MANILA, Calif. — Protecting the city of Eureka and Arcata from the waves of the Pacific Ocean is a long line of wind-beaten sand dunes. At the peaks of those dunes, it appears to be a wasteland but at the bottom of the dune, there’s an oasis.
“Yes! These are dune hallows. This is where we will see a lot of the forest species,” says Daisy Peres, a conservationist with the group Friends of the Dunes.
The forest she is talking about is home to the crooked-looking Pinus Contorta, Contorta, also known as beach pine.
“You can see they are shaped like this because the wind just blasts them,” says Peres.
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Plants and animals in this unique ecosystem have a symbiotic relationship with wind. The wind creates dunes, and the dunes create shelter from the wind so plants can grow, but that symbiotic relationship is being threatened by an invasive species known as European Beach Grass. The waist-high grass not only kills other plants, but it prevents wind from moving sand and making properly shaped dunes.
“We are in the middle of a restoration project. We are trying to restore 115 acres of dunes by removing the non-native grass,” says Peres.
For more than 40 years, Friends of the Dunes have been protecting the dunes' ecosystem. They created the Humbolt Coastal Nature Center to educate people about life in the dunes, and to maintain trails so hikers can explore.
“We like to call this the gateway to the dunes,” says Peres.
From a distance, these coastal dunes may look like a desert but up close they are a remarkable refuge for plants, animals, and people to enjoy.
ANOTHER BEACH ON THE BACKROADS: Here's how gigantic, round rocks ended up on the Mendocino Coast at a place called "Bowling Ball Beach."
