Advocacy

Conservation / Science

The Conservation/Science Committee (ConSci) acts locally to advocate for strong protections for birds and bird habitat, with an emphasis on riparian areas and regional open spaces. We do this through a variety of means, including providing expert knowledge, thorough analysis and public comment, meetings with local officials, and outreach through our supporters. We welcome your… Read more »

Strauss Wind Farm project – Update

Conservation and Science Committee Update Members of our Conservation/Science Committee continue their determined advocacy for local birds and habitat.  Within the last month, Committee members have written three SBAS comment letters to local and federal agencies. Topics included re-zoning land for the state-mandated Housing Element Update, proposed development plans for Naples, and a detailed critique… Read more »

Purple Martins in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County contains many avian treasures.  One of the rarest is the Purple Martin colony in and around Nojoqui Falls County Park.  In addition to being the only known place where Purple Martins nest in Santa Barbara County, this colony is rare because all of the Purple Martins still nest in cavities in Western… Read more »

SBAS Comments on Manzana Wind Farm

By Steve Ferry, Project Leader [Editor’s note: This is the full article referred to on page 8 of El Tecolote March-May 2021.]  SBAS is tilting at windmills again!  After a years-long effort to make the Strauss Wind Energy Project near Lompoc safer for birds (article here), SBAS has tackled the Manzana Wind Power Project. The… Read more »

What Audubon Accomplished on the Strauss Wind Project

Strauss-hearing

By Steve Ferry, Project Leader [Editor’s note: This is the full article referred to on page 6 of El Tecolote March-May 2020.] The Strauss Wind Energy Project is a wind farm slated to be built on 3,000 acres of range land about four miles south of the city of Lompoc. The project will comprise 29… Read more »