Annual Highlights

 | 2001-2002 | 2000-2001| | 1999-2000 | 1997-1998 |
1996-1997 | 1995-1996 | 1994-1995 |

2001-2002 Annual Highlights

Administration
Andrew Brooks, an assistant research biologist with the UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute, accepted the position of reserve director for the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve (CSMR). Andy replaces long serving CSMR Director Wayne Ferren. Wayne will return full-time to serve as the Director of the UCSB Museum of Systematics and Taxonomy. William Rice, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, accepted the position as faculty manager for the CSMR replacing Dr. Leal Mertes. Bill, together with the Reserve Director, will sit on the CSMR Advisory Committee. The Reserve Director has plans to hire someone with experience in GIS software, as a part-time GIS database manager to update the CSMR GIS with information pertaining to ongoing research use within the Carpinteria Salt Marsh and its adjacent watershed. It is hoped that as more biological and environmental data are added to the CSMR GIS, this system will serve as an increasingly valuable research tool. The Reserve hired Mark Walter, UC Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute researcher, as a part-time reserve steward to assist with maintenance, invasive/exotic species removal, weed control, light construction projects, etc. A list of ongoing, long-term monitoring projects within the CSMR has been added to the master Natural Reserve System (NRS) database maintained at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. The Executive Committee of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Management Advisory Council, a group representing the 17 property owners as well as open field and greenhouse agriculture in the adjacent watershed, met to discuss various issues concerning the Marsh including a review of proposed activities related to flood control, a proposal for the restoration of Basin I and the South Marsh, and issues involving the control/eradication of invasive/exotic species. Negotiations with the Union Pacific Railroad currently are underway to purchase a permanent easement across the railroad tracks and secure a legal right of way into the Reserve. Work continues on the drafting of an example Conservation Easement and Cooperative Agreement that if signed and implemented would result in greater protection for the estuarine ecosystem and management on a daily basis of the entire estuary by the UCSB NRS. At present the University manages only its property (CSMR), 120 acres of the 230-acre Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Successful implementation of the Management Plan will result in the Reserve and the estuary being one and the same.

Research
With the addition of a newly awarded research grant to UC Santa Barbara faculty member Armand Kuris and associates by the National Science Foundation/National Institutes of Health, CSMR is now a focal research site for three, large, long-term ecological research programs. Work proposed by the Kuris led group focuses on the ecology of parasite mediated diseases and joins the National Science Foundation-funded Long Term Ecological Research Program and an Environmental Protection Agency-funded Wetland Toxicity Center. These programs not only provide national exposure for CSMR, but also have provided much needed environmental data in the form of water quality monitoring and remote sensing, and have generated numerous smaller research projects and dissertation studies. As examples of these, two projects conducted by UC Santa Barbara graduate students Kathleen Whitney and Ryan Hechinger involve investigations of the relationships between resident and migratory bird species and their parasites. Long-term monitoring projects involving salt marsh plant communities continue under the direction of Rich Ambrose, UC Los Angeles, Ray Calloway, University of Montana, and Steve Pennings, University of Houston. Lilian Busse, UC Santa Barbara, completed an intensive study of benthic microalgae and phytoplankton within the Reserve. The work resulted in the first taxonomic list of the diatoms occurring within the CSMR. Mark Torchin, UC Santa Barbara, completed his Ph.D. dissertation on the effects of trematode infections on the growth and survival of the California Horn Snail. This is the fifth doctoral dissertation to focus on the parasite community found within the Reserve; making this system one of the most intensively studied parasite communities in the United States.

Instructional Use
Use of the CSMR for university and college-level education/instruction has increased over the past year. During the 2001-02 academic year, five UCSB courses within the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology and one from the UC Santa Barbara Graduate School of Education utilized the Reserve. The Reserve also was used by classes from Santa Barbara City College, Ventura Community College, and Westmont College.

