May 20, 2008
Bald Eaglets Driven From Their Nest on the Northern Channel Islands
Yesterday two seven-week-old bald eagle chicks were unexpectedly taken from their nest at Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island by an attacking sub-adult bald eagle.
May 06, 2008
National Park Concessioner Celebrates 40 Years of Connecting People to the Channel Islands
Forty years ago Bill Connally, founder of Island Packers, was inspired with a vision to share the wonders of the Channel Islands by providing excursions to these remote offshore islands.
May 02, 2008
Black Abalone on the Channel Islands Teeter Toward Extinction
During the May “From Shore to Sea” lecture Channel Islands National Park marine biologist Dan Richards will discuss his research on the black abalone—an important intertidal species that was once among the most abundant shellfish along the California coastline and today is struggling to survive.
April 29, 2008
Centennial Challenge Projects coming to Southern California National Parks
Greater Los Angeles, CA – The National Park Service Centennial Challenge will fund five education and science programs in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Channel Islands National Park with an additional $800,000 this year. Each project is an opportunity to enhance the scientific knowledge about the natural resources or provide education and environmental stewards.
April 06, 2008
State of the Seas at the California Channel Islands
Two local marine experts, Gary Davis, retired National Park Service Chief Scientist for Ocean Programs, and Dr. Satie Airamé, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Marine Biologist, will discuss the state of the seas at the Channel Islands during the April “From Shore to Sea” lectures.
April 03, 2008
Spring Success for Bald Eagles on the Channel Islands
This week biologists and dedicated eagle enthusiasts watched via the Channel Islands Live EagleCAM as two chicks hatched at the Pelican Harbor nest on Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of southern California.
March 05, 2008
Using Acoustics to Monitor Marine Mammals
Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Dr. John Hildebrand will talk about how acoustic monitoring can be used to study marine mammals and shipping noise around the Channel Islands at the March “From Shore to Sea” lecture.
February 08, 2008
Pelicans Prosper
Today, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne formally proposed removing the California Brown Pelican from the federal list of threatened and endangered species along with the remaining protected populations of brown pelicans along the Gulf and Pacific Coasts, Caribbean, and Central and South America.
February 06, 2008
Scientists to Discuss First Five Years of Monitoring the Channel Islands
OXNARD – World-renowned scientists will present the findings of the first five years of monitoring the marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Channel Islands. State, federal and university scientists will present the results of nearly two dozen research projects during a special session of the California Islands Symposium on Feb. 7 and 8.
February 01, 2008
Chinese Fishermen on the Channel Islands
During the February “From Shore to Sea” lecture historian Linda Bentz will discuss her research of Chinese fishermen who harvested the seas around the Channel Islands in the 19th century and were among the earliest commercial fisherman in California.
December 06, 2007
Recovery Status of Endangered Island Foxes
During the December “From Shore to Sea” lecture National Park Service (NPS) Wildlife Biologist, Tim Coonan, will discuss the latest efforts to save the endangered island fox following a severe, over 90% decline in the population caused by golden eagle predation.
November 15, 2007
Poets in the Parks--Inspired at Inspiration Point
Today, the Sunday Poets, a group of distinguished Santa Barbara authors and poets, will make their first “Poets in the Parks” visit to Channel Islands National Park, where they will recite recent works about the islands at Inspiration Point on Anacapa Island.
November 08, 2007
Managers Perspective on Protecting Your Channel Islands
Chris Mobley, superintendentof Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and Russell Galipeau, superintendent of Channel Islands National Park, will discuss the latest efforts of the park and sanctuary to ensure the long-term protection of the resources of the Channel Islands and the surrounding waters in the November, “From Shore to Sea” lecture.
October 09, 2007
Significant Success Towards Saving the Endangered Island Fox
One of America’s rarest mammals, the endangered island fox, will be released from captivity to the wild on Santa Cruz Island today marking yet another milestone in the recovery of balance to the island ecosystem. The fox population on Santa Cruz Island has more than tripled since the island fox was listed as an endangered species just three years ago.
October 09, 2007
The Human Dimension of Marine Reserves
Christopher LaFranchi, a social scientist with Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, will be the speaker for the October “From Shore to Sea” lecture. LaFranchi will discuss socioeconomic monitoring of marine reserves and share the preliminary results of a recent study of boating activities in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park.
