Stop 2: San Miguel Island Tour

The island’s native vegetation as it appears today above Cuyler Harbor.

Tim Hauf, timhaufphotography.com

Return of the Natives
Halfway up Nidever Canyon is a good place to stop, take a rest, and observe the island's plant life including such species as coreopsis, buckwheat, dudleya, lupine, and morning glory. This incredible display of coastal sagebrush and coastal bluff scrub native vegetation is very similar to how the island would have looked to the first visitors.

Unfortunately, the island's vegetation was not always this lush. In the 1870s, the island was described as a "barren lump of sand." For over 100 years sheep (up to 6,000 at one point), cattle, horses, pigs, burros severely overgrazed the island, eliminating most of the native vegetation and creating open, disturbed, and eroded soils that allowed nonnative plants to flourish. Once established, these hardier nonnatives outcompeted the natives for limited soil and moisture, due to their longer germination and growth cycles and ability to withstand grazing and browsing by livestock.

The park is working to restore the island's native vegetation, and special focus is being placed on the 10 plants endemic to the islands-those found nowhere else in the world. To ensure the survival of these unique species and encourage the recovery of the island's native vegetation, all non-native animals have been removed and the effort to plant native species and control nonnative weeds is underway.

The recovery of native plants has so far been remarkable. Many have spread beyond the buried seed banks and steep canyon walls and cliffs, where they remained protected from grazing, and have reestablished themselves throughout the island.
This reestablishment of native plants has also aided in the recovery of endemic deer mice, island foxes, and nesting land birds by providing important habitat. Today, there are 16 land birds that nest annually on the island. Six of these-the song sparrow, horned lark, orange-crowned warbler, loggerhead shrike, Allen's hummingbird, and house finch-are endemic to the Channel Islands.

You can help with this recovery of island natives by cleaning your boots and other possessions, such as backpacks, before you visit. This ensures that you don't accidentally introduce nonnative species to the island. Together we can guarantee the return of native plants and animals throughout San Miguel Island.