2007 Annual Monitoring Report (pdf 16MB) - Bolsa Chica Lowlands ...

Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration Monitoring2007 Annual ReportTABLE OF CONTENTSExecutive Summary................................................................................................................................ 1Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 9I. Ecological Monitoring Program ..................................................................................................... 141.1. Water Quality Monitoring........................................................................................................... 141.2. Soils/Sediment Monitoring......................................................................................................... 181.3. Vegetation/Habitat Monitoring ................................................................................................... 18Eelgrass and Cordgrass Transplant.................................................................................................. 241.4. Fish Community Monitoring....................................................................................................... 261.5. Benthic Monitoring ..................................................................................................................... 341.6. Avian Monitoring........................................................................................................................ 35General Avian Monitoring............................................................................................................... 35Light-footed Clapper Rail ................................................................................................................ 48Belding’s Savannah Sparrow Monitoring........................................................................................ 48California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover Monitoring ....................................................... 531.7. Non-native Invasive Species ........................................................................................................ 57II. Physical Monitoring Program ....................................................................................................... 592.1. Inlet Flood Shoal ......................................................................................................................... 592.2. Tidal Monitoring .......................................................................................................................... 662.3. Beach Monitoring......................................................................................................................... 72III. Maintenance Dredging Program .................................................................................................. 943.1 Dredging Triggers ......................................................................................................................... 943.2 Trigger Analysis............................................................................................................................ 953.3 Dredge Triggers - Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................ 973.4 Maintenance Dredging Plan .......................................................................................................... 98LIST OF FIGURESFigure 0-1. Site Locator and Vicinity Map............................................................................................ 12Figure 0-2. Schedule of Bolsa Chica monitoring activities and reports. ............................................. 13Figure 1-1. Monitoring Stations. ........................................................................................................... 15Figure 1-2. Water Quality Data. ............................................................................................................ 17Figure 1-3. Habitat map......................................................................................................................... 20Figure 1-4. Cordgrass and Eelgrass Planting Locations........................................................................ 25Figure 1-5. Fisheries sampling stations. ................................................................................................ 27Figure 1-6. Standard length frequency of four fish groups. .................................................................. 31Figure 1-7. Avian survey zones............................................................................................................. 36Figure 1-8. Avian abundance by guild for October and December 2007.............................................. 39Figure 1-9. Avian abundance by habitat for October and December 2007. .......................................... 46Figure 1-10. Belding’s Savannah sparrow territories (April 2007)....................................................... 52Figure 2-1. Predicted Flood Bar Area (cited from M&N 1999)............................................................ 60Figure 2-2. Full Tidal Basin Inlet Bathymetry. ..................................................................................... 62Figure 2-3. Full Tidal Basin Inlet Sediment Accretion and Erosion. .................................................... 63Figure 2-4. Sediment accretion rate per month. .................................................................................... 64Figure 2-5a. Minimum daily tidal elevations in the Bolsa Chica Full Tidal Basin (FTB).................... 68Figure 2-5b. Daily differences in lower low tide elevations between the FTB and the LAOH. ........... 68Figure 2-6. Maximum low tide muting over each monitoring month. ................................................. 69Merkel & Associates, Inc.i