Tour of Big River Kelp Recovery Project

Bluffs above Portuguese Beach • Mendocino, CA

A dramatic chapter in coastal recovery—scientists, drones, and divers unite to bring bull kelp back to Mendocino’s shores.

In under a decade, 96% of bull kelp habitat has been lost along the north coast of California. For many years part of the remaining kelp refugia in this region was at the mouth of the Big River estuary, off the Headland cliffs at the town of Mendocino. This patch of bull kelp, however, began to show signs of deforestation in 2022. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has led a team of scientists for the past few years to prevent further kelp loss and experiment with reforesting this 15 acre site.

Come learn about strategies the Big River Kelp Recovery team has developed to suppress purple urchin populations and outplant baby bull kelp. Be amongst the first to get the report on this year’s kelp recovery. Watch a kelp mapping drone demonstration and learn how important this process is for monitoring the team’s progress year over year. Team members will also share methods of urchin harvesting, kelp outplanting and creating a visual record of seaweeds across this recovery site.

Meet on the bluffs above Portuguese Beach at the west end of Mendocino just off Main Street. Small groups may be led down to the beach to observe kelp wrack and live urchin harvests.

Hosted by The Nature Conservancy