Everything You Want to Know About the San Marcos Foothills

Newly restored trails by CIR super volunteer Ray Ford at San Marcos Foothills Preserve—West Mesa provide expansive views from the ocean to the Los Padres Foothills as efforts continue to restore native habitats and species.

by Ray Ford, Noozhawk Outdoors Writer | @riveray June 14, 2024

Ray Ford is the author of several definitive trail guides and maps of the Santa Barbara area, including the San Raphael Wilderness. He is also one of California’s most respected experts and practitioners of environmentally sensitive trail construction and maintenance. Ray has donated his services and equipment to Channel Islands Restoration to repair and maintain trails in Santa Barbara County’s San Marcos Foothill Preserve for the past couple of years. This 301-acre grassland recently increased in size by a successful citizen-led campaign to purchase and protect land slated for development. As a member and volunteer for CIR, we are truly grateful for Ray’s work. Hip-hip hoo-RAY!

Heading along the Westside Trail past the spring box area. The trail has recently been restored to a width of three feet, providing safe sight lines and uneasy-to-follow path. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

The hike along the Westside Trail is as easy on the eyes and the feet as it gets.

The hike begins at the West Mesa Trailhead at the San Marcos Preserve. The trail veers left off the main fire road leading to the top of the preserve. Once past the gnarly old oak that has decades of character built into it, the trail levels out and meanders along the lower foothills.

One of the first to hike along the Westside Trail after being widened, smoothed and the weeds removed from the tread. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Though Highway 154 is nearby, it seems drowned out by the sights and sounds above it: the rolling hillsides, the distant Santa Ynez Mountain crest, and the sounds of the wind and birds.

Though barely a hundred acres in size, the gentle slopes, wind-blown grasses and spacious views at West Mesa provide the perfect respite from the city below. On a clear day, the islands glisten on the horizon while the Santa Ynez Mountains provide the perfect backdrop for a morning or afternoon hike.

In the springtime, West Mesa is magical. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Paradise Almost Lost

Given the spectacular beauty of West Mesa, it is difficult to imagine that just four years ago, it was scheduled for development, with bulldozers set to begin carving out the roadways and site pads in early 2021. It didn’t happen that day because of a brave group of concerned community members who placed their bodies in front of the bulldozers in protest.

Though eight of them were arrested as a result, it marked a turning point. In just a few months, led by Channel Islands Restoration and others in the community and through donations big and small, the funding was raised to purchase the property and begin the process of adding it to the San Marcos Foothills Preserve.

Later, fortunately, all charges were dropped.

In August 2020, I wrote the first article for Noozhawk titled “Environmentalists Making Last Chance Effort to Preserve More Land in San Marcos Foothills” that provided an awareness of the impending development. I’d like to think that helped make a difference.

Meandering Thoughts

As I follow the meandering path out toward what is known as the spring box, I cannot help but think the light breeze seems more like a whispering wind, reminding me of the days when this was Chumash country, when the native grasses prevailed and the condors soared.

I’ve often watched several of the resident coyotes cut across the high meadows heading in that direction, and I’m told game cameras have recorded all sorts of wildlife, from skunks to foxes and bobcat to mountain lion there both for the water and the abundance of plant life not found anywhere on the Mesa.

I come here often partly because the trails are easy to walk but more because I like to wander, and here that is easy to do. Getting old is not easy on the bones.

I find it almost impossible not to be inspired when I visit West Mesa. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Not too long ago, I decided to make my own contribution and began working with CIR and its executive director, Ken Owen, to develop a plan for how we could integrate trails, public access, and what were basically a maze of unmaintained social trails into a sustainable, well-maintained trail network that would not impact the CIR restoration work.

Building a Trails Network

Though there are fewer than 4 miles of single-track trail and fire road to walk, the combinations of routes provide endless opportunities.

Many who come to West Mesa will follow the main fire road to the top, eager to enjoy the views from a seat on the lone boulder there, laid out perfectly to sit and watch the sun go down. Others will take advantage of one or more of several loop opportunities available at West Mesa.

Any choice is a good one.

For those of you who haven’t been here before, you’ll find an amazing trail network: 3-foot-wide trails, easy-to-walk tread, gentle grades and endless views. To get here, you’ll cross the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere,” though once you’ve been to the Mesa you’ll realize this nowhere is a pretty special somewhere.

