Date

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Speaker

Location

Parking:
On site and free.

Time

Cost

Title

Latest status of Marine Mammals of the Santa Barbara Channel

Topics

Peter Howorth, director of the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center, will speak about the status of marine mammals of the Santa Barbara Channel. This region boasts the most diverse seal and sea lion rookery in the world. It is also host to about a third of the world's species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Some species are flourishing, while others are not despite numerous regulations designed to protect them.

About the Speaker

Peter has followed the sea for more than 50 years, first as a competitive free diver, surfer and professional diver. He captured marine mammals for sea life parks in the 1960s and founded the nonprofit Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center in 1976. He serves as an environmental consultant for offshore projects, helping to prevent impacts to marine life. He has authored books and has been a columnist for the New Press for more than 25 years.

Date

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Speaker

Location

Parking:
On site and free.

Time

Cost

Title

California Condor Recovery Program

Topics

Geoff Grisdale, a US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, will discuss the current status, management, and research efforts of the California Condor Recovery Program. Geoff will compare the historic and current range, population size, and demographics of the species. He will explain the recent successes of the nest-guarding program in southern California and share video footage and first-hand accounts of nest entries. He will present maps with the latest GPS transmitter data and explain how this information provides key insights into seasonal foraging patterns, reproductive efforts, and on-going range expansions. Lastly, he will describe the Program's research into potential future habitat needs for condors and predicted changes in their landscape.

About the Speaker

Geoff has worked with California condors for 2 years and is currently a field crew leader at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Date

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Speaker

Location

Parking:
On site and free.

Time

Cost

Title

Captivating Bird Portraits of Santa Barbara

Topics

Local nature photographer, Callie Bowdish, will highlight her camera adventures with birds in the Goleta area with special emphasis on Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) and the Goleta Slough. Bird photo cataloging and web page journaling along with documenting bird events, such as the Snowy Plover nesting seasons at COPR and the Great Blue Heron nesting season at Goleta Slough, will be included.

About the Speaker

Callie Bowdish grew up in Santa Barbara. She holds an AA in Computer Information Science from SBCC, a BA in Physical Education from Arizona State University, an MA from the Fielding Graduate University in Organization Development and Management, and an MLIS in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University. She is currently employed in the UCSB Library as a Computer Resource Specialist in Special Collections. In addition to all that, she surfs, designs websites, is a great photographer, and is well-known among the ecology community in Santa Barbara. For more about Callie, see her website.