LIFE FROM A JEEP 

Exploring the Island four-wheel-drive style   

Text and photos by Paris Rebl, Conservancy Volunteer  

(except where noted)

Booking a Jeep® Eco-Tour

is still the best way to enjoy the Island's rugged and beautiful interior - all from the comfort of an open-air, four-wheel drive vehicle driven by a trained Conservancy naturalist. This is a way to experience the Island as few ever will. You will learn why scientists and naturalists alike consider Santa Catalina to be an ecological treasure.

In this photo gallery, join Nicole and Cathy McCann from Orange, California along with Lindsay, Tom and Brian Coffield from Phoenix, Arizona as they venture out with their driver, Donald Findlay, for a day of discovery and adventure.

Buckle up here, for the ride of your life.    

FLOWER REDISCOVERED AFTER 80 YEARS!

Plant Biologist Sarah Ratay finds Lyon's Pentacheta 

Lyon's pygmydaisy (Pentachaeta lyonii) Photo by Tyler Dvorak

A federally endangered wildflower species thought to have been extinct on Santa Catalina Island for close to a century has been found growing on the Island by Catalina Island Conservancy Plant Ecologist Sarah Ratay. She discovered this particular specimen of Lyon's pentachaeta (pronounced pen-te-KAY-ta) while surveying a wildlands ridge for Catalina grass on May 27, 2011. Sometimes called Lyon's pygmydaisy, this relative of the sunflower is known to science as Pentachaeta lyonii.    

Ratay's specimen is the first of its kind to be found on the island since 1931. In a related botanical item, Catalina gained its seventh endemic plant - not through the discovery process, but by reclassification. The newest edition of The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, from the University of California Press, has recognized that the Santa Catalina Island bush mallow is a separate and distinct species from the California mainland bush mallow.

By Linda Farley, Manager Conservation Operations

Soapstone Quarry near the Airport in the Sky. Photo by Bob Rhein

201 SUMMER NATURALISTS/REGI INTERNS

Bright, Energetic and ready to work  

2011 REGI Interns

Each summer, the Conservancy has the privilege to work with bright, energetic young people. These include local Avalon High School interns who learn how the

Conservancy operates by working alongside Conservancy employees;

2011 Summer Naturalists

and Summer Naturalists who  

meet, greet and educate Island visitors on Crescent Avenue near the Green Pier and in Little Harbor from June through August. More... 

PARTICIPATE

EXPLORE SANTA BARBARA ISLAND  

Catalina's nearest ocean neighbor     

Vistas such as this will be enjoyed by all who venture to Santa Barbara Island with the Conservancy.    Photo by Jen Poyer

Santa Barbara Island, the southernmost and smallest islet in Channel Islands National Park, and one of Catalina's nearest ocean neighbors, is the destination for the Conservancy's annual Exploring California's Channel Islands program. The full-day trip from Ventura Harbor on Sunday, September 18, includes the choice of three hikes, interpretation from Conservancy and as well as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and National Park Service naturalists and a gourmet box lunch. A Saturday evening dinner and stay at the Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor is an option for those wishing to avoid the early morning drive. Sign up for this spectacular day, now.  

PARTICIPATE

VISIT PASADENA'S WRIGLEY MANSION

Sunday, August 21   

Tournament House in Pasadena, featured every New Year's Day on the international telecast of the Tournament of Roses Parade, was the former winter home of Ada and William Wrigley, Jr.    Photo courtesy of Tournament House