gathered this past March at the had to interact with their peers and share NRS’s Motte Rimrock Reserve, outside Aviva Liebert, of UCLA, and her advi- their research experiences. The contacts Perris, California, to discuss their research sor wanted to study paper wasps in they make at events like this can be ex- at the first-ever Mathias Symposium. their natural environment (rather than tremely valuable later on in their careers.” in nests on humanmade structures) in Mary Brooke McEachern, of UC the Santa Monica Mountains, but she Glazer notes that, by participating in the Davis, planned to study a healthy popu- soon faced a major problem: she couldn’t Mathias Symposium, students come to lation of dusky-footed woodrats near find them. Only after much careful appreciate that in addition to belonging Eagle Lake. When she discovered the observation did she discover their nests to a particular campus unit, they are also population was actually in steep decline, hanging in cracks in the dried soil. members of the Natural Reserve System she had to switch gears, but soon adapted graduate student community, a commu- her research to examine the population’s This first Mathias Symposium was sup- nity with high respect for the complex- response to increased isolation. ported by the Kenneth S. Norris Endow- ity and value of field research. ment Fund for the California Environ- When Stephanie Romañach, of UC ment provided to the NRS by the David As well as making their own presenta- Santa Barbara, set out to study the so- and Lucile Packard Foundation. NRS tions, participants also had the opportu- Graduate student presenters at the first Mathias Symposium From UC Berkeley — From UC Riverside — Lisa Grubisha, Analysis of gene flow in mainland and is- Sharon J. Coe, How does water availability affect repro- land populations of the ectomycorrhizal fungus (Rhizopogon ductive success in desert birds? A test using water supple- rubescens), at Santa Cruz Island Reserve. mentation in the black-throated sparrow (Amphispiza billineata deserticola), at Sweeney Granite Mountains Kenwyn Blakeslee Suttle, Consequences of altered hydro- Desert Research Center. logic regimes for a north coast California grassland commu- nity, at Angelo Coast Range Reserve. Amy E. Lindahl, Seasonal and spatial shifts in patterns of ecto- and arbuscular mycorrhizae associated with coast live From UC Davis — oak (Quercus agrifolia) and grasslands in a southern Cali- Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Size plasticity in Daphnia fornia ecosystem, at Emerson Oak Reserve. pulicaria: evidence of parasitoid-derived chemical media- tion?, at Eagle Lake Biological Field Station. Abby Glenn Sirulnik, Effects of nitrogen deposition on nu- trient cycling in exotic annual grasslands and chaparral com- Mary Brooke McEachern, The genetic consequences of mat- munities in southern California, at Motte Rimrock Re- ing system variation in the dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma serve, Box Springs Reserve, and Emerson Oaks Reserve. fuscipes), at Eagle Lake Biological Field Station. From UC Santa Barbara — Evan Preisser, Moisture-mediated interactions in a two- Stephanie Romañach, The influence of body size, resource predator trophic cascade, at Bodega Marine Reserve. abundance, and social interactions on movement patterns, From UC Los Angeles — at Sedgwick Reserve. Aviva Liebert, Reproductive flexibility in the paper wasp Sean Mark Watts, The evolutionary response of plants to (Polistes aurifer), at Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Moun- root herbivory, at Santa Cruz Island Reserve. tains Reserve.
