Table of
Contents
Helping
the Natives Return
Interview with Ken Collins
In
Memoriam: Jeff Schrock
Slough Speak
ESF Seeks Funds for the Reserve
Partner Profile: The Reserve
Report:
Annual Member Walk, 2004
Annual
Celebration
ESF
Forms Legacy Circle
New
in the Slough
"We
do what is necessary and no more
than is necessary."
The
native Pink Flowering Currant bushes on the Reserve attract
native insects like this Bombyliid, or "bee fly."
(Click here
for more info on the insect, and here
to see this photo full size in a new window.)
It
took 15 people two weeks to clear 500 acacia trees from Long
Valley. It cost $20,000 to remove half the pampas grass from
El Chamisal Ranch. Every spring, our land staff’s number
one job is controlling weeds like poison hemlock. Why do we
spend all this time and money getting rid of these plants? The
answer is so that other plants – native plants – can
return to the ecology of Elkhorn Slough.
The return
of native plant life often begins with removing the invasive
non-natives that have displaced the natives. Left unchecked,
the acacia trees would have choked out the native oak trees
and filled the pocket meadows in Long Valley. Without removal,
the pampas grass that blanketed hillsides on El Chamisal would
have continued to spread up the hills to push aside the rare
maritime chaparral on ridge tops on all our lands. If we left
hemlock alone, it would spread even further across our lands,
crowding out native bunch grasses and wildflowers that have
managed to survive their near total elimination.
The preference for native plants – and the hostility towards
invasive non-natives – is sometimes misunderstood as a
kind of environmental purism. The central biological reason
for the preference for natives is implied by their definition.
They are the plants that have evolved in a given area for thousands
of years and are part of an ecological web of animals, fungi,
and microbes that thrive together. They are a well-fitted part
of an elaborate web of life, and their disappearance threatens
the entire web.
The
hostility toward “invasive non-natives” is implied
in the term itself. Non-natives are plants that were introduced
into this complex local web, primarily through human activity.
The vast majority of non-native plants now in California arrived
with European settlers, some accidentally (as contaminants in
grain, for example) and some intentionally, for food or fiber.
CCC
volunteers remove invasive acacias in Long Valley (photo:
Ken Collins).
The
first comprehensive report on the state’s plants was in
1925, and it listed 292 established non-natives. Eighty years
later the number of non-natives has grown to 1045. There are
6300 native plant species in our biologically rich state.
Most of these non-natives are ecologically benign because they
are not invasive – that is, they do not invade and displace
natives. We see no hillsides taken over by European petunias.
Fewer than 10 percent of the 1045 non-native plant species in
California are recognized as serious threats. But the hundred
or so that are serious threats do vast ecological damage by
outcompeting native plants, displacing them, and tearing the
web of life of which the natives are a part. Perhaps the most
dramatic example in California is the invasion of annual grasses
and plants from the Mediterranean region which have replaced
most of California’s native grasslands – an invasion
so complete that we do not know what the native species were
on vast areas of grassland throughout the state.
The preference for natives, then, is a preference for biological
diversity and health. It is also, at base, built on the notion
that “mother nature” really does know best, that these
plants evolved over thousands of years in this spot and, for
that reason, we should do our best to leave them be. As stewards
of the land, our motto should be something like the physician’s
command when caring for the human body: first, do no harm.
Invasive non-natives
Some of the 3400 acres of land under ESF’s care are remarkably
free of invasive non-natives. When Kim Hayes began her job as
our Land Manager, she was surprised at how often she found these
pockets of plant communities that are virtually untouched. Large
sections of Long Valley remain as they have been for hundreds
of years. The grasslands at Porter Ranch have some of the healthiest
bunch grasses in the watershed. The ridge tops that crisscross
our lands are covered with a quarter of the watershed’s
rare maritime chaparral – with very little weed invasion.
In other areas, invasive non-natives have established themselves
and pose significant challenges for our land management staff.
The Hambey Ranch has major invasions of virtually every non-native
in the watershed: cape and English ivy choke oak groves, pampas
grass pushes out maritime chaparral, eucalyptus fills coastal
grasslands. We also have problems with veldt grass at Brothers,
which is a major threat to grasslands and other plant communities
throughout Monterey County.
This
crew of Y-Corps volunteers is removing invasive
French broom from the Hambey property (photo:
Ken Collins).
