4-Year Ecological Assessment of the to Inform Restoration Planning

Karina Johnston & Ivan Medel Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission: EPA National Estuary Program

www.santamonicabay.org  Pollution Prevention Projects  Ex: Water quality improvements, involvement with TMDLs

 Habitat Restoration Projects  Ex: Malibu Lagoon, Ballona Wetlands

 Education and Involvement  Ex: Boater Program, Restaurant Program, Internship Program

 Regional Monitoring  Ex: MLPA process, wetland monitoring in Southern www.ballonarestoration.org Our Watershed and Wetlands

N Pre- historic Ballona Wetlands

Source: SRI

Historic Ballona – 1876 T-Sheet Vegetated marsh Salt pan Intertidal Subtidal Open water

Courtesy SCCWRP (2011) Oil derricks in Venice, 1930 (USC) Oil, Agriculture and Marina del Rey

Marina del Rey, 1968 (LAPL)

Celery patch, 1927 (USC) Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve • ~ 600 acres • Largest wetland restoration project in Los Angeles County AREA C • Owned by the state of California; AREA A managed by CDFW as an ecological reserve • SCC funding LMU monitoring AREA B BWER Stressors • Modified hydrology – Dredging & fill dump – Levees, culverts , & channelization – Paving & roads – Draining • Water quality – Non-point source discharges – Trash – Heavy metal impairments – Bacteria and pathogen impairments – Other impairments • Habitat destruction – Fragmentation – Invasive & introduced species – Introduced predators – Noise and light pollution • Additional stressors – Vector control – Physical modifications – Misuse of the site – Sea level rise & climate change Ballona Wetlands Today - Topography • Ch. 1 Water Quality • (bacteria, nutrients, trace metals, general/continuous monitoring) Monitoring • Ch. 2 Marine Sediment • (trace metals, pesticides, PCBs, etc) Report: • Ch. 3 Terrestrial Soils • (trace metals, organic content) Chapter Info • Ch. 4 Vegetation • (stratified random transect sampling – all habitats) • Ch. 5 Fish • (beach seines w/blocking nets, shrimp trawl, minnow traps) • Ch. 6 Herpetofauna • (pitfall traps, coverboard arrays) • Ch. 7 Mammals • (Sherman live traps, motion cameras) - 5 years of monitoring • Ch. 8 Birds - Part of EPA regional • (site-wide surveys, breeding, waterbird) monitoring program • Ch. 9 Benthic Invertebrates • (shallow & deep cores) • Ch. 10 Terrestrial Invertebrates • (productivity metric & pitfall traps) • Ch. 11 Physical Characteristics • (t-sect elevations, cross-sections, velocity, inundation mapping) Results: Summary – Water & Sediments

• Bacteria & Metals – contamination to estuary from urban runoff in Ballona Creek – Bacteria levels at most sites consistently exceeded TMDLs, sometimes by several orders of magnitude, while nutrient levels were typically below recommended targets – wetlands functioning as a sink for FIB – stormwater quality typically had high levels of heavy metals and bacteria – surface terrestrial soil quality was typically not toxic to vegetation Results: Summary – Tidal Channels • Physical characteristics – typical of disturbed wetlands – interrupted hydrology (modifications) – steep channel banks & gradients – inundation: muted tidal regime

• Ichthyofauna communities – typical of estuaries – some areas of reduced abundances

• Benthic invertebrate communities – typical of southern California estuaries – reduced species diversity – high abundances of disturbance species (Capitella capitata complex) – seasonal variation

Results: Summary – Terrestrial Fauna • Avifauna: over 150 species of birds – 26 special-status species, 7 of them nesting/breeding (Belding’s savannah sparrow, California gnatcatcher, Cooper’s hawk, Double-crested Cormorant, Merlin, Vesper Sparrow, and Western Meadowlark) • Herps & Mammals: 9 herp, 14 mammal species – counted species presence by area data, not total population estimates – some rare species, e.g. legless lizard & South Coast Marsh Vole

Results: Summary – Vegetation • Marsh Habitats are typical of disturbed wetlands – high presence of invasive grasses in areas of higher elevation – lower species richness than some reference locations, but mostly native species in areas with estuarine tidal influence – some rare species present

