EDITORIAL

The story of the restoration of the Batiquitos Lagoon in northern San

Diego County is an encouraging one for the host of people anxious to

clean up and clear out the Bolsa Chica. As detailed in last week’s

Independent, with the creation of a tidal inlet Batiquitos went from

being an often-dry, seasonal pond to full tidal lagoon -- though at a

cost of $55 million and after a decade of planning and construction.

It is much the same plan being proposed for Bolsa Chica, and in fact

was completed by the same people from the U.S. Fish and Game Wildlife

Service who would be working here. The nuts and bolts to the $100-million

idea for Bolsa Chica is that a 360-foot-wide inlet cut through Pacific

Coast Highway at the south end of the state beach would allow the area to

return to its natural state.

But there are differences between the San Diego lagoon and our Bolsa

Chica. And there are many hurdles to cross: Batiquitos is just half Bolsa

Chica’s 1,200-acre size, for instance, and the $55 million spent did not

include the cost of acquiring the land, as any restoration of Bolsa Chica

will demand.

And then there is the question of water quality. Batiquitos did not

have the oil fields that sit on the mesa. It was, by fish and game

officials’ estimations, “clean.”

Bolsa Chica, sadly, is not, and that contamination is what has some,

notably members of the Surfrider Foundation, concerned about the idea of

flushing the wetland out into the ocean at Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Their worries remain legitimate. But having checked into the success

of the Batiquitos restoration, and having heard the reassurances of

federal officials that water quality will be closely monitored, our

qualms are quieting -- a bit. It is still a question that needs to be

answered, but those answers seem like they will come.

For now, it looks like Bolsa Chica’s future is in good hands.

We certainly hope it is.