Now and then, not often enough, a reporter gets to be there when something important happens. It’s a major attraction of the job.
In February 2006, I was a freelancer scrounging for stories to cover when I saw a notice on the City Hall bulletin board. (It’s still a good source of information.) The notice said the California Coastal Conservancy (not to be confused with the Coastal Commission) was going to hold a meeting that Friday to discuss the Los Cerritos Wetlands. The place: The Seal Beach City Council Chambers.
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Saturday, July 18, at Zedler Marsh, at 6990 E. 2nd St. Long Beach. There will be signage, according to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust.
“Food will be provided to attendees on a first-come, first-served basis,” according to LCWA Executive Director Elizabeth Lambe.
I have a prior commitment, but I have requested a photo and information.
If you never heard of the Coastal Conservancy, well I’d never heard of it before February 2006 either. It doesn’t seem to be as well-known or as controversial as the Coastal Commission.
“The Coastal Conservancy is a non-regulatory state agency that works with others along the California coast, in coastal watersheds, and in the San Francisco Bay Area to fund projects that protect and restore coastal resources, to help people get to and enjoy the coast, and to enhance climate resilience,” according to the Conservancy website.
The 2006 Coastal Conservancy proposal was to create a joint powers authority to have jurisdiction over the wetlands. Los Cerritos wetlands straddle the Long Beach/Seal Beach boarders—and, of course, the borders of Los Angeles and Orange counties.
I had time that particular Friday, so I got to be in the room when the Coastal Conservancy supported the creation of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. I had never heard of the Coastal Conservancy before I saw the bulletin board notice. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
“The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority (LCWA) is a governmental entity developed in 2006 by a joint powers agreement of the State Coastal Conservancy, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach,” according to the Wetlands Authority website.
I don’t remember the name of the Conservancy board member who expressed reluctance to create a government agency but who recognized the need for the Wetlands Authority.
A pity that—it’d be fun to relive that moment. I can actually picture his face, but his name has slipped away from me. The Seal Beach city manager at the time was John Bahorski and the director of Seal Beach Development Services (nowadays called Community Development) was Lee Whittenberg. (I actually had to look up how many city managers Seal Beach had since then. Three followed Bahorski, if you only count full-time city managers. Five if you include two interim city managers. Well, it has been 20 years.) I recall one of them (I think it was Bahorski) saying they didn’t have time to work on the Wetlands Authority themselves.
Wetlands restoration projects move slowly, so I’ve been fortunate to write a few articles about the Los Cerritos wetlands over the years.
It was just last year that the Coastal Commission approved the Wetland Authority’s Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project. (Remember that the Authority was created in 2006. As I said, these projects move slowly.)
“The Southern Los Cerritos Wetlands Restoration Project Site is composed of two parcels, a 100-acre Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority site and a 3.5-acre parcel owned by the California State Lands Commission that is leased to LCWA. The 100-acre South LCWA Site (also known as “Hellman Ranch Lowlands”) is comprised of some southern coastal salt marsh habitat, while a majority of the remaining area is occupied by non-native plant species alliances,” according to the 2025 Coastal Commission staff report.
I can’t say I’d be sad to live long enough to see the restoration completed, but neither am I holding my breath.
For more information about the Los Cerritos Wetlands, see:
• “Coastal Conservancy awards $31.8+ million grant for wetlands” (September 2023)
• “Land swap advances Los Cerritos Wetlands restoration project” (March 2024)
• “CCC OKs wetlands restoration” (March 2025)
You can find all of them at sunnews.org.
Charles M. Kelly is associate editor of the Sun.