Ellwood Marine Terminal Restoration

Ellwood Marine Terminal is a 19 acre site that will be restored to historic landforms after removal of tanks, pipes, buildings, and the soil is remediated and regraded. The area will restore the high point on Ellwood Mesa and reconnect the natural seep to the Dune Pond and vernal pools. Plant communities to be restored … Continued

Santa Cruz Island Oak Riparian Enhancement Project

The Santa Cruz Island Oak Riparian Enhancement Project will enable The Nature Conservancy to plant coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Island scrub oak (Q. pacifica) trees in areas where Eucalyptus trees have been removed. These oak plantings will occur in riparian areas of three key watersheds (Cañada del Medio, Cañada del Portezuela, and Cañada … Continued

Whittier Channel Restoration

The project will collaborate with a number of local schools and non-profit organizations to provide experiential opportunities for students and community members at the project site. These partners include the UCSB nonprofit student group “Your Children’s Trees”, Kids in Nature II, Santa Barbara Audubon Society, Department of Water Resources Urban Streams Program, The Land Trust … Continued

Refugio Creek Arundo Removal

The proposed project enabled South Coast Habitat Restoration (SCHR) and partner organizations, the Land Trust and Channel Islands Restoration, to remove 35 A. donax patches. A. donax is one of four high priority invasive species targeted for control by the Santa Barbara County Weed Management Area, and is rated “A-1” on the California Exotic Pest … Continued

Coal Oil Point Reserve Coastal Access and Habitat Restoration: Phase 3

Within Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR) is 170 acres of a variety of linked coastal habitats including a salt marsh, a vernal pool, a fresh-water pond, dune swales, an estuary, dunes, grasslands, and coastal scrub.The reserve has several rare, threatened, or endangered species such as Tidewater Goby, Western Snowy Plover, and Belding’s Savanah Sparrow. Some … Continued

Mission Creek Fish Passage Enhancement Project

The project implemented fish passage improvements in lower Mission Creek in Santa Barbara. The City modified the lower concrete flood control channel to improve conditions for Southern California steelhead to migrate upstream to access year-round water with suitable spawning habitat in the upper watershed.

Santa Barbara Zoo Wetland Margin Enhancement

The project removed key invasive plant species and planted native plants at the Santa Barbara Zoo on the perimetere of the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, primarily using volunteers and emphasizing community involvement/education of zoo visitors and other community members.

Wetland Enhancement at UCSB

This project involved UCSB student interns and Kids in Nature (K-12) students in the restoration of a 1/2 acre freshwater wetland on the north shore of UCSB Campus Lagoon. The site was degraded, weed-dominated, but an amazing opportunity for freshwater expression on campus.

Las Positas Creek Restoration at Adams School

The Adams School project combined the restoration of 800 linear feet of a highly degraded stream channel with over 300 elementary school students in collaborative, hands-on learning activities. Asphalt and non-native plants were removed, the channel was regraded, and native wetland/riparian plants and trees wereinstalled. Students learned about wetland ecology and stewardship while restoring this … Continued

San Jose Fish Passage Project

San Jose Creek is the largest sub-watershed within the Goleta Slough watershed, which is designated a Core 1 watershed for Southern California steelhead restoration in the Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan (NMFS 2012). The creek has perennial flows and high-quality steelhead habitat in the upper watershed, but access to the upper creek is impeded by … Continued

Prisoners Wetland and Lower Canada del Puerto Restoration

This project restored a coastal wetland and one mile of a stream corridor at Prisoners Harbor and Canada del Puerto, the primary access point for Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park. Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island sits at the mouth of Cañada del Puerto, a seasonal creek. Historically, the Prisoners area was once … Continued

Carpinteria Creek Arundo Removal Project

This project removed non-native invasive weeds, Arundo donax, from the bed, banks, and overbanks of Carpinteria Creek and its tributaries. The Santa Barbara County Weed Management Area worked with the Carpinteria Creek Watershed Coalition on the rehabilitation of Carpinteria Creek for steelhead habitat. Arundo donax can grow to 30 feet tall and create dense thickets … Continued