September 27, 2007
Sea Otters in Your Backyard
Marine biologist Greg Sanders will be a guest speaker for a special lecture as part of Sea Otter Awareness Week 2007. Sanders will offer a history of sea otters along the California coast including their brush with extinction, current threats, and recovery efforts.
August 31, 2007
Environmental Assessment Available to Replace Santa Rosa Island Pier
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell E. Galipeau, Jr. has announced the availability of the recently prepared Environmental Assessment for Replacing the Pier at Bechers Bay on Santa Rosa Island. The document, which describes and examines the impacts of the proposed project, will be on public review from August 30 through September 30, 2007.
August 28, 2007
Santa Cruz Island--Poised for Recovery
The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service (NPS) announced today the successful completion of a two-year program to eradicate feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island in order to save the endangered island fox and nine rare plants from extinction. This is the second largest project of its kind in the world and a major step toward the ecological restoration of the 96-square-mile island, located 25 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.
August 28, 2007
Carey Stanton's Santa Cruz Island
Marla Daily, president of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, will be the September speaker for the “From Shore to Sea” lecture series. Her presentation will highlight the Stanton family’s tenure on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the eight Channel Islands.
August 03, 2007
Working Together to Protect and Monitor the Ocean
Biologist Satie Airamé, with the University of California, Santa Barbara, will present a brief history of marine protected areas (MPAs) in California at the August “From Shore to Sea” lecture. Airamé will describe the monitoring efforts underway to understand ecological changes following the establishment of the Channel Islands MPA network in 2003.
June 27, 2007
Citizen Monitoring in the Marine Reserves Network
Marine biologist Christy Pattengill-Semmens, with the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), will be the July speaker for the “From Shore to Sea Lecture” series. Her presentation will highlight the value of citizen monitoring in understanding fish and invertebrate populations around the Channel Islands.
June 01, 2007
Humans on the Channel Islands after the Last Ice Age
In the June “From Shore to Sea” lecture, archeologist Dr. Torben Rick will explore some of the earliest archeological sites from the Channel Islands.
The Channel Islands have numerous and rich archeological resources with some of the most preserved sites in the world. Rick’s talk explores some of the earliest archeological sites such as Arlington Springs where the oldest human remains in North America, dating over 13,000 years ago, were discovered. Rick will provide some understanding of how ancient peoples first colonized North and South America and how these early mariners lived and thrived in rapidly changing island environments.
May 03, 2007
Bald Eagles Reaching Toward Recovery on the Channel Islands
The May “From Shore to Sea” lecture focuses on the return of bald eagles to the Channel Islands with an exciting talk by eagle expert and wildlife biologist Dr. Peter Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS). Sharpe will explain the history of bald eagles on the Channel Islands, the cause of their disappearance, and the efforts to restore them to their historic range on the Channel Islands.
April 27, 2007
First Peregrine Falcon Chicks on Santa Barbara Island in over 50 years
SANTA BARBARA ISLAND, CA – Last Friday, for the first time in over 50 years, biologists discovered a pair of peregrine falcon chicks on Santa Barbara Island. Although successful nests have been recently recorded on other Channel Islands, this is the first documented breeding success on Santa Barbara Island since about 1940. Peregrine falcons disappeared from the island in the mid-1950s.
April 13, 2007
Bald Eagles Continue Their Comeback on the Channel Islands
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA – Today, biologists and dedicated eagle enthusiasts watched as a bald eagle chick hatched unaided on Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of California. On the heels of two chicks last year on Santa Cruz Island, and four on Catalina Island within the last two weeks, this eaglet marks yet another exciting milestone in the restoration of bald eagles to the Channel Islands.
March 30, 2007
Kayakers Rescued After Being Stranded on Santa Cruz Island
This morning at 7:30 a.m. the National Park Service and U.S. Coast Guard rescued five kayakers who were stranded on a beach at Valley Anchorage on the south side of Santa Cruz Island.
March 14, 2007
The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island
In the April “From Shore to Sea” lecture, United States Navy Archeologist Steven Schwartz will portray the story of a young Native American woman whose 18 years alone on San Nicolas Island inspired author Scott O’Dell to write the Newberry Award-winning classic Island of the Blue Dolphins.
March 08, 2007
Rare Seabird Now Thriving at the Channel Islands
Biologist Christine Hamilton, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) in Ventura, will be the March speaker for the “From Shore to Sea” lecture series. Her presentation will highlight the natural history of the Xantus’s murrelet and its recovery at the Channel Islands. This species
is a rare seabird with a world population of less than 39,000 birds and a very limited breeding distribution, nesting only on the Channel Islands and on islands off the west coast of Baja California, Mexico.
