Storm Damages Park’s Tourism Plans

The historic bunkhouse is ruined, its twisted frame now 40 feet from its original spot at Scorpion Ranch.

The old blacksmith shop is simply gone, washed out to sea by a torrent of water that swept across Santa Cruz Island in the storms a week ago. The shed that matched the bunkhouse is also gone. And except for a timber or two, the barn is lost too.

“You see that bulldozer there?” said Channel Islands National Park Supt. Tim Setnicka, pointing to a piece of yellow machinery in the middle of a stream bed. “The barn used to surround it. The bulldozer is there. The barn is not.”

Only the two-story adobe stands tall, but the storm brought 4 feet of water and muck inside the century-old building.

Once envisioned as the centerpiece for tourism on the island, Scorpion Ranch lies in tatters in the aftermath of an El Nino-driven storm that dumped more than 11 inches of rain. Afterward, Setnicka toured the ranch to assess the damage, and laid plans for what could be a $1-million restoration.

Santa Cruz Island has been part of the five-island park since its creation in 1980, but ranchers continued to use its eastern end until last year. That’s when Congress seized the 6,300-acre ranch, intent on restoring the historic buildings and the environment.

Setnicka said the ranchers’ land-use practices--allowing herds of sheep to graze on the land--exacerbated the erosion and the damage to the buildings.

But a ranch manager who worked on the island faulted the National Park Service for failing to prepare for the first major storm of the winter.

Since the park service took over the land in February, Setnicka has set out to make what he calls “the world’s greatest national park” an even greater treasure.

Restoring the eastern side of the island to its condition before the ranchers arrived will take much longer than anticipated, however.

The damage at Scorpion Ranch was not limited to the main ranch area. In the campground north of the ranch, 75-foot eucalyptus trees dating back 100 years were uprooted. Others were left precariously close to falling.

What the storm didn’t break free of its moorings it blanketed in sediment. Eighteen inches of new rock and soil now cover the floor of Scorpion Valley, and beneath it are many of the ranch’s historical artifacts.

Sam Spaulding, an archeologist with the park service, joined Wednesday’s tour of Scorpion Ranch to flag where the destroyed buildings used to be and document the erosion.

“What struck me was the amount of runoff and the redeposition of so much soil and so many rocks,” Spaulding said. “It is so sad, because we were getting a handle on everything out here.”

The ranch has been closed since Dec. 8, and Setnicka said it is too soon to say when it will be in full operation.

Under park service control, Setnicka had said, the former Gherini Ranch would be restored to the natural beauty of the remaining 90% of Santa Cruz Island that is already an ecological preserve owned by the nonprofit Nature Conservancy.

But as Setnicka contemplated damage by the storm, he said the outlook for a return to its original condition is much bleaker now.

Setnicka said past land-use practices, including allowing sheep to roam free on the eastern hillsides, have destroyed much of the native vegetation that could have kept the soil intact and prevented massive erosion.

But Andre Barclay, a ranch manager who has been working with the Gherinis, said blaming land-use practices alone skirts an even bigger issue--preparation.

“That Scorpion adobe and the blacksmith shop have been there over 100 years,” Barclay said. “They’ve had a lot of rain out there, and it’s always survived.

“Every farmer will tell you, when the forecast says a lot of rain, you go out there and clear the ditches and the berms,” Barclay said. “It’s been a successful policy for over 100 years.”

Prevention of flooding is part of the cleanup plan. At the same time, Setnicka has to decide how much of the ranch to open and for what use.

“Should we allow camping throughout the winter?” he said. “If we get another storm, would we be putting people in jeopardy?”

For now, he expects to reopen the campground for day use in about two weeks.