The Restoration of Batiquitos Lagoon | The Restoration Story

Biologist conducting bird surveys

Monitoring Program

The Batiquitos Lagoon Enhancement Project is unique in several respects. To date, such an extensive, system-wide habitat rehabilitation project has not been undertaken in any other estuarine environment on the west coast of North America. There is rarely such an opportunity to observe system-wide ecosystem development, starting from known, measured conditions.

To take advantage of this unique situation and to ensure the success of the project, the Port of Los Angeles and the City of Carlsbad undertook a long-term biological monitoring and pilot revegetation program. Beginning in 1996, the monitoring will take place in years 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 and will help make sure that the restoration achieves specific success requirements and that impacts on the environment are mitigated.

Also, the monitoring program will provide information that will assist management actions taken by CDFG. CDFG, as the manager of the lagoon, is responsible for carrying out annual physical monitoring of the lagoon to determine intervals for maintenance dredging and to identify other maintenance needs.

The monitoring program has several goals, ranging from verifying that the acres of restored habitat have been maintained to documenting resource changes for use in future restoration programs. The primary monitoring program goals are to

evaluate how effective the restoration is in providing habitat for fish and wildlife

document changes in the ecology of the lagoon environment over time

provide prompt identification of any problems with the physical, chemical, or biological development of the lagoon

help provide a scientific basis for managing the lagoon's resources by documenting maintenance needs and opportunities for enhancement

fulfill the long-term monitoring requirements of the construction permits

Biologist conducting benthic sampling

The long-term monitoring program is currently being conducted for the City of Carlsbad and the Port of Los Angeles by Merkel & Associates, Inc. (M&A) in conjunction with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC); Kawasaki; Theilacker, Ueno + Associates (KTU+A); Keane Biological Consulting (KBC); Vantuna Research Group (VRG); Integrated Data Systems, Inc. (IDS); and Wetlands Research Associates (WRA).

PDF versions of the annual monitoring reports can be found in the Resources section of the site.