Greetings!   

The Catalina Island Conservancy appreciates your support, which enables us to work to keep Catalina's ecosystems as balanced as nature intended. Coming up are two events you can support to help us in our work and have great fun at the same time. This month you can scuba-dive for odd junk at the bottom of Avalon Harbor. In April, join us for the tux-and-gown sophistication of the annually anticipated Conservancy Ball.

For some idea of what the wetsuit set has dredged up in past bay cleanups -- held this year on Saturday, February 25 -- Bob Rhein looks back at other years' bay-floor sweeps in this month's Photo Gallery: click HERE.

For the other side of proactive Conservancy endeavors toward sustaining the Island's eco-future, the Conservancy Ball counts for many as the year's most chic fundraiser: click HERE.

And the Conservancy's extensive plans to chart both the immediate and long-term sustainability of the Island's natural resources, the Imagine Catalina master plan, is also detailed this month, click HERE.

Banner photo: 

Thompson Reservoir Just Ducky -- Among the migratory waterfowl to find the riparian habitat at Thompson Reservoir on Catalina Island ripe for their needs, these teal swivel their heads for a look at the camera. Thompson attracts many species of wintering sojourners along the Pacific Flyway, including mergansers, mallards, and grebes. For more on the waterfowl at Thompson, click HERE.

Photo by Carlos de la Rosa

DEBRIS AND ALL THAT JUNK

Avalon Bay shallows hold the unfathomable     

Text and Photos by Bob Rhein 

The 31st Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup takes

Submerged Abe Lincoln - Diver Bill Dorrell of Paso Robles made some quick cash with this $5 bill found at the bottom of Avalon Harbor.

place on Saturday, February 25, at three points along the city of Avalon's waterfront. This annually anticipated event for many California scuba divers usually produces a unique range of items that went overboard or were washed in by the tides. Registration for the event can be made online, click HERE, or on the morning of the dive. 

The event was started in the 1970s by the local dive community in an effort to cleanup Avalon Harbor. This event marks the only time diving is permitted in the harbor. A vast array of junk is usually hauled out of the depths. In fact, following the dive, the Catalina Conservancy Divers, hosts of the event, award prizes for the weirdest, wackiest, and coolest objects discovered on the sandy bottom. This photo gallery features just a few of the hundreds of items extracted from the harbor over the past five years: Click HERE. 

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ADDITION TO CHANNEL ISLES BIRD SPECIES!

Conservancy discovery made on Catalina            

King of His Roost - The thick-billed kingbird is a large, aggressive flycatcher with very graceful flight. Discovered on Catalina Island, it is the 418th bird species known to inhabit the California Channel Islands. Photo courtesy of ebirdr.com

CATALINA FOXES NUMBER MORE THAN 1,500!

Conservancy success with endangered species              

Fox in the Cradle - Conservancy Senior Wildlife Biologist Julie King provided the Catalina Island foxes with expert care. The rebounded endangered species is now at numbers on Catalina greater than the historic high. Photo by Carlos de la Rosa

THOMPSON RESERVOIR: DUCKS ON THE POND

Catalina offers respite, or home, on Pacific Flyway            

By Linda Farley,
Manager of Conservation & Education Operations   

Sleek and Ruddy - This ruddy duck enjoys the benefits of Thompson Reservoir, a riparian habitat suited for migratory waterfowl. Photo by Tyler Dvorak

Migratory waterfowl are increasingly making Catalina Island their home for the winter, and one of the reasons is that Thompson Reservoir in Middle Ranch has been at full capacity for two seasons, thanks to plentiful rainfalls in 2010 and 2011.

While local residents are fond of the reservoir for its great bass fishing and spectacular sightings of bald eagles, in early January this year more than 250 ruddy ducks were spotted on the reservoir, along with blue-winged and cinnamon teal; American widgeon; ring-billed duck; mallards; hooded mergansers; and eared, Clark's and pied-billed grebes. To read more, click HERE.   

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WILDFLOWERS BLOOMING IN THE WILDLANDS

Jeep Eco Tours offer close-up rides into nature

Eco Tour Guide -- Bruce Milne, one of the Conservancy-trained naturalists, serves as a driver-guide for Conservancy Jeep Eco Tourists. Photo by Stuart Palley

TRAILBLAZING USC INTERNSHIP ON CATALINA

Conservancy, USC Wrigley Center benefit

By Richard Hoopes,
Communications Director, USC Wrigley Institute   

Students Hang Out With the Conservancy -- Students from the USC Dornsife Environmental Studies Program spent eight weeks assisting with conservation and education programs at the Catalina Island Conservancy.  Photo courtesy of Lisa Collins.

