California’s largest and most polluted lake is getting a new conservation area

from Deborah BrennanCalMatters

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California is launching the Salton Sea Conservancy, a new state agency to oversee restoration, habitat management and air quality improvement in the deteriorating inland lake.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of a 20-member conservation council with members from state agencies, Riverside and Imperial county governments, local water districts, tribal groups and community organizations. The new preserve is the first created in California in more than 15 years, since the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy was established in 2010.

The new authority will direct state resources to what has long been an endemic problem in the Southern California desert, Newsom said in a statement.

“For too long, communities around the Salton Sea have borne the brunt of environmental challenges and neglect,” Newsom said in a statement. “Today, California is changing that by launching the Salton Sea Conservancy to promote cleaner air, protect public health, restore critical ecosystems and ensure that the work we’ve started creates lasting opportunities for Salton Sea communities.”

The conservation board will hold its first meeting in La Quinta on May 14 to plan marine restoration projects. These include replanting native vegetation, increasing the inflow of fresh water, and creating habitat for wildlife along the shores of the Salton Sea.

“The conservancy’s role is primarily to oversee the long-term operations and sustainability of the projects that are being built to stabilize the sea itself,” Sylvia Paz, a member of the conservancy and executive director of the community group, Alianza Coachella Valley, told CalMatters. “I’m particularly interested in these projects to bring together public health, public access and restorative environments.”

The Salton Sea is almost twice as salty as the ocean and is polluted by agricultural runoff and other pollutants. It has been shrinking for decades due to reduced water flow. This exposes the toxic dust that drifts across the region, causing asthma and other health problems in neighboring communities.

“I’d be underwater in the Salton Sea,” Newsom said in a video as he stood on the dusty seashore where he pointed to the former yacht club hundreds of yards behind him. “You can see how much he’s given way.”

But the sea is still a biodiversity hotspot, hosting more than 400 species of birds along the Pacific Flyway, one of North America’s major bird migration routes. And its surreal landscape makes it a unique element in the California desert.

Status last year This is Steve PadillaChula Vista Democrat, author of law that creates the conservation to handle the cleanup and restoration of the diseased water body. The state has earmarked about half a billion dollars for the effort.

“Conservatories play a very important role in California and can provide the focused effort and professional attention needed,” Padilla told CalMatters. “And if there’s any place that could benefit from that, it’s certainly the Salton Sea.”

Several projects are underway as part of the 2018 Salton Sea Management Program, a 10-year plan to build 30,000 acres of wildlife habitat and dust suppression projects.

The largest is the Southern End of the Sea Species Habitat Conservation Project. It is projected to cover 9,400 acres: nearly 15 square miles, or enough space to fit more than 7,000 football fields.

Already partially completed, it includes a network of ponds, berms and islands, with water supply systems to support fish and birds. Restored water features and vegetation are intended to cover the exposed lake bottom and suppress dust.

The state is also planting native vegetation on the west side of the sea to improve habitat and reduce dust, Paz said. Public access and recreation projects are planned for the north end of the sea, she said, including “trails and ways for the public to access and appreciate the level of investment and beauty that the Salton Sea can provide.”

Paz said the 2018 management plan lays the groundwork for recovery by raising questions about how different agencies can work together to restore the Salton Sea.

“Now with conservatism, that question has been answered and we’ve already seen momentum with the execution of these projects, so hopefully a lot has been learned and these projects can move faster,” she said.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.