Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

The Cheadle Center at UCSB manages the North Campus Open Space (NCOS), which is a project that has restored 136 acres of upland and wetland habitats that existed before the area was converted into the Ocean Meadows Golf Course in the 1960s. The NCOS restoration project began in 2017 with a fine-scale grading of the site in order to recreate the salt marsh and use the excavated soil to rebuild the upland habitats to the southwest, which are now called the NCOS Mesa. In addition to re-establishing native biodiversity, a key goal of the restoration is to utilize the site as an educational, scientific, and recreational resource. This archived version of the September 2018 newsletter includes updates on public events, fish monitoring revealing an abundance of Longjaw Mudsuckers (Gillicthys mirabilis) and Killifish, and pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) excavation. The feature story highlights the results of ongoing bird surveys. Community photos include Great and Snowy Egrets (Ardea alba and Egretta thula) and the Blue-Eyed Darner (Rhionaeshna multicolor).