News | Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust (LCWLT)

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.

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.

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

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

We are proud participants in Long Beach Gives: Please donate now!

We envision the day when all of Los Cerritos Wetlands is a protected resource for the wildlife and the community.
Help us reach that goal by donating during Long Beach Gives early giving period.

Dear Friend of Los Cerritos Wetlands,

I am happy to report to you that we have wrapped up a summer of fun and educational field trips (in partnership with Long Beach Parks and Recreation and Marine), where we hosted kids from 13 urban parks who participate in Long Beach’s Be S.A.F.E. (Summer Activities in a Friendly Environment) program. Local neighborhoods are supported by extended evening hours of free supervision at designated parks by employing neighborhood youth. Some of the enriching activities offered through Be S.A.F.E. include arts and crafts, outdoor games, sports, science activities, computer labs, and fun field trips to places like the Los Cerritos Wetlands.

In addition to hosting fun field trips, our work defending undeveloped, and therefore rare, coastal open space requires community support, and we are so appreciative of all of those who have joined our fight to protect Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Supporting the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust helps to ensure the protection, preservation, and restoration of our unique and vital local wetlands habitat. Additionally, with help from supporters such as you, we will continue to educate students in Long Beach and Orange County public schools about wetlands. Providing them with tours and lessons to foster a connection to nature and each other, helps bring classroom concepts to life.

Your donation, large or small, will make a difference and help move the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust closer to our fundraising goal.

Please don’t wait. Donate now.

Please follow the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust on Facebook and Instagram, visit our website, and forward this email to your friends and family to get the word out. We appreciate your support!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust

P.S. Check out this charming thank-you note from one of our young field trip participants.

Thanks to all who made a phone call or sent an email to protect the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

*For decades the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has protected our environment. Legislation that will forever weaken that law passed yesterday,* *but we won’t give up.*

I am sad to report that the California Legislature passed, and the Governor subsequently signed into law, a budget bill that contains provisions that fundamentally weaken CEQA. The only positive aspect of the legislation is a promise to introduce a “clean-up” bill to address some of the worst aspects. What that means exactly, I’m not sure, but as I learn more, I will share the details with you.

Click here to read a really good summary of what happened, according to CalMatters (an excellent website for tracking the latest news from Sacramento).

What is the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)? CEQA is (was?) a bedrock California environmental protection law that requires, among other things, that before a proposed development can be approved, the impacts of that development be analyzed and reported in the form of an Environmental Impact Report. Sounds simple because it is, but you can see how special interests, who seek to exploit our environment, wouldn’t want that kind of review and oversight.

A couple of important things to note.

1) Although there was an effort to remove the requirement of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) from proposed development review, that important provision remains. For more than half a century, the rule has been that if there’s a fair argument that environmental damage may occur, an EIR must be prepared. State Senator Scott Wiener initially sought to reverse the presumption, requiring EIR advocates to prove that an EIR was necessary, but he dropped that provision to expedite the bill’s passage.

2) Developments near (or in) the Los Cerritos Wetlands will remain subject to the oversight of the California Coastal Commission and adhere to the laws of the Coastal Act, thus allowing our local and fragile Los Cerritos Wetlands some additional protections.

Nevertheless, we are sad that it will be easier to exploit vulnerable habitats throughout the state, including coastal habitats, oak woodlands, chaparral, forests, desert vistas, and grasslands, without any environmental review or mitigation. We are sad that vulnerable communities will be more likely to be exposed to toxic industrial projects with little to no protections for those living alongside industrially zoned land. Shockingly, the bill provides no guardrails to protect against the worst health and safety impacts on residents and school children in these areas.

I thank all of you who made a phone call or sent an email to those legislators who represent us. Community support for the protection of Los Cerritos Wetlands inspires and sustains me.

Stay tuned; there will be more to come, and I will keep you informed. In the meantime, have a safe and sustainable 4th of July holiday. And join us on the July 5th nature walk, if you can. Details are below.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Lambe
Executive Director
Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust

P.S. It’s not too late to contact your legislator and voice your opinion to ensure that
SB 131’s clean-up amendments will result in meaningful improvements to the bill. The amendments are being drafted now. Ask them to commit to addressing the aspects of the bill that pose significant harm to communities and the environment. That’s all you need to say!

Your legislator’s contact information can be found at https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.

Attend our Raptor Ramble nature walks before they are paused due to the restoration of the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Raptor Ramble/Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Nature Walk.

Join us on Saturday, July 5 or August 2 to learn about the upcoming restoration of Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands and the important raptor habitat.

These special tours will be led by knowledgeable ecologists who helped design the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands restoration project, which is expected to break ground in Fall 2025. Our curated Raptor Ramble tours are the public’s final opportunity to view this land before the restoration begins. Tour attendees will learn about plans for hydrological connections, earth moving, public access, and large-scale plantings of native habitats while observing the current condition of the land. In addition to learning about the restoration design details, participants will look for raptors (birds of prey) and other charismatic species that forage and nest in the area. Participants will likely see rare bird species that will benefit from the improved habitat. The final portion of the tour will spend time along the Heron Pointe Cultural Trail, where attendees will learn about the native people who lived on the land, how they utilized its resources, and how the Tribal Advisory Group and local Native American tribal members contributed to the restoration’s final design.

