U.S. government pledges $250 million to help ailing Salton Sea
The U.S. government pledges to provide $250 million to help Salton Sea to recover from the devastating wildfires of last year and support the ongoing work of Salton Sea researchers.
In a new report released Thursday, the Salton Sea National Marine Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation of the Salton Sea and surrounding waters, detailed how the U.S. government will make the most of the donation. The report also details the importance of the Salton Sea to the U.S. economy and other critical sectors of the national economy.
Salton Sea is a marine life sanctuary located within the larger marine preserve along California’s central coast. The oceanic sanctuary is situated in an area of the world where there is abundant coral reef habitat, which includes more than 70 species of fish, crustaceans and other marine life.
The Salton Sea Sanctuary, a key component of the larger marine preserve, is a place where local communities can develop their own programs and initiatives that will protect and promote a healthy ecosystem for the benefit of themselves and all of humanity.
In addition to the work of the Salton Sea Research Program, the largest and most active of Salton Sea’s research programs, a $250 million donation from the U.S. will allow the Sanctuary to continue its work.
The Sanctuary explains how the U.S. government will use the money to create the next generation of aquatic research programs and improve research conducted in the area.
The report states that a program has already been underway in the Salton Sea with research focusing on the health of fish and seafood in the wild and at the Salton Sea Fish Hatchery by researchers at UC Riverside and the University of California, Davis.
It also details how the U.S. government will help the Sanctuary continue its work through funding, public engagement and the creation of a citizen science research program, where citizens can contribute new data.
The sanctuary provides an example of the kinds of scientific efforts underway in the Salton Sea, and the U.S. government is supporting them.
“Salton Sea was designated as a National Marine Sanctuary in 1990. The Sanctuary is home to the world’s largest fish nursery, a place where researchers from all over the world come to work to protect an important marine ecosystem,” an official from the Salton Sea Foundation wrote
