The Press-Telegram reported today that the City of Long Beach might acquire 175 acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands in order to restore them, and the deal was later confirmed by the Los Angeles Times.  The City will trade 50 acres of land on the city’s westside for the 175 acres on the eastside, which will then be sold to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. 

As the P-T‘s John Canalis explains:

“As proposed, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, a joint-powers authority in the public trust, would purchase the “Bixby wetlands” with the eventual goal of restoring what once served as a natural habitat for birds, fish and other species.”

Dave Wielenga of The District Weekly originally broke a loose version of the story last week.

Any effort to restore the remaining 400 acres of wetlands (that Canalis says “once spanned 2,400”) would be extremely costly.  Luckily, the city has a plan.  Louis Sahugan explains, but not before he takes one of the LA Times‘ customary subliminal swipes at Long Beach:

Flanked by supermarkets, cinema complexes, motels and power plants, the wetlands, which four years ago had an appraised value of $25 million, remain a critical link along the migratory bird route called the Pacific Flyway, which stretches from Ventura County to the Mexican border.

Rejuvenating the area that some regard as a weedy oil field would cost millions of dollars. But city officials expect the effort to be partially bankrolled by the Port of Long Beach as mitigation for expansion projects elsewhere.

“Right now, it looks very poor but it has the potential to be a real jewel,” said Long Beach City Councilman Gary DeLong, chair of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority.

The deal all but eliminates any hope of seeing a proposed $50 million Sports Park on the city’s westside any time in the near future, but by making this move, the City essentially commits to prevent future development in the area that could further harm local wetlands.

By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor