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Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve covers 69 acres and is nestled between
Grover Beach and Pismo Beach. Today the 30-acre lake stretches north to
south and is a lovely riparian-woodland-bordered peaceful lake, with four
long islands covered with willows, and other plants native to the Central
Coast of California. The reserve is unique because it has both salt
and fresh water, according to Jim Lidberg, wildlife biologist for the California
Department of Fish and Game. 250 bird species, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
inhabit this protected environment.
“A winter survey of the reserve found great numbers of water-related
birds including ducks, coots, herons, egrets, rails, and gulls. In the
spring and summer, the migratory waterfowl are replaced by several species
of migrant songbirds, and newly arrived breeding cinnamon teal and mallard,”
wrote Bruce Elliot, Senior Biologist, California Department of Fish and
Game, in the 1988 September issue of Outdoor California. “At any time of
the year, the red shouldered hawks can be heard calling nosily from the
trees. Red winged blackbirds can be seen flying in and out of the willows,
and the wakes of swimming beaver ripple the lakes surface.”
3,800 ACRE WATERSHED
Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve was a healthy wetland when the Wildlife
Conservation Board purchased it in 1976. In less than a decade the reserve
turned into a dying marsh densely overgrown with tules and cattails. The
loss of wetlands is a natural process, but the loss of this marsh was artificial
due to development along Meadow Creek that drains a 3,800-acre watershed
through Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach where the headwaters are located.
Dr. Tom Rice, Clark Moore, SCS District
Conservationist Boyd Desonia, Mark Cocke and Harold Miossi at a CSLRCD Board
meeting
Clark Moore, the District Conservationist, had been monitoring the
silt build up in the Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve. After retiring
from the Soil Conservation Service he became an advisor to the Coastal
San Luis Resource Conservation District (CSLRCD). Under his direction the
district began working with the county and cities to use better erosion
control methods in their grading operations and housing developments during
construction.
A DYING MARSH
“Pismo Lake had been a stable wetland area when urbanization and storms
caused sedimentation that reduced the 30-acre open water wetland within
the reserve to just 2 1/2 acres. Open water areas are critical to attracting
species such as shorebirds and migratory waterfowl as a resting habitat
and wintering area. The diminishing open water space forces wildlife to
inhabit less-friendly areas and increase chances of predator-deaths and
disease while limiting food resources,” wrote Jerry Czarnecki, Area Conservationist
for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), November 1988 Soil and Water News, CSLRCD Board of Directors became alarmed at the loss of the habitat
for waterfowl at Pismo Lake Reserve. D.G. Porter, was Chairman of the Central
Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D), and Ella
Honeycutt, sat on the council as a voting member. Working with the San
Luis Obispo Board of Supervisor’s representative, Norma Dengler, a proposal
was presented to the council. The RC &D Council adopted the proposal
to restore Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve.
THE RESTORATION PLAN
The plan was developed through the Santa Maria field office of the
Soil Conservation Service and the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG). DFG and SCS provided funding for the project. The SCS share of the
funding was provided through the Central Coast RC&D Area council. Coastal
San Luis Resource Conservation District took over the administration of
the $100,000 restoration project.
Central
Coast Resource Conservation and Development committee meeting, Mike
Simmons and D.G. Porter are presiding.
“The project was designed to recreate the historical natural
environment and to provide habitat for the wide range of waterfowl, fish
and other wildlife native to the area,” wrote Jerry Czarnecki. CSLRCD directors
held meetings with local service clubs, governing bodies, city councils,
and environmental groups and private citizens with homes adjacent to the
reserve, both to inform them of the program plan and goal and to solicit
their support and views on the Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve restoration
project. A permit of authorization was required because there were nearly
two dozen different agencies and organizations with an interest in the
restoration. 
Jim
Lidberg
Ironically, the initial restoration process was enhanced by efforts
concluded earlier to meet the legal requirements of the state’s lawsuit
against the creator of the original erosion problem,” stated Bruce Elliot.
WORK BEGINS
To satisfy the legal requirements in the lawsuit against the developer
a detailed environmental impact document had been produced by DFG fisheries
biologist Paul Chappell and wildlife biologist Jim Lidberg. “With copious
detail, the document addressed the many aspects of the reserve both prior
to and after the impacts of the sediment. This information provided a strong
basis for many environmental documents that would be required during the
project permit process.
After fourteen months and dozens of meetings the permits, easements,
and authorizations were finally secured and the reconstruction could begin
on the ground,” wrote Bruce Elliot. In the summer of 1986, Pettibone Construction
Company of Glenbrook, Nevada was selected by competitive bid as the contractor
for the four- month job. The first task was to dry out the marshland before
heavy machinery could be brought in to dredge the heavy muck on the wetland
bottom. By the middle of summer the marsh had dried and the heavy equipment
was able to begin the excavation.
By autumn, 78,000 cubic yards of soil had been moved. The silt was
used to fill an existing stagnant side-channel along the western boundary
of the marsh, increasing the wildlife habitat. The lake was excavated and
deepened along its length, with a spillway installed down stream to maintain
a water depth of about five feet. Hauling away the excavated soil would
have been very costly so it was used to build the islands. The four islands
were developed down the middle of the 30-acre lake and they range in size
from ½ acre to 2 acres.
PLANTING BEFORE THE RAIN
The re-vegetation program had to be completed before the winter rains.
The Camp San Luis unit of the California Conservation Corps (CCC), under
the supervision of Domenic Santangelo, covered thousands of square yards
of bare soil with straw, dug thousands of holes for plants and slips, planted
the plants and installed water pipes. They continually did touch up work
like installing gates, fences, posting boundaries and removing debris.
Clark Moore was the overall supervisor for CSLRCD during the
planting phase of the project. He stated, “In the newly created riparian
bench they planted more than 1,000 sycamore trees and cottonwood slips,
where just weeks before the side-channel was full of stagnant water. Over
20,000 plants had to be planted in the raw soil in order to stop erosion
in case the winter rains were early. The plants arrived by rail and the
CCC workers began the task of planting the new arrivals in the water.”
A California Conservation Corps worker up to his hips in
water planting roots.
“ The mud in the lake was gooey and one of the CCC crew wearing hip
waders got out into the lake and started to sink when the mud gave way,”
said Clark Moore.
The winter of 1986-1987 was a drought year in California and there
was concern that the re-vegetation program would be hurt by lack of rainfall.
However the rains were adequate to fill the lake and water was flowing
over the spillway by Christmas,” wrote Bruce Elliot. The lake took time
to fill up to the five-foot level. It was finally filled in March, on Friday
the 13th.
“The only significant problem came from one of the elements that the
restoration was designed to serve. The migrant waterfowl and coot population
arrived at the reserve and found the newly planted shoreline plants an
irresistible banquet. A major area had to be replanted after the birds
flew north in the spring The denuded spots had to be replanted and the
CCC built frames out of plastic pipe and covered them with chicken wire
to protect the new plants,” wrote Elliot.
PLANTING IS AN ON GOING PROJECT
The March rains filled Pismo Lake and the Ecological Reserve was once
again a wetland, with 30 acres of open water. Money was needed for plants
and supplies. The Native Plant Nursery in Nipomo donated oak seedlings.
Mitigation funds were received when Oak Park Boulevard was widened because
wildlife habitat was disturbed. Maria Singleton, a Community Relation’s
representative for Pacific Gas and Electric Company delivered a $3,000
donation to buy materials for the protective plant screens and additional
plants.
The California Department of Fish and Game, the Soil Conservation Service
and Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District signed a Memorandum
of Understanding that requires a yearly maintenance inspection of Pismo
Lake Ecological Reserve to insure against abuse.
A canopy of shade from
the trees and bushes planted in 1986-87
THE ISLANDS HAVE BEEN ADOPTED
Friends of Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve was formed in 1986. The Soils
Department at Cal Poly, the Native Plant Society, the California Conservation
Corps and the Sierra Club each adopted an island and gave them Indian names.
They have done maintenance work when needed on the islands.
Open Class Room
Open classroom programs can be developed now for our young people.
.“Water recreation is not permitted on Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve. However,
the urban wetland is within easy commuting distance of two major universities,
two junior colleges, and dozens of high schools. Biological research will
be permitted as well as wildlife and bird watching activities once an observation
platform is in place,” wrote Gerry Czarnecki.
Pismo Lake Reserve is a fragile environment that can be opened to the
public on a limited basis. “The reserves main purpose is to protect wildlife.
Whatever we do, it has to be done very carefully. We don’t want to damage
the basic biological resources of the area,” wrote Jim Lidberg. Pismo Lake
is not in a city park; it is in a nature reserve. Nesting birds on the
islands will be protected and paths will be limited to protect the animals.
A PROPHETIC STATEMENT
“Many attempts have been made in the past to purchase the parcel on 4th Street, but none have been successful,” wrote Mr. Lieb on page
2 of, The Enhancement and Mitigation proposal for The Acquisition of Pismo
Ecological Reserve Support Facilities, in November 1996. It is possible
that the opportunity for acquisition, and subsequent staging area for public
access to the Reserve, will soon be gone.” The grant application was turned
down.
A second attempt to purchase the property was not successful in 1999.
Pismo Beach was highly rated for a grant by the San Luis Obispo County
of Governments, but the city withdrew its application because the First
Church of Christ Science (owner of the land) had a pending escrow on an
acre of land that was needed.
ENTRANCE TO PISMO LAKE TO BECOME A REALITY
When the escrow was canceled, the church’s attorney approached the
city about negotiating to buy the land. On Tuesday April 20, 2000 the Pismo
City Council gave the City Manager, Mike Fuson authority to negotiate with
the Church. “Pismo Beach hopes to create an interpretive center, parking
area and staging point for trails leading into the 80-acre wetland the
California Department of Fish and Game owns”, reported Jerry Bunin in the
Tribune, April 20, 2000.
Jerry Bunin wrote, “Local environmentalist activist Ella Honeycutt
told the council she was pleasantly surprised to read about Pismo’s renewed
interest in the acre. Honeycutt, a longtime member of the Coastal San Luis
Resource Conservation District (which fought to get the preserve restored
more than a decade ago) said Fish and Game has a design for an observation
area that Pismo could use. She encouraged the city to pursue grants to
buy the land and develop the project”. Ella has been working with the Pismo
Beach Task Force and Neil Havlik has been instrumental in helping with
grant applications.
“City Manager Mike Fuson reported there was a good chance to get a
$250,00 state grant in July. Grover Beach has supported Pismo buying the
land for a preserve access point. Fourth Street-where the preserve access
would be-is a main gateway to Grover Beach. The California Coastal Conservancy
and the Pismo Beach Men’s Club have pledged money for the project, and
Pismo Beach will apply for other grants,” reported Bunin.
Working Together
The dream is becoming a reality because public agencies and
citizens are working together with guidance from the California Department
of Fish and Game Department and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
CSLRCD and the CDFG support an observation platform, an interpretive center
and a limited amount of trails within the Pismo Lake Ecological Reserve.
CSLRCD Director Charles Davis is developing a Docent program for Pismo
Lake and “Out Door Classrooms” for our local school students.
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