OF THE BEATEN CATALINA PATH; ECOLOGICAL TREASURES AWAIT VISITORS WHO HIKE INTO ISLAND'S INTERIOR.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

These days, if time, budget and inclination permit, a traveler can readily examine the riches of the montane cloud forests of Madidi National Park in Bolivia. Or the pristine coral reefs of Indonesia's Togean Islands. Or the hundreds of bird species in the Kakum Canopy of the west African nation of Ghana.

It's a growth aspect of the travel industry, with is own New Age-sounding name: ecotourism. Obviously, the prospect of seeing something unique in the natural world has a powerful lure.

Indulging this curiosity, however, doesn't necessarily have to require a trip halfway around the globe, or passage on a bush plane or sampan. It's close to Los Angeles. Very close. Achieving it is as simple as booking a boat ride to Catalina Island and venturing into the island's rugged interior in a jeep or with a sturdy pair of hiking boots.

Eight plant species - including two trees - make up a list of Catalina Island endemics. That means they exist nowhere else in the world but here, on this 76-square-mile chunk of land that - despite what the song would have us believe - pokes out of the Pacific Ocean less than 20 miles off L.A.'s shore.

Saving and regenerating them after the ravages of overgrazing in the last century has been an exhaustive chore. But the effort is yielding dividends, and the plants are there for the inquisitive traveler to explore.

``I think it's going wonderfully,'' said Dr. Bill Bushing, who oversees the island's ecological recovery as an executive for the Santa Catalina Island Conservancy. ``We're achieving some of the goals we set as early as the '50s. ... We're finding some plants that hadn't been seen in some cases since the 1800s.''

One of the most encouraging developments is the robust health of the Catalina ironwood, which has begun to flourish along the northeast spine of Catalina's mountains.

``When I came here in the '60s, I thought it was dying out,'' Bushing said. ``There was no seed reproduction; there had been only one seedling noted in 40 years. Now we're seeing seedlings in 18 of the groves.''

The ironwood - and other endemics like the Catalina mahogany and such shrubs as the yerba santa, Catalina live-forever and Catalina manzanita - are out there for examination, sometimes even clustering close to the few primitive roads that cut across the island. Finding them is simply a matter of tearing away from the picturesque cove and village of Avalon, which seem to hold most island visitors as though interlaced with underground people magnets.

One option is to explore on foot. A visitor who hikes out of Avalon on the town's only exit road, toward the island's airport, will reach the east slope of Black Jack Mountain after about seven miles. The ironwood is making a strong comeback here. The Propst Grove, along the left side of the road, is marked with a sign. Two other groves lie down a side road on the way to Echo Lake.

As for all other walks in the island's interior, a permit is required, but the conservancy issues them at no charge at its Avalon office (125 Claressa Ave.), which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Phone: [phone].

Car? Bike? They are either limited or expensive alternatives. There are no car rentals on Catalina, which is keeping its interior largely unimproved; only residents are permitted to have vehicles. And because of liability concerns, bike permits are issued only on an annual basis - at a cost of $50 apiece.

For the hikers, a 14-mile round trip along a road that is often abuzz with sightseeing tour vans may not seem particularly inviting.

Another option is to book one of the jeep eco-tours operated by the conservancy. A two-hour excursion to the interior, leaving Avalon at 10 a.m. daily, costs $65 per person.

Half- and full-day tours are priced more steeply - $495 and $795, respectively, for groups of up to six people - but these tours have the advantage of being custom-tailored to the group's wishes. Want to go see the grove of Catalina mahogany that lies along Bulrush Canyon Trail in the island's southwestern wilds? The guide can get you there.

``Most people are most interested in animals. They want to see buffalo,'' one of the guides, Bruce Poncel, said, referring to the 300 or so bison that roam the island. (Fourteen of the beasts were brought over for the filming of a movie in 1924; the herd has since grown and made itself quite comfortable here.)

There are a handful of endemic mammals on Catalina, including the Island fox and Beechey ground squirrel, but sightings are infrequent. The animals don't stand in one spot, as the trees do.

