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Channel Islands
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Channel Islands National Park
Interpretive Guide
timhaufphotography.com
Santa Rosa Island
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
Trail Guide
4
Derek Lohuis
Contents
Channel Islands
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
Other Points of Interest
Vail & Vickers Ranch Area
Hichimin, Place Name
More Sheep Ranch
Vail & Vickers Cattle Ranch
Hunting
Cowboy Life
Horses
Boats
Pier
Rope House, Chute, Pile Driver
Corrals
Fencing, Water Resources
Foreman’s House, Schoolhouse
Bunkhouse
Horse Barn
Blacksmith Shop Barn, Boilers
Scale House, Branding Shed
Main Ranch House
Miscellaneous Structures
Hay Fields, Eucalyptus
Cypress Trees, Airstrip
Water Canyon
Native Plants
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18
21
22
24
25
29
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
43
46
Skunk Point 48
Torrey Pines
Mixing Waters
Western Snowy Plover
Tidepools
Jane L. Stanford Shipwreck
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
48
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How to Use This Guide
We recommend you begin with the Trail
Guide which provides eight interpretive
stops along the 1.75-mile walk from the
pier to Water Canyon Beach via Cherry
Canyon. Then select another area to visit
according to your time, interest, and
ability. Also, please note that many of the
topics covered in the various locations
are applicable to any island location. For
a more detailed hiking map, please see
the “Hiking Santa Rosa Island” bulletin
available at island bulletin boards.
East Point
Abalone Rocks Marsh
Qshiwqshiw, Munchkin Dudleya
Black Mountain
Cloud Forest, San Miguel Island
Carrington Point
Soft-leaved Island Paintbrush
Pygmy Mammoth
Lobo Canyon
Geology
Landbirds
Terrestrial Animals
Johnsons Lee
WW II Army Camp, Radar Post
Post-War Military Facilities
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National Park
SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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Pier to Water Canyon Beach
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owhere Else on Earth
Pier
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lose to the mainland, yet worlds
apart, Santa Rosa Island, along
with the other Channel Islands, is home
to plants and animals that are found
nowhere else on Earth. Like on the
Galápagos Islands of South America,
isolation has allowed evolution to
proceed independently on the islands,
fostering the development of nearly 150
endemic or unique plants and animals.
Santa Rosa Island is home to 46 of
these and some, like the rare munchkin
dudleya, are found only on Santa Rosa
Island.
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
Isolation has also played a major role
in shaping human activities on the
island. While the southern California
coastal mainland has seen extensive
development, the Channel Islands remain
undeveloped. The islands’ separation
from the mainland by over 25 miles of
an often turbulent ocean has limited and
directed human use and occupation for
thousands of years. And it continues
today, giving us a chance to see coastal
southern California as it once was.
So step back in time and experience
the island’s isolation as you walk from
the pier through Cherry Canyon and
eventually on to Water Canyon Beach.
It’s like nowhere else on Earth.
National Park
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Vail & Vickers Ranch Complex
An island ranch is a study in self-reliance. With no stores, phones…everything has to be
fashioned from whatever is on hand; it’s the art of making do.
Gretel Ehrlich, Cowboy Island: Farewell to a Ranching Legacy
No one was better at this than Diego
Cuevas, a former ranch foreman, who
stated in an oral history that he learned
to “fix things by improvising. You had
to out there. We didn’t have any stores.”
Margaret Vail Woolley, part of the Vail
family that owned the island, concurred,
“He [Diego] could make anything out
of anything. It was remarkable. He was
perfect for the island.”
Some of Diego’s inventions included
shutting off the generator by creating a
timer using ice, cables, and pulleys (which
didn’t work), or by using a rat trap, string,
and an alarm clock (which did work). He
also built a motorized cart to haul slop to
the pigs and a diesel-hauling trailer with
a tank. He installed a truck engine in a
boat given to the ranch by the Air Force
and devised a cooling system for it that
worked with salt water and a kelp knife
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hile the isolated island offered
ranchers several advantages over
the mainland, including no predators
and the world’s best fence (the ocean),
it created special challenges as well.
Supplying such a remote outpost was
probably the biggest challenge. The
transportation of supplies and stock
on and off the island was always an
adventure—the distance to the mainland,
rough seas, and expense made it very
difficult. However, ranchers adapted to
the challenges of island life through selfreliance and, as one ranch foreman wrote,
“learning to make do with what [they]
had.”
