September 19, 2008
Coastal Cleanup on the California Channel Islands
This week dozens of volunteers from several organizations banded together to clean up the coastline around Channel Islands National Park. They joined the coastal cleanup efforts along with 16 other sites in Ventura County as part of events to celebrate California Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday September 20, 2008. Using kayaks and skiffs, seventeen hard working volunteers scoured the coves and beaches of Anacapa Island this past Wednesday, collecting over 1,100 pounds of debris. The volunteers represented several organizations including the park concessioner Island Packers, Inc., kayak outfitters Aquasports and Paddlesports, and the Santa Barbara Channel Keeper. The National Park Service joined in by disposing of the collected debris which filled three dumpsters and included plastic water bottles, tennis balls, Styrofoam, an outboard motor, and fishing gear. The most unusual item collected was a Chuck Norris bobble-head. On Saturday the Channel Islands Park Foundation (CIPF) is sending out more than thirty volunteers to clean up beaches at Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. Teams from The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service will work alongside the CIPF volunteers to support their efforts. The beach cleanup is the inaugural event for this recently-formed non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing awareness and understanding of the fragile and unique park resources. They plan to host annual events of this nature which will be announced on their website. Much of the debris these volunteers collect is trash from mainland beaches, rivers, and storm drains that has made its way across the Santa Barbara Channel via ocean currents to the remote and isolated islands. To learn about how to reduce you impact on our marine environment and be an ocean steward visit the California Coastal Commission website: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/steward/pledge_form.html This publication is available at: www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/newsreleases.htm For information on the Channel Islands Park Foundation go: www.yourcipf.org For more information on California Coastal Cleanup Day go to: www.coast4u.org

September 04, 2008
Recalling the Return to Limuw:                      A Chumash Tomol Crosses the Channel
The September “From Shore to Sea” lectures will feature Alan Salazar discussing the importance of the tomol, a traditional plank canoe used historically by the Chumash for fishing and travel between the islands and mainland for trade. The tomol connected Chumash communities and continues to be significant to their culture.

August 11, 2008
Scientists Study Blue Whales after Ship Strikes near the Channel Islands
The August “From Shore to Sea” lectures will feature Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Vertebrate Zoologists Paul Collins and Michelle Berman and their investigations of several blue whale deaths caused by ship strikes that occurred off the Channel Islands in the fall of 2007.

July 14, 2008
Bald Eagle Chicks Return to the Wild 
Today brings the return to the wild of the second of the two bald eagle chicks that were injured during an attack by a sub-adult bald eagle at Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island on May 19, 2008.

July 07, 2008
Living on the Land: Chumash Use of Plants on the California Channel Islands
Jan Timbrook, the Curator of Ethnography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH), will portray some of the ways in which Chumash people have used plants for food, medicine, clothing, tools, utensils, and other essential items during the July “From Shore to Sea” lecture series.

June 13, 2008
Ashy Storm-Petrel To Be Considered For Possible Federal Protection
ARCATA, Calif., – On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced its determination that a petition presented sufficient information indicating that listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) may be warranted for the ashy storm-petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa), a California seabird.  The Service has initiated a status review to determine if listing the species is warranted.

June 12, 2008
National Park Service Proposes to Restore Coastal Wetland
Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Russell Galipeau announced today that the National Park Service (NPS) is proposing to restore a portion of the historic coastal wetland and associated stream channel at Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island.  

June 11, 2008
Peregrine Falcons Move Closer to Recovery on the California Channel Islands
Brian Latta, Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) biologist, will discuss efforts to reestablish peregrine falcons to the California Channel Islands following their decline from the impacts of DDT at the June “From Shore to Sea” lectures. 

June 11, 2008
Live Dive Links Students to Underwater World of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands Live Dive season kicks off today when over 120 sixth grade students from Blackstock Junior High School in Oxnard interact with divers underwater 14 miles offshore at Anacapa Island in Channel Islands National Park.

May 20, 2008
Bald Eaglets Driven From Their Nest on the Northern Channel Islands
Yesterday two seven-week-old bald eagle chicks were unexpectedly taken from their nest at Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island by an attacking sub-adult bald eagle.

May 06, 2008
National Park Concessioner Celebrates 40 Years of Connecting People to the Channel Islands
Forty years ago Bill Connally, founder of Island Packers, was inspired with a vision to share the wonders of the Channel Islands by providing excursions to these remote offshore islands.

May 02, 2008
Black Abalone on the Channel Islands Teeter Toward Extinction
During the May “From Shore to Sea” lecture Channel Islands National Park marine biologist Dan Richards will discuss his research on the black abalone—an important intertidal species that was once among the most abundant shellfish along the California coastline and today is struggling to survive.

April 29, 2008
Centennial Challenge Projects coming to Southern California National Parks
Greater Los Angeles, CA – The National Park Service Centennial Challenge will fund five education and science programs in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Channel Islands National Park with an additional $800,000 this year. Each project is an opportunity to enhance the scientific knowledge about the natural resources or provide education and environmental stewards. 

April 06, 2008
State of the Seas at the California Channel Islands
Two local marine experts, Gary Davis, retired National Park Service Chief Scientist for Ocean Programs, and Dr. Satie Airamé, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Marine Biologist, will discuss the state of the seas at the Channel Islands during the April “From Shore to Sea” lectures.

April 03, 2008
Spring Success for Bald Eagles on the Channel Islands
This week biologists and dedicated eagle enthusiasts watched via the Channel Islands Live EagleCAM as two chicks hatched at the Pelican Harbor nest on Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of southern California.