Wildlife
reserve accepted by city
By
Cathy Che
On-line Forty-Niner
Long
Beach officially has six more acres of wetlands,
an ecological reserve that may be available
for Cal State Long Beach professors for
educational research.
On
Aug. 19, the Long Beach City Council voted
to accept the donation of Sims Pond, a wetland
wildlife biological reserve located at the
northwest corner of Pacific Coast Highway
and Loynes Drive, less than two miles from
CSULB.
The
previous owners, the Del Lago and Bay Harbour
homeowners' associations, asked the city
to take over the area and also agreed to
give the city $5,000 a year for the next
three years to offset the cost of maintenance.
In
1977, the California Coastal Commission
allowed 194 single-family houses to be built
on the Del Lago housing tract with a condition
that Sims Pond be set aside as an ecological
reserve and that the developer offer to
dedicate the property to the public for
a period of 25 years. The same condition
was placed upon the Bay Harbour housing
tract developer in 1978.
The
deadline to dedicate the land to a public
agency was set to expire on Aug. 31. After
that, the associations no longer could transfer
the wetlands to the public without the residents'
approval.
Parks,
Recreation and Marine Manager of Planning
and Development, Dennis Eschen, said that
the acquisition is consistent with the efforts
of the Open Space Element, a resolution
that proposes that Long Beach provide 1,080
additional acres of open space, or 8.0 acres
per 1000 residents. Ninety to 95 percent
of this region's wetlands have been lost
to development, according to the Open Space
and Recreation Element.
"With
the loss of wetlands area in California,
we think it's an important area to preserve
and enhance," said Phil Hester, director
of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine.
"Without
wetlands, it's difficult to have a good
ocean ecosystem," said biology professor
Gwen Goodman-Lowe. Wetlands serve as a critical
wildlife habitat, marine life "nursery"
for developing animals and organisms, and
stopping and feeding grounds for migratory
birds.
Goodman-Lowe
added that preserving wetlands areas are
important for education. The areas allow
students a space to learn about ecology
and their environment. While Sims Pond is
not open to the general public, Hester said
the city is interested in using the wetlands
area as an educational resource. He also
showed interest in using professors at Cal
State Long Beach to learn more about these
wetlands as a viable resource and stated
that it would be possible for CSULB professors
to conduct wetland research in Sims Pond.
The
$5,000 will pay for trash cleanup and basic
maintenance, such as weeding. The money
will not contribute to restoration plans,
which includes the removal of exotic and
invasive plant species and additional planting.
According to Hester, the city will be exploring
other financial opportunities to handle
future costs that may be associated with
this site.
Currently,
the main water source is fresh water runoff
from a golf course. While nothing is set,
the city is considering long term restoration
plans to return Sims Pond to its natural
state. |
