North Campus Open Space’s Mesa Trail Opens for Public Enjoyment
Visitors walk a trail through the North Campus Open Space, which was restored in a project managed by UCSB’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. (Carolyn French / Noozhawk photo)
The UCSB North Campus Open Space unveiled Mesa Trail to the public last weekend following a decade of reconstruction and restoration.
This open space is a 136-acre restored saltmarsh and wildlife area that was once the Ocean Meadows golf course.
The restoration project was spearheaded by UC Santa Barbara in 2013 following the Trust for Public Land’s purchase of the course, with a focus on converting the land back into Devereux Slough. The project is managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER).
Saturday’s event celebrated the opening of the Mesa Trailhead, Carlton-Duncan Visitor Plaza, Duttenhaver Outdoor Classroom and parking lot. It was organized by CCBER, which collaborated with campus departments and community organizations in Santa Barbara to cater information about space’s restoration and biodiversity.
Cheadle Center team members offered tours of native plants, vernal pools, and native grassland areas. Native plant tours featured some of California’s rarest plant species, including the Ventura marsh milkvetch, which was thought to be extinct until 30 years ago.
“This still technically is an extinct species, even though we’re looking at it right in front of us here, because there currently are no self reproducing populations on the planet,” said Pax Environmental senior botanist Scott Tomkinson. “This one may be a self reproducing population, we’re hopeful that it will be viable in the future, but most out planting experiments have failed. It does really well in a nursery though.”
CCBER’s restoration efforts include reintroducing over one million native plants to the saltmarsh, including multiple endangered species of flora and fauna. The North Campus Open Space now hosts the only site of over 2,000 individuals of Ventura marsh milkvetch.
The slough is also home to the endangered snowy plover, burrowing owls, and western sea-purslane.
CCBER acknowledged the Chumash indigenous peoples, who occupied the slough prior to its industrialization, during the open space event. The day began with a Chumash blessing, and CCBER’ Assistant NCOS Restoration Manager Wayne Chapman stationed a table on the Mesa Trail to explain the hunting methods and history of the Chumash.
Community members crowded Mesa Trail, excited to explore the expanded coastal wetlands. The 45 acres of restored land has expanded wetlands in Southern Santa Barbara County by 10%. The open trails will provide 2.5 miles of walking space to observe and appreciate the wetlands.
The trails can be accessed from parking areas off Whittier Drive in Goleta, near Storke Road, as shown in the map below.
