The UC Natural Reserve System's Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve and the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Restoration Partners have been awarded the Coastal America 2008 Partnership Award, the only environmental award of its kind given by the White House.

The award honors all of the partners involved in rescuing the 230-acre marsh from encroaching development and restoring its ecological viability.  

In his letter of congratulations, President Barack Obama noted that "The project demonstrates how diverse partners can come together to conserve and restore important coastal habitat. Along the way, funding partners also created green jobs by consulting with expert scientists and engineers and tapping the talents of local contractors, restoration specialists and native plant nurseries." 

More than 25 years ago, the marsh had been proposed for residential and marina construction. Thanks to the collaborative conservation efforts of all the restoration partners -- including the University of California Natural Reserve System, the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, the City of Carpinteria, the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District, the Southern California Wetland Recovery Project, local homeowners, and other community-based groups, as well as numerous state and federal resource agencies -- Carpinteria Salt Marsh has now been protected and restored as one of the largest and most ecologically important coastal estuaries in California.  

Coastal America brings together people and resources from federal agencies, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to collaboratively address our nation's coastal environmental challenges. The Coastal America Awards Program, established in 1997, recognizes outstanding efforts and excellence in leadership for protecting, preserving, and restoring the nation's coastal resources and ecosystems.