San Clemente Island is the southern-most island of the Channel Islands. It is owned and operated by the United States military, which makes visiting the island a rare occasion for civilians, and even military personnel. The island serves as the final training ground for Navy Seals, with limited access to the mainland goods through a barge. There are numerous accounts detailed on the internet of San Clemente Island’s high surf, shark-filled waters, and tethering kelp forests that the Seals must endure when training. Luckily, I got to keep my feet dry when I visited the Island this spring for a biological survey.
The plan was to meet at the French Valley airport at 0700 with minimal supplies for the day of travel. The pilot took my snack and water filled backpack and loaded it into the front compartment of the plane, along with the other three passengers’ modest belongings. Our team included a former Navy Seal, an engineer, the engineer’s assistant, and me. We took off in a five-seat 1960 Piper Aztec for our half-hour flight to the Island. We lifted above the clouds in no time and were soon soaring over the Pacific Ocean. As the Island came into site we were descending for a seamless landing. We had arrived.
With minimal information regarding the sites we were about to visit, we loaded up in our vehicle and headed out. The drive was a bit of a botanist sightseeing tour. Hillsides were covered with thick opuntia (Opuntia sp.) cactus stands, with Island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora) with deep magenta flowers casually scattered about. We pulled up to our first site at the edge of a deep, trench-like canyon that fell straight into the dark blue ocean. There were Nevin’s woolly sunflower (Constancea nevinii), showy island snapdragon (Gambelia speciosa), Island tarplant (Deinandra clementina; California Rare Plant Rank 4.3), Santa Catalina Island buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum var. giganteum) and Island morning glory (Calystegia macrostegia). This was my opportunity to check out some rare plants that I may never have the chance to see again. Although the flora was diverse at this site, it did not have what I came for. Once housekeeping items were addressed and erosion control straw wattles were installed, our job was done. On to the next site.
We arrived at the second site and looked south down the coastline to see a prime example of wave-cut marine terraces laid out across the landscape. Reeling in my excitement from yet another breathtaking view, I focused on the site in front of me. I saw scattered California boxthorn (Lycium californicum) shrubs and realized it was time for me to jump in and get to work.
California boxthorn is a sprawling, coastal shrub that bears red berries that taste like tomatoes. It is also the preferred home for the San Clemente Island Bell’s sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli clementeae). The Bell’s sparrow is listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act, yet as of May 4, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove the species protection status. The sparrow reached population low of 38 known individuals in 1984, but now the sparrow has bounced back to over 1,519 individuals!
As the story goes, seemingly small ecosystems changes can have large results. Feral goats were introduced centuries ago, while earthworms were inadvertently transported to the island in 2008. The feral goats ate away most of the shrubs on the island, including the sparrows’ beloved home: the California boxthorn. Through years of removing the feral goats, the shrubs on the island have made a recovery along with the sparrow. The effects of the earthworms remain to be determined, but recent research points to changes in the soil composition that favor non-native and invasive plant species. This ecological change could have long-term implications for the security of the shrubs and the sparrow, once again.
Although there is minimal development on the island, it has a long history of biosecurity. I had the rare opportunity to see a timestamp of where the island is in its ecological journey. I was more than happy to have a chance to assess parts of the island for San Clemente Island Bell’s sparrow habitat and map California boxthorn. It’s not everyday you get the chance to fly to an island for work!
Shelley Lawrence, Biologist