Goleta Slough

The ongoing project will restore a five-acre portion of the 400-acre Goleta Slough in Goleta, California. Although the Slough has been heavily impacted by development and misuse over the last two centuries, great strides have been made in the last decade toward restoring the Slough to a functioning high-value coastal wetland. Due to its close proximity to city roads and urban development the project site is susceptible to weed infestation. By removing and maintaining a weed-free zone on the Slough’s outer perimeter, the proposed site provides a critical “thin green line” of biological defense against re-infestation for the rest of the Goleta Slough. The restoration site is home to several native plant species such as bulrush, cattail, pickleweed and saltgrass. Several native wetland bird species—including the Loggerhead Shrike, Red-winged blackbird, Snowy egret, Horned lark and Killdeer—frequent the site for roosting and foraging. Funding for this project has been provided in part by Southern California Wetland Recovery Project and Earth Island Institute.