The LCWA's Conceptual Restoration Plan

The Conceptual Restoration Plan (CRP) for the Los Cerritos Wetlands is the plan that the current partners, interest groups, stakeholders and – most importantly – the wetlands flora and fauna have been waiting for. In 2010, the LCWA received two grants from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy for funding to start the Conceptual Restoration Planning and in 2011 the State Coastal Conservancy allocated funds to expand the original parameters and include more area in the Planning process. After a competitive bidding process, the Moffatt & Nichol consulting team, eponymously called the RIVER Team (after the San Gabriel River), received the 2–year contract in May 2011.

There were many items the RIVER Team was tasked with accomplishing but they followed a general progression of: initiating the process, establishing baseline conditions, developing potential restoration alternatives and outlining the process to achieve those alternatives. To accomplish this the RIVER Team worked closely with the LCWA and guided the process by a Technical Advisory Committee made up of representatives from the following groups: Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, California Coastal Conservancy,  City of Long Beach, City of Seal Beach, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Marine Fisheries, Counties of Los Angeles and Orange, US Army Corp Of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, California Department of Fish and Game, State Lands Commission, Southern California Water Resources Research Project, Port of Long Beach and the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Additionally, the Conceptual Restoration Plan was designed to involve the feedback of the community around Los Cerritos Wetlands and the general public who have a well–documented history of interest and involvement with the conservation of the wetlands.