Goleta, CA
Home MenuEllwood Now - Work in Progress
Skip the introduction and jump to this week's schedule of active work or sign up to volunteer.
Trails
Sage Trail Alliance rerouted the trails to the monarch butterfly grove viewing areas. The new trails are designed to increase accessibility, reduce erosion, and avoid impacts to specific trees.
Preparing for Planting
Onsite plant nurseries, staging areas and irrigation systems are being installed. Thousands of young trees and native plants will be planted by our restoration partners, students and community volunteers. See Major Replanting Effort to Begin at Butterfly Grove and Monarch Butterfly Habitat Plan Phase 1 Implementation.
Volunteers Needed!
- Saturday November 23, 9 am-12 noon - Tree Planting and Restoration with Your Children’s Trees. Join us as we prepare, plant, and care for 1200 new eucalyptus, 800 native trees, and several thousand flowering shrubs and wetland plants. Sign up for details.
- Saturday, December 7, 9 am-12 noon - Tree Planting and Restoration with the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade. Details and sign up at Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade.
Where are the Butterflies?
Early counts of monarchs at Ellwood and throughout the range where they spend the winter – along the coast from Mendocino to Baja – suggest that migrating populations will be very low this year. See our bi-weekly counts and more information at Goleta Butterfly Grove.
Beach Access
The Parks and Open Space Division is working on a design contract to improve coastal access from the bluffs to the beach directly south of Santa Barbara Shores Drive. Updates will be posted here and on the City's newsletter and social media. Sign up for email or text updates.
Wildfire Risk Reduction
The City of Goleta is removing dead trees and fire-prone vegetation to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the Goleta Butterfly Grove and the surrounding community. Work will happen each year between April and October. This page will be updated weekly to list active and upcoming work areas by zone as defined in the map below.
Schedule of Active Work
Please respect detour signs to ensure your safety and the safety of our work crews.
Schedule may change due to weather, availability of work crews, protection of sensitive species and other unforeseen events.
If you have questions or concerns, contact the Parks and Open Space Division, 805-562-5509 or ellwoodmesa@cityofgoleta.org.
Fuel Reduction Zone Map and Treatment Methods
(click image to enlarge)
About the Zone Map
The Zones labeled on the map identify what type of fuel reduction treatment methods are needed based on the City’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), and what modifications to those treatment methods are necessary to ensure protection of sensitive resources, including monarch butterfly aggregation sites. Note the numbered zones are adjacent to homes and the lettered zones are further within the grove.
Fuel Reduction Treatment Methods
Standard treatment in areas within 100 feet of structures includes:
- Mow grasses
- Clear flammable materials from the ground
- Reduce brush/scrub height to 2 feet
- Trim and thin unhealthy trees
- Reduce fuel ladders by pruning lower branches 6 feet up, or lower 1/3 of tree height on smaller trees
Aggregation area treatment within 100 feet of monarch butterfly aggregation sites includes:
- Mow grasses
- Clear flammable materials from the ground
- Reduce brush/scrub height to 3 feet
- Trim and thin unhealthy trees
- Reduce fuel ladders and intermittent patches of shrubs and small trees in openings
Modifications to these treatments are based on site specific conditions and are summarized for each zone below. For greater detail of the grids within the zones closest to the neighborhoods, download the 2024 04 Revised Treatment Zone Maps and Table.
Both Modified and Unmodified Aggregation treatments retain the trees that provide wind protection to the aggregation sites. Vegetation removal is focused on dead and downed trees and vegetation zero to six feet in height.
Definitions (from the 2024 04 Revised Treatment Zone Maps and Table): Unhealthy trees are generally non-native trees with 75% or more crown necrosis. Saplings/small trees are non-native trees only (primarily eucalyptus) which are approximately 6” diameter at breast height (DBH) or less of at least 1 trunk.