Make an
impact today
Support our mission by signing to support below.
“The development approved by the Coastal Commission at 501 Sand Point Road at the mouth of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh would be a direct and negative impact to our ability to hold the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve in trust for the people of California for research and education. The proposed project would violate the UC Natural Reserve System's ability to serve our mission as a State Trustee Agency by serving research and education. For this reason, as a representative of this State Trustee Agency - I recommend this development not go forward as currently planned because the environmental and wildlife protection imposed by the Coastal Commission and the developer are not sufficient.”
Conner Philson
UCSB Natural Reserve System Director
“Our group has been studying food webs in Carpinteria Salt Marsh since the 1980s. The ability to investigate each organism in detail—within a small, protected, and relatively undisturbed natural setting—has helped make Carpinteria Salt Marsh internationally recognized. Strong partnerships between local residents and the UC Natural Reserve System have been central to our ability to do science. I hope that future generations of scientists will continue making discoveries here that transform the way we understand nature in general, and estuaries in particular.”
Kevin Lafferty
UCSB Researcher
I have been working at the marsh and the city park for the past twenty years. I have come to appreciate the wildlife and plants and the needs of the visitors for a peaceful environment. The new construction is huge blocking the view scape and its construction will cause much disruption to the habitat organisms need for their existence here. Was CEQA done? I never heard about this development. More oversight is necessary when construction is considered in an ESHA territory. The California Coastal Commission needs to reconsider this development.
Andrea Adams Morden
CSM Reserve Volunteer Coordinator
“I learned of the unfortunate news of the proposed development on 501 Sand Point Rd. As a UCSB researcher associated with the marsh since the late 1970’s, I am concerned about the effects of this development on the ecology of the marsh, and particularly potential effects on wetland birds that are already under stress from development state-wide. Carpinteria Salt Marsh was picked as a reference site with which to evaluate the performance of the San Dieguito Wetlands Restoration Project in northern San Diego County because it is one of the few relatively undisturbed wetlands remaining in southern California. Increasing development adjacent to the inlet, a roosting and feeding site for numerous bird species, potentially places additional stress on these members of the marsh community through increasing disturbance. Additionally, the housing will obstruct ocean views degrading the general aesthetics of the marsh.”
Mark Page
UCSB Researcher