SWIA, partnering with the State Coastal Conservancy, Port of San Diego and U.S.F.W.S Coastal Program, will complete studies, designs and engineering that are needed for environmental review and analysis and permit applications for a native oyster restoration project adjacent to the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The project will create approximately 2.5 acres of “living shoreline”, presenting a resilient and long-term structural response to address concerns of sea level rise and climate change.
“Living shorelines” provide an ecologically stable alternative to the destructive effects of shoreline armoring, which continue to exacerbate the trend of wetlands loss and cause increased erosion on armor-adjacent lands.
The primary goal of the restoration is to create a biologically rich native oyster reef in San Diego Bay that functions as part of a complete marsh system, thus restoring an ecological niche that was historically present while also working to protect Bay tidelands and shorelines.
The primary goal of the restoration is to create a biologically rich native oyster reef in San Diego Bay that functions as part of a complete marsh system, thus restoring an ecological niche that was historically present while also working to protect Bay tidelands and shorelines.
Building off the lessons learned from the Coastal Conservancy’s San Francisco Bay Living Shorelines Project, this project will serve as an innovative demonstration project for the San Diego region.
“40 Years Of Restoration At Tijuana Estuary, CA” – State Coastal Conservancy