Lotus Vermeer, project director for Santa Cruz Island.

The Conservancy’s Santa Cruz Island project director stands poised to meet the challenges and rewards of restoring the crown jewel of “the Galapagos of North America.”

The northern Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara are home to dozens of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. But the unique miniature foxes, rare plants and other species that inhabit Santa Cruz Island – the largest of the Channel Islands at 96 square miles – have not had an easy time of it. Non-native feral pigs root up rare plants and disturb the soil, causing wide-scale erosion and facilitating the spread of invasive weeds.

"We're fighting for the long-term survival of a precious ecological treasure, and we need the support of the public to make it happen." -Lotus Vermeer

The pigs have also attracted a new predator to the island. Golden eagles from the mainland began colonizing Santa Cruz Island in the 1990s, lured by the year-round supply of feral piglets. In addition to preying upon pigs, the golden eagles have also hunted the island fox to near extinction.

Island Experience

I grew up on Vancouver Island, and spent childhood summers tracking seabirds with my research scientist father on isolated islands off of Canada’s west coast, which certainly inspired my career interests. In 1989, I moved to Barbados to conduct graduate work on primates. My research interests expanded from monkeys to marine life, and I ended up staying in the eastern Caribbean for 11 years, eventually completing a Ph.D. in marine ecology.

	Scientists are working to save the endangered Santa Cruz Island Fox © Lynda Richardson

A primary focus of my work was on sea turtles, and as the project coordinator for the Barbados Sea Turtle Project, I led nationwide conservation efforts and educational outreach campaigns that succeeded in influencing public policy to provide protection for the critically endangered turtles. From Barbados, I relocated to Boston to direct the international scientific research program for Earthwatch Institute; a chilly change in venue, but a great opportunity. Now back on the west coast, working for The Nature Conservancy to protect Santa Cruz Island, I have come full circle back to island life.

Leading a team

As Project Director, I lead a dynamic and innovative team of ecologists and dedicated TNC staff committed to the preservation of Santa Cruz Island’s unique biological diversity. Our current focus is on saving the island fox – an effort in which we are closely collaborating with the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game. Our island fox recovery efforts involve captive breeding – a program which has produced 34 pups since its implementation in 2002, island-wide monitoring, and ecological research of foxes in the wild. As part of these recovery efforts, we are relocating golden eagles to the far side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and eradicating thousands of the highly destructive feral pigs.

We also support efforts underway to reintroduce juvenile bald eagles to the island. Bald eagles disappeared from the island during the 1960s due to DDT contamination of their marine-based food supply. It is believed that the territorial bald eagles, once they reach maturity, will help to deter the golden eagles from re-establishing residency on the island.

Inspiration

Santa Cruz Island, with its remarkably diverse community of plants and animals, including 12 species found nowhere else in the world, is a very special place. It is exciting to work on an ecosystem-wide restoration program that focuses on endangered endemic species like the island fox. This project has afforded me the opportunity to tie together the diverse strands of my scientific interests, my proclivity for islands, and a desire to be more directly involved with fellow scientists and research in the field. Now I have the chance to focus on another island’s ecology – and on an exceptionally ambitious scale.

Making it happen

Getting the word out and making sure the public and those who care about Santa Cruz Island understand what we are doing and why we are doing it is one of the more challenging aspects of the job. The Conservancy and its partners are fighting for the long-term survival of a precious ecological treasure, and we need the support and engagement of the public to make it happen.

Years from now, I hope the unique plant and animal species of Santa Cruz Island will be well on the road to recovery, and the Island fox will be flourishing in the wild again.