There is nothing more fun than autumn kayaking in the Steamshovel Slough area of Los Cerritos Wetlands. It is such a fresh and invigorating experience, and I encourage you to give it a try! No experience needed!
We offer these kayak trips at a very affordable price of $40 per trip (so you can get to know this important part of the Los Cerritos Wetlands). For that fee, you receive a kayak, paddle, life vest, excellent guidance from LA River Expeditions, and a trained naturalist who provides interesting information during the tour.
We must schedule our kayak trips for when the tide is high enough to get into the pristine and lovely Steamshovel Slough. Thus, our fall kayaking trips will be from 9:30 to 11:30 AM on Sunday, October 4th and 25th.
It’s a family-friendly celebration of all things oyster
Oysters are essential to maintaining healthy waterways, resilient coastlines, and thriving ecosystems. Yet they rarely get the spotlight they deserve. That’s why OC Coastkeeper is launching its inaugural Oysterpalooza!
Shells for Shorelines is an oyster recycling program that takes donated oyster shells from restaurants and reuses them to grow native oyster populations in Southern California. Repurposing oyster shells is a long-standing restoration practice rooted in Indigenous coastal stewardship.
Since 2024, our local community has recycled more than 23,000 pounds of oyster shells from local restaurants and restored over 1,800 native oysters in Long Beach’s Alamitos Bay, Huntington Harbor, Seal Beach, and Newport Bay.
Why Restore Native Oysters? Oyster reefs are disappearing at an alarming rate. In California they have declined by 85% due to a combination of factors, including over-harvesting, habitat destruction, and water quality degradation. Oysters are a cornerstone of healthy coastal ecosystems. They aren’t just a tasty treat but tiny titans of the ocean.
There will be small-business-centered crafts for sale, and oysters too. And science experts will speak about oyster and marine restoration throughout Orange County.
I’ll be there, and I hope you will too. For further details, click here.
Join the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) as they celebrate 20 years of restoration, stewardship, education, and conservation at the Los Cerritos Wetlands!
What: 20th Anniversary Wetlands Discovery Day
When: Saturday, July 18, 2026 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Zedler Marsh, Los Cerritos Wetlands, 6990 E. 2nd Street, Long Beach, CA 90803 (Guests should arrive at 6990 E. 2nd Street and follow event signage and staff directions for parking.)
The celebration will begin at 10:00 am with a special ceremony recognizing the LCWA’s 20-year anniversary and honoring the volunteers and partners whose contributions have helped make wetland restoration a success.
Following the ceremony, attendees are invited to explore the wetlands through a variety of fun, educational, and family-friendly activities. Community partners will host interactive booths and hands-on activities, including:• Sea turtle scouting with the Aquarium of the Pacific • A nature-based restoration activity • An interactive wetlands walk featuring stations staffed by experts who will share information about the wetlands, local wildlife, and native plant communities • Educational exhibits from community partners such as the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, Algalita, and more.
Food will be provided to attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.
Whether you have volunteered with the LCWA or are discovering it for the first time, we invite you to join in celebrating two decades of conservation and community partnership.
For more information and to RSVP, visit the Eventbrite page here.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lambe Executive Director Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
We are able to host community kayak trips to Los Cerritos Wetlands thanks to our partnership with LA River Expeditions. However, we must pause our kayak trips during the summer months (don’t worry, we’ll be back at it in the fall), so I encourage you to feed your inner adventurer by signing up for a fun paddle on the Los Angeles River led by LA River Expeditions.
Sign up for a mellow kayaking experience of the Sepúlveda Basin. Details and reservation information can be found here.
Or sign up to shoot down some mini rapids on the LA River (with careful supervision from your tour guides) by signing up here.
Either way, you are sure to have a great time and leave with some interesting stories to share with family and friends.
LA River Expeditions has a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor (which is really rare), where you can read reviews and see photos taken by trip participants.
You should also spend time browsing the LA River Expeditions website, where you’ll find a wealth of helpful information and even more entertaining photos.
On the ballot this November is Prop. 45, an extremely concerning ballot measure.
Prop 45 guts air, water, and health protections for polluting projects. It shifts power from public agencies to developers, and nearly eliminates the courts’ ability to prevent toxic contamination of our air and water. These changes could apply to everything from data centers and freeway expansions to dams, landfill gas facilities, and waste conversion projects. If a project pollutes our air and water, taxpayers will have to pay to clean it up.
Prop 45 forces cities, counties, and the state to absorb the long-term costs of pollution, infrastructure damage, public health impacts, and climate risks. Corporations save money; the public pays more.
Prop 45 leaves California vulnerable to the federal government’s extreme environmental rollbacks. Federal environmental laws that protect clean air, clean water, and wildlife are being dismantled. Prop 45 removes our state’s strongest backstop to the federal rollback.
Prop 45 is being bankrolled by special interests and corporations. The measure is heavily funded by corporate PACs, for-profit utilities, and industrial interests. These entities are protecting corporate profits, not everyday Californians.
Prop 45 gives corporations the right to sue cities that try to stop or fix polluting projects. It allows developers to sue public agencies for denying polluting projects or imposing conditions that protect communities – such as requiring a data center to reduce its water use.
Take a moment to read the letter of opposition to Prop 45 (signed by just about every environmental group in California, including the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust.
