Citizen Kelp Restoration in CA
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Hello Greenwave Community,
Citizen kelp restoration efforts in CA are in trouble. We used to have 2 sites where the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) allowed the public to take or cull unlimited amounts of purple urchin; a native species which has lost it's main predator, the Sunflower star, and as a result has decimated kelp forests.
CDFW did not renew the permit for the Monterey site and the campground in Caspar is no longer providing a free campsite for participating divers. In 2022 and '23 there were a lot of divers in Caspar on Memorial Day weekend but there were only a handful at this last one. Last year we also had a local urchin diver helping out, Jon Holcombe, who created and airlift for urchins (kinda like an underwater vacuum). We could use help getting his boat and equipment running again. Jon is 79 and though he's survived 2 shark attacks (not in Caspar it's way too shallow, like out by the Farallones) he still dives and is passionate about restoring kelp forests.
We need help. We had good participation and were seeing results, but now we're losing steam. If you're in California and would like to be involved reach out to me. The big Caspar campouts happen every last weekend of the month. You can cull there while free diving if you don't scuba, collect from shore, eat uni, come meet Jon, visit the beautiful Mendocino coast, and sometimes kelp experts from TNC or people from sunflower star breeding projects show up and talk at a big group meal on Saturday evening. Here's a link to the new website:
https://www.casparcoveproject.org/
If you have any insights, tips, or connections lmk. I brought a chef from the bay up with me last memorial day weekend to show him the urchin barrens, provide fresh uni, and talk about holding fundraiser dinners. We're looking at having our first in mid August.
@ricardo_romerogianoli Thanks for posting this! It's great to see you are already working with Reef Check, The Watermen's Alliance, and other key partners along the Mendocino Coast. You may have heard of the effort that GreenWave worked on with TNC to deploy traps for purple urchins, and our efforts to cultivate bull kelp in Northern California to support restoration needs.
Folks, as Ricardo described, you don't have to be SCUBA certified to have an impact. There are different ways to collect urchins and contribute to broader restoration efforts. If you're interested in learning more about the state of California's bull kelp forest and kelp restoration, broadly, here are a few resources: