LONG BEACH : Port Officials Urged to Restore Wetlands
Councilman Douglas S. Drummond is urging the Port of Long Beach to restore wetlands in the city before upgrading more migratory bird habitats elsewhere.
“Over the years, the port has (improved) wetlands all the way down the coast to San Diego County, but none here in the city,” he said. “I’d like something done in Long Beach.”
Ports are required to restore existing wetlands or create areas in order to expand into coastal tidelands. The Port of Long Beach plans to fill an area south of the closed Navy base, and is in search of wetlands to improve.
Drummond wants the port to restore the 150-acre upper Alamitos Bay wetlands north of Westminster Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and Studebaker Road. The wetlands were drained in the 1920s for oil production. Pipelines and roads now crisscross the area.
He began to lobby for the restoration after learning that the port is on the verge of joining with the Port of Los Angeles to buy and improve several hundred acres of the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach. A private developer proposes to build homes around the wetlands.
The port has not made a commitment to the Bolsa Chica project and is considering improving the upper Alamitos Bay, said spokeswoman Yvonne Avila.
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