{"id":511,"date":"2015-06-24T20:50:18","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T20:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendarees.com\/?p=511"},"modified":"2015-11-04T20:18:51","modified_gmt":"2015-11-04T20:18:51","slug":"a-forest-of-possibilities-socalwild-november-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/?p=511","title":{"rendered":"A Forest of Possibilities, SoCalWild, November 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally. A SoCal forest that\u2019s been lying in ruins since the 1950s is getting proper attention and love.<\/p>\n

Not a trees-on-land forest; this SoCal oceanic giant kelp forest off the Palos Verdes Peninsula coastline represents seaweed at its finest and is a testament to the power of nature to rebound after devastating decimation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s estimated that this PV Peninsula forest has declined 75 percent in the past 100 years \u2014 but things are about to change thanks to a five year program headed up by The Bay Foundation<\/a>\u00a0(TBF).<\/p>\n

Thanks to a hodgepodge partnership of trained volunteers, nonprofit organizations and fishermen associations along with federal and state agencies, the Palos Verdes kelp forest is once again thriving and beckoning local wildlife.\u00a0 At last count, more than 700 wildlife species including fish, crabs, sea birds, arthropods, sea lions and more, depend on the flowing undulating fronds of this ocean plant \u2013 and divers are now seeing many of these critters \u00a0(such as the kelp bass, garibaldi, California sheephead, California spiny lobster and the two-spot octopus) returning.<\/p>\n

\"CHECKING<\/a>
CHECKING OUT NEW DIGS \u2014 Fish swim the newly restored kelp forest in the PV Peninsula.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cRich, fat and happy,\u201d is how Tom Ford, Executive Director of\u00a0TBF describes the giant kelp plants that have taken root and sprung upward 30 feet to the surface. \u00a0Ford explains that because the kelp has grown so quickly (the plant can grow about 2 feet a day), much of the new kelp has spread across the top of the water thick and strong enough to support hungry egrets walking searching for a slippery snack.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
NIGHT AND DAY \u00a0\u2014 An urchin-choked landscape before restoration (top) and healthy kelp regrowing after restoration (bottom). Photos by Tom Boyd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And guess what? It\u2019s only been less than a year that this remarkable transformation has taken place, proving that nature doesn\u2019t need complicated programs or intricate procedures to replenish what was lost. \u00a0Often, the right jump start gives nature all it needs.<\/p>\n

At one time, kelp so thick and tall was the norm in Southern California and provided many a marine critter home, food and more, but the post WWII building boom brought pollution, urban and storm water runoff, non-conservationist construction practices and sediment unceremoniously dumped into the ocean.<\/p>\n

The kelp choked and wildlife left, except for scrappy sea urchins. With no kelp, the urchin\u2019s natural predators \u2013 spiny lobsters, California sheephead and sea otters \u2013 disappeared leaving the urchins to multiply like crazy creating barrens which crowded out most other sea life.<\/p>\n

Launched in July 2013, the restoration project brought 35 scientifically-trained SCUBA divers to cull down the urchins to a manageable number. Nearly 2 million purple sea urchins were removed from two coves: Underwater Arch and Honeymoon Cove.\u00a0 All in all, this 12 of acres have seen a dramatic kelp explosion with hundreds of plants stretching 25 feet or more. \u00a0Urchin barrens, no more! This is pretty dramatic footage:<\/p>\n