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BABES and preserving wetlands
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Protecting and preserving wetlands is an extremely important environmental endeavor. It's important everywhere, but especially here in Southern California and San Diego County.
“BABES” was an acronym coined by an SDSU professor to help you remember the five major coastal lagoons in San Diego. For you guys, think of the beach and think of the babes. All these lagoons are located close to some of the best beaches in Southern California. Most of us probably don’t pay a lot of attention to them as we whiz by on I-5 at the mandatory 80 miles an hour. But they are there and they are very important and they are pretty well preserved, albeit surrounded by man-made stuff. Check them out next time you go whizzing by, from north to south:
B…Buena Vista
A…Agua Hedonia
B…Bataquitos
E…Elijo (San)
S…San Dieguito
Coastal lagoons were formed long ago as streams and creeks flowed down from the mountains and highlands. They typically are full of a lot of sand and sediment that was both washed down and with coastal lagoons, got an injection and flushing of sand from the oceans as the tide goes in and out. This is a very natural function and has created some very unique habitats. These lagoons are home to a plethora of wildlife…everything from fish to amphibians to birds. They also serve to filter the waters and help purify them. And lastly they provide protection from the ravages of both freshwater floods and the power of a stormy sea. It is no secret that in places like Hurricane Katrina Louisiana, the wetlands and sandbars and vegetation all combine to help protect inland areas. When those wetlands have been destroyed, their historic function gets lost with devastating results.
My last posting talked about the land use tool of mitigation, and that has played an important part in protecting and preserving natural areas, especially wetlands. The powers that be dictated that there is “no net loss” of wetlands. This meant that if you destroyed or impacted an acre of wetland, then you had to mitigate and either preserve, rehabilitate, or actually create another acre somewhere else…usually as close as possible to the scene of the crime. This has certainly worked to the greater good. However a major caveat is that man’s attempt to “create” wetlands has usually failed to one degree or another. This really is rocket science. There are so many variables and so many natural forces at work that it has been extremely difficult to go out and replicate nature.
And this applies to many other types of habitat. A favorite endeavor of mine is the protection and preservation of “riparian” habitat. Riparian is the name for those lands and vegetation along a watercourse, usually identified by water-loving plants such as cottonwood trees and willows. These have disappeared at an alarming rate nationwide and more tragically here in the arid west where there just wasn’t much of it to begin with. Ditto the lagoons, where the watercourses met the sea. We’ll delve into riparian areas next time.
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