The Salton Sea, California's largest inland water, provides habitat for nine species of fish, 35 shore birds, 47 water birds and 4 rails. This includes important wintering habitat for 36 species of migratory waterfowl. The Sea and its fauna furnish 1.5 million recreation days annually for southern California. Recreational activities include fishing, hunting, boating, camping and nature study. Threats to the Sea's fish, wildlife, and associated recreational uses include oil and geothermal brine spills into the aquatic environment and the elevation of the Sea's salinity due to the diversion of large amounts of freshwater for use by the geothermal industry for cooling and reinjection to control subsidence. In addition, proposed water conservation measures in the Imperial Valley may cause water normally used for irrigation, and thus eventually entering the Sea, to be used elsewhere in the State. Major diversions of freshwater from the Sea will cause the salinity to rise to levels unsuitable for the successful reproduction of fish and major invertebrate species. The effects on avian fauna are not well understood. However, the loss of fish and major invertebrate life in the Sea will have detrimental impacts on some piscivorous avifauna. Means for preserving the fish, wildlife and recreational resources of the Sea are linked to the same types of energy development that may cause their disappearance. The use of Salton Sea water by the geothermal industry for cooling/reinjection and the impoundment of a portion of the Sea for the dual purpose of a solar energy producing salt pond and as a means of removing salts from the main body of the Sea could provide long-term answers. These answers will not materialize without the commitment of local, state, and federal agencies.
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