Some 25 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara lies a place one might think time forgot. Never connected to the mainland, Santa Cruz Island has evolved into an oasis of unusual life forms. More than a thousand species of plants and animals inhabit the island’s high peaks, deep canyons, pastoral valley and 77 miles of dramatic coastline. Twelve of these species are found nowhere else on Earth.

So rich and unique are its flora and fauna that Santa Cruz and its sister Channel Islands are often called “the Galapagos Islands of North America.” But a closer look at Santa Cruz Island today reveals that time has indeed touched this natural paradise.

Eight unique plant species struggle for survival, and the Santa Cruz Island fox — a small creature that has held the top berth on the island’s food chain for thousands of years — was recently added to the endangered species list.

The main culprit, scientists say, is the feral pig. Rototillers of the animal kingdom, feral pigs root up rare plants and disturb the soil, facilitating the spread of invasive weeds. Feral pigs have also attracted a new top predator to the island—golden eagles. Once only occasional visitors, golden eagles began colonizing Santa Cruz Island in the 1990s to feast on feral piglets, available year-round. But the carnivorous raptors also preyed upon the innocent island fox. In less than a decade, the island fox population plummeted from 1,500 to fewer than 100.

Santa Cruz Island was on the brink of biological destruction when The Nature Conservancy acquired an interest in the island in 1978. Feral pigs and tens of thousands of feral sheep—remnants of pioneer-day ranches—had roamed the island freely for more than a century, rendering once-rich hillsides nearly barren. During the 1980s, the Conservancy eliminated the sheep, allowing native flora to stage an astonishing comeback.

Today’s major focus is saving the island fox. The Conservancy, which owns 76 percent of the island, and the National Park Service, which owns the rest, are working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners on an intensive, science-based restoration program for the entire island.

In 1999, the Conservancy and its partners initiated a program to relocate golden eagles to the eastern Sierra Nevada. In 2002, the Conservancy and the National Park Service launched a captive fox-breeding program and stepped up efforts to fit the island’s remaining wild foxes with tracking devices. That same year, the Institute for Wildlife Studies began reintroducing young bald eagles— historically native birds that disappeared from the island years ago due to DDT contamination of the ocean. Upon reaching adulthood, the territorial bald eagles—which traditionally feed upon fish and carrion, and not foxes—are expected to help deter golden eagles from recolonizing.

Soon, a professional hunting contractor will begin eradicating the feral pigs. Carriers of disease, the pigs can’t be returned to the mainland, and there’s no effective contraception to control their population.

Scientists are confident that once feral pigs are removed, the island fox and its unique habitat will once again flourish. With your help, The Nature Conservancy and its partners will continue moving forward with its ecological restoration activities until Santa Cruz Island is restored and preserved for future generations.