Actions in December included:

Habitat Protection in Otay River Watershed

Just east of Lower Otay Reservoir, in southwestern San Diego County, two properties with almost 1,300 acres of habitat will be acquired for permanent protection by the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) with $13.8 million in Proposition 12 funds approved by the Conservancy.

This acquisition will link Department of Fish and Game holdings that are now separated and will consolidate protected habitats from Otay Mountain to the Jamul Mountains. It will also preserve critical north-south habitat links between the watersheds of the Sweetwater and Tijuana Rivers and east-west links between the Cleveland National Forest and South San Diego Bay.

The Coastal Conservancy has provided over $20 million for additions to Otay Valley Regional Park, on the southern border of Chula Vista since the late 1980s, and recently contributed over $7 million for the State’s purchase of the 2,000-acre Honey Springs Ranch in Hollenbeck Canyon near Upper Otay Lake.

The new WCB acquisitions will add to thousands of acres of land already protected under the State’s Natural Communities Conservation Planning program (NCCP), established in 1991 to conserve ecosystems while accommodating compatible land uses. The City of San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Plan, a component of NCCP, led the establishment of this preserve in southwestern San Diego County.

Upper Newport Bay Restoration

Upper Newport Bay, in Newport Beach, is the largest fully functioning tidal wetland in southern California, supporting a wide variety of wildlife and native plants, including several threatened and endangered species. Of the upper bay’s 1,000 acres, 752 are protected as an ecological reserve managed by Fish and Game.

This valuable habitat is severely threatened by sediment and nutrients flowing from upstream, particularly from San Diego Creek. Open water is being replaced by mudflats and marsh, and yellow-green algae mats are covering the surface.

The long-planned restoration of the upper bay is about to go into action. In December the Conservancy approved $12.5 million in Proposition 12 funds to Orange County to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin the work, following guidelines developed by several federal and state regulatory agencies. The Corps is contributing $25 million to the restoration, and would not have been able to do so without the Conservancy’s funds.

More than two million cubic yards of sediment will be removed from two sediment basins within the bay, and a program established to dredge these basins about every 20 years. In addition, channels will be dredged to improve tidewater circulation and reduce predator access to bird habitat. Native vegetation will be planted.

To reduce the flow of sediments and nutrients at their source, a San Diego Creek Watershed Committee has been formed, including federal, state, and local agencies, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and local environmental groups.

Santa Monica Bay Restoration

Excess flows of recycled water in Malibu Creek inhibit the closing of Malibu Lagoon and thus allow pathogens to contaminate the beach. To reduce these flows, the Las Virgines Municipal Water District plans to divert about 300 acre feet of this water annually for use on a public golf course now irrigated with potable water by extending a recycled-water line. The Conservancy approved up to $444,000 for final engineering design and feasibility studies, in keeping with the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Plan.

Also part of the Plan is an effort to restore beach bluff habitat between Ballona Creek and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Two acres of the bluffs will be revegetated to demonstrate the feasibility of bluff restoration. The Conservancy approved $62,957 in Proposition 12 funds to the Los Angeles Conservation Corps for this pilot project, which will involve at-risk youth and is a cooperative effort with the Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors. The funds will also help to establish a native plant nursery in the community.

More Public Access in Malibu

Californians will enjoy new beach access in Malibu with the acquisition of a vacant beachfront lot, for which the Coastal Conservancy approved $1,250,000. The narrow, cobbled lot near the intersection of Rambla Vista and the Pacific Coast Highway adjoins a parcel acquired by the Conservancy in 2000 near the border of Carbon and La Costa Beaches. Together, the two properties include almost 400 feet of shoreline and offer the only public beach access along a three-mile stretch of the highway. Public parking and a Metropolitan Transit Authority stop are nearby. After purchasing the property, the Conservancy will prepare a plan for management and constructing access improvements. It expects to enter into a management agreement with a local government or nonprofit organization.

Southern Wetlands Recovery

The Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project is a partnership of 17 state and federal agencies working in concert with scientists, local governments, environmental organizations, business leaders, and educators to preserve and restore southern California’s coastal wetlands and watersheds. A fundamental tenet of the partnership is that resource decisions should be based on the best available science. To this end, a panel of wetland scientists was assembled in 1998. The Conservancy authorized up to $200,000 of Coastal Impact Assistance Program funds, from NOAA, to enable the panel to continue its work.

Pismo Beach Coastal Trail

The City of Pismo Beach, in San Luis Obispo County, will build a one-mile pedestrian boardwalk linking its beach boardwalk to the main beach access point at Grover Beach, using $115,000 in Conservancy-approved Proposition 12 funds. This project is recommended in the Conservancy’s Coastal Trail report. The boardwalk, with signs and fencing, should help to reduce the damage now being inflicted on dune vegetation and snowy plover habitat by unrestricted access.

Sonoma Baylands Trail

The Sonoma Land Trust will begin to build a wheelchair-accessible levee trail next summer to enable the public to visit the pioneering Sonoma Baylands wetland restoration project, and to enjoy the sight and sound of shorebirds and waterfowl gathering there. The 1.5-mile trail, funded by $500,000 of Conservancy-approved Proposition 12 money, will be accessible from Highway 37.

The 322-acre restoration site at the mouth of the Petaluma River was converted from diked hayfields to saltmarsh in the mid-1990s through an innovative collaboration among the Conservancy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Port of Oakland. Clean materials dredged from the Port’s ship channel were used to fill subsided land and speed the return of tidal marsh. Use of such materials, which used to be dumped into bay or ocean, is now planned for other restoration projects, including those at Hamilton Field and Bel Marin Keys in Marin County.

Garcia River Forest Protected

With a huge boost from the Conservancy, the nonprofit Conservation Fund has purchased over 23,500 acres in the Garcia watershed to protect salmon and steelhead trout habitat and provide a model for sustainable forestry on the North Coast. The Conservancy contributed $10 million in Proposition 50 funds toward the $18-million purchase from Coastal Forestlands, Ltd.; the Fund will repay $4 million by the end of 2004. The Nature Conservancy chipped in $3.5 million for a conservation easement over the land, which lies east of Point Arena between Highways 1 and 128. Over seven miles of the Garcia River’s main branch, almost all of its north fork, and many miles of tributaries run through the property, which is dominated by coastal redwood and Douglas fir forests that have been harvested commercially over the last century.