Groundbreaking of Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project Expansion

On October 15, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, and Congressmember Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-Imperial) joined federal and state leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking of the expanded Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) Project, at the south end of the Salton Sea. This project, advanced through the Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP), was made possible after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded California $70 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for the project last December. 

The expansion of the SCH Project represents a multiagency collaboration to address the ecological challenges facing the Salton Sea. The commitments made by the federal and state governments, as well as from regional agencies, will add 750 acres to the project’s footprint. This support helps set the current project footprint at nearly 5,000 acres with the potential to expand to around 8,000 acres.