University of California 6 Transect • 20:2
tion from experts around the world, AmphibiaWeb:
Scott, a professor of Wildlife Resources and unit leader of the USGS Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Idaho, has done extensive ground-breaking work on the effectiveness of current reserves in protecting endangered species. “We’re preserving rocks and ice,” Scott noted, “while two-thirds of endangered David Wake, UC Berkeley, and Mike species occur on private property.” The NRS’s Mathias Graduate Scott, University of Idaho. Photo by Scott proposes the development of a Student Research Grants were Jerry Booth coherent national policy that will maxi- named for the late Mildred E. mize the effectiveness of the efforts to Mathias, a professor of botany at nity to interact with two leading field protect threatened plants and animals. UCLA and “founding mother” of the reserve system. Photo by Norden H. researchers, David Wake from UC Ber- (Dan) Cheatham keley and Mike Scott from the Uni- Both men also participated in a final versity of Idaho. Wake and Scott pro- discussion on careers, relating their ing students an opportunity to share vided feedback on the student presen- own professional experiences and giv- their career concerns. tations and discussed their own work. Mathias graduate re- UC grad students net national awards search grants provide Wake, a professor of up to $2,500 to sup- Integrative Biology he quality of biological field research conducted by UC port UC-enrolled and curator of Herpe- Tgraduate students at NRS reserves becomes evident when one students conducting tology at UC Berke- looks at their success with national award programs. For example, independent and ley’s Museum of Ver- the Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program, which sup- field science studies at tebrate Zoology, dis- ports grad students conducting dissertation research in the National NRS reserves. Since cussed the tremen- Park System, is widely regarded as offering the most prestigious its inception in 1988, dous effort currently research grants available at that level — $75,000 to each student, the program has underway to identify $25,000 per year. Of the eight Canon winners selected for 2002, awarded 201 grants amphibians around two work extensively at NRS reserves: worth more than the world and assess $300,000. Informa- the factors that Blake Suttle, of UC Berkeley, who also won a Mathias grant for tion on current win- threaten their exist- 2000-2001, is studying the effects of global climate change in north- ners, as well as grant ence. A key challenge, ern California grassland communities. He has test plots at Red- applications and he noted, is the lack woods National Park and the NRS’s Angelo Coast Range Reserve procedures, can be of adequately trained in Mendocino County. His goal is to test the predictions of leading found on the Web: researchers in all areas climate change models by taking measurements of the grassland < http://nrs. of the globe and their plants, herbivores, detritivores, and predators. ucop.edu/info/ tremendous isolation. grants_awards/ To foster communi- Elizabeth Brusati, of UC Davis, who is studying the interaction grants.html>. Appli- cation among re- among introduced species in salt marshes, works at multiple sites, cations for this year’s searchers and with including the Point Reyes National Seashore and the NRS’s Bodega awards are due to the general public, Marine Reserve on the Sonoma County coast. She is focusing on NRS campus repre- Wake’s team created a Atlantic cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), an introduced species from sentatives by October website that contains the east coast of the United States that is dramatically changing 24, 2002. — JB up-to-date informa- California’s sensitive marine estuaries. — JB
Natural Reserve System 7 Transect • 20:2
Sedgwick Reserve’s historic buildings are still in use, but the long-planned-for, now-funded Tipton Meeting House will greatly improve opportunities for all educational, research, and cultural site users. Art by Margaret L. Herring Big gift will make big opportunities possible at Sedgwick
