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Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Check out our latest stories! Restoring the 'Galapagos of North America': California's Channel Islands Considered by many to be the 'Galapagos of North America,' the Channel Islands is host to myriad plants and animals and was designated a national park in 1980. Biologist Annie Little coordinates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's involvement in the island's Montrose Settlement Restoration Program and has worked on seabird conservation efforts for more than 15 years. Credit: Cat Darst/USFWS   By Ashley Spratt Febraury 13, 2018 Off the coast of California, a string of islands rise above the waves. Shaped by millions of years of tectonic, volcanic, and climatic events, the Channel Islands have played host to myriad plants and animals. Some, like the pygmy mammoth, disappeared thousands of years ago, while others, like the island fox, are now thriving after narrowly escaping extinction at the turn of the 21st century. Considered by many to be the Galapagos of North America, these islands, designated a national park in 1980, have been used by humans for millennia. More than 250 years of hunting, ranching and human occupation on and around these islands led to the introduction of numerous non-native species. With that and contamination by the chemical compound Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, in the mid-20th century, waters around the islands and the wildlife they supported forever changed. Read the full story...     Monarchs of the West need our help The deserts of southern and eastern California are home to a special kind of milkweed known as desert or rush milkweed (Asclepias subulata). Where there is milkweed, you will find monarchs! Here is a monarch chrysalis on desert milkweed in Palm Springs, California, October 2017. Photo courtesy of Natural Resources Conservation Service   By Joanna Gilkeson February 4, 2018 Western monarchs are not as well-known as their eastern counterparts that migrate all the way to Mexico each year. The western population of monarchs overwinter along the Pacific Coast, but it's definitely not the only habitat they need. We wanted to share some of our favorite photos of these monarch butterflies, and the diversity of habitats (both expected and surprising) they use across the West. Check our blog on the conditions facing the Western monarch butterfly. See the full story...   Stay Connected with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region     This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region · 2800 Cottage Way · Suite W-2606 · Sacramento, CA 95825