BLM” width=”1000″ height=”667″> Coast Dairies property in Santa Cruz County. Cows still graze on the wide flat first marine terrace. Photo: BLM

The Grasses that Feed the Cows

In the late 1700s Spanish missionaries caused significant changes to the California landscape by introducing European plants and animals. Grazing lands were created by burning on lowland slopes to support large numbers of cattle, horse and sheep.

Prior to European settlement, grasses in the Monterey Bay area were primarily perennial bunch grasses such as purple needlegrass. Patches of native grasses can still be found, especially on rougher terrain that is inaccessible to grazing and cultivation. These grasses, though able to recover from a burn, do not tolerate repeated grazing. Thus exotic plants, originating in the Mediterranean, took hold and spread outward from Monterey—the main site of Spanish activity.

Accounts show that by 1846 landscapes had been noticeably changed and non-native species like wild oats, filaree, wild mustard, wild radish, foxtail, and burclover had taken hold on much of the coastal California landscape. This didn’t bother the cattle, who ate whatever grasses they found and ultimately helped create an industry based on leather, meat, and milk.

Changing Land Ownership and Three Early Divas of Dairy

While the influence of European grasses was dominating the landscape in the late 1840s, the political influence of Spain waned. When the Mexican government seized control of the missions from Spain, they divided the vast amount of land held by each mission into large land grants known as “ranchos.” In Santa Cruz, ranching and cattle grazing was concentrated in in two main areas: from the City of Santa Cruz to the San Mateo County line, and from Aptos to the southern boundary of the Pajaro Valley.

Cows grazing on the north coast near Año Nuevo area, which was in Santa Cruz County until 1868 when it became part of San Mateo County. Photo: Santa Cruz Public Library

Unusual for the time, three women held ownership of significant ranching tracts in northern Santa Cruz. Rancho Refugio (twelve thousand acres along the north coast) ended up in the ownership of the three Castro sisters whose father, Jose Joaquin Castro, was a member of the 1775-6 Anza Expedition from Sinaloa, Mexico. Via marriage, the eldest sister, Maria Candida Castro Bolcoff was also owner for a time of Rancho San Agustin, which includes the area of present day Scotts Valley. The Castro sister’s properties would later become Wilder Ranch, Coast Dairies State Park, and part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

A Tale of Displacement

The Spanish “missionized” and displaced the native people living in California and Santa Cruz (link to MR articles on this) beginning in the late 1700s. Spain was then removed from power and influence when Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 and seized power of California. The Mexicans were displaced themselves by a second wave of European born immigrants following the end of Mexican-American War in 1848.

The US government said it would honor all of the existing Mexican land grants. However, the owners of the Mexican ranchos were forced to file claims with the federal Public Land Commission for patents to their properties. The arduous, expensive process resulted in numerous patent disputes, rejected claims, and an opportunity for savvy salesmen who understood the property laws to turn a quick profit in real estate in the Golden State. By the 1870s, much of the Mexican rancho land in Santa Cruz County had been divided into parcels and sold to American homesteaders, gold miners, and immigrants.
The result was that the coastal ecosystems of California and Santa Cruz, and much of its grassland, underwent huge change in a 100 year period, from wild land with only native species of plants and animals managed by native peoples, to land management by settlers of European descent, immense ranchos dominated by non-native grasses and animals, and ultimately division into small farms or mines.

L. K. Baldwin Dairy Ranch circa 1847. Baldwin was a county supervisor and president of the Santa Cruz City Bank. Photo: Santa Cruz Public Library

The Early Dairy Business

One of the most widely recognized dairies in the area is Wilder Ranch, now a California State Park. In 1871, Wilder and his business partner, L. K. Baldwin purchased 4,030 acres, established a dairy, and quickly acquired a reputation for making the finest butter in the region. Despite the dissolution of the partnership and the splitting of the ranch into two properties in 1885, Wilder continued to expand his dairy and revolutionize the industry. Wilder harnessed the power of water on his ranch, and replaced a steam wheel, the conventional method for generating power at the time, with a Pelton water wheel. This Pelton wheel powered everything on the ranch, from the two cream separators to the incandescent lights that illuminated the entire property. The ranch did not produce any cheese but sold milk, cream, and butter in large quantities throughout the county.

A bottle top for milk from Beach City Creamery. Image: Cynthia Matthews

Wilder Ranch was but one of numerous family-owned dairies on the North Coast, many of the families having Swiss and Italian heritage. Wilder’s neighbor, Pio Scaroni, came to the United States from Gordola, Switzerland in 1868 and was known for his Fancy Flat cheddar cheese rounds, each weighing 24 pounds. At the height of production, Scaroni Ranch produced 300 pounds of cheese per day. Slightly further north along Highway One was the Winterhalder family ranch at Yellow Bank, known today as Panther Beach.

The region produced a wide variety of cheese including aged cheddars, a catch-all “American cheese,” Swiss cheese, and the newly-invented Monterey Jack. Monterey Jack originated in Monterey County, most likely developed by Franciscan Missionaries, and was made famous by businessman come dairyman David Jacks. Local food historian and cookbook author Nikki Silva estimates that from 1860 to 1960 there were more than 100 dairies in the greater Santa Cruz region.

Ice Cream, Begonia Scream

One of the pioneers of ice cream production in Santa Cruz, County was James Brown who in 1911, purchased a five-acre parcel of land along 41st Avenue in Capitola. He began with fourteen registered Guernsey heifers and one bull. He built a dairy, and fed the cattle only weed-free feed. His dairy business flourished: he bottled and delivered milk throughout Santa Cruz, and opened several creameries under the name “Moo Cow Ice Cream.”

Four ads for Santa Cruz ice creameries. Image: Agricultural History Project.

Brown actually had a lot more than grazing going on at his ranch. Initially, he grew strawberries, but within three years he abandoned strawberries for begonia bulbs. He quickly became an international producer of begonia bulbs, and is the inspiration behind today’s Begonia Festival, and other fresh cut flowers that we associate with Capitola. Incidentally, his weed-free fertilizer business also did quite well.
Moo Cow Ice Cream was a hit both locally and internationally. Brown eventually opened and operated eleven ice cream shops spanning four counties. In addition to the stores, Brown negotiated a deal to include his Moo Cow Ice Cream in the dining cars of the Southern Pacific Railroad. In the 1920s, the Brown Ranch was the leading producer of ice cream in the county. Brown Ranch Marketplace and the Capitola Mall are now located at the site of the original Brown Ranch, which some locals still refer to as “Brown’s Bulb Ranch”.

Marianne’s Ice Cream on 1020 Ocean Street. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Ice-Creameries of Today

Going out for ice cream can be a delightful treat, and buying artisan ice cream from a local creamery is as popular now as it was in the early 20th century. People from Santa Cruz loved their ice cream then and do to this day, as one can often witness an impassioned debate over the merits of each local creamery. However, there is no need to choose between Penny Ice Creamery or Marianne’s Ice Cream, Mission Hill Creamery or Polar Bear. If you spend time in Santa Cruz, you can enjoy them all.

Get the Book

This post was written by The Santa Cruz Heritage Food Project and is just one piece of their research on the history and culture of Santa Cruz County through the lens of food. Their book, featuring history and  recipes starring many of the major crops of the Santa Cruz region, should be available Fall 2017. Please contact them at SCHeritageFoods@gmail.com with questions.

“Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Located next to the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz. Photo: Paul babb

I think it is fair to say that when we see a historical memorial, we expect a fairly simple, direct statement about the past. The idea is that by putting something in stone or casting it in bronze, the artist or a community seeks to convey a clear message to future generations. But not all monuments are so transparent. Here in Santa Cruz we have a monument that has hidden meanings. The clues are there to uncover them, if you know how to look.

Next to the clock tower, at the intersections of Front, Pacific and Water streets, there is a monument called Collateral Damage. It looks Picasso-esque, and if you look for awhile you can make out human figures clutching each other closely and looking up to the sky. The plaque mounted on the base reads,

“Collateral Damage: A Reality of War, by E.A. Chase.
In memory of civilians who have died in all wars.”

“Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

One of the plaques on “Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

The plaque also tells us the statue was dedicated on August 5, 1995 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Bill Motto Post, the Resource Center for Non-Violence, the City of Santa Cruz, and E.A. Chase.

“Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Located next to the Clock Tower in downtown Santa Cruz. Photo: Paul babb

So what’s the hidden meaning? The statue may be the only monument in the United States to commemorate the victims of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. E.A. Chase, the sculptor, was born in 1932 and served in the armed forces during the Korean War. After the war he became increasingly alarmed at the nuclear arms race, so in 1959 he created a statue meant to viscerally convey the meaning of nuclear war in the form of the civilian deaths it would incur. In fact, this statue was meant not just to warn of the abstract possibility of civilian deaths, but to convey a message of warning by commemorating the actual civilian victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Chase then tried to donate the statue to the United Nations, but was told that the organization that was dedicated to maintaining peace found it “inappropriate.” For the next 30 years, Chase just kept the statue in his garage until a friend of his, James Wainscot, a member of the local Santa Cruz Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) post found the statue and urged him to find a new site for the statue in Santa Cruz. Wainscot convinced his fellow members of the VFW to support a movement to place the statue in Santa Cruz and they were joined in this effort by members of the Resource Center for Non-Violence. With help from a fundraising concert in town, featuring Crosby, Stills and Nash and Bonnie Raitt amongst others, and with support of the City Council the statue was adopted by the City.

“Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

There was a brief controversy as some supporters argued for replacing the WWI monument in the triangle between Front and Pacific with this new monument. Tensions flared up and these tensions, which coincided with the brouhaha that exploded at the Smithsonian Museum in 1994 over a planned exhibition on the Atomic Bombings at the end of WWII, put the plans for the monument at risk. By the time of emplacement, E.A. Chase’s original motivation—concern about nuclear war—had become generalized to a mourning for all civilian victims of war. But the Hiroshima connection is still there to be read in the monument.

More clues as to the artists intentions with “Collateral Damage” by E.A. Chase. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Go back to the date of commemoration: August 5, 1995. Exactly 50 years since the dropping of Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima. On a plaque on the back side, we also see that the dedication of the statue took place during a “No Nukes Rally” which was timed to commemorate the anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And amongst the names of dignitaries listed as attending the rally is the name of one of Hiroshima’s most famous survivors: Shigeko Sasamori, one of the six Hiroshima Maidens who came to the United States in the 1950s for plastic surgery to heal her scars.

The Santa Cruz downtown New Leaf Community Market at 1134 Pacific Avenue, occupies the former Bank of Italy. Photo: Jim Whitehead/Mobile Ranger

Ever wonder why the New Leaf Market says “Bank of Italy” over the front door? The downtown New Leaf Market has found its home in an old bank at Soquel and Pacific for twenty years now. As a local history enthusiast, I am delighted that the grocery store left the original name on the building.

Many locals remember that Bank of America was here until the 1980s. I remember the tellers at this bank counting money back to you through a marble-framed window, and I imagined executives on the mezzanine scrutinizing the scruffy college student trying to cash a financial aid check. So when was it the Bank of Italy?

1134 Pacific Avenue. The building was built in 1929 for the Bank of Italy in the Zig-Zag Moderne style (an off shoot of Art Deco). Here, two impressive Olympic God-like figures must have been designed to seem like they were protecting the bank. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Bank of America’s roots are in San Francisco’s Bank of Italy founded in 1904 by immigrant A. P. Giannini. His bank in North Beach provided banking services to that neighborhood’s working classes, mostly to his Italian neighbors. In the next few decades the Bank of Italy expanded with branches throughout California, buying the bank of Watsonville in 1923 and opening a Santa Cruz branch in an existing building downtown. A few years later, the bank announced that it would build a “modern bank” at Pacific and Soquel.

Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, 1930. The Bank of Italy is the building on the right at the corner of Soquel and Pacific just past the cinema marquee. The distinctive red brick building is the Trust Building. In the distance, is the Palomar and IOOF building with its clock tower. On the left, the Hihn building, and the New Santa Cruz Theatre in the distance. Image: Linda Rosewood postcard collection

In October 1929, the Santa Cruz Evening News reporter was given a tour before opening day and wrote:

Fine Marble Used

“The best and the most expensive of the world marbles are being used in the building to give it a beautiful effect. The lobby of the bank will be 80 x 18 feet in size with a low grill facing along the north side and east end. The body of the partitions in this portion of the bank will be built of pink Tennessee marble, with borders of black and gold Belgium marble. Counterfacings and top of the partitions are composed of Skyros Greacian [sic] marble. … On the floor of the lobby will be placed round top marble check tables with carved pedestal which will depict certain events of early California history. In addition to these there will be two built in settees and a drinking fountain.”

Five thousand people attended the grand opening of Santa Cruz’s new Bank of Italy, which included live chamber music and free flowers for the ladies. One of the attendees was J. A Brown, who happened to be the last depositor at the old location, and the first depositor in the new location. It is his bulb ranch which is now Brown Ranch Marketplace in Capitola, and the location of the county’s first Trader Joe’s.

Art Deco statuary on the old Bank of Italy Building. Serendipitously, the cornucopia is appropriate for both a bank and a food market. Photo: Jim Whitehead/Mobile Ranger

When the bank opened, and as far as I can tell, nobody clutched their pearls about big naked male bodies or god knows what historically correct art was carved into the pedestals of those check tables. Today, on the outside walls of the building, the robust gods of commerce remain, blessing the healthy enterprise of local agriculture, and gazing down on the scruffy, the immigrant, and everyone.

The Santa Cruz Wharf in 2016. Photo: Lauren Salazar/Mobile Ranger

When it was a bustling port city of the mid-18th century, Santa Cruz exported many goods: agricultural products, lumber, leather, and lime. Initially, goods and people were floated or ferried through the surf to waiting ships. But this too often resulted in wet and damaged goods, plus the ladies objected to the surf spray.

Wharves Are for Boosting the Economy

Between 1849 and 1875, three different wharves were built in Santa Cruz. Elihu Anthony built the first. It was an inclined wharf at the end of Bay Street. It went through several owners, the last of whom was Henry Cowell of the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company. After he bought it, it quickly became known as Cowell Wharf. His company used it to ship lime from his lime works, which were at the base of what is now the campus of UC Santa Cruz. That wharf collapsed in 1907 during a storm.

Map of the wharves of Santa Cruz. Image: Courtesy of the City of Santa Cruz and based on work by Frank Perry and colleagues

The promontory from which Cowell Wharf came down to the beach. It is just below the Sea and Sand Inn. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

The Gharky Wharf was built by David Gharky at the base of Main Street in 1857. Gharky’s wharf was bought by California Powder Works in 1865, so it was also known as The Powder Mill Wharf. Apparently, California Powder Works had initially used Cowell Wharf for shipping, but a rift developed with Henry Cowell, who played hardball when it came to protecting his financial interests. So the Powder Works bought the Gharky Wharf rather than deal with Henry Cowell. This wharf was dismantled in 1882.

Cowell Wharf (background) and the Railroad Wharf (foreground) circa 1900. The current Municipal Wharf was built about 100 yards west of the Railroad Wharf. Photo: Courtesy of Frank Perry and the Museum of Natural History

The Railroad Wharf was built just west of Gharky’s Wharf in 1875 by the Santa Cruz and Felton Railroad, which ran a narrow-gauge rail line. It was built primarily to ship lumber, lime, and other products from the San Lorenzo Valley. Between 1877 and 1882, an S-shaped wharf connected the Railroad and Gharky (Powder Mill) wharves. In writings after 1940, it is often stated that the Gharky Wharf became the Railroad Wharf. However, recent work by Frank Perry and colleagues, shows this not to be the case. Railroad Wharf was an entirely separate one.

Wharves Are for Shipping

Although they shipped many things, much of the economic incentive to build the wharves came from the lime industry. Santa Cruz was an ideal place for lime production because of the presence of large marble formations, vast redwood forests with wood to stoke the kilns that turned the rock into lime, and a large and ready market in nearby San Francisco. In the mid-1880s, Santa Cruz supplied a third of the lime for the state and three-quarters of San Francisco’s lime needs.

By the turn of the century, goods could be sent out of Santa Cruz overland by rail. Thus, the need for wharves and shipping decreased significantly. Of the three original wharves, only the Railroad Wharf remained by 1910. It was economically viable and was surviving mostly because of commercial fishing.

Morning scene on Fisherman’s Wharf from a circa 1909 postcard. Fisherman’s Wharf was also known as the Railroad Wharf. This image predates the current Municipal Wharf, but the fishing scene is similar to what would have been for many years on the current wharf. Image: Courtesy of Frank Perry

Pleasure Pier was built in 1904 to carry sea water to a plunge pool at the boardwalk. Its construction was the harbinger of a shift to a new norm in the 20th century: Tourism was to become king, and the traditional industries of the 19th century were on their way out.

Aerial photo of Santa Cruz in 1930. You can see the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf (foreground) and Pleasure Pier (center). Photo: Gordon Woody from the collection of Gerald Weber

Wharves Are for Fishing and Fun

The story of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, which opened in 1914, embodies the not entirely desired transition to a tourist economy. At the turn of the 20th century, many city fathers really still wanted to be a major port city with lots of shipping of goods out of Santa Cruz. As a last-ditch effort to achieve this, they authorized the construction of a very long wharf in the slim hope that accommodating deep water shipping would somehow turn back the tide of railroads. It didn’t.

The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, built in 1914, was much longer than any of the three previous wharves. In fact, it is the longest wooden-pile wharf on the West Coast. Photo: Archer Koch of MultiRotorCam

The Santa Cruz Wharf, as it’s called today, was the last wharf built. The dream of reviving Santa Cruz as a seaport did not come true. Instead, fisherman, many Italian-born, moved over from the Railroad Wharf and turned this wharf into the base for their fishing businesses. For 50 years, it was a hard-working, vibrant fishing hub with 75–100 boats unloading salmon, sea bass, rock cod, and sole every day. That changed in 1964, when a harbor was built and opened at Woods Lagoon. Many of the fishing businesses moved their bases of operations to the new harbor, and the Santa Cruz Wharf became a place mainly for recreational fishing from poles, shopping, and dining.

The Wharf Is a Gateway to the Ocean

In the 21st century, economic and business development has been tempered with an environmental imperative. Ecotourism is an important economic engine for Santa Cruz. Today, city mothers and fathers envision a new future for the wharf as a landmark destination that showcases the Monterey Bay’s natural riches. The Wharf Master Plan seeks to change the way people think about the 100-year-old structure. The planners see more than a place to get fish and chips or perhaps a gelato and to say hello to the sea lions. They see a gateway into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a special nexus of land and water resources, a platform for world-class marine research and education, along with a beautiful place to stroll, eat, and shop.

