Restoring the Salton Sea is critical for millions of migratory birds and the health of 650,000 regional residents.
Frank Ruiz, Director of Salton Sea Programs with Audubon California, looks out at the Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is one of the most important places for birds in North America and is in danger of losing its ecological value. As the Sea changes, we face losing a vital part of the Pacific Flyway and a toxic dust bowl that will threaten public health for more than a million Californians.
As part of the Colorado River Delta, the sea filled and dried for thousands of years prior to its current, 35-mile-long incarnation, which came into existence as the result of a massive flood of the Colorado River in 1905. The 330-square-mile Sea has partially replaced wetland habitat lost to agricultural and urban conversion in the Colorado River Delta, California’s coast, and the San Joaquin Valley.
The Sea is a globally significant Important Bird Area (IBA). For the past century, the Sea has served as a major nesting, wintering, and stopover site for millions of birds of approximately 400 species. Until recent years, tiny Eared Grebes wintered by the thousands in rafts far out on its surface. American White Pelicans roosted on mudflats and fished for tilapia in its shallows. Migratory shorebirds stopped to migrate and feed along the Sea’s edge. Today’s avifauna is shifting – the Sea is losing the fish-eating birds such as pelicans and cormorants because fish populations are disappearing. Eared Grebes, who have fed on pile worms, are also declining rapidly, from millions to several thousand. Shorebirds, however, that feast on invertebrates along the shore edges, as well as shallow feeding ducks such as Northern Shoveler and Ruddy Duck, are still wintering at, or passing along the Sea, in massive numbers.
Recently, its water level dropped to the point that colonial seabirds began abandoning nesting sites en masse in 2013, and shallow, marshy habitat areas at the sea’s edge have begun to rapidly vanish, particularly at the south end. In 2017, inputs of Colorado River water were transferred from local agricultural uses to urban uses on the coast. As less water flowed into the Sea, it shrunk considerably, becoming more saline and inhospitable to birds, fish, and insects.
We must take immediate action at the Salton Sea to protect human health and establish viable habitat for millions of migratory birds.
Meet Frank Ruiz of Audubon California who is a powerful champion for the health of his family, the local communities, and the Salton Sea in the video below.
Conservation investments at the Salton Sea must embrace a holistic approach, considering the well-being of all waterbirds, including shorebirds.
Cómo un humedal emergente en la Laguna Salton Sea ofrece nuevas esperanzas para las aves migratorias y las comunidades locales.
Discover the data and resources about the habitats and changes happening at the Salton Sea from across the network.
Audubon California has begun the planning phase for the restoration and enhancement of the newly emerging Bombay Beach Wetland, located by the town of Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea.
Our new, downloadable pocket field guide features some birds of the Coachella Valley that are culturally significant to the Cahuilla people of the Torres-Martinez Band.
Estamos estrenando nuestra nueva, descargable guía de campo de algunas aves del Valle de Coachella, las cuales son culturalmente importante para los Cahuilla.
More than 400 species of birds come to the Salton Sea in California.
Article in the Desert Sun notes how the rapid decline in fish at the Salton Sea has prompted the near disappearance of fish-eating birds, such as White Pelicans. The state's new director of natural resources, Wade Crowfoot, acknowledges the crisis and vows to take action: "This is a top priority for the Resources Agency."
The Desert Sun highlights how the 2018 Farm Bill allows for federal funding for Salton Sea restoration.
"Learn about it, advocate for it and go visit it, " said Andrea Jones, Director of Bird Conservation at Audubon California about the Salton Sea in an interview with Jill Buck of Go Green Radio last week.
The August 3, 2018 episode of Go Green Radio featured a conversation with Jones and Michael Cohen from the Pacific Institute about the Salton Sea and implications for public health and migratory birds if the state of California does not accelerate progress on the implementation of projects to reduce dust and stave off environmental degradation.
Listen to the full episode here.
“The clock is ticking for the people—and the birds as well,” says Frank Ruiz, Audubon California's Salton Sea Program Director in this article from NRDC. The article takes a look at the issues at the Sea facing birds and people today and the partnerships between organizations, including Audubon that are working to address the challenges at the Sea.
The article also quotes Andrea Jones, Audubon California's Director of Bird Conservation. “Three iconic birds that have used the Salton Sea in large numbers—the American avocet, the eared grebe, and the American white pelican—have all seen significant declines,” says Jones.
Read the full article here.
Learn more about Audubon California's work at the Salton Sea here.
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