Sly as a Fox

Channel Islands National Park

As the e-tour continues to head west, we leave the "sky islands" of Southern Arizona for the Channel Islands off the coast of California. This epic series of islands, designated a National Park in 1980, hosts a variety of endemic and fascinating species. As volcanic islands isolated from the mainland, these ecosystems have evolved in such a fashion where unique plants and animals can thrive without heavy competition. One example is the island fox, a distinct fox species that only grows to 12 to 15 inches in height. Although no larger than a house cat, the island fox is the largest mammal in the island chain. Without any predators on the island, this fox has ended up quite curious.

The endemic island fox

The fox box!

Because the island fox is such a curious fellow, these animals have learned to find the campgrounds and picnic areas on the islands. Learning from experience by finding food left unattended by visitors, many of the foxes have become habituated and often directly approach humans on the islands seeking food. Some really clever foxes have even learned to nudge open tent zippers in search of food! The National Park is making a strong effort to help island foxes and visitors alike. The picnic areas and campgrounds on the islands do not have any trash cans, meaning that backcountry users and frontcountry day-visitors alike must pack out what they pack in. All the picnic tables and campsites are also equipped with food lockers to store any and all temptations through the foxes. By practicing Leave No Trace techniques regarding food repackaging, storage, and disposal, visitors to these islands can help protect one of the incredible animal species that make them such a special place!

Like a Fox on the Run,

Quinn & Frank

Leave No Trace is coming to San Diego

San Diego REI Leave No Trace Community Event
Thursday February 10th from 6-7:30PM

Share your ideas about Leave No Trace and ways to increase community action and volunteerism at the REI San Diego store on Thursday, February 10th from 6pm-7:30pm. Join Ben Lawhon, Leave No Trace’s Education Director, and area educators, volunteers and members to discuss all things Leave No Trace for your community. Enjoy light appetizers and a rumored appearance from Leave No Trace’s Bigfoot at the event.

Register here: http://www.rei.com/event/18007/session/22057

New National Monument in the Works in California

Mojave Desert National Monuments in the Works

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she plans to introduce legislation today to establish two national monuments on roughly 1 million acres of Mojave Desert outback that is home to bighorn sheep and desert tortoises, extinct volcanoes, sand dunes and ancient petroglyphs.

Its centerpiece, Mojave Trails National Monument, would prohibit development on 941,000 acres of federal land and former railroad company property along a 105-mile stretch of old Route 66, between Ludlow and Needles.


The smaller Sand to Snow National Monument, about 45 miles east of Riverside, would cover about 134,000 acres of federal land between Joshua Tree National Park and the San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Its diverse habitats range from desert scrub to yellow pine forests 9,000 feet above sea level.

The legislation, which had been delayed by efforts to resolve conflicts among environmentalists, off-roaders and renewable energy interests, would also designate 250,000 acres of public land near the Army's training center at Ft. Irwin as wilderness; add 41,000 acres to the southern boundary of Death Valley National Park and add 2,900 acres to northern portions of Joshua Tree National Park.

Article continues: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mojave21-2009dec21,0,7093884.story

38 and counting

Heading west from Phoenix, AZ, the city we affectionately dubbed 'the oven', to the California coast, the cool, crisp Pacific breeze greeted us as we jumped on board the Island Adventure to go explore Channel Islands National Park. A visit to Santa Cruz Island marked the 38th National Park we have adventured in! The day started with an hour boat ride from Ventura, CA to Santa Cruz Island, 20 miles off the coast. As soon as we left the hustle and bustle of the mainland, we were met with the beauty of an abundance of marine life, including sea lions, seals, and humpback whales. The boat docked at the island and immediately we felt a sense of solitude and relaxation. We had only 5 hours to explore the island to be back in time to catch the boat back to mainland, so we hustled along and hit the trails! No sooner than we left a busy boat full of school field trips and other visitors, that we were 'alone' on the island and hiking by ourselves. It was amazing to not see many others the entire day as we explored the bluffs and caves of Santa Cruz. This was a fabulous way to take a break from driving and stretch our legs. We are heading up to Oregon from here...Pacific Northwest here we come!

Safe travels...Kate and Tracy