Tag Archives: conservation

California’s Second Largest Salt Marsh Elkhorn Slough stretches seven miles inland from Moss Landing Harbor, forming the second largest salt marsh in California. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has hosted roadhouses, ranches, sugar beet plants, dairies, bootleggers, whaling stations, salt ponds, oyster farms, gun clubs and power plants. Throughout, its usefulness as a shipping channel via land and water has threatened the thriving habitat of over 700 species of animals. The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve sits near the slough’s terminus. It features numerous hiking trails and endless opportunities to spot a variety of wildlife. Returning from a recent trip to Monterey, my wife and I stopped at the Reserve and spent several hours hiking and observing wildlife. While there were many worthwhile points of interest, we found ourselves most captivated by the spit of land known as Hummingbird Island. Art, Conservation, Refuge Part marsh and part hillock, the island Continue Reading →