Humboldt Bay Harbor District fails to approve environmental review for oyster farming expansion

In something of a surprise, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District last night failed to come up with the three votes necessary to approve an expansion of oyster farming in the bay. Audubon California has opposed this project because it will destroy eelgrass beds that provide critical habitat for all kinds of migratory birds. We're fairly certain they'll come back for another attempt -- and we'll be ready.

Rains helping Mono Lake right when it needs it the most

Mono Lake is an important place for birds, and it has been teetering lately as a result of declining water levels. That's changing with these recent rains, notes the Los Angeles Times.

Anybody going to the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival?

More information here.

Climate change is complicating birds' pursuit of the 'eternal spring'

Great article in the New York Times talking about how bird migrations are perfectly suited to the availability of food and habitat -- and the climate change threatens to upset this delicate system.

Early draft of state Salton Sea management plan circulating

Buried in this mid-December article about negotiations to finalize a plan to avoid shortages at the Colorado River are early details of the much-awaited 10-year management plan for the Salton Sea. This is the plan that the state will eventually rely upon to protect bird habitat at the Salton Sea, and reduce dangerous dust pollution caused as the sea recedes. Anyway, here's what the article says about the plan:

"The document, which was obtained by The Desert Sun, summarizes the state’s proposals for a “smaller but sustainable lake” and lays out broad goals for building new wetlands along the lake’s receding shores to cover up stretches of exposed lake bottom and provide habitat for birds.

The document says an estimated 50,000 acres of “playa” will be left dry and exposed around the lake by 2028. The construction of “water backbone infrastructure” is to begin with ponds where water from the lake’s tributaries will be routed to create new wetlands. According to the 24-page document, which describes the Salton Sea Management Program, initial construction will start on exposed lakebed west of the mouth of the New River “to take advantage of existing permits.”

The draft says that in addition to building wetlands, the state also will use “waterless dust suppression” techniques in some areas. Those approaches can include using tractors to plow stretches of lakebed to create dust-catching furrows, or even laying down bales of hay on the exposed lake bottom as barriers to block windblown dust."

Audubon California has been deeply involved in the process of creating the state management plan, and will continue to advocate for sufficient habitat for birds and other wildlife. A recent report from Audubon California determined that the Salton Sea needs to provide about 58,000 acres of habitat to maintain the bird populations currently using the lake.