Preserving an Accident for the Good of Nature.

The article reports on efforts of the Imperial Irrigation District in California to preserve the Salton Sea, a shallow salt lake that attracts migrants birds. Topics discussed include a background on the lake, factors that affect the lake's wetlands and fish, nonprofit Pacific Institute's prediction that the volume of water in the lake will decrease by 60 percent in 15 years and the plan of the district to cover the exposed lake bed by attracting construction of geothermal power plants.