San Elijo Lagoon - Coastal Watershed Restoration
SeaTrees has partnered with local San Diego nonprofit, The Nature Collective, to support the restoration of a portion of the watershed in Cardiff California in the West Basin of San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve near the inlet. This project is one of the most extensive wetland restorations in California. Together, we are restoring 15k sq-ft of salt marsh.
Without thriving native plant species, our lands – and their ecosystems – aren’t truly healthy.
About the Project
This project is one of the most extensive wetland restorations in California. Restoration work is crucial to eliminate and manage invasive plant species and reintroduce native species to the lagoon. This salt marsh serves as vital habitat for the federally listed Belding’s savannah sparrow, along with a variety of other avian and arthropod species.
The allocated funding will be utilized for eradicating invasive plants, procuring and planting native species, and carrying out the necessary maintenance, monitoring, and reporting activities for habitat restoration projects over a span of two years.
By enhancing the plant diversity, we will encourage the flourishing of wildlife species like the Wandering Skipper butterfly, which relies exclusively on Saltgrass as its host plant, as well as the Belding’s savannah sparrow, which exclusively nests in pickleweed.
Nature Collective
The Nature Collective was founded in 1987 and is based in North County San Diego. Nature Collective serves as the steward of the San Elijo Lagoon, with a mission to drive a passion for nature, for all.
Nature Collective ecologists will conduct wildlife surveys pre and post restoration, these will include avian surveys and pollinator transect surveys to asses species diversity and abundance.
Nature Collective uses 25-meter point-intercept transects in conjunction with 2-meter belt transects to evaluate native and non-native foliar cover, shrub cover, and plant species richness
Project Goals, Monitoring and Success
The joint efforts of SeaTrees and Nature Collective focus on maintaining the health of the lagoon's lands and waters by improving tidal circulation, and undertaking vital restoration work to preserve salt flats as crucial habitats for various animal species.
Modern infrastructure had nearly halted this natural process, but through initiatives such as constructing wider bridge spans and enhancing tidal channels, tidal flow is now able to reach farther and penetrate deeper into San Elijo Lagoon, rejuvenating its ecological functions. Without these restoration efforts, these critical habitats would have been lost, but now they have been restored and enhanced to withstand sea level rise.
One of the main results of the increase tidal prism brought about by the lagoon restoration, is an increase in plant and animal diversity as ocean water mixes with freshwater inputs from the east creating a salinity gradient.
The project will take advantage of this salinity gradient to plant species uniquely adapted to different levels of soil and water salinity.
A little further reading...
Native Restoration - The Return of Eelgrass
A notable attribute of this site is the natural return of eelgrass which during the right season, has returned to various spots along the lagoon. Additionally, the lagoon has also become a thriving habitat for octopuses, sea hares, and even seals, showing the diversity that can return through native restoration efforts.
Fully Funded
* Thanks to the support of our generous brand partners, this project has been fully funded. If you'd like to support one of our other great projects, send an email tohaley@sustainablesurf.organd let us know what lights you up the most!
Sustainable Development Goals addressed by the project.
SeaTrees evaluates this project annually to measure its impact on all relevant Sustainable Development Goals. The Cardiff Watershed project addresses 3 SDGs. Read below for more details.
Climate Action
The Project is taking climate action and addressing the impacts of climate change by restoring salt marsh habitat in a wetland. Wetlands are key in protection from flooding, as the oceans warm and the effects of climate change are producing larger, more frequent storms, wetlands offer flood protection from storm surges. Coastal wetland restoration also aids in halting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon and emissions in to the atmosphere. The Project will include planting and restoration of salt marsh plant species, these plants, and wetlands sequester more Carbon than tropical forests.
Life Below Water
The Project site is located at the inlet to the lagoon, this channel is the direct link to the ocean. By restoring habitat at this site we are making sure the water reaching the ocean has been filtered and excess nutrients have been processed by a well- functioning wetland.
Life on Land
The restoration component of this Project will restore and enhance not only plant biodiversity, but also avian and insect biodiversity. By planting different salt marsh species than those present at the site, this habitat will be more heterogenous, more diverse. When a wetland has more plant species, it can support a wider range of animal species