Public Service
Public service use of CSMR continues to be popular, although as with research and educational activities there is increasing use and perhaps some transfer to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park. This has been anticipated and for general outreach programs has been encouraged. Weekly docent-lead field trips at the Nature Park have logged over 500 person days of use during the last year. Nature Park docent training continues under the leadership of the docent coordinator, Andrea Adams-Morden, and consists largely of guest lectures given by UC Santa Barbara researchers conducting research within the CSMR. These training lectures have been very successful and serve to educate the public as well as inform docents who will lead tours and volunteers who help maintain the Nature Park. Use of the CSMR by K-12 classes has increased over the previous year. This largely was due to the inclusion of a study unit on the Marsh within the 3rd grade curriculum of the nearby Aliso Elementary School and multiple visits by several classes from Carpinteria Middle School. The Reserve Director currently is working with two faculty members from Aliso Elementary School to further incorporate grade appropriate use of the CSMR into their curricula. The Reserve Director presented lectures featuring CSMR to the Carpinteria Chapter of the Lion’s Club, Dos Pueblos High School, and at the Aliso Elementary School Science Night. The Reserve Director represented CSMR at various public events, as well as at several committee and subcommittee meetings. These included the City of Carpinteria’s Marsh Nature Park Dedication, where Wayne Ferren was honored for all his efforts over the past years to bring the Nature Park into existence, as well as the premiere of two videos featuring the CSMR produced by local filmmaker Larry Nimmer, the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Marsh Enhancement Subcommittee, and the Land Trust’s Carpinteria Salt Marsh Basin-I Restoration Subcommittee.

Stewardship
Stewardship activities of the Reserve Director focused on an ongoing review of proposed flood control activities within the CSMR, meetings regarding the renovation of Highway 101 and the installation of optical lines by Level-3 in the railroad right-of-way, participation in public hearings regarding the proposed expansion of 3 million sq. ft. of greenhouses in the Carpinteria Valley, and reviews of proposed renovation/restoration plans for Basin I and the South Marsh. Efforts continue to control the spread of invasive plant species into the Reserve. Species of special concern include myoporium (Myoporium laetum), ice plant (Carpobratus sp.), and pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata). In preparation for their restoration project in Basin I and South Marsh, The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County secured a small grant ($20,000) from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to aid in the removal of invasive/exotic plants. CSMR contributed $5,000 of additional funding to this grant in the form of recharge for the CSMR steward and CSMR truck to assist in the felling and removal of several large Myoporium trees growing along the common CSMR/Land Trust property line in Basin I. Monitoring programs for state and federally listed endangered species and other species of special concern continues. Damage done to Reserve signs outside the main gate of the Reserve by local Carpinteria gangs last fall was repaired and the large sheets of plexiglass that cover the small kiosk just outside the gate to Este
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2000-2001 Annual Highlights

Research
CSMR has been until recently a site used largely by graduate students and research scientists of research. With the award of two large research grants to UCSB faculty (an NSF-funded Long Term Ecological Research Program and an EPA-funded Wetland Toxicity Center, both of which will have a major focus on the Carpinteria watershed, salt marsh, and near-shore marine environments), the situation is about to change. The past two decades of focus in exceptional research at CSMR has clearly had a major influence in the successful acquisition of these two important federally funded research mandates. A number of the ongoing research themes will be continued by these grants. The Reserve Director has lead tours of CSMR for members of the research teams, and he looks forward to implementation of specific projects associated with CSMR. Todd Huspeni completed his dissertation on trematode parasites, the fourth dissertation from the Kuris lab that focused on these organisms at CSMR. Kathleen Whitney has recently initiated her research on this topic, as related to the role of avifauna in trematode demographics. Of particular interest was the presentation, at the annual meeting of the California Chapter of the Society of Ecological Restoration, by five research teams (represented by Ferren, Sandoval, Page, Lafferty/Huspeni, and Brooks) of work funded largely through the CSMR Crocker Funds at the restored wetlands of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park. The combination of the results is unique among ecological restoration projects and demonstrates the importance of integrated research opportunities associated with the NRS.