March 06, 2007
Stork Visits Bald Eagles on Santa Cruz Island
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA – Yesterday, biologists announced that a pair of bald eagles laid an egg in a nest on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California. This is the same pair that, last year, produced the first bald eagle chick to hatch naturally in over 50 years on the Channel Islands.
February 08, 2007
How the Atmosphere and Ocean Influence Our Weather
Meteorologist David Sweet, with the NOAA National Weather Service in Oxnard, California, will be the February speaker for the “From Shore to Sea” lecture series. His presentation will highlight how different weather patterns, like El Niño, affect ocean conditions of the Channel Islands and surrounding waters.
January 05, 2007
Island Research Provides Glimpse of Past Global Warming
Geologist Daniel Muhs will be the guest speaker for the January “From Shore to Sea” lecture. Muhs will share evidence from the Channel Islands about the last period of global warming that occurred about 125,000 years ago. This remarkable warm period has received much attention lately due to the information it may yield about future warming.
December 08, 2006
A New Tool for Monitoring Marine Protected Areas
Konstantine Karpov, with California Department of Fish and Game, and Dirk Rosen, with Marine
Applied Research and Exploration, will be guest speakers at the December “From Shore to Sea” lecture
series sponsored by Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Their presentation highlights how Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) technology is used to survey the
marine protected areas (MPAs) in the deeper waters off Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa Islands.
November 08, 2006
Channel Islands National Park: A Status Report
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau will be the guest speaker for the
November "From Shore to Sea" lecture sponsored by Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Galipeau will discuss the accomplishments of the
park in 2006 and the challenges facing the park.
September 28, 2006
From Shore to Sea Lecture: White Abalone Restoration
Marine biologist Thomas McCormick will be the guest speaker for the October "From Shore to Sea" lecture sponsored by Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. McCormick will focus on the natural history and ecology of white abalone (Haliotis sorenseni), once plentiful in rocky subtidal ocean waters off the west coast of North America including the Channel Islands. In 2001 the white abalone became the first marine invertebrate to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
July 18, 2006
Bald Eagle Chick Takes Historic First Flight
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA - After weeks of practice, the first bald eagle to hatch on the northern Channel Islands in over 50 years took to the air in its first flight on July 14th.
May 25, 2006
Island Welcomes Six New Bald Eagles in Final Reintroduction Effort
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA - Today, biologists introduced six juvenile bald eagles from the San Francisco Zoo to their new home on Santa Cruz Island. These six birds are among the last group of bald eagles to be released on Santa Cruz Island as part of an effort to re-establish bald eagles on the northern Channel Islands.
May 22, 2006
Live Bald Eagle Webcam Launches
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA - Earlier this spring, the first chick to hatch unaided by humans on the Channel Islands in over 50 years made headlines across the country. Thrilled with the public interest in this historic event, federal agencies and the Ventura County Office of Education unveiled today a webcam that will bring live, streaming images of the chick and its parents into the schools and homes of millions of Americans.
May 05, 2006
Bald Eagle Chick Hatches in Second Nest on Santa Cruz Island
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA – Less than three weeks after welcoming the first bald eagle chick that hatched unaided on the Channel Islands in more than 50 years, restoration biologists have yet another reason to celebrate. Earlier this week, a second chick broke through its eggshell and into the world, nestled in a grassy spot on the south side of Santa Cruz Island off southern California.
April 03, 2006
Spring Fox Birth Sign of Promise for Recovering Island Ecosystem
The spring season brings promise with one island fox already born on San Miguel Island and births imminent from more than two dozen pregnant females at the captive facilities on the northern Channel Islands. Additional births are anticipated from a significant portion of the 223 foxes living in the wild on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz Islands.
March 27, 2006
Photography Exhibit Honors Park and Sanctuary Anniversary
Channel Islands National Park is displaying a special exhibit of 25 photographs taken over the past year as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the establishment of the National Park and National Marine Sanctuary.
March 17, 2006
Camping Re-Opens on NPS Lands of Santa Cruz Island
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau announces that camping at Scorpion Valley and all access on National Park Service (NPS) property on Santa Cruz Island will be open to the public starting March 21, 2006. This ends a temporary limitation on camping and access to ensure public safety during the pig hunt on the eastern end of the island.
