Interesting article in today's Desert Sun about the surprisingly solid populations of tilapia and Brown Pelicans at the Salton Sea this year. Apparently, a lack of heavy winds has kept the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and dissolved ammonia from welling up into the shallows where it causes major fish die-offs. As a result, both the fish population and the fish-eating pelican populations are on the rise. And this is all happening, despite a relatively dire long-term outlook for the lake:

The Salton Sea's demise is an inevitability without a major intervention. The sea has been slowly dying for decades, as its water salinity increases. The sea is expected to shrink significantly by 2018, when water transfers will reduce agricultural runoff, its primary source of water. Fish and bird habitats could be severely affected, and an exposed dry lake bed could spew dust into the air for miles, even into the Coachella Valley. A 75-year, nearly $9 billion proposal to restore the Salton Sea has stalled in the state legislature, though smaller habitat restoration and preservation projects continue.