That there is such a well laid out and cared for system of trails isn’t by accident. Last year in conjunction with Santa Barbara County Parks, we began what seemed at the time an overwhelming task.

First, which of the various social trails ought to be a part of the system were identified; then, which should be decommissioned, mostly because of steep grades we considered unsustainable; and finally, where some trails should be realigned to avoid other steep grades or sensitive areas.

CIR board vice president Art Levitt was one of many volunteers who contributed to restoring the West Mesa trails. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Thanks to the help of CIR trail volunteers in winter 2023, initial work was done to widen the trails, decommission a number of them and add several new switchbacks to avoid steep grades.

This spring, the balance of the trail work for the entire West Mesa trail network has been completed. Now, the challenge will be to maintain them.

I’d encourage any of you who have similar thoughts to consider becoming a part of the CIR trail team.

Heading up the main fire road with the family. This road will be restored this coming year to provide better erosion control and access for fire crews. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Some Opposition

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy. There are those who feel there are too many trails at West Mesa, and would rather there be more areas dedicated to habitat preservation and fewer for public access.

Some have raised the possibility of some trail areas being closed off to the public, which could affect parts of the Westside Trail and Plateau Trail.

I’m assuming their feeling is that West Mesa is better served leaving as much as possible to nature, keeping the largest chunks of the meadow lands intact and making sure to minimize where people can go.

So far, that hasn’t happened, and I’d rather work toward changing attitudes and encouraging positive trail practices than closing them off.

Meadow areas at West Mesa. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Creating One’s Own Personal Journey

Recently, one of CIR’s board members, Alikoi Parra, described something important about her own personal journey through her involvement with habitat restoration in its May journal, “The Island Insider.”

She describes the sense of power that comes from making connections with the natural world, of building relationships and of developing a feeling of being a part of something larger than self.

A Saturday family outing along the main fire access road, which leads to the high point at West Mesa. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Places like West Mesa have a way of making you feel a power that nurtures one’s well-being. One of the places that can generate these types of feelings is the new trail and garden designed to celebrate the Chumash.

The Chumash Garden

The trail leading into the garden veers off to the right just as you enter into West Mesa.

It is being described as an ethnobotanical garden, one that celebrates the native plants that nurtured the Chumash way of life. The trail is gentle enough to be used as an accessible trail though not officially being designed as one.

That may come, but for now once a ceremonial circle is in place and the thousands of native plants are added, it will be both a special place for the tribal elders to come as well as mark the beginning of the restoration work at West Mesa.

I like to think of the pathway into it as the Chumash Family Trail given that it can serve as the path for introducing one’s children into the natural world. For the rest of us, it will simply be a place that serves as an introduction into one of the last remaining grasslands along the Santa Barbara coast.

Restoration of West Mesa

One of the important values of West Mesa is, unlike many places, it has the potential to serve both as a model for preserving other natural places and also as a place of learning.

From left to right: Marketing Manager John Ziegler; CIR Board President Connie Jenkins; Executive Director Ken Owen; and Staff Ecologist Lauren Harris. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

I’ve met only a few of the CIR staff, but what I see in them is a love. They, too, understand the connection that Alikoi describes as being a part of something larger.

I just recently had the opportunity to talk with Connie Jenkins, the CIR board president, and Lauren Harris, the staff ecologist. Jenkins got hooked as a volunteer when she joined a CIR restoration project at Anacapa Island.

We talk quietly near the entry gate into West Mesa. Jenkins admits the challenge that awaits CIR as it begins the effort to return the non-native grasses caused by years of livestock grazing will be massive.

“It’s going to take decades to restore,” she tells me, “but with careful stewardship, we can do it. This is just the beginning.” You can tell she relishes the challenge those she, like me, will most likely not be around when that day comes.

Though they are tiny, these purple needle grass could provide the foundation to restore the native grasses to the preserve. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Harris will most likely be the one who will lead that battle along with the rest of the CIR staff. You can tell this is a labor of love for her as well. As a relative youngster, she’s got both the energy and years ahead to see this restoration effort through.

While she understands both the difficulty and time frame that will be required, she also understands something even more important: Taking the baby steps to build a foundation will be required to restore West Mesa. It’s a slow process.

Building a Foundation

The key, she says, is to establish a base layer of native plants that will allow other types of forbs and plants within a grassland to flourish, and from there begin to allow the biodiversity to develop.