Two University of Southern California students and two recent graduates experienced a trailblazing summer at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, working eight weeks as interns with the Conservancy.The USC interns worked with the Conservancy's Catalina Habitat Improvement and Restoration Program (CHIRP) to remove fennel, an invasive plant, and to build a hiking trail adjacent to the Wrigley Marine Science Center. Two graduate students from the USC School of Cinematic Arts joined the project to gather information to develop animation films to explain the conservation effort to nonscientific audiences. To read more, click HERE.

IMAGINE CATALINA MASTER PLAN IDEAS UNVEILED

Conservancy charts short- and long-term courses           

Eagles Nest Lodge - This artist's rendering envisions the reconstructed version of the lodge out near the Middle Ranch complex.

In 2011, the Conservancy embarked on what President and CEO Ann Muscat calls "one of the most ambitious projects in our 40-year history." Imagine Catalina: A Vision for the Future, is the organization's 20-year master plan completed in November. The resulting planning document is described by Muscat as "an exciting vision and blueprint of options for us to move forward to serve the Island and its residents and visitors for decades to come."

With Imagine Catalina, the challenge was "to look into the future and create a plan of programs and infrastructure improvements that will enable us to realize our conservation, education and recreation mission over the long term," Muscat said. The plan was completed in partnership with the architect and community design team of William McDonough + Partners (McDonough is author of the groundbreaking book on sustainable design, Cradle to Cradle) and the landscape architecture firm of Nelson Byrd Woltz. To read and see more, click HERE. 

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NEWS HEADLINES  

WILD SIDE PLEIN-AIR ART SHOW AND SALE

Evansen, Dempwolf among artists this June        

By Bob Rhein

A Painter's Journey Continues -- Former Filmmaker Karl Dempwolf spent his childhood years in Bavaria.

Catalina: The Wild Side Art Show and Sale will return for its second year from 2 to 5 p.m., Saturday, June 23, at the Catalina Island Country Club. Eleven renowned artists from across the country will display their plein air artwork created exclusively on Catalina Island. Three artists new to the Wild Side event in 2012 are Karl Dempwolf, Andy Evansen, and Ben Fenske.

Like last year, a private dinner and preview of select works for sale by the artists will be held the evening before the show at castillo del Mar, the spectacular hillside home of Blanny Avelon Hagenah, the great granddaughter of William and Ada Wrigley. For more on the new artists, click HERE.

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TICKETS ON SALE FOR CONSERVANCY BALL

Conservancy to celebrate 40th anniversary   

Caballeros y Caballeras -- Conservancy supporters like the Los Caballeros and Las Caballeras join in the fun by filling up several tables at the Conservancy Ball each year. Tickets are on sale now! Reserve your spot at the 2012 Ball before all the seats fill up! Photo by Shana Cassidy

Tickets are on sale for what is sure to be a sell-out event as the Conservancy celebrates its 40th anniversary at the 2012 Conservancy Ball. This year, the Conservancy partners with Balboa Yacht Club, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary.

Ball sponsorships are still available. Sponsors will enjoy exclusive access to Casa del Monte for the traditional Pre-Ball Sponsor Reception.

Support for the Ball can be in the form of donated auction items. Each year the Conservancy raises funds by auctioning off hundreds of amazing items in the Conservancy's silent and live auctions. Catalina memorabilia, fabulous getaways, vacation homes, exclusive excursions and gift certificates are always the most popular. Download an auction item donation form HERE. Single tickets are on sale now.

 

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MEMBERS TO RECEIVE NEW CONSERVANCY TIMES

Seashore ecosystem the focus of cover story

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LET US KNOW HOW TO BEST SERVE YOU

Brief survey aims for what you want to know   

YOUR Update -- Please participate in this brief online survey to let us know the subjects and information you want to see and read in the Conservancy's Online Update.

ENGAGE IN CATALINA'S GREAT VENUES

Conservancy settings suitable for all events         

Stately Site - The Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden is but one event site managed by the Conservancy on Catalina. Conservancy file photo.

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CATALINA ISLAND CONSERVANCY MARATHON

Present completion medal, get a discount        

 

The Catalina Island Conservancy Marathon will be held on March 10. Any runner completing the course can come to the Conservancy's main office on Catalina and, if you show staff your medal, get 20% off on a Jeep Eco Tour and any purchases in the Explore Store that day. Register for the race now!