Poncel, who brings uncommonly stellar credentials to the role of tour guide - he holds two degrees in earth science, including a master's from California State University, Long Beach - cheerfully indulges the curiosity most of his guests have about the bison. Then he gently talks up Catalina's unique plant world.

``I keep an eye on the rear-view mirror,'' he said with a chuckle. ``If I see them starting to nod off, then I stop talking about it. But a lot of people get interested in plants, especially when you tell them they're natural only to this island.''

Still another option is the conservancy's shuttle to the airport. By prearrangement, the driver can drop you off in the vicinity of Black Jack junction and collect you later in the day on a return run to Avalon. The shuttle, which costs $15 round trip, runs irregularly, and all the details of such an arrangement must be worked out in advance by calling [phone].

If Avalon's relentless hold doesn't even permit that degree of exploration, hope is not lost for dabbling in Catalina's unique plant world. Deep in the canyon behind the town is the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden. The Catalina endemics - along with other plants native to California (some of them endemic to the state's offshore southern islands) - are nurtured and displayed here.

At the extreme rear of the gardens, just to the right of the memorial, a trail climbs to the mountain ridge that overlooks Avalon and its harbor. One way to accomplish some variety of transit is to rent a bicycle in Avalon, pedal the 1.2 miles uphill to the botanical gardens, then undertake a four-mile loop hike along the Wrigley Memorial Road trail and back through Hermit Gulch.

Brown's Bikes, near the boat dock, is the best rental option. The U-Drive shop on Crescent Avenue, without explanation, refused to rent a customer a one-speed bike for the pumping climb to the gardens. Brown's doesn't possess the same Big Brother instinct. The people there will let you rent anything. They also have an intermediate option - a six-speed bike with gooseneck handlebars that enables a baby boomer to restore a link to his childhood. The bike rents for $15 a day ($6 per hour) and handles the hill through the canyon quite nicely.

They tell you not to worry about locking the bike in the rack at the botanical gardens. Just leave it there; it will be waiting when you return from your visit. That reflects Avalon's pugnacious determination to distance itself from its urban cousin on the mainland.

Riding a bike in Avalon is a true delight. There are few cars - although most of the town's gas-powered golf carts are as noisy as lawn mowers on steroids and seem to be driven with reckless abandon by island residents.

Also, there is none of the carefully regulated bike culture that prevails in Southern California. Here, you don't have to don stretchy, brightly colored bicyclist attire that screams with Italian brand names. You don't have to wear funny little shoes either.

People pedal into the canyon wearing flip-flops, swimsuits, T-shirts, no shirts.

Admission is $3 at the botanical gardens, and after climbing the slope through a substantial region of cactuses and succulents, the footpath passes through the area of the Catalina endemics.

The Catalina mahogany, which is on the federal endangered-species list, was found to be an unimpressive tree - low, scraggly, weedy. It's the kind of thing you'd be tempted to rip out and replace with a Valencia orange if it suddenly sprang up behind your garage.

The Catalina ironwood, on the other hand, is a beauty - a tall, shady evergreen with long, bright-green leaves and stringy, reddish bark. In prehistoric times, it flourished throughout the Western states, according to Bushing, but has long since died out everywhere but on this tiny island.

On the trail out the back of the gardens, it's a good idea to keep the botanical gardens brochure handy. It will help in identifying another island endemic, the Catalina live-forever, an aloelike succulent that can sometimes be spotted along the path. (Just wondering: If that species ever becomes endangered on this island, will they have to change its name?)

The trail is really a fire road, obviously designed more for a jeep's low gear than a human's legs, but the views of the distant harbor are spectacular at several junctures. Little shade is provided by the California scrub oaks along the way, however, and it is imperative - particularly as the summer months approach - to carry plenty of water.

It is the hope of the scientists at the conservancy that walkers along this path or another island trail might someday be able to witness a botanical miracle: the return of Trask's monkeyflower. In the 1800s, it was found only on this island, but it hasn't been spotted since 1901 and is now considered extinct - the only Catalina endemic that did not survive to the modern age.

