Restoration Moves Closer to Coast

Construction Focus End-of-Year in the East, Central, and West Basins

Above: The newest dredge, Dixon Marine’s John Debin dredge, has arrived. You can see it now in the Central Basin. It is small enough to dredge the offshoot tidal channels stemming from the primary channel. The removed sediments are placed into the onsite overdredge pit.

The area circled in red is where the smaller dredge will initially work in the Central Basin. 

These sediments in the Central Basin, dredged earlier, will be removed and placed into the overdredge pit.

If you are driving along Coast Highway 101, passing by San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, you can see restoration construction activities moving closer to the coast in the West basin.

ESA fencing has been installed in the West Basin. You can see this behind the Coast Highway 101 restaurants. The fencing runs all the way to the base of Harbaugh Seaside Trails. 

Above: Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) fencing in the Central basin. ESA fencing (posts and ropes) ensures that lagoon animals can continue to move freely as they need. This fencing also secures the project perimeters, keeping construction in its work site.

Above: The excavator is removing vegetation from the work area in the West basin.

Vegetation removal in the West Basin, between Restaurant Row and Harbaugh Seaside Trails, is now occurring. Dredging in the West Basin begins in 2019. While restoration activities move closer to the coast, the Ross Island Dredge No. 10 continues dredging in the East Basin (see map of basins).

Restoration Holiday Closure
Like many of you wrapping up deadlines for the holidays, Reviving Your Wetlands is also prepping for holiday closures. A few dates to keep in mind:

• Saturday, December 22: While Saturdays are not usually in the picture of work, this day allows crews to shore up equipment and close operations.
• Sunday, December 23 to Tuesday, January 1: 10-Day Construction Closure in the lagoon: including highway, rail, and restoration.

Work resumes on Wednesday, January 2. San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, County Parks rangers, and project crews will have eyes on the lagoon during closure, as we always do.

San Elijo Lagoon trails are open daily sunrise to sunset. Please stay on trails and out of project areas during closure for safety.

Thank you for being active in this project with your questions. Thank you for your interest in the bigger picture of creating a healthier wetland, and new trail connections. 

Happy Holidays! We’ll see you on the trails now and into the New Year.