Larger Lagoon Celebrated
- Jeff Barnouw | Amphitheatre Drive
On Monday morning, September 30, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the completion of Phase II of the Wetland Restoration of the San Dieguito Lagoon. Led off by SANDAG Second Vice Chair and Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner, a lineup of leaders of the organizations involved spoke in the one-time tomato fields: State Senator Catherine Blakespear, Assemblymemmber Tasha Boerner, San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority Board Chair and San Diego Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava, Del Mar Mayor Dave Druker, Caltrans District 11 North Coast Corridor Director Victor Mercado, and SANDAG Chief Executive Officer Mario Orso. They all cited the collaboration of so many stakeholders, saying cooperation was the key to their success.
The project which began more than two years ago complements Phase I, finished in 2010 by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric as mitigation for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station at a cost of $93 million, restoring some 150 acres along the River. Phase II added about 84 acres of tidal salt marsh and brackish wetlands (with 5 acres of new habitat along the River) at a cost of $87 million, and serves as environmental mitigation for SANDAG projects including the City of San Diego’s bridge to be built across the River at El Camino Real as well as for I-5 Carpool/HOV Lanes and LOSSAN Double Track improvements as part of the North Coast Corridor. NCC is a $6 billion, 40-year program led by Caltrans and SANDAG.
Speakers emphasized the restoration of the natural beauty of the landscape providing new recreation opportunities and habitat for wildlife biodiversity. A mile-long trail along El Camino Real connects to Dust Devil Trail to the South and eventually to the Coast-to-Crest Trail to the North. Among wildlife benefitting from the restoration are many federally endangered bird species including Ridgeway’s Rail, Least Bell Vireo, Coastal California Gnatcatcher and Belding’s Savannah Sparrow. Already taking advantage of the new habitat, five Canada Goose goslings hatched and left their nest for the first time this Spring.
The enlarged and enhanced Lagoon basin improves tidal flow and provides resiliency for anticipated sea level rise and flooding. Less often mentioned but just as important for future ecology is the carbon catching and sequestration capacity of wetlands, faster and greater than tropical rain forest. And its value simply as open space. Joe LaCava recognized the contribution of Shawna Anderson, Executive Director of the San Dieguito River Park, partner with Caltrans and SANDAG in the restoration, and the importance of Park staff, Rangers, its Citizens Advisory Committee, and its coeval partner, the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy.
LaCava remembered the founders who had the vision of what this land could become some day. And crucially local Marathon Construction. Speaking in a “wonky” mode as a civil engineer, LaCava appreciated the know-how of Caltrans and Marathon in the delicate grading that controls tidal currents or flushing that make native plant life thrive: “an inch too much of soil, the water doesn’t come in; an inch too little, too much water.” SANDAG and Caltrans will monitor the wetlands for the next five to ten years to ensure the well-being of the wetland ecosystems.
The new trail segment is named the Tidal Trail. Shawna Anderson announced that a bench along the trail will be dedicated to the memory of two special volunteers, Jan and Bob Fuchs. Bob, as a Del Mar Rotarian, helped install the planks in the boardwalk off the Lagoon Trail, while Jan was a founding member of the SDRP Citizens Advisory Committee and chair for over 20 years of its project review committee. According to Shawna Anderson, the bench is planned for a “perfect spot… close to the wildlife undercrossing under El Camino Real which Jan really fought for.”