University-level Instruction
Ecology and marine biology classes from UCSB continue to use the reserve, as do returning classes from Ventura Community College, Santa Barbara City College and Antioch College, usually during the spring.

Public Service
Public service use of CSMR continues to be popular, although as with research and educational activities there is increasing use and perhaps transfer to the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park. This has been anticipated and for general outreach programs has been encouraged. However, to date we have not developed a way to quantify this type of use. One exception is the weekly docent-lead field trip program at the Nature Park, which logged over 600 person days of use during the last half-year of activity. The third year of docent training classes began in January. Rather than 8-10 weekly classes, the docent coordinator, Andrea Adams-Morden, has organized three day-long monthly meetings. Guest lectures mostly given by UCSB researchers have been very successful and serve to educate the public as well as inform docents who will lead tours and volunteers who help maintain the Nature Park. The Reserve Director presented lectures on CSMR at the annual dinners of the Channel Islands Chapter of the California Native Plant Society and the Flower Growers Association of Carpinteria. The Reserve Director represented CSMR at various committee and subcommittee meetings, including the City of Carpinteria Marsh Park Steering Committee, the SB County Flood Control and Marsh Enhancement Subcommittee, and the Land Trust’s CSM Basin-I Subcommittee, all of which also are important for the long-term stewardship of the estuaries resources.

Administration
Roger Nisbet, professor in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology accepted the position of Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve (CSMR) faculty representative to the UCSB NRS Campus Advisory Committee. In addition to Wayne Ferren, the CSMR reserve director, Roger and Leal Mertes, the CSMR faculty advisor, form the CSMR Advisory Committee. To assist with implementation of the Management Plan for CSMR, an Executive Committee of the Management Advisory Council has been formed that represents the 17 property owners as well as open field and greenhouse agriculture in the adjacent watershed. At present, monthly meetings are chaired by Matt Roberts, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Carpinteria, and facilitated by planner Pat Saley. The Committee has approved bylaws, reviewed flood control, Union Pacific and Level-3 proposals, and are planning the formal dedication of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park as well as the first meeting of the Management Advisory Council, which includes representatives of over 40 stakeholders. The CSMR Faculty Manager represents the NRS on the Executive Committee and the Reserve Director is an Ex-officio member. Members of the Executive Committee have begun to draft example Conservation Easement and Cooperative Agreement that if signed and implemented would result in greater protection for the estuarine ecosystem and management on a daily basis of the entire estuary by the UCSB NRS. At present the University manages only its property (CSMR), 120 acres of the 230-acre site. Successful implementation of the Management Plan will result in the Reserve and the estuary being one and the same. David Court has completed the transfer of the CSMR GIS from Geo-Navigator to ARC-INFO, now including the adjacent watershed, and has posted the entire management plan and literature and organisms databases on the CSMR web site, available through UCSB NRS and UCOP NRS.

Stewardship
Activities of the Reserve Director that focused on stewardship issues include: an ongoing review of proposed flood control activities within the CSMR; meetings regarding proposals to add a second railroad siding and the installation of optical lines by Level-3 in the railroad right-of-way; review of environmental documents for proposed expansion of 3 million sq. ft. of greenhouses in the Carpinteria Valley, and participation in public hearings; and review of construction and landscape documents for residences adjacent to the Reserve. Other activities include the coordination of the removal of invasive exotic plants; the monitoring of endangered species or other organisms of special interest; and the upgrading and expansion of the GIS. Mark Page and David Court continued to monitor water quality, focusing on nutrient enrichment in the estuary. Their work is associated in part with a SB County evaluation of greenhouse activities and also is part of the nutrient cycling research program spearheaded by Mark. This program is an excellent example of the application of University research to social and environmental problems. The information also has been instrumental in laying a foundation for developing the successful LTER proposal. The Director also has attended meetings of BEACON (Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment) in regards to possible pilot projects for beach replenishment at Ash Ave and Padero Lane. Concerns were expressed for possible impacts to the rocky reef, estuary, and LTER research projects.
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1999-2000 Annual Highlights

