ABOUT
ReWild Mission Bay is a project of the San Diego Audubon and our ReWild Coalition partners dedicated to restoring valuable wetlands in the northeast corner of San Diego’s iconic Mission Bay. By preserving habitats for local species, reducing the effects of climate change, and improving public access and engagement with the area, we’re working to ensure this unique part of California’s coastline remains healthy and vibrant for generations to come.
Our intent is to provide new opportunities for native plants and wildlife to thrive, and for San Diegans to more fully enjoy nature and the natural habitats of our collective backyard. Explore the northeast corner today.
Motivated by the importance of healthy wetlands in Mission Bay, San Diego Audubon is leading a large-scale conservation planning effort to answer a seemingly simple question:
Are we doing the work that needs to be done to conserve Mission Bay?
WHAT ARE WETLANDS?
“Wetlands” is a catchall term for habitats that are at least periodically saturated with salt, fresh, or brackish water. In San Diego, this can include open water, bays, mud flats, eelgrass, salt marsh, transition/upland habitats, and rivers.
Wetlands are a natural component of our Southern California bays and waterways, but over time, almost all of our native wetlands have been lost to development – including many that used to exist in Mission Bay.
Over the last several decades, science has confirmed that wetlands are critical to maintaining a balanced, oxygenated, diverse set of habitats, while the public has come to appreciate wetlands for their natural beauty. Wetlands also act as vital “green infrastructure” that provides clean water, improved habitat, and climate resiliency.
Restoring Mission Bay has been an initiative of the City of San Diego for over 25 years.
With the unveiling of our ReWild Mission Bay wetlands restoration feasibility study in 2018 and Regional Water Quality Control Board funding in 2020 that requires the City to plan for sea-level rise and ensure that tidal wetland habitat persists through the century (as our Wildest plan does), we have the science and research in place to solve our wetland restoration puzzle. Learn more: History of ReWild Mission Bay.
THE NEXT STEPS
Unfortunately, San Diego City Council threw off an immediate timeline for beginning wetland restoration in 2019 when they awarded new and expanded camping leases in Mission Bay. Your input and outreach to our mayor and city council will help determine how the process moves forward from here.
Once the restoration process is determined, the real work will begin as we move on to permitting, implementation, and follow-up monitoring. Ultimately, the restoration of Mission Bay will provide abundant opportunities for plants, animals, and our neighbors to survive and thrive as our climate warms and sea levels rise.
YOU ARE OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET
Your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues are a critical component of our coalition. We’ll need your voice in the next two years to ensure the vision of a Mission Bay Park as a restored natural environment, civic showpiece, and unique educational, ecological and recreation destination comes to pass.
Your voice plays a critical role in shaping community understanding of the campaign, and what’s at stake. For opportunities to get involved, contact us or have a look at our our calendar of events.
If you’re a student, please utilize this letter template as a basis for sending a letter that demonstrates your support for ReWild to your city councilmember or Mayor Gloria. You can also access the letter as a PDF.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date. Learn more through the ReWild Mission Bay Feasibility Study and summary report. And don’t miss your opportunity to have your say about the future of a restored and “ReWilded” Mission Bay.
You can also download one of our ReWild Zoom backgrounds to show off during your next video chat.