CHAPTER 6 



ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT 

 AND RESTORATION 



Tijuana River National Estuarine Research 

 Reserve is managed for resource protection, 

 research, interpretation, land acquisition, and 

 facilities development. The Research Reserve 

 includes the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife 

 Refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, and Border Field State Park, 

 which is managed by the California 

 Department of Parks and Recreation. The 

 specific goal of the Refuge is to protect three 

 endangered species, the light-footed clapper 

 rail, the California least tern, and salt marsh 

 bird's beak. 



A program of adaptive management 

 (Walters and Hilborn 1978), with long-term 

 monitoring, field studies, manipulative 

 experiments, and a major restoration 

 program, guides resource management at 

 Tijuana Estuary. The first management plan 

 for the Research Reserve was developed by 

 Michelle Lamay (Dobbin Associates 1986). A 

 multiple-agency Management Authority 

 directs the management and restoration 

 activities and holds monthly meetings at the 

 Visitor Center. Additional plans were 

 developed as part of the tidal restoration 

 program and impact assessment (Entrix et al. 

 1991). 



6 . 1 RESEARCH NEEDS AND 

 OPPORTUNITIES 



In order to accomplish the main purposes 

 of the reserve and the refuge, the native biota 

 of Tijuana Estuary must be maintained. 

 Research activities have led to many 

 management recommendations, many of which 

 have been implemented at Tijuana Estuary and 



other coastal wetlands in California. Thus, 

 this estuary contributes to the maintenance of 

 biodiversity throughout the region. 



Since the 1970's, there has been a 

 continuing research interest in Tijuana 

 Estuary, with emphasis on the salt marsh 

 vegetation. The research projects have 

 anticipated and/or followed environmental 

 changes and ecosystem responses. Studies 

 have progressed from descriptions of species 

 occurrences and measurements of wetland 

 processes to long-term comparisons of the 

 effects of disturbances. There has been a 

 growing emphasis on the experimental 

 determination of cause-effect relationships. 



Tijuana Estuary is a rich laboratory for 

 science. The vegetation-monitoring program 

 that began in 1979 documented several 

 distinct disturbance events. However, many 

 effects were unquantified (e.g., changes to 

 benthic invertebrates and fishes). Monitoring 

 was extended to include channel waters and 

 regular sampling of benthic invertebrates and 

 fishes in 1986. Bird monitoring still needs to 

 be added. Long-term systematic sampling 

 focused to identify cause-effect relationships 

 is an appropriate approach for an estuary that 

 is subject to a highly variable environment. 

 The long-term data track in turn provides an 

 excellent backdrop for specific studies of 

 population, community, and ecosystem 

 dynamics. 



6 . 2 RESEARCH FACILITIES 



The Pacific Estuarine Research Laboratory 

 (PERL) provides experimental facilities for 



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