long-held dream started to be- the other designed as a workshop area. emphasized. Heating and cooling of come reality for the NRS’s The facility will be located prominently structures will incorporate passive as ASedgwick Reserve when earlier near the entrance of the reserve. well as active systems and will be envi- this year the J. E. and Lillian Tipton ronmentally monitored. Construction Foundation granted a gift to that “To be able to make a gift to the features will be highlighted with dis- 5,896-acre, Santa Barbara County site: Sedgwick Reserve is truly a blessing,” plays and signage. In keeping with this $1.4 million to cover construction of a spokesperson for the J. E. and Lillian sustainable design approach, the its central gathering place, the first of Tipton Foundation said, “for we know Tipton Meeting House will offer both several buildings proposed in its long- that this gift will have an enduring enclosed winter space (created using roll- range master plan. impact on teaching about and pre- down, wooden doors) and shaded, open serving nature.” summer space for additional activities. Sedgwick Reserve, administered by UC Santa Barbara, has been available since The vision of the Sedgwick Reserve’s NRS Systemwide Director Alexander 1997 for teaching, research, and pub- long-range master plan blends the char- Glazer summarized the significance of lic service activities. Director Michael acter of the historic, 150-year-old the Sedgwick Reserve and the Tipton Williams describes the Tipton Sedgwick Ranch with a modern UC Foundation’s gift to this site: “The Foundation’s contribution of his research and public education facility. Sedgwick Reserve typifies all that is best reserve’s keystone building as “the criti- To retain the original “feel” of the about the Natural Reserve System. It cal first step towards realizing the col- Sedgwick Ranch, which was named for attracts and rewards a large and diverse lective vision of both the surrounding Francis Minturn “Duke” Sedgwick and community of users from talented sci- community and the University of Cali- his wife, Alice de Forest Sedgwick, who entists to landscape painters, from fornia.” In honor of its benefactors, the acquired the property in 1952, the ar- graduate students to schoolchildren. building will be designated the Tipton chitecture of the Tipton Meeting This gift will provide not only a facil- Meeting House. House will be designed in traditional ity essential to the reserve’s future, but California ranch style, an aesthetic ex- also an inspiration for others.” — SGR The Tipton Meeting House will host pression reflected throughout the en- more than 6,000 visitors each year, tire Sedgwick village. For more information, contact: offering a formal classroom area for Michael P. Williams, Reserve Director university classes, research meetings, All new construction at the Sedgwick Sedgwick Reserve public workshops, and K-12 outreach Reserve will follow sustainable and P. O. Box 848 programs. The meeting house will also “green” design principles and, as such, Santa Ynez, CA 93460-0848 feature a spacious front porch and two will serve as a design model on the cen- Phone: 805-686-1941 smaller rooms — one intended to hold tral coast of California. Use of recycled Email:
hen potential donors con- But how could Dawson preserve this University of California received the sider giving land to the habitat and, at the same time, benefit land as a gift from the Haddad Family W NRS, they are often trying Valentine if the land was not to become Trust, then sold it to the California De- to preserve a threatened ecosystem part of the NRS? After making a few partment of Fish and Game, with funds from development. So what can hap- phone calls, he came up with a plan. provided by MBHCP. California Fish pen when a donor has a piece of eco- and Game now holds the land and will logically valuable land that won’t work Nearby Bakersfield is one of the fastest manage it as endangered species habitat. as an NRS reserve? growing metropolitan areas in the state. To mitigate the impact of this growth, Because the gift is unrestricted, Dan Dawson, reserve director for both the city established the Metropolitan Dawson has the flexibility to use the Valentine Camp and the Sierra Nevada Bakersfield Habitat Conservation Plan funds to meet his reserve’s most criti- Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL) (MBHCP). Developers pay impact fees cal needs. His goal is to build up an — the two component sites of the Val- on each new subdivision or building, endowment to fund Valentine in per- entine Eastern Sierra Reserve (VESR) which MBHCP then uses to fund habi- petuity. “We intend to use the proceeds in Mono County — faced this di- tat acquisition and management. Since as a cornerstone donation to grow a lemma recently when a representative 1994, the city has used the funds to ac- significant endowment,” he says. “In of the Haddad Family Trust contacted quire more than 4,000 acres of habitat. the beginning, the modest annual re- him regarding some land the family turn on the funds will be used for criti- owned in the San Joaquin Valley. Dawson contacted the MBHCP Trust cal reserve staffing needs, but in the Group to see if they would be inter- long term, I hope to put the entire pro- “I got a call out of the blue from an ested in purchasing and preserving the gram on a much stronger financial accounting office in Encino,” Dawson Haddad property, appraised at footing.”