View of the entrance to the Santa Cruz Wharf as envisioned by a Master Plan Concept Graphic in 2013. Source: City of Santa Cruz

View of the south end of the Santa Cruz Wharf as envisioned by a Master Plan Concept Graphic in 2013. Source: City of Santa Cruz

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This piece is part of the West Cliff Drive Tour. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

Present day salt pond at the wildlife viewing area. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

The mouth of the Elkhorn Slough has long been known for its natural salt ponds. In the late 1800s these areas were developed to produce salt for local use. In 1916, the Monterey Bay Salt Company diked parts of the slough to create commercial salt ponds – a series of ponds where saltwater evaporates in the sun, leaving salt for harvest.

View of the slough just a short distance from the parking lot at the Moss Landing Wildlife Area. The wood posts were for docks for the salt ponds dating back to the 1800’s. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

From 1902 until the local fish cannery business collapsed in the mid-1950s, the salt was used to preserve the fish. Later, the salt was used for water softening, refrigeration, and making ice cream. The company continued salt production until 1973. For a short time, the ponds were used to produce brine shrimp.

Today, the Moss Landing Wildlife Area comprises 872 acres that help protect the brown pelican, which was previously listed as an endangered species. Both brown and white pelicans use the ponds along with thousands of small shorebirds. The area is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Brown pelicans. Photo: Paul Babb 2013

The salt ponds are home to many birds, including American avocets and black-necked stilts. The threatened snowy plover also uses the salt ponds as nesting grounds and has recently become the focus of management for this area.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Plan: Evolution of Elkhorn Slough and Associated Wetlands 20,000 years before present (ybp) to 1880 A.D. Andrea Woolfolk. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve. September 7, 2005.
   • Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Plan: 150 Years of Human Alterations and Tidal Habitat Change (1870 - Present). Barb Peichel, Kerstin Wasson, Andrea Woolfolk, Eric Van Dyke. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. February 20, 2005.
   • Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Edited by Jane Caffrey, Martha Brown, W. Breck Tyler, and Mark Silberstein. 2002 Elkhorn Slough Foundation.
   • What is a Salt Marsh? National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Website.

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]]> /blog/elkhorn-slough-from-salt-ponds-to-bird-sanctuary/feed/ 0 /blog/monterey-bays-long-running-red-tide-of-2016/ /blog/monterey-bays-long-running-red-tide-of-2016/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2016 13:30:13 +0000 /?p=12890

Dogs running in foam at Beer Can Beach near Aptos, California, October 14, 2016. The foam results from the breakdown of Akashiwo phytoplankton. Photo: Robin Wood

Since early September of this year, the Monterey Bay has been experiencing greater and lesser degrees of a red tide. A red tide is essentially a large algal bloom that occurs when environmental conditions allow for explosive growth of phytoplankton (a single-celled organism often called algae). Very dense blooms can change the color of ocean water and lead to red (or brown or orange) tides, depending on the type of phytoplankton.

Many red tides are harmless, but others might contain toxins or be detrimental in other ways, so they are called harmful algal blooms (HABs). Discoloration of the water alone is not an accurate way to determine whether harmful conditions exist. HABs can occur during red tides or they can be colorless and difficult to detect.

A red tide off La Jolla, California. This red tide is a harmful algal bloom caused by a phytoplankton named Lingulodinium. Image: Courtesy of the Raphael Kudela Lab, University of California, Santa Cruz

In California, strong winds and an influx of cold, nutrient-dense waters at the coast lead to blooms of diatoms in the spring, but dinoflagellates are more likely to bloom in the warmer, stratified conditions of the fall. Dinoflagellates are responsible for most red tides, although both dinoflagellates and diatoms can cause HABs.

Photos of water taken from the Santa Cruz wharf (left and middle) and out in the Monterey Bay during a red tide (right) caused by a phytoplankton called Akashiwo. Photos: Courtesy of the Raphael Kudela Lab, UCSC

The Recent Red Tide: Not A HAB

The recent red tide is a classic fall event in that the phytoplankton culprit (Akashiwo) is a dinoflagellate that has probably bloomed because of warmer-than-average waters in the bay — around 56 to 58 degrees. Akashiwo is not toxic to humans.

A phytoplankton called Akashiwo. It causes red algal blooms that are not harmful to humans. Image: Courtesy of the Raphael Kudela Lab, UCSC

However, an Akashiwo bloom can cause a considerable amount of foam when the phytoplankton die and breakdown, especially if it’s stormy. The foam can then act as a surfactant and strip seabird feathers of their waterproof coating. On October 15th and 16th, high winds and rain, combined with a large concentration of Akashiwo, produced a lot of foam. So far though, there have been no confirmed bird deaths as a result.

A large pile of foam at Beer Can Beach in Aptos, California, on October 14, 2016. Photo: Robin Wood.

Have you seen “The Birds” movie? Modern research suggests that a HAB was the cause of the strange behavior that Alfred Hitchcock observed in seabirds, which inspired the story. A bloom of Pseudo-nitzschia, which can produce the potent neurotoxin called domoic acid, is thought to be the cause of the birds’ behavior.

Photos of Akashiwo sampled from a continuous stream of water. Normally there is a mix of phytoplankton species in the water stream. Lately, only Akashiwo has been present. Photo: Raphael Kudela Laboratory, UCSC

Researchers who monitor the environment can identify many types of HABs and their effects on organisms. However, new and unusual HAB occurrences can still stump scientists. In 2007, hundreds of seabirds were found stranded or dead in Monterey Bay in California. They were coated with a mysterious greenish substance that was stripping the protective oils off their feathers. The cause was eventually traced to the decay of an ongoing bloom of a nontoxic phytoplankton species, which turned out to be Akashiwo. The decaying cells, coupled with turbid water conditions, led to a thick foamy substance with properties similar to detergent. So during this fall’s Akashiwo bloom, wildlife experts knew to look for birds in trouble. Wildlife Emergency Services of Moss Landing led patrols along Del Monte Beach and Asilomar State Beach on October 15, 2016 and did not find any birds in distress.

Brown water from the wake of the John H. Martin research vessel during a phytoplankton sampling trip. This was in the middle of a red tide caused by dinoflagellates in October 2013. Note the associated foam in the background. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

For more information and images of red tides and HABs, visit the Ocean Data Center website. You can also see the results of weekly phytoplankton sampling by the Raphael Kudela Lab at the Santa Cruz and Monterey wharves.

More Information about Phytoplankton

This post is part of the Mobile Ranger “Phytoplankton Guide” created by the Kudela Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Download our free Mobile Ranger Guides app to read the “Phytoplankton Guide” and take several of the self-guided mobile tours of the Santa Cruz area that are included in the free app.

The S.S. Palo Alto is a curious oddity with a rich history. It has also become an inspiration to artists who use it to inspire environmental awareness and promote ocean sustainability through the arts. Social Practice Arts Research Center at UCSC is sponsoring the “S.S. Palo Alto Project” which uses the ship as a “thought hub” around which to host art-based projects and events to teach ocean education and inspire environmental awareness.

Depiction of the S.S. Palo Alto by a UCSC art student.

Richard Desanto, who is coordinating the project says “I wouldn’t look to any one of our events or projects as a distillation of our goals; instead, each functions as a building block to a more environmentally sound future.”

Event: Armour Our Shore

In 2014, across from the visitor center near the “cement” ship, the S.S. Palo Alto Project partnered with Save Our Shores and the Public Art class of Professor Dee Hibbert-Jones to bring art to the shores of the park. Joined by local students of the Mt. Saint Madonna Middle School, teams performed skits to highlight the state of our waters. Alongside the plays were information rich posters covering various issues concerning the oceans as well as activities to further engage with the public. Local television broadcasters were present to cover the event.

Skit next to the S.S. Palo Alto titled “Armor Our Shore.” This was an event put on by the S.S. Palo Alto Project in 2014. Image: Courtesy the S.S. Palo Alto Project

Art: Fish Pack Your Trash

The Suitcase. The sculpture is made of items ranging from drinking straws to motor oil containers that flow through the urban catch basins to the beaches following rainstorms. Image: Kim Abeles

Kim Abeles from the S.S. Palo Alto Project has created the “Dolphin Suitcase” made from found trash that had washed up on the beach. The suitcase is a functional “prop” made up of disposable silverware, lighters, straws, and much more. Inside are larger pieces of trash. Abeles, accompanied by her Dolphin Suitcase, visits classrooms and teaches about how trash can become part of the pollutants that get into streams, and then flow into rivers and the ocean.

Ables built the Dolphin Suitcase as a functional sculptural “prop” to discuss storm drains and recycling. Image: Kim Abeles

The exterior detail creates reality. Every kid knows about a drinking straw, and they think of it as one. When they see them all collectively, it begins to have an impact that statistics or facts alone really couldn’t do. Image: Kim Abeles

The interior contains larger objects found in streams and rivers. These are secured with snaps and bindings, then presented home-shopping-network-style during the performance. Image: Kim Abeles

Dynamic Art: Bike Around the S.S. Palo Alto

The Velodrome Powerstation Project by Nathaniel Freeman and Paul Hempstead, aims to have people bike around a the S.S. Palo Alto on a temporary platform. The bikes are set up with batteries charged by the human-mechanized energy of the riders. These batteries are then plugged into a charging station (in visual range of the Moss Landing coastal power station located 20 miles south) that serves as the central power source of the structure itself, as well as being available for visitors to charge personal electronic devices.

