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Behind-the-scenes look at San Dieguito Lagoon wetland restoration project

“We’re establishing safe zones for the natural wildlife so that our construction equipment stays out of their way,” said Jared Corbitt, engineer for Caltrans.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — This week Caltrans and SANDAG began working on a wetland restoration project in a section of the San Dieguito Lagoon east of the I-5.

“We’re establishing safe zones for the natural wildlife so that our construction equipment stays out of their way,” said Jared Corbitt, engineer for Caltrans.

The area of the lagoon to the north near Via de la Valle had been restored to wetlands in 2012, and now this phase 2 will convert an additional 80 acres of land to the south into tidal wetlands.  

“That area used to be all tidal wetlands with the tides moving back and forth, and then with past development, you know you have the race-track, you have the rail, the highway, it’s limited the wetlands we see in the region,” said Keith Greer, Environmental Planning Manager for SANDAG. “This is a way of getting back some of the environmental enhancement in the coastal zone.”

New hiking trails will connect all the way over to the existing Coast to Crest Trail.

“You can get out there and walk and see the birds, see the animals, enjoy nature,” said Greer.

Hiker Brian Swanson took advantage of the existing trails around the lagoon Thursday. He believes this type of restoration is beneficial to plants and birds such as the Clapper Rail and the Gnatcatcher.

“There’s certain animals that need this specific habitat, the tidal marsh, the uplands associated with that, to live and shelter and eat,” said Swanson.

“Bring back the fish, bring back the vegetation, and the birds that used to be there,” said Greer. “It’s being done to offset some of our infrastructure improvements in the area, so it’s kind of a win-win. We get our infrastructure improvements, but we also get to make our environment better.”

This phase of restoration will cost $87 million, paid for with the SANDAG TransNet Environmental Mitigation Program along with federal funding.  The project will take about three years to complete, and at that point, it will be open to the public.

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