March 16, 2006
Bald Eagles Lay First Egg in 50 Years on the Northern Channel Islands
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA – Today, biologists announced that for the first time in more than 50 years, a pair of bald eagles has laid an egg in a nest on Santa Cruz Island off the coast of Southern California. The last known successful nesting of a bald eagle on the Northern Channel Islands was in 1949 on Anacapa Island.
February 14, 2006
Santa Barbara Island Closed to Protect Pelicans
Santa Barbara Island will be temporarily closed to public access from February 10, 2006 through May 31, 2006 to protect a breeding population of California Brown Pelican, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
July 29, 2005
Feral Pig Eradication Begins on Park Property on Santa Cruz Island
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau announces a temporary and partial closure will be in effect on National Park Service (NPS) property on Santa Cruz Island to ensure safety during the pig hunt. The closure will occur from November 1, 2005 through March 20, 2006. During this time some day visitation will be allowed at Scorpion Valley and Prisoners Harbor.
July 29, 2005
Proposed Fee Increases for 2006
Park campground fees are proposed to increase by $5 per night, with the new rate being $15, announced Superintendent Russell E. Galipeau, Jr. The proposed $15/per site per night fee includes the National Reservation Service fee and is among the lowest fees charged in National Park Service campgrounds.
July 05, 2005
Record Number of Endangered Island Fox Pups Born
A captive breeding program designed to restore the endangered island fox to the Northern Channel Islands produced a record 38 pups this year. Over the past year biologists also recorded the births of 52 new pups in the wild, the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy announced today.
June 02, 2005
Bald Eagles Return to Historic Home
Today, seven juvenile bald eagles will take their first trip to Santa Cruz Island as part of a five-year feasibility study to re-establish bald eagles on the Northern Channel Islands, following a 40-year absence related to exposures to chemical contaminants.
May 31, 2005
Kayaker Dies during Holiday Visit to Channel Islands
A fatal incident involving a 26-year-old female kayaker occurred over the Memorial Day holiday offshore of Santa Cruz Island within Channel Islands National Park.
March 15, 2005
Feral Pig Eradication Begins on Santa Cruz Island
The National Park Service (NPS) and The Nature Conservancy announced today the initiation of a long-anticipated program to eradicate feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island to save the endangered island fox and nine rare plants from extinction and protect archaeological sites.
March 01, 2005
A 25-Year Milestone Reached at Channel Islands National Park
This week Channel Islands National Park celebrates its 25th anniversary as our nation’s 40th national park. The five islands and the surrounding one mile of ocean that comprise Channel Islands National Park were designated on March 5th, 1980, when President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 96-199. In a letter Carter wrote, “These beautiful, fragile islands richly deserve the recognition and protection that park status provides.”
September 01, 2004
Chumash Community Returns to Limuw
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell E. Galipeau, Jr. announces an event on Saturday September 11, 2004, in which members of the Chumash community will paddle across the Santa Barbara Channel to Santa Cruz Island in a traditional tomol or plank canoe. A similar event, the first to travel the historic route since the 1870’s, took place on September 8, 2001.
September 01, 2004
Endangered Island Foxes Return to the Wild
Today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Park Service (NPS) announce the release to the wild of 23 endangered island foxes from their captive rearing facilities on Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands.
July 23, 2004
Bald Eagles Return to the Channel Islands
A dozen more American bald eagles, the symbol of our nation’s freedom and heritage, will be released on the Northern Channel Islands this summer as a step towards reestablishing the historic island population. Today, ten juvenile bald eagles from Alaska will take their first trip to Santa Cruz Island as part of a five-year study to release bald eagles in the Northern Channel Islands.
July 12, 2004
Endangered Fox Pups Born in the Wild
For the first time in over four years, a pair of endangered Channel Island foxes have successfully bred and produced two young pups in the wild on Santa Rosa Island. The two new pups join the ranks of 9 pups which were born in a captive breeding facility on the island and they roam the island with 7 other released foxes now living in the wild.
June 08, 2004
Endangered Channel Island Fox Pups Born
A joint captive breeding program to restore the four subspecies of endangered island fox has produced 33 pups this spring and is expected to produce more—further boosting the unique species’ population on the northern Channel Islands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Park Service (NPS) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced today.