Velodrome Powerstation Project by Nathaniel Freeman and Paul Hempstead. Image: Courtesy the S.S. Palo Alto Project

The structure is designed to mimic the existing architectural elements of the pier, and will use reclaimed and sustainable materials as much as possible. The walkway is made in part of a transparent material to allow for views of the vessel and the surrounding water; the same material is used to surround the interior of the track, ensuring rider safety and a clear view of the ship. The project aims to produce enough energy to sustain itself, as well as to incite visitor dialogue and create experiential learning opportunities for alternative energy generation.

For more information and upcoming events as part of the S.S. Palo Alto Project, check out the S.S. Palo Alto Project website and contact Barbara Benish at barbara.benish@gmail.com.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • SS Palo Alto Art Park, by Barbara Benish. Social and Environmental Practice in the Arts at UC Santa Cruz, 2012. Sparc.ucsc.edu website.
   • Personal communication with Barbara Benish, University of California Santa Cruz Art Department Research Associate, Santa Cruz County, April 2016.

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]]> /santacruz/ss-palo-alto-war-ship-to-night-club-to-modern-art-hotspot/feed/ 0 /losgatos/mariannes-ice-cream-santa-cruz-locals-flavorite/ /losgatos/mariannes-ice-cream-santa-cruz-locals-flavorite/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2016 13:30:41 +0000 /?p=12701

Marianne’s Ice Cream at 1020 Ocean Street in Santa Cruz, California. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Their red building is easy to spot, not far from where Ocean Street leads onto Highway 17 in Santa Cruz, California. That’s only part of what has made Marianne’s Ice Cream tourists’ last stop on their way out of town and the local’s favorite family ice cream parlor for nearly 70 years. After serving several generations of customers, they’ve earned fervent loyalty. Some customers consider themselves aficionados of the distinctive flavors of the locally made ice cream and will gladly tell you which ones are their favorites.

A Blast from the Past

Marianne’s Ice Cream was founded back in 1947 by Tom and Lenore Becker. The building at 1020 Ocean Street was built that year, and the couple were the first tenants to occupy the space. Decades later, in the same location, the store still looks like it jumped out of the 1950s – frozen in time.

Founding the ice cream parlor was all about family for the Beckers, because they opened the storefront to send their two oldest children to college. The name also had family ties, too, because it was named after Tom and Lenore’s two daughters, Mary and Anne.

Tom and Lenore Becker in front of Marianne’s Ice Cream shop
circa 1947. Image: Charlie Wilcox.

Tom Becker worked another job during the week and was home only on weekends. That left running the business mostly to Lenore. She made the ice cream and ran the storefront, which boasted 13 homemade flavors at the time. The Beckers owned Marianne’s for the next 11 years until they couldn’t keep up with the business any longer.

The Guy Who Created the Flavors: Sam Lieberman

In April of 1958, Sam Lieberman and his wife Dorothy bought the ice cream shop and continued to build the Marianne’s reputation as a Santa Cruz classic. At the time, the storefront was half the size it is today. The ice cream was produced in the back of the shop, with a small counter facing the front windows for customers to order from. Sam, excited by the endless possibilities of his newly acquired trade, began to experiment with new flavors. Throughout half a century of ownership, he came up with more than 250 recipes.

Sam Lieberman behind the counter at Marianne’s Ice Cream. Photo: Charlie Wilcox

Lieberman claims to have been the first to dye bubblegum ice cream blue. He also had his hand in creating several of Marianne’s innovative and unique flavors, including “1020” Marianne’s street address number, Highway 17 Rocky Road and the Alice B Toklas Fudge Brownie. (Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein’s companion, was the woman who was first credited with including cannabis brownies in her cookbook back in 1954.) Sam was a huge fan of the 1968 film “I Love You, Alice B. Toklas,” in which the lead characters eat pot brownies and antics ensue.

One popular flavor inspiration came to Sam in the middle of the night. While in the midst of experimenting with ice cream flavors during the day, Sam woke up abruptly at 2 in the morning with the urge to make an ice cream with fudge and blackberry swirls. The next day he created the “2 am Truffle.”

Today, Marianne’s offers a whopping 75 flavors daily, all thanks to Sam.

Three of Sam Leiberman’s famous flavors, clockwise from top-left: Highway 17 Rocky Road, 1020, and Alice B. Toklas Fudge Brownie. The author’s personal favorite is 1020. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

With the production of ice cream growing, Lieberman expanded the storefront to include the property next door, a former beauty parlor. The newly acquired space became a larger production area for the ice cream until the early ’70s when Sam began to expand his wholesale accounts in the area. The production of the ice cream was then moved from the 1020 storefront to a plant near Harbor High School on the east side of Santa Cruz. The Marianne’s wholesale business continued to grow. After another shift to the neighboring town of Aptos, the Marianne’s ice cream plant moved to the west side of Santa Cruz off of Delaware Avenue, where it is today.

Marianne’s Ice Cream plant off of Delaware Avenue on the west side of Santa Cruz. Photo: Stefanie Mistry

After the initial shift to offsite production, Lieberman found himself with more space in the storefront and decided to move the customer counter to the center of the shop. To this day, Marianne’s employees serve ice cream from behind the counter on the raised platform from which the ice cream was previously produced.

Home of the Dancing Cow

The “dancing cow” wallpaper that lines the shop’s interior was introduced in the shop around 1987. Lieberman had sold the shop but was unhappy with the new owners, because he felt they were neglecting the upkeep. After a year and a half, he bought the ice cream shop back and started a remodeling project to get it shipshape again. The cows were chosen by a group of women who were on the remodel team. The ’80s era cows were a big hit and generated enough positive feedback over the years that they have become part of Marianne’s iconic charm.

The ’80s style “dancing cows” that line the interior of Marianne’s Ice Cream. Photo:
Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

The wallpaper is not sold in stores anymore, so in a renovation of the storefront in December 2015, it had to be specially produced so they could patch up some of the wear and tear on the walls.

Carrying on a Tradition

The Liebermans owned Marianne’s Ice Cream for 54 years. When it came time to retire, Sam wanted to take the time and care to find the right successors. He chose Kelly Dillon and Charlie Wilcox. They bought Marianne’s Ice Cream in 2012 and have continued the longstanding tradition of quality and passion for ice cream.

Article author Stefanie Mistry (center) and Ashley Perez working at Marianne’s. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Besides keeping up with Marianne’s standards of locally made products, the duo has expanded the business by opening a second location in the Seacliff neighborhood in Aptos, California. This location, like its older counterpart, shares a warm and inviting atmosphere that echoes the aesthetic of an old ice cream parlor.

Marianne’s Ice Cream and Market in Seacliff. Photo: Stefanie Mistry

Marianne’s Ice Cream is a Santa Cruz staple. The same family-oriented ethics that began the small business are still present, as are the same ice cream making methods and locally made products. It’s no wonder locals and tourists alike flock to the shop on warm days to enjoy the fun local flavors and maybe even dance with the cows.

Thank You

We thank Stefanie Mistry who works at Marianne’s Ice Cream and wrote this story as part of a local history summer course at the University of California, Santa Cruz. We also thank Marianne’s Ice Cream owners, Kelly Dillon and Charlie Wilcox for supporting Stefanie in this project and providing her with information and historic photos.

The Marianne’s neon sign has been around since the late 1940s. Photo: TJ Roy

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Highway 17 Tour. Download the free app, start with an ice cream at Marianne’s Ice Cream, then head out on Highway 17 with your self-guided mobile tour leading the way!

1. Sources

2. Personal communication with Charlie Wilcox, owner of Marianne’s Ice Cream, Santa Cruz, August 2016.

Abandoned lighthouse-keeper’s house on Año Nuevo Island in San Mateo County, California, November, 2005. Photo: Jef Poskanzer

It’s usually a fair bet that where there is a lighthouse, there is a history of shipwrecks. The area around Point Año Nuevo along California’s Highway 1 between San Francisco and Santa Cruz is no exception. The wreck of the Coya in 1866 claimed the lives of all but three of the 30-member crew and led to the installation of a steam fog whistle on Año Nuevo Island six years later (it is visible from the beach covered in elephant seals). That same year, the first light went on at the new Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Ano Nuevo Light Station when in operation, sometime before 1948. Photo: Unknown federal employee

A High Price for an Ocean View

The first settlers on the island, who were to operate and maintain the whistle, paid a heavy price for their waterfront vista. In 1883, the lighthouse keeper, Henry Colburn, along with his assistant and two neighbor boys, drowned in the large surf while rowing out to the island. Even with keepers like Colburn risking their lives to lead captains and their crews to safe passage, large ships continued to crash between Pigeon Point and Point Año Nuevo. Finally, in 1890, a light was installed on the island.

Año Nuevo Island tank house with light at top, unknown date (prior to the construction of the light tower in 1913). Photo: Unknown federal employee

The keepers had to monitor the new light 24 hours a day and constantly scan the horizon in search of approaching fog. Perhaps the most difficult part of life on the island, though, was dealing with the sea lions that regularly overran the gardens and occasionally even the house.

