Environmental Issues in San Diego

San Diego Audubon is active on many fronts, ensuring that protections for wildlife and habitat are secured throughout the County. We have been active in many local issues that affect our local wildlife communities including wind energy, wetland protection, and urban habitat.

Join us in protecting San Diego County’s birds, other wildlife, and their habitats!

Conservation Committee

The Conservation Committee meets the last Monday of each month at 6:30pm. These meetings are open to the public and are an opportunity to:

• Learn about the most important local, state, and national issues affecting San Diego County
• Learn how to be an effective advocate
• Join a supportive network of conservation-minded individuals like you!

Triple Border Fence

In 2008, construction of the triple border fence occurred without consideration for any federal and state legal requirements. Due to a provision included in the Real ID Act of 2005, all laws and regulations pertaining to construction of the border fence were waived. These include the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. The triple fence was extended through Border Field State Park and required the filling of Smugglers Gulch and the leveling of Lichty Mesa. Although SDAS tried to work in collaboration with other organizations to encourage a more environmentally sensitive fence design, we were unsuccessful. To compel and inform future remediation activities along the border, SDAS has worked successfully with California State Parks and the Tijuana National Estuarine Research Reserve to carry out a vegetation and photo monitoring project to establish baseline data for adjacent sensitive habitat areas that may be impacted by sedimentation, erosion, and invasive plant colonization. This data documents the current status of these habitats and will be used to evaluate any changes that occur over time.

Chula Vista Bayfront

This is currently one of the largest waterfront planning efforts in the nation. However, the proposed site for this development is adjacent to the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, where endangered bird species such as light footed clapper rails are found. SDAS is working with the Environmental Health Coalition and other groups to make sure that the project will adequately avoid or fully offset the potential negative impacts that could result from this development. These include edge effects such as noise and light, water quality impacts caused by untreated runoff, unnatural predators, and habitat fragmentation. SDAS is represented on the Wildlife Advisory Group which is working with the City and the Port to develop a Natural Resources Management Plan which will protect the resources.