SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
In May, a wildfire swept through a grove of rare trees on an island off the coast of California. Those trees on Santa Rosa Island, called Torrey pines, grow naturally only in two places. The fire not only damaged the trees but also made them more vulnerable to erosion. Now, with the possibility of more rain this winter due to El Nino, scientists on the island are racing to put protections in place. From member station KCBX, Kendra Hanna has more.
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KENDRA HANNA, BYLINE: To get to Santa Rosa Island, you have to take an hours-long boat ride from mainland Southern California. Santa Rosa is part of the Channel Islands National Park, and it's full of beaches, grassy hills and island foxes. But for restoration ecologist Michelle Gados, what's most exciting are the plants.
MICHELLE GADOS: Yeah, I mean, it's incredible to see, like, some of these plants that occur out here and nowhere else on Earth. I think there's, like, a total of five that are - just occur on Santa Rosa, none of the other islands. So yeah, it's pretty special.
HANNA: One very special plant that grows here is the Torrey pine. It's a wide, twisty tree that sometimes grows sideways like a bonsai. Gados is with the California Institute of Environmental Studies, which works with the National Park Service on Torrey pine restoration. Here's how she describes them.
GADOS: Majestic. Magical. Gorgeous. Glorious.
HANNA: According to the National Park Service, the species is vulnerable to extinction. That's because its limited genetic variability means it can't adapt well to environmental changes like drought. Plus, they only grow here and in San Diego, which is why the National Park Service is so concerned about helping them recover from a wildfire in May. More than 24,000 Torrey pines live on the island, and Gados says the fire damaged a portion of them.
GADOS: Some could be completely consumed and black to skeletons and others are just partially damaged. Some are still retaining. It's just a big mixed bag right now at this point.
HANNA: The Park Service estimates that between 60 to 80% of the Torrey pines on the island could die from burns. But Gados says it might not be that many. Some of the burned pines have started growing new needles, which is promising. Unfortunately, the trees are now facing a new threat - El Nino. It could mean more heavy rain on the island that can erode the soil around the tree's roots.
GADOS: Previously, you know, we had inches of, you know, years of accumulated pine needles.
HANNA: But the fire burned all of those needles, leaving behind bare dirt.
GADOS: If you get some heavy rain events, it's going to disturb the soil. If you get too much too fast, then all that soil could, you know, slide down the slopes.
HANNA: That soil is important for the health of the trees, but it's also full of the seeds that could be the next generation of Torrey pines. The National Park Service is trying to address this in two ways - protect the trees and plant new ones. Gados and her colleagues are working on both projects at the island's native plant nursery.
GADOS: Let's just go step into the seed shack.
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HANNA: We walk into a small shed that Gados calls the seed shack.
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HANNA: Cradled in Gados' palm, Torrey pine seeds look a bit like almonds. The restoration team will use them to propagate hundreds of new trees. They're also installing erosion protection.
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HANNA: A volunteer cuts up hemp and jute nets, which will be rolled into long tubes and then nailed into the ground around the Torrey pine grove. They catch debris and slow the rainfall as it rolls downhill. Gados says she's optimistic about the future of the grove but will have to wait and see how the pines react to the challenges of this year. For NPR News, I'm Kendra Hanna on Santa Rosa Island.
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