Restoration to take 3 years

The preservation group Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy is ready to let the waters in, as it hails a decision by the California Coastal Commission to approve the last permit needed to restore more than 130 acres of wetlands.

While detailed planning started a couple of years ago, restoring the historic wetlands along Pacific Coast Highway in southeast Huntington Beach is a goal the conservancy has had for decades, the group’s chairman Jack Kirkorn said.

“Way back in the late 1980s, the conservancy was formed with the goal in mind of acquiring and restoring these lands,” he said. “The first goal was actually to save those from development. Now we’ve purchased almost all of them, and now this is our final step: to restore them.”

The conservancy’s plan, unveiled in detail a year ago, would let ocean waters flow back into two marshes in southeast Huntington Beach, as well as dredging a previously-restored area. The three marshes would form a band running from Pacific Coast Highway from the Santa Ana River to the AES power plant off Newland Street.

The Coastal Commission approved the plan Aug. 6, giving the group the final permit of more than a dozen required by local, state and federal agencies. With that hurdle over, the group needs only to get a go-ahead from the County Board of Supervisors—something less exhaustive than a permit, and less uncertain—to move forward.

With luck, work will begin in early October, Kirkorn said. The plan is expected to take 3 years to complete, with time off in the middle to let newly-restored land recover. The group is confident enough about its timeline that it has already put the work out to bid, Kirkorn said.

And what does a restored wetland look like? One marsh, the Talbert Marsh east of Brookhurst Street, already went through this in 1989, Kirkorn said. Because of that, they have a pretty good idea, he said.

“Once that area becomes refreshed with sea tidal water, there will be meandering channels of water,” he said. “Various types of vegetation and habitat will blossom. It will teem with bird and fish life, which is the main goal, of course.”