The Batiquitos Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of the best examples of an ecosystem type that has been lost throughout much of Southern California - coastal estuarine wetland.
The Batiquitos Lagoon Resiliency Plan (BLRP) is a multi-step project to engage stakeholders and experts in understanding how climate change will impact the Batiquitos Lagoon Ecological Reserve. The Reserve is one of the best examples of an ecosystem type that has been lost throughout much of Southern California, coastal estuarine wetlands. It is both a natural and recreational resource that includes a number of unique species and habitats as well as a heavily-used scenic public trail that provides the community access to nature. The BLRP process will help resource managers anticipate and respond to climate and environmental changes that may impact the Reserve.
DOWNLOAD THE PLAN
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The final Batiquitos Lagoon Resiliency Plan is now available!
Download the PDF by clicking on the plan:
CLIMATE SCENARIOS
The first step in developing the BLRP was to conduct scenario planning related to coastal wetland response to climate change, providing a pathway through which potential vulnerabilities are outlined, and research
and knowledge gaps are identified.
Through an expert elicitation process, stakeholders and experts were convened to outline climate scenarios summarizing the implications of climate change for the Reserve based on the best-available science and on-the-ground observations.
The physical and biological changes resulting from two key climate drivers of change - increased sea levels and temperatures - were discussed as two scenarios - Moderate and Extreme. These two scenarios roughly followed the anticipated timeline of climate change impacts, but allowed flexibility around the uncertainty of when those scenarios would actually be experienced.
FOCUS AREAS
I. Physical Environment
Including changes in inundation and flooding, salinity regimes, and tidal circulation and sedimentation
II. Habitats
Including open water, salt flats and dunes, salt marsh, upland scrub and meadow, and freshwater marsh and riparian forest
III. Wildlife
With a focus on threatened and endangered species
All photos courtesy of the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation and US Fish and Wildlife Service.