Wetland Nurseries

It is hard to believe that some members of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, as reported in “Desal Time Travel,” question the value of the city’s contribution toward the restoration of the Devereux Slough. What does a restored wetland, they ask, have to do with mitigation for possible biological damage the desal plant might cause in our coastal waters? Apparently these members are unaware of the role coastal wetlands play on the biological health of our ocean. Wetlands act as nurseries for fish and invertebrates, which enter the ocean ecosystem as critical components of the food web to sustain our coastal fisheries.