Fort Ross Part. 1

Have you ever been or do you know of anyone who is interested in learning more about marine ecology? Well, if you are interested, then You should visit Fort Ross. Fort Ross is located in Northern California and it offers an excellent Marine Ecology program. The program is mainly focused on elementary, middle, and high school students. College students and adults are more than welcomed to experience this great program as well. Fort Ross Conservancy's Marine Ecology Program gives the youth an opportunity to learn more about the local marine ecology, while they interact and observe marine species. The students will learn what it is meant to conduct themselves around wildlife and observe the abundant marine life. While learning how to do collections and data protocol. Just how citizen scientists deeply appreciate marine science and nature, they encourage the students to focus on marine stewardship and environmental sciences.

 The Marine Ecology Program (MEP) was developed because of the need to collect data for the specific section of coast marine wildlife. Also monitor the different changes within the marine mammals. The MEP is designed with monitoring activities, introductory lessons, and also with review lessons that will encourage the students to think about what they observed, and the methods used to observe and collect the data. There are three different activities that are done in the program. They include Marine Mammal Monitoring, where a hike to the coastal bluffs in performed. Here the students are allowed to use telescopes and binoculars to practice identifying, counting, and observing Habor Seals, California and Steller Sea Lions. The second activity is based on the Rocky Intertidal Monitoring. By studying and visiting the rocky intertidal zone during the low tide, the students are able to see some incredible invertebrates. These invertebrates include Purple Sea Urchin, Ochre Sea Star, and Giant Green and Sunburst Anemones. To finish off the program, the students are taught about the Cultural History of Fort Ross State Historic Park. They get to learn about how different people lived and how working at Fort Ross impacted the local marine ecosystems in a positive and negative way.

Fort Ross

So why pick Fort Ross, to learn from and experience great activities? Well, Fort Ross is full of cultural history and is also full of pristine and diverse natural history. At Fort Ross in the past, there has been human practices that have deeply effected on the natural world in a long lasting way. Many different people have used the land at Fort Ross in many different ways. The marine life on the coast of California is very diverse and productive in the world. There are still threats and poaching of protected species, overfishing, human degradation caused by oil spills, pollution, and litter. By taking and collecting data during the MEP program, it will allow for more information to be used in assessing current or future impacts.

If you would want to have a better understandng of the natural wold and want to better and accurately identifying the animals that live on the Fort Ross shores, then you should consider getting involved. Fort Ross has three different coastal stewardship surveys that one could take part of. During the Harbor Seal Surveys, harbor seals are monitored when they haul out along the coast.They are conducted usually twice a month. Starting at the roadside at Highway One Mile Marker 33.52, which is north of the Fort Ross State Historic Park entrance. It takes about two hours to accomplish, once finishing at the end of the Fort Ross Cove.The Steller Sea Lions are the largest of the sea lions, they are monitored as they haul out on the Sea Lion Rocks just offshore at Fort Ross. As long as weather and the conditions permit, the surveys are scheduled prior to the survey. They are led by Joe Mortenson, who is a marine biologist. The third type of surveying is the Beach Watch Survey, where its conducted twice a month at eh area north from Fisk Mill Cove at the Salt Point State Park. Fort Ross is in the hope of adding this Beach Watch program soon. If you would like any information regarding any of the surveying, then please contact Hank Birnbaum, Fort Ross Conservancy, Hankb@fortross.org or (707) 847-3437.