Nature
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Santa Barbaran Cycles and Surfs for Charity
By Road and By Sea
Protecting the environment is an important job, and people chose many different ways to do it. Read story.
Vandenberg Offers Access to Shut-Off State Park
Return to Point Sal?
After more than a year without access to Point Sal State Park due to military security concerns, the 140-acre plot of prime ocean views once again opened to the public, as of Tuesday, April 8. Read story.
Go Online, Get Outdoors
Check out our new online outdoor guide. Read story.
The Comeback Fish
Recent rains are helping the native steelhead trout emigrate out of Mission Creek and back into the ocean. Read story.
Turning Science into Social Change
Ideals of Community Involvement Surface at the 2008 International Sea Turtle Symposium
A conference in Mexico positions sea turtles as a catalyst for future environmental efforts. Read story.
Cold Springs Rehabilitation Project
Canyon trail undergoes major face lift.
Los Padres Forest Association begins major project to rebuild the canyon section of Cold Springs Trail. Using a flood grant provided by the Forest Service, the LPFA trail crew is using hand tools, winches, and an assortment of power tools to fix sections of the trail made unsafe after huge rain storms in 2005 damaged sections of the trail. Read story.
Naples Coalition Environmental Beach Hike
The members of the Naples Coalition invite the public for a fun and educational beach walk on Saturday, February 2, along the beach from the public access at the Bacara Resort to the bluffs on the Naples property. Read story.
The Monarchs of Ellwood
The Sperling Preserve at Ellwood Mesa is home to one of the largest monarch butterfly over-wintering sites in California and is well worth a visit this holiday season. Read story.
Ballooning in the Valley
Full of Hot Air
Floating through the air on a recent autumn Saturday, I relished the silence and the fresh air while taking in views of the Santa Ynez Valley still bathed in the buttery light of sunrise, and I had an epiphany: Waking up early isn’t half-bad. Read story.
Day-Tripping in Northern California
Spirit of Place
A stormy winter day on the Mendocino County coast can easily hint of the year-round desolation that existed in this part of the state before the arrival of expensive homes, wineries, parades of RVs, elegant art galleries, and bed-and-breakfast romance. At that time, decades ago, southern California surfers didn’t make the trek north to surf, where it was much colder, much darker; Santa Barbara was considered fringe, Santa Cruz was arctic, and nobody knew what was above San Francisco. Read story.
Kayaking the California Coast
Back with the Paddle Again
The three kayakers stepped out of their brightly colored Scupper Pro kayaks and onto Año Nuevo Island, part of a natural preserve 55 miles south of San Francisco. The only structure on the island was an abandoned house that once served as shelter for the lighthouse caretaker and is now home to various seals that group around the fireplace like a family in winter. Read story.
Adult Ed Classes Help You Go Green
Join the Revolution
Anyone who’s ever traveled the Moroccan desert, where sirocco winds blow plastic bags out of landfills to hang in scraggly shards from bushes and trees like some eerie doomed forest, never forgets it. However, living in Santa Barbara where there aren’t such vivid reminders of pollution, it’s easy to slip into living “green” when convenient. We mean well when we toss just about anything in the recycling bin (dragging those used batteries to the proper drop-off is a pain). Read story.
Shallow Waters for Steelhead?
Expert Alleges Water Poaching in Montecito Creeks
Natasha Lohmus is worried about the trout. Formerly a game warden and now an environmental scientist with California’s Department of Fish and Game, Lohmus has reported three pumps in Montecito creeks because she suspects they are drawing off more water than the endangered Southern California Steelhead can spare. Read story.
Bald Eagles on the Rise
on the Channel Islands
Safe Haven
The distorted bishop pine stood out like no other within a narrow canyon full of evergreen trees on northern Santa Cruz Island. The top of it was mushroom shaped, crowned with sun-bleached sticks and branches woven into a sturdy nest eight feet in diameter, its center padded down with dried grasses, twigs, and discarded fish bones. Read story.
Twilight Tours
As summer draws to a close and the days begin to get shorter, there’s no better time to enjoy a sunset stroll — and there’s no better place to do it than the grounds of Ganna Walska Lotusland. Lotusland’s Summer’s Evening Twilight Tour allows patrons to wander the gardens at their leisure, or take part in docent-guided tours. Read story.
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