Our walk leaders possess extensive knowledge about the restoration project, site history, and local wildlife. Bring binoculars if you have them; we will observe many fascinating species. Don’t miss this opportunity to access this land before the restoration project begins!

To learn more or to sign up for one or more of the upcoming nature walks,
use this link.

Our letter to the City detailing the impacts they should study regarding a new development proposed near Los Cerritos Wetlands.

*Arial view of the current tank farm property located at 6701 E 2nd Street.*
*The proposed project site encompasses approximately 53 acres.*

A new development is being proposed for the soon-to-be former tank farm located at 6701 E 2nd Street and Studebaker Road. While I am glad the ugly and toxic storage tanks are being removed, the question is what should replace them in that spot to balance landowner needs while protecting the nearby fragile Los Cerritos Wetlands ecosystem. As you can see in the image above, the proposed Sares Regis Group’s “Sea Ranch” development would be situated in a particularly environmentally sensitive location that straddles the Los Cerritos Wetlands and the San Gabriel River.

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), environmental projects are analyzed through the production of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The first step in that process is a Notice of Preparation (NOP), which the City circulated in early May.
Of course, with such a large project proposed for such a sensitive ecological area, the City of Long Beach must conduct a thorough analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed project. We have submitted our thoughts to the City, which you can read here.

Wrapping up another great year of field trips to Los Cerritos Wetlands for Title 1 schools.

Students learning about wetland entomology by participating in a bug hunt
(fake bugs, not real ones!) out at Los Cerritos Wetlands.

Thanks to the generosity of the AES Corporation, the Port of Long Beach, the California Coastal Conservancy, Long Beach Parks Rec, and Marine, the Adams Legacy Foundation, and the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, we have hosted a record number of field trips this year for students who attend Title 1 schools.

We love hosting these enthusiastic scholars whose grades range from 2nd through 5th (and sometimes a bit older). Not only are the students bright and inquisitive, but you can see they enjoy the rich learning experience provided by our colleagues from Tidal Influence. The students enjoy a truly hands-on learning experience: hunting for bugs (fake bugs, of course) to learn about wetlands entomology, making a mud ball full of seeds that they hurl into the wetlands (thus adding seeds to the area which helps grow wetlands plants), and making a plant press of a wetlands plant (part of a wetlands botany lesson) that they take home.

With the school year wrapping up, we are turning our eyes towards field trips for students who participate in Long Beach’s Park and Rec program that provides summer activities for youth in our City’s urban parks. We love those kids too and can’t believe we have been hosting those field trips for over 10 years!

It’s all part of our philosophy and values…..that access to the natural world should be available to all, not just those who have the resources to travel and visit exotic natural areas. Shouldn’t we all do what we can to create a more just and equitable society?
Los Cerritos Wetlands is, and should be, a resource not only for fragile and threatened species but for the human population of Long Beach as well. We are making progress, and that is worth celebrating.

Cheers to our funders and cheers to you for supporting the protection and preservation of Los Cerritos Wetlands. We couldn’t do it without you; we appreciate you.

Students learning about wetlands ecology at the Los Cerritos Wetlands
Zedler Marsh outdoor classroom

Additional opportunity to learn about and comment on the proposed business park near Los Cerritos Wetlands.

*View of the current tank farm property located at 6701 E 2nd Street.*
*The proposed project site encompasses approximately 53 acres.*

A new development is being proposed for the soon-to-be-former tank farm on Studebaker Road and 6701 E 2nd Street. While I am glad the ugly and toxic storage tanks are coming down, the question is what should go in that spot that will balance landowner needs while protecting the nearby fragile Los Cerritos Wetlands ecosystem. As you can see in the above image, the proposed Sares Regis Group’s “Sea Ranch” development would be located in a particularly environmentally sensitive location that straddles the Los Cerritos Wetlands and the San Gabriel River.

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), environmental projects are analyzed by producing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The first step in that process is a Notice of Preparation (NOP), which included a public meeting that was held on Wednesday, May 13th. However, the City is re-issuing this NOP to reflect revisions to the project address and Assessor Parcel Number. Thus, there will be an additional opportunity to learn about and comment on the proposed development on Monday, June 11th at 6:00 PM. If you would like to attend the meeting (and I hope you will), details and a link to join the meeting are below.

Meeting Information (Virtual)
Date: June 11, 2025, 6:00 p.m. Pacific via Zoom
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://longbeach-gov.zoom.us/j/91862732533?pwd=qP9QShLgN3zhaK8PxtJTLXnZbFlTaa.1
OR
Meeting ID:
918 6273 2533
Passcode: 766254

Part of the NOP process is to suggest to the City and the development proponents issues that should be studied in the EIR. I encourage you to send in your suggestions for issues to be studied or bring them up at the meeting. This development will be located near publicly owned wetlands (your wetlands), and your voice should be heard. Further details can be found in the Revised Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Sea Ranch Business Park. See you at the (virtual) meeting, I hope!

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