OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Heavy earth-moving equipment form a three-vehicle train to remove material near the San Luis Rey River to construct a bypass channel designed to reestablish a portion of the river to its historical hydrologic and vegetative condition.
This restoration project will excavate about 140,000 cubic yards of sand and topsoil in order to improve stream flows through the restoration site and will restore habitat for the southwestern willow flycatcher and the federally endangered least Bell’s vireo.
The scrapers deposit some of the nearly 90,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand in a separate area that Oceanside will ultimately use to replenish a segment of its shoreline.
Alex Fromer, a biologist with RECON Environmental, provides perspective as he stands near a segment of the diversion channel that will help recreate the wetlands environment that is being constructed as part of the mitigation for the San Luis Rey River flood risk reduction project.