| Fitzgerald Marine Reserve | |
|---|---|
 Tidepool andanemones, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve | |
   | |
| Coordinates | 37°30′38″N122°30′35″W / 37.51056°N 122.50972°W /37.51056; -122.50972 |
| Established | 1969 |
| Governing body | California Department of Fish and Game |
| parks | |
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is amarine reserve inCalifornia on thePacific Ocean, located just north ofPillar Point Harbor andMavericks in theSan Mateo County community ofMoss Beach. Moss Beach is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) south ofSan Francisco and 50 miles (80 km) north ofSanta Cruz. The reserve is a 32-acre (0.13 km2) holding which extends fromMontara light station at the north toPillar Point on the south. The reserve consists of a three-mile stretch of beach,tidepoolhabitat,marsh, erosive bluffs, clifftop trail and cypress and eucalyptus forests. The property is owned by the State of California and managed by San Mateo County as a county park and nature preserve. The reserve is administratively assigned to be part of theMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Adjacent to and possibly within the reserve is an endangered species of butterfly, theSan Bruno elfin butterfly.
Montara State Marine Reserve & Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area extend offshore from Montara, just north of Pillar Point. Like underwater parks, thesemarine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve lies within Montara State Marine Reserve.
The site of the current Fitzgerald Marine Reserve was originally settled byNative Americans approximately 5,800 years ago. In 1908, theOcean Shore Railroad extended through the town of Moss Beach, effectively creating this location as a tourist destination. Remains of the foundation and some original landscape features from the Smith-Doelger homesite from the early-1900s may be found on the bluffs overlooking the Reserve.
The site has long been a source of research and materials for marine biologists and collectors, so much so that, in 1969, San Mateo County urged the State of California to designate the site as astate reserve to protect the remainingflora andfauna. On August 5, 1969, the site was officially designated as a state reserve and was named afterJames V. Fitzgerald, former mayor ofSan Bruno and a longtime member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
The tidepool habitat has long been prized as one of the best such habitats innorthern California. It has been identified by the State of California as one of 34 such coastal habitats having "Special Biological Significance".Sea urchins,anemone,hermit crabs and many otherintertidal species are prominent.
At the north of the reserveSan Vicente Creek empties into thePacific Ocean and has a diverse habitat supportingRed Willow and otherriparian species. From a footbridge across San Vicente Creek, one climbs atop the bluff trail, which rises about 30 meters (98 ft) above the beach. From there one has rewarding views down uponFrenchmans Reef, a rich marine ecological area. Seaward the reserve extends to a depth of over 300 meters (980 ft) downward into the Pacific Ocean. The reef is composed of the rockgranodiorite.
An occurrence of the rare plantHickman's potentilla,Potentilla hickmanii, was observed by E.C. Suttliffe in 1933[1] in the vicinity of the mouth of San Vicente Creek within Moss Beach. This colony was not further documented for decades, but another colony was discovered[2] toward the end of the 20th century north of Moss Beach. The plant was listed as anendangered species by theUnited States government in 1998, and had previously been listed as California endangered in 1973.
Sightings of theSan Bruno elfin butterfly have been made adjacent to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve inMontara. This endangered species has very limited range and habitat.
The activeSeal Cove Fault (first mapped and named by William Glen in a 1959 publication of the University of California series in the geological sciences) forms much of the eastern boundary of the site. Glen first suggested that the Seal Cove fault was a northward extension of the San Gregorio fault. Submarine surveys later found that the fault extends northward under the Pacific Ocean and presumably joins theSan Andreas Fault nearBolinas. The fault's trace was formerly clearly exposed in a sea cliff at the northern portion of the reserve, but is now obscured by cultural changes.
The coastal strand habitat lies between the Pacific Ocean and the upper edge of the beach or coastal marsh. Species enjoying this niche are theCalifornia sea lion,harbor seal,Snowy egret,Great blue heron,cormorant and a variety ofterns,murres,gulls and other shorebirds. Within thetidepool area there are alsosea urchins,anemone,hermit crabs and numerous othermollusks.
The flanks ofSan Vicente Creek and another unnamed drainage further south in the preserve are coastalsalt marsh habitat. This niche is an important nesting and feeding area for many bird species includingrails. Since this marsh lackscordgrass, it is a poor nesting site of ducks. Dense pickleweed provides good habitat for a variety ofrodents,reptiles andrabbits.
North of the salt marsh of Vicente Creek lies thefreshwater marsh andseepage, which hosts a number of trees supporting bird-life andmammals. The arroyo willow here is important to migratingwarblers and otherpasserines.
At the southern edge of the reserve lies theMoss Beach Distillery, a California Point of Historical Interest, that has served as a clifftop restaurant since 1927. To the east of the reserve is the Seal Cove Inn, a luxurydestinationcountry inn operated by noted travel author Karen Brown.
The opening sequence of the movieMemoirs of a Geisha was filmed on the bluffs overlooking the Reserve.
