Kelp Project Okayed for Goleta Beach

The Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment (BEACON) received unanimous approval today from the California Coastal Commission to try an experimental method of growing kelp off of Goleta Beach. During the five-year pilot project, researchers will build granite columns along the sandy seafloor 800-3,000 feet from shore as a means of attracting kelp growth. The project is intended to reduce beach sand erosion as well as repopulate the formerly kelp forested bay, where kelp strands were wiped out after the El Ninos of the 1980s.