Island’s Pig-Removal Plan Considered
In a new effort to preserve native flora and fauna in the Channel Islands, the National Park Service said Wednesday it is considering a lethal campaign to remove more than 4,000 feral pigs and the jungle-like fennel plants they use for hide-outs.
The pigs, relics of ranching days, roam Santa Cruz Island and inflict ecological harm on a scale that rivals the damage once wrought by wild sheep, park officials say.
Pigs use their snouts to till and erode slopes and subsequently spread fennel--a towering alien weed--across the island off the Ventura County shoreline.
Pigs contribute to declining oak woodlands, damage to Indian archeological sites and decimation of island foxes, according to park officials.
To get rid of the pigs, officials contemplate a campaign to shoot the animals and slash and burn the fennel growth. But the strategy, still under development, must first undergo public review.
The first of two public meetings on the plan occurred Wednesday night in Ventura, and the second is scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the public library in Santa Barbara.
Public comments can be submitted to Channel Islands National Park, which has headquarters in Ventura, until Nov. 30.
A draft pig-removal plan is scheduled to be released in May.
For more information, call 658-5725.
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