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Stimulus money to fund Huntington Beach wetland restoration
June 30th, 2009, 12:25 pm · 27 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
HUNTINGTON BEACH A “shovel ready” coastal wetland will be restored to a more natural state with $3.3 million in federal stimulus funding, one of 50 similar projects on the nation’s coastlines costing a total of $167 million. 
“There were three criteria: economic benefit, ecological benefit and shovel readiness, ” said Jane Lubchenco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which chose Huntington’s Magnolia Marsh to make the nationwide announcement. “This project met all those criteria, and rose to the top of the list.”
The 41-acre site is part of a chain of coastal wetlands being gradually restored along the Huntington Beach coast; the southernmost meets the Santa Ana River mouth, and the entire complex is intended to become part of the future Orange Coast River Park.
But funding for such projects can be spotty. While Magnolia Marsh was already set aside for preservation, and two adjoining marshes, the Brookhurst and Talbert marshes, recently saw their restoration completed, it was uncertain just when Magnolia would be restored without the stimulus money.
The nationwide list of projects, which includes some on the Great Lakes, spans 22 states and two territories and is expected to bring restoration of more than 8,900 acres, open 700 miles of stream for fish migration and remove more than 850 metric tons of debris.
The projects also will generate green jobs — an estimated 1,000 nationwide directly related to the projects, and 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. The indirect jobs would include , for example, those who sell materials needed for the restorations, such as plants or concrete.
Preliminary work on the Huntington Beach restoration will begin as soon as the federal stimulus money is sent to the non-profit Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, likely within 30 days, officials said, and should be completed in about a year; actual wetland work must wait until the end of nesting season, Sept. 15.
The project is expected to create about 60 jobs.
It will include removal of some soil to create meandering, naturalistic water channels similar to those found on the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, which doubles as a national wildlife refuge, and revegetation with native plants such as pickleweed, cord grass and salt grass.
The project also will breach a flood control channel on the north edge of the site, allowing water from the channel to flow into the marsh. Because the channel is connected to the ocean, that means full-strength tidal action inside the newly restored marsh, which should draw a variety of wetland birds and fish.
A trail will connect the restored marsh’s north levee to the Santa Ana River, said Bob Hoffman, a NOAA assistant regional administrator for habitat construction.
Hoffman said he expects a burst of wetland wildlife when the project is fnished.
“Other than birds used to a terrestrial environment, nothing is using that area,” Hoffman said. “As it is today, it is high and dry. It will be much more stable in terms of water.”
An estimated 90 percent of California’s coastal wetlands have disappeared as civilization has expanded, but wetlands have won new respect among conservationists in recent decades.
One of the best known projects, completed in 2006, was the 600-acre Bolsa Chica wetlands, restored at a cost of $148 million. Funding was provided by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in exchange for allowing their expansions.
The Magnolia Marsh and the other 49 coastal and marine restoration projects chosen by NOAA to receive stimuls money were among 814 proposals totaling more than $3 billion.
Others among the nine California projects costing $31 million include:
- South San Diego Bay restoration at $2.9 million,
- Eklhorn Slough near Watsonville for $3.9 million, and
- American Canyon Salt Pond restoration in San Francisco, where $8.5 million will be spent to restore wetlands and re-create tidal flow, and improve habitat for chinook salmon, steelhead trout and green sturgeon by removing levees around former salt ponds.
Nationwide, defunct dams will be removed, debris cleared and a variety of habitat types restored.
In New England, Lubchenco said, demolition crews will remove dams and barriers to restore river and spawning habitat for fish such as Atlantic salmon.
Coral recovery projects are planned for Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii and the Mariana Islands, reducing harmful runoff and algae and reattaching coral to reefs.
Dams and barriers also will be removed on the Great Lakes for migrating fish; in Alaska, people involved in the fishing industry will be put to work removing some 693 tons of marine debris, such as “ghost nets.”
Information and, eventually, updates on the progress of each project, complete with interactive maps, will be placed on the NOAA Recovery Act Web site.
