Art will Survive... but will the Species?

May 17th!   You know what day that is?  Endangered Species Day!

Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for people young and old to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that people can take to help protect our nation’s disappearing wildlife and last remaining open space.

And because our children have the most vested interest in protecting the earth and its inhabitants, the national Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest provides young people with an opportunity to learn about endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. 
 

2013 Youth Art Grand Prize Winner!

Started in 2006 by the United States Congress, Endangered Species Day recognizes the importance of endangered species and is an occasion to educate the public on how to protect them.

Look at the amazing art work submitted by kids across the country here!  And learn more about the endangered species coalition here.

Recovery on Anacapa Island..

A ship sinks in foul weather, tossing all manner of flotsam into the sea.  Riding the waves on a makeshift raft, black rats huddle until the shoreline looms.  

Winfield Scott

This may, or may not be how rats (Rattus) were first introduced to Anacapa Island but regardless of how they made their way to shore, their impact is without question.  Numbering in the thousands within years of introduction, they feasted on the rare Scripps's murrelet eggs, causing park service personnel to worry the bird may be forever lost to Anacapa.

Fast forward... now 10 years after ridding the island of black rats, biologists are pleased to report the island is teeming with wildlife!  

Read the entire story here and be sure to mark your calendar for Wednesday May 8th to hear the story live during the Shore to Sea Lecture Series.  Open to the public and always free the lecture starts at 7 pm at Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor. 

DID YOU KNOW?

I'll Take my Mahi-Mahi with a Plastic Chaser, Please.....

With Earth Day 2013 quickly approaching, here are a couple of appetizing facts to chew on.  I bet you didn't realize just how much TRASH you ingest each day! 

Yep, that's right... GARBAGE. "How can that be? I don't eat trash!  Gross!" you say?  Not knowingly perhaps, but with over 51 BILLION plastic bottles used yearly in the U.S. alone and only 1 in 5 of them recycled, there is a very good chance your last plate of Mahi-Mahi was contaminated with, you guessed it, PLASTIC! 

Think about that next time you purchase a bottle of water or soda and make sure you recycle responsibly.   Don't assume someone else will pick up your trash for you!  Even with all the volunteer labor working feverishly this Earth Day to keep our National Parks, public lands and waterways clear of garbage, its up to YOU each and every day to ensure the trash you generate doesn't end up on your dinner plate!

 
Created by: MastersDegree.net

Water, water, everywhere....

Few people think of the marine environment surrounding each of the five islands comprising Channel Islands National Park as park resources, but they are!  Not only the island, but the mile of ocean surrounding each, benefit from the protection of National Park status. 

Read on for some very interesting facts about the worlds oceans and why they are so critical to our survival.


Created by: MastersDegree.net

Small but not forgotten!

Tiny and with a long life span, the Island Night Lizard spent more than three decades on the threatened and endangered species list.  Ranching and grazing had decimated its natural habitat leaving the slow moving lizard no place to call home.

But Fish and Wildlife Service announced this month, plans to take the Island Night Lizard off the list.  Praising board efforts to remove nonnative animals from the Channel Islands, home to a host of threatened and endangered species found nowhere else, agency officials cite the lizard’s recovery as a success for the Endangered Species Act! 


Read the entire story here

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/feb/10/threats-to-channel-islands-lizard-fading/

 

A Whale's Tale: The Case for Conservation

UPDATE:  With regrets, this event has been cancelled.

Join us for an evening with Ms Petra Deimer, award winning marine conservationist,  adviser to the International Whaling Commission and President of the Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals.  Ms Deimer has devoted her adult life to animal advocacy, experiencing first-hand how conservation efforts can make a difference in the outlook for global whale populations, while at the same time providing sustainable economies for human communities.

Hunted to the brink of extinction for meat, oil or mere sport, whales exist in the shadows between land and sea.  Seeking safety in the deep oceans but driven to shallow water and the domain of man for life sustaining air, these playful and intelligent creatures need our commitment to conservation if they are to survive.

Petra's life was molded into protecting whales through an experience 25 years ago when she accompanied local whalers from the coast of Madeira during work on her thesis on sperm whales.  This very businesslike, very bloody destruction of whales awoke in her a storm of emotions that have yet to diminish.  The consequences of this experience, leading her to become a professional whale conservationist, will be discussed during A Whale's Tale: The Case for Conservation.

The list of conventions and committees on which Ms Deimer has served as an advisor and delegate over the past 20 years is long.  In addition to the IWC (International Whaling Commission) and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), she travels regularly to meetings of ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic and North Seas), is involved with the Bonn Convention for Migratory Species and works tirelessly for Europe's most endangered marine mammal, the monk seal.  Her most recent work surrounds the Baltic Sea sub-population of the Harbour Porpoise.  Listed as critically endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)  the so-called Baltic Proper population amounts to not more than a few hundred individuals. Read more here.

CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, CA is the newest campus in the California State University system.  Nestled in rolling green hills and within view of the Pacific Ocean, CSU Channel Islands is the perfect setting to engage as Ms Deimer shares insights and recounts her experience as a marine mammal conservationist and advocate!  


Co-hosted by CSU Channel Islands Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management, this event benefits Channel Islands Park Foundation.  Tickets are $25. Click here to purchase in advance.  Appetizers and beverage service are included and a no host bar is available.  

Complimentary event parking at CSUCI is limited and only available in the designated lot. Upon arriving at the campus, follow the directional signage to the event parking. Free parking is available at the Camarillo Metrolink Station/Lewis Road parking lot with bus service to and from the campus. In order to waive bus fares, riders should present their event ticket confirmation when boarding the CI Vista bus, otherwise the cash-only bus fare is $1.25 each way. Buses arrive and depart from the Camarillo Metrolink Station every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday. For exact times, check the schedule at: www.goventura.org

If you are in need of disability accommodations for the event, please contact our Disability Resource Program at: accommodations@csuci.edu or 805-437-3331, at least 14 days in advance.