The Habitat Ridge takes form

1...2...3...hoist!
Michelle and I strain against the weight of a gigantic green eucalyptus log, managing to lift it a few inches from the ground, just enough to slip a heavy chain under and around each end. Through the loop ends of the chain we put a length of steel rod, and then press our weight against it, and in the fashion of a mule team, we nudge the ten-foot long log slowly forward. We pull the log parallel with a fantastical looking barrier resembling the hull of a half-buried ship, thrusting skyward seven vertical feet, and sloping down to stakes that mark the edges of an imaginary 'island isthmus.' We hoist again and place the new log onto the top as the next segment of the "ship.” We adjust, rotate, cut, and finally bolt the log into place.
The imaginary island we've measured out represents a narrow stretch of Ano Nuevo Island, California, and the unusual structure we're building is destined to fulfill a most unusual purpose. It is but one step in a process that will end in the revegetation of native California flora on the island. This native flora will in turn hold down the soil, which currently is eroding from the island at an alarming rate, whisked away by the stiff winds that regale the island each winter. Keeping the soil on the island is especially important for the survival of Ano Nuevo’s colony of burrow-nesting seabirds, the rhinoceros auklets (“rhinos”). Rhinos must have sufficient soil to dig a burrow if they are to successfully breed. The colony of rhinos on Ano Nuevo island is one of only three main colonies in California, and is at the extreme southern edge of the species’ breeding range. Without some measure to stabilize the soil, the rhinos will soon have no place to dig, and the colony will disappear.
And why, then, the ship-shaped barrier made from eucalyptus logs? We call it a ‘habitat ridge,’ and its purpose is to provide more nesting habitat for the auklets, and protection for the native plants. Several years ago a great effort was made to plant the area of the auklet colony with thousands of native plants, but the planting was largely destroyed when an extraordinary number of sea lions visited the island that winter due to an El Nino event. Driven north by unusually warm waters, the sea lions competed for all the available space on the island and trampled the plants. In normal-weather years there is enough space that the sea lions do not often rest on the elevated area of the auklet colony, but it is now evident that a semi-permanent obstruction is needed to keep the sea lions off of the plantings in case of another heavy impact sea lion year.
The habitat ridge will provide a way to manage the island for maximum biodiversity by protecting and enhancing rhino habitat (and habitat for a handful of other breeding seabirds), while still leaving the majority of the island available for resting sea lions and elephant seals. The ridge will most likely be built of local eucalyptus logs felled as part of habitat restoration in the state parks. We are currently experimenting with designs-- trying to find the perfect mix of practicality, aesthetics, and opportunities to incorporate auklet habitat into the ridge. One goal is to build nesting cavities into the structure of the ridge itself, thereby providing more nesting opportunities on an island where space is at a premium.
The project is being conducted by a coalition of biologists, designers, restoration experts, artists, and volunteers. Oikonos, a seabird research group, has been working for many years studying the biology of the rhinos and identifying restoration goals. Rebar (rebargroup.org) is a group of artists and designers based out of San Francisco that has been working on designing the blueprints and prototypes for the ridge, finding imaginative and artistic ways to build a new structure in the challenging setting of the island. Go Native is a restoration group with the practical know-how and experience to implement the restoration on the ground and make it work. Ano Nuevo State Reserve makes it all possible by providing access to the island, technical support, and storage facilities to the project.
My name is Ryan Carle and I started working with Oikonos this fall, and am currently getting trained in all things Ano Nuevo—the project demands a wide breadth of skills, from chainsawing eucalyptus logs, to motoring a zodiac inflatable across the choppy waters to the island, to banding an auklet chick, and there is much to learn. Keep visiting this website and blog for further updates on our progress. Planning and designing are happening this fall, and the on-the-island habitat ridge building and planting are scheduled for next fall. Meanwhile, this winter, the auklets are at sea, hoping they find some good dirt to burrow into next spring.