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
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Trail Guide—
reserving the Past
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Unloading cattle, Santa Rosa Island, 1995.
to protect the rudder and prop, but soon
discovered that fishing still was better
from the rocks on the island shore.
To be as self-sufficient as possible, island
ranchers grew and raised much of their
own food, importing deer, elk, quail, pigs,
and rabbits. They would make many of
their own supplies such as ropes, saddles,
candles, and soaps. They often salvaged
what they could from shipwrecks and
from abandoned military establishments
from World War II and the Cold War. And
they had specialized boats constructed to
transport supplies, cattle, and staff to and
from the island.
Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in
1844 shortly after the island was granted
to the Carrillo family by the Mexican
government. Then from 1858 to 1901
the More family ran one of the largest
sheep ranches in the state, with up to
80,000 sheep. They moved their center
of operations from Old Ranch House
continued on next page
SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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Vail & Vickers Ranch Complex
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Historic Vail & Vickers ranch house built in the late 1800s.
Canyon to Bechers Bay, where they
constructed a pier and built the clapboard
ranch house, horse barn, and blacksmith
shop barn that are still found here today.
These buildings, built in the 1860s and
1870s, are some of the oldest wood
buildings in Santa Barbara County.
For almost a century after the Mores,
Vail & Vickers operated one of the largest
and most productive beef cattle ranches
in Santa Barbara County, with up to
9,000 head of cattle. Three generations
of family members managed the ranch
in the traditional system of vaqueros
(Spanish for “cowboys”), tending cattle
on horseback. The end of ranching in
1998 brought a close to the last working
island cattle ranch in the continental
United States and an end to a truly unique
way of life.
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
This commitment to ranching traditions
preserved a historic landscape that came
under the protection of the National
Park Service (NPS) with the federal
government’s purchase of the island in
1986. Today, the NPS is preserving the
historic area so visitors will always have
the chance to remember and understand
this unique part of the islands’ past.
For more detailed information on ranching
history and the historic buildings, please see
pages 17–42.
eturn of the Natives
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Soledad Road—Bridge over Cherry Canyon Creek
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What was once an island covered with
coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak scrub,
oak woodland, and native grasslands, has
given way to nonnative, European grazing
grasses and an assortment of weeds,
including oats, bromes, foxtails, thistles,
and mustard. Today, nearly 25 percent
of the plant species found on Santa
Rosa Island are nonnative, consisting of
approximately 70 percent of the ground
cover.
Native plants that develop in isolation
are often vulnerable to competition
from nonnative species. Many of these
nonnative plants have evolved with
grazing pressure, whereas the native
island plants have not coexisted with
grazers since the pygmy mammoths,
nearly 12,000 years ago. During the 1800s
up to 80,000 sheep severely overgrazed
the island, eliminating most of the native
vegetation and creating open, disturbed,
and eroded soils that allowed nonnative
plants to flourish. Once established, these
nonnatives out competed the natives for
limited soil and moisture due to their
longer germination and growth cycles and
continued grazing and browsing by cattle,
horses, and pigs.
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
s you walked through the ranch
you may have noticed the over
100-year-old eucalyptus grove that runs
along the length of the ranch area. Yes,
those are eucalyptus. They have been
wind pruned by the island’s constant
northwest winds, causing them to grow
horizontally rather than vertically. This
grove was planted by the ranchers for use
as a windbreak for farming the adjacent
field. Fortunately, the spread of these
nonnative trees can be controlled. Many
other nonnative plants that reached
the islands during the ranching period,
however, are not as benign.
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Plants Endemic Only
to Santa Rosa Island
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Soft-leaved paintbrush
Santa Rosa Island live-forever
East Point dwarf dudleya
Hoffmann’s slender-flowered gilia
Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine
Santa Rosa Island manzanita
SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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Soledad Road—Bridge over Cherry Canyon Creek
The restoration of the island’s native
vegetation is the goal of the NPS.
Special focus is being placed on the 36
plants endemic to the islands, those
occurring only on the Channel Islands
and nowhere else in the world. Six of
these occur only on Santa Rosa Island.
Today, eight of these endemic plants are
listed as endangered species. To ensure
the survival of these unique species and
encourage the recovery of the island’s
native vegetation, cattle (1998), pigs (early
1990s), elk (2012), and deer (2012) have
been removed and native plant recovery
and nonnative weed control are currently
underway.