— JB recalls. “They represented the Haddad $150,500. Their response, after field family, who were prosperous Bakers- trips and agency encouragement or- For more information, contact: field farmers. The parents had passed chestrated by Dawson, was positive. Daniel R. Dawson, Reserve Director away recently and their heirs were no Dawson then discussed his idea with VESR, Route 1, Box 198 longer interested in farming, so they Margaret Haddad Abdun-Nur, execu- 1016 Mt. Morrison Road were selling off the land. Already they tor of the Haddad Family Trust. She Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546 had sold everything, except two par- liked the idea of selling the land to ben- Phone: 760-935-4334 cels that totaled about 197 acres. The efit Valentine. Email:
he California Coastal Conser- Reserve Manager William Bretz is still unneeded dikes and roadways, as well vancy continued its strong sup- amazed at how well this development as elevation adjustments to create the Tport for the NRS’s San Joaquin worked out. “It was real serendipity,” possibility for eventual restoration of Marsh Reserve when, earlier this year, he says. “We were more focused on re- natural tidal influence in the lowest it awarded $330,000 to fund the plan- storing the area as a habitat, but it’s portion of the marsh. Other Phase II ning for the second phase of a program ideal for introducing kids to the envi- components will provide additional to restore the Orange County reserve. ronment. And because it’s on the edge open water, better control of water of the reserve, they can get in and out movement and depth, and improved The award will cover the cost of devel- without disturbing any of the research.” connections between existing ponds. oping a feasibility study, conducting environmental reviews, consulting with Karen Bane, the Coastal Conservancy’s From a regional perspective, the resto- permitting agencies, and preparing fi- project manager, was very enthusiastic ration of San Joaquin Marsh is part of nal construction designs and contract about providing continued support for the Coastal Conservancy’s Southern documents to complete the marsh res- the marsh restoration: “We’ve been work- California Wetlands Recovery Project, toration project. According to Faculty ing on this project with the University an alliance of federal, state, and local Reserve Manager Peter Bowler, one for many years, and Phase II really rep- officials working with business and non- goal of the Phase II Enhancement resents the culmination of all the work profit organizations to acquire, restore, Project is to “mimic the historic hydrol- up to this point. … I love managing and expand coastal wetlands and water- ogy of the150-acre marsh pond system this project and get down there every sheds throughout Southern California. and establish an upgraded connection chance I can. It’s great seeing the wild- between the ponds and other areas life coming back since the completion The San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh Re- within the marsh.” of Phase I … the incredible variety of serve represents one of the last rem- resident and migrating birds nesting nants of the freshwater wetlands that Phase I of the project was initiated in there. There are herons and ospreys, once covered much of Orange County’s 1997 with funding from the Califor- and California gnatcatchers are nest- floodplain. Located in an ancient river- nia Coastal Conservancy, the League ing in the scrub restoration on the bluff.” cut channel at the head of Newport for Coastal Protection, the San Joaquin Bay, the reserve supports a variety of Hills Transportation Corridor Author- Bane has also been impressed by the wetland habitats, including freshwater ity, and the Irvine and Clarke Founda- reserve staff’s commitment: “When marshlands, shallow ponds, and chan- tion. The work, which included en- some of the initial vegetation the nels confined by earthen dikes. Dry hancement of a number of seasonal contractor planted during Phase I upland habitats with a remnant coastal ponds and restoration of coastal sage didn’t take, the reserve staff took it sage scrub community rise on the mar- scrub habitat, is now largely complete. upon themselves to replant it. And this gins of the reserve. The marsh is a criti- has turned out for the better, because now cal stopping place for 100 migratory The increasing numbers of birds and the plants are at different stages of devel- bird species using the Pacific Flyway. other wildlife that use the restored area opment, and that’s much more natural.” Altogether, more than 200 bird species of San Joaquin Marsh are evidence of (20 nesting) have been sighted in the the success of Phase I. Phase I also had In contrast to Phase I, which restruc- reserve. The marsh is located within a a major positive impact on the reserve’s tured undesirable sediment elevations