• Upland Habitats are dominated by non-native species – many invaders have begun to take over some of the upland habitats in recent years, including Euphorbia, mustard, and crown daisy – some rare species present, mostly in the dune habitats

Results: Vegetation Data Habitat delineations based on vegetation alliances, tidal influence, and soil type

Habitat Map 2007 (DFW) Habitat delineations based on vegetation alliances, tidal influence, and soil type

Habitat Map 2013 (TBF) Change in acres by habitat type between 2007 and 2013

10 7.2 4.7 5 4.2 2.7 2.8 1.8 0.3 1.0

0 -0.4 -0.4 -1.2 -1.4 -2.1 -5 -3.0 -3.4 -5.0

Change in Acres Change -10

-15 -14.2

-20

Habitat Categories CRAM Comparison (averages)

BALLONA WETLANDS

Area A – highly impacted 44

Area B – seasonal wetlands; hydrological impacts LOS CERRITOS 55 Hellman – muted tide channels 59 Area B – tide channels; muted hydrology, fewer impacts Steamshovel – few impacts 64 71

Reference Wetlands 91 Mission Bay-Rose Creek 78 San Dieguito Lagoon 63 www.cramwetlands.org Regional and Health Context Overview: – High level of impacts over long period of time – Severely degraded compared to reference and more “natural” sites – Non-native species predominant in upland habitats, native species dominant in salt marsh habitats; though many functions are lost and conditions are still ‘degraded’ or individual sps monocultures – Lower wetland condition metric scores (e.g. CRAM) though still some native vegetation – Some functions persist (e.g. water filtration, carbon sequestration) and some are significantly reduced (e.g. nursery & foraging habitat, reduced biodiversity) Restoration Recommendations: • Improve tidal connections to restore ecosystem functions (e.g. water filtration, habitat connectivity & transitions, foraging habitat, etc.) • Increase native vegetation diversity and species richness • Increase the health and diversity of habitat types (especially upland); include gradual transition zones, buffer zones, and mudflat and intertidal habitats • Reduce habitat fragmentation • Remove anthropogenic impacts where possible (trash, berms, etc)

* Data support SAC recommendations Restoration Project Goals and Objectives

• Goal 1: Ecosystem Restoration: Restore, enhance, and create estuarine habitat in the Ballona Ecosystem to support a natural range of habitats and functions, especially as related to estuarine dependent plants and animals.

• Sub-goals: Habitat, Biodiversity, Physical/Chemical Processes, Sustainability

• Goal 2: Social and Socioeconomic Values: Create opportunities for aesthetic, cultural, recreation, research and educational use of the Ballona Ecosystem that are compatible with area resources.

• Sub-goals: Public Access, Cultural Access and Preservation, Recreational Use, Public Safety and Security

** Flood management: maintain the existing level of flood protection Saving the Designing the Scientific Environmental CEQA / Land Future Studies Planning NEPA • Community • Scientists, • Historical ecology • Environmental • Draft reports & community impact reports documents groups / activists • Baseline groups, agencies • Playa Vista sold to monitoring • Hydrology studies • Public • Dozens of comments the state • Research • Geo tech studies • CDFW workshops & • Modelling studies • Final reports & meetings • Mapping management • Cultural resources documents • Developed • Future climate • Special status potential plans change scenarios species and goals P R O Maintaining Long-Term Construction / Permitting C the Land Monitoring Restoration • Flood control permits • Weeding invasive • Determine project • May require heavy E plants successes equipment • Army Corps • Community • Feed into adaptive • Reconfiguring the • Coastal groups / activists site management area based on the Commission S • CDFW • Ecological restoration goals management functions and final plan • Citizen science • Native species S • Public access

Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project (Artistic Rendering of one possible alternative) NEXT STEPS

 Finalize assessments / complete analyses Science & research  Publish Additional Reports & Papers components  Apply science to restoration process  Issues and impacts that need to be further assessed  Adaptive management CEQA / EIR components  Release the draft EIR & receive public comments (Winter 2014/15) QUESTIONS?

Karina Johnston Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (310) 216-9827 [email protected] www.ballonarestoration.org