October 8, 2024

Dear Point Reyes National Seashore ,                

It’s easy to fall in love with charismatic wildlife. Who wouldn’t enjoy the sight of a whale breaching while picnicking at Limantour Beach or a bobcat hunting near Abbotts Lagoon? There’s something innately familiar about these encounters—perhaps because we, too, are animals. While wildlife sightings often excite parkgoers, the true heroes of the environment are often overlooked: plants.

Plants play a vital role in sustaining life. They sequester carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, regulate the climate, filter water, provide shelter and food, maintain soil health, prevent erosion, and even protect communities from storm surges and floods. Beyond their ecological importance, plants possess immense beauty. Vegetation communities are the foundation of all ecosystems, and without them, life as we know it wouldn’t exist.

Protecting Plants at the Seashore

At PRNSA, we are deeply committed to preserving and enhancing plant communities. In collaboration and with the NPS at the helm, PRNSA staff, contractors, and volunteers work together to understand, protect, and restore the diverse ecosystems across the Seashore.

(Photo by Pusher Inc.)

Currently, three full-time PRNSA staff members focus on monitoring rare, threatened, and endangered plant species, detecting and removing invasive species, mapping vegetation communities, assessing habitat, soil, and water quality, and conducting data collection to measure the impact of restoration and conservation efforts. 

With over 71,000 acres under our care, the work can sometimes feel overwhelming, but we focus on making the greatest impact where it matters most. On any given day, you might find our staff restoring dune and wetland habitats, removing invasive species from the Woodward Fire burn scar, conducting rare plant surveys across the Point Reyes grasslands—or even hugging a tree... for science!

Feel free to say hello—your support means everything to us.

Warmly,

Sam Chiriboga

Associate Director

Notes from the Field: Plant Monitoring

This summer, PRNSA Botanist Kelsey Songer worked to monitor the Seashore's vegetative wonders. Here, she shares her reflections from the field:

Outfitted in Ghostbusters-like attire—wearing coveralls to minimize exposure to poison oak—the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network’s Botany Team set out this summer to monitor the oak woodlands and redwood forests of Point Reyes. For the third time in the Network’s history of long-term monitoring for these communities, we collected data on a variety of metrics such as vegetation cover, species diversity, and tree stem diameter.

The team was delighted to see some unique CA natives such as Corallorhizza maculata (Summer coral root) and Aristolochia californica (California pipevine), which we hope to see again during our next visit in 2028. You may have also seen us traversing the trails and roads in Point Reyes in search of priority invasive plant species. We’ve been mapping and assessing the extent of new and historic occurrences of invasive plants such as Centaurea calcitrapa (purple starthistle), Genista monspessulana (French broom), and many more. So far, the number of new invasive plant occurrences has been low and park staff have been quick to address high priority patches. As the 2024 field season comes to a close, we’re looking forward to being back in Point Reyes next summer to conduct coastal prairie and dune scrub monitoring.

Eelgrass Restoration at Drakes Estero

Buried in debris for decades, Drakes Estero is now one of the few remaining undeveloped estuaries on the U.S. Pacific coast. After a massive cleanup, scientists tracked the regrowth of an eelgrass community there—and found it transformed. 

Read the full article written by our PRNSA Multimedia Coordinator Avani Fachon, and explore the Summer 2024 issue of Park Science.

Party on the Pacific Plate: A Joyful Success

Last month's Party on the Pacific Plate was overflowing with delicious food and drink, lively music and dancing, and most importantly—deep, wholehearted care for one another and the Seashore. We are proud to announce that we raised $453,000 to support conservation, education, and community building work at the Seashore. Thank you to everyone who made this event our best yet.

Congratulations to the winners for our Youth in Parks Fund-A-Need drawing: Denis Jones and Karen Pelham!

Photo by Paige Green Photography

A coalition of West Marin nonprofits—including Point Reyes National Seashore Association—have joined together with the support of West Marin Fund to encourage everyone to make a will and include a nonprofit in their will. Everyone should have a will, regardless of age or amount of assets. Writing a will ensures that you’ve done everything possible for your family and the causes and organizations you care about, ensuring their existence far into the future. 

There are two upcoming Wills for West Marin workshops on Oct. 13th and Oct. 23rd.

Upcoming Classes & Events