It's probably a wonder that other plants did not expire with it. Catalina, as with the other small islands off the Southern California coast, was deemed a prime ranching site when the Mexican government handed out land grants in the middle 1800s. Think about it: It was a perfect locale at that time, since the surrounding ocean precluded the need for fences, and there were no large predators like the black bear and mountain lion that roamed the mainland.

Squatters quickly moved in, and by the 1860s, there were an estimated 20,000 sheep on the island - ravenously nibbling at every green sprig in sight.

The conservancy, which shares ownership of most of the island with the Santa Catalina Island Co., has systematically deported as many feral animals as possible and has also fenced off delicate areas in need of protection.

``It is amazing to see the plants that are coming back,'' said Bushing, ``and we're hoping there are enough of these species that `disappeared,' that once the pressure is off of them, they will come back.''

If such an event were to occur, the travel industry's burgeoning new wave of ecotourists would likely take note - and come crashing onto the shores of Catalina Island.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The boat is the most popular mode of transportation to Catalina Island, and Catalina Express operates the quickest ones. The boats, which run frequently from both San Pedro and Long Beach, reach the island in about an hour.Round-trip fares are $38 for adults, with lower fares for seniors and children. Information and reservations: [phone]. Catalina Cruises operates larger, slower boats that reach the island from Long Beach in just under two hours. Fares are $25 round trip for adults, with lower fares for children. Information and reservations: [phone]. Parking at the harbors ranges from $6 to $9 daily. If you're in a tearing rush, Island Express Helicopter Service will whisk you from the San Pedro or Long Beach harbors to the island in a promised 14 minutes - at a cost of $66 one way, $121 round trip. Information: [phone].

LODGING: There are numerous options in Avalon, and the Catalina Island Visitors Bureau tracks availability and rates: [phone].

VENTURING INLAND: The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy oversees not only the island's ecological balance but also all tourist trekking to the interior. Its office at 125 Claressa Ave. in Avalon is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: [phone]. Daily hiking permits are available free at the conservancy office. Bicycling permits are issued only on an annual basis, at a cost of $50. Jeep Eco-Tours, operated by the conservancy, offers two-hour ($65), half-day ($495) and full-day ($795) excursions; the cost is per charter, and the vehicles will accommodate up to six. Another option is to ride a conservancy-operated airport shuttle from Avalon to the vicinity of Black Jack Mountain, get dropped off, and make arrangements for a later pickup for the ride back. The shuttle costs $15 round trip. Information: [phone].

CLOSER TO HOME: An option in Avalon is to rent a bike, ride up the canyon to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens, and then hike to the ridge beyond. Admission to the gardens is $3 per person. The best rental option for a bike is Brown's Bikes, just a few steps from the boat dock. A six-speed bike - fairly well-suited for the climb to the gardens - rents for $6 an hour, $15 for the day.

ON THE WEB: A comprehensive tourism site, www.catalina.com, offers information on transportation, tours, activities, lodging and dining. The convervancy also maintains a site, www.catalinaconservancy.org, which is a bit more challenging to negotiate. It exists more for scholarly purposes than tourist ones, but surefooted Web surfers will find some fascinating information hidden amid the scientific jargon.

- Eric Noland

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box, Map

Photo: (1--2--Color) Catalina Island's Avalon cove, below, is framed by a stand of prickly pear cactus near Chimes Tower. The cactus is one of several native California plants flourishing on the island. Meanwhile, the Catalina mahogany, right, is one of eight island endemics - plants found nowhere else in the world but here.

(3--Color) The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy conducts guided Jeep eco-tours to the island's interior.

(4) A small grove of shady Catalina ironwood trees, found only on the island, thrives at the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden.

(5) At the Wrigley Memorial, a trail climbs 1,000 feet and offers views of Avalon and the harbor below.

Eric Noland/Daily News

Box: IF YOU GO (See text)

Map: CATALINA ISLAND

Traci Wooden/Daily News