Scientists estimate that rats are responsible for half of bird and reptile extinctions worldwide, and island wildlife populations are particularly vulnerable. The Channel Islands provide critical habitat and nesting grounds for a variety of land and shore birds, including the threatened Scripps’s murrelet. In 2001 and 2002, seven governmental and nonprofit organizations collaborated on an innovative invasive species removal program as part of a larger effort to protect and restore biodiversity on the islands.

A new Park Service video describes some of the efforts conservationists made to remove the rats, and some of the hopeful results, including a four-fold increase in Scripps’s murrelet nests, an increase in the Scripps’s murrelets’ hatching rates from 30 to 85 percent, a wider habitat range for Cassin’s auklets, and strong improvements for other animal populations, including native lizards and mice. The researchers also recorded ashy storm-petrels nesting on the island—for the first time ever.

Park officials and their partners will release a report on their findings later this year, but in the meantime, the video summarizes the good news while capturing some of the scenic vistas that make this part of the world so special.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Learn more

• See more photos of park wildlife and learn more about these stunning islands by watching NPCA’s recent slideshow on this park.
• Read about the recent recovery of the island night lizard at Channel Islands National Park.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, most of the credit for the species’ successful recovery goes to a decision by the U.S. Navy and the Park Service to remove non-native pigs and goats from Santa Barbara, San Clemente, and San Nicholas Islands where the lizard lives (Santa Barbara Island is officially part of Channel Islands National Park; the other two islands are managed by the Navy). The invasive animals had degraded the lizards’ habitat, leading to the decline in their populations. After their removal, the lizards slowly but surely regained their footing. Now, more than 21 million of the reptiles live on San Clemente alone! (NPCA also fought successfully to remove non-native grazing animals from Channel Islands, though in a different region of the park. On Santa Rosa Island, a private hunting and cattle-grazing operation was also degrading habitat; the invasive species were finally completely removed by 2011.)

The island night lizard is one of 145 plant and animal species that live only on the Channel Islands and nowhere else on Earth. The lizard is also not the only threatened species to make a dramatic recovery at this park—the brown pelican and the island fox are two others that went from near-extinction to a healthy recovery. See photos of park wildlife and learn more about these stunning islands by checking out NPCA’s recent slideshow on this park.

A few interesting facts about the island night lizard, from the Park Service website:

• Studies on Santa Barbara Island have shown that island night lizards are not nocturnal as their name suggests, and are actually most active at midday.
• The island night lizard gives birth to live young (as opposed to laying eggs), which is not common among reptiles.
• Island night lizards are slow growing and long-lived, some reaching 25 years of age.
• During the course of their long lives, they accumulate many injuries, including regenerated tails, miscellaneous cuts, missing toes, eye injuries, infections, and the presence of cactus spines.
• With their unusually low metabolic rate, the lizards do not have high energy demands and can live on about half the food that other similar-sized lizards require.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

At the peak of the fall season, the trees along the George Washington Memorial Parkway are alive with color. This scenic roadway is one of the most-visited parts of the National Park System, and an autumn drive along this stretch of the Potomac River in the Mid-Atlantic is a joy for tourists and locals alike. Sycamores and tulip trees, dogwoods and maples—these Virginia hardwoods greet visitors with a dazzling display of scarlet and gold.

Now, as fall gives way to winter, the only splashes of color are green. Most of them belong there: Virginia pine, American holly, and an assortment of native ground covers. But as I drove the parkway to NPCA’s Washington, D.C., office this week, I was struck by the proliferation of greenery that the woods could do without: English ivy.

Since its introduction by European colonists in the 18th century, English ivy (Hedera helix) has tangled itself in our culture, from the halls of Princeton to holiday wreaths. And because of its durability and glossy appearance, it remains a popular ornamental, planted as a ground cover by unwitting homeowners.

Unfortunately, English ivy is an invasive species, and an aggressive one at that. It spreads readily by runners or by birds that disperse its seeds, and can quickly form a canopy that crowds out the native species of the forest understory. Even large trees are at risk; along several stretches of the Parkway, entire mature trees are wrapped from trunk to top by the ivy, which deprives them of sunlight and sends them into a steady decline that will eventually kill them—if the weight of the vines doesn’t help to bring them down in a storm first. 

Because the parkway is adjacent to residential neighborhoods, it is particularly susceptible to infestation by English ivy, which, along with other invasive species like bush honeysuckle and kudzu, creates an ongoing challenge for the National Park Service staff and volunteers who regularly gather to remove them. But the problem isn’t an isolated one. Present in 18 states and the District of Columbia, English ivy has been reported as invasive in national parks from Shenandoah to Yosemite.

This holiday season, as many of us are making our New Year’s resolutions—and going through seed catalogs planning our spring gardens—you can make a few easy changes that benefit your neighborhood and your parks.

How you can help

• Choose native plants. A variety of ornamental vines and ground covers make better landscape alternatives to ivy, and choosing plants that are adapted to your region can be a great benefit for birds and other wildlife, too.
• Lend a hand. Most parks offer volunteers the opportunity to put on some gloves and help to remove invaders.
• Learn more. Taking a few simple steps when you garden, hike, and boat can help to reduce the spread of invasives and the risk to parks.

It was a hot day. Soaring temperatures meant we had to start early in the morning and quit around 11 a.m.–but even in that short window, we accomplished some impressive work. A coalition of agencies and nonprofits worked together to clear a road that connects the west side of Saguaro National Park with Ironwood Forest National Monument. We pulled out 270 bags, at an average of 30 pounds each, for a total of more than four tons of this invasive weed. 

This work is increasingly important as buffelgrass spreads throughout the Sonoran Desert. Not only does the grass suppress native plants, it also increases the chances that wildfires will spread and destroy large swaths of desert life. Some 2,000 acres of land inside Saguaro National Park are affected by the weed, threatening the fragile ecosystem, including the health of the park’s stately namesake cactus. 

Learn more about the fight to protect Saguaro National Park from buffelgrass with this informative Park Service fact sheet (PDF, 6.6 MB). NPCA also produced a podcast (listen here) that explains the wildfire risk buffelgrass presents to the area, and why it’s important to remove. If you live in the Tucson region and missed last weekend’s event, you can find more ways to get involved through the Friends of Saguaro National Park and Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center.

-Kevin Dahl, Arizona Program Manager