Future Prospects and Improvement (what can be done?)

Future Prospects for Ecosystem

Catalina Island is aggressive in its attempts to limit human impact and has developed a number of programs and policies to help the island return to its original state.  The Catalina Island Conservancy, which owns 88% of the island’s land, works to balance conservation efforts and island recreation (Catalina Island Conservancy). The Conservancy has been effective at reducing populations of nonnative animal species, virtually eliminating feral goat and pig populations as well as controlling bison populations. Reducing these animal populations has proven to be somewhat of a double-edged sword, since the reduction of these animal populations has removed an important threat to native plant populations but also invasive plant populations (Bison Study Executive Summary). Partly to address this problem, the Conservancy developed CHIRP (Catalina Habitat Improvement and Restoration Program), which has established four strategies to control invasive plant populations and include 1) Species based 2) Site-based 3) Control along roads and trails 4) Prevention of new invasions (Knapp, Invasive Plant Management Program 37). They also have created a native plant nursery to restore these threatened populations (Catalina Island Conservancy, Native Plant Nursery). The Catalina Island Fox Recovery Plan has been yet another success for the conservancy, and has brought the fox population from the brink of extinction to just over 1,000 in 2010 (Sahagun). Given the island’s aggressive programs to control invasive species populations and restore native populations, future prospects in this regard look good. However, the island’s water pollution problem paints a less optimistic picture. The island has spent $3.5 million in testing and rehabilitating sewer lines with no improvement to water quality(Barboza). The outcome looks bleak for Avalon’s water pollution problem given the costs associated with fixing the island’s sewer system. 

Improvement: What Can Be Done?

Continued restoration efforts of native species will help native plants and animals return to a healthy state. The conservancy’s simultaneous efforts to control invasive plant and animal populations will gradually bring the island to more closely resemble its historic, original state. A major priority for the island should be replacing the sewage system in its entirety, since it is considered the only solution to the water pollution problem. Additionally controlling the effects of human recreation on the island, i.e. by closely regulating camping and boating; diving; and tourism, will give the natural habit a chance to restore itself.