The Elkhorn Slough Reserve is offering an exciting and rare opportunity for you to participate in an in-depth volunteer training program. Participants will hike trails, bird watch, engage in hands-on activities, partake in thought-provoking and informative lectures, and dig into the mud among other tasks as they learn about Elkhorn Slough's history, wildlife, research, restoration and education programs. After completion of the program, you'll be able to serve as gateway interpreters, tour guides, research project assistants, educational lab assistants, wildlife monitors, habitat restorers, special event planners, maintenance assistants, ambassadors, and much more. Volunteer training begins May 27th. Sign up today!

It's time to celebrate you, our members, and thank you for your support. Please join us at our Annual Celebration on June 13th! ESF Executive Director, Mark Silberstein will provide an informative insight into everything Elkhorn Slough. Learn about our recent land acquisitions, see how our stewardship program is improving lands and providing critical habitats for diverse species, hear where ESF stands financially, and celebrate all the accomplishments that your membership has made possible.

Mark your calendars!
Saturday, June 13th, 10:00am- noon
More information and online RSVP coming soon- watch for updates on our website. Please note: There will be limited space for our member walk on our Long Valley property at 1:00pm, following the meeting. We encourage you to RSVP to attend both the celebration and the walk. If you are planning to attend both the Celebration and Long Valley walk we'd like to suggest that you pack a picnic lunch to enjoy on the Reserve property between the meeting and the walk.

On April 24th, more than 50 ESF members gathered for a fun and instructive evening in our education lab. Under the microscope, attendees examined tiny jellyfish, shrimp, starfish, and more. Pelican Ranch Winery of Santa Cruz donated some special beverages for the wine-tasting, while Martinez Brothers Farm provided fresh organic strawberries grown on ESF lands. Miss Magnifying the Slough? There are several other great member events coming soon.

ESF Member Birding Walk- Saturday May 30th, 7:45am- 10:30
Join expert birder Rick Fournier and Farmland Manager John Kenney for a special birding tour of the Sea Mist property. Space is limited so sign up soon!

Annual Celebration- Saturday June 13th, 10:00am- noon
Join ESF Executive Director, Mark Silberstein for insight into everything Elkhorn Slough.

Long Valley Walk- Saturday June 13th, 1:00pm- 3:00pm
Join us for a special walking tour through the native Coast Live Oak woodland of Long Valley with ESF Land Steward Ken Collins.

The coastal terrace along Monterey Bay is a unique terrestrial landscape that provides shelter to one of the rarest vertebrates in North America: the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander. This relictual species was first discovered along Bonita Drive in Aptos in 1954, and since then, only 22 breeding ponds have been documented, several of which are now extinct. What makes this salamander a relict is its very small distribution and its nearly 2 million years of isolation from its most recent common ancestor. However, with increasing urbanization and landscape alteration over the past century, salamander breeding populations in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties have become heavily isolated from one another, thus highlighting health and posterity concerns for the species. These concerns led to the listing of the Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders as a fully protected species under Federal and State regulations.

In 2003, nearly 50 years since it was first discovered, a graduate student from U.C. Davis, with the help of Elkhorn Slough staff and scientists, documented the presence of Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders in Lower Cattail Swale on Elkhorn Slough Reserve. This was an exciting discovery because at the time the species had only been found in two other locations north of the Elkhorn Slough system in Monterey County. However, both of these wetlands have been (and continue to be) unproductive because the surrounding landscapes are used in large-scale agriculture, thus causing these salamander populations to decline. Thankfully, the breeding population in Elkhorn Slough Reserve is protected by the surrounding lands managed by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, which makes the Reserve an invaluable home for this special animal. More recently, an ongoing population genetic study of the Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders has revealed that the Lower Cattail Swale breeding population is so distinct from all of the other populations to the north, that it is really a relictual population of a relictual species.

Protecting the Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders is not only important for conservation and ethical reasons, but also for the quality of our local environment. This is because amphibians such as the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander are sentinels of environmental and ecosystem health, thus protecting this rare species, and others like it, is essential.

Elkhorn Slough researchers provide valuable insight into slough habitats, animal and plant life, tidal trends, water quality, and more. Their work guides ESF conservation and restoration policies and practices. Interested in a specific topic? Want to browse through the research?

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation thanks all our members for your generous support. Not a member? Please consider joining today. Members receive invitations to exclusive events, our quarterly print newsletter, and a 10% discount in the Reserve bookstore. Most importantly, members provide support that is key to our success in conserving and restoring the watershed. We've made great progress over the last 27 years. And with your help, ESF will remain an effective, thriving organization for years to come.