Eco News

Why isn’t Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument Open Yet?

While the park is not open to the public yet, visitors can take part in guided hikes. Credit: Zachary Ormsby, Bureau of Land Management

By Naomi Friedland

Oct. 11 2023— Local residents have been anticipating the opening of Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, the largest onshore piece of the California Coastal National Monument, which was established by Pres. Barack Obama in 2017.

California State Parks Purchase from Sempervirens Fund Expands Castle Rock

Celebrating the breathtaking view at Castle Rock State Park. Photo copyright Mike Kahn.

This is the first addition to Castle Rock since 2004 and the first California State Parks purchase since 2011. Castle Rock is known for its coastal redwoods and steep canyons that make it not just a popular hiking destination but also one of the most-visited rock climbing spots in the area.

Get to Know the Amah Mutsun Land Trust

Amah Mutsun native plants nursery at Cascade Ranch, photo copyright Mike Kahn.

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust (AMLT) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and stewarding the ancestral lands of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and adjacent Awaswas language cultural areas that span from Año Nuevo to the larger Monterey Bay area. 

Trails Damaged in CZU Fire Reopen at Big Basin

Two children and a giant redwood tree

From Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

For the first time in three years, visitors can enjoy springtime at Big Basin Redwoods State Park by exploring miles of recently reopened trails and fire roads.

Science Spotlight: Santa Cruz Sandhills

Zayante sand soil from the Santa Margarita sandstone formation covers some trails near Henry Cowell State Park. Photo by Emma Hiolski.

The Santa Cruz sandhills, a unique, fragmented habitat within the Santa Cruz Mountains, hosts seven kinds of plants, animals and insects found nowhere else in the world.

Science Spotlight: Schooling & Flocking

A beautiful display of schooling behavior in sardines. Klaus Steifel photo CC BY-SA 2.0

Schooling fish, such as the tight bunches of anchovies and sardines found in Monterey Bay, uniformly dart away from predators, make hairpin turns, and accelerate or stop without colliding.

The Elephant Seals of Ano Nuevo State Park

Science Spotlight: Domoic Acid

Colored image of a diatom seen through an electron microscope. Photo by ZEISS Microscopy.

A potent neurotoxin, domoic acid comes from Pseudo-nitzschia, a genus of diatoms found along the Pacific coast.

Science Spotlight: Offshore Faults

A map of offshore fault lines across Monterey Bay reveals where future earthquakes might happen. Courtesy Gary Greene/Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.

The waters of Monterey Bay may obscure potential dangers. Far below the surface are seismically active faults that could be the site of offshore earthquakes in the bay.

Cotoni–Coast Dairies National Monument: A Good Thing

Hilltromper photo

The campaign to create the Cotoni–Coast Dairies National Monument came to a storybook ending on Jan. 12 when Pres. Barack Obama issued the proclamation three days before Martin Luther King’s birthday.

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