Devising Strategies to Protect Wetlands

Re “Report Finds Deep Flaws in Wetlands Program,” June 27:

Your article about the wetlands was super. Developers are relentlessly trying to build on wetlands and mitigate by creating wetlands elsewhere.

Two cases in point in Huntington Beach:

* “Little Shell” wetland near Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard. This plan was to build luxury homes there and mitigate at a location out of the Coastal Zone. That one was stopped.

* The second one is still threatening a wetland that is part of Bolsa Chica. It is known as the Shea Homes and is near Graham Street and Warner Avenue. The developer said the water was from a leaky pipe taking water to the stable, but no water is going to the stable; the stable is gone.

The developer planted beans on the property last year. Now he wants to fill the bean field--the wetland, that is--with dirt and build houses there. The berm will be nine feet higher than the surrounding neighbors.

To stop this ravaging of what wetlands we have left is going to take a concerted effort by the community.

The city is going to hold a public meeting soon. Let’s hope we’re not too late to save this precious wetland.

Eileen Murphy

Huntington Beach

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When destroying natural wetlands, developers are required to create a comparably functioning artificial wetland elsewhere. However, these replacement wetlands are typically inferior to the real thing and do not come close to replicating the beneficial environmental effects of a natural wetland.

Add to this the fact that developers are generally not motivated to maintain these wetlands. In some cases, construction is never even completed. On-site monitoring and record keeping by the Army Corps of Engineers have been inadequate, allowing developers to evade their responsibility.

It is imperative that the corps provide adequate oversight of our precious wetlands. The status quo has resulted in a net loss of quality wetlands, and this is simply not acceptable.

John Skinner

Newport Beach