The Catalina Island Conservancy has officially launched a new program aimed at educating the island’s residents and visitors alike about wildfire danger and prevention — with help from a new mascot based on Catalina’s native fox subspecies.

Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Long Beach, is home to about 4,000 year-round residents, thousands of acres of wildland, and more than 60 native plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth, according to the conservancy.

Its unique ecosystem, though, has also created a unique set of environmental challenges on the island, as the prevalence of invasive species, like the much-maligned mule deer and others, has resulted in the degradation of Catalina’s native plant life, contributing to increased fire danger.

“Catalina Island’s chaparr

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