Page 45 - Sonoma County Gazatte May 2017

Wild owers are blooming in profusion on the hills and blu s overlooking the Paci c Ocean. Whales are still cruising by close enough to be seen without binoculars. The beautiful weather has brought out cycling enthusiasts, who seem to be everywhere;
Welcome to our North Sonoma/Mendocino Coast.
clinging to the (non-existent) shoulder of scenic Highway One as well as touring our coastal backroads made famous by Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong.
What a beautiful place to live and play. Enjoy the sandy beaches, the rocky shores with tidal pool life, the beautiful grass fields, the redwood forests, the pygmy forests, the oak hillsides, abundant wildflowers, birds, and wildlife. Getting out and about on our coastal and hillside trails will now be a treat with retirement upon me. I am honored to have served State Parks for 27 years at Fort Ross and to have been in a natural and cultural setting but now I also get to roam the countryside as many of you do!
These hikes have amazing views and wildlife viewings.
Check them out at https://sonomalandtrust.org/join_in/jenner_headlands_ hikes.html . Sonoma County Regional Parks also has many opportunities
for great hikes self lead and ranger lead. http://parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/ Get_Outdoors.aspx. And further north in Point Arena the Stornetta lands are amazing with pristine acreage and walks. http://www.pointarena.net/places/ stornetta-lands.html
THANK YOU BBQ
On May 13 the Jenner Community center is hosting the 2nd annual ‘thank
you’ BBQ for our coastal emergency responders (mostly volunteer based). Last year they gave lifeguard Aaron Pendergraft an award for rescuing two people from the surf off Goat Rock. It’s not a public event but one where we feed the responders for free and let them hang out together in a non tragic setting. Thank you to the Jenner community for providing such a lovely annual tribute.
The Gualala Arts is having a tribute to an active community member who I loved dearly, Jim Grenwelge. He was instrumental in so many community projects and the Gualala Art Center. Learn more about the pizza oven and outdoor kitchen dedication here http://gualalaarts.org/2017/05/ grenwelge-kitchen-dedication-celebration. Gualala Arts is having many local events and art openings – please visit their webpage at http://gualalaarts.org/ category/events/.
The sandbar at the mouth of the Russian River (created by the huge winter tides and river ows) has surfers out enjoying the long swells created by this unusual condition. Resident Bald Eagles are regularly photographed here on the rocks and logs, preying on eels and other ocean faire.
I have been told to brace myself for the fun times ahead, casual mornings, and the ‘what should I do today’ feel, and others have said I will be as busy as ever – I think both are true. The Sonoma Land Trust leads several great hikes out on the Jenner headlands. I am looking forward to joining them on a few hikes and look at volunteer opportunities.
And Abalone season is about to start for 2017.
We truly live in paradise, surrounded by so much beauty and so many amazing recreational opportunities.
But all is not well. Beneath the shimmering ocean waves, the eco-system is
in a state of Extreme Crisis. And it is no more evident than in our near-shore sheries. Abalone and recreational divers are in for a sobering sight as they take to the coastal waters. Divers will be shocked to see barren areas that should be thick with kelp.
Northern California kelp forests have been reduced to an all-time low due to a “perfect storm” of large-scale ecological impacts. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) marine invertebrate management team has conducted annual ecosystem surveys of kelp forests in Sonoma and Mendocino counties since the late 1990s, and recent observations have caused concern about the state of the kelp forests. The severe reduction in kelp has already impacted the recreational red abalone shery and commercial red urchin shery, two economically important sheries in northern California.
The Perfect Storm
A series of large-scale catastrophic events recently combined into a “perfect storm” of ecological impacts that triggered dramatic shifts in the kelp forest ecosystem on the north coast. Environmental stressors included impacts from a toxic algae bloom o the Sonoma coast in 2011, a widespread sea star disease
in 2013 that was followed by an explosion in the sea urchin population, and the warm water conditions that have persisted o shore since 2014.
Bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), usually common on the northern California coast, has declined dramatically since 2014. Kelp forests are now 93 percent smaller compared to previous years, creating starvation conditions for herbivores.
Abalone and sea urchins are both herbivores that depend on healthy kelp forest ecosystems for food and habitat. With the recent loss of kelp and the ensuing starvation conditions, researchers have documented unusual behavior for both abalone and urchins. Large abalone are now more commonly observed climbing stalks in search of kelp blades, and small abalone have abandoned
the protection of rocky crevices in search of food. Other invertebrates and sh species, such as rock sh, also depend on the shrinking kelp forest ecosystem for food and protection from predation.
Many Years Later...I would like to end with a favorite saying that has stayed with me since BC (before children). I remember having enough time to lay in the fields on my property in Annapolis while the day passed by. These words seem to be fitting once again, 35 years later.
Until this delicate balance is somehow brought under control, this breakdown of our near-shore sheries will continue to spiral out of control. Until the tiny purple urchin’s incredible population explosion is held in check, there is little hope to regain our healthy near-shore sheries.
I meant to do my work today
But a brown bird sang in an apple tree And a butterfly flitted across the field And all the leaves were calling me.
From one of the first albums by Elton John – Friends The words are by Richard Gilliene -
To make matters worse, the poaching of Abalone is devastating what little seed abalone survive the out-of-whack eco-system. The poachers take even the undersized mollusks, leaving little to grow to maturity.
One poacher/diver was recently caught with 78 abalone in the Sea Ranch area. He is being prosecuted in Mendocino County as some feel that the Judges in Sonoma County have been too lenient on these criminals.
On an upbeat note, the Jenner Community Club (jennercommunitycenter. org) will be giving its second annual Bar B Que honoring our First Responders mid-May.
Also in mid-May will be a wild ower hike at the Jenner Headlands Preserve. A good hike with amazing coastal views.
Kruz Rhododendron Preserve in the Salt Point State Park is also a great place for a Mother’s Day hike – Picture walking through a magical forest of pink blossoms overhead and lining the pathways.
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