Over 70 environmental and conservation groups in the ReWild Coalition called upon the San Diego City Council to fund Mission Bay wetlands restoration in next year’s budget. The groups rallied on Sept. 20 outside City Hall to request that the City Council earmark $250,000.
At the rally, Andrew Meyer, director of conservation at San Diego Audubon Society stated:
“After almost 30 years of inaction on the master plan, the City must show leadership, vision, and decisive action to restore the lungs of the bay, reconnecting us and protecting our communities from the climate crisis. It’s time to ReWild Mission Bay.”
“This investment in the restoration momentum that the project has built would bring the City a strong return from outside grants and opportunities. There are multiple state and federal agencies that want to fund coastal resilience, habitat restoration, improved access, and carbon sequestration – all benefits that come to San Diegans through the ReWild project.”
Mary Liesegang of environmental nonprofit Wildcoast added:
“Wetlands sequester and store more carbon than terrestrial forests, but only 10% of California’s historic wetlands remain. We must protect remaining wetlands and restore degraded wetlands so that they will continue to be carbon sinks for thousands of years to come.”
Rachel Abbott from San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air said:
“The expansive restoration of tidal wetlands has far-reaching benefits to the health of our communities. By expanding Mission Bay’s wetlands, we will address climate change, improve air and water quality, and amplify our City’s natural space to positively transform our community’s health and wellness.
With the approved Climate Action Plan that calls for 700 acres of tidal wetlands in San Diego by 2035, this down payment could ensure we reach our legally binding climate goals.”
Dave Schwab at the Peninsula Beacon reported:
Mission Bay is a microcosm of the worldwide battle being waged to save the remaining dwindling wetlands. That battle is being played out locally with ReWild Mission Bay, a project of San Diego Audubon and its partners to enhance and restore wetlands in Mission Bay’s northeast corner.
ReWild Mission Bay’s proposal is to enhance and restore more than 150 acres of wetlands in the northeast corner of Mission Bay, including the enhancement of 40 acres of existing tidal wetland habitat. The project will also create approximately 100 acres of tidal marsh and mudflat habitat and 30 acres of transitional/upland habitat.
Mission Bay’s wetlands supply habitat for hundreds of local wildlife species and protect San Diego from climate change impacts such as flooding while improving area water quality. Over the last several decades, science has confirmed that wetlands are critical to maintaining a balanced, oxygenated, diverse set of habitats, while the public has come to appreciate the value of wetlands as an aesthetic choice and “green infrastructure” that provides clean water, improved habitat, and climate resiliency.
A draft budget memo including early funding requests will go out at the end of September for next year’s City budget deliberations beginning in May.
ReWild Mission Bay Is a project of San Diego Audubon and its ReWild Coalition partners to enhance and restore the natural wetlands in the northeast corner of Mission Bay for cleaner water, greater climate resiliency, carbon sequestration, and improved access to public space, including for Native Americans, along San Diego’s shared bayfront.
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Every possible inch of these wetlands should be saved and restored. If developers are circling, they should be shown the door.