The history of Santa Catalina Island is riveting and creates a great context to better understand and engage with the question being asked at large, how has tourism impacted Santa Catalina Island? Below is an interactive timeline to grasp how the island has developed over the years. There are also some other facts that add to the characteristics of the island that will be mentioned following the timeline along with a hyperlinked video.
Bison of Catalina
In 1924, The Vanishing American was filmed on the island. A herd of fourteen bison was brought over to the island to improve the setting for the film. After the film was finished the bison were left on the island and has populated over the years, and is now maintained around 150 individuals. The Catalina Conservancy has maintained to keep the bison healthy and does not plan on removing them from the island. These bison add to the culture of Catalina and are well-known.
Photo Credit: Kelsie Grant
Catalina Island Conservancy
In 1972 Philip Knight Wrigley founded the Catalina Island Conservancy, a non-profit organization. To this day the conservancy protects 88 percent of the island that is home to 60 plants, animals, and insects that are found nowhere else in the world. The conservancy tries to maintain the balance of protecting the wildlife and still providing for the public. One of the species they project is the bald eagles. The bald eagles were slowly going instinct due to DDT (Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro ethane). DDT is a pesticide to combat bugs, between 1947 to the 1970s this chemical was released into the ocean by San Pedro, CA. DDT was not only harming the bald eagle’s eggs but also many other species. With help from humans, they were trying to help reproduce these birds and would help with hatching the eggs. 2007, the Insitute of Wildlife studies decided not to intervene and the bald eagles continued to reproduce on their own. Without the help of (WIS), these birds would no longer exist on the island. Humans intervening with wildlife is also questionable. Inflicting on their habitat comes with risk, but in this case, it was beneficial. The link below explains more about these beautiful creatures and also has a life webcam to watch them at their nest.
http:///www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=wildlife&p=eagles
Doug Bombard
Below is a video of Doug Bombard telling his personal story of the island. It adds a personal perspective to the evolution of Catalina.