Santa Catalina Island Conservancy

As outlined in IMAGINE CATALINA, our long-range strategic vision and master plan, major organizational goals include:

1) Protecting and restoring Catalina Island by modeling science-based conservation in a lived landscape.
2) Training today’s and tomorrow’s stewards of the natural world through life-long learning experiences.
3) Connecting people to the land and sea through nature-based recreational opportunities.
4) Modeling sustainability in facilities, operations and finances so that the long-term protection and enjoyment of Catalina is ensured.
The goals of our conservation and education programs are briefly summarized below:

Conservation:
Fox Recovery Program:
•Ensure long-term survival of Catalina Island Fox population through weekly telemetry studies, annual trapping, health checks and Canine Distemper Virus vaccinations

Bison Contraceptive Program:
•Maintain the size/impact of Catalina’s Bison population at or below 150 to minimize impact to the Island (e.g., overgrazing).

Endangered Birds:
•Increase our knowledge base regarding Catalina’s avifauna (birds).
•Contribute to national long-term data collection efforts through the US Geological Survey of Breeding Bird routes, regional efforts to document/report on Channel Islands birds, and local efforts to monitor Catalina’s Storm Petrels/Scripps’ Murrelets populations annually.

Bat monitoring:
•Protect/conserve current Catalina bat populations by working to detect current and new bat species (e.g., Townsend’s big-eared bat, a candidate for state listing as Threatened/Endangered); installing bat gates to protect current/future bat roosting sites; and evaluating data collected from solar-powered acoustic monitors on Catalina.

Native Plant Projects:
•Conduct annual census/monitoring of all Federally Threatened/Endangered species and State Rare/Threatened/Endangered plants
•Maintain ex‐situ seed collections for target rare species in partnership with regional/international conservation agencies
•Carry-out restoration projects, including: developing habitat models for poorly understood species to assist in detection, conservation planning/habitat enhancement, augmentation of populations of threatened species following comprehensive research, and review of internal/external projects for regulatory compliance related to biological resources.
•Plant 10,000 trees across the Island.
Catalina Habitat Improvement/Restoration Program (CHIRP):
•Protect Catalina’s natural resources from the impacts of invasive plants

Education:
1)Providing multiple, free access points for learners of all ages to experience hands-on science instruction /first-hand exposure to the natural world.
2)Improving student understanding of scientific tools, processes, research methods.
3)Increasing learner awareness of the unique natural history of Catalina.
4)Providing learners with opportunities to increase skills related to career awareness/workplace readiness.
5)Inspiring appreciation for the natural world.

Goal 1: We work to protect/restore Catalina by carrying-out our wildlife/plant conservation programs/projects, which were established through partnerships with some of the most dedicated conservation managers/scientists/volunteers. Our staff/researchers/volunteers work together to implement these programs to protect Catalina’s sensitive ecosystems. Through field studies, restoration projects, the care of native/endemic plants, removal of invasive plants, management of wildlife and efforts to sustain water/geological/cultural resources, we help protect Catalina’s future health. We currently offer the following wildlife/plant conservation programs/projects: Fox Recovery Program, Bison Contraceptive Program, Endangered Bird Programs for Catalina’s Storm Petrels/Scripps’ Murrelets populations, Bat Monitoring Projects, and Native Plant Restoration/Conservation Projects, including CHIRP.

Goal 2: We work to train today/tomorrow’s stewards of the natural world through our NatureWorks Education Program/Complementary Programs, including: NatureWorks in the Classroom (K-12), Island Scholars (4-6th), Course Catalina/Course Catalina Field School (7th Grade), Paths to Career Readiness/Job-Shadow Week (11-12th). Many learners of all ages also participate in our other Complementary Programs during weekends/ evenings/summer, including our Summer Naturalist Program (Post High School‐College), Families in Nature (local families) and Naturalist Training (18+). As indicated, our Education programs are currently being restructure to allow for virtual learning.

Goal 3: We work to connect visitors to Catalina (land and sea) through the recreational opportunities we provide. Popular activities include hiking and biking on our 165+ miles of recreational trails and roads, camping and Naturalist-led Eco/Wildlands Express Shuttle tours that allow expanded opportunities to explore Catalina’s interior. In compliance with county/state guidelines, we have implemented modifications across our recreational programs to allow for appropriate social distancing and sanitation/cleaning protocols.

Goal 4: We work to model sustainability in our facilities, operations and finances. We celebrated the opening of our new visitor center, the Trailhead in April 2019. The Trailhead was approved as a "LEED Certified Gold Status Project,” and is the only LEED Gold certified building on Catalina.

The Conservancy has been working to carryout its mission for over 50 years, and will continue to work to maintain the ecological health of the Island and fulfill its goals through ongoing conservation, education and recreation programs (as described). We are a leader in conservation and education programs that protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of natural resources for present and future generations. Implementation of these programs/projects is executed by experienced conservation and education staff, in conjunction with many community partners, such as the Institute for Wildlife Studies and the Long Beach Unified School District.

In 2019, we reached 423,784 youth, adults and members through our ongoing recreational opportunities (e.g., camping, hiking, biking, Eco and commercial interior tours and Wildlands Express Shuttle services) and the Trailhead, WMBG and Avalon Canyon Nature Center (please note: this is not an unduplicated total). As a result of COVID-19 and corresponding social distancing and group size guidelines, we anticipate serving fewer locals and mainland visitors in 2020-2021. Programmatic accomplishments from 2019-2020 are summarized below:

Conservation
Wildlife Programs
•Fox Program: 243 Islands Foxes were trapped, vaccinated and examined for overall health. To date, the population has reached a total of 2,372 foxes.
•Bison Contraceptive Program: 106 Bison are on Catalina; we act to maintain the size and impact of the herd.
•Eradication of the Invasive American Bullfrog Project: Began studying diet and disease-related impacts and to work to control established populations, received a customized bullfrog management plan for the Island and discovered presence of chytrid fungus in bullfrogs and Tree Fogs on the Island.
•Seabirds: Completed eighth year of Scripps’s Murrelet monitoring on Catalina in conjunction with the California Institute of Environmental Studies (CIES).
•Bat monitoring: Continued bat monitoring efforts, installing permanent, solar-powered acoustic recorders. Discovered two new bat species on the Island for the first time in 20 years.

Plant Programs
•Native Plant Conservation/Restoration Projects: 18,502 native plants were grown and maintained (which is a 280% increase over last year), and annual census and monitoring of Catalina’s endangered plant species in partnership with regional and international conservation agencies continued.
•CHIRP: 9,782 acres were surveyed by our CHIRP invasive plant team. A total of approximately 93,000 plants were controlled within 196 treatment acres (representing over 46 invasive plant species) and 97 of Catalina’s 105 watersheds.

Education
During the 2019-2020 school year, our Education Department made 1,700 interactions with Avalon students, residents and ABCUSD students, equating to over 4,500 hours of contact. Prior to implementation of county and state Safer/Stay at Home orders and the cancelation of in-person classes for the remainder of the school year, we served 85% of grade levels at Avalon School (K-12).

Additionally, we implemented Course Catalina, providing four sessions of the program during the Fall/Spring to Avalon School and the following ABCUSD middle schools: Haskell, Ross, Tetzlaff. 3 sessions of Course Catalina Field School were also provided.

Recreation
In 2019, 12,032 hikers hiked Catalina’s trails, and 65,306 campers camped at our coves/camps (e.g., Cherry Cove, Camp Fox), representing 197,370 camper days. Additionally, 65,916 passengers took interior tours of Catalina’s wildlands, including 9,244 who participated in Naturalist-led Eco Tours.