April 2013

To Citizen Stewards
For more than a decade, our supporters have been active citizen scientists by reporting sightings of rare birds, animals and plants that are observed on More Mesa.  These reports have contributed significantly to our base of scientific knowledge about this last remaining jewel of coastal open space.  Many in our community have been unheralded stewards of More Mesa for these many years as well.

However, this month we would like to recognize recent activities of a group of recreational trail users, members of the Trails Council, who have noted, documented and reported some extremely distressing vandalism on the county-owned section of More Mesa (More Mesa Open Space). Because of their diligence and follow-up, all appropriate agencies and individuals are now involved and addressing this issue.

With this in mind, we encourage all of you who use More Mesa to help in active stewardship by reporting any inappropriate activities that you observe on More Mesa.  These include, unauthorized digging, tagging of trees and plants, defacing, cutting and removal of trees, shrubs and plants.  To report these activities, please e-mail Jeff Lindgren, Parks Operations Manager, South County Parks Operations, at jlindgren@sbparks.org.

Thanks for all your help!

*Most More Mesa visitors are responsible users. In addition to the normal, reponsible use of More Mesa trails, we are fortunate to have a local organization that promotes sustainable trail access: the Santa Barbara Trails Council. If you would like to learn more about sustainable trail use and maintenance, volunteer opportunities and stewardship for Santa Barbara area trails, become part of the trail community by visiting https://sbtrails.org/