Jim King, a wetland conservationist from the California Coastal Conservancy, has won the 2002 National Wetlands Award for Land Stewardship and Development. He will be honored at a ceremony on May 16, 2002, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC for his exemplary contributions to the restoration of wetlands near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The wetlands located where the Tijuana River enters the United States are home to a rich array of once-common southern California species, which are now in peril in a landscape dominated by humans. “Nature needs a defender in the beat-up U.S.-Mexico borderlands,” said Nina Garfield of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Jim King knows and loves this troubled place and its wildlife. Despite huge challenges, he is their champion.”
Mr. King has worked with managers, hydrologists, planners, and researchers for 14 years to implement a wetland restoration effort for public lands at the Tijuana River estuary. He has coordinated a program that has enhanced over 200 acres of salt marsh and channel habitat and successfully restored 22 acres of exotics-dominated upland to salt marsh. He has organized a critical sediment management project for an adjacent cross-border watershed and has completed fundraising for a feasibility assessment for a larger scale project to restore up to 500 additional acres of severely-degraded wetland habitats.
“Guided by science, we’re restoring functional salt marsh in a region that’s lost 80 to 90 percent of its historic coastal wetlands,” said King, “Our slow approach establishes what works at a small scale, then we apply those techniques to larger endeavors. At our site the human impacts are intense, resulting in a tension that keeps me focused, along with the pleasure that comes with witnessing nature take hold at a restored site.”
Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service. “The voluntary restoration and enhancement of wetlands has benefited critical habitat for fish and wildlife, and provided immeasurable water quality benefits to society,” said Pearlie S. Reed, Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“I offer my congratulations to these environmental heroes and applaud their efforts to safeguard our national wetland heritage for current and future generations,” added Ben Grumbles, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the National Wetlands Awards winners, or the ceremony, contact Dorigen Fried at wetlandsawards@eli.org, http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org/index.htm or (202) 939-3250.