North Campus Open Space
North Campus Open Space is a in Goleta, California. Managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the property had been previously developed into a golf course. The project included the restoration of the historic upper half of Devereux Slough and adjacent upland and wetland habitats that support important local native plant and animal species, reducing flood risk, providing a buffer against predicted sea level rise, and contributing to carbon sequestration while also supporting public access and outreach, and facilitating research and educational opportunities.
History
In 2013, The Trust for Public Land purchased of the former golf course with $7 million of grant funding from several federal, state, and local agencies, and gifted the property to The Regents of the University of California. Integration of surrounding uplands has created the that makes up NCOS today. The Regents of the University of California, with the help of local environmental agencies and research centers like CCBER, is now in charge of long-term ecological restoration and stewardship of this open space.The primary funders for this project are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Caltrans, the California Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Water Resources Urban Streams program, the State Coastal Conservancy, the Ocean Protection Council, and the Wildlife Conservation Board, along with other environmental agencies.
Restoration efforts at NCOS, directed by CCBER, began in 2017. The excavation and relocation of approximately 350,000 cubic yards of topsoil was used to fill the wetland in the mid-1960s for creating the Ocean Meadows golf course. Before the restoration project began, the golf course would often flood during winter storms, and this posed a growing flood risk associated with climate change for immediately adjacent neighborhoods. Restoration efforts have lowered the floodplain by nearly two feet, removing local residents from the flood plain entirely. The excavated soil from the upper half of Devereux Slough was placed on the southwestern portion of the site to form a mesa for a native perennial grassland and other habitats. Other restoration efforts include the removal of non-native species, and restoration and reintroduction of native species. In 2018, 60 percent of the to be vegetated had been planted; of wetlands were being restored and regaining function, and wildlife species were increasingly using the habitat features placed by CCBER.