Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest 2021: A National Treasure in Words

April 16, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Blog Posts

Every year, we invite writers near and far to compose poetry focused on the Morro Bay estuary and surrounding lands for our Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest: A National Treasure in Words. The contest is open now through May 7, and writers age 8 and up can enter. Find the complete details on our Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest 2021 page. 2021 Morro Bay Estuary Poetry Contest themes This year, we are looking for haiku on the theme “Morro Bay estuary and watershed” and free verse poems of up to 45 lines that explore the idea of finding solace in …

Field Updates March 2021: Volunteer Monitoring Program Updates and Bioassessment Site Scouting

Monitoring staff conducts bioassessment site scouting in the Morro Bay watershed

Read each month’s Field Updates post to see what our Monitoring Team have been up to. Updates on the Volunteer Monitoring Program As of March 2nd 2021, San Luis Obispo County moved from the purple or “Widespread” tier back into the red tier. The Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s current COVID-19 Safety Policy allows for volunteer monitoring when the San Luis Obispo County risk level is at or below the red tier designation, as outlined by COVID19.ca.gov. As such, the Estuary Program has slowly begun inviting back volunteers in a limited capacity. We have coupled this change with additional …

Bioassessment Survey Results 2020: Tracking the Health of Local Creeks

March 26, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bioassessment creeks habitat habitat assessment habitat survey healthy habitat macroinvertebrates macros MBNEP morro bay morro bay national estuary program wildlife Field Updates

One of the goals of the Estuary Program is to monitor the bay and the lands that surround it to better understand conditions and how they are changing over time. As part of this effort, the Estuary Program conducts spring bioassessment surveys. This data allows us to assess the health of our creeks and determine if they support sensitive aquatic life. What is bioassessment? Each spring, staff and volunteers head out to local creeks to collect habitat measurements. These measurements include the depth of the water, the size of the rocks in the stream, and the amount of tree cover …

MORRO BAY WATERSHED NATIVE PLANT SERIES: Coast Live Oak Woodlands

March 19, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program botany california central coast elfin forest estuary hiking Morro Bay live oak los osos oaks reserve MBNEP morro bay Blog Posts

Coast Live Oak Woodlands Are Unique Oak woodlands are so characteristic and unique to our state that many think the plant community should be declared California’s state vegetation type. Not sure what a plant community is? Take a look at our introductory post to the Morro Bay Native Plant Series, an exploration of our watershed’s diverse native flora! The term “woodland” is used instead of “forest” because the canopies in a woodland rarely overlap, allowing for more space and sunlight between trees. Woodlands also typically occur on drier soils and at lower elevations than forests. Where to find oak …

Updates from the Field: Monitoring Eelgrass Expansion

March 12, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program ecological restoration eel grass eelgrass eelgrass decline eelgrass map eelgrass restoration marine ecology monitoring morro bay research restoration Field Updates

Makenzie, Monitoring Coordinator, takes data while monitoring eelgrass in Morro Bay.

The Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s fieldwork has been deemed an essential service by the County of San Luis Obispo. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, we are not working with volunteers at this time and our field staff are following updated monitoring protocols. We look forward to working with volunteers and other community members again as soon as it is safe for us to do so. Thank you, readers, for staying engaged and supporting the Estuary Program’s work on monitoring eelgrass expansion and other projects during this difficult time. Green, green, everywhere! If you’ve been out on the …

Field Updates February 2021: Post-Storm Monitoring

March 5, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Canet road creek flow effects of rain field work fieldwork flow monitoring precipitation steelhead storm storm flow storm monitoring storm water Field Updates

COVID-19 Precautions The Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s fieldwork has been deemed an essential service by the County of San Luis Obispo. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, we are not working with volunteers at this time and our field staff are following updated monitoring protocols. We look forward to working with volunteers and other community members again as soon as it is safe for us to do so. Thank you, readers, for staying engaged and supporting the Estuary Program’s work on storm monitoring and other fieldwork tasks during this difficult time. Monitoring Sites Post-Storm January brought a substantial amount …

Save Our Bees

February 26, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program bee decline bee die off Bee hive monitoring network bees chlorpyriphos cypermethrin deltamethrin fipronil nicotinoid Blog Posts

Many bees on a honeycomb. One bee, marked with a yellow dot, is the queen.

Bees are part of the food cycle in one of the most essential ways—they help pollinate our food. Why is this important? In order for plants to produce the fruits, nuts, and vegetables that we eat, bees (more specifically, worker bees) collect nectar and pollen from flowers. When they fly to another flower, they unintentionally rub that pollen onto the new flower, pollinating it [i]. There is more to the science, but basically, by doing this, the bee has fertilized the flower, making it possible for the plant to produce food. The lifeline of the bee Worker bees, which …

Community Scientists Make a Difference for Morro Bay

February 19, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Audubon citizen science community science ecoslo estuary hummingbirds iNaturalist marine debris MBNEP morro bay noaa science activities weather Blog Posts

A plastic sand toy left on rocks at the beach.

While not everyone can be a marine biologist, a meteorologist, or a conservation ecologist, anyone can contribute to the wealth of data that these experts use and study. Our own Monitoring program uses data gathered by community scientist volunteers and staff members to keep an eye on long-term trends in water quality, bacteria levels, and other factors that influence stream and bay health. (We are not working with volunteers at this time due to COVID-19 precautions, but we look forward to having our volunteers back in the field as soon as it’s safe to do so.) Today, we’re sharing …

Morro Bay Watershed Native Plant Series: Maritime and Mixed Chaparral

February 12, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Blog Posts

Where do chaparral plant communities grow? Covering almost nine percent of the state, chaparral is one of the most widespread plant communities in California. Take a look at our introductory post to the Morro Bay Native Plant Series, an exploration of our watershed’s diverse native flora! Where can I find chaparral plant communities in Morro Bay? In the Morro Bay watershed, we see chaparral plant communities occurring in close association with the southern coastal scrub community and on higher, drier slopes. Since they are typically further inland from the immediate coast, chaparral plants experience greater temperature fluctuations (hotter summers …

Field Updates January 2021: Wildlife, Rainfall, and Flow Monitoring

February 5, 2021 Posted by Morro Bay National Estuary Program Canet road eelgrass field updates field work fieldwork flow monitoring lion's mane monitoring nudibranch precipitation rain rainfall rainfall accumulation research san diego dorid sea slug water quality Blog Posts Field Updates

The Morro Bay National Estuary Program’s fieldwork has been deemed an essential service by the County of San Luis Obispo. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, we are not working with volunteers at this time and our field staff are following updated monitoring protocols. We look forward to working with volunteers and other community members again as soon as it is safe for us to do so. Thank you, readers, for staying engaged and supporting the Estuary Program’s work during this difficult time. What’s Living in the Eelgrass? Estuary Program staff have continued to monitor eelgrass into January 2021, …