OCEANSIDE GETS $175K FOR WETLANDS PROJECT

Trails, restoration planned for 6 acres near Buccaneer Beach

Oceanside has been awarded a $175,000 federal grant for the final design of the Loma Alta Slough Wetlands Enhancement Project, which will restore about 6 acres with improved habitat, trails, informational signs and possibly a connection to the Coastal Rail Trail.

The slough is a coastal estuary near Buccaneer Beach that’s stagnant most of the year and sometimes f loods at high tide or during winter storms.

It’s fed by Loma Alta Creek, which starts 7 miles away at some springs near Melrose Drive in Vista. Most of the year the creek is dry except for irrigation runoff, and over the years the channel has been modified or lined with concrete by development along the way.

“The project restores approximately 6 acres of coastal wetland by expanding the habitat of Loma Alta Slough and improving the existing hydrology,” said Justin Gamble, the city’s senior environmental specialist.

“Restoration involves excavating about 8,700 cubic yards of disturbed infill to create new wetland and upland zones, removal of invasive vegetation and installing a diverse palette of native plants to colonize the new habitat and provide wildlife refuge,” Gamble said by email Monday.

Benefits of the wetlands enhancement include an expanded wildlife habitat, improved water quality, and protection against f looding from sudden stormwater f lows on the creek, which drains nearly 6,300 acres or about 10 square miles through the center of Oceanside and part of Vista.

Loma Alta Creek supports about 100 species of wildlife, including several threatened and endangered species. Buccaneer Park, which is along the southern bank of the creek east of Pacific Street, has a parking lot, restrooms, a coffee shop, picnic tables and trails.

The eastern end of the park is crossed by the North County Transit District’s railroad, a route used by the Coaster, Amtrak and BNSF freight trains.

City officials are working with the transit district and other agencies on a separate plan to build a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across Loma Alta Creek as part of the 44-mile Coastal Rail Trail that eventually will go from Oceanside to the Santa

Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. A little more than 25 miles of the Coastal Rail Trail have been completed so far.

The “missing link” in Oceanside’s piece of the rail trail is the half-mile segment between Oceanside Boulevard and Morse Street. It includes construction of a 14foot-wide, 255-foot-long bridge across Loma Alta Creek at Buccaneer Park, with separate lanes for cyclists and pedestrians, and an observation deck in the middle.

“While the wetlands enhancement is designed as a standalone project with a dedicated pedestrian trail, a future connection to the Coastal Rail Trail is proposed and will be further refined in the project’s final design,” Gamble said.

The Oceanside wetlands enhancement was one of 46 projects nationwide to be funded this year by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resiliency Fund.

“We are excited to work with the foundation and citizens of Oceanside to restore the ecological and community value of the slough,” Gamble said. “It’s an integral part of our local coastal wetland system.”

Oceanside Water Utilities Director Carrie Dale called the grant “another important milestone” in the city’s efforts to promote environmental protection and awareness.

“The end product will be a construction-ready design package the city can use to seek future implementation grant funding,” Dale said in a city news release.

Oceanside has been working on the wetlands restoration plan for more than 20 years. The city received a $400,000 grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy in 2018 to begin the planning and design.

The overall cost to complete the project is estimated at $2.6 million. The city is applying for additional state and federal grants to pay for the work.