The 440-acre Goleta Slough Ecological Reserve includes a variety of habitat types: estuarine, riverine, and palustrine wetlands; coastal bluff scrub; introduced grassland; coastal sage scrub; and Southern coastal oak woodland. Species include ducks, shorebirds, rails, herons, raptors, mice, voles, raccoons, weasels, skunk, snakes, and invertebrates.
The Slough’s history involves the diking and filling of extensive areas of salt marsh and alluvial fan, the realignment of the Slough’s creeks and their channelization, and the destruction of upland habitats within and adjacent to the Slough. The purpose of the reserve is to protect critical coastal salt marsh habitat. The property was designated as an ecological reserve by the Fish and Game Commission in 1983.
For more information, call the South Coast Region San Diego office at (858) 467-4201.