If you haven’t been out to Goleta Beach Park for a while, it’s going to bring back good memories on your next visit.

For a long time, the Santa Barbara County Parks Division has been planning many needed improvements and finally got approval last year for a complete makeover (again).

Ever since the county acquired this property from the State of California in 1949, its objective was re-engineering with land fill, bringing it to ~13 feet above mean high tides from its historic levels.

Since the 1970s, it has become the most popular park in Santa Barbara County, eventually peaking at 1.2 million visits a year.

My memories of family outings, birthday picnics, fishing, kayaking and surfing are still shared with grandchildren today.

But the last 50 years have not been kind to this 29-acre oasis. For those who recall, the worst was the 2002-2003 El Niño winter storms, with 20-foot waves wiping out the pier and most of the beach/park in a blink of an eye (more than an acre).

It does beg the question, why does this neck of our county have so many major disaster events?

Some of the many factors are a lack of natural beach nourishment going back to the 1950s when Bradbury Dam stopped the lion’s share of sand flowing into our littoral cell, continuing El Niño storms that also wiped out the sand-dwelling kelp beds (~200 acres in the Goleta Bay) that also contributed to beach protection, and south- versus west-facing coastline inhibiting as much sand accretion as other beaches.

As for the sand-dwelling kelp, I’m involved with a team, the Goleta Kelp Project, that is completing our proof of concept in octo-columns successes.

What we have learned with the help of many scientists, including UC Santa Barbara researchers, is that our columns embedded in the sea floor are providing an anchor for kelp recruitment.

And our new design provides a new home for what’s called the two-spot octopi that seems to be the only predator for the overpopulated sand crabs that eat the kelp before it can grow.

We have support from both Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and cities under BEACON (Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment).

Another event in widening our sand deposits is when the county Flood Control Division dumped sediment, rock and cobble stones on the westside of the park a couple of years ago, a product of the ravages of past winter debris flows in our foothills.

These dumps, while initially criticized, actually have evolved into a natural groin retaining additional sand during the ebb and flow of deposits that move constantly between near shore in winter months and flow back to our beach in the spring.

But what you ask about sea-level rise? In a nutshell, data collected by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for actual sea-level rise in the Santa Barbara Channel has recorded less than 3 inches since 1974.

However, this fact in no way minimizes future threats if the county doesn’t adequately protect assets and infrastructure against storm surges.

Last year and again this winter have been kinder, with the exception of high king tides that still lap up and over the riprap protecting assets and infrastructure.

Friends of Goleta Beach Park have had recent conversations with the county Community Services Department and the Parks Division about our concern of several sections of riprap that need improvements through re-engineering for gaps and better protection.

We can’t predict when these storm surges will come next, but they will always challenge our abilities to keep this park safe.

During the 20-plus years of our organization’s existence, we truly appreciate the dedication and efforts our current county Parks and capital program have accomplished in being good stewards in these recent budget approvals and its implementation. Thank you.