COASTAL MITIGATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - THE NEED FOR A REGIONAL RESTORATION STRATEGY

Along the southern California coast there are few opportunities to cre ate new wetlands; hence, mitigators often propose to remodel existing wetlands to achieve greater ''value'' rather than offering to create n ew habitat. Restoration and/or mitigation plans have been proposed for about half the region's 29 coastal wetland systems, with debate over which objectives can be met and little ability to predict the cumulati ve result. I briefly summarize what is known of the historic functioni ng of southern California wetlands, and describe four specific mitigat ion case studies to document problems and concerns. There is an urgent need for wetland modifications to be guided by a regional wetland res toration plan, and I therefore propose a stategy to this end. Knowledg e of the dilemma in southern California may help other regions avoid s imilar problems by developing landscape-level approaches to habitat pr otection and restructuring before too much of the resource is lost.