April E-Letter

In this E-Letter:

HTO Guide to Report Beached Lobster Traps
HTO Executive Director Hillary Hauser Earns 2023 Women of Achievement Award
HTO’s Statistics of Boats Recently Crashed on SB Beaches
Take Part in California Biodiversity Survey
Come say Hi at HTO’s Earth Day Festival Booth

HTO Guide to Report Beached Fishing Gear

The past winter storms caused many lobster traps and fishing gear to become detached from their buoys and land on Santa Barbara south coast beaches to become hazardous to beachgoers. Heal the Ocean got involved, with the intention of aiding the situation, and the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara has provided HTO with the best way to report lost gear.

Follow this simple guide to report traps on the beach and help return it to the owners.

**Graphic created by Jasmin Tupy, with approval from the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara**

HTO Executive Director Hillary Hauser Honored with 2023 Women of Achievement Award

HTO’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Hillary Hauser, together with Associate UCSB Professor, Dr. Leah Stokes, are set to be recognized by the Santa Barbara chapter of the Association for Women in Communications(AWC-SB) at the 15th Annual Women of Achievement Awards next week on Thursday, April 27. Hillary has a remarkable track record in diving photojournalism and environmental activism that has made her an outspoken figure in the fight against climate change and ocean pollution.

Hillary's new book, Dancing on Waves, will also be available for purchase at the event. The book takes readers on a thrilling journey through her diving adventures and ocean observations on her way to founding Heal the Ocean. Throughout the book, she has chronicled the lives, and deaths, of Santa Barbara fishermen and the challenges of her personal life.

The Women of Achievement Awards luncheon will take place on April 27, 2023 at 11:30 am, at Cabrillo Pavilion. It is an opportunity to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of both Hillary and Dr. Stokes, to learn about the achievements of other notable women while networking with other accomplished professionals. Tickets to the event are available and can be purchased here.

HTO’s Statistics of Boats That Have Crashed on SB Beaches

On During the fall and winter of 2022-2023, Heal the Ocean took a major role in handling the problem of derelict boats adrift along the south Santa Barbara county coastline, some of them crashing onto the beaches to create significant hazards of pollutants and debris. HTO oversaw all clean-ups and HTO Program Director Harry Rabin physically removed polluting items from crashed wrecks himself. Rabin rallied the man-power and ensured toxic materials were discarded from the wreckage of six vessels. Thanks to the prompt action of Harry, with the assistance of Brian Borgatello from MarBorg Industries, wreckages that may have otherwise still been on the beach have been removed with funding from HTO, and help from the City of Santa Barbara and MarBorg Industries.

HTO has compiled a list of the following incidents, including: 1) Survey/Access, 2) Removal of toxic materials and proper disposal, 3) Excavation and removal of vessels and their trails of debris, some up to 2 miles in either direction of beached vessels. The list does not include removal after a boat has sunk or been buried. One such vessel, the Allure, is still partially buried off Sandyland Cove.

Although we cannot determine the true cost of the damage caused to the environment, it is an inevitable outcome resulting from preventable incidents such as boat wrecks, which is often overlooked and not accounted for.

We thank HTO donors whose generosity makes this work possible. We also thank Andrew Velikanje, whose Earthcomb team worked tirelessly to remove boat debris scattered along our beaches.

Take Part in a Biodiversity Survey for California

**Click to Participate in the City Nature Challenge!**

On This year from April 28 to May 1, 2023, a “bioblitz” event (biological inventory or biological census) will be taking place to document an overall count of the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms. The City Nature Challenge invites everyone to enter. This event will not only help scientists better understand California’s biodiversity, but would also inspire people to pay attention to the plants and animals living in their backyards.

From the New York Times, and passed to us by Malinda Chouinard - Between the ocean, desert, mountains, redwood forests, volcanoes, the lowest and highest elevations in the continental United States, California has an impressive amount of plant and wildlife diversity.

However, California is one of 36 global biodiversity hot spots — places that are biologically rich but also deeply threatened, having lost at least 70 percent of its original native vegetation. The New York Times has published a map showing that California has the most imperiled biodiversity of any state in the contiguous United States, with more than 30 percent of its species threatened with extinction. It has become imperative for scientists to take proper inventory of California’s biodiversity – and you can help!

Come See Us at HTO’s Earth Day Festival Booth

After a 3-year hiatus, the Community Environmental Center (CEC) is staging its ever-popular Earth Day Festival, on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 & 30 in Alameda Park, near downtown Santa Barbara. HTO will have a booth both days. We invite you to check out our new T-shirts, groovy new tote bags, grab a bumper sticker, and learn about HTO action and activities. Come by our booth and say Hi!