Edhat StaffSource: City of Santa Barbara
Trail maintenance is scheduled to begin July 24, 2017, vegetation maintenance is scheduled to begin late July and tree maintenance is scheduled to begin August 16, 2017 at the Douglas Family Preserve, a 70-acre open space park managed by the City of Santa Barbara, Parks and Recreation Department (Department). The park will be open while work is underway. However, park users and their dogs should avoid closed areas and areas of active maintenance. A portion of the Outer Loop Trail, the Oak Grove Trail and the Preserve entrance at the Arroyo Burro Beach parking lot/Cliff Drive will be closed intermittently July 24 to August 7, 2017 for trail maintenance. Borton Drive, Mesa School Lane and Medcliff Drive entrances will be open, as well as an Outer Loop Trail detour.
Vegetation and tree maintenance work will be performed by a Department contracted landscape and arborist crews and will take approximately 25 working days. It is anticipated that the crews will complete work by September 30, 2017.
Funding for the maintenance work comes from the endowment fund for the Douglas Family Preserve, which is managed and distributed by the PARC Foundation. The endowment funds will enable the Parks and Recreation Department to perform trail work and work throughout the Preserve to trim and remove poorly performing trees, perform additional vegetation management to reduce fire risk, remove non-native shrubs found within two acres of oak woodland, and apply mulch to park trails. This work will increase public safety and enhance native habitats within the park. The work is in compliance with the Douglas Family Preserve Management Plan (2009) and the Plan’s adopted measures. It is also in compliance with the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects nesting birds.
