Bob Lorentzen & Richard Nichols
The Torrey pine reigns among the rarest of the rare plants on the California shore. Before the last ice age over 11,000 years ago, Torrey pine forests covered large areas of southern California. Then changing climatic conditions reduced the stands to one of the world’s smallest native distributions of any tree. A few thousand Torrey…
Read MoreA San Diego population dead set on outdoor recreation in the fine desert weather of southern California generates a high level of support for developing new recreational opportunities. The large numbers of bicyclists riding along congested Pacific Coast Highway and other roadways and in parks indicated the need for a bike trail system. A coalition…
Read MoreNo one doubts that the car is king in America, and nowhere is it more greatly glorified than in southern California. There the ugly sibling of the car, unfettered urban and suburban sprawl-also held in high regard-grows cancerously into the fragile open spaces of valley and hill throughout the region. The octopus offspring of this…
Read MoreIn 1835 the trading brig Pilgrim sailed around Cape Horn in search of Spanish cowhides for the Boston shoe industry. The Pilgrim put in at what was then known as San Juan to trade with the Spanish mission, San Juan Capistrano. During the 1830s and 1840s, cowhide trading became such big business that the hides…
Read MoreIn the last 150 years, thousands of acres of California’s marine estuaries disappeared under the development of harbors, marinas, industrial building and housing tracts. Wetlands became the Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego Harbors. Downtown San Francisco and the Marina District sit atop bay mud, much of San Francisco Bay wetlands has been converted…
Read MoreThe Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors exemplify the huge L.A. economy. The harbors abut each other inside San Pedro Bay and are among the world’s biggest ports. The Port of Los Angeles alone throbs with commerce at 29 cargo terminals. In /998 it handled 3.2 million containers with a cargo value of $73.8 billion. Add about…
Read MoreImagine the Los Angeles basin as a rolling grassland with the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers flowing through riparian lowlands of cottonwood, alder and sycamore. Further imagine marshes, lagoons and large lakes interlaced with thickets of willow, grape and brambles, chaparral and oak forests draping the hills, numerous springs bubbling to the…
Read MoreCoastal hostels offer a welcome alternative to campgrounds and hotels as you explore California’s Coastal Trail. Imagine brisk walks on the CCT while staying at a cozy, perhaps historic, hostel with an ocean view. Cook hot meals in a well-lit kitchen, sleep in a comfortable bed and meet friendly people from around the world. Each…
Read MoreCalifornia’s Coastal Conservancy is a state agency that protects and improves coastal and San Francisco Bay natural resources and helps the public get to and enjoy the coast. It works in partnership with local governments, other public agencies, nonprofit organizations and private landowners. The Coastal Conservancy has undertaken more than 700 projects along California’s 1,100-mile…
Read MoreThe 150,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA), established in 1978, preserves the region’s unique ecosystems and rich cultural and natural history. This beautiful, diverse area, bounded by Mugu Lagoon and the Oxnard Plain on the west, Conejo Valley and San Fernando Valley on the north, and the coast on the south, reaches all…
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