The Lanphere Dunes,a unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is located in Humboldt County, California. The dune complex consists of the wave slope, fore dune, herbaceous and woody swales, coniferous and riparian forest, freshwater swamp, freshwater marsh, brackish marsh, salt marsh, and intertidal mudflats. The site exemplifies dunes succession and as a fragile ecosystem, access is restricted and guided tours are available. It has been said that because of the very little human contact that is received near and on the Lanphere dunes themselves, the environment there is left in an almost "primordial" state.
History
The area was historically occupied by Wiyot prior to European settlement when, in the 1930s, William and Hortense Lanphere made it their home. For the next 40 years they maintained the dunes in a relatively pristine state. In 1975 a movement for permanent protection was made by the Lanpheres and faculty from Humboldt State University who used the area for botany classes. Working with The Nature Conservancy the area was protected and turned over to the National Wildlife Refuge System for management. Site management focuses on the prevention and eradication of invasive plants and the restoration of dune and estuarine processes. The Fish and Wildlife agency that works here maintains the Lanphere dunes in a very minimalist way, only removing any invasive species that encroach upon the dunes.
Flora and fauna
Flora
Due to its isolation, Lanphere Dunes is home to many uncommon and geographically displaced flora including two federally listed species found in this habitat: Humboldt Bay wallflower and beach layia. Other rare and endangered plants include Pink sand-verbena, Humboldt Bay owl's clover, Point Reyes bird’s-beak, dark-eyed gilia, American glehnia, western sand spurrey and the sea-watch. Other species of plants include Kinnikinnick and reindeer lichen. Many of the lichens and flora that still thrive in the Lanphere Dunes are from an epoch that passed long ago, with reindeer lichens thriving well after the Ice Age. Varieties of flora often found in Lanphere Dunes that are typically common are often far away from their natural ranges. Sands that are blown in with the occasional ocean breezes remain trapped in the forests, killing off the trees and leaving behind "skeleton forests," areas where all the husks of former trees are plentiful. American Dunegrass used to be plentiful, once found along the west coast as south as Morro Bay in California, this native grass now occurs in just two areas along the California coast, Point Reyes and the Lanphere Dunes. European Beachgrass is an invasive species that was found to be omnipresent in the Lanphere Dunes, having taken over many of the areas formally occupied by native grasses. Between 1992 and 1997, European Beachgrass from the dune zone was manually removed by laborers from the California Conservation Corps funded by the Nature Conservancy. After starting the restoration project in 1992, native plant cover in Lanphere Dunes increased by 47% by the year 1997 without the assistance of active re-planting. Native species of dunes grass that have experienced a comeback in population count are American dunegrass, silver bursage, beach morning glory, and dune tansy also referred to as. Together, all these dune grasses form the fore dune's ecosystem that used to be extensive along the coast before the spread of invasive species.