ten-minute walk from UC Irvine, mak- public outreach. “Inside the Out- and plant communities, a primary goal ing it convenient for day use by fac- doors,” a K-12 education program run of Phase II is to retain a large area of ulty and numerous students. — JB by the Orange County Department of the historic, old-growth emergent veg- Education, uses the restored area as a etation (cattails) and its underlying For more information, contact: site for teaching elementary ecology to sediment sequence, which has irre- William Bretz, Reserve Manager grade-school children. Last year the placeable values for research into wet- Office of Natural Reserves program brought more than 4,000 stu- lands biophysical processes, according University of California dents and teachers to the marsh from to Mike Goulden, UC Irvine profes- Irvine, CA 92697-1459 over 50 Orange County schools. sor in Earth Systems Science. Phase II Phone: 949-824-6031 will involve removal of several acres of Email:
State Coastal Conservancy’s support to NRS reserve in Northern California enables a public outreach program ver the years, the California Conservancy funding pays a quarter- group of docents and coordinating OCoastal Conservancy has of- time salary to Kota for two years. In the Stebbins efforts with other fered crucial support to the NRS, less than a year, she recruited about 20 groups doing outreach in the Putah providing funds for land acquisition, docents, arranged for their training by Creek watershed. habitat restoration, and the devel- University researchers, and set up a opment of outreach programs. Just schedule of guided tours two days a In the meantime, Boucher and Re- last year the conservancy contrib- week as long as the weather allows. Her serve Stewards Shane Waddell and uted $268,392 so that the NRS current plans include bringing in a new Dan Tolson mapped out a new trail could acquire 339 acres of inheld par- that increases visitor access to cels at Quail Ridge Reserve on Lake Stebbins. “We financed it with Berryessa in Napa County. At the systemwide funds [matching funds same time, they provided $22,500 to required by the conservancy],” she ex- establish a docent program at nearby plains. “All I did was point. Shane and Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. his crew from a nearby Department of Forestry camp did all the work, Virginia “Shorty” Boucher, who carrying in huge 4x4s to push the manages the UC Davis reserves, ex- trail up to the top of the ridge. Now plains: “Stebbins has a long history visitors can make a complete loop and of public access, so they [the con- enjoy dramatic views of Monticello servancy] decided it would be bet- Dam, Lake Berryessa, and the valley.” ter to enhance access there, rather than at the biologically more vulner- “The only problem,” Boucher adds able Quail Ridge site. These funds with a smile, “is that I get all these have allowed us to jumpstart the calls from people complaining how outreach program.” At Stebbins Reserve, docent steep it is! There are a lot of coordinator Helen Kota, docent switchbacks,” she concedes, “so Under Boucher’s guidance, the Shirley Jensen, and volunteer Jim we’re putting out a new trail map conservancy’s outreach funds (along Plehn examine a tree that is home to an ant colony. They are tapping that includes the contour lines.” with matching monies from the on the tree to bring the ants out. NRS systemwide office) have been Photo by Virginia Boucher Kota and Boucher are working now well spent. Her first step was with the Davis campus and to hire Helen Kota to de- a number of local, state, and velop the docent program. federal agencies to make the “When I wrote the job de- Stebbins docent program scription,” Boucher recalls, permanent. — JB “I had this perfect person in mind. And when Helen For more information, walked in the door, she had contact: it all: she’s well connected in Virginia “Shorty” Boucher, the community; she’s retired; Reserve Director she’s been an educator her UCD NRS entire life and has run a men- DESP / Wickson Hall tor program; she’s done K-12 University of California outreach around the country. Reserve director Boucher sits on a small bridge Davis, CA 95616 I check in once a week, but that spans a spring intersecting the new trail Phone: 530-752-6949 she really runs the program she mapped out for Stebbins Reserve. Photo by Email: on her own.” Shane Waddell
Natural Reserve System 11 Transect • 20:2 NRS desert reserve becomes heir to the generous legacy of a true 20th-century explorer
im André, who directs the 9,000-acre Sweeney Gran- ite Mountains Desert Research Center in San Ber- J nardino County, always dreamed that his reserve would become a focus for the basic research that deepens our understanding of California’s deserts. Over the last few years, his dream has come true … almost too true!
