2007 a mixed bag for Salton Sea restoration

From MyDesert.com:

One day, 2007 may be remembered as the year the Salton Sea began its comeback – that is, if the sea doesn’t end up as just a briny sinkhole in the desert.

The campaign to make sure it is something worth remembering – and even enjoying – in future decades kicked into gear this year as state officials released a recovery plan and the Legislature approved $23.3 million to start work – though just $15.3 million can be spent this year.

The sea is California’s largest lake, with 110 miles of shoreline and, supporters say, years of potential for new recreation and development. A major flyway habitat for birds, the unique habitat is in danger of turning into a dust bowl like the Owens Valley, if plans to reclaim and revitalize it aren’t implemented. And that, could create a choking cloud of dust that could migrate to the Coachella Valley.

But the takeover sputtered last week when lawmakers failed to approve a bill allocating $47 million in voter-approved bond funds for the sea and, in the minds of advocates, to commit the state to the 75-year, $8.9 billion restoration plan.

“It’s a mixed record of success but primarily good things happened this year,” said Rick Daniels, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority.

Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt, a veteran seven-year authority board member, was a little less sanguine. “All it means to us is it’s just another disappointment in many years of disappointment,” Wyatt said. “It means we still got a lot of work ahead of us.”

To read the full text of this story from MyDesert.com, click here.

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