Expensive Crash Landing: Mugu Marsh Restoration Finally Takes Flight

Sometimes, a plane crash is just a plane crash. And sometimes, it’s a multi-agency, decade-long quagmire that ends up costing more than a million bucks to fix.

Case in point: the 2011 crash near Point Mugu Naval Air Station, which damaged sensitive marshland and is now the subject of a $1.1 million restoration effort – courtesy of the National Pollution Funds Center.

Yes, that’s right: one ill-fated plane ride, about 10,000 gallons of jet fuel, and countless headaches later, restoration crews are finally swooping in to breathe new life into the wetlands. The plane in question – owned and operated by Omega Aerial Refueling Services, Inc. – crashed during a failed takeoff, sparking a large fire. The good news? The crew walked away with minor injuries. The bad news? The marshland they left behind needed major repairs.

But here we are, 13 years later, with state and federal trustees (including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Navy) coordinating restoration projects to nurse the marsh habitat in Mugu Lagoon back to health.

Why So Long?

A settlement with the plane’s owners never materialized, so project leaders turned to the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) for funding. The NPFC is part of the U.S. Coast Guard, and it’s on the hook (happily, one assumes) to bankroll the work necessary to restore impacted natural resources.

“Through this funding, we will be able to help address the injury and losses caused by the spill and restore marsh habitat for the benefit of fish and wildlife,” said Dr. Michael Anderson, Resource Restoration Program Manager with CDFW-OSPR.

It might seem ironic that a single plane crash (with a thankfully low human injury count) left the marsh in such dire straits that teams are still cleaning it up more than a decade later. But these wetlands are crucial for local wildlife and the broader ecosystem. In short, they’re worth a million bucks – literally.

As for the NPFC, they stand ready with checkbook in hand whenever an oil or fuel spill threatens the environment. Their job? Make sure those responsible pay up (or if they don’t, dip into the funds) so that the rest of us aren’t stuck footing the entire restoration bill for disasters like this one.

Will It Be Worth It?

If everything goes according to plan, the salt marsh habitats around the Naval Air Station should be healthier and more robust than ever in a few years’ time. And while $1.1 million may sound like a steep price tag for fixing a single crash site, this sort of restoration work safeguards critical habitat that supports fish, birds, and other wildlife – not to mention the coastal communities who rely on a healthy ecosystem.

So here’s hoping that, next time a plane tries to take off near the marsh, it stays airborne to avoid another nine-figure restoration project a decade down the line.