USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences

Miller Zou

Today was my second experience going into the field with the Conservancy crew to remove invasive plants, and it was epic. We went to the west end of the island to remove and kill a few genista populations, and the entire area was dominated by rolling hills and bluffs composed of gorgeous red rock. After quickly exterminating the genista at the top of the ridgeline we began our descent through the rocky drainages towards the ocean. The hiking and bouldering was pretty intense and we were climbing up and down rocks the whole day, including a few waterfalls that were dry now but flowed during the rainy season. It was hot and dry the whole day but a few murky pools of water could still be found in the ravine, complete with water bugs and flies and whatnot. 

We were on the hunt for several invasive plant species, including tamarisk, figs, and pampasgrass. However over the course of the entire day we could only find a single pampasgrass so it ended up just being a beautiful hike. Once we reached the bottom of the drainage it was time to turn around and head back up the mountain through a different drainage. The heat of the sun was picking up now and the trek back up was challenging. I quickly forgot about all that though as soon as we saw a wreckage of an old airplane sticking out of the ground about halfway up the hillside. Old rusty plates of sheet metal were scattered about with some random airplane parts. We saw two more pieces of the wreckage on the way up. Over the course of the day I saw at least four different species of grasshoppers and crickets, including one with crazy orange patterns on its back that was at least the size of my thumb. The interior of the island is such an amazing place that few people get to ever see, and I am blessed that I was able to explore it.