Research Reserve

UCSB scientists Adam Lambert and Tom Dudley are working with the Santa Clara River Trustee Council to create a research natural area in the Santa Clara River watershed to promote scientific investigation and ecological restoration for the last wild river system in southern California. The proposed Santa Clara River Reserve will serve to protect and restore the biological resources of the riparian corridor, provide research opportunities to study ecosystems and wildlife communities at local, regional and landscape scales, and provide community education to promote environmental sustainability. The hub of the reserve is focused on the river reach between the confluences of Santa Paula Creek and Sespe Creek. This section of riparian corridor has one of the most extensive and diverse habitats in the valley and is a critical wildlife migration corridor in the region. This reach is also an active area for environmental research and restoration, and has upland land uses compatible with the objectives of the reserve, including recreation and sustainable (organic) farming. Further, protection of this reach from human encroachment for the benefit of wildlife is a major focus of regional partners.