Approval and Amendment Process

The Draft Management Plan for Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve was released in March 1996. It was been reviewed, revised, and adopted or approved by various land owners and funding agencies (see Appendix F, Letters of Support, Approval, or Endorsement for CSMR Management Plan). In addition, various Conservation Easements and Cooperative Agreements will need to be signed to expand the CSM Reserve to its full 230 acres (see Appendix E, Draft Conservation Easement and Draft Cooperative Agreement). Once the revised Management Plan (this document dated April 1997) has been released for review and comment, there will be a period of discussion between the owners, agencies, and interested parties that is expected to require several months. Once the Executive Committee of the Management Advisory Committee has been convened and the Plan is adopted, it is likely that changes to the Plan will be necessary, particularly to the Administrative Programs (See Part II. B.), which provide direction on the management of the marsh and the Reserve.

Approval Process. There are several steps that must be taken to adopt the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Management Plan and begin its implementation. Some of the steps have already been completed as noted. The steps include:

1. Review, revision, and adoption of the Management Plan by the State Coastal Conservancy and all owners of property, including the Land Trust, Sandyland Protective Association and Sandyland Cover Homes Association, within the proposed expanded Reserve as shown in Figure 30 (partially completed);
2. Review, revision, and adoption of the Management Plan by the UCSB Natural Reserve System Advisory Committee (completed);
3. Review, revision, and adoption of the Management Plan by the system-wide office of the UC Natural Reserve System (completed);
4. Review, revision, and adoption of the Management Plan by the City of Carpinteria and the City’s Marsh/Park Steering Committee (completed);
5. Review, revision and adoption of the Management Plan by the County of Santa Barbara (to be completed);
6. Publication of the Management Plan as an Environmental Report of the UCSB Museum of Systematics and Ecology (completed);
7. Review, revision, and signing by property owners of Conservation Easements prepared by the Land Trust and University of California (draft completed, see Appendix E);
8. Review, revision, and signing of a Cooperative Agreement between the Land Trust and University of California for the management of the Land Trust parcels and easements by the Natural Reserve System (completed, see Appendix F);
9. Review, revision, and signing of separate Cooperative Agreements or similar documents between the University of California and the City of Carpinteria, County of Santa Barbara, and possibly the Union Pacific Railroad Company (to be completed);
10. Convening of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Management Advisory Committee and appointment of the Executive Committee (to be completed);
11. Adoption of the Management Plan by the Executive Committee of the Management Advisory Committee (to be completed);
12. If required, completion of environmental review of the Management Plan pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (status to be determined); and
13. Initiation of the ecosystem-wide management process.

The potential environmental review of the Management Plan is not expected to be lengthy or controversial because (1) the Plan is clearly intended to improve the sensitive natural environment and (2) it incorporates many existing programs. Depending on the complexity of the environmental review, the eleven steps listed above could be expected to be completed by mid-1998.

Plan Amendment Process. It is intended that the Management Plan be revised as needed to incorporate updated information and revisions to goals, policies, and actions. Much of the updated information can be added to the appendices that would not require a formal adoption process, although the new material should be distributed to those that have a copy of the document.

Changes to the Plan’s goals, policies, or actions will require a formal approval process. If a significant amendment is proposed, the amendment process would include the following:

1. Review of the proposed change to the Plan by the Management Advisory Committee. If the change involves the Reserve, a final decision on how to proceed with the amendment will be made by the Natural Reserve System staff. If the change affects the remainder of the marsh, the Management Advisory Committee Executive Committee will decide how to proceed.
2. Once the scope of the amendment is determined and input is received from either the Natural Reserve System staff or Management Advisory Committee, depending on what part of the marsh is involved, a determination must be made whether the amendment requires changes to any legal document (e.g., Conservation Easements, Cooperative Agreements, etc.).
3. A determination should be made if any permits or other approvals are required to include the amendment in the Plan, e.g., if the amendment relates to alteration of a stream, a Section 1601 Permit from the California Department of Fish and Game may be required when the action is proposed for implementation.
4. Environmental review, if required, should be initiated by the Reserve Manager and the Management Advisory Committee.
5. The Natural Reserve System or Management Advisory Committee, if appropriate, should hold a noticed public hearing to discuss the proposed amendment and its environmental review. The noticed public hearing should follow the procedures that were used in the initial approval process for the Management Plan.
6. Once adopted, all agencies, property owners, interest groups, etc., that originally received a copy of the Management Plan should receive a copy of the amended text of the Plan.

The specifics of the amendment process will be determined by the Natural Reserve System staff and the Management Advisory Committee as a part of their bylaws (see 9.0 Management Coordination Program).