Bahía Magdalena is one of the largest remaining and relatively intact coastal wetland/lagoon systems along the Pacific coast of the Americas, and one of the world's most important habitats for California gray whales and several species of endangered sea turtles. Extensive sea grass beds and mangrove stands, intertidal sand and mudflats, barrier islands, and large rocky shore areas make for rich biodiversity, though dependent upon a delicately balanced ecosystem. SFS has been working in Magdalena Bay and Puerto San Carlos since 1997 to understand and encourage sustainable development of Bahía Magdalena through biodiversity conservation and natural resource management. 

This grant focuses on the restoration and monitoring of mangrove swamps in an area known as La Curva, in the vicinity of Puerto San Carlos. This area was affected by the construction of a power plant and subsequent maintenance work on its main fuel pipe, resulting in significant habitat fragmentation and sediment destabilization. The damaged area contains three species of trees including Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) and the Laguncularia racema (white mangrove).  These trees provide protection for various species of birds, such as cormorants, pelicans, herons, and gulls, as well as marine resources, including crab, scallops, and numerous fish. 

The project will also be guided by partner organizations including, the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS), Magdalena Baykeeper (Vigilantes de Bahia Magdalena), and the fishing coop Gomez-Castellanos. “Conservation of natural resources is a very complicated issue when locals are not included. SFS has been successful in establishing a network of stakeholders and partners in the region to help conservation. The diversity of institutions and groups highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to complicated environmental and species conservation issues,” said Dr. Gustavo Hinojosa, director of the SFS Center for Coastal Studies.

The mangrove restoration strategy will include: the establishment of a temporary mangrove nursery to grow mangrove seedlings; mangrove reforestation to reduce recovery time by increasing the number of plants; evaluation of the growth and survival rate of plants through comparison of nursery trees and those areas with natural recovery and recruitment; assessment of the natural recruitment of plants and number arriving seeds by the tide; an inventory of the associated fauna in three levels of the trees (root, trunk, and leaf); and the facilitation of community workshops on environmental education and mangrove restoration.

The benefits of this project will be the acceleration of swamp recovery to stop habitat fragmentation; the leveling out of the area and stabilization of sediment; the recovery of species’ habitat; and the restoration of zones of recruiting for species or commercial interest and zones of rest for birds. 

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