That begins with a small, almost insignificant-looking plant called purple needle grass. Jenkins walks over and opens her hand. In it is a fist full of tiny seeds.

“This is Stipa pulchra,” she tells me. She can see the confused look on my face. With a grin, she says, “That’s what a purple needle grass seed looks like.”

“Though there’s no one magic bullet,” Harris adds, “the purple needle grass is foundational to our efforts.”

One of its chief characteristics is that it develops a deep root system that is hardly enough to survive the grazers that will eat its leaves down to mineral soil or extended periods of drought.

Simple signs like these hopefully will encourage those who visit the preserve to adhere to the basic rules so that others may enjoy it in the future as they are now.

“Establishing the needle grass is critical,” Harris says. Currently, volunteers have been out collecting seed from the needle grass and other established natives at West Mesa and growing them in the CIR nursery at the Greenwell Preserve in Summerland.

Harris tells me the plants should be established enough to be planted in the Chumash Garden in late fall at the time when the rainy season will begin.

In the meantime, another tool in the toolkit is about to be utilized.

Bringing Back the Sheep

“While much of the attention on the use of sheep and goats has focused on reducing wildfire impacts,” Owen says, “when done properly their use can be an important tool in restoring native habitats.”

Among these is the incredible ability of the sheep to consume huge amounts of vegetation, add a large amount of natural fertilizer and to do that while not having a measurable impact on the purple needle grass or other natives.

“People can have a really strong reaction when you say that you’re letting loose animals in a natural landscape,” Owen says. “But it’s really important to understand there’s a difference between unfettered grazing and what’s called prescribed herbivory or prescribed grazing.”

“At the preserve, we carefully monitor conditions ahead of time, inventory the plant community to find out what’s there,” Owen explains. “We make sure to get the timing right, because we don’t want to have sheep in there when plants are still producing seed. We wait until they drop the seed or when birds are nesting before we bring the sheep in.”

Owen notes the current date for bringing them back to the preserve is June 20 and likely be on site for several months.

Though difficult to see, note the bird box in the middle part of the picture. There are numerous boxes through the preserve. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Rebuilding the Bird Populations

Another aspect of the long-term restoration at West Mesa that is overlooked is the impact on the bird species when the thick layers of perennial rye and other non-native grasses are so thick that they have no access to the ground whether for feeding, nesting or breeding.

One of these is the use of bird boxes for species like blue birds and swallows and the construction of artisanal, artificial burrows for burrowing owls, which now overwinter here. It appears the boxes have been successful in bringing back the blue birds and swallows as well.

Access to the West Mesa Trails

Along with the powerful work being done by CIR to restore the natural landscape, I still get back to that needling question about some wanting to closing trails at West Mesa.

Is it a question of negatives and positives? West Mesa can be a powerful and emotional place for the public to visit, but along with that are a few negatives. Going off trail is one. Dogs off leash or not being picked up after is another.

A large group of college students celebrates a birthday at the edge of the Chumash Trail. The garden will be located above and to the left. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Would the native plant species, the bird populations or the animals be better off with fewer trails? Possibly. Would doing that serve the community well? Almost certainly not.

Or might it be better to foster the type of attitudes that will allow access to the trails and protect the resources at the same time?

Establishing a Compact

I’d rather see people who enter the West Mesa encouraged to do so with an understanding of a few simple things. Among the most important: While individual actions may seem insignificant, cumulative ones are not.

Hopefully, those who walk with their dogs on leash will serve as a model for others. Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Rather than closing off trails, I’d rather see a bold new sign at the entry to West Mesa that might say something like:

You are entering a very special place that only you can help preserve.
It is being restored so that you can experience the feeling of walking through a natural landscape once used by the Chumash in their daily lives.
By visiting West Mesa, you are agreeing to a compact between the Ppreserve and yourself so that others many years from now can have the same experiences that you do.
Please stay on the trails so that you do not damage the natural landscapes.
Please keep your dogs on leash and pick up after them because it is the right thing to do.
Thank you.

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Along with his writing for Noozhawk, in past years Ray Ford has served as president of the Los Padres Forest Association, executive director of the County Trails Council and as a volunteer with County Parks for many years. He has more than 20 years of experience in trail design, maintenance and construction and currently serves as a trails advisor to CIR.

Ray Ford: Restoration Complete for West Mesa Trails at San Marcos Preserve