Goleta Slough Tidal Restoration Study

This project obtained experimental data for the Goleta Slough Tidal Restoration Study to adequately address the FAA’s concerns and resolve the bird-strike issue associated with the demonstration project.

The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta, California. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) west of Santa Barbara. The slough empties into the Pacific Ocean through an intermittently closed mouth at Goleta Beach County Park just east of the UCSB campus and Isla Vista. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed, and receives the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area including the southern face of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The Santa Barbara Airport has the largest border on the slough and contains the largest part of the slough. UCSB, Isla Vista, the City of Goleta and other unincorporated areas of the county, including the landward bluffs of More Mesa, surround and encompass the rest of the slough.