Year: 2013

February 2013

Posted on | by MMPC

Another Great New Resource on Our Website

iNaturalist:  From hikers to hunters, birders to beach-combers, the world is filled with naturalists, and many of us record what we find. iNaturalist is a way to share these records on line. For example, you might discover someone who finds beautiful wildflowers at your favorite birding spot, or learn about the birds you see on the way to work. If enough people recorded their observations, it would be like a living record of life on Earth that scientists and land managers could use to monitor changes in biodiversity, and that anyone could use to learn more about nature – quote from About iNaturalist.

This month, we are pleased to introduce a new educational resource to our website, “More Mesa Natural Resources” on iNaturalist, created and organized by Lynn Watson. In addition to managing the MMPC web site, Lynn has captured most of the images and written some of the informational articles found on the site. In case that wasn’t keeping her busy enough, Lynn recently completed training with the very first California Naturalist Program on the Central Coast, and became a “Master California Naturalist”.  And, as part of her “Capstone” project for the program, she uploaded, among hundreds of others from Santa Barbara county, approximately 130 More Mesa photo observations into the iNaturalist database. These observations may be viewed from the lower link on these pages: Plants > Photos , Animals > Bird Photos and Animals > Insect Photos.

It is even more exciting to know that any of our supporters can be part of this Citizen Scientist movement; one that is fast becoming a potent force in saving our planet.  Whenever you report a sighting, via the “Sightings Button” on the home page, your information can optionally become (using a checkbox) part of the observations database for More Mesa on iNaturalist.  You can make a difference!

Christmas Bird Count:  Seventy species of birds were recorded during the 2012 CBC on More Mesa (214 for all of Santa Barbara).  Among them were some species that are not commonly seen; Short-eared Owl and  Burrowing Owl.  The full list can be found at Animals > CBC List.

iNaturalist

January 2013

Posted on | by MMPC

As many of you may already know, More Mesa was sold to a Saudi investor in mid-December.  Obviously MMPC is disappointed that the seller offered the property to the community for $35 million, but subsequently sold to the new owner for $25 million.  However, we look forward to working with the new owner in a manner that not only protects the biological, aesthetic and recreational resources of More Mesa, but also addresses his interests, as well as those of other More Mesa stakeholders.

Finally, it is useful to remember that, while we do not know the buyer’s plans at this time, the legal instruments that govern More Mesa have not changed. Whoever owns the property must comply with the policies and regulations of the County’s Goleta Community Plan and the California Coastal Act.  This means that development will be restricted, public access will be maintained, and the habitat areas covering most of the property must be protected.  We look forward to a productive dialogue with the new owner on all these issues.

Welcome to a New Year!

Male Harrier

While typically one or two female Northern Harriers overwinter on More Mesa, this year there were a number of Harriers, including the male in the photo, taken on January 3, 2013.