“In just four years,” he notes, “the number of active re- search projects at the reserve tripled from 30 to 90. We’re one of the fastest growing field stations in western North America, which is great, but it’s taxed our staff, facilities, and lands, especially on a limited budget that hasn’t changed in nine years.”
Fortunately, an “old friend” has come to André’s aid, pro- viding a much-needed financial boost to help him deal with the reserve’s growing pains, while also offering a legacy that befits a life well lived. The friend is Al A. Allanson, and the most recent chapter of his story begins in 1994, when NRS founder Kenneth S. Norris decided to renew a relationship Al Allanson ready to dive off the coast of Baja. the pair had established during Norris’s graduate school days Photo by Sibyl Allanson at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. In the 1950s, Norris and Allanson had shared numerous adventures in the deserts of Mexico and the southwestern United States. Allanson had been a marine technician at Scripps, a great outdoorsman, and an intrepid explorer. He and his wife, Sibyl, had had many adventures working on assignments in such remote locations as Jarvis Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Australian outback, and the Arctic.
Allanson was a passionate man who set exacting standards for himself and others around him. His greatest passion was for Sibyl, but his love for nature was boundless as well. When Norris reconnected with him, Allanson was 75 and living alone in Colorado, since Sibyl had passed away a few years earlier. So Norris did what came naturally to him: he invited his old friend Al on an adventure.
Ken’s brother, Robert M. Norris, a professor emeritus of geology at UC Santa Barbara who also knew Allanson from his time at Scripps, picks up the story:
Al Allanson on San Miguel Island, outermost of California’s Channel Islands, November 1950. Photo by Robert M. Norris University of California 12 Transect • 20:2
“In 1995, Ken and I persuaded Al fects as well: 30 years of journals and to take the train from Colorado to photographs that provide a price- Barstow to join us on one of our less look at the state of the environ- sand dune trips. I hadn’t seen Al in ment in the middle of the last cen- more than 40 years, but he was eas- tury. Whether it was the number of ily recognizable… . I took him out abalone on one of the California to the Bunny Club [the Norris Channel Islands or the size and lo- brothers’ small cabin] in the Gran- cation of a Native American shell ite Mountains, where we joined midden in Baja, Al Allanson was Ken and some others for a wonder- constantly assessing and recording ful camping trip down into the information. Algodones Dunes in Imperial County.” Allanson passed away in December 2001. His final contribution was to The trip reignited a spark in leave his entire estate of approxi- Allanson’s life. He soon relocated to mately $600,000 to the Sweeney California and moved into a mo- Granite Mountains Desert Research bile home park in Moreno Valley. Center. André recalled his friend’s Allanson had always lived a frugal great generosity, achievements, and life — he often told stories of how enduring modesty: Al Allanson apparently engrossed in a he and Sibyl sometimes had to stop copy of The Status Seekers, Vance and pick vegetables to earn gas money Packard’s classic analysis of the nature His donation is not just appreciated, so they could get home from trips. and development of social classification it’s heroic. Before he died, I tried to in the 1950s. Photo by Sibyl Allanson explain this to him, but he was so Allanson ’s new passion became the modest and downplayed his role, just Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert as he downplayed so many of his life Research Center, both the reserve achievements, which were extraordi- and its staff. He started volunteer- nary. I think deep down, though, he ing and helping at the reserve. knew his donation was achieving André recalls: “We all loved to something unique and special. His spend time with him, listening to interest in nature was raw and true. his colorful stories and watching He was simply compelled, so he didn’t slides of his travels. Al had taken understand when someone applauded thousands of photos during his ex- his achievements and his observations. plorations and meticulously orga- nized them into slide shows.” Allanson’s final bequest is appropri- ate, for it will be used to deepen our The staff named the