Five of the 20 most invasive non-natives on the “A list”
of the California Exotic Pest Plant Council are well established
on ESF lands, including ice plant, pampas grass, French broom,
veldt grass, and cape ivy. None of our properties is free of
problems, but some have more problems than others, and they
are always the ranches which have experienced the most recent
and damaging human disturbance. The steep hills of El Chamisal
were abandoned farm fields, and pampas grass has thrived in
the disturbed soil.
Controlling non-natives
and helping natives
We are used to thinking about restoration as planting natives.
The phrase brings to mind dozens of volunteers patiently planting
thousands of delicate native plants one by one. This winter,
volunteers for the Elkhorn Slough Reserve and ESF did just that,
emptying a greenhouse of 6000 native plants and planting them
on Reserve and Foundation lands. ESF has planted tens of thousands
of native bunch grasses and scores of oaks on Blohm Ranch. Last
winter we planted native chaparral plants and seeds that were
gathered at Blohm on old farm roads at Elzas. In recent years,
our big erosion control projects at Blohm and Hambey have included
planting perennial natives in grassed waterways and on the berms
that form sediment basins.
This
stage of restoration – the actual planting of natives –
is just one part of the job of returning natives to the land.
Land Manager Kim Hayes lists the stages that precede the planting
stage. You have to remove the conditions that help non-natives
spread. Non-natives thrive in severely disturbed soil, which
is why pampas grass is worse at El Chamisal, and why poison
hemlock is thickest at the Reserve, which was heavily disturbed
by decades of intensive grazing.
Before you plant, you sometimes have to clear out or reduce
the invasive non-natives. At the end of Long Valley there is
a pond which has both poison hemlock and a still healthy base
of native wetland grasses. Kim’s approach is to take out
the hemlock and thus help the perennial wetland grasses come
back. “We’re trying,” she says, “to outcompete
the hemlock.” This may be possible at this pond in Long
Valley, and the use of this approach there is an example of
the hundreds of on-the-ground judgments Kim makes as part of
her work restoring the health of ESF lands. “We start by
controlling the weeds,” she says, “then evaluate the
health of the native system. Sometimes the natives are strong
enough and just need a little help. We try to do what is necessary
and no more than is necessary.”
There is perhaps no better example of the “what is necessary
and no more” approach than the way ESF cares for the Porter
Ranch grasslands. The 200+ acres of grasslands rise up from
the east end of Porter Marsh and crown the hills on the south
side of the Pajaro Valley. You drive by these hills where Hall
Road becomes Elkhorn Road. These hills were in the Porter family
since the 1870s and were bequeathed to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation
in 2001. They have been well cared for lands, with minimal damaging
disturbance.
The Foundation, like the Porters before them, grazes cattle
there, leasing the land to Joe Morris. Joe practices “holistic
planned grazing,” an approach which mimics the grazing
practices of the wild herds that were here before Europeans.
The land is not overgrazed (too many animals per acre for too
long), which leads to the highly disturbed conditions that are
breeding grounds for non-natives. It is grazed for shorter periods,
allowing the cattle to eat the non-natives and allowing the
natives time between grazing to flourish. The result of this
legacy of minimal disturbance and the current practice of holistic
grazing is a healthy grassland with the watershed’s greatest
concentration of native bunch grasses and wildflowers.
Another sign of a healthy native plant community is a healthy
native animal community, which makes sightings – like a
recent one of a burrowing owl at Porter – not just exciting,
but hopeful. The natives are returning – and we are helping
them.
Table
of Contents
An
interview with Ken Collins
(a.k.a. Land Dude)
Ken
Collins became our Assistant Land Manager in January 2000. We
sat down with him in April to talk about his job.
You’ve been with ESF for four years now. How has the work
changed?
It’s become more defined. There are three definite phases
each year. In the fall and winter it’s all about erosion
control, getting ready for the rainy season, then responding
to it. As soon as that’s over we move into weed control
and abatement, exotic plant removal. Then in summer I shift
to property maintenance, fixing fences, gates, roads. We have
been acquiring land at a really rapid rate, so there’s
a lot of work on new properties.
Is there any big project in the past four years that stands
out for you as something you’re really proud of?
The one that comes to mind and I feel really passionate about
is removing the acacia grove in Long Valley. It was at the heart
of Long Valley. Aerial photos made it look like a cancer spreading
through the oaks. We’re talking about 500 trees, all coming
from a couple of trees apparently planted there in the 1950s.
