Nature Walks Are Back-Join Us!

Nature Walks Are Back-Join Us!


After a year and a half hiatus, I am delighted to announce that we are resuming nature walks out at Los Cerritos Wetlands. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be able to once again share this important and unique landscape with you. To restart out nature walks is just another small step towards normalcy and I, for one, am grateful.


We are able to invite you to walk among the wetlands because COVID-19 levels are lowering and vaccine rates are increasing. Three cheers for that good news! For the walk, we will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (CDC), which means vaccinated people can attend mask-free. However, the CDC recommends face coverings and physical distancing for unvaccinated attendees. Of course, anyone can wear a mask if they prefer.


Per the CDC. . .people are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at two or more weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or two or more weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen). If you feel sick and/or exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home, and we hope to see you another time.


Our 2-hour guided nature walk begins at 8:00 AM and wraps up by 10:00 AM. We will look for wildlife sightings, learn about the rich ecosystems, reflect on the history of our local wetlands, and observe current restoration activities.

Our walk begins with a brief orientation to Los Cerritos Wetlands. We will discuss their history and see an important portion of them, including the Pumpkin Patch property, as we walk along the San Gabriel River and across Westminster Blvd. to view the sea turtles. On our return, we will stop at Zedler Marsh, where there is a nursery for wetlands plants and where restoration is progressing. We will then walk on the levee back to our meeting place. Bring binoculars, if you have them; besides the turtles, we will observe many different kinds of interesting wildlife.


For more information about the nature walk or to rsvp (which is required) please email Elizabeth.


IMPORTANT DETAILS:
Meet in the driveway near 1st street and PCH. Map of where we meet is below and you should park in the driveway. Event starts at 8:00 a.m. and the parking lot gate closes at 8:10 a.m. No latecomers can be admitted. Events are family-friendly but strollers are not permitted. Close-toed shoes are required. Please bring sunscreen and water.
Rain Cancels.



Join us out in the Wetlands this Saturday!

Join us out in the Wetlands this Saturday!


We are happy to share with you that you are invited out to enjoy Los Cerritos Wetlands for the first time in over a year. That’s because COVID-19 levels in Los Angeles and Orange County are lowering and vaccine rates are increasing. We will be following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (CDC) for this outdoor event which means vaccinated people can attend mask-free. However, the CDC recommends face coverings and physical distancing for unvaccinated attendees. (People are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at two or more weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or two or more weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson & Johnson). If you feel sick and/or exhibit any symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home and we hope to see you out in the wetlands another time). Of course, anyone can wear a mask if they prefer.


We’ve decided to take it slowly since it has been a year since the public has been allowed out at Los Cerritos Wetlands, so we are kicking off reopening Los Cerritos Wetlands with an “Open Trails Day” at Zedler Marsh. What does that mean? It means the public is invited to bike or walk out to Zedler Marsh, where they can enter the property from the San Gabriel River bike path.


Parking will be challenging but biking out there will not, so we urge you to take your bike for a spin on the San Gabriel River bike path south of Second Street to where you will see a gate open to welcome you to Zedler Marsh.


If you prefer not to bike to the open trails event, there will be parking available at noon in the driveway entrance area at the corner of 1st and Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach. Those who arrive at noon will be guided as to where to park and be led out to Zedler Marsh. There they will be offered a guided tour of the marsh that will start at 12:30 PM.


There is a lot to see out at Zedler Marsh; lovely trails lined with important California native plants, a wonderful view of the on-the-way-to-being-restored Zedler Marsh itself, and my favorite thing, a fascinating native plant nursery where most of the plants being used to restore Los Cerritos Wetlands are grown. So we hope you will join us.


Please email me to rsvp and with any questions you may have.


Looking forward to seeing you out at Zedler Marsh on June 5th and stay tuned for other events at Los Cerritos Wetlands as we once again safely open up the wetlands to the public while adhering to national, state, and local guidelines.




Earth Day is Coming Soon- Join Us for a Special Evening- RSVP Now

Earth Day is Coming Soon- Join Us for a Special Evening- RSVP Now


Earth Day is coming up fast and I want to share with you that the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust will be hosting a really fun Earth Day event featuring our colleague, restoration ecologist Eric Zahn. We’ve worked with Eric for years and appreciate all he has done, not only to restore Los Cerritos Wetlands but also the Colorado Lagoon.


Eric Zahn, Principal Restoration Ecologist at Tidal Influence, was a key figure in moving forward the restoration planning process for Los Cerritos Wetlands, which resulted in the certification of the Environmental Impact Report for the area. At our special Earth Day event, Eric will share the details of that wetlands restoration process, what the next steps are, and how the public can help.


