Community Organizations


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Montecito Trails Foundation

Montecito Trails Foundation is dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of public trails in Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria.  Established in 1964, MTF is a volunteer organization funded through tax deductible membership dues and donations. MTF works in collaboration with local agencies and non-profit entities to ensure the continued use of the area’s scenic trails.

Los Padres Forest Association
17017 Maricopa Highway, Ojai, CA 93023

Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA) is the official non-profit organization recognized by Los Padres Forest. LPFA was established in 1984 to work cooperatively with Los Padres Forest to provide interpretive resources, manage visitor centers and care for the forest. Currently the LPFA operated stores at Big Sur and the Santa Barbara Ranger District and manages the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center. LPFA programs include the Volunteer Wilderness Rangers, The Wranglers and Working Vacations.

Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center
17017 Maricopa Highway
Ojai, CA 93023
Telephone: (805) 640-9060
Fax: (805) 640-9059

Directions
To reach Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center from Ventura take Highway 33 towards Ojai at the “Y” intersection (by the Vons shopping center) turn left on Hwy 33 for 8 miles. From the Carpinteria area, take Hwy 150 east until you connect with Hwy33 and turn left at the intersection.

Hours of Operation
The Wheeler Gorge(ous) Visitor Center is currently opened from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Los Padres Trail Riders
P O Box 323, Santa Barbara, CA 93102

Los Padres Trail Riders (LPTR) is an historic part of the Santa Barbara area horse community. LPTR invites local equestrians to join the club and participate in events such as trail rides, parades, social events with informative speakers, and taking an active part in policies, and activities that will tend to further the use, acquisition, preservation, development and maintenance of riding and hiking trails.

Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue
P O Box 6602, Santa Barbara, CA, 93160-6602

Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue is an all-volunteer branch of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. The team covers all 2,550 square miles of Santa Barbara County and is responsible for the search and rescue of lost and injured people in the backcountry. The team is highly trained in technical rope rescue, swiftwater, alpine operations, search theory, and tracking. As a member of the Mountain Rescue Association, the team also responds to support search and rescue efforts throughout California and the United States.

Review our hiking tips.

Los Padres Forest Watch
16 W Mission St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Los Padres ForestWatch is a community-based nonprofit organization that works to preserve and restore the forests, mountain streams, rolling hills, wetlands, coastal areas, and wildlife of this spectacular area.

Sage Trail Alliance
P O Box 123, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
For over two decades, the Sage Trail Alliance (former SBMTV) has provided over 2000 hours of volunteer work each year to care for the Santa Barbara trails. Founded in 1988, our mission is and has always been to maintain and improve our trails to reduce risk and increase the enjoyment of all users. Our mission and goals are to promote:

  • responsible trail use, respect, and education of all trail users
  • the design and maintenance of environmentally and socially sustainable trails
  • provide responsible care for public lands through continued stewardship

Sage trail crew leaders are trained by the US Forest Service to make trail work safety their first priority. Our volunteers are trained in tool safety and sustainable trail work techniques. All Sage work events are reviewed and authorized by the appropriate governmental agency. These agencies include the US Forest Service, Santa Barbara County and the City of Santa Barbara. Our volunteers include hikers, equestrians, trail runners and mountain bikers. Almost all of our trail work is done using hand tools such as Pulaskis, McLeods, hand saws, and brush loppers. Sage has a strict, “no power tools” policy during fire season or whenever conditions pose a risk of fire. Only select Sage volunteers who have received US Forest Service approval in their safe use may use power tools.

Condor Trail Association
178 South La Patera Lane, Goleta, CA 93117, United States

The Condor Trail is a recreational thru-hiking route designed to connect the northern and southern portions of the Los Padres National Forest by a single hiking trail. The hiking/backpacking trail is approximately 400 miles long and extends from Lake Piru (border of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties) in the south to Botchers Gap (just south of Monterey, CA) in the north.

The Condor Trail is being designed to highlight the beauty and unique characteristics of the Los Padres National Forest and the Central Coast of California. The trail is primarily through rugged wilderness backcountry portions of Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties. Its important to know that the Condor Trail is not one long trail, but rather a series of smaller existing trails that we are linking together in order to create a route that is passable across the forest. Backpackers can enjoy portions of the Condor Trail in a weekend, as a dayhike, a weeklong trip or attempt to do the entire trail over a couple months.

Boy Scouts of America
4000 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 2.7 million youth members and over 1 million adult volunteers. Since its founding in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been members of the BSA.

The BSA goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. For younger members, the Scout method is part of the program to inculcate typical Scouting values such as trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoors skills, through a variety of activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking

The Los Padres Council is divided into five districts. Three are in Santa Barbara County:

  • South Coast District – Scouting in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, and Goleta area—
    District Executive is Andrew Royster
  • Cachuma District – Scouting in the Santa Ynez Valley—
    District Executive is Ron Walsh
  • Live Oak District – Scouting in the Santa Maria, Lompoc, VAFB, Guadalupe area—
    District Executive is Angel A. Ortega
Sierra Club
P O Box 31241, Santa Barbara, CA 93130

The Los Padres Sierra Club serves Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in Southern California and includes four geographical groups. The Arguello Group serves northern Santa Barbara County while the Santa Barbara Group serves the South County. Southern Ventura County is served by the Conejo Group while the North County is served by the Ventura Sierra Club.

