Catalina, The Island Of Romance - Our Anniversary 

Did You Know? - "Shadow areas" on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on Santa Catalina Island and in Malibu, where radio signals sometimes cannot reach county emergency vehicles, will be served next year by a communications complex high on a Catalina mountaintop.

The county-funded complex on Blackjack Mountain will use a microwave relay system to bounce radio signals to Catalina, then back into hard-to-reach canyon and coastal areas on the mainland.

"If a vehicle is traveling in one of these shadow areas, they cannot get good communication from command posts who are trying to reach them," said Farid Khalil, deputy director of engineering for the county Facilities Management Department.

Mount Orizaba is the highest peak on Santa Catalina Island, California, United States. The summit is at 2,097 feet. On January 10, 1949, 8 inches of snow fell on the mountain.

Did You Know? - The non-native but charismatic Catalina Island bison herd has existed for nearly a century.

This herd of American Bison roam and were supposedly first imported to California's Catalina Island in 1924 for the silent film version of Zane Grey's Western tale, The Vanishing American. However, the 1925 version of "The Vanishing American" does not contain any bison whatsoever and shows no terrain that even remotely resembles Catalina, according to Jim Watson, columnist for the Catalina Islander newspaper.

Over the decades, the bison herd grew to as many as 600 individuals. The population currently numbers approximately 150. Biologists found that the American Bison of Santa Catalina Island are not pure bred; 45 percent have a domesticated cow as an ancestor.

Did You Know? - Controlling the bison population, however, remains important for Catalina's overall ecological health. In the past, bison were routinely removed and sent to the mainland to auction. In 2004, the Conservancy partnered with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Tongva (thought to be Catalina's original inhabitants some 7,000 years ago), and the Lakota tribe on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. A hundred bison were relocated "home" to the Great Plains. Recently however, another solution was implemented. The Conservancy initiated a scientific study that determined that a herd of between 150 and 200 would be good for the bison, and ecologically sound for the island. Beginning in 2009, the herd was given animal birth control to maintain the population at around 150 animals.

Did You Know? - Catalina Island's only airport is privately owned and located 10 miles from Avalon, a 30 minute drive and 13 miles from Two Harbors, a 45 minute drive. The airport is open the public and is primarily used for general aviation. Freight aircraft arriving from the mainland also use the Airport in the Sky. There are no scheduled passenger flights to and from Catalina Island. The airport sits 1,600 feet above sea level, one of the highest points on Catalina Island.

The Airport in the Sky is home to DC-3 Grill and Gifts, a restaurant and gift shop featuring Buffalo burgers, sandwiches and world famous cookies. The Skyline Drive Tour stops at the Airport in the Sky for 30 minutes. Plenty of time to shop, have lunch or visit the Nature Center. You can also get to the Airport on the Safari Bus or by hiking or biking up.

The Airport in the Sky was commissioned by the Wrigley Family. The airport officially opened in 1946. Two mountain tops were leveled and the remaining canyon filled in to create the 3,200 foot runway. Construction of the runway began in 1940 and was nearly complete when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941. Because of World War II, construction was halted and the airfield, along with the rest of Catalina Island, was leased to the United States Government for $1 per year. The runway was covered with debris so that enemy aircraft would not be able to use it as a base. After the island was returned to the Wrigley Family and the Santa Catalina Island Company, paving of the runway and completion of the tower and terminal building commenced.

Did You Know? - The Catalina Island fox is found on Catalina Island and nowhere else in the world. An adult fox weighs just 4 to 6 pounds and is about 25% smaller than its mainland ancestor, the gray fox. Its diet includes mice, lizards, birds, berries, insects, and cactus fruit. It is Catalina's largest terrestrial predator.

In late 1999, an outbreak of distemper virus caused the fox population to plummet from about 1,300 to just 100 animals. In 2000, the Catalina Island Conservancy and its partner, the Institute for Wildlife Studies, implemented the Catalina Island Fox Recovery Plan. The plan combined relocation, vaccinations, captive breeding and release, and wild fox population monitoring.