Administrative and stewardship aspects of reserve management included major developments at CSMR. Implementation of the Management Plan requires formation of the Management Advisory Committee, which includes representative of the 17 property owners and agriculture. The committee met for the first time this year and continued to meet as it prepared bylaws, draft easements, and cooperative agreements. The eventual outcome should be the extension of reserve boundaries to include the entire estuarine ecosystem including the wetlands in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park. Stewardship activities associated with a number of the reserve management programs include: (1) ongoing work by the City of Carpinteria’s Marsh Park Steering Committee regarding management of the Nature Park; (2) Marsh Enhancement and Flood Control Subcommittee review of project alternatives; and (3) desilting of flood control channels by Santa Barbara County at a cost of $200,000. Other stewardship activities include: (4) Land Trust for Santa Barbara County’s leadership in development of a concept plan for restoration of Basin-I of the estuary, with a $100,000 grant from SCC; (5) ongoing review and implementation of the management plan for the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way including construction of a new 45-ft span bridge at one of the drainages into CSMR; (6) vector monitoring and treatment; and (7) exotic plant species eradication.

The Research Program was diverse and productive, with as many as 18 different projects active during the year, which resulted in at least 59 individuals (researchers and assistants) participating in 187 user days at CSMR. Estimates for research use of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park, including evaluation of the ecological restoration project cannot be determined.

Aquatic invertebrate biology: Krug initiated a biogeographic and developmental study of an estuarine slug; Oliver et al. (Moss Landing) focused on inventory and description of benthic communities in the estuary mouth; and Haney initiated a survey of the estuary for leptostraca crustaceans. Ichthyology: Brooks (UCSB) continued his evaluation of estuarine fish distribution including the use by fish of restored wetlands. Ornithology: Hansen continued his decade long montoring of avifauna use of the wetlands and channels; Zembal (CSLB) and Semonsen continued monitoring the Light-footed Clapper Rail as part of a long-term focus on management and conservation of this endangered species; and Whitney (UCSB) initiated research on the relationship dynamics and impacts of trematode parasites to avian hosts. Parasitology: Torchin (UCSB) examined rates of trematode infection in horn snails and also found no relationship between snail growth and intensity of infection; Fingerut (UCLA) continued his investigation into infection transmission dynamics of trematodes; Huspeni and Lafferty (UCSB) continued to assess trematodes to assess success of restoration projects; and Schmidt (UCSB) studied the invitro analysis of interactions among larval trematodes from horn snails.

Plant ecology: Callaway (UM) and Pennings (UG) focused on monitoring of long-term changes in the estuary and inter-actions between and among plant species of groups of species; Vance and Ambrose (UCLA) continued their long-term comparison of salt marsh plant communities among estuaries; Anderson (UCLA) studied vegetative recruitment into restored wetlands; Hubbard (UCSB) and House continued studies of rare plant conservation and potential effects of exotic plant species; and Hubbard conducted an additional year of vegetation monitoring of restored wetlands. Terrestrial invertebrate biology: Sandoval (UCSB) and Grether surveyed lepidoptera and other insects, studied the biology of marsh/upland edge-dependent butterflies such as the rare Pygmy Blue, and assessed the success of restored habitats in providing host plants for butterflies; and Ramirez (LMU) initiated a study of genetic variability of the spider genus Lutica. Water quality: Meyers et al. (UCLA) sampled pore water for toxicity using sea urchins as part of a comparative analysis of southern California estuarine toxicity; Kellner (UCSB) initiated a study of the effects of watershed runoff on intertidal community structure; Page and Dugan (UCSB) continued their long-term study of nitrogen dynamics in the estuary including effects of nutrient enrichment from greenhouses on the ecosystem and on restored wetlands; and Page continued a study of sediment and nutrient transport into the estuary.