Long-billed_Curlew_in_Goleta.jpg
P.O Box 2045 Lompoc, CA 93438

The mission of the La Purisima Audubon Society is the same as the National Audubon Society mission. Additionally to further this mission LPAS is involved in appropriate projects to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, interact with other organizations and groups with similar concerns, and provide educational opportunities to the local community to increase their awareness, appreciation, and involvement in the natural world that surrounds them.

The mission of the National Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the Earth’s biological diversity.

Rancho Monte Alegre
P.O. Box 91830, Santa Barbara, CA 93190 United States

In 1985, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County was formed when the Santa Ynez Valley Land Trust and Carpinteria Valley Land Trust combined to serve the entire county. Today, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County has helped to preserve nearly 23,000 acres of natural resource and agricultural land, including the Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Sedgwick Reserve, Carpinteria Bluffs, Coronado Butterfly Preserve, Point Sal, Carpinteria Salt Marsh and several ranches on the Gaviota Coast. The Land Trust works to preserve and enhance our county’s natural open spaces and agricultural heritage for present and future generations.

Citizens Planning Association
916 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, United States

CPA is a nonprofit grassroots organization that focuses on countywide land use issues.  We advocate for the best standards of design and natural resource protection in order to maintain sustainable communities and protect the heritage of Santa Barbara County. To further this mission we inform, educate, and engage with residents and decision makers; encourage citizen involvement; and serve as a watchdog for our priority objectives.

cir.jpg
550 Maple Street, Carpinteria, CA, United States

Channel Islands Restoration protects rare and endangered plants and animals by restoring habitat in sensitive and unique natural areas on the California Channel Islands and adjacent mainland. We educate a variety of groups about the value of native habitat and how to protect it. We recruit volunteers and identify and develop public and private funding sources for habitat restoration programs. We create collaborative relationships within the environmental community. CIR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Ken Owen, Executive Director (805) 448-5726
Wayne R. Ferren Jr., Principal Ecologist (805) 722-2324
Kevin Thompson, Operations Manager (805) 660-7399
Duke McPherson, Board President (805) 705-9529
Jane O’Dell, Bookkeeper (805) 689-4120
Linda Benedik Volunteer Coordinator (805) 448-6203

Santa Barbara Audubon Society
5679 Hollister Avenue Goleta, CA 93117

Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s Mission:

To help conserve and restore the earth’s natural ecosystems and improve its biological diversity, principally in the Santa Barbara area, and to connect people with birds and nature through education, science-based projects and advocacy.

Upcoming events are posted here: https://santabarbaraaudubon.org/events/

EDC
906 Garden St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

The Environmental Defense Center protects and enhances the environment of California’s south central coast through education, advocacy, and legal action.

GCC

Our Mission:

To protect the unique natural, scenic, agricultural, recreational, educational and cultural resources of the open space lands of the Gaviota Coast for the benefit of current and future generations.

sb bikes
506 E. Haley Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
805-845-8955805-845-8955

Founded in 1991, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition (SB Bike) is a countywide advocacy and resource organization that promotes bicycling for safe transportation and recreation. It consists of dedicated volunteers who maintain contact with City, County and regional transportation professionals, elected officials, educators, bike clubs, employee transportation coordinators, bike shops, bike manufacturers, and other advocacy groups.

Bici Centro, a project of SB Bike, is a community DIY bicycle repair shop and education center, with the goal of facilitating skill share and increase reliability and safety for Santa Barbara bicycle riders.

Earth Day
26 W. Anapamu, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

CEC’s mission is to identify, advocate, raise awareness, and develop effective programs to solve the most pressing environmental issues that affect the Santa Barbara region. We are a solutions-based organization, currently focused on moving the Santa Barbara region away from fossil fuels and energy-intensive products.

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123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2215

Founded in 1963 by Dr. Pearl Chase and other concerned community leaders, SBTHP is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and the primary force in the reconstruction and preservation of El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park—Santa Barbara’s 18th century birthplace—and Casa de la Guerra—the 1820s home of Santa Barbara patriarch José de la Guerra. Today the Casa is an historic house museum featuring original furnishings and temporary exhibitions. In 2008, SBTHP signed an agreement with California State Parks to operate and develop the Santa Inés Mission Mills in Solvang, California—two 1820s fulling and grist mills which are part of a National Historic Landmark District—as a future California State Park. SBTHP recently purchased the building that housed Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens, providing an opportunity to interpret the history of Santa Barbara’s Asian community in the presidio neighborhood. With the help of continuing education activities and exhibits, SBTHP strives to encourage community involvement and foster an appreciation for Santa Barbara’s distinct history.Founded in 1963 by Dr. Pearl Chase and other concerned community leaders, SBTHP is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and the primary force in the reconstruction and preservation of El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park—Santa Barbara’s 18th century birthplace—and Casa de la Guerra—the 1820s home of Santa Barbara patriarch José de la Guerra. Today the Casa is an historic house museum featuring original furnishings and temporary exhibitions. In 2008, SBTHP signed an agreement with California State Parks to operate and develop the Santa Inés Mission Mills in Solvang, California—two 1820s fulling and grist mills which are part of a National Historic Landmark District—as a future California State Park. SBTHP recently purchased the building that housed Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens, providing an opportunity to interpret the history of Santa Barbara’s Asian community in the presidio neighborhood. With the help of continuing education activities and exhibits, SBTHP strives to encourage community involvement and foster an appreciation for Santa Barbara’s distinct history.

Our Mission

To preserve, restore, reconstruct and interpret historic sites in Santa Barbara County.

 Our Vision

To bring alive the history of Santa Barbara for present and future generations.

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