On February 3rd, community members, public officials and environmental advocates came together at the Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve to experience Love Your Wetlands Day. 45 environmental organizations joined the Audubon Society to welcome 1000 people in a day of appreciation and care for the marsh. The event included speeches from Dr. Stan Rodriguez from the I’ipay Nation of Santa Isabel, UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla, Megan Cooper from the Coastal Conservancy and Council President Pro Tem Joe LaCava. Participants and volunteers spent the day following leaders in marsh cleanups, bird watching with local guides, assisting Kumeyaay Community College students in tule boat building, taking part in guided kayak tours and also experiencing seine fishing, planting native seeds and learning about the work of environmentalists. Dick Norris, Director of UCSD’s Natural Reserve System and Audubon Society Director of Conservation, Andrew Meyer, spoke on the advocacy of the ReWild Coalition. The goals are to restore the marshland habitat for endangered as well as common birds, clean water, resilience to sea level rise, and efficient carbon sequestration.
The coalition also thanked the Environment Committee for prioritizing decarbonizing the built environment, fostering clean communities, and advancing ambitious climate goals in their 2024 work plan. ReWild addresses all these priorities and is especially grateful to the committee for including expanded wetlands. However, ReWild is still advocating to see improvement for the DeAnza Natural Plan. They want the committee to achieve the wildest acreage goals, create soft shorelines, and set a timeline to ensure speedy restoration. The wildest acreage plan will help meet the CAP goals of restoring tidal marsh in addition to increasing coastal resilience, sequestering carbon and improving water quality in the bay.
ReWild is asking for public comments at the next Environment Committee meeting on March 14, at 1:00PM