The effort to preserve Ellwood Mesa got a boost Thursday when the state Wildlife Conservation Board kicked in more than $4 million.

Goleta City Councilwoman Margaret Connell spoke to the panel in Sacramento before its 3-0 vote, which she said came without debate.

"What I wanted them to know was the city is 100 percent behind this project," Ms. Connell said, describing the open, bluff-top property near UCSB as a gateway to the Gaviota coast. "It's a very important project to go through, for the benefit of not just the city of Goleta but the whole state."

The Trust for Public Land hopes to raise more than $20 million to purchase the property, in a campaign to buy the 137-acre tract from developers Comstock Homes and Santa Barbara Development Partners. The effort began in January 2003.

The deal is part of a land swap negotiated by the trust, which would buy the property and give it to Goleta as a park. The city would in turn give the developer owners 36 acres in nearby Santa Barbara Shores park for home construction.

The mesa is a favored spot among hikers, runners, dog owners and horseback riders who cross miles of trails on the property. The area is famous for monarch butterflies that flock to its eucalyptus groves each winter.

Thursday's grant brings the total money raised to $13.3 million, which includes other public and private donations. The federal government recently kicked in nearly $800,000. The trust hopes to raise the rest of the money by year's end.