Salt Marsh Stroll is Saturday, December 6th. Hope you can join us!

Salt Marsh Stroll is Saturday, December 6th. Hope you can join us!

On December 6th, check out the flourishing native plant growing area at Zedler Marsh.
Every plant that goes into the ground brings our wetlands closer to being restored.
Learn about restoration ecology at Zedler Marsh, a restoration site within Los Cerritos Wetlands. Explore the different types of plant communities (coastal salt marsh, mulefat scrub, coastal sage scrub) being cultivated for the current and future restoration of the wetlands.


Our walk will begin with a brief orientation about Los Cerritos Wetlands. Tour leaders will discuss some interesting challenges in restoring the Zedler Marsh wetlands area, the restoration techniques they rely on, and the important role of California native plants. There will be opportunities for birding and other wildlife sightings at Zedler Marsh.


What: Salt Marsh Stroll nature walk at Los Cerritos Wetlands.


When: Saturday, December 6th, 2025, at 8:00 AM. The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 AM and close at 8:10 AM. No latecomers can be admitted for the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will end by 10:00 AM.


Where: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. There will be signs. Do NOT use a map program like Google Maps to guide you; you will end up in the wrong location.


Close-toed shoes are required to attend the walk, and adults must accompany kids under 16. Reserve your spot here. Please email any questions you may have.


P.S. Zedler Marsh looks fabulous right now, thanks to recent rains. It’s a highlight of the nature walk! Check out the image below!
Rancho Los Alamitos presents “Los Cerritos Wetlands: Past, Present, and Future.” Please join us.

Rancho Los Alamitos presents “Los Cerritos Wetlands: Past, Present, and Future.” Please join us.

Los Cerritos Wetlands: Past, Present, and Future 
Thursday, October 23, Doors open at 5:30 PM,
Program from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM 
Tickets are $10 per person, free for Rancho Los Alamitos members.

Dear Friend of Los Cerritos Wetlands.


You are invited to hear myself, and Eric Zahn, Principal at Tidal Influence, talk about the extraordinary community and natural resource that is the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Once a thriving ecosystem of over 2,400 acres, much of Los Cerritos Wetlands has been lost to development and infrastructure. Only 500 acres of the original wetlands remain, and many parts are in poor condition. However, the good news is that now half of Los Cerritos Wetlands are in the public trust, on their way to being restored, with more to come. During this talk, we will share the extraordinary journey of Los Cerritos Wetlands from degraded and cast-off land to its transformation into a robust ecosystem and community resource. Improved habitat is bringing back endangered and threatened species such as the Least Bell’s vireo, Belding’s Savanah sparrow, and Birds Beak (previously extirpated from the area).


Of course, threats to Los Cerritos Wetlands remain. After all, flat, undeveloped open space is rare along our coastline these days. Proposed developments placed too close to sensitive habitat areas, the impacts of climate change/sea level rise on the wetlands, and ever-increasing human activity deteriorating this sensitive environment are cause for concern. But all in all, the transformation of Los Cerritos Wetlands is a success story that we are eager to share with you.


Reserve your ticket and hope to see you there!


Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
Groundbreaking for the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project. A real milestone for wetlands protection.

Groundbreaking for the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project. A real milestone for wetlands protection.


You are invited to attend the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority’s (LCWA) groundbreaking ceremony, marking the commencement of hands-on restoration of Los Cerritos Wetlands. It wasn’t that long ago when the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands was transferred into the public trust; now, comprehensive restoration is about to begin! I urge you to attend the ceremony and help celebrate this great day!
The image above is what the restored Southern Wetlands area will look like as viewed from Gum Grove Park.


Click here to check out more slides of the future of the
Southern Wetlands restoration area.
Our next nature walk is the Heron Hike, I hope you can attend.

Our next nature walk is the Heron Hike, I hope you can attend.

Marketplace Marsh, an area that sustains many interesting plants and animals, is an amazing feature of Los Cerritos Wetlands. Check it out for yourself on Saturday, November 1st. Our tour is led by environmental educators from Tidal Influence, who will begin with a brief orientation about Los Cerritos Wetlands. They will focus on the interface between the urban edge and the Los Cerritos Wetlands buffer areas. Attendees will participate in a dialogue about how the restoration process can best restore core wetland habitat while at the same time balancing the human population growth in Southeast Long Beach.


