Project Summary

1. Project ID
Name	Fieldstone Wetland Restoration
Region	Southwest
State	CA
Location	Orange County
Date of this update	Jan 13, 2000

Habitat Restoration/Protection
Wetlands
River systems
Beaches/Dunes
Offshore areas
Mangroves
Assisting Species at Risk
Pollution Mitigation
Non-Point Source Pollution
Other (describe)

3. Project description (100 words or less)

The project area is an approximately 42-acre site in the northwest corner of the Bolsa Chica Lowlands. Bolsa Chica is located in an unincorporated area of northwestern Orange County. The proposed project is to restore wetland function to the Fieldstone property, a privately held parcel in the northwest corner of the Bolsa Chica Lowlands. It is envisioned that the property would be restored to a muted tidal system. To construct the muted tidal system, channels would be excavated to convey seawater to the Fieldstone property. The tidal range that would be introduced to the Fieldstone property would probably be less than 1 foot. Tidal flow would be introduced to the site by connecting the Fieldstone property via finger channels from the full tidal basin that will be created as part of the restoration of the adjacent 880 acres of the Bolsa Chica Lowlands. To convey sea water from the new full tidal basin to the Fieldstone property, culverts would be constructed in the dike which would surround the full tidal basin. The culverts would allow sea water to flow from the tidal basin into the channels on incoming tides and to drain back into the tidal basin on ebbing tides. Two approximately 1500 foot channels which would be about five feet wide and 3 feet deep would be excavated to convey tidal flows from the full tidal basin to the Fieldstone property. These channels would be designed to overflow their banks during periods of high water to supply seawater to the prickle-weed marsh. Because much of the topography on the Fieldstone property is high, the higher elevation areas would be graded to convert ruderal upland habitat to wetlands. The average grading would be about 1 foot and the amount of material that would be excavated would be about 50,000 cubic yards. The graded areas would be planted with pickleweed.

4. Goals/Benefits (quantify where possible using measures of success list) Was a cost-benefit study conducted for this project? yes/no If yes, provide a summary of findings.

If the Fieldstone Property remains as it currently is, the integrity of the ecosystem will most likely further degrade. Native plant and wildlife diversity and density will continue to decline as native habitat degrades and is lost. Because invasive non-native species are opportunistic and do well under poor and unstable conditions, they will continue to flourish at the expense of native species. It is expected that weedy, introduced plant species will continue to crowd out native plants and not provide appropriate forage and shelter for native animals. Residential housing, planned for Bolsa Mesa, will increase human intrusion as well as the abundance of domestic dogs and cats which prey on native birds, small mammals and reptiles. Because the Fieldstone property is owned by a land developer, the site may be developed for residential housing. If the property is developed it will lose almost all of its wildlife value and will introduce urban elements into the Bolsa Chica Lowlands. If the proposed action occurs and tidal flow is reintroduced to the Fieldstone Property, aquatic habitat would be created for estuarine fishes and invertebrates. These aquatic organisms will provide a rich foraging base for shorebirds, wading birds, waterfowl, gulls and terns. The introduction of saltwater would greatly benefit the prickle-weed marsh habitat. The increase in quality of the prickle-weed will provide breeding and foraging habitat for Belding's savannah sparrow. The restoration would replace low value ruderal upland and degraded non-tidal prickle-weed with a highly functional more diverse, dense and healthier ecosystem than the existing ecosystem.

5. Partners (include each participant's responsibilities - funding, permitting, etc.)

6. Funding/Contributions (organization and amount)

	  Cash	Federal - $10,000
			Non Federal 	State government
					Local government
					Private industry
					Public interest groups
			Total


	  In-Kind Services (hours, equipment, or other forms of assistance and estimated dollar 	value)
	
	  Volunteers (number of people and hours, and estimated dollar value)

7. Legislative authorities used by each participant

8. Value added by Coastal America Partnership including Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals achieved through this collaboration (500 words or less)

9. Project Status

• Initiation date:June 1999
• Completion date: April 2001
• Current stage (Initiated - I, Underway - U or Completed - C) U

10.Contacts

11. Any additional information/comments