Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on the northwestern California coast near Arcata. The refuge protects wetlands and bay habitats for migratory birds, and includes the Lanphere Dunes. It is one of the most pristine dune ecosystems remaining in the Pacific Northwest. Join Huell as he tours the dunes and learns about the coastal sand  Continue Reading »

In the premiere episode of California’s Golden Coast, Huell learns about an inspiring success story. Located at the Presidio in San Francisco, once a U.S. Army outpost and cornerstone of military operations on the West Coast, Crissy Field became the most significant site of aviation development in the western United States in the early part  Continue Reading »

Join Huell as he visits Paradise Creek Educational Park. Paradise Creek is an urban salt marsh creek that connects San Diego Bay to the watershed of the surrounding mountains and city landscape. It’s home to crabs, egrets, snails and various wetland plants, but in the recent past, was a trash-filled, neglected urban stream threatened by  Continue Reading »

Where can a student explore the ice fields of Europa or conduct an underwater excavation on the sunken Jamaican city of Port Royal? At the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, of course. Huell visits the Ocean Institute, a non-profit organization founded in 1977 and dedicated to ocean preservation through education. For 25 years, the institute  Continue Reading »

Huell tours the the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes preserve with a representative of the Dunes Center, an agency, which along with other state, county and federal organizations, works to balance public use and resource protection of the largest, most biodiverse, coastal dune-lagoon ecosystem on earth. With 1,400 known species of birds, plants and animals and with the  Continue Reading »

Anacapa Island, one of California’s Channel Islands, is located 14 miles off the coast from Ventura. From the ocean, Huell finds that ocean waves have eroded the perimeter of the island, creating steep sea cliffs towering hundreds of feet in height and exposing the volcanic origins of air pockets, lava tubes, and sea caves. Once  Continue Reading »

Huell sets off from Moss Landing in the middle of Monterey Bay and discovers Elkhorn Slough. It’s an ecological treasure, providing habitat for rare plants, animals, and nearly 300 species of birds. The slough harbors the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay, and its watershed includes dunes, coastal marsh, oak  Continue Reading »

The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is the only public garden in the continental United States located directly on the coast. Huell explores this rare jewel set within coastal pines and coastal bluffs in Fort Bragg. In addition to its diverse flora, there is a retail nursery and garden shop as well as workshops, classes and  Continue Reading »

The organization Coastwalk was founded to shift perception of the California coastline from one of a few isolated beaches and accesses to one of many continuous miles of unbroken beauty. Huell gets a firsthand look at portions of the California Coastal Trail, the 1,200 mile route along the entire length of California’s spectacular and diverse  Continue Reading »