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3w ago

California Launches Salton Sea Conservancy, Names 20-Member Board

A 20-member board will manage long-term upkeep to cut toxic dust, restore habitat, expand access.

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CALIPATRIA, CA – JUNE 23: The Salton Sea is seen shortly after dawn at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, a major stop for birds on the Pacific Flyway, on June 23, 2006 near Calipatria, California. Californians are bracing for the possible arrival of the H5N1 bird flu to the West Coast later this summer in what could be the first sign of the deadly virus in the US as North American and Asian birds mingle before their southward migration. Government officials plan to test 75,000 to 100,000 wild birds this year in Alaska and other spots along the Pacific flyway, and will test around 50,000 water and bird dropping samples from waterfowl habitats along the way, as Interior Secretary Gale Norton stated reportedly. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Overview

  • Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the Salton Sea Conservancy on Friday, creating California’s first new conservancy in more than 15 years.
  • The state named a 20-member board with seats for state agencies, Riverside and Imperial counties, local water districts, tribes, and community groups, with its first public meeting set for May 14 in La Quinta.
  • The new agency will oversee long-term operation and maintenance of completed restoration work to reduce dust from exposed lakebed that carries arsenic and selenium and harms nearby communities.
  • The flagship Species Conservation Habitat Project began receiving water about a year ago, flooding roughly three square miles and drawing fish and birds, with an expanded footprint envisioned at about 9,400 acres.
  • Since 2019 the state has secured more than $500 million in combined state and federal funding, and local leaders say the conservancy gives residents a real voice in directing projects that can ease asthma and improve access.