Lower Zuma Creek and Lagoon is a unique freshwater marsh and riparian habitat located on a coastal beach within the authorized boundary of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The wetlands and surrounding riparian areas and uplands have been reduced and heavily impacted by long-term dumping of debris and surplus fill. Despite this situation, the site has high potential for successful restoration. The confluence of freshwater marsh, riparian, foredune, coastal sage scrub, and beach communities that will exist after restoration will create an unusually diverse habitat of high value to wildlife.
In fall 1993 the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department requested that the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, which owns the beach and lagoon at lower Zuma Creek, clear vegetation along the creek and lagoon because they attracted transients and unlawful activity. The County Department of Beaches and Harbors’ application to the California Department of Fish and Game for vegetation removal alerted land management agencies to the possible destruction of this valuable wetland habitat.
Representatives from the National Park Service, California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project met to discuss the problem. The group decided to restore wetland, riparian, and surrounding upland habitat in a way that would satisfy the sheriff’s request for openness and visibility. The National Park Service, Department of Beaches and Harbors, and Bay Restoration Project were assigned the lead for the restoration project. The project includes the creation of 1 1/2 acre of freshwater marsh and approximately 21 1/2 acres of dune, willow riparian, sycamore alluvial woodland, and coastal scrub habitat in the existing fill area, with an additional 41 1/2 acres of existing habitat enhanced (see table).
Funding for the restoration comes from the NPS Water Resources Division and an EPA grant. The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors provided valuable in-kind services in the form of planning, support, personnel, and equipment. Volunteers from TreePeople and Eco-Heroes also provided in-kind support.
The final restoration plan was completed in April 1997 and work commenced in early April 1998. By the end of 1998, the site work was complete, native plants were planted, nonnative plants were removed, and interpretive trails were built. The addition of an underground irrigation system ensures the viability of the new plantings. A biological technician, hired for the duration of the project with funds from the Water Resources Division, will monitor and maintain the site.
Photo Credit: Santa Monica Mountains NRA, Jim Benedict
john_tiszler@nps.gov
Plant Ecologist, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California
jim_benedict@nps.gov
Ecologist, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California
lisa_edgington@nps.gov
Biological Technician, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California
ahsu@rb4.swrcb.ca.gov (Alan Hsu) Sanitary Engineering Associate, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, California
Award-Winner Profile
FACILITY MANAGER
RECOGNIZED
Greg McGuire, facility manager and chief of area services at Fort McHenry National Monument (Maryland), was awarded the first Director’s Award for Excellence in Natural Resource Stewardship Through Maintenance. During 1997, Greg developed a creative partnership among volunteers and federal, state, and local governments to clean up and restore a 5-acre, state-owned tidal wetland immediately adjacent to Fort McHenry. Periodic storm surges deposited trash in the tidal wetland, impacting natural resources and the visual experience of fort visitors. Greg viewed the wetlands as a shared resource protection and management challenge, and brought together several entities to carry out the cleanup. He applied for Challenge Cost Share funds to be combined with monies from the State of Maryland to fund the project. As a result of his efforts, the Chesapeake Bay Alliance brokered a partnership between the park and the National Aquarium in Baltimore to conduct research and additional restoration of wetlands within the park.
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