Make Way for Pinnipeds

In 1948, the last keeper and his family moved off the island and was replaced by a marker buoy with an automatic light, sound, and radar reflector. Ten years later, the California Department of Parks and Recreation acquired the Año Nuevo State Reserve, including the island, which was classified as a scientific preserve. In the early ‘60s, after visitors to the island damaged the existing structures and deterred sea lions and elephant seals from returning to the island, the preserve was closed to the public.

The lighthouse and surrounding buildings on Año Nuevo Island in 2009. All of the dots and textured areas that you might think are seaweed are sea lions. Photo: Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project

Today, only researchers and designated personnel are allowed on the island, and just the three structures remain: The keeper’s dwelling (built in 1906), the fog signal building (front section built in 1881, back section in 1899), and the fuel storage building (built in 1908). Researchers use the fog signal building to store their equipment and as a respite from the howling winds. Not surprisingly, the dilapidated keeper’s house is still overrun by sea lions, the rightful owners of this rugged island.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Año Nuevo Island Light Station: Documentation of the Light Station Complex, Año Nuevo Island, Año Nuevo State Reserve, San Mateo County, California, by Matt C. Bischoff, June 2005.
   • Pigeon Point History. California Department of Parks and Recreation website.

Updated: October 12, 2016

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Updated October 10, 2016

]]> /blog/the-golden-gate-bridge-end-to-the-era-of-swashbuckling-bridgemen/feed/ 0 /davenport/when-money-washed-up-on-the-shores-of-greyhound-rock/ /davenport/when-money-washed-up-on-the-shores-of-greyhound-rock/#respond Wed, 05 Oct 2016 20:00:34 +0000 /?p=11023

Greyhound Rock. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Teeming with more than 300 species of invertebrates, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, the Greyhound Rock State Marine Conservation Area on California’s central coast is a biodiversity hotspot. Giant kelp forests harbor abalone, juvenile rockfish, and a multitude of other marine invertebrates. Whales and dolphins feed offshore. Brown pelicans and Caspian terns dive for fish. And the bold red beak of the black oystercatcher flashes in the sun as it hunts for mussels and limpets in the rocky shallows.

Shells from the purple olive snail, Olivella biplicata, could buy you a tasty meal 500 years ago. Photo: Ed Bierman

When Snail Shells Were Currency

Around 300 to 500 years ago, purple olive snail shells (Olivella biplicata) could buy you nutritious seeds or a big hunk of tasty game meat. The shells were recognized by indigenous peoples throughout California as currency. This gave the Cotoni, who lived in the area around Greyhound Rock, a big trading advantage.

If you’re visiting the beach at Greyhound Rock, see if you can spot one of the smooth, oblong purple shells and try trading it with a fellow beachcomber for, say, a watch or smartphone. You probably won’t get more than a concerned look of confusion in return.

Olivella biplicata from the beaches of 1825. Photo: Soweby, 1825-Naturalis

That transaction would have failed for the Cotoni, too, because for the snail shells to have any economic value, they had to be made into beads. The Cotoni dried the shells to remove the organic remains (snail guts), ground off the tips so they could be strung onto a cord, smashed the shells into smaller parts, and then reshaped the shell fragments by using a pump drill. They used the beads for trading but also as jewelry and as ornaments on clothing and weapons.

The beach next to Greyhound Rock. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Money may not grow on trees, but for a time, it did wash up on shore for easy collecting at Greyhound Rock.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • About MPAs: State of the Oceans. California MPAs website.
   • Personal communication with Martin Rizzo, PhD Candidate, Santa Cruz County, February 2016.
   • Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Natural Resources, by M. Kat Anderson, University of California Press, 2005.
   • The Role of Olivella Shell Currency in a Burgeoning Prehistoric California Economy, by A. Rowan Gard. Prized Writing 2005-2006, UC Davis website.
   • Maps: The Move to the Missions. Amah Mutsun Tribal Band website.
   • A History of American Indians in California, by Dwight Dutschke. Office of Historic Presentation, California State Parks website.
   • Greyhound Rock, Santa Cruz. California State Beaches, See California website.

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]]> /davenport/when-money-washed-up-on-the-shores-of-greyhound-rock/feed/ 0 /santacruz/elkhorn-slough-sea-otters-offset-agricultural-runoff/ /santacruz/elkhorn-slough-sea-otters-offset-agricultural-runoff/#respond Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:00:53 +0000 /?p=11740

Today, much of the land surrounding Elkhorn Slough near Monterey, California, is managed to reduce nitrogen input. Nevertheless, there is still 150 times more nitrogen in the slough than a century ago. Because of those levels, Elkhorn Slough mudflats are often covered in a thick, green sludge of nitrogen-loving algae. Algae could also be growing on eelgrass, blocking its access to light. Instead, the slough harbors beds of healthy, dark green eelgrass. So what’s the secret? It turns out to be everyone’s favorite keystone predator, the California sea otter.

Otters help keep kelp forests healthy and also contribute to healthy eelgrass habitat. Photo: Bart Selby

Brent Hughes from the University of California, Santa Cruz was first to make the connection between a charismatic carnivore and an unassuming perennial marine plant. He looked at 50 years of historical data that compared areas with and without otters and discovered that areas with larger populations of sea otters had healthier beds of eelgrass (Zostera marina).

Everyone’s favorite keystone predator, the California sea otter. Photo: Bart Selby

The reason: Otters love to eat crabs, which love to eat grazing invertebrates such as sea slugs, which love to eat the algae that grow on eelgrass.

This pup will learn to eat crabs from its mom, indirectly protecting eelgrass habitat. Photo: Bart Selby

This top-down management of species is known as a trophic cascade. A top predator alters the abundance of its prey, which in turn reduces predation on the next trophic level down the food chain.

The trophic cascade at Elkhorn Slough. The top predator is the sea otter (E. lutris), the mesopredators are crabs (Cancer spp. and Pugettia producta), the epiphyte mesograzers are primarily an isopod (I. resecata) and a sea slug (P. taylori), and algal epiphyte competitors of eelgrass primarily consist of chain-forming diatoms, and the red alga Smithora naiadum. Solid arrows indicate direct effects, dashed arrows indicate indirect effects, and the plus and minus symbols indicate positive and/or negative effects on trophic guilds and eelgrass condition. C, competitive interaction; T, trophic interaction. Image: Original artwork by A. C. Hughes and used with permission of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2013 (see full citation below)

You can see the difference between an area with otters and one without when you look at Elkhorn Slough compared to Tomales Bay. Even though Tomales Bay has lower levels of nutrients (such as nitrogen from fertilizer), it has significantly fewer otters. The result is brown eelgrass covered in algae. Without as many otters preying on the crabs, the crustaceans are four times as abundant and 30% bigger than the crabs in Elkhorn Slough. This leaves very few sea slugs to keep the eelgrass grazed clean of algae.

Otters hard at work, keeping Elkhorn Slough’s ecosystem balanced. Photo: Bart Selby

Where to See the Sea Otters

For the best view of sea otters, visit the Moss Landing Wildlife Area (on the east side of Highway 1) or Moss Landing State Beach (on the west side of Highway 1, just off Jetty Road). At the beach on the same side as the harbor, you can often see a raft of male otters floating together out on the open water.

Keep any eye out for otters when you visit the slough. Photo: Bart Selby

Elkhorn Slough – A Protected Place for Otters and More

Elkhorn Slough is one of the few coastal wetlands remaining in the state, second in size to San Francisco Bay. At nearly 7 miles long, this estuarine waterway shelters an abundance of marine life, providing essential habitat for over 700 species, including aquatic mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates, algae, and plants. It is also part of California’s statewide program to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs are a lot like our landlocked state parks except that they extend many miles off our coastline. These “underwater parks” are established in areas that are biologically diverse (lots of different marine species), culturally rich (think sunken ships like the S.S. Palo Alto and buried anthropological treasure), and economically important (fishing and tourism are a big deal to these coastal communities).

The MPAs in Santa Cruz County. Image: California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Elkhorn Slough is home to three marine protected areas—Elkhorn Slough State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA), Elkhorn Slough State Marine Reserve (SMR), and the Moro Cojo Slough SMR. There are several different types of MPAs, and each one has its own set of rules. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website for details.

Image: Courtesy the Ocean Conservancy via the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Sea Otters: Your Defence Against the Algal Apocalypse. Ed Young. National Geographic. August 26, 2013.
   • Sea otters promote recovery of seagrass beds. Tim Stephens. August 26, 2013. University of California Santa Cruz Newscenter Website.
   • Recovery of a top predator mediates negative eutrophic effects on seagrass Brent B. Hughes, Ron Eby, Eric Van Dyke, M. Tim Tinker, Corina I. Marks, Kenneth S. Johnson, and Kerstin WassonProc Natl Acad Sci, September 17, 2013. Issue 38:15313–15318.

]]> /santacruz/elkhorn-slough-sea-otters-offset-agricultural-runoff/feed/ 0 /blog/why-there-is-no-beachfront-resort-at-seacliff-state-beach/ /blog/why-there-is-no-beachfront-resort-at-seacliff-state-beach/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2016 20:00:45 +0000 /?p=10830

The seawall that was meant to protect a grand ocean-front resort. It survived only a year. Photo: Courtesy John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

Almost a century ago, there were big plans for the northern California coastline along Seacliff State Beach. But sometimes, even the grandest of plans can’t hold up to the power of the ocean.

In the 1920s, a group of ambitious businessmen purchased the land at Seacliff and made plans to build an esplanade, pleasure pier, 2000-foot seawall, bathing pavilion, dining hall and dance pavilion, parking lot, and modern beach bungalettes (a type of small mobile home) right on the wave-washed sand. The only part of their plan that worked out long-term is the parking lot.