The recovery has been remarkable. Many
native plants are now spreading beyond
the buried seed banks and steep canyon
walls and cliffs, where they remained
protected from grazing for over 150
years, and are reestablishing themselves
throughout the island. Like most of the
island’s drainages, this one where you are
standing used to be almost completely
devoid of vegetation except for nonnative
grasses and weeds. Today, it’s a thriving
riparian habitat with willows, toyon,
lemonade berry, lupine, buckwheat, and a
variety of other native plants.
Below are a series of photos taken from the same
location in Lobo Canyon over a period of 17
years. These photos show the recovery of native
vegetation as nonnative grazing animals were
removed from the island.
Lobo Canyon in 1995 when cattle, horses, deer,
and elk grazed the island.
Lobo Canyon in 2007 after cattle were removed in
1998. Deer and elk still grazed the island.
You can actually help with this
recovery by cleaning your boots and
other possessions, such as backpacks,
before you visit to make sure you don’t
accidentally introduce nonnative species
to the island. Together we can ensure the
return of native plants throughout Santa
Rosa Island.
Lobo Canyon in 2012 after cattle, horses, deer, and
elk had been removed from the island.
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The island fox is the largest native
mammal on the Channel Islands, but one
of the smallest foxes in the world. It is
nearly 20 percent smaller than its closest
relative, the mainland gray fox. It’s about
the size of a house cat, averaging from 12
to 13 inches in height, 23 to 27 inches in
length (including tail), and three to six
pounds in weight. Similar in appearance
to the gray fox, the island fox has a gray
back, rufous sides (reddish-brown), and
white undersides. There are distinctive
black, white, and rufous markings on the
face.
Unlike the nocturnal gray fox, which
hunts at night to avoid predators, the
island fox is active during daylight
hours. As a “generalist omnivore,” it eats
almost all available foods on the islands,
including fruits, vegetation, insects, mice,
and crabs.
Mating takes place in February and
March, with pupping usually in April or
May. Average litter size is two. The adult
males play an important role in the raising
of young.
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
erhaps by now you have been
lucky enough to cross paths with
an island fox. They are frequently seen
in Cherry Canyon as well as around
the campground area. The island fox
(Urocyon littoralis) lives on six of the
eight Channel Islands—San Miguel, Santa
Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, San
Nicolas, and San Clemente. Each island
has its own subspecies, and it is found
nowhere else in the world.
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The fossil record for the island fox
dates back at least 6,400 years. Since the
Channel Islands were never connected
to the mainland, scientists currently have
two theories on how the fox arrived on
the islands. However, due to the scant
fossil history, significant questions still
remain on the exact mechanism of the
initial arrival.
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SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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fox photo
Steve Smith
The island fox has recovered from the brink of
extinction.
Bald eagles have been reestablished on Santa Rosa
Island and the other Channel Islands.
One theory is that the island fox’s
ancestor, the gray fox, “rafted” to the
islands on driftwood, propelled by a
storm or currents. During the last ice age,
10–20,000 years ago, ocean levels were up
to 400 feet lower than today, narrowing
the channel between the islands and
mainland to perhaps just four to five miles
across and grouping the northern islands
together into one large island we call
Santarosae. The other theory is that gray
foxes were transported to the northern
Channel Islands, like they were to the San
Nicolas and San Clemente Islands, by
American Indians.
freshwater, the island fox did not inhabit
Anacapa Island.
The foxes adapted to their new island
home, evolving into a dwarf, or smaller,
form of the gray fox. Environmental and
ecological factors such as overcrowding,
reduction in predators, food limitations,
and genetic variations could have
contributed to the natural selection for a
smaller size. As the climate warmed and
ocean levels began to rise, Santarosae
was divided into the islands of San
Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and
Anacapa. Because of a lack of permanent
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Large Oak Tree Just Before Switchback to Top of Ridge
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Between 1994 and 1999, island foxes
almost disappeared on San Miguel, Santa
Rosa, and Santa Cruz Islands. Predation
by nonnative golden eagles caused over a
90 percent decline in the population with
just 15 foxes left on Santa Rosa, placing
the island fox on the brink of extinction.
By 2004, the island fox was listed as a
federally endangered species.
