http://www.BirdWatchingDaily.com 43Learn more
Read about how Audubon California is advocating for the sea.
https://ca.audubon.org/conservation/conservation/important-
bird-areas/salton-seaAudubon California’s online map for birding the Salton Sea.
https://ca.audubon.org/node/26691“SOS: The Salton Sea Walk” is a 2017 documentary, available
on Amazon Prime, about one man’s walk around the entire
sea to prevent an ecological disaster. https://sosthewalk.comRead our 2007 article “Hotspots by the Sea” by birding guide
Henry Detwiler. http://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/locations-
travel/featured-destinations/hotspots-seaprotracted and potentially litigious, both alternatives
have been largely dismissed.
The Salton Sea Authority and Salton Sea
Restoration Project have spearheaded the quest for
solutions by bringing water districts, local
governments, citizens groups, and scientists together
to plan the sea’s reclamation. A palliative focus is now
directed toward salinity reduction. Over the years,
several scientific studies have recommended the
construction of a large impoundment or lake within
the sea, surrounded by dikes. While relatively fresh
water f lows into the sea, seawater would pass into the
impoundment, where it would evaporate. The goal of
this passive process would be to lower the sea’s salinity
and concentrate the salt within the diked
impoundment. Removal of the salt is yet another
problem seeking a solution.
The Salton Sea Authority and U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation also recommended several alternatives,
using evaporation ponds and “enhanced
evaporation” spraying equipment to accelerate
removal of salt. Enhanced evaporation technology
sprays brine into the air, which speeds the
evaporation process. Several pilot projects have been
conducted using these methods, with plans for
implementation if and when funds are available.
Another proposal would import water from the Gulf
of California, yet without a viable strategy.
After years of research, discussion, planning, and
foot-dragging, the state is working to address the
problems. Has it waited too long to begin?
In the end, the excessive salt and nutrients may not
be the determining factors of survival for the sea.
Continued urban development and sprawl in southern
California may deliver the final coup de grace.
Growing communities nearby may covet the inf low to
the sea, and it may be only a matter of time before
thirsty consumers demand the diversion of a precious
commodity upon which the sea depends.
The Salton Sea, home to the Endangered Yuma
Ridgway’s Rail, California Brown Pelican, and
American Avocet, needs immediate human
intervention and protection for its survival. Waders,
waterfowl, and shorebirds rely on its waters and
shoreline during spring and fall migration, and its
preservation has become even more important
because of California’s vanishing wetlands.
No matter which season you visit and whether the
water is crystal clear or crimson, it’s immediately
obvious that an enormous number of birds need this
unique ecosystem. A belated reclamation effort is
finally a reality, but the sea’s fate now depends on
wisdom and foresight prevailing over apathy and
self-interest.
Jerry Uhlman is a writer and photographer who writes
birding and travel articles for nature magazines and
newspapers. He wrote about birding hotspots in
Ontario in our March/April 2019 issue.
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