Services
Mitigation and Restoration

Wetlands
MBC biologists are actively involved in the design and implementation of wetland evaluations, and in salt marsh and eelgrass habitat restoration programs. Over one million eelgrass plants have been carefully harvested from donor sites and replanted in the bays and coastal lagoons of southern California. These projects have involved extensive planning, field, and laboratory work as well as analyses. The restoration requirements, procedures, and monitoring require close cooperation with National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and the California Coastal Commission.

Kelp Beds
Kelp bed restoration has been a major area of interest for MBC scientists since senior staff developed the field and laboratory procedures for cultivation more than three decades ago. This history includes restoration of kelp beds for the California Department of Fish and Game, and Kelco Corporation, a division of Merck and Co. and assessments of transplant successes.

Terrestrial
MBC staff have been instrumental in the planning and implementing of restoration efforts in coastal sage scrub and coastal dune communities disturbed by development and pipeline corridors in southern and central California. Projects have ranged from mapping of vegetation to identify critical habitats or quantify damage, to the collection of seeds from native vegetation to replant and restore sites after construction was completed.