Conservation News
Monarch Butterflies Need Our Help!
Monarch Butterflies are familiar, beautiful insects that evoke wonder at their phenomenal life cycle and migratory journey. Traveling between 1,200 and 2,800 miles, they complete the longest migration of any insect. And yet populations in the United States have plummeted. Eastern monarch populations have declined as much as 74%, and western numbers have declined by 99%. Without greater protection and concerted efforts for recovery, experts predict that Monarchs will be extinct in 60 years.
We are asking for your support in listing the Monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public comment period is currently open through March 12, 2025. This proposed listing will provide increased efforts to restore and protect this iconic butterfly.
Please send your comment by clicking HERE to go to the Endangered Species Coalition website, where you can see a sample comment and submit your own request. The Endangered Species Act is a successful conservation tool to protect species from extinction. Your efforts will be part of an effort to protect Monarch populations and habitats. Thank you for helping!
Photo by Patty Langen
Support Lights Out Campaign for Birds!
Lights Out! San Diego is a campaign to help reduce the number of birds drawn off course from their migration due to artificial lights at night. North County San Diego is part of the Pacific Flyway, which is the pathway millions of birds take on their migration. Many birds migrate at night, and artificial light can disorient these long-distance travelers who can be drawn toward light; this can cause disorientation, collisions with buildings, exhaustion, delayed migration, and grounding of seabirds, who sometimes land near lighted areas and may be unable to take off again. How can we help? Agree to turn off non-essential lighting between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and take the Lights Out, San Diego pledge by clicking HERE.
Volunteers Needed for Continuing Community Science Bird Monitoring Project in Del Mar, CA
Join the community science project at the San Dieguito River Park as we conduct bird surveys around the enchanting San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar. Since January 2010, our dedicated team has been conducting bird observations on the first Sunday of each month. We've spotted 269 species, and now we're calling on nature enthusiasts to join us! Explore picturesque locations including San Dieguito Lagoon, Del Mar Dog Beach, Dust Devil Trail, Crest Canyon, and more. As restoration efforts continue in the San Dieguito Lagoon, your involvement becomes crucial in tracking the progress of this thriving ecosystem. Surveys are conducted on mostly flat, dirt trails, taking about 2-5 hours.
Check out https://sandieguitolagoon.org/#/activities/birdcount for more details or reach out to our count leader, Jayne Lesley. All levels of experience are welcome!
Help save Oceanside's farmland in S. Morro Hills
The City of Oceanside is in the process of updating its General Plan, and preparing a community plan for the South Morro Hills agricultural area- the South Morro Hills Community Plan (SMHCP). While it says its primary goal is to preserve agricultural land, it allows thousands of housing units. That is not farmland preservation, it is more sprawl development that we all pay for. We pay for it with more traffic congestion, air pollution, and higher costs for public infrastructure of roads, and water and sewers. What you can do.
IMPORTANT UPDATE ON OCEANSIDE'S GENERAL PLAN AND SMH!
Video about the South Morro Hills Community Plan
This video, produced and funded by the Sierra Club, describes the negative impacts of the City of Oceanside’s Draft South Morro Hills Community Plan for the agricultural district in the northeast corner of the City. https://youtu.be/lOhMn03qzcI
National Audubon article about BVAS' work at Wetlands Reserve
Enjoy this article from National Audubon about BVAS's work restoring the Wetlands Reserve. https://ca.audubon.org/news/building-anew-along-shores-san-diego-county
The Resilient Coast and Estuaries Act Introduced!
Please read this article concerning a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Levin and others to help protect coastal estuaries.
BVAS Wetlands Reserve
In 2016, Buena Vista Audubon Society purchased this 3.5 acre parcel that lies across the street from the BVAS Nature Center. We are currently working on the 65% design, permitting, and CEQA phase of a restoration project to transform the parcel into a coastal wetlands habitat.
BVAS Andy Mauro Nature Preserve
In 2017, BVAS purchased a 31-acre parcel that lies in between the San Luis Rey River and Camp Pendleton. Restoration is currently underway to transform the former dairy farm into a coastal sage scrub habitat for rare and threatened wildlife.
