Punta Colonet, in Baja California, Mexico, is about 65 miles south of Ensenada.
The Community
Punta Colonet is a small, sparsely populated town of about 2,500 people approximately 65 miles south of Ensenada, Mexico. To support the construction of this massive port, the project will include not the port, but also a great deal of infrastructure to support a growing urban center. Approximations of this future city’s size vary, but based on the Mexican Government’s own estimates, Punta Colonet will become home to 30,000 people within three years, 60,000 people within six years, and 100,000 people within ten years. Others estimate the size of the city could even reach 200,000 within the same time period. Infrastructure such as power plants, desalination plants, sewage treatment plants, housing developments, water systems, and roads would be necessary to support the growing city, but are not currently included in the project proposal.
The Geography
Although much development has occurred on the Baja Peninsula over the last decade, it has been limited to the areas north of Ensenada. The Colonet coastline remains relatively untouched, with the exception of some agriculture.
There is minimal scientific knowledge of the Colonet region in comparison to other ecologically-rich areas in North America. However, it is clear that the Baja Peninsula overall is both unique and vulnerable. In fact, the Peninsula is known for diverse plants and endemism—species found nowhere else on earth. Biodiveristy is incredibly high in the region – there are at least 155 plant families in Baja California, 84 of which are endemic.1 One-fifth of the vascular plants in Baja California are endemic.
Colonet, like the region at large, is replete with biodiversity. To date, over 175 plant species have been identified on Colonet Mesa in a myriad of habitats – coastal sage scrub, maritime chaparral, coastal dune communities, and vernal pools. Colonet vernal pools include several plant species and fairy shrimp that are listed under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species List. Endemic mammals such as the San Quintin Kangaroo Rat and rare birds, such as the California Gnatcatcher and Peregrine Falcon, are also found in the area.
One biological assessment of Colonet describes a clear visual image:
“As a relatively undisturbed mesa located right along the coast, Colonet mesa offers an example of what much of southern California looked like 200 years ago… The mesa is comprised of a plateau about 6 miles wide and 10 miles long that has been uplifted about 300 feet over the adjacent sea. Washes and gullies have eroded portions of the mesa into short, steep canyons, while the southern end of the plateau ends in an abrupt vertical drop into the sea…2
The Sea
The Colonet Mesa is home to a number of unique and vulnerable marine species as well, including Bottlenose Dolphins and California Sea Lions. But, perhaps the most vulnerable and charismatic marine species on the Pacific coast of Baja California is the Gray Whale. Approximately 23,000 gray whales live in the Northern Pacific Ocean. Beginning in October, droves of whales migrate from the cold waters of the Bering and Chukchi Seas and head south toward Baja. After about a three-month migration, they mate and calve in lagoons all along the peninsula’s coast. They live in Baja for about three months to allow their young to develop the blubber they require for their journey north. According to local reports, grey whales are frequently present in the bay at Colonet. Because the natural harbor provides a good shelter for calves growing blubber, Colonet is known as a prime whale-watching location.
1 Riemann, Hugo and Exequiel Ezcurra. (2007). “Endemic Regions of the Vascular Flora of the Peninsula of Baja California, Mexico.” Journal of Vegetation Science. 18:327-336.
2 Clark, Kevin et. al., The Threatened Biological Riches of Baja California’s Colonet Mesa.