The City of Carpinteria bought the threatened 15 acres along Ash Avenue with the help of the Coastal Conservancy to create the Salt Marsh Nature Park. The Sandyland Cove Homeowners Association donated the adjacent 120 acres to the U.C. Reserve System to protect them from potential development. About half of the 95 to 100 acres in private ownership are protected by conservation easements and managed by the U.C. Reserve System. Altogether, 230 acres of wetlands are now protected. Restoration work continues. Few people who whiz by on Highway 101 see much more than a large green space bordered by houses and industry. Not many know the story of this rescued coastal wetland within Carpinteria's beachside community.

Return of the Natives
Seven years after restoration work was completed at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park, willows, California poppies, wild roses, saltbush, pickleweed, and other native flora grow in the upland areas. In the tidal channels live mussels, snails, clams, and a variety of fish species. The mouth of the estuary at the county beach in Carpinteria is a nursery for halibut. More than 200 bird species have been recorded across the wetland and in the upland habitat.

"From Point Conception to San Diego," said U.C. Reserve Manager Andrew Brooks, "it's one of the healthier marshes in southern California."

As a result, the role of U.C.'s Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve has expanded beyond its traditional function as a research site for graduate students. "It's now serving as a reference and study site for all aspects affecting watersheds, offshore kelp beds, and anything else surrounding the marsh," said Brooks. It attracts multi-campus, multi-agency research groups funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others. Studies are undertaken not only in the reserve but throughout the protected marshland.

Brooks said I wasn't imagining the diversity of avian species. "There's more food, the water quality is good, and the overall health of the marsh is allowing birds to be supported," he said.

Opening the Flood Gates
After the nature park was completed, the Coastal Conservancy, the Land Trust, and the Santa Barbara Flood Control District went to work on another section of the marsh--34 acres south of the access road and bridge to Sandyland Cove, known as Basin 1 and South Marsh, in the U.C. reserve. Feeney said all the old construction rubble, rocks, fence posts, and other debris were removed, and public access paths were installed. "It's exciting to see you can actually get it done when you figure we started this project in 2002," he said. "The key all along has been the Coastal Conservancy, all the restoration. They've been the lead horse."

As in the nature park project, improving the health and longevity of the marsh was at the forefront. A slew of projects was finished, including the restoration of historic tidal circulation channels that benefit breeding habitat for fish and invertebrates, such as the California oyster. Existing channels were deepened and new ones were created to help reduce silt and the algae growing on the mudflats. New cobble beds were created to encourage shellfish colonization. More non-native flora was removed, such as ice plant, castor bean, myoporum, and mustard, and 18,000 native wetland and upland plants were planted, including two rare wetland species, salt marsh bird's beak and salt marsh goldfields, which provide vital habitat for the endangered Belding's savannah sparrow and a variety of other birds. The finishing touches were the new footbridge crossing the Franklin Creek channel and the 1,200-foot interpretive path at the north end of Basin 1, at the southeast end of the marsh.