University and college-level instruction associated with the Education Program included use of the estuary for class tours, surveys, experiments, and laboratory analysis, resulting in at least 268 teachers and students participating for 285 user days. UCSB courses included EEMB 113, Ornithology; EEMB 120AL, Introduction to Biology, Lab; EEMB 140L, General Plant Ecology; EEMB 170, and Biology of Marine-Land Interface. Other instructional activities include classes from Antioch University, Santa Barbara City College, Ventura Community College, Westmont College, and Universidad de Baja California.

Many activities associated with the Public Service Program include tours, docent activities, and K-12 educational experiences, resulting in at least 747 individuals participating for 1081 user days. These figures do not include any activities at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park, which logged in over 350 individuals on Saturday tours and 200 on K-12 tours. The CSMR Director helped the docent coordinator, Andrea Adams-Morten, organize and conduct the 10-week docent-training course provided by a series of guest lectures. General access and use of the Nature Park is not recorded, so estimates of use are not available. As many as 47 elementary schools, agencies, organizations and private companies or groups have benefited from our commitment to public service. A complete list is provided elsewhere in this report. Activities included agency meetings and site evaluations, volunteer and stewardship activities, use as a donor site for regional restoration projects, public tours, organization field trips, on-site lectures, project demonstrations, training sessions, fund raising, painting, bird watching, and botanizing.

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve provides increasingly important roles as a research site, instructional opportunity, and public access focal point. The newly developed Nature Park also has contributed in important ways to the growing recognition of the estuary as an important resource, as well as a site from which significant contributions have been made regarding wetland research of many types including restoration ecology. As a result, Carpinteria Salt Marsh is now one of the most studied wetlands in coastal California. Evidence for the increasing importance is the recent award by the National Science Foundation to UCSB researchers for the first Long Term Ecological Research site in California, which will focus in large part on the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Watershed, CSMR, and the Carpinteria Reef. Should a proposal be funded that was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by other UCSB researchers to use the LTER estuaries as sites to develop wetland toxicity assessment centers, it will further enhance the

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1999-1998 Annual Highlights

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve (CSMR) began its third decade this year with implementation of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Restoration Plan, Phase I: Ash Avenue Wetland Project. After more than a decade of planning and fund-raising in association with the Carpinteria Marsh-Park Steering Committee, and in conjunction with the City of Carpinteria, the County of Santa Barbara, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, and the State Coastal Conservancy, construction on this $4.5 million restoration and public access program began in July, 1997. Tidal circulation was established in October, and construction was completed in Spring, 1998. The 15-acre project includes restoration and creation of intertidal salt marsh, channel, and mud flat habitats and creation of adjacent palustrine wetlands and upland habitats such as dune scrub, coastal scrub, and native grasslands. The access and interpretive portion of the project includes: rest rooms and a lifeguard facility, nature trails and boardwalk, an interpretive area, a teaching amphitheater, observation overlook, and various interpretive sites with benches along the trails. A Coastal Resources Grant to the City of Carpinteria will fund a dozen interpretive signs made of enameled porcelain and containing color photographs of the estuary and its natural resources. There is broad community support for the effort, and much press coverage of the on-going project. One visiting scientist predicted it will be the most successful salt marsh restoration effort to date in southern California. The reserve director presented the planning and construction aspects of the project at a symposium on wetland restoration sponsored by the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Revegetation, maintenance, and monitoring will continue into the next fiscal year.

The Management Plan for Carpinteria Salt Marsh has received many favorable reviews and is now being implemented within CSMR. The plan also received an American Planning Association “Award of Merit” in the category for focused planning. This award has empowered the planning process and demonstrates the contributions Natural Reserve System (NRS) reserves can make to community planning issues. In the coming year, an Executive Committee of the Management Advisory Committee (ECMAC) will be implemented to prepare by-laws for the functioning of the MAC.

