EKOS Communications, Inc.

One of the major tasks we handle every day of this trip is setting up camp at the end of the day. We have found some spectacular campsites along the coast, but I have been thinking of other species that also migrate southwards, and the difficulties they face finding food and rest.

People often ask us where we stay along the way. We are camping mostly, and finding places to stay is never a problem. Every dot on the map that we pass through has many options: beachfront motels, RV parks, campgrounds, and always, our favourite, the poachable (free) campsite. That is where we usually stay – an old clearcut or powerline right-of-way, a secluded beach or a farmer’s field. For migrating humans, the west coast is easy!

Other travelers, however, have more difficulty finding rest. The Pacific Coast is a major migration route for many bird species. As it gets cold and wet in the north, like us they begin to flock southwards. Some fly pole to pole, while others find winter homes a bit closer. But for all birds, estuaries provide essential resting and feeding habitat along the way. Estuaries are calm, partially enclosed bays where freshwater creeks meet the ocean. Due to the brackish water and sheltered environment estuaries are teeming with life; they are nurseries for fish and other marine species and have very high biodiversity indices. Unfortunately, estuaries are a favourite for human settlements too. In recent history we have filled in and built settlements on most of them. To date California has lost 90% of its wetlands.

We stopped the other day to visit the Morro Bay Estuary. Just south of San Luis Obispo, it is nestled between the twin cities of Morro Bay and Los Osos, and fed by Chorro and Los Osos creeks. The area has escaped the mad tourism and development that engulfs the rest of southern California, which is why the estuary still exists today. The estuary is home to over 200 bird species, as well as California Sea Lions and Harbour Seals, and the delicate, complex food web that supports it all. Although the Morro Bay Estuary is protected under the National Estuary Program (NEP), it still faces significant threats.

Wastewater from the neighbouring cities drains in, as well as pollution from a golf course and coal power plant. Deforestation has led to major sedimentation of the watershed, which means the bay is rapidly filling in. The creeks are also contaminated from local ranching and agriculture. Measures are being taken to fix it though. Activists are working with politicians and citizens to garner support for conservation efforts, and some habitat restoration is already in process. But the main conflict over land use priorities is more difficult to solve.

Land here in Southern California is valuable, especially on the waterfront. And money talks. Even the most charismatic environmentalist cannot beat the real estate bubble. Morro Bay is one of only 28 NEP-protected estuaries in the continental United States, and there are very few remaining to be added to the program.

So what are we to do? It is so vital to keep up conservation and restoration efforts, but we must step it up a notch too. I attended a lecture by the visionary John Todd in San Francisco. He laid out a fantastic ideal of humans living in harmony with our surrounding environment, augmenting rather than destroying it. It is time to re-examine our priorities, and determine if we can’t create more bird habitat rather than new seaside resorts.