Santa Monica Bay Audubon is joining Audubon California and a broad coalition of conservation organizations in supporting Proposition 68 on the June 5 California ballot. These groups have cited numerous potential benefits to California’s birds and other natural treasures, as well as the state’s residents. Called the California Clean Water & Safe Parks Act, Proposition 68 is a $4 billion bond measure that will fund a number of important priorities for Californians, including local, regional and state parks, clean drinking water projects, flood protection, and habitat projects that are vital to the state’s diverse wildlife.

Our Los Angeles area is crucial in getting this reasonable water bond passed. We urge you to make sure you tell your friends to join you in voting YES. When there is a complex ballot the endorsement from a trusted friend turns into a vote.

Audubon California was part of a broad coalition of organizations working closely with lawmakers during the 2017 legislative session to put Prop. 68 on the ballot. This critical opportunity comes at a time when millions of Californians don’t have access to safe parks, trails, and recreation areas. Moreover, the cycle of drought and extreme weather is already taking a toll on California’s natural treasures, and threatens our communities with flooding and ecological degradation.

These same forces have also exposed our state’s antiquated water infrastructure, bringing into doubt our ability to provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water to our residents. Lastly, with most of the bond funding for vital conservation programs running out in the last few years, it is time for Californians to make the next investment in the protection of the natural resources that make California’s parks and open spaces destinations for millions of visitors every year.

We can anticipate multiple bird habitats within reach of our homes to profit from this funding.

“Audubon California has long fought to protect California’s birds and natural landscapes – and make it possible for more people to experience these treasures – and that is why our organization emphatically supports Prop. 68,” said Sarah Rose, executive director of Audubon California. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in safe parks, clean water, and the vibrant wildlife that are so important for Californians’ quality of life.”

For the birds of the Pacific Flyway, and the roughly one million people living around the Salton Sea, Prop. 68 has profound importance. The bond measure includes $200 million for vitally important dust mitigation and habitat restoration at the Salton Sea, where water diversions are creating a public health disaster and destroying habitat.

Proposition 68 includes funding for a broad array of conservation priorities:

$2.83 billion for parks and natural resources funding
• Investments in park-poor neighborhoods
• Much-needed maintenance for state parks
• Trails and creek restoration
• Funding for critical restoration at the Salton Sea

$1.27 billion for water reliability
• Clean drinking water projects
• Groundwater clean-up and sustainability
• Flood protection, including multi-benefit flood projects

$767 million for state conservancies
• Vital landscape-scale conservation work
• Ocean, bay, and coastal protection

$442 million for climate adaptation
• Projects to ensure habitat connectivity
• Collaborations on climate-smart farm practices
• Rivers and waterways restoration

A beautiful day at the Lagoon as spring migration tails off. Maybe it’s a little earlier than usual this year. We had few ducks and shorebirds, but just enough for the edification of the ten or so new faces we welcomed to “our” lagoon. Some signs of renewal in the fifth year since the reconfiguration of the area: Black-crowned Night-herons exploring the trees around the lagoon, and a Red-winged Blackbird checking out the reeds, …for nesting? The best drama award went to the mom Snowy Plover sitting on her nest who bolted out of the protective wire exclosure when a pushy Killdeer approached. She put on an extensive broken-wing, distressed diversion and eventually led the Killdeer a good hundred feet from the nest.
Total 38 species. Not very rich for spring–more like a summer doldrums count. Maybe we’ll be surprised in May.

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 5
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 4
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 18
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) 32
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 1
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) 2
American Coot (Fulica americana) 2
Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) 9
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 7
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) 3
Sanderling (Calidris alba) 45
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 12
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) 4
Willet (Tringa semipalmata) 6
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 1
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) 18
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 8
Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) 30
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 2
Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) 3
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 4
Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) 1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 2
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) 1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 1
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 10
California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) 1
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 1
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 2
Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) 4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 4