April 16, 2004
Local Citizen Honored as Outstanding National Park Service Volunteer
Ventura County resident David Begun has been selected as the National Park Service (NPS) Pacific West Region recipient of the George B. Hartzog, Jr. award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Begun has been a volunteer naturalist at Channel Islands National Park since 1984. Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau will present this prestigious award at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday April 20, 2004. This recognition takes place during “National Park Week” and is open to the public at the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, located at 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor.
April 02, 2004
Dr. Jane Goodall Recognizes Local Students for Their Effort to Save the Channel Islands Fox
A group of Ventura County students will be recognized by world-renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall for their efforts to save the Channel Islands fox during a presentation at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara on Thursday, April 8th, at 10:00 a.m. These local students formed a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving the island fox—S.O.S. (Save our Species). This group is affiliated with the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots global youth program. During the past four years S.O.S. has raised over $10,000 for the island fox, including a $1,000 grant from the Jane Goodall Institute. For three years these S.O.S. students have sponsored the annual Fall Fox Festival with the Santa Barbara Zoo.
March 04, 2004
Channel Islands Fox Listed as Endangered Species
The National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy applauded the federal listing of the Channel Islands fox as an endangered species today and welcomed the additional support and resources the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will now bring to their efforts to restore this unique species.
January 07, 2004
Golden Eagles Continue to Threaten Island Foxes
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau reported today that five of nine Santa Cruz Island foxes released into the wild last November have died, apparently killed by golden eagles.
December 10, 2003
Citizen Heroes Save Lives of Kayakers at Anacapa Island
Today Channel Islands National Park Superintendent recognizes five heroic park visitors for their courageous efforts in saving the lives of two distressed kayakers at Anacapa Island on the evening August 19, 2003. The rescuers, Anne Demma, Mark Duvall, and Henry Shiu, residents of Davis, California, and Carrie and Mark Lane of Carmichael, California, will receive the National Park Service “Citizen Search and Rescue Award” today at 3:00 during a presentation at the UC Davis campus.
May 23, 2003
American Bald Eagles Restored to Santa Cruz Island
Twelve American bald eagles, the symbol of our nation’s freedom and heritage, will be released into the Northern Channel Islands this summer as a step towards reestablishing the historical island population. On Sunday July 20, 2003 at 7:30 a.m. several of the young bald eagles can be seen at the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center prior to their trip to Santa Cruz Island. This is the second phase of a five year project to release bald eagles in the northern Channel Islands.
May 21, 2003
Park Restoration Project Results
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau, announces that scientists are finding substantial recovery of rare seabirds and other native wildlife on Anacapa Island following the eradication of rats. Superintendent Galipeau comments, “This project is critical to protecting and restoring the rare and unique wildlife on Anacapa. The National Park Service is dedicated to ensuring a diverse naturally functioning island ecosystem.”
March 24, 2003
Russell Galipeau Selected Superintendent of Channel Islands National Park
Russell Galipeau, a 22-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), has been selected as the new superintendent of Channel Islands National Park with headquarters in Ventura, it was announced today by NPS Regional Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.
January 17, 2003
FY 2003 Budget and Annual Performance Plan for Channel Islands National Park
Channel Islands National Park Acting Superintendent, Terry Hofstra, today announced that the park’s Annual Performance Plan and documents providing details about the anticipated budget appropriation and fee revenues for FY 2003 are available for public review as required by the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998. Currently, under a Continuing Resolution, Congress has authorized the federal government to continue operating at fiscal year 2002 funding levels until a budget is passed.
January 17, 2003
International JASON Project Exploration at Channel Islands National Park Schools Worldwide Study JASON XIV: From Shore to Sea Curriculum
Middle school classes around the globe will soon embark on a virtual science journey with world-famous oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard and the JASON Project, hosted by Channel Islands National Park (CINP), Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS), and the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM).
September 12, 2002
Final Environmental Impact Statement for Santa Cruz Island Restoration Plan
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent, Tim Setnicka, announces the availability of the Santa Cruz Island Primary Restoration Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement.
December 02, 2001
Island Restoration Project Commences
The National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have begun a restoration project to remove invasive black rats on Anacapa Island. Non-native rats are responsible for an estimated 40-60% of bird and reptile extinctions in the world. Rats prey on birds, reptiles, plants, and invertebrates on Anacapa Island. "The purpose of this project is to protect rare seabirds and other native wildlife on the island," said Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Tim J. Setnicka. He notes, "On Anacapa, rats eat the eggs, chicks, and adult Xantus' murrelets, a small seabird whose world-wide distribution is extremely limited."
