For the Birds? Or Man? : In Late Criticism, Ornithologist Claims Plan to Bolster Batiquitos Lagoon Won’t Fly

It is unprecedented in both scale and cost--a major leap forward in the brave new world of wetland restoration. Environmentalists have marveled at its promise, developers have applauded its goals.

But now, at the eleventh hour, the proposed $20-million enhancement of Batiquitos Lagoon has drawn fire from a respected critic.

Elizabeth Copper, a noted authority on birds, claims the ambitious plan to boost the ecological health of the Carlsbad lagoon is based on “unbelievably shoddy” research and threatens to destroy habitat used by endangered birds.

An environmental consultant considered an expert on declining bird species, Copper has called the state Coastal Conservancy’s blueprint for the restoration “atrocious” and warns that the project could make “an irreparable mess” of the wide and shallow wetland.

“A lot of horrible things have already been done to our coastal wetlands in the name of ‘enhancement,’ ” said Copper, a Coronado resident who frequently studies birds at North County lagoons. “At $20 million, this one could be a very costly mistake.”

Specifically, Copper charges that dredging Batiquitos as proposed by the conservancy would eliminate much of the shallow water habitat now used by the endangered California least tern and other rare birds, possibly triggering a further decline in their populations.

The ornithologist also said that sufficient data on the variety and number of birds at the lagoon has not been gathered. To undertake a project that will substantially alter the configuration and habitat mix of the wetland “without any basic information on what birds are using it today,” Copper said, “is completely irresponsible.”

“This enhancement plan shows a total lack of understanding of the (wildlife) values at Batiquitos,” Copper said. “It has been done hastily, and it fails to put biology and the needs of the lagoon first.”

Copper’s critique of the project has caused a ripple of concern among some lagoon supporters, including the nonprofit Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation. For months, environmentalists and Carlsbad officials have awaited release of the restoration plan, which they view as a $20-million godsend. Now, some are wondering whether the enhancement will be true to its ecological goals.

But officials with the conservancy, who drafted the restoration program with input from consultants and state and federal resource agencies, defended their 200-page plan, which was released last month.

Peter Grenell, the conservancy’s executive officer, said the plan “isn’t perfect but does a good job of striking a balance and accommodating all the diverse interests involved at Batiquitos.”

In a telephone interview, Grenell also said that, though data on species at the wetland may be “incomplete,” the time has come for an enhancement project to move forward.

“Some people would prefer us to go on, year after year, studying the lagoon and tabulating its resources,” Grenell said. “I don’t think that’s realistic. We will filter new information into the plan as it becomes available, but there comes a point where you must act to take advantage of the circumstances.”

The “circumstances” Grenell is referring to are $20 million in funds made available for the unprecedented lagoon project by a Long Beach-based company planning to build an oil pipeline from the Port of Los Angeles to refineries in Midland, Tex.

The Pacific Texas Pipeline Co. plans to destroy wetland habitat at the port to build a 150-acre landfill. State law requires companies that harm coastal resources in one area to make up for the damage by creating or improving similar habitat in other areas. This process of paying one’s environmental dues is known as “mitigation.”

Because there are no remaining wetlands in Los Angeles County suitable for such mitigation, state officials permitted Pacific Texas to spend their $20 million on Batiquitos, a wide, shallow lagoon on Carlsbad’s southern city limit.

The plan’s goal is to restore the lagoon’s interaction with the ocean, allowing Batiquitos to be nourished by daily infusions of salt water. The tidal flushing is expected to enhance fish and invertebrate populations, reduce odors caused when the lagoon’s water level drops in the summer and, as adjacent landowners like Sammis Properties and the Hunt brothers of Texas see it, make Batiquitos a more visually pleasing sight.

To accomplish the tidal interchange, the project’s engineers propose the installation of a mechanical system that would routinely sweep cobbles and sand from the lagoon mouth, preventing its closure. Also, massive dredging would be done to deepen the lagoon and increase the volume of water that would flow in and out, a technique that helps prevent blockage of the entrance.

Other aspects of the enhancement include the construction of nature centers and public access trails along the shore of Batiquitos and measures to stem the flow of silt pouring into the lagoon from erosion caused by upstream development.

In drafting the plan, the conservancy was forced to juggle the desires of two conflicting camps.

Pacific Texas officials favor creation of a deep water lagoon. Because their landfill in Los Angeles is destroying deep-water habitat, the company must re-create a certain amount of similar habitat at Batiquitos to meet its mitigation responsibilities.

Most environmentalists, however, want to retain the wetland as a shallow water system hospitable to the least tern, the endangered Belding’s savanna sparrow and numerous shore birds.

Copper believes the birds lost. As she sees it, the restoration project has been tailored to suit the mitigation needs of the pipeline company--not to address Batiquitos’ biological needs.

As evidence, she points to the creation of 220 acres of deep water habitat--defined as between 2.5 and 8 feet below sea level--at the lagoon. Today, there are only 23 acres of deep water at Batiquitos.

“The practical effect of that is the destruction of a vast amount of shallow water habitat, which is what makes Batiquitos so distinctive and valuable to shore birds today,” Copper said. In addition, she said, the number of least tern nesting sites would be reduced from six to four under the enhancement plan.

Grenell conceded that the reduction of shallow water habitat was a concern the conservancy grappled with. But “some people basically wanted to make a lake or marina out of Batiquitos, so the acreage we ended up with was not bad,” he said.

Though the reduction in shallow water habitat may mean “the mix of species will change,” Grenell said there “is no single optimum plan that will satisfy all species and address the public policy questions as well. This is a very new science, so what we’re doing is a balancing act.”

Carlsbad Mayor Bud Lewis said he is surprised to hear concerns about the restoration’s effect on birds “this late in the game.” Carlsbad, which hopes that material dredged from the lagoon can be placed on the city’s eroding beaches, is very eager to take advantage of this “once in a lifetime opportunity,” Lewis said. Officials do not want anything to jeopardize the project.

Lewis, who has not yet read the plan, thinks “the human element” is being overlooked in all of this fuss about the restoration.

“The birds are important,” he said, “But remember, that lagoon really creates a human problem when it dries out and stinks. There may have to be a trade-off so that we can have a nice-looking lagoon with water flowing through it.”

The Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation, a nonprofit watchdog group, also is eager for the restoration but has its own list of criticisms.

“My main concern is that nature usually knows best and that drastic interference by man has a poor record in terms of coastal preservation,” said foundation member Dolores Welty, a Leucadia resident. “We want to make sure there is no drastic change. We don’t want to ruin this very special nature preserve.”

Anne Omsted, president of the foundation, said a letter detailing the group’s concerns and requesting changes in the plan will be sent to the conservancy in the coming weeks. Omsted said information on the lagoon’s existing condition and inhabitants is weak, the post-restoration monitoring program is vague, and a habitat evaluation process used to come up with the proportions of deep water and shallow water acreage was not included in the plan for public review.

“We definitely feel there are weak spots,” Omsted said. “You can be sure we will be watching like a hawk as each step of the process goes forward. Lagoon restorations are not a precise science, and we want this to be the best one ever done.”

A public hearing on the conservancy plan is scheduled for Jan. 15 in Carlsbad.