Big Sur Rattlesnake

Western Rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus

Andrew Molera State Park, California. This past weekend I was out hiking near Big Sur with a group of friends from Monterey, and came across this western rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus.  The poor guy was really upset to see us and not very cooperative in moving aside so we could pass. We were ascending the East Molera Trail in Andrew Molera State Park.  I encountered a second rattlesnake that afternoon on the Molera Ridge Trail.

The Great Marlin Race: “ Billfishers, billfishers, billfishers, start fi...

The Great Marlin Race: “ Billfishers, billfishers, billfishers, start fi...: "The tournament began promptly at 7:30 a.m. this morning, under hazy skies with west winds around 7 mph. Randy and I met the anglers on the ..."

Big Asilomar

Monterey, California.  Terrific storm systems have been moving through Monterey Country for the past couple of days, generating tons of rains, hail, lightening strikes and a really big swell.  The storm system, which is expected to persist for awhile, is believed to be a result of the strong El Niño event rocking our world this year.  Below is a little video footage from one our local surf breaks, Asilomar, maxing out at 35ft this morning.

Speak Wild

Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. This past November, this inspiring young man spoke at Wild9 in the Yucatan, Mexico:

MPAs Work

A long overdue message from Pierce Brosnan and friends:

Elk Rut

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of camping and filming within Rocky Mountain National Park during the elk rut. Here is a small teaser of the footage - more to come!

An After Work Hike

Soberanes Canyon Trail, Garrapata State Park, California.  Location of trailhead: Latitude 36.4387, Longitude -121.9203. 

The signs at the trailheads in this region warn of mountain lions, rattlesnakes and poison oak.  I seem to be impervious to the latter and am only exhilarated by the possibility of seeing the first two.  I consider these types of signs to be more about the “best stuff to see” as opposed to any message of caution I should heed.  A few years back, while hiking at Kenai Glacier in Alaska, I was amazed and amused by the bear warning signs posted by the National Park Service.  Apparently, if at any times a bear “begins to feed on you”, you should “fight back”.  Brilliant!    To be fair though, the rest of the sign did give some pretty good advice as well as helpful information on the behavioral differences between black and brown bears.  

Now, on the trails here in Central California,  I did end up seeing one of those rattlesnakes.  It was this past Easter, while on a hike through Garland Ranch Regional Park, in Carmel Valley.  It was a small guy, for sure, but my very first rattler, so I was thrilled.  Today, on the other hand, I had no such luck, but nonetheless was not left disappointed.

After leaving work at 5pm in Monterey, I headed down the PCH past Carmel Heights to a beautiful ocean overlook where the trailhead for Soberanes Canyon Trail begins.  You enter Garrapata State Park as soon as you walk off the road, but this is evident only from a single sign post – there are no facilities or elaborate trail markers here.  The trail winds up the canyon, following a stream along the way and , at this time of day, the air was buzzing with damselflies and stellar jays.  After briefly passing through oak chaparral, the canyon winds through a valley of prickly pear cactus, through some riparian vegetation and then empties into a magnificent redwood forest a la the moon of Endor (minus any signs of Ewoks).  

After spending some time among the redwoods, billows of fog began to roll in and the sky darkened with the approaching dusk.  I had a mind to turn around, but noted that a few couples that passed me by while I stopped for photos had not come back this way.  So, I guessed a loop trail and moved onward.  I was greatly rewarded, as the best was yet to come.  The trail eventually rises up from the redwood forest and onto the grassy slopes above tree line.  From this vantage point, one can see how the redwood groves line the interiors of narrow canyons, and then quickly fade off as the slopes open up.   The trail here rises high into the Santa Lucia Mountains, the slopes of which are alive with wildflowers at this time of the year.  California poppies, composites and lupines were a few I recognized, but my recollection does not do them justice.  It is a orgy of color up there and, as one climbs higher, a spectacular vista of the sea opens behind you, making the Pacific look like nothing more than a great, glassy pond. 

Continuing upward, I feared that I had chosen wrongly as dusk settled deep on the backside of the mountain.  But as I neared the summit, a still late afternoon sun greeted me, illuminating the rocky outcrops and flowered slopes in bright gold, scattered almost mystically through patches of fog.   Although far above the sea now, the bellows of sea lions could yet be heard, their raucous barking radiating from an offshore pair of islets.  I encountered a rabbit, a black-tailed deer and numerous western fence lizards. 

