Douglas Family Preserve Improvements

Douglas Family Preserve is located within the coastal zone of the high fire hazard area. As part of Santa Barbara's Wildfire Resiliency Project, the city's vegetation management crew will address vegetation within the park to reduce the risk and severity of wildfires.

Crews will target invasive species, downed trees, and deadwood to reduce fuel loads through weed whipping, mowing, hand cutting, hand pulling, chainsaw work, chipping, flattening, raking, and shoveling. Targeted invasive species include acacia, castor bean, young eucalyptus, olive, lollypop tree, sections of dried radish/crown daisy, Taiwan firethorn, iceplant, and ash.

Crews will also focus on trimming vegetation along designated primary trails, also known as trail brushing, to maintain clear site access for emergency crews and vehicles in the event of a fire.

Fire hydrants within the preserve will be tested to ensure functionality.

Douglas Family Preserve Work Areas (September 2024)
Douglas Family Preserve Complete Work Area Descriptions (September 2024) - subject to change

Trails across the park allow visitors to enjoy ocean views and wildlife sightings throughout the 68-acre park. 

Crews will improve trail conditions by increasing drainage and rerouting approximately 300 feet of trail to avoid low points that remain saturated for much of the year. This approach embraces water as a natural feature of the park while creating a more pleasant experience for visitors.

Deadwood from within the park will be used to line some of the trails to help protect vegetation and reduce the unintentional creation of new trails. Soil scarification and vertical mulch will be used to encourage the renaturalization of small, unintended paths. This approach aims to better define designated trails and reduce negative impacts on the preserve's native habitats.

Crews will decommission approximately 300 feet of trail to preserve a standing dead Monterey cypress that many bird species currently use for roosting, perching, cavity-nesting, and as an acorn granary. This natural feature can be viewed from the main trail along the bluffs and provides a great destination for birdwatchers. 

One of the preserve's defining features is the scenic coastal bluff overlooking the ocean, Channel Islands, and public beach below. Staff periodically remove dead, standing trees from the bluff to protect public safety. This approach reduces the risk of a tree falling onto the beach below and prevents additional erosion that would compromise the stability of the bluff. 

Crews will remove approximately six dead or severely leaning trees along the bluff in four work areas of the preserve. Tree stumps will be left intact to hold the soil in place, and trunks will remain onsite to mark trails or provide seating for visitors. The remaining tree material will be chipped and distributed throughout the preserve as mulch.

Current habitat restoration efforts are focused on passive restoration by removing invasive species to allow native species to naturally re-establish in the preserve. Active habitat restoration, including planting of native trees and shrubs, will be pursued no earlier than Fall 2025. This allows time for site design and plant selection, seed collection from plants currently found in the park and watershed, and plant growth in a nursery before transplanting.

A biological resource assessment was completed in early 2024 and identified a variety of sensitive resources within the park.

Five special status plant species were identified: Plummer’s baccharis, Santa Barbara honeysuckle, Cliff malacotherix, woolly seablite, and bitter gooseberry.

Three special-status wildlife species are known to be present within the preserve: double-crested cormorant, brown pelican, and yellow warbler. An additional 23 special status wildlife species have suitable habitat and are considered likely to be found within the preserve: Cooper’s hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, Northern California legless lizard, willow flycatcher, western pond turtle, southern sea otter, tidewater goby, American peregrine falcon, common loon, pinto abalone, California gull, western red bad, long-billed curlew, steelhead – southern California Distinct Population Segment (DPS), osprey, two-striped gartersnake, south coast gartersnake, and least Bell’s vireo.

A pre-activity biological survey will occur within 10 days of the start of work for all special status species. Exclusion zones and a biological monitor will be utilized as needed to protect all special status species on site. Most work will be performed outside of nesting bird season. If work is needed to occur during the nesting bird season, a nesting bird survey will be performed ahead of planned work.

Two sensitive natural communities are present within the preserve: salt marsh bulrush marshes and lemonade berry scrub. While the wooly seablite / cliff malacotherix provisional alliance is not a designated sensitive alliance evaluated by the California Native Plant Society, these dominant rare plants are still considered sensitive. No adverse impacts will be made to these communities. Invasive vegetation that threatens these sensitive communities will be targeted.

All crew members will receive environmental awareness training before work begins to review present sensitive resources and how to protect them.

Douglas Family Preserve Biological Resource Assessment (February 2024)