A successful recovery effort included
captive breeding of island foxes,
relocation of golden eagles, and the
reestablishment of bald eagles (a natural
competitor of the golden eagle). In all,
on Santa Rosa Island nearly 100 foxes
were released over a six-year period
with the final fox set free in 2008. Today,
with the population at close to predecline numbers, the recovery effort has
been recognized as one of the quickest
and most successful recoveries of an
endangered species.
eographical Isolation
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The islands’ first shoreline was created
around five million years ago, when
compressional forces, caused by the
ramming of Baja California into southern
California, resulted in folding and faulting
of marine sediments and volcanic rocks
(deposited between 15–30 million years
ago) and the eventual uplift of the islands.
These compressional forces are still
ongoing, making this area geologically
active today. Earthquakes are quite
common. A major fault that runs east-west
through the center of Santa Rosa Island
has moved nearly 10 miles, and all the
islands continue to be uplifted.
Ever since these compressional forces
caused the islands to emerge from the
sea, they have been separated from the
mainland. For decades, scientists assumed
that the two were connected by a land
bridge, but as bathymetric information (or
topography) of the sea floor improved,
it revealed that even during periods of
lowest sea levels (about 17,000 years
ago), the islands still remained isolated
by at least four miles of ocean. It is this
continuous geographical isolation that has
shaped island life.
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
ow that you have reached the
top of the ridge, take a moment
and rest. As you look across Bechers
Bay, you may notice the broad, elevated
coastal plain. Geologists call these marine
terraces—ancient shorelines carved flat by
wave action and exposed through changes
in sea level and tectonic uplift of the
land. Remnants of this and older marine
terraces can be found around much of
the island’s coastline. You’re actually
standing on an older marine terrace right
now while a future marine terrace (called
a wave-cut platform) is being created by
wave erosion at the base of the sea cliffs
below you.
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Although never connected to the mainland by a land bridge, the four northern islands were once part of
the Pleistocene “super island” known as Santarosae, nearly four times as large as the combined areas of
the modern Channel Islands. The dark-shaded area on the map depicts the ancient coast of Santarosae
and California around 20,000 years ago when sea level was approximately 350 feet lower than it is
today. As the ice sheets and glaciers melted and the sea level rose, only the highest parts of Santarosae
remained as modern islands. (Adapted from a map by geologist Tom Rockwell)
SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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T
orrey Pines
Ridge Halfway to Campground
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s you continue along the ridge,
look out toward the east and you
will see a grove of the rarest native pine in
the United States and, possibly, the rarest
pine in the world—the Torrey pine. It only
grows naturally in two places in the entire
world. One is here on Santa Rosa Island
and the other is near San Diego.
Thousands of years of isolation have
made this island version of the pine
distinct. It is genetically and physically
different enough from the mainland trees
that it is considered a separate subspecies
and given its own common name—the
Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine.
As the climate has changed, the pines
most likely survived here because of
the cool, moist air from the persistent
island fog and because of the limited
competition from other plants—due to
the island’s isolation, a smaller number
of plant species exist on the island as
compared to the mainland.
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INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
The Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine has a
very limited range on the island, occurring
only in two locations. Along with its
limited individual genetic variability, this
makes the Torrey pine very vulnerable to
extinction.
To ensure the survival of this unique pine,
the park closely monitors its health. So far,
all studies have indicated that the pines
are doing very well. In 1888, when the
Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine was first
described, the grove was highly impacted
by sheep grazing, and the population was
estimated to be about 100 trees. Today
that number has grown to over 4,000 trees
along with many young trees. Some of the
oldest trees are in the heart of the grove
and have been dated to approximately 250
years old.
Please refer to page 46 for more
information on the Santa Rosa Island
Torrey pine.
Window into Their World
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On Ridge Overlooking Campground Entrance
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Spanish mission records indicate that up
to 1,200 Chumash lived in eight villages
distributed around the island’s coast,
including a village here in Bechers Bay
(near the ranch area). On the terrace
above Southeast Anchorage there is a
prehistoric village site dating back at least
7,500 years ago, where depressions in
the ground mark individual thatched hut
locations.
These midden sites offer us a window
into the Chumash world. By examining
these sites, archeologists can piece
together a picture of their ancient island
life. The Island Chumash were skilled
crafts people and seafarers with a vast
knowledge of the world around them
and how to use it for their survival. The
predominance of shells and fish bones
within the midden reveal that although
the islanders exploited terrestrial plant
resources, such as acorns and cherries,
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Archeologists identify this as a “midden,”
a debris pile containing remnants of those
societies who came before—the Chumash
and their ancestors. This midden is
just one of over 700 archeological sites
on Santa Rosa Island that have been
discovered, ranging from small temporary
camps to larger villages. In fact, the oldest
human remains yet discovered in North
America came from Santa Rosa Island’s
remote northwest shoreline and date back
over 13,000 years.
