Bolsa Chica Wetlands Restoration

saurora

Were any of you lucky enough to "see the sea" return to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands? Must have been awesome! I feel so out of it not to have known this was happening. A truly historic moment to restore oil fields back to the wetlands they once were 107 years later. I drive by there every Sunday, but was convinced this was all new housing construction...really irritated me (that's putting it very mildly). Can't wait to see all the water and eventual return of the birds. Bravo.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=4492602

raptorcaptor

saurora wrote:

Were any of you lucky enough to "see the sea" return to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands? Must have been awesome! I feel so out of it not to have known this was happening. A truly historic moment to restore oil fields back to the wetlands they once were 107 years later. I drive by there every Sunday, but was convinced this was all new housing construction...really irritated me (that's putting it very mildly). Can't wait to see all the water and eventual return of the birds. Bravo.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=4492602

I didn't get to see the re-flooding, but I've seen the gradual development of the wetlands over the last couple of years. They are starting to open up areas that have been closed off for some time. Most of the wildlife has spread out into the new areas, so it isn't as easy as it was to photograph them. Hopefully that will change as it gets re-populated.

Seefutlung

At one time most of coastal SoCal were wetlands (the exceptions being Malibu-Santa Monica, Palos Verdes, Laguna - the cliffy places).

PV used to be an island before being filled in by silt from the LA Watershed Basin and Manhattan Beach was sand dune-ish and back in the 40s (I believe) half of Manhattan's sand dunes were trucked over to Waikiki for their beaches.

Gary

Awais Yaqub

Intresting thanks for the link

saurora

raptorcaptor wrote:

I didn't get to see the re-flooding, but I've seen the gradual development of the wetlands over the last couple of years. They are starting to open up areas that have been closed off for some time. Most of the wildlife has spread out into the new areas, so it isn't as easy as it was to photograph them. Hopefully that will change as it gets re-populated.

I thought of you when I read this, Glenn. I knew that you frequent B.C. I know the birds have faced major disruption recently with all the grading, etc. Let's hope in time that the populations increase and there are just more areas for everyone to utilize and enjoy....especially the birds.

raptorcaptor

saurora wrote:

I thought of you when I read this, Glenn. I knew that you frequent B.C. I know the birds have faced major disruption recently with all the grading, etc. Let's hope in time that the populations increase and there are just more areas for everyone to utilize and enjoy....especially the birds.

Yes, I definitely think it will improve things there for everyone. I am looking forward to being able to walk in a complete loop, which should open soon.

Here is a cool link to the project site:

http://www.fws.gov//bolsachica/Restoration_Project.htm

saurora

Seefutlung wrote:

At one time most of coastal SoCal were wetlands (the exceptions being Malibu-Santa Monica, Palos Verdes, Laguna - the cliffy places).

PV used to be an island before being filled in by silt from the LA Watershed Basin and Manhattan Beach was sand dune-ish and back in the 40s (I believe) half of Manhattan's sand dunes were trucked over to Waikiki for their beaches.

Gary

That's some amazing information, Gary. I lived briefly in Torrance and Redondo Beach and I worked in Manhattan Beach. I never heard about the sand dunes in Manhattan. My grandmother was a school teacher in Huntington Beach in the early 1900's and use to talk about the wetlands and how different the landscape was then. I've seen such dramatic changes to H.B. in the years since I first moved there, that it isn't hard to imagine such drastic changes could happen in a relatively short span of time.

Seefutlung

saurora wrote:

That's some amazing information, Gary. I lived briefly in Torrance and Redondo Beach and I worked in Manhattan Beach. I never heard about the sand dunes in Manhattan. My grandmother was a school teacher in Huntington Beach in the early 1900's and use to talk about the wetlands and how different the landscape was then. I've seen such dramatic changes to H.B. in the years since I first moved there, that it isn't hard to imagine such drastic changes could happen in a relatively short span of time.

I've lived in HB, Tenth and PCH-ish (pre-yuppie downtown). I lived in Manhattan before moving to PV. The ex grew up in Manhattan, most old timers in Manhattan refer to the Strand, Tree Section, Gas Light and Dunes as the various components of Manhattan Beach (and of course north of Sepulveda where there isn't any life but there is parking). Time may move slowly, but developers can screw up any property in the wink of an eye.

Gary