In 2011, California completed a 300-acre restoration of former San Diego salt ponds; five-year monitoring later documented 80 bird, 22 fish and 10 invertebrate species

For decades, parts of South San Diego Bay looked very different from the tidal wetlands that once occupied them. Former salt ponds had been separated from the bay, limiting natural tidal flows and reducing habitat for wildlife. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, a partnership involving federal, state and local agencies and conservation groups began restoring the landscape in the late 2000s. By 2011, roughly 300 acres across the western salt ponds, the Chula Vista Wildlife Reserve and Emory Cove had been restored. The work included reshaping degraded areas, creating tidal channels, breaching levees to restore tidal influence and establishing native plant communities.

Bringing the tides back

Some of the western salt ponds had been cut off from tidal influence since around 1960 or earlier. During restoration, sediment was moved to create a network of channels and the existing levees were breached, allowing water from the bay and the Otay River channel to flow into the restored areas.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the project ultimately transformed the former salt ponds into a combination of open water, intertidal habitat and upland marsh. The restoration was completed in 2011, with planting, maintenance and ecological monitoring continuing for five years afterward. The result was not simply a wetter landscape. It became habitat.

Wildlife began returning

The most striking evidence came from the post-construction monitoring programme. Over five years, researchers documented 80 species of birds, 22 species of fish and 10 species of invertebrates using the restored site.Birds were among the most visible beneficiaries. The restored wetlands provided feeding and foraging areas for migratory and resident species, while newly established marsh vegetation created habitat for species of conservation concern.The Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project says more than 90 species of migratory and residential birds are currently benefiting from the broader restoration area. Among them are the California least tern, light-footed Ridgway’s rail, western snowy plover and Belding’s savannah sparrow. The return of fish was equally significant. Reconnected tidal channels created shallow-water areas that could serve as feeding and spawning habitat, strengthening the ecological value of the bay.

A wetland begins to rebuild itself

One of the clearest signs of recovery came surprisingly quickly. Native plants began appearing within less than a year of the restoration, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.Researchers also found that the restored site was developing into nursery habitat for fish and invertebrates. Monitoring conducted after construction found natural recruitment of native vegetation, including eelgrass, which is an important food source for eastern Pacific green sea turtles. The project also helped create habitat for the endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rail, one of the restoration effort’s key targets. By 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported successful breeding at the restored site.

From salt ponds to living wetlands

The restoration was part of a wider effort to recover coastal habitats that had been heavily altered by development, dredging and filling around San Diego Bay. Historical losses had left only a fraction of the bay’s original intertidal and salt-marsh habitat intact.Today, the restored landscape also offers people a chance to see the ecological changes firsthand through the Bayside Birding and Walking Trail, where visitors can observe birds using the marsh.What was once a landscape dominated by former industrial salt ponds has consequently become a functioning piece of the coastal ecosystem again. And the five-year monitoring results provide a measurable record of that change: 80 bird species, 22 fish species and 10 invertebrate species using habitat that had once been largely cut off from the tides.