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Environment

Ocean Beach Dunes Home To Endangered Species

By Ed Joyce / Reporter
Published July 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM PDT
This story was published more than 14 years ago.
The sand dunes in Ocean Beach are a key nesting area for the California Least Tern, an endangered bird.
Ed Joyce
The sand dunes in Ocean Beach are a key nesting area for the California Least Tern, an endangered bird.

Rare Coastal Habitat In San Diego

Ocean Beach Dunes Home To Endangered Species
San Diego is home to one of the few remaining coastal dune habitats in California. The area is also a key nesting area for an endangered bird.

San Diego is home to one of the few remaining coastal dune habitats in California.The area is also a key nesting area for an endangered bird.

The rare jewel can be found in the midst of Ocean Beach.

"We're at the river mouth of the San Diego River and this is the area where the river enters the ocean, right at Dog Beach," explained Rob Hutsel, executive director of the San Diego River Park Foundation.

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Including the marsh, which runs into the dunes themselves, the area is about 15 acres.

Hutsel said the site is home to rare plants and the endangered California Least Tern.

"And it's often a place where the birds will come and nest," said Hutsel. "There's just a few hundred pairs left in the world, believe it or not. So it's really special for that. In addition, we've found populations of the nettles lotus, which is a little tiny flower. I call them belly-flowers, you have to get down on your belly to see them, but it's one of those plants that there's just, again, a few left and we're trying to protect them here."

The Least Tern nesting site is now protected by a fence to keep dogs and other predators from harming the birds.

Hutsel said volunteers will be working July 24, from 9am until noon, removing non-native vegetation, trash and maintaining trails. Tools, gloves and a free breakfast are provided.

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Before the volunteers begin, Hutsel said trained botanists and docents will lead an interpretive tour of the Ocean Beach site.

He said people are welcome to join the tour even if they can't help with the maintenance effort.

Volunteers will meet at 9am on Saturday, July 24, 2010 at the grassy area just inside the Dog Beach parking lot. For questions or more information on volunteering, call the River Park Foundation office at (619) 297-7380 or email volunteer@sandiegoriver.org.

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Ed Joyce
Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.
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