Tour leaders will discuss the history and ownership of various parcels within Los Cerritos Wetlands and lead the walk towards the levee to discuss the reintroduction of tidal flow. After that, using oil roads, we will walk to the old bridge on the levee and discuss the San Gabriel River and the future of bringing water back into the land. Then we will view the City-owned lands, including Marketplace Marsh. After that, we will head back to our meeting place. Bring binoculars, if you have them; we will observe various wildlife.


During this 2-mile urban hike, you will learn about the history of land acquisitions in Los Cerritos Wetlands, and leaders will show us some freshwater marsh habitats that few people have ever viewed. Participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at how wetlands and oil operations co-exist at Los Cerritos Wetlands.


WHAT: Nature walk of the Marketplace Marsh at Los Cerritos Wetlands.


WHEN: Saturday, November 1st, at 8:00 AM. The parking lot gate will open at 7:45 AM and close at 8:10 AM. No latecomers will be admitted to the tour, and all participants must stay for the entire tour, which will conclude by 10:00 AM.


WHERE: Meet in the driveway/parking area at the corner of 1st Street and PCH in Seal Beach. There will be signs.


Close-toed shoes are required to attend the walk, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to RSVP, click on this link.


Following the Saturday nature walk, from 10:30 AM-12:30 PM, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority will be hosting its monthly wetlands restoration public service event. For those interested in participating, please meet at the corner of 1st St. and Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach (the same spot where we meet for our nature walk). From there, an event leader will escort you to the restoration site at Zedler Marsh. Attendees will help with trash cleanup and the removal of nonnative invasive vegetation – all while enjoying the beauty of Zedler Marsh! For details, email iwanttohelp@tidalinfluence.com
New concerning infrastructure proposed for Los Cerritos Wetlands

New concerning infrastructure proposed for Los Cerritos Wetlands

We recently got word of a proposal to construct solar panels adjacent to some of the Los Cerritos Wetlands’ most biologically sensitive areas. These panels would very likely have an impact on the fragile and threatened species that rely on Los Cerritos Wetlands to survive. The proposed project would include three separate solar arrays, consisting of a total of 56 solar tables, containing 3,100 solar panels.


While we all agree that alternative energy is critical to solving the planet’s climate crisis, you can’t build anywhere you want. The totality of the impacts must be considered before deciding where to place such infrastructure. In this case, the harm might well outweigh the benefits. The placement of these solar panels (with all their disruptive noise, lights, glint, and glare) adjacent to sensitive, soon-to-be-restored wetlands seems ill-advised.


Things are moving fast. The City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Commission held a hearing on the issue, and the project was approved unanimously. However, at the time, there was limited information about the project available for review and feedback. As a result, we sent a letter to the City of Seal Beach, requesting a comprehensive review of the project in the form of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The main purpose of an EIR is to assess the environmental impacts of proposed development and offer alternatives. That seems particularly important in this case.


We have just learned that a hearing about the Hellman Solar Array Project will be held by the Seal Beach Planning Commission on Monday, September 29th, at 7:00 p.m.


I need you to do two things…..


1) Write to the Seal Beach Planning Commission and tell them to slow down, that the proposed solar project needs a thorough review because of its placement next to a sensitive ecological area. Please send Shaun Temple, the Seal Beach Planning staff person, a brief note informing him that this proposed project requires a comprehensive environmental review before it advances through the Seal Beach planning process. Click here to write your message (and then please send me a copy!). It shouldn’t take you more than a minute. If you are a resident of Seal Beach, please be sure to include that information in your message. If you aren’t a resident of Seal Beach, please still take a moment to send an email. The wetlands, after all, are important to the entire region, not just to those who live in Seal Beach.


2) Attend Monday’s Planning Commission hearing and consider saying a few words. You don’t need to be an expert, just speak from your heart about the fact that the vast majority of Southern California has been lost forever to development and infrastructure. It is essential that we not only protect, but also improve, the remaining wetlands. Requiring a full Environmental Impact Report, so that we know the damage that might result from this project, is the least that the Planning Commission can do, don’t you think?


The Planning Commission meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Monday at:
Seal Beach City Hall
211 Eighth Street
Seal Beach, CA 90740


I will be there and hope you will join me this Monday.


Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust