CIR Teams with Local Companies to Restore Mainland and Island Sites

Restoration plantings installed by CIR volunteers
at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve

CIR will start a third restoration project in December at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, an open space located between Santa Barbara and Goleta.  Funding for the project will be provided by the REI Santa Barbara store, the Ventura Patagonia store and the San Marcos Foothills Coalition.  We will focus on removing invasive plants along in the most sensitive habitats, and we will plant several species of natives at the main entrance to the Preserve.  This project will rely heavily on the support of volunteers!

The San Marcos Foothills is one of the most ecologically valuable sites on the South Coast, with hundreds of acres of grasslands, oak woodlands, and permanently flowing creeks.  There are nearly 50 mammals found and the Preserve and 126 bird species.  The Preserve has miles of hiking trails that provide spectacular 360 degree views of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and the Santa Barbara Channel.

For the last three years CIR has been working with project partners and volunteers to restore habitat along Atascadero and Cieneguitas on the Preserve.  We will be doing some additional planting at those sites as well, so there is ample opportunity for the public to get involved in these highly successful restoration projects.