Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy

HBWC is very excited to announce that we are one step closer to finally acquiring Newland Marsh! At its Aug. 26, 2020 quarterly meeting, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved approximately $25.3 million in grants to help restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat throughout California. A part of that is a $1.08 million grant to the California State Coastal Conservancy for a cooperative project with the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy to acquire the 44 acre... marsh for the protection of nesting and foraging habitat for state-listed Belding’s Savannah sparrow and California least tern and other sensitive species located in Huntington Beach. A big thank you to all those who have worked so hard to get us to this point. This acquisition will represent the last of the four marshes in the Huntington Beach Wetlands. We will be continuing to finalize restoration plans for the marsh in the coming year.

Enjoying an evening walk with a view.

Please see the below virtual workshop offered by our friends to the North, Amigos de Bolsa Chica! It is free, but does require pre-registration.

With more people going outdoors during this pandemic we are seeing some hopefully unintended consequences. If you fish near wetlands, please be responsible. Thank you!

Glad to hear it's out!!

Good job, guys & gals!

Thanks to our clean up specialists that got down to detail in cleaning our diorama displays today. They look as good as the day they were first installed. Come see for yourself!

A special thank you to Scout Troop 36 for another great event planting - 300 plants and removing about 300 pounds of non-native Ice Plant. Also, a special thank you to Councilwomen Arlis Reynolds of Costa Mesa and Councilman Patrick Brenden of Huntington Beach for taking the time out of their very busy schedules to be here for the event, and in Ms. Reynolds' case, assisting in planting plants!

You see all kinds of interesting things at the air show!

And there they go!

Congratulations and thanks to our very own Richard Zembal who was instrumental is getting this done! ~~~ Historic release of endangered birds ~~~ Federally endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rails will be released for the first time ever at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge... WHO: This breeding effort is a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, San Diego Zoo Global, SeaWorld, San Diego, Living Coast Discovery Center, and others. Mike and Patricia McCoy are heralded as the people who helped save the largest coastal wetland in Southern California in the 1970s and 80s. WHAT: Four federally endangered Light-footed Ridgway’s rails (LFRR) will be released on October 1 at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge (TSNWR) with conservation partners, and special guests Mike and Patricia McCoy. WHERE: 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach, CA. North McCoy Trail. WHEN: Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 9:00 AM WHY: The LFRR was once abundant in Southern California wetlands, but rapidly declined due to the loss of over 90 percent of its salt marsh habitat; causing it to be listed as endangered in 1970. Since 2001, conservation partners have been working together to bolster the population with a captive breeding program. However, more recently the population of LFRRs across Southern California has steadily declined since 2016 due to both direct and indirect effects of El Nino. At TSNWR, additional negative effects resulted from hypoxic conditions created during the temporary closure of the Tijuana River mouth: a die-off of the rail’s prey, and exposure to avian predators during the high water levels. These birds rely entirely on healthy marsh habitats for their survival, and the TSNWR still represents some of the best remaining habitat in Southern California for their recovery.

Very glad to have hosted a meet and greet with Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris and local citizens this morning at the Center. We then gave all a tour of our wonderful wetlands, many for the first time. Thanks for coming to visit, Cottie! Hope to see you back soon!