Seawall Scores Two, Developers Zero

We now know what a futile plan it is to build right on the beach. This volatile landscape can be a wide open stretch of sand in the morning and be entirely underwater by sunset. Waves from just one storm have the power to crumble cliffs that have stood for millennia. Still, the new owners of Seacliff believed their seawall could withstand the relentless force of the ocean. This was perhaps understandable, because Santa Cruz had only mild winters from 1916 to 1923.

The first seawall was built in 1925. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

Unfortunately, in 1926, almost as soon as construction began on the seawall, a storm caused serious damage. After investing in repairs and reinforcement, another storm the following year wiped out the remainder of the wall.

Another view of the damaged seawall. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

The rebuilt seawall in 1927 showing signs of erosion before being totally wiped out. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

The seawall was not working, but perhaps there was a different solution?

Sailing to the Rescue (Temporarily)

The developers decided to abandon the seawall idea, because they were quickly running out of funds. Instead, they purchased a surplus concrete oil tanker, the S.S. Palo Alto, to use as an amusement center.

Before the S.S. Palo Alto was anchored at Seacliff, it was part of a fleet of concrete ships built for WWI. Concrete seems an odd choice for a mode of transport that needed to potentially withstand multiple submarine attacks, but steel was scarce and very expensive during the war, so the U.S. decided to experiment with concrete. The U.S. Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation invested in a total of 38 concrete ships. Only eight were ever built, and the S.S. Palo Alto wasn’t completed until after the war ended. She made two independent voyages (no towing required) until she was sold to the Seacliff Amusement Corporation in 1929.

The S.S. Palo Alto when it sailed in 1921. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

The concrete ship was towed to its place just offshore on January 25, 1930. A 630-foot pier was built out to her massive decks, and she was opened to a waiting crowd of 3,000 people on June 21 of that year. That’s not a bad reception for a WWI ship that didn’t even sail until after the war.

As an amusement center, the S.S. Palo Alto had a dance floor, cafe, a 54-foot heated swimming pool, and a casino. She lasted only two summers against the ocean’s powerful waves. A winter storm cracked the brittle hull in 1932.

The S.S. Palo Alto lasted as an amusement center for just two years. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

That same year, the Seacliff Amusement Corporation went bankrupt. The state bought the ship in 1936 for only a dollar but had to invest in multiple costly repairs as the ship battled the elements for the next 42 years. The ship was finally closed to the public in 1978.

The S.S. Palo Alto in 1972. Photo: © Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, http://www.Californiacoastline.org

The S.S. Palo Alto in 2002. Photo: © Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, http://www.Californiacoastline.org

The S.S. Palo Alto in in 2004. Photo: © Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project, http://www.Californiacoastline.org

Today, the ship is still battered by the surf. Most recently, a storm in mid-January of 2016 caused a new break in the back half of the ship. That pushed the bow skyward as the stern sunk into the waves.

Abandon ship, and abandon plans to develop this beach. The S.S. Palo Alto in 2016. Photo: Lauren McEvoy/Mobile Ranger

Envisioning how this sinking artifact could have hosted hundreds of beach-goers for a day or evening of entertainment now requires a large stretch of the imagination.

Protect the Oceans

Sea Cliff State Beach is part of California’s statewide program to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). MPAs are a lot like our landlocked state parks except that they extend many miles off our coastline. These “underwater parks” are established in areas that are biologically diverse (lots of different marine species), culturally rich (think sunken ships like the S.S. Palo Alto and buried anthropological treasure), and economically important (fishing and tourism are a big deal to these coastal communities).

However, these special places are threatened by things such as overexploitation, climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction, so they now require management to recover. Like state parks, MPAs allow the public to enjoy these natural treasures but with a few ground rules about fishing, boating, and other recreational and commercial activities. There are several different types of MPAs, and each one has its own set of rules. See the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website for details.

The MPAs in Santa Cruz County. Image: California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Soquel Canyon SMCA captures an entire side-branch of the Monterey Submarine Canyon – from relatively shallow waters at the canyon’s head to very deep waters. The rocky canyon walls and mud-and-sand canyon floor offer ideal habitat for rockfishes including depleted species. It contains communities of fragile deepwater corals and sponges. The area is also an important seabird forage grounds and whale feeding area. Portuguese Ledge State Marine Conservation Area protects important refuge habitat for several overfished deepwater rockfish species and is expected to contribute to the recovery of these species.

Image: Courtesy the Ocean Conservancy via the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • The SS Palo Alto and the Surprising History of Concrete Ships, by Julia Gaudinski. MobileRanger.com website.
   • "And Then There Were None: The Seawalls of Seacliff Beach," by John Hibble. Aptos Life, February 2015.
   • "Seacliff History. Seacliff Beach General Plan, May 1990." Among documents available at the Aptos History Museum.
   • "The Old Concrete Ship of Seacliff Beach," by John Hibble. Among documents available at the Aptos History Museum.

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]]> /blog/why-there-is-no-beachfront-resort-at-seacliff-state-beach/feed/ 2 /santacruz/the-accidental-date-palm-at-santa-cruz-city-hall/ /santacruz/the-accidental-date-palm-at-santa-cruz-city-hall/#respond Sun, 18 Sep 2016 17:00:19 +0000 /?p=12712

Santa Cruz City Hall gardens. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Today’s City Hall at 809 Center Street was built in 1937-38 in the Monterey Colonial style, a new style at the time. The enclosed Spanish Gardens are part of this style, but the date palm there today is not.

A Canary Island date palm leans away from Santa Cruz City Hall at Center Street and Church Street. Photo: Laurel Wee

According to Leslie Keedy, Santa Cruz City Arborist, the Canary Island date palm tree was probably planted by a bird via its droppings. The bird probably got the date seed from one of the other Canary Island palms in the city. The palm took root next to the building but has been growing away from it, reaching toward the light.

Santa Cruz City Hall in the 1940s. Notice that there was no date palm to the right of the fountain then. Image: From the collection of Linda Rosewood

Palm trees are native to tropical regions and are part of the Arecaceae family, which is common in the tropics. Because it is native to the Canary Islands, it grows in mild and tropical climates, which makes it desirable to plant widely across the globe.

The leaves and fruits are very important to some cultures for food, fiber, and shelter. Animals also have myriad uses for these palms. Squirrels eat dates and store them in the folds of the trunk for later. Kestrels, barn owls, starlings, and other birds also nest in these large protective trees. Thus, it certainly makes sense that this palm owes its existence to help from a bird.

Postcard of Santa Cruz City Hall circa 1940s. There is no date palm in the hall courtyard, but there is one across the street. Image: From the collection of Linda Rosewood

Canary date palms, and palms generally, were commonly planted along the sidewalks or property boundaries of Victorian homes in Santa Cruz. In the 1800s, when the houses were built two palms were typically placed on either side of the home or the path to the home. The Italian cypress was also used in this manner, but not to the extent that the palm was.

Two Canary Island Date palms on the edges of the Darling House along West Cliff Drive. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Leaves

Palms are separated into two groups: feather palms, which have pinnately compound leaves that resemble a feather, and fan palms which have palmately compound leaves that resemble a fan.

Feather palm leaves of the Canary Island date palm in front of Santa Cruz City Hall. Photo: Laurel Wee.

This palm is a feather palm with leaves that reach up to 20 feet in length. Each leaf contains up to 200 leaflets that alternate on the sides of the central branch (rachis).

Flowers

Flower clusters are four to six feet long and orange. Female flowers are produced on separate plants. For this reason, you’ll see dates on only some Canary Island palms.

Palm trees are monocots. Other monocot plants are lilies, irises, and aloe.

Fruits

The fruit is a small drupe, similar to an avocado, about 2 cm long and 1 cm across. It contains a single seed.

Clusters of Canary Island dates. Photo: Laurel Wee

Closeup of Canary Island dates. The one on the lower left is the seed. Photo: Laurel Wee

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Tree Tour made possible by UCSC Environmental Studies student Laurel Wee with support from the Kennith S. Norris Center for Natural History. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Trees of the California landscape: A Photographic Manual of Native and Ornamental Trees, by Charles Hatch and Phyllis M. Faber. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
   • Trees of Santa Barbara, by R. N. Muller, J. R. Haller, and K. K. Muller. Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 2005.
   • Personal communication with Randall Morgan, Naturalist, Santa Cruz County, February 2016
   • Personal communication with Leslie Keedy, Parks urban forester/arborist, Santa Cruz County, February 2016
   • Santa Cruz County History - Architecture Institutions in Santa Cruz County -- 1850-1950 by Susan Lehmann.

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]]> /santacruz/the-accidental-date-palm-at-santa-cruz-city-hall/feed/ 0 /santacruz/where-have-all-the-bridges-gone-at-natural-bridge-state-beach/ /santacruz/where-have-all-the-bridges-gone-at-natural-bridge-state-beach/#respond Wed, 14 Sep 2016 20:00:26 +0000 /?p=11096

The lone remaining arch at Natural Bridges State Beach in April 2012. Photo © Mobile Ranger.

The name Natural Bridges may seem deceiving when you first visit the state beach at the end of West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, California. Just one picturesque rock arch stands offshore in the crashing waves. You can’t even call it a bridge because it doesn’t connect to anything.

