| Wetlands Restoration Plan Earth
Construction & Mining Company, based in Garden Grove has been awarded
the contract to restore about 67 acres at the Brookhurst Marsh and
maintenance dredging at Talbert Marsh and the ocean inlet.
Clearing non-native vegetation from the sand dunes along Pacific Coast
Highway and other areas within the marsh began September 25. This was
followed by the installation of a de-watering system which will allow
the contractor to work in the channels.
Restoring the 67 acre Brookhurst Marsh will require excavating about
75,000 cubic yards of material. Some of this will be used to build
mounds throughout the marsh, which will eventually be covered with
Pickleweed, preferred habitat for the endangered Belding’s Savannah
Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi). The remaining material
will be hauled off site by trucks.
Click here for more
photos.
Check our site regularly
for more photos as the project progresses.
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Clearing non-native vegetation
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Excavating wetland channels
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Coastal Sand Dunes
 This
7.1 acre dune system parallels Pacific Coast Highway between Brookhurst
St. and Newland St. The dunes were originally restored by CalTrans as
mitigation for widening PCH but have been neglected and has been overrun
by non-native vegetation. HBWC sponsored Assembly Bill 13 which will
allow CalTrans to transfer the property to HBWC. The dunes have been
cleared of non-native vegetation but there is still much work to be done
including planting additional native plants. Volunteers are needed on the
second Saturday of each month to help with this exciting project. Meet at
the Wildlife Care Center at 9:00 AM.
Interpretive Center
 Public
education and their participation in the protection of native wildlife and
the restoration of wetlands habitat is one of our key goals. To increase
public awareness of the continuing need for wildlife and habitat
protection we began development of a plan to create an Interpretive Center
here in Huntington Beach where the public can learn about the care of
wildlife and the restoration and maintenance of wetlands.
In 2008 the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, the Wetlands and
Wildlife Care Center of Orange County and their environmental
interpretation and education consultant, The Acorn Group, began
development of an interpretive center master plan. The Acorn Group worked
closely with members of both organizations throughout the planning
process. An interpretive planning session helped guide development of
content and establish the foundation for the exhibit design work. As an
outcome of that session, an interpretive summary was produced, defining
the overall interpretive theme, six subthemes, messages, and visitor
goals.
Based on the direction established in that document, The Acorn Group
prepared the interpretive center master plan which can be viewed at the
link provided here. This document includes a
detailed floor plan, exhibit perspectives, narrative description of the
exhibits, and other elements that will help the Conservancy and Care
Center move forward into the design development phase.
Native Plant Nursery
Part of the mission
statement of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy is restoration of
native habitat. To that end, the Conservancy, as part of its involvement
in the Orange Coast River Park (OCRP), hosts the OCRP native plant
nursery. The nursery, located within the Conservancy’s site at PCH and
Newland, will be instrumental in helping restore native species to local
area wetlands including the Huntington Beach Wetlands and both wetlands
and uplands within the OCRP along the Santa Ana River. The nursery has
been established specifically to propagate native plants to be used for
restoration projects in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
While the targeted wetland and upland properties cover many plant
communities, wetland species will be the initial focus of the plant
propagation efforts. Having a local nursery that focuses on wetland
species is significant since it will minimize the cost of plant stock
needed for restoration projects, provide a stable and reliable source of
replacement plant stock, and insure that the plants used for these
restorations have come from locally native seeds and cuttings. The nursery
is a volunteer-based project, which provides a unique opportunity for
members of the community to be involved in directly impacting the habitat
of local coastal areas.
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