Mission Creek Museum Area Restoration Plan

This project prepared a restoration plan for the removal of invasive species, revegetation of native plants, implementation of stormwater best management practices, and installation of interpretive trails and exhibits along Mission Creek.

The Mission Creek Museum Area Restoration Project is intended to improve habitat and water quality along a 1,200-foot-long stretch of Mission Creek in Santa Barbara. The project site consists of thirteen acres along the creek’s middle reach and includes buildings and grounds of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The project entails restoring and enhancing streamside and riparian vegetation on about five acres of the site; replacing almost two acres of impervious asphalt in the Museum’s main public parking lot and other paved areas near the creek with vegetative buffers and permeable surfaces; and rehabilitating several bioswales draining into the creek and installing filters on storm drains to control and improve runoff. The project will also include building interpretive trails and exhibits to educate the public about stream restoration, coastal watersheds, and stormwater management. Additionally, the project will investigate the feasibility of modifying an existing grade control structure within the stream channel to improve passage for steelhead.