Eric has a really fabulous presentation about the past, present, and future of Los Cerritos Wetlands. I know because I have seen it. Eric is a great speaker, has some really interesting slides to share, and does a great job of mapping out where we are with the restoration of Los Cerritos Wetlands and where we are headed. I encourage you to join us.


What: Earth Day evening Celebrating Los Cerritos Wetlands and honoring its past, present, and future


When: Thursday, April 22nd at 7:00 PM (which is Earth Day!) via Zoom.


Why: To celebrate Earth Day and all that we are doing to protect our local wetlands


Who: Hear from restoration biologist Eric Zahn, of Tidal Influence, about the past, present, and future of Los Cerritos Wetlands


To rsvp and for a link to join the meeting, send an email to elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org.



Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) Restoration Meeting This Thursday March 18th

Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) Restoration Meeting This Thursday March 18th


The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (They manage the publicly owned portions of Los Cerritos Wetlands) will be hosting a Zoom meeting on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 7:00pm to discuss their Draft Wetlands Restoration Habitat Plan. At the meeting representatives of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority will provide an overview of the Draft Plan and answer questions from the public. How to join the meeting is below.


Join the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority’s Draft Habitat Restoration Plan Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/96046142186?
pwd=
UUpSQmdtdkdZNi9RbU8xTi9sMTY1dz09
Meeting ID: 960 4614 2186
Passcode: 854267


Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abjZzjFcOS


The Draft Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan is available for public review and comment. We, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, are thoroughly reviewing the document and plan on submitting our feedback on the draft plan by the comment deadline, which is March 25th.


If you have any of your own comments to share about the Draft Restoration Plan, you are asked to send them to lcwa@tidalinfluence.com by March 25th. Once the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust has finished our review, we will be sure to share it with you.
 
Hoping to see you (virtually) on Thursday and someday soon out at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Special Conference- Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink

Special Conference- Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink


I have a unique invitation to share with you. It is to a conference hosted by the Newkirk Center for Science and Society at the University of California at Irvine, and you are invited to attend, free of charge. The Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust will be participating in the conference, Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink, with our colleagues from Tidal Influence. We will be talking about the increased number of Belding’s Savannah Sparrows at Los Cerritos Wetlands, thanks to conservation efforts and improving their habitat. There are just a few thousand pairs of these little birds left in the world, so helping to improve their numbers is critical. Why are there so few Belding’s? Well, it turns out they like living in the same habitat that we do, close to the beach and only in temperate areas. Much of the Belding’s habitat has been lost forever to development and infrastructure here in Southern California. That’s why it’s so important to protect what remains, which is in open spaces like Los Cerritos Wetlands, Bolsa Chica Wetlands, and Banning Ranch.

The conference sounds really interesting. I’ll be attending and hope youwill too. Details and how to register are below.

Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink 
A free virtual conference hosted by the 
University of California, Irvine
February 9th and 10th from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm PST
 
Here is a great opportunity to learn and engage in the extinction crisis, both local and global. Experts and advocates will address threats to ecosystems and biodiversity, and the efforts being made, demanded, and imagined in order to protect and restore species in decline. The program presents a series of distinctively different approaches to species conservation and management from conservation action leaders and scientists. The Keynote speaker is former US Senator Tom Udall.
To register for this free conference, and for a full agenda, please visit the conference webpage.


Conference themes include:
Framing the Magnitude of the Threats and Unmet Challenges
Solutions: Saving Them in the Wild
Solutions: Achieving 30 by 30
COVID-19 – Opportunities to Save Species
Ex-situ Conservation: The Role of Zoos and Reserves in Reducing Extinctions
Experimenting with Technology to Stop or Reverse Extinction
The Imperative for Action 
Conference speakers include:
Tom Udall, Former US Senator, New Mexico
John Baker, Chief Program Officer, Managing Director, WildAid 
Suzanne Case, Chairperson, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources 
Kathy MacKinnon, Chair, IUCN’s World Commission of Protected Areas 
Jennifer Norris, Deputy Secretary of Biodiversity and Habitat, California Natural Resources Agency
Carl Safina, Founding President, Ecologist and Author, The Safina Center 
Ronald Swaisgood, Brown Endowed Director of Recovery Ecology, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research
Charles R. “Chipper” Wichman, Jr., President, National Tropical Botanical Garden Lindsay Young, Executive Director, Pacific Rim Conservation
Dan Silver, Executive Director, Endangered Habitats League



Elizabeth Lambe,
Executive Director 



P.S. If you don’t already, I urge you to follow us on our Facebook page! Not only do we hope that more and more people will know about, love, and understand the value of our wetlands, our growth also shows decision-makers that Los Cerritos Wetlands matter to the community. By following us on Facebook you will be the first to know when we re-start our monthly wetlands nature walks (or be able to participate in community-based wetlands habitat restoration).