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Dear Readers,
Welcome to Conservancy Update ONLINE
for November 2007, the next-to-our-last in our
electronic newsletter series for our 35th
Anniversary Year.
In this, the season for giving thanks, we are grateful
that
you have elected to be part of the Conservancy's
online family. Communication between the
Conservancy, our
members, donors and friends is very valuable.
And, communication is a two-way street. We would
love to
hear your thoughts and
observations about what you read here and what you
might like to read about in future editions.
Note: Look for valuable coupons especially
for our readers at the end of this newsletter.
Pictured in banner: Ribbon Rock on the Island's
windward side between West End and Catalina
Harbor. Ribbon Rock got its start 100 million years
ago when the ancient seafloor was shoved
underneath North America through a process called
subduction, and squeezed under
extreme heat and pressure changing the minerals
into dense quartzite. More recently, about 5
million years ago, Ribbon Rock rose from the sea
as a part of "modern day" Catalina. Photo
by
Bob Rhein
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JUMP! CATALINA'S GRASSHOPPERS, CRICKETS and KATYDIDS
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Things are hoppin' on Catalina. Find out what they are.
In warm summer nights, the songs of crickets and
katydids are like the soft background music of life in
the interior. Even in Avalon, crickets and katydids can
be heard at night, calling their mates for the eternal
ritual of reproduction.
There are several interesting species of crickets,
grasshoppers and katydids on Catalina Island,
including at least one endemic species and several
species still waiting to receive a proper name.
They all belong to the order Orthoptera, a name
that comes from the Greek "orquo" meaning "straight"
and "ptera" meaning wing. Thus, the orthopterans are
insects with straight wings, an apt description for at
least a few species in this group.
More often heard than seen, grasshoppers, crickets
and katydids are an important part of the ecological
balance of the Island. Come with us and explore
a few of the most common (and a couple very
uncommon) species of Catalina's orthopterans.
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13TH ANNUAL CONSERVANCY BALL
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Save the date—Saturday, April 12, 2008
Be sure to save the date for the 13th
Annual Conservancy Ball, Saturday, April
12, 2008. The formal Ball, themed
"Earth,
Wind and Fire," will be held in the
beautiful
Avalon Casino.
"Earth,
Wind and Fire," was chosen for the
annual gala to underscore the
Conservancy's mission, and feature the
natural wonders
of the Island.
Earth incorporates the land, the
animals, the Island's geology, the plant life,
and the hikers, bikers and campers who
use the land. Wind represents
the air
that surrounds the Island and supports bird
life and various endemic insects. Also
represented is our strong boating
community and the pilots and visitors who
travel by plane to the Airport in the Sky.
Fire highlights a focus on the regrowth of the
Island's plant communities
after the recent fire.
Due to the growing popularity of the
Conservancy Ball over the past several
years, many people have been left on the
waiting list. Please invest in a
sponsorship, and you
and your guests will be guaranteed
tickets. General ticket sales of remaining
tickets will not start until late February.
For information about sponsorships and to
donate auction items, please call Jen
Poyer, Conservancy Special Events
Supervisor, at (562) 437-8555 ext. 231.
Photo: The world-famous Avalon
Casino.
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27TH ANNUAL AVALON HARBOR CLEANUP
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Dive for "treasure" and enter the T-shirt contest
The Catalina Island Conservancy Divers are preparing
for the 27th Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater
Cleanup to be held Saturday, February 23rd, 2008.
Last year more 520 divers entered chilly Harbor water,
loving every minute of it as they hauled in an
estimated 7,700 pounds of trash including antiques,
oddities and other surprises. Before the dive,
however, an official T-shirt must be created -- perhaps
you can be the one to create it.
Simply click here for more
information on the T-shirt design contest.
Registration for the 2008 Avalon Harbor
Underwater Cleanup is now open. Please go to the
link below to sign up for this fun and unique adventure
in Avalon Harbor.
Proceeds from the Avalon Harbor Underwater
Cleanup benefit the Robert Given Fund for Ocean
Conservation and the Catalina Hyperbaric
Chamber. Catalina Conservancy Divers is a
support group of the Catalina Conservancy.
The
Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is a life support
recompression chamber on Catalina that is
available to serve the thousands of divers who
frequent the Catalina waters.
Photo: Conservancy Divers enter the water during
2007's Avalon Harbor Cleanup.
Photo by Bob Rhein
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MT. ORIZABA — THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
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'I'll take Catalina Mountain Mysteries for $1,000, Alex.'
