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0111im.jpg){kind=tracking} about 1,700 ft. downcoast from BEACON's proposed beach placement area.
In addition, a kelp bed occurs off Goleta Point about 2,000 ft. southwest of Goleta
Beach. The kelp bed off Goleta Point has been described by Foster and Schiel (1985).
The bottom is low relief mudstone interspersed with extensive sandy areas and
occasional rocky outcrops. Giant kelp off Goleta Point occurs between about 15 and
60 ft. water depth. The Goleta Point kelp forest is characterized at its inner edge by
patches of feather boa kelp.
2.3.2.3 Wetlands
The inlet to Goleta Slough occurs approximately 500 ft. downcoast from Goleta Beach.
Goleta Slough is a 360 acre lagoon and marsh complex, important to many birds as a
feeding/nesting area. Over 120 bird species have been identified in Goleta Slough.
Goleta Slough has been designated an ESH in the Santa Barbara County Coastal Plan
(1982) As discussed in Section 2.3.2.4, Goleta Slough supports several sensitive
species. The entrance to Goleta Slough is closed periodically by sand and reopened by
the County of Santa Barbara.
2.3.2.4 Sensitive Species
Goleta Beach has not been designated as Critical Habitat for the federal threatened
western snowy plover but it is a common winter foraging area for them (Wehtje,CDFG,
personal communication 2000). The federal and state Endangered California brown
pelican commonly feeds in nearshore waters off Goleta Beach as do several bird
species (common loon, double-crested cormorant, California gull, elegant tern) that are
California Species of Special Concern.
Sensitive species that occur within Goleta Slough include Coulter's goldfields, a federal
Species of Concern, and Belding's savannah sparrow, a state endangered species and
federal Species of Concern. In 1991, 81 pair of Belding's savannah sparrow were
estimated in Goleta Slough (CDFG 2000). Individuals of southern steelhead, a federal
Endangered species and California Species of Special Concern, have been recorded
in recent years in a number of the drainages that feed the Goleta Slough area
(NMFS 2000).
2.3.2.5 Other Sensitive Biological Resources
About 6 to 9 great blue herons (Ardea herodias) nest in eucalyptus trees on the bluff
southeast of Ward Memorial Boulevard near the Goleta Beach receiver site (Lehman
1994, Chambers Group 1992). Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) a fish species that lays its
eggs in the high intertidal of sandy beaches between mid-March and August, has been
observed to spawn frequently at Goleta Beach (Chambers Group 1992).
17
3208 Bio Report
06/12/02
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