Ecology of Southern California Island Sandy Beaches

Abstract

In 1975 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initiated a series of marine studies in the southern California borderland (Straughan 1977b, 1978). These studies were to establish a baseline and to determine "areas of concern" prior to any expansion of the offshore petroleum industry. The baseline was to be one that accounted for natural variability in the region over a period of time so that it could be used to measure any impact of expansion of the petroleum industry. The "areas of concern" included those which have valuable marine resources and might therefore be excluded from larger areas that would be impacted by an increase in oil operations. The following data, concerning sandy beaches on some of the islands in the Southern California Bight, were collected as part of a program to achieve these goals.