Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC), at the direction of Catalina Island Conservancy, has just finished repairing an extremely important resource on Catalina Island – White’s Landing Exclosure. The 12 LACC members worked with the Conservancy team in this approximately 20-acre exclosure to repair about 2,495 feet of fence in very tough terrain, helped by a work boot donation from REI. They also built a retaining wall and installed a new gate. Now that the exclosure is once again secure, the Conservancy has continued restoration planting with many native species.
This exclosure is home to nine Channel Island endemic and five Catalina Island endemic species, such as Catalina Island manzanita and two groves of the Catalina Island ironwood. Plants on Catalina have historically been threatened by non-native grazers, and the principal threat now comes from a non-native browser. Exclosures ensure that deer don’t eat some of the Island’s most important resources. Species such as the Channel Island tree poppy and felt leaf ceanothus only grow in areas deer can’t access. The Conservancy looks forward to watching this area thrive as a restoration and education location that showcases the natural beauty of Catalina.
Check out this virtual tour of White’s Landing Exclosure: https://bit.ly/CICwhiteslanding
