4-year ecological assessment of the ballona wetlands to
TRANSCRIPT
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4-Year Ecological Assessment of the Ballona Wetlands to Inform Restoration Planning
Karina Johnston & Ivan Medel Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission
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Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission: EPA National Estuary Program
www.santamonicabay.org
Pollution Prevention Projects Ex: Water quality improvements,
involvement with TMDLs
Habitat Restoration Projects Ex: Malibu Lagoon, Ballona Wetlands
Education and Involvement Ex: Boater Program, Restaurant
Program, Internship Program
Regional Monitoring Ex: MLPA process, wetland monitoring
in Southern California
www.ballonarestoration.org
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Our Watershed and Wetlands
N
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Pre-historic Ballona
Wetlands
Source: SRI
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Historic Ballona – 1876 T-Sheet
Courtesy SCCWRP (2011)
Vegetated marsh Salt pan Intertidal Subtidal Open water
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Oil, Agriculture and
Marina del Rey Marina del Rey, 1968 (LAPL)
Celery patch, 1927 (USC)
Oil derricks in Venice, 1930 (USC)
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Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve
• ~ 600 acres
• Largest wetland restoration project in Los Angeles County
• Owned by the state of California; managed by CDFW as an ecological reserve
• SCC funding monitoring
AREA A
AREA C
AREA B LMU
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BWER Stressors • Modified hydrology
– Dredging & fill dump – Levees, culverts , & channelization – Paving & roads – Draining
• Water quality – Non-point source discharges – Trash – Heavy metal impairments – Bacteria and pathogen impairments – Other impairments
• Habitat destruction – Fragmentation – Invasive & introduced species – Introduced predators – Noise and light pollution
• Additional stressors – Vector control – Physical modifications – Misuse of the site – Sea level rise & climate change
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Ballona Wetlands Today - Topography
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Monitoring Report:
Chapter Info
• Ch. 1 Water Quality • (bacteria, nutrients, trace metals, general/continuous
monitoring)
• Ch. 2 Marine Sediment • (trace metals, pesticides, PCBs, etc)
• Ch. 3 Terrestrial Soils • (trace metals, organic content)
• Ch. 4 Vegetation • (stratified random transect sampling – all habitats)
• Ch. 5 Fish • (beach seines w/blocking nets, shrimp trawl, minnow traps)
• Ch. 6 Herpetofauna • (pitfall traps, coverboard arrays)
• Ch. 7 Mammals • (Sherman live traps, motion cameras)
• Ch. 8 Birds • (site-wide surveys, breeding, waterbird)
• Ch. 9 Benthic Invertebrates • (shallow & deep cores)
• Ch. 10 Terrestrial Invertebrates • (productivity metric & pitfall traps)
• Ch. 11 Physical Characteristics • (t-sect elevations, cross-sections, velocity, inundation mapping)
- 5 years of monitoring - Part of EPA regional
monitoring program
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• Bacteria & Metals – contamination to estuary from urban runoff in Ballona Creek – Bacteria levels at most sites consistently exceeded TMDLs, sometimes by
several orders of magnitude, while nutrient levels were typically below recommended targets
– wetlands functioning as a sink for FIB – stormwater quality typically had high levels of heavy metals and bacteria – surface terrestrial soil quality was typically not toxic to vegetation
Results: Summary – Water & Sediments
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Results: Summary – Tidal Channels
• Physical characteristics – typical of disturbed wetlands – interrupted hydrology (modifications) – steep channel banks & gradients – inundation: muted tidal regime
• Ichthyofauna communities – typical of southern California estuaries
– some areas of reduced abundances
• Benthic invertebrate communities – typical of southern California estuaries
– reduced species diversity – high abundances of disturbance species (Capitella capitata complex) – seasonal variation
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• Avifauna: over 150 species of birds – 26 special-status species, 7 of them nesting/breeding (Belding’s savannah
sparrow, California gnatcatcher, Cooper’s hawk, Double-crested Cormorant, Merlin, Vesper Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark)
• Herps & Mammals: 9 herp, 14 mammal species – counted species presence by area data, not total population estimates – some rare species, e.g. legless lizard & South Coast Marsh Vole
Results: Summary – Terrestrial Fauna
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Results: Summary – Vegetation • Marsh Habitats are typical of disturbed wetlands – high
presence of invasive grasses in areas of higher elevation – lower species richness than some reference locations, but
mostly native species in areas with estuarine tidal influence – some rare species present
• Upland Habitats are dominated by non-native species – many invaders have begun to take over some of the upland
habitats in recent years, including Euphorbia, mustard, and crown daisy
– some rare species present, mostly in the dune habitats
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Results: Vegetation Data
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Habitat Map 2007 (DFW)
Habitat delineations based on vegetation alliances, tidal influence, and soil type
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Habitat Map 2013 (TBF)
Habitat delineations based on vegetation alliances, tidal influence, and soil type
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Change in acres by habitat type between 2007 and 2013
-3.0
2.7
-3.4
2.8
-2.1 -0.4
4.2
0.3
7.2
-1.2 -0.4
-14.2
1.0 1.8
4.7
-1.4
-5.0
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
Chan
ge in
Acr
es
Habitat Categories
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CRAM Comparison (averages)
www.cramwetlands.org
BALLONA WETLANDS
Area A – highly impacted
44
Area B – seasonal wetlands; hydrological impacts
55
Area B – tide channels; muted hydrology, fewer impacts
64
Reference Wetlands Upper Newport Bay 91 Mission Bay-Rose Creek 78 San Dieguito Lagoon 63
LOS CERRITOS Hellman – muted tide channels
59
Steamshovel – few impacts
71
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– High level of impacts over long period of time – Severely degraded compared to reference and more “natural” sites – Non-native species predominant in upland habitats, native species
dominant in salt marsh habitats; though many functions are lost and conditions are still ‘degraded’ or individual sps monocultures
– Lower wetland condition metric scores (e.g. CRAM) though still some native vegetation
– Some functions persist (e.g. water filtration, carbon sequestration) and some are significantly reduced (e.g. nursery & foraging habitat, reduced biodiversity)
Regional and Health Context Overview:
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Restoration Recommendations: • Improve tidal connections to restore ecosystem
functions (e.g. water filtration, habitat connectivity & transitions, foraging habitat, etc.)
• Increase native vegetation diversity and species richness
• Increase the health and diversity of habitat types (especially upland); include gradual transition zones, buffer zones, and mudflat and intertidal habitats
• Reduce habitat fragmentation • Remove anthropogenic impacts where possible (trash, berms, etc) * Data support SAC recommendations
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Restoration Project Goals and Objectives
• Goal 1: Ecosystem Restoration: Restore, enhance, and create estuarine habitat in the Ballona Ecosystem to support a natural range of habitats and functions, especially as related to estuarine dependent plants and animals.
• Sub-goals: Habitat, Biodiversity, Physical/Chemical Processes, Sustainability
• Goal 2: Social and Socioeconomic Values: Create opportunities for aesthetic, cultural, recreation, research and educational use of the Ballona Ecosystem that are compatible with area resources.
• Sub-goals: Public Access, Cultural Access and Preservation, Recreational Use, Public Safety and Security
** Flood management: maintain the existing level of flood protection
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Saving the Land
• Community groups / activists
• Playa Vista sold to the state
• CDFW management
Designing the Future
• Scientists, community groups, agencies
• Dozens of workshops & meetings
• Developed potential plans and goals
Scientific Studies
• Historical ecology • Baseline
monitoring • Research • Mapping • Future climate
change scenarios
Environmental Planning
• Environmental impact reports
• Hydrology studies • Geo tech studies • Modelling studies • Cultural resources • Special status
species
CEQA / NEPA
• Draft reports & documents
• Public comments
• Final reports & documents
Maintaining the Land
• Weeding invasive plants
• Community groups / activists
• CDFW management
Long-Term Monitoring
• Determine project successes
• Feed into adaptive site management
• Ecological functions
• Citizen science
Construction / Restoration
• May require heavy equipment
• Reconfiguring the area based on the restoration goals and final plan
• Native species • Public access
Permitting • Flood control
permits • Army Corps • Coastal
Commission
PROCESS
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Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project (Artistic Rendering of one possible alternative)
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NEXT STEPS
Science & research
components
CEQA / EIR components
Finalize assessments / complete analyses
Publish Additional Reports & Papers
Apply science to restoration process Issues and impacts that need to be further assessed Adaptive management
Release the draft EIR & receive public comments (Winter 2014/15)
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QUESTIONS?
Karina Johnston Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Commission (310) 216-9827 [email protected] www.ballonarestoration.org