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So, this money will be used by gov’t employed union hacks to lean on a shovel as one guy uses a dozer to make the area look “restored”.
Shovel ready indeed, but the shovel should be for the crap these idiots are throwing our way.
The Huntington Beach “City Council at large” will find a way to build more houses around the wetlands now, lining their pockets at the tax payers expense and all for “Surf City”!
So this will stimulate the economy? What a joke!
Obama has done nothing, but apply more regulations, and harm the economy with debt that will take forever to repay. These fools complained about the deficit and overspending for 8 years of Bush, but their answer was spend more than Bush within 100 days. Fools!
Let’s seee “gc” is pissed because people who might otherwise be forced to collect unemployment will have a job,and dosent understand you can’t restore wetlands with a bulldozer. And “mac’ sees a political wind fall for fat cats in HB. Now why do I subscribe to the TImes? You people would find something to bitch about if you were hung with a new rope.
We the people can’t afford reality as it is and you are wasting this money on wetlands. What a joke, schools going to heck, families losing their homes, cost of living going up and more people become homeless. This goes to show you what the real priorities are.
This should wait till economy gets better or someone donates the money for the improvements.
What a joke.
stimulus money to restore a stup!d wetland and no money for protecting our country. president barack husein obama is vowing to veto the millitary spending because they have money there for f22′s, can you belive that. oh and on foreign policy he sides with castro and chavez that the honduran president got ousted unfairly. what did you expect marxist at its finest. but you wont get that type of news in this mediocre newspaper.
this guy should be president clown obama.
This article disturbs me. I was laid off after a six year stint at a public billion dollar company. I have paid taxes every year, paid my car regis, insurance, mortage, and more. I am constantly fighting with EDD to receive a measly check. And this conservation group is receiving millions to restore wetlands?
westsideclay, let the union thugs collect unemployment. Instead, if you are going to spend this country into abiss, put people to work who aren’t in gov’t. What a concept, eh?
Nah, instead we’ll just end up having gov’t own half of the country as we are on track to do in a very short period of time because that has always proven successful. Somehow USSR comes to mind….
Unemployed gov’t workers is GOOD for the economy.
fher:
F22s aren’t very good at stopping dirty bombs, IEDs, or nuclear proliferation. They are good at eating up $65 Billion in funding that could be better spent in numerous ways.
The reason that stimulus funds are spent on public works is that the money, while helping the economy through job creation, is also essentially going towards the public good. Might as well spend it on something that benefits everyone.
Lets see, a project about complete and the City accepts Federal tax dollars to offset the cost. The City already budgeted the project prior to the major tax (stimulus) bill was signed into law. Now the City will be vulnerable to more Federal mandates. Thats the democrat party way.
What part of “out of control” are you having a hard time understanding.
The reason that money is spent on public works is to appease the unions that the politicians are beholden to.
gc,
When money is spent on repairing roads, building bridges or upgrading freeways, nobody says squat about unions because usually they feel it’s a worthwhile project. As soon as there’s a project that you don’t care about, it’s all a government conspiracy to appease unions. Why is that?
Intelligent people understand that repairing roads, building bridges or upgrading freeways is necessary so we can continue to have a decent economic life. That doesn’t mean that intelligent people don’t understand that employing union labor doesn’t increase the costs of those improvements. Also, there is a feeling that the money we pay in gasoline taxes and vehicle fees covers those costs.
If we want to improve wetlands, charge fees for recycling ( oh yea, we already do that) and use hat
Operator error, sorry. If we want to improve wetlands, charge fees for recycling ( oh yea, we already do that) and use those funds to improe the enironment. Or, alternatively, come up with user fees that support improving the wetlands and other worthwhile public projects.
The fees for recycling pay for the cost of recycling.
As you pointed out, gasoline taxes (among others) pay for roads, because they are public works that benefit the public good. Similarly, a small portion of your tax money goes to environmental projects, because they benefit the public good.
