We often don’t think of the Salton Sea as a crucial part of our region’s environment. But as the Sea changes, we face losing a vital part of the Pacific Flyway and a toxic dust bowl that will threaten public health for more than a million Californians.
It’s often reduced to being described as an accident, created in 1905. The fact is that as part of the Colorado River Delta, the sea filled and dried for thousands of years prior to its current, 35-mile-long incarnation, which came into existence as the result of a massive flood of the Colorado River in 1905. The 330-square-mile Sea has partially replaced wetland habitat lost to agricultural and urban conversion in the Colorado River Delta, California’s coast, and the San Joaquin Valley.
In recent years, water levels have dropped to the point that colonial seabirds began abandoning nesting sites en masse in 2013, and shallow, marshy habitat areas at the sea’s edge have begun to rapidly vanish, particularly at the south end. In 2017, inputs of Colorado River water were transferred from local agricultural uses to urban uses on the coast. As less water flowed into the Sea, it shrunk considerably, becoming more saline and inhospitable to birds, fish, and insects.
We must take immediate action at the Salton Sea to protect human health and establish viable habitat for millions of migratory birds. As part of Audubon Salton Sea's ongoing efforts, they would like to receive input from Audubon members to better understand what amenities are most important to them when they travel outside their region to go bird-watching. The goal is to use this information to inform public access and landscape design at the Bombay Beach Wetlands alongside a broader public outreach strategy aimed at local communities.
A link to the brief, 8-question survey is below:
Survey in English: https://www.proprofs.com/survey/t/?title=2vqhs
Survey in Spanish: https://www.proprofs.com/survey/t/?title=bs8w
For more information on the Salton Sea, we encourage you to watch a recent episode of Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper. In one episode, he visits us here in California, Palm Springs specifically. And while there, he takes a drive to Salton Sea with Frank Ruiz of Audubon Salton Sea. Christian and Frank visit the sea to discuss some of the challenges being faced, the data being gathered, and the work that needs to be done.
Thanks so much for all of your help - we deeply value your feedback and continued commitment to the conservation and protection of our regions biodiversity, wildlife, and habitats.