By Frank Starkey and Dr. Glen
Gustafson
Mt. Orizaba's elevation has been
debated in Fox
Tales* (and beyond) for at least a decade. Dr. Bill
Bushing first posed this riddle in the July 18th, 1996
issue of
Fox Tales but had no definite answer. At
that
time
the
cited elevation for Mt. Orizaba ranged between 2,069
and 2,200 feet. Then, in the November 6th, 1997
issue his research at that time, using a Trimble Pro
XR GPS unit, indicated an average elevation reading
of 2,097 feet. He claimed the riddle solved with the
caveat that the accuracy of the GPS unit was accurate
to within 10 feet.
This year the Conservancy received a new GIS data
set which included a very accurate LIDAR Digital
Elevation Model (DEM) that was used to produce two
foot contour lines. We also have the consulting service
of Dr. Glen Gustafson, an expert in aerial and satellite
imagery. In checking the accuracy of the data set,
and
comparing it to published USGS maps, Glen and I
were able to ascertain that the highest spot on Mt.
Orizaba is actually 2,103 feet, right where the VORTAC
directional antenna (installed by the Federal Aviation
Administration in the 1950s to guide aircraft into Los
Angeles
International Airport) is located. It is the only mountain
on Catalina whose elevation is over 2,100 feet.
So, it appears that if the Jeopardy answer is "2,103
feet", the question is "How high is Mt. Orizaba?"
* Fox Tales is the Conservancy's
monthly
in-house newsletter first published in 1993 by Lynn
Burt, Treasurer and Assistant to the Conservancy
President. Her husband, Joel, was a Conservancy
Ranger.
Photo: Mt. Orizaba from the air.
Photo is from an aerial photo data set received by the
Conservancy in early 2007 from Los Angeles County
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CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS
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Join us mornings at the nursery or at the beach
Every Thursday and Sunday, join us for a beautiful
morning drive through the interior to the James H.
Ackerman Native Plant Nursery in Middle Ranch.
While there, you'll perform a variety of horticultural
tasks, all the while learning about Catalina's unique
environment and the native plant species found here.
And, don't forget the Windward Beach Clean-Up
on the 2nd Saturday each month.
Enjoy the great outdoors while combing the sand for
debris! Perfect for those who want to help keep
Catalina's Windward Beaches clean and pristine.
Clean-up locations rotate throughout the year to keep
all four of our windward beaches beautiful. All
supplies, refreshments and transportation provided
for the Nursery and Windward Beach projects. Our
van leaves Avalon at 8 a.m. and returning by Noon.
For more information, please e-mail
Volunteer Coordinator Lesly Lieberman at
LLieberman@catalinaconservancy.org,
or call ( 310) 510-2595 ext. 112.
Photo: Volunteers at the James H. Ackerman
Native Plant Nursery.<
Photo by the Conservancy's Volunteer Department
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35 YEARS OF THE CONSERVANCY
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Emerald anniversary rememberances
Ahoy, Marineros!
Leon Cooper was there at the
beginning of the
Conservancy. He was a member of the first expanded
Board of Directors where he served for 20 years. Here
in his own words, he tells how the Marineros - the
Conservancy's first support group was
formed.
In the 1970s, a group of spurious Sacramento
operatives conceived the idea of anchoring a large
vessel to conduct gambling operations in the waters
off Avalon. This prospect aroused the anger and
concern of the various yachtsmen whose yacht clubs
had facilities on the Island including the Los Angeles
Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club members.
Hearings were held in the Los Angeles area and in
Sacramento by the State Lands Commission and the
legislature. Because of the public outcry on the Island
and among those on the Mainland who loved
Catalina, the project was quickly killed.
Shortly thereafter, Doug Propst, who had been the
Manager of the Wrigley Ranch on Catalina, was
designated by Mr. Bill Wrigley and the Benefactors to
become the president of the Conservancy. Doug
approached me because I was one of the leaders of
the battle against the gambling program. I called a
meeting of about ten yachtsmen for the LAYC , the
NHYC, the California YC and the Del Rey YC, as well
as unaffiliated yachtsmen. We met for cocktails
(how
else could I have gotten them into my living room?) to
talk about starting a support group for the
Conservancy. That group included Harry Pecorelli,
Bud Wittenberg, Ed Ripley and others. At subsequent
meetings, we decided to designate
ourselves "Marineros" (Sailors) in keeping with the
Spanish character of Catalina's history. We also
designated an emblem and a burgee, and solicited
memberships from all yachtsmen whether affiliated
with a Club or not to provide financial support to the
Conservancy.
Mr. Cooper would later go on to help create the
Catalina Conservancy Divers along with Harry
Pecorelli, Bob Given, Chuck Wright and Bob and Patty
Meistrel.
Photo: Leon Cooper, Marinero
Photo by Bob Rhein
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