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
f you were to walk along the edge of
the marine terrace below, you would
discover tiny fragments of broken shells
glittering in the soil and piles of shells
falling out from the cliff edge. How did
these shells get there? Must be the ocean
at work—or is it?
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they subsisted primarily on fish, shellfish,
and other marine organisms. They often
plied the channel in search of this rich
variety of marine food, traveling in tomols
(canoes) made of redwood or pine planks
caulked with tar from natural seeps.
The midden also reveals that other
items not available in this isolated
island environment had to be obtained
from villages on the mainland or other
islands. One of the principal products
manufactured and traded by the islanders
were shell beads, which were the currency
of trade in the Chumash area and
throughout California. Chert microdrills
were used to bore holes in pieces of
olivella snail shells to produce these
beads.
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Not only did the islands have an
abundance of olivella shells, but also,
even more importantly, Santa Cruz Island
(which lies to the east) had considerable
natural deposits of chert, a hard durable
silica rock. Eastern Santa Cruz Island
was the center for manufacturing chert
microdrills, as this location had chert of
the proper type and quality for such tools.
One particular site contains evidence
of the highest density of microdrill
production in North America. Other sites
on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands
have been labeled by archeologists as
“bead factories,” with amazing amounts
of discarded drills and bead debris.
Santa Rosa Island was not isolated
enough to protect the Chumash from
the diseases the Spanish brought with
them as they began colonizing California
in the late 1700s. By the early 1800s, the
island Chumash had been devastated by
measles, other introduced epidemics,
drought, and the disruption of their tradebased economy. The last of the Chumash
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On Ridge Overlooking Campground Entrance
INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
islanders would leave their traditional
island home in 1822.
Although much has been lost, enough
remains to remind us of this unique part
of the island’s past. These midden sites,
along with today’s descendants of the
Island Chumash, remind us on another
level how important and sacred these
isolated islands are.
Taking from or disturbing
archeological sites or artifacts is a
violation of state and federal law.
The archeological sites around the
Channel Islands are a testament to
the importance of the Chumash and
other American Indians. Archeological
sites are sacred to Chumash peoples
today, are protected by federal
law, and are a vital nonrenewable
scientific resource. Please help us in
protecting and preserving this rich
part of California’s heritage.
n Ocean Park and Sanctuary
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Within this ocean realm one often sees
harbor seals or other pinnipeds (seals
and sea lions). The island’s expansive
and isolated beaches offer sea lions,
harbor seals, and elephant seals an ideal
combination of safety from predators
and freedom from human disturbance,
making the beaches an ideal place to rest,
breed, and pup.
These pinnipeds, along with a variety of
other marine species, also depend on
the extensive kelp forests found in these
cold waters. While urban and industrial
development has altered much of the
southern California coastal mainland,
the isolated islands contain the most
undisturbed stretches of coastline in
this region, providing some of the best
conditions for kelp forests and their
inhabitants.
Kelp is a type of alga that, under ideal
conditions (cold, nutrient-rich water),
is one of the fastest growing organisms
on Earth—it can grow two feet per day.
This foliage provides food, shelter, and
protection for over 800 different species—
from foraging nudibranchs, to grazing
snails, to fish seeking refuge, to whales
feasting on plankton.
But we must not forget about ourselves.
Not only do we feed upon some of the
animals that depend upon the kelp forest,
but also those of us who eat ice cream,
salad dressing, and even use toothpaste
are all using a little bit of seaweed as
well. Kelp is harvested for a natural
ingredient called algin, which is used as
a suspending, stabilizing, emulsifying,
gel-producing, and film-forming additive
in more than 70 commercial products. In
addition, marine algae and plants such as
kelp provide Earth with 80 percent of its
oxygen.
Pier to Water Canyon Beach
rom this incredible two-mile
stretch of white sand beach,
one has the opportunity to gaze upon
another part of the park—the marine
environment. One nautical mile of water
around each island in the park is part
of Channel Islands National Park, and
six nautical miles around each island
form Channel Islands National Marine
Sanctuary.
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Despite these benefits, the kelp forest and
its inhabitants are in jeopardy. Pollution
and over-harvesting of marine species
have altered the kelp forest ecosystem.
Kelp forests in southern California today
cover less than half the area they covered
at the turn of the 20th century.
