Restoring "illegal grading" of Los Cerritos Wetlands

The owner of property at 6400 Loynes Drive had claimed, according to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, that he had been working under the order of “weed abatement,” for a still-to-be-determined development project, and in the process apparently "illegally graded" sensitive habitat areas, home to endangered birds, burrowing owls, and native vegetation.
Plans for the project have frequently changed over the past few years– mainly because of controversy over whether the area or brackish pond is actually considered wetlands, involving SEADIP requirements and amendments to the Local Coastal Program. How much the developer will be fined is also in question.
The Land Trust and its environmental leaders have taken a strong position against the developer's actions, with environmentalists and community members holding rallies out in front of the property, and are now working with the California Coastal Commission and the Long Beach Planning Commission on plans for the developer to recover and restore the destruction that had taken place. Next week, the Land Trust is sharing some of those plans with the public during a presentation with Professor Travis Longcore of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Associate Research Professor and USC’s Spatial Sciences Institute, who is working as a consultant to prepare a biological report. The staff recommendation so far is to “Import 1,000 cubic yards of soil to re-establish and maintain a cap over an existing landfill” in response to the Coastal Commission’s emergency permit and re-vegetation and weed abatement, which the commission is set to vote during a meeting scheduled for November 19. The Land Trust presentation is being held November 15 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Shores Mobile Home Estates Clubhouse.

Aquarium's Napoleon Wrasse dies

A beautifully exotic rather unique-looking fish called a Napolean wrasse or "humphead" wrasse has died at the Aquarium of the Pacific, according to aquarium staff. The large colorful wrasse was transported this summer from New Zealand, also found in coral reefs of other regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The neon-colored fish with sheep-like heads are known for switching sexes, from female to male on occasion. They can grow up to six feet long.
Originally the fish was planned to be a part of the Tropical Reef Habitat, but became sick while it was held in a holding tank for more than three months to be treated, but eventually died. Foreign fish often are treated for any contaminants or diseases before entering any tank at the aquarium.

Out And About: Diving At The Aquarium, Hiking On Catalina

As a weekly endeavor I will be posting some things to do every Saturday or so to highlight some ways to get out and see the surrounding abundance of ecological wonders that Southern California has to offer.
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So here we go... First, I checked this out from the LA Times blog Outposts, which I might add is a great online version of their Outdoor section that folded years ago, that says that the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is offering (for the first time ever) a dive program for general certified divers to be able to plunge into the aquarium’s Tropical Reef Habitat. This is definitely a first, and one that I don’t know why wasn’t allowed earlier. The dive might come with a hefty price (nearly $300 a pop), but I would say to be able to dive in the tank at the aquarium would be pretty cool. After all, it’s not everyday you can check out a tropical habitat with “over a thousand colorful fish and beautiful coral, including sea turtles, zebra and blacktip reef sharks, porcupine puffers, and a large blue Napoleon or humphead wrasse,” and not have to fly out to tropical island to do it.
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Secondly, the Catalina Island Conservancy notes that the 37-mile Trans-Catalina Trail is becoming pretty popular this summer season. Apparently it’s quite a journey: normally spanning six days and five nights, through the rugged terrain of the island’s interior. This LA Times blogger tried to do it in a weekend, but not quite sure if it can be done. The trail opened last year. The Times notes that Coastwalks offers a package to scale the crossing that some times reaches 2,000 feet above sea level at a price of about $600, or you can opt to take the hike yourself, if you can. I would suggest not doing it alone, but being one with nature certainly sounds inviting. This is something that I definitely have to get out and try...

The Colorado Lagoon and the "junky"est monster

The Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach is one of the murkiest swaths of water I have seen. I should know, I used jog along its shoulders on a regular basis when I lived near there. And for all intents and purposes, I don’t know who would want to swim in it, I mean who knows what type of toxins lie beneath its surface—well apparently DDT, Mercury and other poisonous metals and contaminants, at least according to this LA Times article. The lagoon has made Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummer” list last year, and was the culprit of many a sewage spill over the years, since mostly when drains get clogged the junk remains stuck in this stagnant water that surrounds, unflatteringly, the rather plush homes of Naples Island.
Anyhow, the city is now moving ahead with its $15 million effort to clean up the gunk and contaminants in phases, which began in March.
The city announced today that it will be holding three public meetings, starting July 8, regarding Phase 2 of a study to clean up the lagoon. The study is available here.
The lagoon itself is a 28.3-acre tidal mere located in east Long Beach providing an estuarine habitat and “retaining and conveying storm flows.” The State of California lists it as an “impaired water body,” due to high levels of water and sediment contamination. In addition, the Lagoon's estuary habitat has deteriorated over time as native plant species have significantly declined due to the encroachment of invasive ornamental landscaping, according to the city’s Website.

Is the West Coast sinking into the ocean?

The National Research Council is currently conducting a study on sea level rise projections for the West Coast and whether the left half of the country is expected to sink into the Pacific Ocean. The states of California, Oregon and Washington are partnering with federal agencies with the council in a contract to conduct a science review of sea level rise for the West Coast states. The contract aims to gather facts from a panel of experts, assembled to assess the rising tides in these regions and to provide estimated values or a range of values for sea level rise for planning purposed for the next 100 years. There are three public meetings held to solicit reference information that could be considered in the study. The last meeting was already held in Long Beach. There are two more to be held on June 16 in San Francisco and June 17 in Eureka.
The study is expected to look into:
• Projections of sea level rise for locations on the West Coast.
• Climate change-related severe weather conditions on the West Coast, including increased storminess (didn’t know that was a word), increased wave heights, storm surges, changes in storm frequency/duration/precipitation intensity and development atmospheric rive events.
• West Coast site-specific climate change-related impacts on erosion and sedimentation characteristics (e.g. rates and processes) in coastal and estuarine environment, including coastal wetlands.
• Efficacy of coastal habitats and coastal restoration in increasing the resilience of communities and ecosystems along the West Coast.
• Observed sea level rise amounts, severe weather data, or erosion/sedimentation impact relevant to operation of coastal infrastructure for future projections.
• Predicted site-specific local sea level rise amounts and climate change-related criteria methodologies for precipitation frequency/duration/intensity relationships for stormwater drainage, including those that quantify expected local responses associated with sea level rise.
Above are some photos I took of the erosion caused near Point Fermin, often referred to as the “Sunken City” in San Pedro next to Palos Verdes. Point Fermin landslides are classic examples of rotational slides, according to the Cal State Long Beach Geology Department. The erosion is caused by wave erosion that breaks down the rocky layers. The cliffs have been breaking off into the ocean since the 1940s and movement was abated in the early 1960's, but damage to homes and streets had already occurred, with evidence of the historical land erosion still shown today at parts of foundations and streets.

Back Online....

After a while reprieve of getting things in order and trying, but failing to build my own website, I am back on the Web....and will be reposting stories about the environment. I hope to some time in the future connect with my website but at this time it is still on hold. In the meantime, I will be regularly contributing to this thread about the environment.

Thanks,

Sean