reserve’s labo- understanding of the fragile desert ratory center for him and his wife. that he loved so deeply. — JB The Sibyl and Al A. Allanson Li- brary and Center includes a dining For more information, contact: commons and researcher dormito- Jim André, Reserve Director ries, an automated weather station, Sweeney Granite Mountains a library, a lecture hall, bibliographic Desert Research Center and species databases, and plant and The Sibyl and Al A. Allanson Library and P. O. Box 101 animal collections that support re- Center at Sweeney Granite Mountains Kelso, CA 92351 Desert Research Center: (top) a search and teaching. And now it distance shot showing the residence Phone: 760-733-4222 holds all of Allanson’s personal ef- building and laboratory in their Email:
Natural Reserve System 13 Transect • 20:2
Explorer and NRS benefactor Al A. Allanson lives on through three decades of journals and photographs
he journals of NRS benefactor Al A. Allanson Robert (Bob) Norris, UCSB professor emeritus of geol- Tsometimes read like a popular novel — part adven- ogy who did his graduate work at Scripps, met Al there ture story, part love story — filled with meticulous ob- in 1949 and recalled him in a recent letter: “Once Al servations recorded during 25 years of fieldwork (from joined Scripps, he quickly developed a reputation for 1947 through 1972) in the North American deserts and personal reliability and meticulous attention to detail. throughout the Pacific basin. Al was one of the first deep- After a run with the buoy boat (used for underwater sea divers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of surveys), Al would clean it thoroughly, check every de- Oceanography, and his adventures ranged from being tail, and be certain it was refueled and ready to go on shipwrecked on an uninhabited island in the Gulf of the next assignment without delay… . As a result, when California, to diving in sometimes frightening condi- Al was called on to record data, run the boat, or serve in tions in Alaska, to a three-month stay on Jarvis Island, a other ways in fieldwork, everyone knew that it would be remote, treeless atoll 500 miles from Hawaii. Though done with great care.” his formal education ended when he graduated from high school, Al went on to become a crucial contributor to As a marine technician, Al worked with noted ichthy- major breakthroughs in our understanding of oceans, ologist Carl Hubbs and marine geologist Francis Shepard. deserts, and early Native Americans. He also took another young graduate student, Ken Norris (the late UC Santa Cruz professor and NRS founder), under his wing. Bob Norris recalls: “Ken, who did his Ph.D. under Carl Hubbs, did various collecting trips for Hubbs in the Gulf of California, accompanied by Al. They had a series of wonderful experiences, some of which rather taxed Al’s urge to see that everything was properly planned and nothing overlooked. Brother Ken was not famous for that sort of order and planning, and though Al respected and was devoted to Ken, he had to do what he could to keep disaster at bay, often with con- siderable difficulty.”
Al Allanson with his wife and fellow explorer, Sibyl Allanson, who regularly shared the hardships and adventures of his scientific assignments in remote locations. (Auto) photos by Al Allanson
University of California 14 Transect • 20:2
Besides exploration, the other constant in Al’s life was his love for his wife, Sibyl, who contributed regularly to the journal. Entries from the early 1950s describe a bliss- ful life of poverty in which the couple enjoyed spending a full day cleaning the engine block of their old pickup. For many years, the pair worked odd jobs and saved all of their money to take month-long exploring trips. Their ideal vacation was a long desert camping trip spent searching for petroglyphs and stone tools. During one break, they had a fisherman drop them off on uninhab- ited San Miguel Island, the outermost of California’s Channel Islands, for three weeks of beachcombing, hik- ing, and exploring the middens for arrowheads, beads, and tools. The Norris brothers, Ken and Bob, played a part in Because of his reliability and self-reliance, Al was offered many of Al Allanson’s adventures. positions that required him to monitor scientific equip- Left: Ken Norris on the trail with his students during a UCSC Environmental Studies field ment in remote locales. His only requirement was that quarter in the late 1980s. Photo by Don Usner Sibyl be allowed to accompany him. “At