WETLANDS AUTHORITY MAKES MAJOR AND UNANIMOUS MOVES TOWARD ACQUISITION AND RESTORATION
By Heather Altman
All documents have been signed for acquisition of the Hellman Ranch wetlands, the staff of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) announced at the outset of the panel’s Thursday afternoon meeting at Seal Beach City Hall, setting the stage for the closing of escrow on a vital and long-sought piece of Southern California’s natural coastal environment.
The revelation was the most prominent of several significant moves by the LCWA toward protection and restoration of what’s left of the local wetlands, which until about a century ago covered the coastal plain in a vast network of marshes:
• A $225,000 grant from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy—dedicated to Phase 2 of restoring the Hellman area—was accepted by unanimous vote.
• The hiring of a consultant or consultant team to develop a Site Restoration and Recreational Improvements Conceptual Plan for 200 acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Complex was also authorized without dissent.
Those 200 acres include the 67-acre Phase 1/Bryant property, the 100-acre Phase 2/Hellman property and the 33-acre City of Long Beach Marketplace Marsh (maybe better known as the land swap) property.
The LCWA will be issuing a Request for Proposals to conduct this work, and the selected team will be responsible for collecting data, producing the plan and engaging agencies and members of the public throughout the planning process.
The total budget for this activity is $450,000—comprised of a previously awarded $225,000 grant for Phase 1 restoration, and the $225,000 grant for Phase 2 restoration referenced above.
• Contracts for the wetlands delineation and appraisal of the Marketplace Marsh—that is, determining how much of the land could be developed and how much it is worth—were also awarded by a unanimous vote. AECOM will conduct the wetlands delineation and Buss-Shelger Associates will perform the property appraisal. The delineation and appraisal have a not-to-exceed budget of $30,000 budget.
(FROM A REPORT ON HEATHER ALTMAN’S BLOG, EGRETSNOTREGRETS.COM)
