Santa Barbara Audubon Society Endangered Species Protection Western Snowy Plover Learn more about the Snowy Plover Docent Program! Belding's Savannah Sparrow Snowy Plover Tiger Salamander, Santa Barbara Population Steelhead Trout

Belding's Savannah Sparrow

These birds have been observed at all times of the year foraging on mudflats, sandflats, and rock jetties. At Goleta Slough the most significant impact on the Savannah Sparrow is probably a loss of foraging habitat. Source: Goleta Slough Ecological Reserve draft Management Plan, and the Goleta Slough Ecosystem Management Plan, draft Dec. 1997.

Several habitat restoration efforts planned or underway in the Goleta Slough can expand the foraging habitat of the Belding's Savannah Sparrow. However, the Goleta Beach Rock Revetment which was installed as an emergency measure during the winter storms in February 2000 has impacted a documented beach foraging site at the west end of Goleta Beach County Park - see Goleta Beach Seawall in the Development Review Section. The proposed renovation of UCSB's pump station on the East Bluff mesa and the replacement of the sewer lines through Goleta Slough also has potential impacts to the foraging habitat of the Belding's Savannah Sparrow.

Western Snowy Plover

Status of Snowy Plover

The Western Snowy Plover, a small shorebird, was designated "Threatened" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1993 due to rapidly declining population sizes. Critical habitat was designated in January 2000; this includes several beaches in Santa Barbara County: Sands Beach at the Coal Oil Point Reserve, Ocean Beach and Surf Beach, which are both part of Vandenberg Air Force Base. The latter two are breeding sites for the Snowy Plover, and partial to complete closure of the beaches during breeding season which coincides with summer beach use by people has Lompoc residents incensed.

Focus on: Snowy Plover
by Kathleen Whitney
(as published in El Tecolote,
the newsletter of Santa Barbara Audubon,
September 1999)

Sands Beach Snowy Plover

• Sands Beach, at the mouth of the Devereux salt marsh, is now used by up to 150 plovers each winter, where they forage and "roost" (rest and sleep). This number represents approximately 10% of the remaining population of Western Snowy Plovers.

• Snowy Plovers no longer nest on Sands Beach. Nesting stopped in the early 1960's when the Coal Oil Point Reserve (which includes Sands Beach) was opened to public access.

• Unless we all work to actively protect these birds, the beach could be abandoned entirely by Snowy Plovers in the near future. There is no evidence that resumed nesting can be achieved by such measures as closure to humans, on a beach where the Snowy Plovers have stopped breeding. That is why it is so important to retain the breeding at the Vandenberg beaches, and proceed cautiously with protective measures to "share" the beach during nesting season.

• The plovers typically arrive at Sands Beach in August (the end of the breeding season), and most have left for their breeding grounds (beaches between Washington State and Baja) by May -- unfortunately, this means the plovers are around during the part of the year when humans (primarily UCSB students) use the beach most heavily.

• The plovers can typically be found along a 1/4 mile section of the beach between Devereux Point and the slough mouth -- the most heavily-used part of the Reserve's beach. They prefer the zone between the wet sand and the dunes, where kelp and debris (prime foraging grounds) is deposited by the tide.

• Snowy Plovers are the color of sand, and they spend most of their time sitting quite still in small depressions in the sand -- both their physical appearance and behavior make them "cryptic", or hard to see.

• An average of 6 people per hour come close enough to the plover roost (within 150 feet) to visibly disturb the birds (they run or fly away) -- the vast majority of these people are unaware of the Plovers' existence.

• Even though people greatly outnumber dogs on the beach, dogs cause proportionately more disturbance to the plovers -- half of the disturbance caused by dogs involves active chasing of birds by unleashed dogs. Only 6% of dogs on the Reserve beach are leashed.

What you can do to help our Snowy Plovers

1. When walking up and down the beach, stay on the wet, hard-packed sand -- the Plovers rarely use this area.

2. A "Snowy Plover Naturalist" is stationed on Sands Beach a few afternoons a week with a spotting scope trained on the plover roost, during the season the birds are here, August to May. If you're at the beach during one of those times (look for the sign at the beach entrance), visit the naturalist to have a close-up look at the plovers, and take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about these amazing birds!

3. Choose a beach which is not used by Snowy Plovers to exercise your dog. If you do bring your dog to the Reserve Beach, PLEASE keep it on a leash, to prevent it from actively chasing and disturbing the plovers.

4. If you enter the Reserve Beach using the "Delta Trail" (along the eastern edge of Devereux Slough), please be aware that you are walking through prime plover habitat, and that the birds might be roosting in the debris zone right near the trailhead.

5. If plovers react to you, retreat several paces and walk in a wide arc around them.

** Your cooperation will help the plovers and will also allow you and others to continue to visit this beautiful beach for recreation and relaxation. **

Tiger Salamander, Santa Barbara County Population

Life Cycle of Tiger Salamanders

The vernal pools in which the salamanders breed are essential for reproduction and the continued success of the population. The upland coastal scrub, grassland, and oak woodland communities surrounding the pools are also crucial to their survival-these areas are inhabited by the salamanders during most of the year. They utilize the burrows of ground squirrels and other small mammals. They have been known to travel up to 1.2 miles during migration between upland habitats and breeding ponds.

Range of Santa Barbara Tiger Salamanders

The California tiger salamander is restricted to California. The Santa Barbara County population is geographically separate from all other populations of the species. The range is only 12-15 square miles of the county, generally between Orcutt and the Santa Rita Valley west of Buellton.

Emergency Listing

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) listed the Santa Barbara population of tiger salamanders on January 19, 2000, under emergency listing provisions of the Endangered Species Act. This gives the USFWS about eight months to determine if permanent listing is warranted. Initially, farmers in the potential habitat areas were unable to plant their crops until their property was inspected and determined not to harbor the salamanders. With much pressure from Senator Diane Feinstein, Rep. Lois Capps, and the County Board of Supervisors, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt let spring planting get underway, in fields cultivated last year. This restricts the impacts to new cultivation in the potential habitat areas

Santa Barbara Audubon Comments

In March, 2000, Santa Barbara Audubon wrote to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and to Congresswoman Capps supporting the emergency listing of the Santa Barbara tiger salamander. Critical habitat needs to be designated, and support a system of compensation for the landowners whose activities are restricted. Preservation of an endangered species is a public responsibility and public benefit, and the landowners alone should not bear the burden.

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Chapter office address:
5679 Hollister Ave., Suite 5b
Goleta, CA 93117
805-964-1468
Chapter email: audubon@rain.org
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Updated: May 24, 2006