It took two 15-person crews of CCCs [California Conservation
Corp workers] two weeks to clear them [photo, opposite page].
And we still weren’t done, and some of them volunteered
to help us finish. I’ll always be able to say that I spearheaded
removal of this grove and changed the future of Long Valley.
The acacia would have just kept spreading. They grow fast, they’re
prolific, they grow taller than the oaks. They would have covered
the valley floor. We stopped that. We’re not done because
there’s still a huge seed bank there. Every year I go back
and spread mulch over the seed bank and remove new sprouts.
You’re
out on our land pretty much all the time, so you’re the
ESF person who has the most contact with our neighbors. What’s
that like?
It’s great! I get to know them, get to talk about what
we’re doing on the land. They’re usually pleased to
know they’re living next to protected areas. Many of them
have a long history in the area and I get to hear their stories
and learn more about past land uses. Increasingly, our neighbors
are helping us by reporting off-road vehicles or other damaging
activities. They’re really helpful in monitoring the properties.
We have 3400 acres now, and I can’t be everywhere, so they’re
invaluable. Just recently neighbors reported off-road vehicles
on our land that led to successful interceptions.
You obviously love what you’re doing, being out on the
land. That’s why we call you Land Dude. Where did this
begin, this love of the land?
I always loved being outdoors in the elements. I grew up in
upstate New York, but it wasn’t until I visited Australia
that I realized how special nature is. I was marveling at their
animals – kangaroos and Koala bears – and they were
amazed to hear about skunks! It’s all special. And then
I come to Elkhorn Slough, and we’ve got egrets and herons
and all sorts of wildlife in this little area. I’ve seen
six bobcats on our lands in the last year! They’re elusive
animals, and seeing even one is exciting.
Another thing about this has to do with my father dying. That’s
when working to protect the land became a career for me. I asked
myself what I wanted to leave as a legacy, and I couldn’t
think of anything as valuable as what I’m doing. It’s
an honor doing this work.
Table
of Contents
|
In
Memoriam: Jeff Schrock
Jeff
Schrock believed that success comes from
doing good work and doing what you love. In
1985 he pioneered eco-tourism on the Monterey
Peninsula when he and his wife Cass started
Monterey
Bay Kayaks in Monterey and Moss Landing.
The business combined his love of the ocean
and his ingenuity with boats, while enabling
him to reach out to people of all ages and abilities.
Since then, MBK has been recognized by numerous
agencies for its work promoting marine education,
environmental awareness, and ecological stewardship.
(photo:
Monterey Bay Kayaks)
A
natural outdoorsman, Jeff was equally at home
exploring in the ocean, desert, mountains, or
canyons. He spent his early years hiking, climbing,
and mountaineering, often designing and manufacturing
his own equipment. He was also a gifted inventor,
creating many of the unique racks and labor-saving
devices that make operating a large kayaking
outfitter possible.
While growing a business and raising a family,
he never let his 15-year battle with a brain
tumor slow him down. Jeff will be missed by
those who love the slough.
In lieu of flowers, any contributions can be
made to The Jenny and Max Schrock Education
Fund, c/o Wayne and Cheryll Daniel, 141 San
Remo Drive, Carmel, CA 93923.
|
Table
of Contents
Terms
frequently used in the stewardship work
of the ESF staff
Degraded
or disturbed soils: Soils
that have been altered by human activity, which makes them
less capable of supporting native plant communities and sometimes
more susceptible to non-native invasion. In the Elkhorn Slough
watershed, the dominant forms of disturbance are the cultivation
of steep slopes, erosion, and overgrazing.
Used
in a planned disturbance regime, cattle, like these
on Porter Ranch, can help native plants thrive and reduce
invasive non-natives.
Disturbance
regime:
The disturbance of the soil and plant communities in ways
that are natural or mimic natural disturbance and thus foster
healthy ecological conditions. The grazing of cattle at the
Porter Ranch is an example of a disturbance regime designed
to mimic the grazing patterns of wild herds and thus benefit
native bunch grasses and grassland-dependant species such
as badgers, gopher snakes, white-tailed kites, western bluebirds,
bobcats, and burrowing owls.
Native plants:
Plants which evolved in and grow naturally in a specific region.