El Niño storms created several difficult situations at the reserve. One of the major ones was the non-permitted ditching of wetlands and environmentally sensitive habitats by Union Pacific Transportation within its railroad right-of-way, adjacent to CSMR. Due to concerns for potential impacts to CSMR, the reserve director requested review of the situation by the Army Corps of Engineers, who issued a cease and desist order to Union Pacific. There has been much tension between community spokespersons, agency representatives, and University of California (UC) personnel regarding the issues of resource protection, public safety, and the protection of property, including UC property. Union Pacific prepared a mitigation plan for restoring damaged wetlands within the corridor, but there has been little concern for the potential impacts to the reserve from runoff and sedimentation. A prevailing approach in the regional watershed has been to convey flood waters and accompanying sediment downstream to adjacent landowners. Because the NRS and other owners of the estuary are the ultimate downstream landowners, we receive impacts from the various upstream owners (including Union Pacific, Caltrans, and County Flood Control, and the agricultural community) who have assisted in conveying floodwaters and other runoff into the estuary with little responsibility for potential damages to natural resources. Whole watershed management remains one of the biggest challenges in managing CSMR. A site visit by many of the participating agencies, including the UC Office of the General Counsel, addressed mitigation for impacts caused by Union Pacific’s activities, and potential impacts from the proposed replacement and widening of culverts to convey more floodwaters under Highway 101 and the railroad into CSMR.

Use figures for research, class activities, and public service appear to have stabilized. However, significant increases in use of the Ash Avenue site for all kinds of activities, including funded research and environmental monitoring, are not reflected in the official figures. In reality, all programs associated with CSMR have increased in scope and intensity due, in part, to the broad increase in public awareness and appreciation for the important natural resources of Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Research projects included ecological restoration experiments with fish, parasites, nutrients, and endangered plant recovery (UCSB); channel morphology, watershed processes, horn snail demography and invasive plant biology (UCSB); trematode parasite emergence (UC Los Angeles); effects of parasitic plants on vegetation zonation (University of Montana and University of Georgia); and long-term vegetation monitoring (UC Los Angeles). University and college level classes using CSMR included UCSB classes in plant ecology, marine biology, watershed processes, and landscape painting; a University of Oklahoma field course on coastal California; and science and adult education classes from Ventura Community College and Santa Barbara City College.

Public service use included K-12 education (e.g., Aliso School, Laguna Blanca School, Anacapa High School, Carpinteria Community Home Based Education, Hollister Elementary School and Open Alternative School); tours for organizations such as Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Carpinteria Valley Historic Society, Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, UCSB’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, and Oak Group Artists. Agencies that visited or conducted surveys and monitoring at CSMR included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California State Coastal Commission, California Department of Fish and Game, Caltrans, City of Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County Flood Control District, and Carpinteria Valley Mosquito Abatement District. Academic institutions were represented by researchers from the University of Georgia, University of Montana, University of Kansas, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, and Rutgers University.

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve provides an increasingly important role in public service and community affairs, while conducting the business of research, education, and stewardship through the NRS. With facilities such as the Ash Avenue wetland site and a coordinated planning framework through the Management Plan, the reserve will continue to meet the needs of users, provide community services and opportunities, and be a leader in stewardship and conservation at one of the most important coastal wetlands in southern California.


Public Service

Community, College, and University Organizations

Carpinteria Valley Historical Association
Coast Walk
Friends of Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve
J. Q. Public Tours
Land Trust for Santa Barbara County
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), UCSB
Oak Group Artists
Santa Barbara Adult Education, Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Elementary and Secondary Schools

Aliso School, Carpinteria
Anacapa High School, Santa Barbara
Community Home Based Education Program, Carpinteria
Hollister Elementary School, Santa Barbara
Laguna Blanca, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Open Alternative School

"The most exciting and, at the same time, most maddening thing about working with small children is their seemingly inexhaustible supply of curiosity and their unwillingness to accept "because that's just the way it works" as an explanation. One of the major differences between good scientists and great scientists lies in the fact that great scientists have never lost the ability to see the world through the eyes of a child and ask for the umpteenth time "but why?"
- Andrew Brooks, graduate student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, UCSB. Andy has willingly volunteered his time to lead field trips to the marsh for adults and children and to explain his research.

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1996-1997 Annual Highlights

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	Copyright 2000 University of California, Natural Reserve System
Last Updated 10/15/02