Kristin Bender
from the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy discusses the role of
the conservancy in restoring wetlands on the southern portion
of Huntington Beach's coast.
Wetlands and Wildlife Museum and
the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center are two buildings side by side
next to Pacific Coast Highway and adjacent to AES electric
generating station near Newland Street in Huntington Beach.
Built a part of a larger project
to acquire and restore the remaining coastal pieces of land in
Huntington Beach that were once thriving wetlands that fell into
disrepair as the properties were largely separated from their
freshwater source across the highway at the Pacific Ocean.
The Wildlife Care Center opened
in 1998 and began caring for birds and sea animals brought to the
facility. Operated by an independent non-profit organization, that
facility is successfully treating and returning to the wilds
countless injured and sick birds. After receiving treatment
and rehabilitation, they are returned to nature when they are well
again.
The effort to restore the little
areas of salt marsh and estuary and what's left of a larger wetlands
that once existed but is now paved over and covered with houses,
include attempts at land acquisition and restoration.
|
Marsh Name |
Acres |
Location |
Open |
Features |
|
Brookhurst |
52 |
Brookhurst to Magnolia |
No |
Private |
|
Talbert |
25
|
Brookhurst to Santa Ana River Trail |
Yes
|
75
species |
|
Magnolia |
31 |
Magnolia to Newland |
Tours
|
Restoration |
|
Newland |
40 |
Beach Blvd. to Newland |
No |
Private |
|
Waterfront |
3.5 |
Beach Blvd. at PCH |
No |
Private |
A group of neighbors back in the
1980s got together and wanted to prevent the last little areas of
marsh from being destroyed, hoping to get them restored
ultimately. Still actually restorable wetlands on this tiny little
portion of Pacific Coast Highway, a 25 to 30 year effort to
acquire land and funds to
We have grant money to restore
two-thirds that have been cut off from the ocean since the 1930s.
There are still wetlands plants that have been cut off from the
ocean. There still are wetlands plants and animals up in these
wetlands and we believe they will come back after we complete this
project.
Hours: No formal hours yet. Goal
is to have someone and building open displays, etc. We are just
beginning now. Afternoons, probably. We do have 2nd Saturday of
every month a combination of restoration work and wetlands tours.
People can come and we can take a walk through small or large
portions of the wetlands. We can guide a group through the
wetland and pick up trash, pull invasive. hbwc.org
| 
