KPBS Midday Edition Scientists have been predicting it for years now wildlife experts say it may be happening. There is evidence that the Sultan seat is reaching the tipping point of high salinity with no fish will be able to survive in it. Biologists at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea wildlife refuge have noticed among the dead fish washing up on short there were no smaller ones. An indication that the fish may no longer be breeding. Species of birds that usually forage in the area have either not arrived or have shown signs of starvation. This is causing a lot of concern among conservationists. Mike lines public policy director of Audubon California is with us. This is been expected for years. Why is the salt content becoming So-Hi at the Sultan seat? It's a terminal Lake. It does not have an outflow. Overtime more salt goes into the sea as the water evaporates so more water goes in it evaporates the leaves behind various sediments and salts. How much do bird species depend on the Sultan say? It is immensely important. It hosts over 400 species of birds. It is of particular vital importance to many species of dog -- some of our most iconic species depend on spending their winters there. It is particularly important because in California we've lost about 90% of our wetlands. Mostly through human development. The Sultan's he has provided a replacement of sorts as we taken so much away of the other habitats that the state once offered. People point out that Salton Sea was created by accident. It's ought to figure out why even know so many bird species depend on it now they will be able to find some other place to feed and breed. It's important for people to realize that the Sultan say has been filling and refilling over the millennia. It is a natural more positive or -- repository for the Colorado River. It used to wind back and forth for many miles in either direction. There used to be a robust and vibrant Colorado River Delta as a Colorado went to Mexico and went to see. That was once teeming with wildlife. We taken almost all of that away. Regardless of whether people think it's an accident or not, there is no doubt the birds depend on it and have very few other pet -- places left to go. Considering that the Salton Sea is in decline as a source for sustenance for the birds, or any of those species also went to climb? We have species of concern. Some examples I can give you are the double-breasted for example which is the breed at the Salton Sea by the thousands. As the sea has receded, their nesting islands have been exposed and they can no longer buried there. That is a species that has already seen a 25% decline. And it's also a species identified to be a potential risk to climate change in the future. We are losing the species through management and potentially going to have it facing a harder time because of climate change and now it has already lost an important breeding ground in the Salton Sea and that is just one anecdote of the many types of species that depend on the Salton Sea. What might be done to preserve the bird refuge at the Salton Sea? People of talked a long time about the notion of restoring the Salton Sea. I think what we have now is a consensus for a smaller sustainable see. It is important to realize the we talk about habitat and management one of the fundamental questions we need to answer, one of the problems we need to solve is mitigation. As it shrinks it exposes the lake bed and there's a lot of fine matter that gets kicked up into the air and causes -- will cost some of the worst air pollution in North America up. As we have seen at Owens Lake were there have been successful habitat creation projects which mitigate water on that soil to make sure it doesn't become create air problems and provides the next habitat values. There is about 650,000 people that live around the Salton Sea and they will be exposed to that air particulate. There's already air pollution problems there. What we see is habitat restoration projects being a part, a piece of the overall dust mitigation to make sure the city is smaller sustainable and healthier for the community while at the same time providing important habitat for birds Is a state supporting this idea of habitat creation around the Salton Sea? The state is a big supporter. Ultimately the state is going to be the main driver for projects down there. They are responsible for the long-range management plan and the state is responsible for picking up the bill for many of the projects. The state has said again and again the habitat is one of the priorities as with dust mitigation for human death. We believe that. We believe that is a high priority for them but I do think the state has not about these obligations for 12 or 15 years and people have been warning about the increase in the decline of the sea for decades. You can find reports and studies going back 20 years easily. We have known this is coming but what we see now with this decline is fish and potentially a decline in the bird population is that nature is telling us we are late and starting and we are moving too slowly. Thank you very much Thank you for having me.
Wildlife experts at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge have found alarming evidence that the salinity of the sea has reached a point where the fish are not breeding.
Biologists noticed that among the dead fish washing up on the shores of the sea this summer, there were no small ones. They were all full-grown. This means the fish are not breeding.
And there's more bad news.
Audobon California Policy Director Mike Lynes says the diminishing habitat is hurting the birds.
“Regardless of whether people think its an accident or not now, there’s not doubt that birds depend on it, and they have very few places left to go," Lynes told KPBS Midday Edition.
As water evaporates, the salinity increases, he added.
The Desert Sun, a Palm Springs-area newspaper, reports that bird species that usually arrive at the sea by the thousands to forage, like the Western grebe, are nowhere to be found. Others, such as the double-crested cormorant, are greatly diminished. Some birds have been found to be starving.
The salinity of the Salton Sea has probably always been high. It became an inland sea when the Colorado River broke through Imperial Valley irrigation canals around 1905, and it has no natural outlet.
The marker that scientists believe denotes a scary level of salinity is 60 parts per 1,000, the tipping point into complete decline and the eventual sterilization of the sea.
Over the last 110 years, the sea has been home to fish and invertebrates. It serves as a crucial refuge for migrating birds with fewer and fewer Southern California wetlands to rest in.
Lynes said restoration of the Salton Sea to health will need a major investment from the state of California and stakeholders such as water districts and agricultural interests. The cost will be in the hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars.
Audubon's role in the restoration is to develop habitat models to explore how many species are needed to sustain healthy bird populations. A healthy bird population means there are healthy fish and invertebrates as well.
So far the political will to fully restore the Salton Sea has not been evident. Lynes said Gov. Jerry Brown is on board for restoration, as are Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Imperial County) and Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego).
