A black sign with white lettering that reads "Welcome"
Great Ecology Welcomes Justin Apfel
June 27, 2018
A group of poeple in a garden; a blond woman is walking a black dog toward the camera.
Plants with a Purpose
July 12, 2018
The Public Notice for the South San Diego Bay Wetland Mitigation Bank (Bank) Prospectus has been released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for public comment. Great Ecology led the development of the Prospectus on behalf of the Bank Sponsor, the Port of San Diego (Port), and its release is the culmination of three years of collaboration between the Port and the Great Ecology team. The proposed 80-acre wetland mitigation bank is located within an 83.5-acre parcel owned by the Port, and if approved, will include the establishment, re-establishment, and rehabilitation of tidal wetland and upland transitional habitats. Tidal wetlands, and their associated buffers, provide important ecosystem services, support nursery habitat for fisheries of ecological and commercial importance, and act as key feeding and breeding grounds for coastal and migratory bird species. Great Ecology’s team includes ESA and RECON who provided engineering, hydrological, and restoration biology design. The Bank Site is located within a former salt pond in San Diego. Historically, this salt pond was part of the Western Salt Work Company and served as a part of a network of condensation and crystallization salt evaporator ponds. Today, the Bank Site is largely upland and surrounded by large earthen berms, which isolates the interior of the site from tidal flows and prevents it from being a tidal wetland. The proposed project will restore tidal wetlands to the site by reducing the overall site elevation and breaching the surrounding berm to allow tidal flows to enter the site. The completed project will include subtidal eelgrass, mudflat, transition zone, and upland habitats. The majority of the site’s historic perimeter berms will remain to provide a hydrological buffer around the site. The Port and Great Ecology team are focusing on the next steps of the project planning, permitting, and bank entitlement process.