LOS ANGELES — In late August 2023, the EPA removed federal protections for most of the wetlands in the country to comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling that reduced the power of the Clean Water Act.

The Los Cerritos Wetlands is in the middle of a sweeping renovation project, done in partnership with the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority, Tidal Influence and the Aquarium of the Pacific. Volunteers meet for a few hours on the first Saturday of every month to pull weeds, break up cement, add mulch and plant plants.

Cassandra Davis, the volunteer services manager at Aquarium of the Pacific, said wetlands play a crucial role in protecting local flora and fauna, filtering water and most importantly, wetlands help clean the air.

“They capture a lot of carbon dioxide in particular,” Davis said. “So the carbon dioxide that we are adding to the atmosphere, wetlands are on the of the ways we can recapture that.”

Restoration programs manager with tidal influence, Daniella Gavriel, said this kind of restoration is crucial because California has already lost many wetlands and marshes.  

“This really is just a gem. There’s not so many of them left. In California alone, up to 90% of our wetlands have been lost, and in southern California about 73-75%,” Gavriel said.

The Los Cerritos wetlands stewardship program is working to restore 66 acres of wetlands owned by the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority. For information on volunteering for the cleanup group, visit the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority home page.