The descent is on the front side of the mountain, exposed to the sun and ocean, so barren of trees.  In one obscure spot, a carved bench sits on an outcropping.  Through a friend I heard that on one night of every week, hikers meet here with bottles of wine to watch the sun go down.   I had no wine, but the sun did set for me as I descended back down to the road.    Funny, I kind of regret not having been caught up there past dark - I’d love to still be roaming those hills.

Great White Shark Song

Monterey, California.  This one's just for fun.  This video is a bit dated now, but I just love the song and thought I'd share a little shark good will with you today.  Avoid that shark fin soup at all costs!

Scientists urge world leaders to respond cooperatively to Pacific Ocean threats

Monterey, California.  More than 400 leading scientists from nearly two-dozen countries have signed a consensus statement on the major threats facing the Pacific Ocean. The threats identified as the most serious and pervasive include overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change.

“This is first time the scientific community has come together in a single voice to express urgency over the environmental crisis facing the Pacific Ocean,” said Meg Caldwell, executive director of the Center for Ocean Solutions, who will present the statement on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time to government officials gathered at the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Indonesia. “The scientific community urges governments to respond now, cooperatively, to these threats before their impacts accelerate beyond our ability to respond.”

The consensus statement, entitled “Ecosystems and People of the Pacific Ocean: Threats and Opportunities for Action,” emerged from a scientific workshop in Honolulu hosted by the Center for Ocean Solutions in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ocean Conservancy. The workshop was part of a broader

 effort by the three organizations to challenge countries throughout the Pacific region to improve the health of marine ecosystems by 2020.

In the consensus statement, the scientists warn that if left unchecked, the cumulative impacts

of overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction—exacerbated by climate change—could have

devastating consequences for coastal economies, food supplies, public health and political stability.

These threats affect all members of the Pacific Ocean community, said Stephen Palumbi, director of Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station and one of the principal organizers of the consensus statement. “Remarkable similarity exists between the major problems experienced in poor and rich countries alike, in populous nations and on small islands,” said Palumbi, a professor of biology and a senior fellow at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment.

In addition to listing the serious environmental challenges facing the Pacific Ocean, the consensus statement also highlighted a set of potential solutions now being applied and tested at various scales throughout the region. Examples include the establishment of marine protected areas and the creation of economic incentives for activities that promote rather than degrade ecosystem health. “These efforts have shown remarkable success at local scales in maintaining biological and human economic diversity, particularly when applied with adequate levels of regulation and enforcement in place,” said Caldwell, a senior lecturer at Stanford Law School and at the Woods Institute. “These solutions are indicators of hope within an ocean of distress.”

The consensus statement was largely based on a synthesis of more than 3,400 scientific papers on the threats and impacts to the Pacific prepared by the Center for Ocean Solutions. The Pacific Ocean Synthesis provides “a roadmap by which governments might chart a new course of policy for the Pacific region,” said Biliana Cicin-Sain, a professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware and coordinator of the Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Islands, a multi-stakeholder network committed to advancing ocean issues within international agreements.

“The impacts of misuse of our ocean resources on our economy, our environment and our community can no longer be ignored,” said Gov. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi, whose capital Manado is hosting the World Ocean Conference. The governor will convene the event with Caldwell on Wednesday. “We must work together at the regional and transboundary levels to find solutions for improved management of our common ocean.”

The scientific consensus statement and synthesis can be found at the Center for Ocean Solutions website. Scientists interested in signing the consensus statement can send an email to POIstatement@stanford.edu.

Based in Monterey, Calif., the Center for Ocean Solutions is a collaboration of three leading marine science and policy institutions—Stanford University (through its Woods Institute for the Environment and Hopkins Marine Station), the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The center focuses on finding practical, enduring solutions to major challenges facing the oceans.

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Catch National Geographic's Megabeasts!

Monterey, California.  The National Geographic Channel has yet another great program exploring our missing wilderness.  Death of the Megabeasts explores the disappearance of giant beasts that roamed our planet long after the fall of the dinosaurs.  Scientists look at a number of theories on why these animals disappeared, including the likely possibility that we ate them!  The show next airs on May 3rd at noon.