FORT BRAGG, CA., 10/4/26 — The North Coast KelpFest, which celebrates the bull kelp forests off the Mendocino Coast and efforts to restore them, will take place from October 8 through October 12 in Fort Bragg and Mendocino. The event will feature science talks, restoration tours, beach walks, a parade, art displays, food, and films.
Bull kelp is a brown seaweed that can grow up to 60 feet in a single season, creating vital underwater forests. Ecosystems along the coast rely on these kelp forests for habitat and food. Herring spawn within the kelp, rockfish reside among it, seals hunt in it, and young salmon transition to saltwater in its protection, as noted by festival organizers. Additionally, red sea urchins and abalone feed on bull kelp.
Since 2014, however, kelp forests along the Mendocino and Sonoma coasts have faced significant decline. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that more than 96% of the bull kelp has disappeared by 2023. This decline is attributed to a disease that decimated sunflower sea stars, the primary predator of purple sea urchins, which have overgrazed the kelp. In addition, rising water temperatures have further exacerbated the situation by lowering nutrient levels, according to John Largier, a UC Davis oceanographer.
“The warmth itself, but also the warm water means low nutrients,” Largier explained in a September 30 phone interview. He emphasized that although restoration efforts at Fort Ross and Timber Cove show some promise, they only create small patches rather than fully restored kelp forests.
Richard Millis II, director of the Noyo Center for Marine Science’s field station in Fort Bragg, stated that since the 2014 heat wave, efforts to remove purple urchins from the coast have been ongoing. “There’s hope because there’s a lot of work going on,” he said, though he acknowledged the overall situation is bleak. Millis highlighted that KelpFest serves to illustrate these restoration efforts to a broader audience.
The festival’s schedule includes various activities across its five days. Events start on Thursday, October 8, with a beach wrack walk led by Sue Magoo and a pizza party in Fort Bragg. On Friday, October 9, representatives from eight marine restoration groups will give brief talks at Fort Bragg Town Hall.
Saturday, October 10, features the Seaweed Spectacle Parade, which will commence at noon near Portuguese Beach and conclude at the Mendocino Art Center. A demonstration by the Big River Kelp Recovery team will illustrate their work in removing urchins and planting kelp.
On Sunday, October 11, divers will be working at Caspar Cove while the Department of Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to provide updates on its Kelp Restoration and Management Plan later that afternoon. The day will conclude with a low-tide walk and urchin cookout at Van Damme Beach.
The festival wraps up on Monday, October 12, with a walk along the Noyo Headlands Park Coastal Trail, which overlooks an active kelp restoration site funded by a NOAA award to the Nature Conservancy. The event will close with a screening of films about kelp at Coast Cinemas.