The three natural bridges circa 1900. At this time they were connected to land so technically are considered arches as well as bridges. Photo courtesy of Frank Perry and UCSC Special Collections

So why does the name imply multiple bridges? Perhaps Alexander Weiss, one of the local park rangers back in the ’70s and ’80s, said it best in his poem, “Ode to the Natural Bridges Arch” (see the end of this post for the complete poem):

Once three arches stood in this park
As if windows to the sea,
But wind-blown sand and storms like sharks
Attacked them constantly

The two remaining natural bridges circa 1950. Photo: Courtesy Frank Perry

Time Takes Its Toll

Before 1905, two additional stone arches connected today’s remaining arch to the cliffs where the parking lot sits today, forming three natural bridges. This cliff was once a long, narrow peninsula before the ocean eroded away everything but the middle section, which is now the last arch. Bridges typically form in peninsulas like this one as the waves are bent around the headland, focusing energy on both flanks. The waves sometimes erode caves on either side of the rock that eventually meet, or the bridge can originate from a small hole that grows bigger over many years and eventually erodes through to the other side.

Waves both created and destroyed the three bridges that once stood at Natural Bridges State Beach. Photo: Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

At Natural Bridges, the rock is Santa Cruz Mudstone, which is fairly resistant to erosion. This means that after a bridge is formed, it will last for decades. Eventually as the base of the rock erodes, the opening enlarges until the entire formation collapses, as did the outermost bridge sometime after autumn of 1905. Some believe that the 1906 earthquake caused the collapse, but there’s no evidence to prove this theory. It was probably just time taking its toll.

The second-to-last arch came close to collapsing in winter 1979. Photo: Courtesy of Frank Perry

In 1974, a couple was married atop one of the two remaining bridges. Their wedding day marked the last time visitors were legally allowed onto the eroding mudstone formation. Six years later, on the dark and stormy night of January 10, 1980, the bridge closest to shore gave way. The park rangers were so saddened when the second bridge fell that they held a wake to commemorate its passing. Alexander Weiss, a park ranger, recited this poem that he wrote for the occasion:

Ode to the Natural Bridges Arch
By Alexander Weiss
January 13, 1980


Once three arches stood in this park
As if windows to the sea,
But wind-blown sand and storms like sharks
Attacked them constantly


This force made one disappear
Sometime ’round 1900;
The other two, like some stone brassiere
Would not be split asunder


But time and storms, they do not care,
And the near arch slowly shed
Bits and pieces here and there
Til it looked quite underfed


In February ’79
That shed quite a chunk,
And again in October, into the brine
Went some more kerplink! Kerplunk!


The arch now was thin and weak,
But gave not up and stayed;
As if it had some goal to seek,
It saw the new decade!


But as the seventies passed on
And the eighties had begun,
It knew it could not last for long
For it was erosion’s son:


For through erosion it was born
And through erosion it would die
And such a death one does not mourn
One merely says goodbye.


The night of January 10th
It gave up the ghost,
And we are here not to lament,
But to offer it a toast:


Here’s to arches that are gone
And to new ones on the way,
For just as sure as there’s a dawn
There’ll be some more some day!


And to our last remaining arch
That now stands like some island fort,
We pledge that we will always march
To give our arch support

Visitors walk through the remaining arch during an unusually low tide. Photo: Jim Whitehead/Mobile Ranger

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • From Three Bridges to an Arch, by Julia Gaudinski. Mobile Ranger website.
   • The Rocks of Santa Cruz’s North Coast: The Mighty Mudstone, by Julia Gaudinski. Mobile Ranger website.

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]]> /santacruz/where-have-all-the-bridges-gone-at-natural-bridge-state-beach/feed/ 0 /santacruz/surfing-over-kelp-forests-at-cove-beach/ /santacruz/surfing-over-kelp-forests-at-cove-beach/#respond Thu, 08 Sep 2016 00:00:41 +0000 /?p=9749

Surfing with the kelp. Photo: Steven Tyler PJs

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) run along the coastline of California. They were created to maintain the precarious balance between keeping places wild and allowing people to interact with the landscape. In the Año Nuevo MPA, 55 miles south of San Francisco and 20 miles north of Santa Cruz, lies Cove Beach. This is a popular spot for seasoned surfers who fear the loss of this rugged coastline more than the great white sharks cruising the waters in search of fat seals. Gary Strachan, a park ranger and wildlife biologist, is often one of these surfers. He has seen firsthand how the waters have changed over the decades.

Surfer at Cove Beach, April 2015. Photo: Mike Merritt

A typical central California kelp forest community at 40 foot depth, Pebble Beach, California, June 2010. Photo: Chad King/NOAA BMNS

The Loss of Kelp Forests and a Killer Surf Break at Cove Beach

In the summer of 1967, large kelp harvesting boats anchored in the bay and started harvesting kelp. By the end of the summer, the surfers noticed that the waves were choppy or “blown out” on windy days and could be hard, even dangerous, to surf. It seemed that the removal of the kelp patches was affecting the surf. Who knew what implications this massive harvesting could have on the marine ecosystem? Anecdotal evidence from fishermen says that the fishing was much better before the harvest, but scientific data on kelp forests goes back only to 1984. Even recent data does little to clear up the mystery.

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) draped over the ocean surface, August 2011. The R/V Fulmar, a research vessel, is in the background. Photo: Chad King/NOAA MBNMS

A 2008 baseline data collection study surveyed the species found in kelp forests at 14 central coast MPAs. Surprisingly, their data showed that the density of a kelp canopy was not related to the number of species found within the canopy. In fact, sometimes more species are found in areas of sparse kelp canopy cover than in areas with dense canopy cover.

Image: Courtesy the Ocean Conservancy via the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

Harvesting of kelp at Año Nuevo Bay, by hand, was allowed until early 2016, when it’s status changed from a State Marine Conservation Area to a State Marine Reserve. As a Reserve, it has the highest level of protections and the take of all living, geologic, or cultural marine resources is prohibited. Blown-out waves or not, plenty of surfers still flock to this section of coastline in addition to hundreds of elephant seals.

Image: Courtesy California Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

Elkhorn Slough with Moss Landing Power Plant in the background. The orange stuff is called dodder (Cuscuta) and is a parasitic plant. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

At Moss Landing, Highway 1 crosses over Elkhorn Slough, one of the largest estuaries in California. Estuaries are places where the sea meets freshwater. They are home to a rich array of plants and animals that can live in this unique habitat. At Elkhorn Slough, the seawater enters the estuary at the harbor mouth directly west of the Highway 1 bridge, and freshwater comes from several sources: the Salinas River; Tembladero Slough, which runs south of Castroville; and upland creeks that feed into both Moro Cojo and Elkhorn sloughs.

Most of the Elkhorn Slough Watershed and the majority of fresh water sources that drain into it. Image: Courtesy of The Elkhorn Slough Foundation

People have lived along the shores of Elkhorn Slough for at least 8,000 years. Successive waves of people have used the slough in different ways, including harvesting shellfish, fishing, hunting, agriculture, and even helping to generate electrical power. Conservation work in the last few decades has protected much of the natural habitat at Elkhorn Slough and has restored areas that were impacted by earlier human uses.

Today, it is one of the largest and most ecologically important estuarine systems in California. It provides habitats for native shorebirds, marine mammals such as sea otters and sea lions, and a wide variety of marine invertebrates. The slough also serves as an important nursery for a variety of fish species.

Moss Landing harbor at Elkhorn Slough. Photo: a7pointstar

Habitats and Wildlife at Elkhorn Slough

Elkhorn Slough tidal habitats encompass extraordinary biological diversity, providing critical habitat for more than 135 aquatic bird, 550 marine invertebrate, and 102 fish species. The slough is also home to sea lions, harbor seals, and California sea otters. More than 200 different bird species use the slough as a resting spot during their annual migrations.

The upland habitats within the watershed include three of the top 10 most imperiled US habitats: freshwater wetlands, coastal prairie, and maritime chaparral. These systems are amazingly diverse, with coastal prairie being the most species-rich grassland in North America.

Several harbor seals rest at a side channel in Elkhorn Slough. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Estuaries like Elkhorn Slough are among the most threatened ecosystems in California, facing rates of habitat loss between 75 and 90 percent. As a result, a disproportionate number of rare, threatened, and endangered species reside in these areas. In the Elkhorn Slough watershed, two dozen species are included in these categories. Because experts recognize the value of these resources to the country, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated areas of Elkhorn Slough as part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and as a National Estuarine Research Reserve.

There are few native oysters left in Elkhorn Slough due to overfishing in the 1920s and habitat burial by sediments. Restoration work is underway. In this photo the growth rates of native oysters are being surveyed. Photo: Elkhorn Slough Reserve

Moss Landing Harbor

The estuary habitats were profoundly affected by the creation of the present day Moss Landing Harbor. In 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers dredged a channel through the barrier dunes for a new harbor entrance.

Modern day Elkhorn Slough and Moss Landing Harbor. Photo: US Army Corps of Engineers

Elkhorn Slough in 1979 with the expanded harbor. Photo: © Kenneth and Gabrielle Adelman, California Coastal Records Project .http://www.Californiacoastline.org

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Plan: Evolution of Elkhorn Slough and Associated Wetlands 20,000 years before present (ybp) to 1880 A.D. Andrea Woolfolk. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve, September 7, 2005.

