MCAS Camp Pendleton works with civilian agencies to protect environment, transition vital habitat off base

Photo By Cpl. Alison Dostie | U.S. Marine Maj. David Chester, center right, the environmental officer for Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, breaks ground with representatives from Burns & McDonnell and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during a ceremony at Moosa Creek in Bonsall, California, June 17, 2021. The air station purchased the Moosa Creek site to offset the affected habitat lost from clearing trees at the end of Runway 21. MCAS Camp Pendleton partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, private firms and various local and federal agencies to complete this 10-year-long environmental project. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alison Dostie)  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

06.25.2021

Story by Lance Cpl. Alison Dostie 

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California, is no stranger to protecting the environment. The installation was recently recognized by both the secretary of the Navy and the secretary of defense for its environmental programs - the only Marine Corps installation to be recognized at both the service and department level.

The air station continued its strong environmental presence when it broke ground on a joint project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and civilian contractors to help restore a riparian habitat at the Moosa Creek golf course near Bonsall, California, June 17.

The Moosa Creek site is the offbase counterpart to the air station’s Clear Zone Project to remove overgrown vegetation at the southwest end of the air station’s flightline, according to U.S. Marine Col. Tim Anderson, the commanding officer of MCAS Camp Pendleton.

The Clear Zone Project has roots that extend back to a flood in January 1993 which caused more than $100 million in damage after a levee broke and sent a wave of water across the air station. The flood damaged most of the buildings on the air station as well as the majority of the 70 aircraft on the flightline at the time.

After the flood, a plan was proposed to build a a 14,500-foot levee, a 2,300-foot floodwall, and a stormwater management system. In creating this levee and floodwall, the air station would be protected from a similar storm and flood. An unitended side effect of creating the floodwall and levee was isolating a small ecosystem at the southwest end of the runway that was home to the least Bell’s vireo and the southwestern willow flycatcher, two Southern California bird species listed under the Endagered Species Act.

That habitat was essentially left alone for a number of years, until the trees growing near the end of the runway became a safety concern. The overgrown trees could potentially cause harm to aircraft taking off from the runway, injuring Marines and sailors. This is where the Clear Zone Project comes in. The project was initiated to manage and maintain the vegetation at the end of the runway to ensure the safety of air station operations. The removal of aproximately 25 acres of riparian habitat at the air station will be offset by transitioning it to Moosa Creek, a deserted golf course in Bonsall.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked with the air station’s environmental office to address the impacts clearing vegetation at the end of the runway would have on the ecosystem, and ensure there would essentially be a one-for-one offset for the habitat lost on the air station.

“Our partnership with MCAS and MCB Camp Pendleton is essential to conservation of endangered species in Southern California,” explained Jonathan Snyder, the assistant field supervisor for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Carlsbad office. “The large areas of intact habitat found on Camp Pendleton support an incredible diversity of threatened and endangered species, and we appreciate the Marine Corps’ efforts to balance mission critical training with conservation of these precious natural resources.”

Burns & McDonnell, a private firm hired for the project, is now responsible for taking the Moosa Creek site and completely transforming it. They will remove the tennis courts, golf course pathways and parking lots. A channel will be created to reactivate the natural floodplain, ponds will be filled, all of the invasive species will be removed and will be replaced with native species to restore the ecosystem.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this project,” said Mark van Dyne, the vice president for environmental practice at Burns and McDonnel. “It’s refreshing to see the environmental team at the air station and how proud they are of what they’ve accomplished, and their passion for the environment, and we’re just happy to be a part of it.”

While the safety of Marines and aircraft was the priority for the air station in undertaking the project, Anderson recognizes how important the project was in building relationships. The air station is already looking to conduct additional projects in the future, including working on the orginal levee built decades ago in response to the flooding, and strong relationships will be key to completing them.

“The big thing for us was to demonstrate to U.S. Fish and Wildlife that we were good on our word, which means we would take extra steps and do all of the right things to accomodate for the endangered species,” said Anderson.

As Anderson prepares to leave the air station later this year, he points to Moosa Creek and the Clear Zone Project as one of the crowning achievements of his time as air station commander.

“There is nothing else I will do here that will make me more proud than this project,” said Anderson. “Our partners in this region and nationally can trust Camp Pendleton and the Marine Corps to do the right thing.”

• Date Taken: 06.25.2021
• Date Posted: 06.28.2021 21:09
• Story ID: 399943
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US