Buena Vista Creek Restoration Project
Buena Vista Audubon Society is partnering with the City of Oceanside and Dudek to help restore a section of Buena Vista Creek near Lake Blvd and Thunder Dr.
Buena Vista Lagoon Enhancement Project
On May 22, 2020, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) approved a project for restoring the Buena Vista Lagoon in Oceanside, CA. BVAS has long advocated the removal of the weir at the mouth of the lagoon and the restoration to a saltwater estuary and marsh.
Invasive palm trees in Buena Vista Lagoon
A student in Professor Wing Cheung's GIS class at Palomar College created a map showing the locations of invasive palm trees in the Buena Vista Lagoon. These rapidly take over native habitat and are difficult to eradicate.
Bioblitzes at Buena Vista Lagoon
What is a BioBlitz?
A Bioblitz is a communal citizen-science effort to record as many species within a designated location and time period as possible. There have been two Bioblitzes in the BV Lagoon area; one in April, 2016 to honor Nature Guide Amaranta Kozuch. The second was during the 2017 Endangered Species Day event.
Amaranta's Bioblitz, April 29 & 30, 2016
This Bio-Blitz survey of the plants and animals living on the grounds of the Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center and within the adjacent Buena Vista Lagoon Ecological Reserve was done as a special tribute to Amaranta Kozuch by her colleagues at the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research and her friends at BVAS.
Endangered Species Day Bioblitz, May 2017
For a one-week period, culminating in the Endangered Species Day weekend May 20, participants surveyed all the fauna and flora of the BV Lagoon, using iNaturalist on smartphones to record observations. Participants included two AP Environmental Science classes from Carlsbad HS.
Older Conservation News
Read more from the LA Times about California's forest thinning policy and whether or not it is actually effective. It is an in depth look at what all of the money California has spent has gone and what it has gotten us.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Dr. John W. Fitzpatrick and Georgetown Environment Initiative Peter Marra penned an op-ed about the disappearance of North American birds over the past 48 years in the New York Times
Native Plants are better for Birds and People! Enjoy this report from National Audubon regarding the benefits of planting with native plants.
Comments on Inns at Buena Vista Creek DEIR December, 2016
Campus Park West Development
Download the official letter sent by the BVASvwith our comments on the Campus Park West application for a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
San Marcos Highlands Project MND
Download the official letter sent by the BVAS with our comments on the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the proposed San Marcos Highlands development project.
San Marcos Highlands Project DEIR
Download the official letter sent by the BVAS with our comments on the DEIR for the proposed San Marcos Highlands development project.
San Marcos Highlands Final EIR
Download the official BVAS comment letter on the Final EIR for the proposed San Marcos Highlands development project.
BVAS comments in opposition to delisting the Southwest Willow Flycatcher 2016
Conservation Archives
Measure A: Agua Hedionda South Shore Specific Plan (85/15)
On February 23, 2016, Carlsbad residents defeated Measure A, the Agua Hedionda South Shore Specific Plan (aka "85/15") proposed by developer Caruso Affiliated. The 85/15 Plan would have allowed a 585,000 square foot shopping mall to be built on the shores of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
BVAS and Measure A
BVAS's position paper on why we opposed Measure A
Donations that make a difference!
Your donation will help us further our mission of providing nature-based education to local children, offering birding classes and other programs, protecting and restoring North County wildlife habitats, and more!
Our Mission
To protect and preserve our region's birds, biodiversity, and threatened habitats, and to promote conservation of our natural resources through advocacy, education, and both habitat restoration and management.
Mailing Address
Buena Vista Audubon
PO Box 480
Oceanside, CA 92049
Nature Center
2202 S. Coast Highway
Oceanside, CA 92054
760-439-BIRD
(760-439-2473)
Hours
Sunday10 am-1 pm*
Monday 10 am-1 pm*
Tuesday 10 am-1 pm*
Wednesday 10 am-1 pm*
Thursday 10 am-1 pm*
Friday 10 am-1 pm*
Saturday 10 am-1 pm*
*Hours may vary, as the NC is hosted by volunteers (please call the NC prior to visiting to ensure a host is present).