    

   • Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Plan: 150 Years of Human Alterations and Tidal Habitat Change (1870 - Present) . Barb Peichel, Kerstin Wasson, Andrea Woolfolk, and Eric Van Dyke. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, February 20, 2005.

    

    

   • Changes in a California Estuary: A Profile of Elkhorn Slough. Edited by Jane Caffrey, Martha Brown, W. Breck Tyler, and Mark Silberstein. Elkhorn Slough Foundation, 2002.
   • What is a Salt Marsh? National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Website.

    

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]]> /santacruz/elkhorn-slough-interface-between-land-and-sea/feed/ 2 /santacruz/why-chinese-fishermen-were-chased-away-from-the-monterey-bay/ /santacruz/why-chinese-fishermen-were-chased-away-from-the-monterey-bay/#comments Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:00:06 +0000 /?p=10816

Chinese fishing village in Monterey, 1875. Photo: Dressler, Albert, California Historical Society, Public Domain

Santa Cruz was not always the open-minded, progressive community that it is today. In the mid 1800s, the Northern California beach town was known as the national epicenter of anti-Chinese laws and regulations, even though the Monterey Bay regional economy depended on Chinese as laborers in agriculture and for building railroads.

The Chinese were also very skilled fishermen, and in the 1870s, they caught most of the fish around the Monterey Peninsula. By 1878, they were catching half of all fish caught in Santa Cruz County. Chinese fish peddlers were a common sight walking along the streets of Santa Cruz, Capitola, Soquel, and Watsonville, their shoulders hunched with the weight of bamboo poles hung with fish baskets.

Their success in the fishing industry angered the other local fishermen, who were mostly Italians and Portuguese at the time. They urged political leaders to push the Chinese off the beaches with local ordinances that were rigorously enforced in Santa Cruz County. By the 1880s, Chinese fishermen had been pushed completely out of the Monterey Bay area.

Fishermen of European descent felt they were in direct competition with Chinese fishermen in the 1870s. Photo: Courtesy of John Hibble and the Aptos History Museum

The Chinese Exclusion Law

The Chinese Exclusion Law of 1882 was the first immigration law in the U.S. that restricted a particular race from entering the country. The Geary Act of 1892 extended this law for another 10 years and required Chinese immigrants to carry ID cards at all times. Other laws forbid the use of carrying poles on public streets (the same poles they used to peddle their fish), as well as “Chinese activities” such as flying kites. Those of Chinese descent were also commonly the target of acts of violence.

Before the laws were passed, there were several Chinese fishing villages throughout Monterey Bay. One was located just north of Seacliff at a beach that was then called China Beach. The village consisted of 29 Chinese fishermen (no women or children) living in a ramshackle structure of driftwood and shakes at the base of the high bluffs. Atop those same bluffs now sits one of the most popular campgrounds in California: New Brighton State Beach.

The fishing village at New Brighton State Beach was where the public restrooms are today, just behind the eucalyptus tree in this 2012 photo. Photo: Richard Masoner

Chinese Fishing Villages Trumped by Tourism

When the railroad finally connected Santa Cruz to the San Francisco Bay Area via Los Gatos in 1875, it opened a gateway to tourism but closed the door of opportunity for the Chinese fishermen in Monterey. Thanks to the railroads, more fishermen and visitors of European descent came to Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay region, and the Chinese were viewed as unwanted competition. The Chinese peddlers and fishing villages began to disappear just three years later.

New Brighton State Beach looking north from the restrooms. Photo: Lauren Salazar/Mobile Ranger

In 1878, Camp San Jose opened on the bluffs above what is now New Brighton State Beach to accommodate the many tourists arriving on the new train. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese were forced to move their fishing villages there and told to move farther down the coast.

As the railroad moved south, the Chinese fishermen were continually pushed farther south also. The last fishing camp was set up near the mouth of the Pajaro River at Camp Goodall. By 1888, this camp closed too, and fisherman of Chinese descent had moved away from the Monterey Bay completely.

The restrooms at New Brighton State Beach mark the site of the fishing village. Photo: Lauren Salazar/Mobile Ranger

The site of the fishing village at New Brighton State Beach is now marked only by restrooms built for the many tourists who flock to this sunny stretch of sand. There is only one known photograph of the village that shows the precarious driftwood structure that the fishermen called home.

China Beach Plaque at New Brighton State Beach. Photo: Lauren Salazar/Mobile Ranger

China Beach plaque at New Brighton State Beach. Photo: Lauren Salazar/Mobile Ranger

A plaque at the south end of the parking lot commemorates the Chinese fishermen. It was the first plaque in the Monterey Bay region dedicated to the memory of these Chinese pioneers.

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region, by Sandy Lydon. Capitola Book Company, 1985.
   • The Japanese in the Monterey Bay Region: A Brief History, by Sandy Lydon. Capitola Book Company, 1997.
   • Chinatown Dreams: The Life and Photographs of George Lee, by Geoffrey Dunn, Lisa Liu Grady, Tony Hill, James D. Houston, Sandy Lydon, Morton Marcus, and George Ow, Jr. Capitola Book Company, 2002.

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]]> /santacruz/why-chinese-fishermen-were-chased-away-from-the-monterey-bay/feed/ 2 /santacruz/multitudes-of-monarchs-at-natural-bridges-state-beach/ /santacruz/multitudes-of-monarchs-at-natural-bridges-state-beach/#respond Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:00:43 +0000 /?p=11091

A monarch butterfly. Photo: Courtesy of Elise Wormuth

For decades, tens of thousands of West Coast monarch butterflies (Danus plixippus) have overwintered at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California. From October through March, in the park’s wind-protected grove of eucalyptus trees, the monarchs rest from their long migration. Thick clusters of monarchs intertwine their legs and hang from the branches like orange leaves, except that these leaves take flight when the temperature rises above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

A monarch cluster in Lighthouse Field, December 2005. Although they are next to a eucalyptus tree, the monarchs are on a branch of Monterey cypress. Monarchs cluster together on branches to stay warm. Photo: Courtesy of Vicki and Chuck Rogers

Monarchs are the only butterfly species that takes multiple generations to complete one round-trip migration. They travel 50–100 miles a day to escape the cold, and the round trip requires 4–5 generations to complete. A single generation can make the ~3,000 mile trip south, but the journey back north takes 3–4 generations to complete.

Monarchs that live east of the Northern Rockies overwinter in the Sierra Madre mountain range of Mexico, and those west of the Northern Rockies overwinter along the California coast. The butterflies return to the same groves each year for much-needed rest and to lay their eggs on nearby milkweed, which is the only plant that their larvae can eat.

Close-up of a monarch larvae on African milkweed (Asclepias fruticosa) in the milkweed nursery at Natural Bridges State Beach. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Silky gold milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). You can buy these plants in the visitor center and plant them in your yard to provide food for monarch larvae. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Monarch populations everywhere have significantly decreased. In Santa Cruz, the population has dropped from a high of 150,000 to just a few thousand butterflies. Both Roundup and deforestation are to blame. Illegal logging has shrunk the eastern butterflies’ winter habitat in Mexico, and the introduction of Roundup-ready corn and soybeans in the US has almost eliminated milkweed from much of their habitat. Fortunately, parks such as Natural Bridges are being actively managed to keep some monarch habitat intact.

Two monarch chrysalises on African milkweed inside the visitor center at Natural Bridges State Beach. You can see the butterfly inside each chrysalis. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

A Monarch Refuge

Natural Bridges State Beach park rangers tend a milkweed garden for their winged visitors so the butterflies have a place to lay their eggs. They also maintain adequate shelter for the adult monarchs. Since a fungal disease called pitch canker killed some of the Monterey pines that protected the monarch’s eucalyptus grove from the wind, they have been planting cypress trees in the park as a replacement wind break.

A row of cypress trees planted on the east side of the eucalyptus trees. The monarchs cluster on the leaves of the eucalyptus, but the cypress trees provide important shelter from the wind. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Docents lead tours of the Monarch Grove at Natural Bridges from mid-October through January at 11 AM and 2 PM on weekends. Tours start at the Visitor Center. The park also holds a Welcome Back Monarchs Day on the second Sunday in October and a Migration Festival on the second Saturday in February for the beloved butterflies.

The entrance to the trail that leads to the Monarch Grove. Photo: Julia Gaudinski/Mobile Ranger

Even with lower numbers than in the past, it is still spellbinding to stand in the quiet eucalyptus grove at Natural Bridges and see the orange clusters of monarchs weighing down the branches. As the temperature warms and the butterflies begin to gently flit around the grove in search of food, their delicate wings glow in the sun like stained glass. The only sound is the creaking of eucalyptus branches, the click of cameras, and hushed murmurs of awe as visitors witness one of nature’s most beautiful phenomena.

The delicate wings of the monarch butterfly are nature’s tiny stained glass artworks. Photo: Crystal Birns Photography

Take the Self-Guided Mobile Tour

This piece is part of the Santa Cruz Marine Protected Areas Beaches Tour made possible by the Santa Cruz Collaborative with support from the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund. Download the free app with many tours of the Santa Cruz area and beyond.

1. Sources

   • Natural Bridges State Beach. California State Parks website.
   • Migration and Overwintering. USDA Forest Service website.
   • Personal communication with Martha Nitzberg, California State Park Interpretive Ranger, Natural Bridges State Beach, April 2016.
   • Tracking the Causes of Sharp Decline of the Monarch Butterfly, by Richard Conniff. Yale Environment 360 website, April 1, 2013.

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