Then sign up to get involved; it will take all of us to push back on this destruction ballot measure. Don’t let corporations and special interests win; sign up today for updates and more.
Los Cerritos Wetlands is home to a handful of plants considered to be “special status” by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. That means they are animals and plants facing significant risks such as habitat loss or decline.
Through funding from the Warne Family Endowment Fund, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust supported the mapping of rare plants throughout the 103.5-acre Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project area.
As part of this investigation, three different special status plant species were documented, including an annual wildflower called Lewis’ Evening Primrose (Camissoniopsis lewisii). The small yellow-flowered plant is commonly found in dune habitats, but in the Los Cerritos Wetlands, it covers approximately 3.76 acres on two sandy deposits composed of fill material. This sand likely came from a nearby shoreline dredging project and was placed in the wetlands sometime around the mid-19th century.
Dunes are one of the rarest coastal plant communities in southern California, so a plan to conserve this wayward population of Lewis’ Evening Primrose is an important objective for the restoration of Los Cerritos Wetlands. We will keep you updated as we traverse this primrose’s path to conservation.
Belding’s Savannah Sparrow
One of the wetlands’ most iconic endangered residents is the Belding’s Savannah sparrow, a small songbird found only in coastal marshes of Southern California and northern Baja California. Unlike migratory sparrows, Belding’s Savannah sparrows live year-round in salt marshes and depend heavily on dense pickleweed vegetation for nesting and shelter. Scientists have found that the species is especially vulnerable to habitat fragmentation because isolated marshes often cannot sustain stable populations over time.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands provides important nesting habitat for these birds. Current restoration efforts for the wetlands emphasize preserving healthy pickleweed stands, as they are essential to the birds’ survival.
Perhaps you might consider celebrating Endangered Species Day by making a contribution to our advocacy and public education efforts to protect and restore Los Cerritos Wetlands. You can donate using Zelle at elizabeth@lcwlandtrust.org. Or make a donation through other means on our website.
But more than anything else, we thank you for being part of our effort to improve and restore this rare landscape. No matter how you support us, I am certain we couldn’t do it without you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lambe Executive Director Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust
Mel Nutter has been a dedicated coastal advocate for over 50 years.
Kudos to the Sea and Sage Chapter of the Audubon Society for awarding Mel Nutter their Fern Zimmerman Conservation Award for Mel’s lifelong work to protect California’s coastal resources. For many years, Mel has been a trusted advisor to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, providing us with invaluable legal and strategic advice. To help all of us get to know this coastal hero, Sea and Sage Audubon will host Mel at its May conservation lecture at 7 PM on May 26th, where he will share his experiences about his coastal advocacy journey.
Mel’s journey includes working on the 1972 Proposition 20 campaign that led to the California Coastal Act of 1976; serving on both the South Coast Regional Coastal Commission and the State Coastal Commission between 1977 and 1985; and leading the Sierra Club Coastal Committee and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica. The success of the Coastal Act and the protection of miles of accessible coastal open space are attributable in part to Mel’s lifetime of dedication and hard work.
Advance registration is required for this online “virtual” meeting. When you register, you will receive immediate confirmation by email. Hope to see you there, it is a unique and wonderful piece of coastal open space.
Attend a screening of the film Ocean, free of charge, on Tuesday at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Learn about restoration ecology at Zedler Marsh, a restoration site located 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 the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Tour leaders will discuss the interesting challenges in restoring the Zedler Marsh wetlands, 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, June 6th, 2026, 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.
Closed-toe shoes are required for the walk, and adults must accompany kids under 16. Reserve your spot via our Eventbrite page, and feel free to email Elizabeth with any questions.
Hope to see you there, it is a unique and wonderful piece of coastal open space.
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, May 2nd. 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 balancing 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, May 2nd, 2026, 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.
Closed-toe shoes are required for the walk, and kids under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to RSVP, click on this link.
Hope to see you there, it is a unique and wonderful piece of coastal open space.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lambe Executive Director Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust 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.
Attend a screening of the film Ocean, free of charge, on Tuesday at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
If you’ve driven past the construction happening at Pacific Coast Highway and First Street in Seal Beach and wondered what was going on, check out the event below.
All are invited to join the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) for updates on the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project. This mixer will be held at O’Malleys on Main St in Seal Beach.
Who: Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority What: Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project Mixer Event When: Wednesday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m. Where: O’Malleys on Main (140 Main Street, Seal Beach) Why: To provide updates on the wetlands restoration project, answer questions from the community, and have fun!
Once completed, this exciting project will restore tidal wetlands and upland habitats at a degraded former oil property and expand education and stewardship opportunities. The project also provides open space and includes the installation of a public access trail connecting the San Gabriel River bike path and the City of Seal Beach’s Gum Grove Park. With “overlook” spots along the trail, the public will be able to look down and across the newly restored area. What a view!
Since construction began late last year, the LCWA has accomplished a lot, and I look forward to hearing about their progress. Members of the project team will also be on hand to answer questions. Please attend. There’s much to discuss…and even more to celebrate. It’s time for the tides!
Visit the LCWA website for additional information.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority is a joint powers authority composed of representatives from the City of Long Beach, the City of Seal Beach, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and the State Coastal Conservancy. The LCWA was founded in 2006 to “provide for a comprehensive program of acquisition, protection, conservation, restoration, maintenance, and operation of the Los Cerritos Wetlands area.”
