The Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Effort Takes A Significant Step Forward
2010-12-14 · By Editor
The efforts to restore the Los Cerritos Wetlands took a significant step forward with the approval of a $450,000 grant to fund a Habitat Restoration and Public Access Conceptual Plan.
“This is a significant milestone for the restoration of the Los Cerritos Wetlands,” said Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority Chair and Long Beach Councilmember Gary DeLong. “We have put the pieces in place to start the planning for restoring this priceless natural resource.”
On Thursday, December 9, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA), voted to accept the final installment of a $450,000 grant to fund the plan, which will allow the LCWA to develop a feasibility study with a comprehensive restoration plan and allow for the design of public trails connecting the communities of Southeast Long Beach and Seal Beach. The study will include the Bryant, Hellman and City of Long Beach properties, which are components of the larger Los Cerritos Wetlands complex These properties offer an extremely rare opportunity to restore coastal wetlands and create public access improvements. The LCWA will solicit competitive proposals shortly for this study, and work on the study may begin as early as Spring of 2010.
“As a member of the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC), I am pleased that the RMC continues to recognize what an incredible value the Los Cerritos Wetlands is to the entire region and has provided the funding for this study” said Long Beach Councilmember and RMC representatives Patrick O’Donnell. The grant for the Habitat Restoration and Public Access Conceptual Plan was made possible by the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. ”
Additionally, the LCWA voted to utilize $30,000 of separate grant funding for an appraisal and wetlands delineation study for the 33.77-acre City of Long Beach parcel, which the City successful brought into the public domain in June 2010. The appraisal and the wetlands delineation study are necessary steps before state grant dollars can sought to purchase the property and transfer it to the LCWA. The wetlands delineation study will begin shortly and take approximately 12 weeks to complete.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority is composed of Long Beach Councilmember Gary DeLong (LCWA Chair), Long Beach Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell, Seal Beach Councilmember Mike Levitt, and Coastal Conservancy Executive Officer Sam Schuchat.
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Having spent more than 25 years living in Long Beach and Seal Beach near the Los Cerritos wetlands, I am deeply gratified about this news on several levels. Firstly, that Long Beach and Seal Beach are working together on something which neither city can make whole individually. Secondly, that the cities have successfully brought the state into this issue, through the Coastal Conservancy and also the Rivers & Mountains Conservancy, which deals with the San Gabriel river. And, finally, that my own Councilman — Chairman DeLong — and the city’s RMC rep — Mr. O’Donnell — have formed an effective team in identifying the money and momentum to make all of this happen. It’s easy to bash people for failures, but rarely does hard work and good outcomes result in praise. In this case, Mr. DeLong and Mr. O’Donnell deserve a great deal of credit and thanks for making this very important outcome happen.