As Salton Sea faces ecological collapse, a plan to save it with ocean water is rejected
By Matthew Miller
3 June 2018
On June 1, the National Audubon Society announced that it was “unable to support the project” of restoring marine life at Salton Sea. The decision stemmed from the organization’s review of Salton Sea, which the Audubon Society describes as “one of the most unique nature sites in the world.”
The review, which was carried out by the society’s Marine Restoration Program, concluded that “the project would not be ecologically beneficial. It would have a high ecological risk because of a lack of scientific understanding of what could be done at this site. If done, the project will likely lead to extinction of the species that have evolved at the site since prehistoric times. It is unlikely that significant habitat would be restored, and the project would not restore wildlife populations to their historical levels.”
Audubon’s position is that the Salton Sea is not “unique” and that restoring endangered species to the estuary would be a “major ecological risk” and a “major ecological benefit.” The plan, which first was mentioned by the National Academy of Sciences and the White House, was to build a sea wall, and to use ocean water to restore “life to the salterns.”
“Salton Sea will lose its salinity today and likely for decades,” said John Allen, Audubon’s president and CEO, in a statement released by the organization Tuesday. “There is no better time to stop this destruction of the greatest natural site on Earth. As we continue to restore the ecological integrity of our oceans, we also have a moral imperative to ensure that all ocean waters are protected for future generations.”
“The Salton Sea restoration project represents the latest and most ambitious example of a decades-long pattern of political and scientific failure to protect our ocean ecosystems. The decision by
