Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

The Cheadle Center at UCSB manages the North Campus Open Space (NCOS), which is a project that has restored 136 acres of upland and wetland habitats that existed before the area was converted into the Ocean Meadows Golf Course in the 1960s. The NCOS restoration project began in 2017 with a fine-scale grading of the site in order to recreate the salt marsh and use the excavated soil to rebuild the upland habitats to the southwest, which are now called the NCOS Mesa. In addition to re-establishing native biodiversity, a key goal of the restoration is to utilize the site as an educational, scientific, and recreational resource. This archived version of the December 2019 newsletter includes updates on public events and a recent tracking workshop that revealed activity of burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), barn owl (Tyto alba), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), bobcat (Lynx rufus), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), and many other animals. The feature story focuses on predator-prey interactions and how neighbors can help support natural predators and avoid introducing unnatural ones such as cats. Community photos include Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris), and Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps).