Santa Monica Beach Restoration Pilot Project - Year 1 Report

This report summarizes activities for the Santa Monica Beach Restoration Pilot Project from the time period December 2015 through August 2017. During this time period, the restoration was implemented in two phases over the course of two weeks including the installation of fencing and seeding of native coastal strand vegetation species. The first eight months following the pilot project implementation had a number of valuable successes and learning experiences. As the project was meant to be an experimental pilot for the region, no specific, quantifiable success criteria were set; however, the project can be evaluated against its ability to meet the project goals. The project positively engaged the public, created new partnerships and outreach connections, restricted grooming in an approximately 3-acre area, allowed vegetation to grow and the beginning of sand hummocks to form along fence lines, provided comprehensive science-based monitoring data to inform soft-scape beach restoration solutions, and is bringing back a rare coastal habitat type to the Los Angeles region.