Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority
This website is the home for the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority’s (LCWA) conservation of wetlands in the East Long Beach and North Seal Beach area, straddling the border of Los Angeles County and Orange County in southern California. The conservation area of Los Cerritos Wetlands as identified by the LCWA comprises approximately 500 acres on both sides of the San Gabriel River. The LCWA is a joint powers authority made up of the State Coastal Conservancy, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach and currently owns approximately 170 acres of Los Cerritos Wetlands.
In addition to owning wetlands property, the LCWA has commissioned a Conceptual Restoration Plan of the conservation area, a final version of The Los Cerritos Wetlands Habitat Restoration Plan, certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project, and continues to host the Community–Based Stewardship Program in partnership with many local supporters, and encourages citizen–science and student–based research to further understand the precious coastal resource of Los Cerritos Wetlands. The public is encouraged to explore the website to stay up to date on the latest board meeting information, project documentation, stewardship information, and view public meeting recordings.
Public Meeting for the
Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority is pleased to host the third public meeting virtually to discuss the Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project and discuss the related environmental analysis document, as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).The meeting will be held via Zoom and will be postponed until a later date.
The Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project involves the restoration of tidal wetlands on 103.5-acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands located in Seal Beach, California, and will facilitate restoration of a range of wetland types extending from subtidal habitat to upland transition habitat. The restoration design considers factors such as historical ecology, natural ecosystem processes, tribal cultural resources, public access, resiliency to sea level rise, and current biotic and abiotic conditions of the site.
In its capacity as Lead Agency under CEQA, the LCWA will be releasing an Initial Study – Negative Declaration (IS/ND) analyzing the potential impacts of the Project in early March. The IS/ND are expected to be available for a 30-day public comment period.
This public meeting will include a presentation of the restoration design, and discussion of the IS/ND. The LCWA and members of the consultant team will also be providing a brief summary of the prior public meeting and sharing information on next steps in the process. There will be several opportunities throughout the meeting to ask questions.
We are excited to share this information with as many people as possible, so be sure to invite your friends and neighbors.
Our Office is Open
As of July 1st, 2021 our office will be open for normal business operations. Office hours are from 8am to 5pm Monday through Thursday excluding holidays. Offices are also open from 8am to 4:30pm every other Friday. Please call 626-815-1019 or email sgee@rmc.ca.gov for additional information.
For information on the latest on COVID-19 and how to protect yourself and your family, please visit the California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 webpage.
Access the Agenda and LCWA staff reports that will be used at the next board meeting by clicking HERE.
Coastal wetlands in southern California are an increasingly rare refuge and Los Cerritos is home to several threatened and endangered plant and animal species. Southern Tarplant, Coulter’s Goldfields, Lewis’s Evening Primrose, and California Boxthorns are some of the floral species that have resiliently stood their ground over the years. The open water areas of Los Cerritos are foraging grounds for the California Least Terns and the Pacific Green Sea Turtles, while the inter and supra tidal areas are also home to several populations of Belding’s Savannah Sparrows.
The efforts of the LCWA and our partners are to intermingle the concerns of the special status species and other wetlands denizens that call Los Cerritos home with the many people in the surrounding urban area that value the habitat for recreation, research and education. Our hope is that you too will enjoy the shared resource and come into Los Cerritos Wetlands with us.
