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Ellwood Mesa Monarch Butterfly Project

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This page is accurate but not current. Please see Ellwood Mesa and Monarch Butterfly Habitat.

To receive email and/or text updates on this topic, please sign up at http://tinyurl.com/ellwoodmesasubscribe. For more detailed information, please view the Project Updates section on this page.

On March 19, 2019 the Goleta City Council adopted the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan. This Ellwood Mesa/Sperling Preserve Open Space Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan (MBHMP) outlines the programmatic approach and methods for the City of Goleta (City) to manage and improve the Ellwood Mesa eucalyptus forest for the benefit of the overwintering behavior of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), other wildlife, and the public’s use and enjoyment.

August 21, 2021 Ellwood Mesa Open House

The Parks and Open Space Division will be hosting an open house at Ellwood Mesa on Saturday August 21, from 8 AM to noon. The event will have two stations, one at the Ellwood Mesa Parking Lot and one at the Devereux Creek crossing near the Main Grove butterfly aggregation site. Each station will be hosted by George Thomson, Parks and Open Space Manager and our project consultant team, including Dr. Dan Meade, our monarch butterfly expert. The format will be an informal Q&A session to address neighbor’s questions about what the City is proposing to improve butterfly habitat, reduce fire risk, trail improvements, educational signage, and other actions to improve the Ellwood Mesa Butterfly Grove. This will be the first of several outreach events planned for 2021-2022.

June 2021 Update

On June 15, 2021, the Goleta City Council approved several professional design services agreements for landscape architecture, project management assistance, biologists and arborists to assist with the implementation actions at the Ellwood Mesa. The work approved by the City Council will commence the "on-the-ground" objectives as outlined in the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan. See the June 15, 2021 City Council staff agenda item for more details. 

February 2019 Update

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce the reopening of trails on Ellwood Mesa in consultation with the California Coastal Commission.  Users are encouraged to use caution on trails and should be aware that many of the trees are drought-stressed and in danger of falling.  Users enter at their own risk. A map is available here.

As previously noticed, the City of Goleta has completed a Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the Ellwood Mesa/Sperling Preserve Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan (MBHMP). The City invites comments on the environmental analysis described in the Draft IS/MND. The public comment period began on January 25, 2019, and will end on February 24, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. The Draft MBHMP and IS/MND are available for public review on the City's website at the link below or at the City of Goleta Planning and Environmental Review Department, 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B, Goleta, California, or at the Goleta Public Library.  The documents can be found here: https://www.cityofgoleta.org/home/showdocument?id=21579 and https://www.cityofgoleta.org/home/showdocument?id=21867.

February 2018 Update

At the Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 6:00 p.m. City Council meeting, Council received a presentation on the status of the monarch butterfly population counts, hazardous tree removal and trail closure emergency permit implementation, expanded tree survey results and the Butterfly Habitat Management Plan. Read the full staff report here. View the presentation to Council here.

November 2017 Update

On November 29, 2017, twenty-four dead or dying trees on the Ellwood Mesa were removed. Click to view the permit and  application.

October 2017 Update

A presentation to City Council on October 17, 2017, for the Emergency Permit Issuance for the Ellwood Mesa Tree Removal and Trail Closure Project is available here.

Staff is working to mobilize the resources necessary to remove the four trees identified by option 6 for removal before butterfly migration season.  

The City is continuing work on the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan and will provide regular updates on the status and opportunities for the public to provide input on this important project.

September 2017 Update

The Coastal Commission granted an emergency permit for the tree removal work on September 26.

The Goleta City Council held meetings on September 5 and September 7, 2017, to discuss the future of the dead and dying trees on the Ellwood Mesa.  After hours of public testimony and deliberation, the Council supported an option to remove a minimal number of trees around three key trails to provide beach access from several locations on the Mesa.  The tree removal locations and trail map can be found here. These trails are referred to as Trail 6, Trail 18 and Trail 25 in the General Plan.  All other trails remain closed. 

Council supported tree removal in the near-term along these three trails to provide public access as quickly as possible once the immediate threat has been removed.  The current trail closure map can be found here.  As soon as these three trails are reopened, a new map will be posted and distributed.

The Ellwood Main Monarch Aggregation Site (aka Goleta Butterfly Grove) and other aggregation areas on the Ellwood Mesa will remain closed indefinitely.

PROJECT UPDATES

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BACKGROUND

As a result of a tree health assessment performed as part of the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Management Plan, the City recently learned that a significant number of trees in the Ellwood Mesa are dead or dying. Many of the dead and dying eucalyptus trees in the forest were severely impacted by the drought which increased their vulnerability to pests. In an abundance of caution, and at the advice of the City’s insurer, some trails on the Ellwood Mesa were temporarily closed due to the potential for falling trees. As of February 14, 2019, the City of Goleta announced the reopening of trails on Ellwood Mesa in consultation with the California Coastal Commission. Users are encouraged to use caution on trails and should be aware that many of the trees are drought-stressed and in danger of falling. Users enter at their own risk.

OTHER REFERENCE MATERIALS:

Other City projects pertaining the Ellwood Mesa:

Butterfly Habitat Management Plan

Ellwood Trails Habitat and Restoration Project

Goleta Butterfly Grove

PUBLIC COMMENT

If you have specific questions or comments, click here.