Salton Sea, California – Water is finally flowing into one of California’s most ambitious environmental projects: the first expansion pond of a wetland complex at the southern edge of the Salton Sea. It’s a moment years in the making—and one state and local leaders hope signals real momentum after decades of promises and delays.
On May 22, officials from tribal, state, federal, and nonprofit organizations gathered to watch as water poured into a cracked, sunbaked basin in Imperial County. The event marked the filling of the East Pond Expansion—part of the Species Conservation Habitat Project, a centerpiece of California’s plan to reduce dust pollution and restore vanishing wildlife habitat around the shrinking lake.
Once complete, authorities expect the project to cover over 9,000 acres, or about 14 square miles, with engineered wetlands. That’s more than 7,500 football fields’ worth of shallow ponds, berms, and manmade islands to create new habitat and keep dust out of nearby communities…