[CINC] What's on Scorpion Rock???

[Joel E. Justin]

I was hiking back to Scorpion on ESCI last weekend on the Smuggler's Road when I noticed a bunch of colorful objects on the top of Scorpion Rock. From that distance, it looked like laundry on a clothes line. I took a picture and when I got home, blew it up on my computer to discover it was a bunch of colorful barrels on their sides in a straight line.

I asked Derek about them and he forwarded my question to Laurie Harvey who is a seabird biologist with the NPS. Below is her informative reply along with a website that I found quite interesting. I hope you do too.

The picture I attached (hope it comes thru) is a thumbnail of the one I took. Zoom in to see the barrels.

Joel...

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From: Laurie Harvey
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 11:50 AM
To: Joel Justin
Subject: Re: FW: scorpion rock question

Hi Joel,
 
They are 55 gallon drums used for water storage. We are in year
one of plant habitat restoration for nesting seabirds--the water is
there to keep the 1,500 plants we put in the ground in September
alive till the rainy season.

The project on Scorpion Rock is to benefit the Cassin's Auklet. This
seabird is a member of the alcid family; as burrow-nesters, they excavate
nest sites in soft soil. We planted about a dozen different species and are
in the process of removing exotic invasive species like crystalline
iceplant.
 
You can also visit
http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/southwest/montrose/restore.html 
for more background on the projects funded by Montrose Settlements. 
Briefly, our projects seek to restore seabird species that have been impacted 
by DDT contamination.
 
Best,
Laurie
 
Laurie Harvey
Seabird Biologist
1901 Spinnaker Dr.
Ventura, CA  93001
805-658-5764
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