However, with the establishment of
marine protected areas (MPAs), improved
pollution controls, fishing regulations,
research, and public education, some of
these problems have been corrected.
Within the park and sanctuary a network
of MPAs provides a refuge for sea life and
opportunities for recreation, education,
and science. In 11 marine reserves
(including two on Santa Rosa Island—
around Carrington and Skunk Points),
recreational fishing and commercial
harvesting are prohibited; limited fishing
and harvesting are allowed in two marine
conservation areas. The MPAs total 318
square miles, the largest such network off
the continental United States and part of
a larger effort throughout the world to
conserve natural, historic, and cultural
marine resources.
SANTA ROSA ISLAND
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Water Canyon Beach
Protecting the Islands
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n 1980 Congress established Channel
Islands National Park to protect,
preserve, and teach us about the islands’
fragile resources and unique past,
including the Island Chumash and those
who came after them, the island fox that
recovered from the brink of extinction,
the restoration of the islands’ native
plants, the complicated geologic story,
the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine that
occurs nowhere else on Earth, the kelp
forest and its inhabitants that depend on
these isolated islands for survival, and the
wide variety of other natural and cultural
resources not mentioned in this trail
guide. By understanding these resources
and the role isolation plays on these
islands, we can help preserve them for
future generations to study and enjoy.
The National Park Service needs your
help as well. We encourage you to explore
and learn more about Santa Rosa Island
and the rest of the Channel Islands.
But don’t stop there. In recognizing the
importance of these islands, take your
awareness to the action level. Make every
effort to safeguard—to preserve—the
plants, animals, and artifacts found not
only within this park, but also throughout
the world as well.
timhaufphotography.com
santa rosa photos
16
INTERPRETIVE GUIDE
National Park
Hichimin
The second largest historic Chumash
village on Santa Rosa Island, Hichimin,
was located within the Vail & Vickers
ranch area near the mouth of Ranch
House Canyon. Current research and
radiocarbon dating suggests that this
site was first occupied 650 years ago.
At the time of European contact (Juan
Rodríguez Cabrillo’s voyage in 1542) the
village was home to approximately 75
Chumash, including many high-ranking
families, a powerful chief, and tomol
(plank canoe) owners.
Given all this, it’s probably best just to
follow island rancher Al Vail’s advice to
Marla Daily: “Either one works, but I’ve
always called it Bechers and spelled it that
way.”
Although Chumash occupation of Santa
Rosa Island ended in the early 19th
century, many individuals today can trace
their ancestry to specific villages on the
island and retain a lively interest in the
preservation and management of their
heritage. Between three and ten thousand
Chumash live in California today.
Marvels of the New West, published in
1888, reprinted a long article from the
San Francisco Call about the “mammoth”
sheep ranch of A. P. More:
More Sheep Ranch
Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in
1844 shortly after the island was granted
to the Carrillo family by the Mexican
government. From 1858 to 1901 the
More family ran one of the largest sheep
ranches in the state on the island with up
to 80,000 sheep.
Place Name
According to Channel Islands historian
Marla Daily, Bechers Bay, as we know it
today, has had a variety of different names
throughout history.
The island is divided into four quarters
by fences running clear across at right
angles; and the sheep have not to be
herded like those ranging about the
foothills. Four men are employed
regularly the year round to keep the
ranch in order and to look after the
sheep; and during shearing time fifty or
more shearers are employed.
An 1871–72 US Coast Survey map lists
it as Mores Harbor. An unpublished
US Coast Survey map by Stehman
Forney from 1873 simply lists it as N.W.
Anchorage. Yet another US Coast Survey
map from 1882 labels it as Bechers Bay.
News accounts in 1877 and 1910 and a
1952 US Geological Survey Map describe
it as Beechers Bay. However, the 1974 and
1993 US Geological Survey maps list it as
Bechers Bay.
These men secure forty or fifty days’
work; and the average number of sheep
sheared a day is about ninety, for which
five cents a clip is paid; thus, $4.50 a
day is being made by each man, or
something over $200 for the season, or
over $400 for 90 days out of the year.
Although the shearing of 90 sheep a
day is the average, a great many will go
as high as 110; and one man has been
known to shear 125.
The Santa Barbara historian Clif Smith
speculated that the bay was named for
explorer and naval officer Sir Edward
Belcher (who was stationed off the west
coast in the 19th century), and the name
was just misspelled.
Although no herding is necessar