Field Updates March 2020: Rain, Storm Flow, Eelgrass Restoration

The Rain Returns March brought more rain after a dry February, with the San Luis Obispo CIMIS rain gauge receiving 5.75″ of precipitation. This helped increase the flow of creeks throughout our watershed and brings our total up to 12.36″ of rain since the start of the water year in October, 2019. Check out this link to learn more about water years, and to read some highlight about the 2019 water year. Surface flow and storm flow Around Morro Bay, different creeks maintain varying levels of surface water flow. This means that some creeks have no visible surface water flow, …

Recycling with flair (aka get ready for crafts)

March 27, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Blog Posts

We hope you are staying healthy and sane during these crazy times! Finding ways to stay entertained seems to be getting harder, especially if you have kids at home. Have you thought about reusing your recyclables or re-purposing plastic trash as a crafty pastime? Odds are you have plastic packaging and other items at home that can’t be recycled. Instead of tossing them in the trash, you can reuse them as craft materials. Beyond keeping trash out of the landfill, you’ll also be cutting down on your carbon footprint by reusing something instead of buying new supplies that have to …

The recycling world is plastic (malleable) it’s time for an update!

March 20, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program california CRV estuary helping the planet morro bay recycling reduce reuse recycle science what goes into the recycling bin Blog Posts

How is California doing with recycling? If you’re wondering how California is doing with recycling, the short answer is, not very well. Because of California’s location on the West Coast, the state has depended heavily on selling recyclables to China. Since China put the National Sword Policy into action in 2017, the U.S. has been struggling to support the recycling system and keep it from crumbling. For those of you who haven’t read our first blog on the business of recycling, we recommend reading it first, it will blow your recycling mind! A National Sword Policy Refresher As a refresher, here is a quick summary of the National Sword policy. The U.S. has been dependent on China buying our …

Join the Morro Bay Rain Gauge Network to Track Local Precipitation

March 13, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program MBNEP morro bay morro bay national estuary program morro bay rain gauge network precipitation rain gauge rainfall stormwater track rain water year Blog Posts

In light of the recent rainstorms we’ve had locally, we invite you to participate in tracking precipitation at your home, work, or school through our Morro Bay Rain Gauge Network. This is an easy way to help gather important data from home, and a great project for families or classes to take on together. Keep reading for background information about why scientists track precipitation, how stormwater affects the Morro Bay watershed, and how you can join the Morro Bay Rain Gauge Network. How scientists track precipitation A water year is a twelve-month period of time that begins October 1 of …

Field Updates February 2020: Creek and Eelgrass

March 6, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program cal poly research eelgrass eelgrass restoration environmental restoration field work fieldwork MBNEP morro bay morro bay estuary morro bay national estuary program seagrass Tenera environmental Blog Posts

Creek Water Quality February was a month marked with warm temperatures and low precipitation here in the Morro Bay watershed. In February 2019, the San Luis Obispo CIMIS rain gauge received 7.48 inches of rain, with 57% of days during the month recording rainfall. Comparatively, this year’s rainfall has been much lower, with a February monthly total of 0.01 inches of rain and only one day with rainfall as of February 28. Low precipitation levels have led to low flows in our creeks, as can be seen in this picture of Dairy Creek, a tributary of Chorro Creek. The amount …

A National Treasure in Words: Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest 2020

March 1, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Blog Posts

This living flowing land is all there is, forever We are it it sings through us — — Gary Snyder, By Frazier Creek Falls …, Remember the small secret creases of the earth — the grassy The wooded, and the rocky — that the water had made, finding its way. — Wendell Berry, Sabbaths This year, we are holding our annual poetry contest, A National Treasure in Words: the Morro Bay Estuary, in March to match the release of our triennial State of the Bay report. We are asking writers ages eight and up to send us haiku focused …

Field Updates January 2020: Eelgrass Success and Creek Water Quality

February 14, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program creek stage creek water quality eelgrass eelgrass loss eelgrass plots eelgrass restoration MBNEP monitoring morro bay morro bay national estuary program morro bay watershed restoration Blog Posts Field Updates

This month, our field staff have been busy monitoring eelgrass success in the bay and water quality in the creeks that drain to the Morro Bay estuary. Eelgrass monitoring and restoration success If you spent time out on the bay in January, you might have noticed the really high tides. January 2020 had King Tides, meaning that the high tides were much higher than normal. These extreme high tides are mirrored by extreme low tides. We always take advantage of these extreme low tides to monitor eelgrass, as we have a wider window than normal to conduct our monitoring. Eelgrass …

Photograph Friday: Why We Heart Estuaries

February 7, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program #iheartestuaries Photograph fridays Blog Posts

Brown pelicans are often found fishing in the Morro Bay estuary.

Every year around Valentine’s Day, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program joins in I Heart Estuaries Week. During this time, we celebrate and raise awareness of the essential contributions that estuaries make to the health of our planet and to our quality of life. In that spirit, this Photograph Friday post illustrates some of the reasons why we should protect, conserve, and restore these special places where saltwater and freshwater mix. Estuaries provide clean water, abundant wildlife, natural beauty, recreation, and historic and cultural assets. In addition to their intrinsic value, these elements also contribute to the local economy …

20 ways you can be more environmentally friendly during the roaring eco-20s.

January 31, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program 20 ways to be greener 2020 carbon footprint chemical sunscreen climate change compost Coral Reefs environmentally friendly global warming green planet help the estuary mineral sunscreen native plants recycling save our planet save teh bay SLO County recycling Blog Posts

As the month of New Year’s resolutions approaches the finish line, you might want to add more to your list! Here are twenty ways you can be more environmentally friendly during the roaring eco-20s. 1. I scream, you scream, we all scream for sunscreen! (Especially when we forget to put it on and find ourselves covered in sunburn.) Do you know what type of sunscreen you use? There are two types of sunscreen, chemical and mineral sunscreen. Chemical sunscreen is now known to contribute to coral reef bleaching and potentially harming other wildlife through water contamination. How do you know you have a chemical sunscreen? Look for these active ingredients listed on the bottle: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate. If you have any of these in your sunscreen, that means it’s a chemical …

Morro Bay Wildlife Spotlight: Balls of Spines (AKA Sea Urchins)

January 24, 2020 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program animals of morro bay climate change estuary kelp forest morro bay morro bay national estuary program morro bay wildlife sea star wasting disease sea star wasting syndrome sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Tide pools wildlife spotlight Blog Posts Wildlife spotlight

Is it a ball? Is it a Pokémon? Nope, it’s a sea urchin! Sea urchins, even though common, are really cool! In Morro Bay, there are mainly two species, purple sea urchin and red sea urchin. The biggest difference between the two is their size and color. Red sea urchins can reach up to five inches in diameter whereas purple sea urchins reach only two inches in diameter. The most common species is the pacific purple sea urchin, also known as Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Sea urchins use their spikes and poison as a defense mechanism. The poison is located at …