Coastal Restoration

A Santa Barbara County woman is the survivor of an incredible experience.

A hike near the Santa Barbara-Ventura County line turned into a fight for her life, as she was repeatedly attacked by a 300 pound bear.

KCLU’s Lance Orozco reports the well known Carpinteria rancher suffered serious injuries, but is recovering.

We take On Point to New Orleans to look at the state of America's battered coastlines.

A walking tour of two south Oxnard sites during an unusual City Council meeting Friday afternoon highlighted projects — one futuristic, one obsolete — in search of funds.

LONG BEACH >> Eric Zahn sought guidance from above.A red-tailed hawk soared across the azure skies of Steam Shovel Slough in Long Beach. The rust-colored raptor silently glided from the Los Cerritos Channel to the PCH bridge.

It's only a concept, but gorgeous renderings show a possible UC research center near Ormond Beach recently inspired many at an Oxnard City Council meeting.

Kyle Graham, head of the state's coastal restoration authority, predicted some kind of settlement, some day, with the oil and gas industry. Tulane's Mark Davis said local government needs to set the right example in how it builds roads and deals with sinking land.

Ventura, CA – According to a proposed rule available today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife has determined that the tidewater goby is not likely to become extinct in the foreseeable future and should be reclassified from endangered to threatened. The tidewater goby is a small gray-brown fish that rarely exceeds two inches in length and generally lives for only one year. Gobies inhabit lagoons, estuaries, marshes and freshwater tributaries along the California coast.

When the goby was listed as endangered in 1994, California was beginning to recover from a drought that lasted from 1987 to 1992. During the drought years, coastal lagoons and estuaries dried up, and the number of tidewater goby localities dropped from 87 to 43, indicating the species’ persistence was in doubt.

When relatively normal rainfall patterns resumed, the number of localities occupied by tidewater gobies increased. In 2007, the Service completed a 5-year review of the species and determined there were 135 known historic localities of which 112 localities were occupied. The tidewater goby appeared more resilient than previously known, and capable of recolonizing areas or increasing populations under more favorable conditions. In the 5-year review, the Service recommended the species be downlisted from endangered to threatened.

The Service was petitioned in 2010 by the Pacific Legal Foundation to downlist the species, based primarily on the information contained in our 2007 species review.

A downlisting from endangered to threatened does not remove the protections the species is currently receiving under the Endangered Species Act, but it better reflects its conservation status.

The Service is seeking comments or information from the public, other government agencies, tribes, the scientific community, industry, and any other interested parties concerning the proposed rule. A copy of the proposed rule is on public view at the Federal Register today and will officially publish on March 13, 2014.

Comments will be accepted from March 13 through May 12, 2014. Submit comments electronically atwww.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter Docket Number FWS–R8–ES–2014-0001. 

Comments can also be sent by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS–R8–ES–2013-0001, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM, Arlington, VA 22203.

Requests for a public hearing on the proposed rule must be submitted in writing to Acting Field Supervisor, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. Hearing requests must be received by April 28, 2014.

Historically, the species occurred from three miles south of the California-Oregon border Tillas Slough, Del Norte County, to 44 miles north of the U.S-Mexico border at Agua Hedionda Lagoon, San Diego County. Currently, the northernmost range has not changed, but the southernmost location is currently the San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, five miles north of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. 

Other threats identified at listing included habitat loss due to conversion of coastal wetlands to other uses; alteration of habitat by flood control projects; fragmentation between goby localities; poor water quality; introduced nonnative predators and competitor species; and breaching of sandbars that rapidly drained tidewater goby habitat.

Although the Service determined that some of the threats to the species have been reduced to some extent, other threats or stressors to individual localities remain. In particular, the long-term effects of climate change on the species are unknown. Because the goby occupies a narrow margin of salinity, where fresh and salt water mix, a rise in sea levels could inundate coastal lagoons and estuaries that support the species. Changes in habitat associated with sea level rise could eliminate the tidewater goby from much of its range. This threat is not imminent; however, it is likely that many of the current tidewater goby localities could be inundated by seawater by 2100.

For more information about the goby and the proposed reclassification, please visit: http://www.fws.gov/ventura.

Photos of tidewater goby may be viewed on the Service’s Pacific Southwest Region Flickr page at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_pacificsw

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.cno. Connect with our Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/usfwspacificsouthwest, follow our tweets at http://twitter.com/USFWSPacSWest, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/usfws_pacificsw/

On an afternoon in November, about halfway through the midterm review for Professor Greg Lynn's master's in architecture students, a top-operated Genie, which looks like a crane but with the driver up high, began rolling by outside.

As sea levels rise, so does the cost of fixing and controlling storm and flood damage. In the UK, that led to a decision to start letting the sea take back some of the coastline.

This page is primarily devoted to scenery at the lagoon, focusing on the 2012 Malibu Lagoon reconfiguration project and highlighting the process of change.   SMBAS supports the project, but rather ...