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Farallon Islands wildlife rebounds after a century of sanctuary; After 100 years, refuge is again home to thriving species

Posted by: Maven on June 10, 2009 at 7:16 am

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

A cluster of rocky outcroppings 27 miles west of the Golden Gate, the Farallon Islands, is celebrating a year packed with anniversaries.

In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt added several of the islands to the nation’s then-new wildlife refuge system, established to help halt the destruction of U.S. natural resources. Fifty years ago, the first northern elephant seals returned after hunters killed off the islands’ population decades earlier. Forty years ago, the federal government added the rest of the islands to the refuge.

And 430 years ago, English explorer Sir Francis Drake anchored his legendary ship, the Golden Hinde, off the islands, stocking up on seal meat before crossing the Pacific on his 1579 voyage around the world. He was the first European to set foot in what became San Francisco, as the islands form the city’s westernmost edge.

At that time, the islands teemed with a million common murres, a black-and-white seabird that’s an agile diver but waddles awkwardly on land. Many other seabird species — from western gulls and black-footed albatrosses to colorful tufted puffins — packed the island to nest and feed. Thousands of northern fur seals bred and hauled out on the islands, as did northern elephant seals, California sea lions, Steller sea lions and harbor seals.

Drake’s visit marked the end of the islands’ era as a pristine wilderness untrammeled by humans, although this year’s centennial celebrates the return of the islands as land once again dedicated solely to wildlife.

Read more from the Silicon Valley News by clicking here.

Picture of humpback whale by the Farallon Islands by flickr photographer g-na. Picture of birds on the Farallon Islands by flickr photographer Jesse Wagstaff.

June 10, 2009 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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