To protect the island s natural and cultural resources and begin the restoration of native communities, the National Park Service has begun removing the non-native feral sheep from the island. After 130 years of sheep grazing, large portions of eastern Santa Cruz Island have been overgrazed, devastated and reduced to non-native grasslands, with smaller islands of chaparral and coastal sage scrub. Grazing also has greatly accelerated natural erosion throughout the area. As personal property of the former owners, the sheep are being rounded up and shipped off the island. Although The Nature Conservancy successfully eradicated sheep on its property in the 1980s, the entire island is impacted by non-native, feral pigs.
Pigs occur island-wide and are extremely destructive to native vegetation and animal life.
Their rooting, likened to rototilling, when looking for food causes increased soil erosion and has directly impacted several plant species proposed for listing as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archeological sites, especially those located in caves, have also been heavily impacted by rooting and bedding behavior. The pigs, as an alien species, also must be removed for the process of restoration of native communities to begin. The park hopes to begin eradicating pigs this year. Once the sheep and pigs have been removed, the resulting improvement in native vegetation cover on eastern Santa Cruz will not only greatly improve the visitor experience, but also will increase habitat for native animal species like the endemic island jay and fox.