UC Nature honored Director Emeritus Lyndal Laughrin with a new staff award bearing his name in September, recognizing his 56 years of dedicated service to the Santa Cruz Island Reserve. The UC Nature Lyndal Laughrin Distinguished Stewardship and Service Award, which includes a $1,000 prize, celebrates staff whose leadership and lasting contributions support the network's mission of understanding and stewarding Earth's natural systems through university-level teaching, research, and public service. Laughrin received the inaugural honor for his extensive work on the island, which is known for its wildflower meadows, rugged coastlines, and unspoiled night skies.
Laughrin's wife, Ann Bromfield, also devoted 40 years to caring for the reserve, making them two of the island’s longest-term inhabitants. Together, they helped generations of scientists, students, and visitors understand the island's wildlife, landscapes, and history. Laughrin, who is also UC Nature’s longest-serving employee, first arrived on Santa Cruz Island in 1965 as an assistant instructor for a UC Santa Barbara geology course. He earned all three of his degrees—bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate—at UC Santa Barbara, with the island becoming central to his scientific research. When the field station’s director departed in 1970, Laughrin stepped into the role, bringing scientific curiosity and considerable resourcefulness to managing the reserve.
Living offshore with Bromfield, whom he married in 1986, necessitated careful planning for daily life and operations. Their transportation to the island over the years involved Navy boats, ferries, and small chartered planes, carrying essential supplies ranging from groceries to construction materials, fuel, and auto parts. Keeping the reserve operational required Laughrin to master diverse practical skills, becoming a mechanic, electrician, and plumber. He navigated rugged roads across the island and, during its ranching years, assisted with cattle roundups and branding.
For visiting researchers, Laughrin and Bromfield’s willingness to provide assistance proved invaluable. They recorded observations and tended experiments between other scientists’ visits, which saved costly and time-consuming trips to and from the mainland. Their comprehensive knowledge of the island’s foxes, jays, oaks, geology, and human history enabled researchers to maximize their time in the field. This deep familiarity with the island never diminished a sense of discovery for Laughrin, who told UC Santa Barbara’s The Current that "the views are different at different times of day," always offering new perspectives.
Over their decades on Santa Cruz Island, Laughrin and Bromfield witnessed a significant transformation. The island, once used for cattle ranching and sport hunting of sheep and boar, evolved into a focus of conservation. This shift occurred through the UC’s partnerships with The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service. Areas previously grazed heavily by livestock began to recover, with native vegetation reclaiming the ground. Research, much of it supported by Laughrin, guided decisions about the island’s future.
Laughrin played a pivotal role in one of the island’s most celebrated recoveries: that of the Channel Islands fox. When fox populations experienced a severe decline in the 1990s, recovery efforts depended on addressing threats across the entire ecosystem. Laughrin assisted with restoration initiatives, which included removing nonnative grazing animals and relocating golden eagles that preyed on the foxes. His own studies, which began when he was a graduate student, contributed significantly to understanding the behavior and needs of these animals, a small relative of the mainland gray fox.
With Laughrin serving a central function, research organizations and scientists collaborated to bring the Channel Islands fox back from the brink. Listed as endangered in 2004 with a population of only about 300, the Channel Islands fox was removed from the federal list in 2016, by which time its population had increased to more than 1,800. This achievement marked the fastest successful recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The collaborations that led to the fox's restoration were built upon relationships nurtured by Laughrin and Bromfield over many years. Laughrin’s patience and easygoing manner helped him foster trust with researchers, island neighbors, and conservation partners. His enthusiasm for the island’s story also welcomed newcomers, including visitors ranging from student groups to prominent figures like astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, musician Ringo Starr, and actress Jane Fonda. Whatever their background, visitors encountered guides with an intimate understanding and enduring enthusiasm for sharing the island. In 2018, Laughrin and Bromfield previously received the UC Natural Reserve System Distinguished Service Award.
The new award recognizes the multifaceted dedication staff bring, encompassing knowledge from years of observation, practical assistance for research, and the cultivation of relationships that enable lasting conservation. Through Laughrin’s example, it also celebrates those who inspire others to advance preservation work.