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Well, it's finally begun! Expect to see dredging equipment being
staged at Lower Castaways, next to the PCH bridge, by the start of
the year.
| The ground-breaking ceremony for the long
awaited ACOE Upper Newport Bay Restoration Project took
place at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center on
October 11th. Senator Diane Feinstein was the principal
speaker. Thanks to her efforts, the US Senate authorized $7
million of federal money for this project in Fiscal Year 2006.
And, thanks to the efforts of Representative Christopher Cox,
the House authorized $2 million. As this article goes to press
the Senate-House Conference Committee meets to decide what
federal funding will be provided this fiscal year. |
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However, the California Coastal Conservancy has authorized
expenditure now of all of the 35% local share of the overall project
cost of nearly $40 million, thus allowing a multi-year construction
contact to be awarded. The current construction contract focuses on
performing many of the habitat restoration components that make this
project more than just a "dredging" project.
The first sign of construction activity will be a small hydraulic
dredge traveling slowly up the mid-channel removing sediment from
the existing access channel. A hydraulic dredge works like a giant
submarine vacuum cleaner loosening sediment with a telescoping
cutting tool and immediately sucking it up through a long hose.
Suction is provided by a powerful pump mounted on the deck of the
dredge. On this project the sediment will be discharged into scows
(large flat-bottomed boats designed for transporting bulk
materials). Once filled, the scows will be towed out to the
designated deep-water disposal site for all uncontaminated dredge
material that cannot be used beneficially elsewhere.
One of the destinations of the dredge is the west side of the Bay
opposite 23rd Street. Here is a mound of dredge spoils resulting
from the deepening of the "water ski area" below the salt
dike in 1970. At that time the intention was to turn the Back Bay
into a recreational area, although the ecological importance of the
Bay was becoming increasingly recognized and publicized. Five years
later the UNB Ecological Reserve was created. Some of the mound of
spoils, which is now overgrown with non-native grasses and other
plants, will be removed to recreate some of the inter-tidal mudflat
that will be lost in implementing other components of the project
and that existed at the site in 1970 prior to filling with dredge
spoils.
Another major habitat restoration activity that is expected to take
place before next spring is the removal of top soil and vegetation
from the "hot dog" Tern Island below the Friends Lookout
(Vista Point) and backfilling with a layer of sand. This island at
the north east corner of the Bay is a breeding site for the
endangered California Least Tern (Sterna antillarum browni). The
tern creates a hollow nest in the sand in which it lays its eggs.
Historically the tern nested on the beaches of southern California,
but this has been disrupted by the encroachment of people as the
coastal areas have been urbanized. Hence protected sandy areas such
as Tern Island, and fenced areas near the mouth of the Santa Ana
River and elsewhere along the coast are so important. Each year in
late winter Newport Bay Naturalist & Friends (NBNF) volunteers
cross over to Tern Island to remove as much vegetation as possible
to maximize the area suitable for nesting. However, this has become
somewhat of a loosing battle, so the radical facelift that will be
given to the island is eagerly anticipated.
Timing is critical on many of these activities to avoid disruption
of the breeding of the very endangered species of birds that this
project is aiming to protect in the long term. Thus the "hot
dog" Tern Island facelift must be completed before the least
tern breeding season starts. Likewise, construction work near the
main nesting areas of the light-footed clapper rail (Rallus
longirostris levipes) will be carefully controlled to avoid
disturbance to nesting marsh bird species. Other restrictions have
been specified to minimize the effects of construction. All
activities will be closely monitored by agency and third-party
biologists and wildlife experts.
An even bigger issue that had to be addressed during the project
feasibility study stage was the relative areas of open water,
mudflat and saltmarsh habitat to be achieved and maintained. Each is
important in its own right. Open water habitat is needed for the
spawning of many important ocean fish, and to sustain the prey base
of small schooling fish on which the tern feeds. Mudflat, rich in
worms, shellfish and other invertebrates, is a critical feeding
ground for migrating shore birds. Abundant saltmarsh provides the
nesting habitat for the endangered clapper rail. After much study,
it was resolved that the project should result in no net loss of
saltmarsh habitat and no more than a 10% decrease or increase in any
other habitat type. The project was then designed to meet both those
goals and the sediment storage goals mandated by the Regional Water
Quality Control Board imposed for the control of turbidity in the
Bay.
For more information, please see the June -
August 2004 issue of Tracks or visit www.spl.usace.army.mil/newportbay/uppernewportbay.htm
Roger Mallett
Naturalist
Newport Bay Naturalists & Friends
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