Monitoring Program Initiated for Coal Oil Point

The Coastal Fund – a program of UCSB’s Associated Students, the school’s student government group – announced a grant of $4,000 this week to the Devereaux Slough Monitoring Program (DSMP), which aims to keep tabs on a variety of ecological and biological conditions at the Coal Oil Point Reserve (COPR), including water quality, plant, and bird research. One of the most popular birding spots in the state, Coal Oil Point has been the subject of a number of different other biological and ecological studies. DSMP will attempt to incorporate the findings of some of these programs with long term monitoring to create comprehensive baseline data about the organisms living in Devereaux Slough. This data will then be used to create effective management strategies for the Reserve.

Coal Oil Point Reserve is one of 34 reserves administered by the University of California system, and the information will be used for educational as well as public service uses. Among other parameters studied will be the effects of development and watershed use. UCSB plans for DSMP – which began as Darci Goodman’s thesis project while she was working on her PhD at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management – to become a permanent program, administered by the COPR, said Lexi Brown of the Coastal Fund. Although DSMP was only funded for two quarters, the program staff is seeking other sources of funding, and plans to keep the program running indefinitely.

Internship opportunities are available, and students interested in volunteering for the DSMP should contact reserve manager Tara Longwell at atlongwell@lifesci.ucsb.edu.