More Mesa feature in Montecito Journal

Bobcats On More Mesa Some of you may have seen the marvelous photos of Bobcats taken recently on the Douglas Preserve.  And, we are most pleased to report both evidence and a sighting a Bobcat on More Mesa as well; scat was reported on the west side and an animal was seen near Atascadero Creek…

Summer Butterflies: If you have not already discovered it, we encourage you to check out one of our web site’s many slide shows of photographs of Butterflies seen on More Mesa. Furthermore, there is a downloadable pdf Guide.  And, happily, at this time of year you can see more and more of these local beauties in the…

How One Person Can Make a Huge Difference Toward Preserving More Mesa Last winter’s heavy rains produced a fabulous wildflower show in spring. Unhappily, fennel seedlings also exploded all over the South Coast, and on More Mesa. Fennel is a robust invasive that can destroy the beauty, accessibility and ecology of More Mesa, if it…

Reptiles and Amphibians: In the past we have highlighted many of the biological resources found on More Mesa: birds, plants, mammals and, in last month’s update, our colorful insects, the butterflies. So it seems timely that the recent finding of a very long Gopher Snake shed should prompt this month’s discussion of the reptiles and…

Bobcat Family: Over the years, anecdotal, and very informal reports of Bobcat sightings have reached the More Mesa Preservation Coalition.  Moreover, we have never received any written or photographic documentation of these reports. However this year, it has become clear that a Bobcat family is frequenting More Mesa.  The mother was first seen in spring,…

Since the Gap Fire has greatly heightened our awareness of fire, we are taking this opportunity to present a final update of plant recovery from the fire that broke out on More Mesa almost exactly a year ago.  That fire was described in our August 2007 News. Also, we previously presented an interim update concerning…