Invasive non-native: A plant that did not evolve
in a particular region but aggressively grows there, altering
natural processes and crowding out native plants.
Table
of Contents
“These
are not Reserve problems, they are
Elkhorn Slough problems.”
The
state budget crisis is something “out there” for many
of us. But for Reserve Manager Becky Christensen it is on her
desk everyday. It comes in the form of requests for things like
light bulbs for the Visitors Center, straw for erosion control,
and disinfectant to help stop the spread of Sudden Oak Death.
Normally Becky would make the decision about whether she could
afford these items. But these are not normal times because Becky
doesn’t have a basic operating budget.
The Reserve has always operated on a modest budget – and
with great volunteer support. Due to state budget problems this
year, the Reserve has no operating budget. Now every expenditure
must be approved at the state level – and only “emergency”
requests are approved.
Some
of the 10,000 school children who visit the Reserve
each year line up to use the scopes at the overlook.
To
help fund at least some of the basic operating expenses of the
Reserve, the Elkhorn Slough Foundation has launched a campaign
to raise $20,000. “We’re talking about basic needs,”
says ESF Executive Director Mark Silberstein. “These problems
are not just Reserve problems, they are Elkhorn Slough problems.”
Silberstein has written a letter to ESF’s 600 members asking
them to contribute to a fund to match donations from visitors
to the Reserve. “We’re hoping to get $10,000 from
ESF members and $10,000 from Reserve visitors,” says Development
Director Stephen Slade. “It’s the neighborly thing
to do.”
You can track the success of the campaign on our website –
and you can contribute there too!
Table
of Contents
The
Elkhorn Slough Foundation works with many partners, but the
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve has a special
status. Our offices are located on the Reserve. The Foundation
was created by the Reserve Advisory Committee. Close to half
our budget is made up of grants that fund Reserve positions.
We are, in some ways, like close siblings who never left the
farm, one taking over one aspect of the operation, one another.
We have our independence, but we’re working for the same
concern.
The closeness, and separation, of this relationship confuses
most newcomers, including new staff. “Am I Reserve or
Foundation staff?” they ask, and for a third of the 30-some
people who work here the answer is a confusing, “Both.”
Their jobs are funded by grants from the National Oceanic
and Atmoshpheric Administration. The Foundation receives the
grants, and the staff report to both Reserve Manager Becky
Christensen and ESF Executive Director Mark Silberstein.
Other positions at the Reserve are funded by the California
Department of Fish and Game, which makes the Reserve a federal-state
partnership, and makes ESF a third party to this complicated
arrangement.
It is complicated because that’s what it took to get
things done. The shared history of ESF and the Reserve is
full of programs that started with the Foundation receiving
federal money to develop Reserve programs – some of which
later became state programs. Twenty years ago the volunteer
program, teacher training program, and research and monitoring
programs all began as EFS projects and are now Reserve programs.
It wasn’t an accident, it was planned that way.
The whole point of partnership is to accomplish more together
than is possible separately. Our twenty-year partnership with
the Reserve is the foundation upon which both organizations
are built – and together we have been able to make truly
remarkable progress towards our shared goal of protecting
Elkhorn Slough
Table
of Contents
Report:
Annual Member Walk, 2004
More
than 60 members joined ESF staff and Board members on our
Second Annual Spring Walk on the Brothers Ranch. They took
a two mile walk through fields dotted with wild iris and
poppies and got a bird’s eye view of protected lands
from a knoll at the center of the property. Across a ridge
to the west is Elkhorn Slough. The ridge line that runs
north and south contains a thousand acres ESF has protected.
The lands along this ridge drain to the east into Carneros
Creek, which provides 70 percent of the slough’s fresh
water.
ESF
members gathered on the knoll at Brothers Ranch,
where they enjoyed panoramic views of the watershed.
Executive
Director Mark Silberstein explains the Foundation’s
land strategy: “We are piecing together a crescent
of protected land that stretches from Long Valley, along
this ridge, down to the north end of the slough.” Protecting
this land is vital to the health of the slough, Silberstein
says, “because what we do on the land affects what
happens in the water.”
Some
members carried home armloads
of fresh flowers, which they picked
at a fallow field on the property.
Table
of Contents
 |
ESF’s
22nd Annual Celebration will take place on June
26th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve.
