Just like Huell, when I think of “dunes” I tend to picture piles of bare sand, difficult to walk through and devoid of any sort of plant life. The last thing I expected to see was a thick, green, healthy forest. And although you will see some bare sand dunes in this episode of Golden Coast from 2004, there’s so much more to this area of the Humboldt coast — natural history and also cultural history, because this place was once home to the Wiyot people. Here Huell finds wildflowers, insects, birds, and amphibians surviving within this very rare and precious remnant of California’s ecosystem.

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on the northwestern California coast near Arcata. The refuge protects wetlands and bay habitats for migratory birds, and includes the Lanphere Dunes. It is one of the most pristine dune ecosystems remaining in the Pacific Northwest.

Join Huell as he tours the dunes and learns about the coastal sand dune habitats and species that rely on its preservation.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)