I’m sorry that you feel that you will get no use from the wetlands. I’m sure there are people out there paying gasoline taxes who are upset that they will get no use from building a freeway to a somebody’s mansion. Such is the nature of society.
Damon, you are a bit misguided.
Recycling is a FOR PROFIT enterprise. It isn’t one that needs fees to survive, they make money off of sorting, smashing and bailing the product for resale at a smelter.
The fact that you are CHARGED to pick up your recycling container is the biggest sham in the world. Why do you think the mafia is so heavily involved in the waste industry… it isn’t because it is fun.
The infrastructure of the country (you know – the roads and bridges people drive on get to paying jobs and how goods are transported) crumbles while we save the marshlands. Bright, real bright. People need sustainable jobs or the only reason they’ll be visiting Orange Coast River Park and the wetlands will be to forage for food.
And let me get this right, the 600-acre Bolsa Chica wetlands was restored at a cost of $148 million in 2006, and 41 acres will cost only $3 million in 2009. Either the ports of Long beach and LA got hosed and held up at gun point (which may be the case at nearly $250,000.00 an acre), or a comparable restoration at Magnolia is about $8 Million underfunded.
Considering that Bolsa Chica had to be reconnected to the ocean, and there was probably a lot of cleanup to do from old oil derricks, it doesn’t seem that surprising.
Anyway, the argument that a particular cause deserves 0 funding is silly. You think history will judge us better if we were the generation that had slightly better roads, schools, or cause X, but allowed every last acre of wetlands to be paved?
The $3 million going here would barely be enough to resurface a couple streets.
Actually Damon, I’d like to see all unions disbanded/broken and jobs go to private sector firms that don’t employ union staff. Essentially, I’m against any of my tax dollars going to any unions, period.
gc,
Good luck with that one. Why not just say you want a law passed banning government contracts for any companies that employ high-school dropouts? I’m sure there are taxpayers out there who feel that those people are undeserving of their paycheck too.
As a resident of Huntington Beach, environmentally sensitive, AND A TAXPAYER this is a joke. Job stimulus with taxpayers money for low end jobs…..right. How is this a stimulus for those who have lost high end jobs which drive the economic engine by supporting the GDP figures? Do your financial math…is this country turning from high end jobs to “do you want fries with that” under the guise of a stimulus. There must be a whole lot of gullible taxpayers out there.
I’m pretty sure that a low % of stimulus funds are creating jobs in the fast food industry.
If you’re advocating lower corporate taxes to stimulate the economy, that’s called tricke-down economics. We tried that in the 80s and 2000s. Remember how it doesn’t really work?
Is it just me or is the only thing being stimulated with our tax dollars are government work projects or industries the government wants to nationalize?
Another breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Pass the DDT please.
You people don’t know what you are talking about. This is not a government project. The wetlands are privately owned and privately managed, and this will not be a public works project.
They did a great job with the recently-finished Brookhurst Marsh restoration, which came in on time and under-budget.
Now back to your regularly-scheduled misinformed whining….
My mayor concern is with the wetlands !
Who is going to keep the trash from the state beach from blowing across PCH right into the ‘ fragile environment ‘ wetlands ?
Go take a look,the first wetlands to be restored between the river and Brookhurst has seen the biggest pile of trash in a long time.
The state beach has no fence on the ocean side and, with our lovely afternoon breezes, trash, especially plastic bags are blown right against the wetlands fence and then work their way into the
‘ fragile environment ‘.
On top of that ,a bunch of trash from the flood channels flows
‘ down hill ‘ .
Bolsa Chica State Beach has fencing along the ocean and the inland side of PCH.
What about the state beach between Beach Blvd. and the Santa Ana River ?
And another thing !!!!!!!
Which moron decided to use artificial irrigation at Little Shell Wetlands,
west of Beach Blvd , between PCH and Atlanta ?
This used to,and should be ,a seasonal wetlands.
Now this is a jungle of trees and cattail plants that where never there before.
The excess irrigation is allowed to impact the wetlands across Beach Blvd.
Even this area is being taken over by non native plants – cattails-