White Pelicans are among the variety of waterbirds that utilize the Salton Sea, especially the southern portion, along with shorebirds, wading birds, ducks and geese. Flocks of White-faced Ibis are among the many wading birds that rely on habitats associated with the Salton Sea.

A coalition of conservation and community groups recently broke ground to initiate the Salton Sea Management Program to improve conditions at California’s largest lake after decades of planning and need to restore bird and fish habitats at the southern end of the Salton Sea. The Species Conservation Habitat Project will create a variety of habitats for birds including waterbirds, shorebirds, gulls, wading birds, and waterfowl while serving as a water management basin for future projects in the area. It will also serve to reduce wind-borne dust pollution to the east and west of the New River Delta that affects nearby communities and farmlands in southeast California.

With an estimated surface area of 320 square miles, the Salton Sea is by far California’s largest lake and it serves as a vital wintering and stopover area for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway. Threatened by contaminated water runoff and reduced inflow from changing water use patterns, the Salton Sea has been steadily degrading to the point that immediate action needed to be initiated – and now it has!

To read the original article published by Audubon California, see https://ca.audubon.org/press-release/state-habitat-restoration-project-breaks-ground-southern-end-salton-sea