I am writing to share Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s (SBAS) appreciation to the Independent and Callie Fausey for the November 6 report “Flora Fatality: Unknown Assailant Chops Trees at Lake Los Carneros in Goleta” about vandals illegally chopping down trees at Lake Los Carneros in Goleta. Those trees provided critical and irreplaceable habitat for wildlife. It takes a village to protect birds and our open space gems, and we thank you for raising awareness about the importance of environmental stewardship.
In addition, thank you, Independent readers, friends, members, donors and grantors, for energetically supporting SBAS’s critical work to protect area birdlife and habitat and connect people with birds through education, conservation and science. In acknowledgement of this commitment, SBAS received the Playa de Santa Barbara Award for Environmental Stewardship by Santa Barbara Beautiful. We are proud of this recognition and thank our volunteers and staff who work hard to serve the community through conservation and science letters and free and low-cost educational programs (e.g., Friday bird walks, Saturday field trips, evening programs, school visits, Christmas Bird Count on January 3, and Winter Bird Count for Kids on January 24, 2026).
We invite you to visit SBAS’s new red-tailed hawk at the Audubon Aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and to join us in learning about, connecting with, and protecting birds at santabarbaraaudubon.org.
