Jillian

Anacapa island is an amazing place and if you don't know where it is then I'll tell you. The island is 14 miles off the coast of Ventura. It is 3 miles long and 1/8 of a mile wide. If you look out into the sea you can see the Channel Islands and the smallest island and the greatest island is Anacapa Island. Anacapa Island's apperance is beautiful and so amazing. The shape of Anacapa Island to me is a crocodile because the big part of Anacapa Island looks like the head of the crocidile. and the little small parts of Anacapa island looks like the tail of the crocidile floating in the water.But, the most amazing thing on Anacapa Island is thier exotic animals like the Brown Pelican.
 * __ Anacapa Island __**

Anacapa island is the greatest island in the channel islands because it has all kinds of exotic animals like the ** Brown Pelican **because it is a large dark waterbird with a long bill with an extensible pouch. It has a large, heavey body with a short tail, wings that are long and broad with short legs and webbed feet and it dives close to the water too have a better chance of getting fish. I know the Brown Pelican is amazing but, the starfish is even better.

The wonderful ** starfish **because the starfish's skin is bony and calcified which protects them from most preditors, and many wear striking colors that camoflage them or scare off potential attachers. The 5 arm varieties are the most common, which gives them their name and species with 10, 20, & even 40 arms exist. Isn't that AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Starfish are amazing but, the Ice plant is better.

In 1932, when the U.S. Lighthouse Service built four houses on Anacapa Island, they planted** Ice Plant **around the buildings to stop any erosion but the ice plant did more than survive, it took over. The plant with coral-colored flowers covered the island, keeping out native plants such as buckwheat, gumweed and coreopsis and stopping certain birds from nesting on the island. Now, Channel Islands National Park officials are trying to keep the island from the ice plant’s hold. The park is undertaking a restoration effort as it tries to remove the plant on Anacapa by 2016. Although efforts to remove the plant have been going on for decades, this year marked the beginning of a big drive to return the island to a more natural state. Hundreds of volunteers from around the county have spent thousands of hours ripping up roots, stomping on the plant and seeding the landscape with native vegetation in hopes the island will no longer be only ice plant flowers in the spring.

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