Friends of Mission Bay Marshes

      Mission Bay is located in the city of San Diego at the south end of Pacific Beach. It is best known as a recreational aquatic park with boating, fishing, camping, and annual events such as the Bayfair Cup and Over-the-Line tournament as the predominant activities. The park comprises about half land and half water consisting between 4,200 and 4,600 acres depending upon the source consulted, with 27 miles of shoreline and 14 miles of bike paths. It is popular among both locals and tourists, with an estimated annual attendance of about 15 million people.

Pre-Development Era
     Although Mission Bay has been described as a tidal marsh prior to dredging that began in 1946, the bay over its course of pre-dredging history may have shifted between a lagoon, to an estuary, to a tidal marsh or any order of these wetland types. The evidence for this comes from the historical shifting of the San Diego River terminus between San Diego Bay and Mission Bay where the silt and sand carried by the river could change a small bay into an estuary and then into a shallow water tidal marsh over time. Additionally European explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo named the area that is now Mission Bay “False Bay, presumably because he and other explores believed it to be the entrance into San Diego Bay. Some sources describe Mission Bay prior to dredging as a “swamp”, however these sources refer to a period prior to dredging and after the terminus of the San Diego River was artificially shifted into Mission Bay in 1852 to prevent San Diego Bay from filling in with sand and silt. This likely changed the bay into a shallow water marsh where prior to 1852 it was likely a mix of lagoon, estuary and shoreline marsh.

Development Period
      Some of the first development to affect Mission Bay began in 1852 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed a dike along the south side of the San Diego River to prevent it from flowing into San Diego Bay. This was done to prevent the accumulation of silt in San Diego Bay. The result was the shifting of the river into Mission Bay likely turning what may have been partially a lagoon into an estuary, and over decades a shallow water marsh. The diversion of the river into Mission Bay was maintained at least until 1929. The city of San Diego began planning for development of Mission Bay as early as 1930, but it wasn’t until 1946 that the first dredging project began. These dredging projects lasted through 1962, transforming the marsh into a bay and creating new land and islands with the dredged soil.  Upon completion, lease holdings and the construction of facilities began.

Past and Present Native Habitat
     The remaining native habitats of Mission Bay are likely not much different than those of the pre-development period, only with many less acres, signs of human impacts, and the establishment of nonnative species and predators.  At present Mission Bay is technically an estuary, with the freshwater of Rose Creek draining into what is more appropriately termed a lagoon. Together, they create a wetland type that is an estuary. Within the estuary are diverse habitats that include marine, shallow sandy bottom, eel-grass beds, tidal marsh, tidal channels, mudflats, and upland marsh. Each of these unique habitat types requires unique adaptations for life, and thus a diverse range of organisms can be observed across this wetland.  

A grant deed was signed by Lena Kendall on 11/23/1951. It gave to the Regents of UC the major portion of Acre Lot 73 in Pacific Beach east of Crown Point Drive, but excluded the portion that encompassed her house. A quitclaim deed between Edith Kendall Horton (daughter of Lena Kendall) and Winter Davis Horton as grantors, and the Regents of UC as grantees was signed on 6/25/1952. The definition of the property was the same in the two documents, except for the wording related to mineral rights.

A quitclaim deed was signed by San Diego Beach Company on 2/3/1952 and granted to The Regents of UC all of Acre Lot 74, except the northerly 200 feet of the property. A quitclaim deed was signed by Jessie T Frost and Albert A Frost as grantors and The Regents of UC as grantees on 2/8/1952. It gave to UC the same property, which is adjacent to and east of lot 73.

A quitclaim deed was signed by AFJR Partnership and GTF Properties as grantors and the City of San Diego as grantee on 11/18/1992. It gave to the City the northerly 200 feet of Acre Lot 74 (2.66 acres). This acquisition was adopted by the City Council on 2/22/1993 (R-93-1072) as a MB Northern Wildlife Preserve-Expansion.

The relevant map is R of S #3695 and shows both lots 73 and 74. It was dated 8/25/1955. Note that this map appears to exclude the proposed southern extension of Olney Street from the acquisition. The southern extension of Olney Street never occurred and is now the location of the storm drain creek to Mission Bay.

Minor modifications to the area around the Kendall house were made in 1971 after the Collins Development Company acquired the property. There was an agreement (8/13/1971) between the Regents of UC and Collins to modify the boundary between the marsh and the development.

The Kendall-Frost Reserve was officially dedicated as part of the UC Natural Land and Water Reserves on 5/6/1972.

Sources and References

1. Mission Bay Park, Park and Recreation, City of San Diego, http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/missionbay/, Accessed July 31, 2011.
2. Mission Bay Aquatic Park, The History of Land Planning and Acquisitions, The Journal of San Diego History, http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/2002-1/gabrielson.htm, Accessed July 31, 2011.
3. History of San Diego, 1542 – 1908, San Diego Bay, Harbor, and River, San Diego History Center, http://www.sandiegohistory.org/books/smythe/7-2.htm, Accessed July 31, 2011.
4. Mission Bay, San Diego  Wetlands, http://www.seaworld.org/swc/wetlands/sd_county_wetlands/mission_bay.htm, Accessed July 31, 2011.
5. Kendall Frost Mission Bay Reserve, UCSD NRS, http://nrs.ucsd.edu/kendall.html, Accessed July 31, 2011.