first,” Norris Right: Bob Norris at the Kenneth S. Norris Rancho remembers, “those offering Al these positions were not Marino Reserve, the NRS’s 34th site (in San Luis keen on sending Sibyl along, too, but Al made it clear Obispo County), during the spring of 2001. Photo by Chen Yin Noah that he wouldn’t go unless Sibyl also went… . It was not unusual for the two of them to face serious water supply problems and sometimes a disgraceful lack of logistic support from those that sent them there. But they were Refreshed by the cool water and a slice of bread we lay down so self-reliant and reliable that the data was collected by the campfire… . As we rested, our muscles became more without flaw.” stiff… . I knew what a long hike awaited us in order to reach Borrego the next day before the intense midday heat Al and Ken Norris shared many adventures, rafting down began. I suggested we walk awhile in the night. the Colorado River, going on field expeditions to Baja, With extreme effort we began hiking again. At a quarter to or just “bumming around” the desert. One of Al’s jour- 12:00 we were staggering like drunk men and agreed that we nal entries from 1952 describes in detail how the two were expending more effort than it was worth. buddies, facing a few days without work, headed for the Anza-Borrego Desert. After a promising start filled with Ken built a fire and we slept beside it. A fair amount of beautiful stars, intriguing evidence of bobcats, sidewind- moonlight had made it possible to make fairly good time ers, and birds, and a number of new archaeology sites, walking, but I knew how far we had to go yet and it caused the two soon lost track of their position. It was only me concern as I rolled on the cool sand. after a two-day, 50-mile hike, with little food and no A more restless night I can’t remember. I grew colder as the sleeping bags, that Ken (who had sprained his ankle on night wore on. One side of me kept warm while the other this trek) and Al finally limped back to a run-down café. shivered. As the fire died down I rolled closer in my half- Allanson describes their rough night in the desert: asleep condition. Ken would awake and throw on some more wood and a few minutes later I would awake nearly on fire May 2 – Friday Santa Rosa to Borrego by the re-fueled fire. “The Big Trek” Norris and Allanson Jim André, reserve director at Sweeney Granite …As we slid down the trail we heard toads or frogs and we Mountains Desert Research Center, is currently having knew we were at some water anyway. I soon recognized Allanson’s journals transcribed into electronic form to Hidden Springs and told Ken of the firewood I had seen make them more accessible, an effort that is about half there last week on my hike. completed. — JB
Natural Reserve System 15 Transect • 20:2
A few words Anthropogenic impacts also enter the Continued from page 1 picture. Feral pigs have inhabited the Transect Channel Islands for 150 years, yet the S u m m e r 2 0 0 2 • 2 0:2
that: “… feral pigs acted as an abun- golden eagle colonization was not de- Transect is published triannually by the Natural dant food that enabled mainland tected until 1994. It is speculated that, Reserve System (NRS), part of the division of golden eagles to colonize the Channel prior to 1994, the golden eagles were Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), in the University of California Office of the Presi- Islands, increase in population size, and deterred from nesting on the islands by dent (UCOP). overexploit the unwary island fox.” In the larger, native bald eagles. Over time, Subscriptions are free, available upon request. support, they noted “(1)…that fox DDT, hunting, and egg collection Contact: Transect Editor, UC Natural Reserve Sys- populations were at high density prior wiped out these fish-eating raptors. In tem, 1111 Franklin Street, 6th Floor, Oakland, particular, from 1947 to 1971, a chemi- CA 94607-5200; phone: 510-987-0150; fax: to eagle colonization and declined 510-763-2971; email: [email protected]. thereafter; (2) a decrease in the survival cal plant discharged approximately 1,800 tons of DDT into the Pacific Recent past Transect issues are also available for of foxes that coincided with an increase viewing on the World Wide Web at: in eagle presence on the islands [the re- Ocean on the Palos Verdes shelf.
0460 Nonprofit Org. Natural Reserve System U.S. Postage University of California PAID 1111 Franklin Street, 6th Floor University of Oakland, CA 94607-5200 California