 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STRUCTURE & FUNCTION The County Task Force is an informal organization co-chaired by the office of First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, acting through his staff member Eric Friedman, and Darlene Chirman , with Santa Barbara Audubon Society. It has an active membership of about 25 agencies, organizations and individuals. It operates by consensus with no formal rules or committee structure, although committees are named occasionally to develop specific proposals for Task Force projects and work plans. |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carpinteria Salt Marsh is one of the most important coastal wetlands in SoCal. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MEETINGS The Santa Barbara County Task Force usually meets the first Thursday of each month, from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, at the South Coast Watershed Resource Center at Arroyo Burro County Beach Park (Hendry's Beach), 2981 Cliff Drive in Santa Barbara. Those attending are welcome to bring their lunch. Because the meeting day and location may change occasionally, please contact either the county co-chairs or Mauricio Gomez for information regarding a particular County Task Force meeting. In addition, please let us know if you would like to be added to our listserve to receive regular updates about County Task Force news and activities. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
MEMBERSHIP The County Task Force is open to anyone interested in the protection or restoration of coastal wetlands and watersheds in Santa Barbara County. Regular members of the Task Force include representatives of such agencies and organizations as the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the City of Santa Barbara's Creeks Division, the County of Santa Barbara Flood Control District and Water Agency, the Goleta Slough Management Committee, Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute, the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara Audubon, Santa Barbara Channel Keeper, The Santa Barbara County Agricultural Watershed Coalition, Santa Barbara County Weed Management Area, South Coast Watershed Alliance, Southern California Steelhead Coalition, and UCSB's Natural Areas Program. Photo: South Coast Watershed Resource Center. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GENERAL PURPOSE & GOALS The Task Force’s efforts generally focus on the specific Santa Barbara County Priorities (ecological, organizational, and data/research) in the Wetlands Recovery Project’s Regional Strategy. It acts as a clearinghouse to exchange information and ideas; it promotes community outreach and education; it sponsors workshops on funding, restoration techniques and other topics; and it helps identify and create local implementation capacity for specific restoration projects. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Task Force also provides a forum among agencies and nonprofit organizations for collaborative problem-solving and generating collective strategies and initiatives regarding wetlands and watershed protection and restoration and related environmental matters. It occasionally develops discussion papers for decision makers on such topics as institutionalizing watershed planning in County government or restoration of estuaries at state beach parks. And a year ago the Task Force helped organize a workshop to establish steelhead restoration priorities for the South Coast and develop methods to transfer to our area expertise on the best methods for modifying or removing migration barriers. |  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restoration of South Coast streams, such as Montecito Creek (above), will assist in recovery of steelhead runs. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RECENT GOALS & OBJECTIVES The Task Force’s most recent work plan includes the following goals and objectives: • Creating a practical program for permit coordination and streamlining. • Continuing its focus on restoration of Arroyo Burro and Carpinteria, Mission and San Jose Creeks, including increased engagement in City and County activities on Arroyo Burro and Mission Creek. • Developing a strategy for creating a watershed planning and management function in County government. Build on existing components and studies to develop a regional watershed vision, including creating a framework document on how to organize planning and restoration efforts. Integrating watershed planning and stormwater management in local government. • Developing a broader vision for the Goleta Slough watershed and integrating the work of the Goleta Slough Management Committee with that of the County Task Force . • Greater emphasis on identifying and implementing new restoration projects. Developing restoration priorities for Gaviota Coast streams. Coordinating and facilitating restoration on public and private lands. Continued discussion on the release of certain sites for restoration by community-based organizations. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
