Mission Lagoon and Laguna Creek Restoration Project

Location: Santa Barbara County

Project Type: Restoration Planning

Status: Removed

Habitat Type: Exotics Control, Freshwater Wetland, Riparian, Tidal Wetland

Cost: $850,000

Area Affected: 10.5 acres

Project Footprint: 4,468 feet stream miles

Assembly District: 37

Senate District: 19

Congressional District: 24

Project Lead/Grantee:
City of Santa Barbara (George Thomson, 805-560-7576)

The Mission Lagoon and Laguna Creek Restoration Project is a multi-year effort to restore important habitats and ecosystem functions to a regionally important coastal wetland. This project will carry out parts of the conceptual design plan and associated technical studies that have been completed for the three project areas. The next phase, final planning and design, will accomplish the following major tasks:

(1) complete final restoration plans and construction specifications;
(2) conduct environmental review and obtain permits, and
(3) ensure public participation in the plan development.

Completing the final restoration plans will require hydraulic analyses, shoreline and wave run-up modeling, and additional technical studies to inform the restoration design. The final design will include the removal of over 700-feet of channelized creek, restoration of existing tidal wetlands and dunes, and the recovery of a portion of the historical wetlands that have been lost to development.