Each winter, thousands of gray whales travel more than 10,000 miles along the California coast on one of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth. Their journey connects the waters of Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California Sur, Mexico to Crystal Cove, offering a remarkable reminder that our coastline is part of something far larger.

Join Crystal Cove Conservancy for an unforgettable evening with renowned whale biologist Steven Swartz and conservationist Mary Lou Jones, whose decades of research and stewardship in Laguna San Ignacio have transformed our understanding of gray whales and helped protect one of the world’s most important whale nurseries.

Moderated by Crystal Cove Conservancy President & CEO Kate Wheeler, this special Cove Talk will explore the extraordinary lives of gray whales, the story of their recovery, the challenges they face today, and what long-term research reveals about the health of our changing oceans. Drawing on more than four decades of fieldwork, Steven and Mary Lou will share firsthand stories from the lagoons of Baja California, insights into the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event, and reasons for both concern and hope as we look toward the future of this iconic species.

Set against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, this intimate conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear from two of the world’s foremost voices in gray whale conservation and to deepen your appreciation for the whales that migrate just beyond Crystal Cove’s shoreline each year.

Following the conversation, guests are invited to stay for a hosted reception with light refreshments and the opportunity to continue the discussion with fellow conservationists, community members, and the evening’s speakers.

Location: Crystal Cove Cottage Check-In Deck, click HERE for exact location

Parking: Los Trancos Lot across PCH ($15 day-use; free with State Parks annual pass)

Meet Mary and Steven:

Mary Lou Jones and Steven Swartz conducted the first systematic studies of gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur from 1977-1982. Mary Lou received her master’s degree from Moss Landing Marine Laboratory in 1985 and Steven his Ph.D. at University of California, Santa Cruz 1984. From 1996 to 2000 Dr. Jorge Urban R. of the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur resumed field studies of gray whales at Laguna San Ignacio which continued sporadically until 2003. With the defeat of a proposed industrial salt production facility and the development of whale-watching eco-tourism business at Laguna San Ignacio during the 1990’s they recognized the need for an ongoing science-based monitoring program for the lagoon and its wildlife, particularly the gray whales that winter there.

In 2006 Jorge and Steven initiated the “Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program” (LSIESP). In 2007 they joined the San Diego based non-profit Pro Peninsula and then in 2009 merged with The Ocean Foundation, a Washington D.C. based 501-C-3 non-profit environmental organization that serves as the fiscal agent for the gray whale research program. In 2015 the program expanded into the Bahía Magdalena lagoon complex to monitor the gray whales that occupy that lagoon complex in winter, and the growing whale watching activity in that region. At that time the program was re-branded as the “Gray Whale Research in Mexico” program. Opportunities took them around the United States where Steven worked for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and Mary Lou continued contract work writing and editing scientific articles about gray whales. Today they live in Darnestown, Maryland and continue to mentor students, foster next generation marine researchers, make public presentations and present internet webinars on gray whales, and publish their research findings on the GWRM website: https://www.graywhalereserchmexico.org