COMMISSION

Staff, volunteers, and docents also provide
summer-long, informal presentations
throughout the park and trail system to add to
the visitor experience.
During the school year, interpretive staff
provide tours in the Butterfly Grove and the
park to educate children about the monarch
life cycle, the local native Chumash, and the
many other natural resources of Oceano
Dunes. As one of the largest, overwintering
monarch butterfly sites in California, volunteers provide formal presentations to visitors on
weekends during the four-month winter season.
Oceano Dunes SVRA staff attend OHV trade
shows and local fairs to promote safe recreation
and the unique natural, cultural, and recreational
resources at Oceano Dunes SVRA and the park
also hosts the Off-Highway PALs program.
Vegetation and Wildlife
The Oceano Dunes area is home to a surprisingly
wide range of plant and animal life. Those who
take the time to explore will see wildflowers, the tracks of countless small mammals and
insects, a variety of small birds at the water’s edge, and hawks, owls, pelicans, or gulls
flying overhead.
A variety of shorebirds can be found on the beach,
while other small birds such as the Audubon warbler
or the long-billed marsh wren, as well as red-tailed
hawks and American kestrels are often sighted among
the sand dunes. Both the threatened snowy plover
and the endangered California least tern nest within
the SVRA.
During the March 1-September 30, the snowy plover and the California least tern breeding
season, small fenced enclosures are constructed around the nests to protect the and their
offspring from the surrounding recreational use. With ongoing support from OHVers, this
nesting program has been a huge success.
214
California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission