Gypsy Jan - 3-19-2013 at 01:54 PM
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Sandra Dibble
ENSENADA - "Baja California environmentalists are celebrating the state government's move to protect a fresh-water wetland at the southern end of this
port city. Known as La Lagunita El Ciprés, it is slated to become the first state-designated protected natural area in Baja California.
Efraín Nieblas Ortíz, Baja California's secretary of environmental protection, made the announcement Thursday in Ensenada, accompanied by members of
two local environmental groups that lobbied for the designation, Pro Esteros and Haciendo lo Necesario.
Laura Martínez Ríos, director of Pro Esteros, said in an interview that groups have been fighting for years to protect the 120-acre wetland separated
from the Pacific Ocean by a line of coastal dunes and across the highway from the Macroplaza shopping mall.
"For many many years several organizations have asked the state to designate natural areas," she said. "We are very happy."
Environmentlists say La Lagunita is the last remaining fresh-water wetland within Ensenada's urban area, and supports a range of wildlife that
includes hares, lizards, white herons and avocets and other birds.
Setting the stage for the designation are regulations approved last year that permit the Baja California's government to set aside protected areas.
Jesús Zatarain, Baja California's director of natural resources, said that the state designation can be applied more quickly than federal protection,
and permits designations within urban areas that are excluded under Mexico's federal rules.
An announcement scheduled to appear Friday in the state's official gazette launches a 60-day public comment period before the designation can become
final. The land is currently in private hands, and will remain so under the new designation. State officials are negotiating with the landowners to
compensate them for possible losses.
Zatarain said that the designation will open new alternatives for the wetland, allowing owners to seek funding from international organizations that
protect wetlands. The designation could also permit low-impact development on the site for uses such as ecotourism, he said. The area will be jointly
managed by the state government and a non-profit group that has yet to be selected.
La Lagunita is located next to the site of a future desalination plant. Though opposed by environmental groups, Ensenada's city council last week
granted a land use permit for the facility. Zatarain said the designation of La Lagunita as a protected natural area can help ensure the desalination
plant won't infringe on the wetland."
[Edited on 3-19-2013 by Gypsy Jan]