Last year the celebration was held away from the Reserve
for the first time, at the Porter Ranch. We are returning
to the Reserve this year, both because repairs are being
made on the historic Porter house and to underline the
Foundation’s support for the Reserve as it faces
unprecedented budget cuts. |
"A
statement of values you hold dear."
(archive: Tidal Exchange summer 2004, Elkhorn Slough Foundation)
Elkhorn
Slough has been blessed by the love and generosity of many
people during the past 22 years. People who worked to halt
plans for heavy industry and development, who helped create
the Elkhorn Slough Reserve and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation,
and who have given time and treasure, including family lands,
to protect this special place forever.
Among those who have given to provide a legacy of protected
land are five people who left bequests to the Elkhorn Slough
Foundation. In our early years, our first bequest was a gift
from Andrew Blomquist. That generous gift literally helped
jumpstart our fledgling organization. Since then we have received
bequests from Zoe Ann Orr Marcus, Bernice Porter, Burrel Leonard,
and Elsie Triebig. We are deeply honored to be entrusted with
their faith in our stewardship of the slough they loved. Their
generous bequests were placed in the Foundation’s permanent
endowment – funds set aside for the perpetual stewardship
of Elkhorn Slough.
They left a legacy by becoming our partners in protecting
Elkhorn Slough – and we honor them now by forming the
Legacy Circle. Legacy Circle members are those who wish to
make a lasting gift to protect Elkhorn Slough. These include
gifts through wills, retirement plans, and insurance policies,
as well as life-income and other deferred gifts.
“These
gifts are a true legacy – they will shape the future
beyond our lives,” says ESF Executive Director Mark
Silberstein. “It is also a personal statement about
the values you hold dear.” By joining the Legacy Circle,
even if you chose to remain anonymous, you also encourage
those you leave behind to consider their own legacies. The
gifts from our Legacy Circle will be placed in the
Foundation’s Permanent Endowment. ESF currently has
$2.9 million in its endowment and a long-term goal of building
that to $10 million.
The first members of the Legacy Circle have chosen to remain
anonymous. Two members of the Board of Directors and one
staff member have become founding members of the Legacy
Circle by including ESF in their estate plans. Two of these
founding members have included ESF in their Wills. The third
has chosen to include ESF as part of a Charitable Gift Annuity,
one of many ways you may include ESF in your estate planning.
Estate planning can be intimidating, and ESF has arranged
to provide free assistance through the Planned Giving Center
of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.
To find out more about the Elkhorn Slough Legacy Circle,
please contact the Elkhorn Slough Foundation
at 831-728-5939.
If you have already provided for the protection of Elkhorn
Slough in your Will or estate plan, please let us know.
We want to express our gratitude and welcome you to the
Legacy Circle.
Table
of Contents
|
New
in the Slough
Volunteer
Shirley Murphy made a significant sighting in April
when she spotted a rare visitor to the slough, a Yellow-billed
Loon at Kirby Park.
This was
just the30th sighting of this species in Monterey County
in the last 35 years. Congratulations, Shirley!
The Cliff Swallows are once again busy building nests
in the eaves of the garage building, among other places.
For many
more photos (and a QuickTime movie) of the swallows
at work, click here.
|
Table
of Contents
All
uncredited photos by Greg Hofmann
Tidal
Exchange is
written and edited by ESF and ESNERR staff.
To receive a copy or to send one to a friend, email
us.
Board
of Directors
Frank Capurro
Diane Cooley
Dick Hammond
Candace Ingram
Paul Irwin
Sue Lewis
Dick Nutter
Anne Olsen
Jerry Patrick
Wil Smith
Jack Taylor
Jim Van Houten
John Warriner
Steve Webster
Board
of Advisors
Alan Baldridge
Mark Blum
Nancy Burnett
Louis Calcagno
Robert Davidson
Lisa Dobbins
William Doolittle
Mike Foster
Nancy Giberson
Sally Sousa
Robert Stephens
Mark Verbonich
Lydia Villarreal
Mary Yoklavich
ESF
Staff
Mark Silberstein, Executive Director
Kris Beall, Administrative Director
Stephen Slade, Director of Communications and Development
Kim Hayes, Land Manager
Ken Collins, Assistant Land Steward
Kevin Contreras, Land Acquisition Coordinator
Greg Hofmann, Webmaster/Development Associate
Susan Burgess, Bookstore Manager
Kelly Palacios, Administration
Table
of Contents
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