Huntington Beach Talbert Marsh Information

Talbert Marsh
Pacific Coast Highway
between Brookhurst Street and the Santa Ana River
Huntington Beach, CA
hbwetlands.org

Talbert Marsh is one of the most successful saltwater marsh restoration projects in the state.

Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy owns the 25 acre Talbert Marsh, part of 118 acres of the Huntington Beach wetlands in the non-profit organization's holdings. In 1989, the degraded wetlands were restored with direct tidal access.

Huntington Wetlands and Wildlife Museum and the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center are two buildings side by side next to Pacific Coast Highway and adjacent to AES electric generating station near Newland Street in Huntington Beach.

Built as part of a larger project to acquire and restore the remaining coastal pieces of land in Huntington Beach that were once thriving wetlands that fell into disrepair as the properties were largely separated from their freshwater source across the highway at the Pacific Ocean.

The Wildlife Care Center opened in 1998 and began caring for birds and sea animals brought to the facility. Operated by an independent non-profit organization, that facility is successfully treating and returning to the wilds countless injured and sick birds. After receiving treatment and rehabilitation, they are returned to nature when they are well again.

The effort to restore the little areas of salt marsh and estuary and what's left of a larger wetlands that once existed but is now paved over and covered with houses, include attempts at land acquisition and restoration.

How it began: A group of neighbors back in the 1980s got together and wanted to prevent the last little areas of marsh from being destroyed, hoping to get them restored ultimately.

Kristin Bender from the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy discusses the role of the conservancy in restoring wetlands on the southern portion of Huntington Beach's coast.

She says: We have grant money to restore two-thirds that have been cut off from the ocean since the 1930s. There are still wetlands plants that have been cut off from the ocean. There still are wetlands plants and animals up in these wetlands and we believe they will come back after we complete this project.

Marsh Name	Acres	Location	Open	Features
Brookhurst	52	Brookhurst to Magnolia	No	Private
Talbert	25	Brookhurst to Santa Ana River Trail	Yes	75 species
Magnolia	31	Magnolia to Newland	Tours	Restoration
Newland	40	Beach Blvd. to Newland	No	Private
Waterfront	3.5	Beach Blvd. at PCH	No	Private