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Thriving Natural Environments
Thriving Natural Environments Policies
Expand a policy to view related resilience and adaptation strategies and their implementation statuses.
Implementation Highlights
The City Planning Department was awarded $250,000 in grant funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the development of a Coastal Resilience Master Plan (Plan). Work on the Plan kicked off in FY23 and included site identification, department coordination, assembling a stakeholder advisory committee and beginning the environmental analysis. The Plan will include the development of nature-based solution concept designs to reduce the risk from sea level rise, enhance habitat and support coastal access.
The Stormwater Department, in partnership with two local non-profits, organized 49 community cleanup events across the City. These cleanups brought together 2,796 volunteers who were able to collect roughly 43,000 pounds of trash.
The Parks & Recreation Department started updates to five Natural Resource Management Plans, including: Crest Canyon Open Space Park, Tecolote Canyon Natural Park, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Otay Valley Regional Park, and Lusardi and La Zanja Canyons. Natural Resource Management Plans implement Climate Resilient SD, Biodiverse SD and the Climate Action Plan. They identify and prioritize threats to sensitive species and habitats, document current understanding of natural systems and species life, develop conservation and enhancement goals for plants and animals, and develop specific management actions within an adaptive management approach to address identified threats and ensure long-term viable populations of plants and animals for the designated plan area.
In FY23, the Public Utilities Department managed multiple habitat restoration projects in the vicinity of the City's drinking water reservoirs. These efforts support ecosystem function and provide valuable source water protection for the drinking water supply. There are currently 10 habitat restoration projects ongoing including Coast Cactus Wren Restoration and Enhancement at Lower Otay Reservoir that expands existing coastal cactus wren habitat and enhancing foragin habitat for the California gnatcatcher. Restoration projects also include the Chaparral Canyon Habitat Restoration and Vegetation Management Project that enhanced 2,789-linear feet of riparian habitat and improved water quality through habitat restoration and vegetation management in Chaparral Canyon as well as other habitat restoration, invasive species management, and vegetation management efforts.
The Transportation Department carried out multiple efforts to maintain and expand the City's urban tree canopy in support of the Climate Action Plan and Climate Resilient SD. This included the planting of 1,237 new trees, pruning of over 56,854 trees to promote forest health and address public safety, and watering of over 1,000 street trees during the tree establishment period. The City also protected over 50 existing street trees through sidewalk and infrastructure repairs. Trees provide multiple benefits to communities including providing cleaner air, reducing urban heat island effect and absorbing stormwater runoff.