A landmark moment in the effort to restore Bay Area marshland habitat
Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, April 25, 2014
A cheer went up as salt water from San Pablo Bay poured through a breached levee Friday and flooded old, abandoned Hamilton Army Airfield in Novato.
The flooding of the runway at the former Air Force base, which was
closed starting in 1973, is part of a regional effort to restore 100,000
acres of former wetlands around San Francisco Bay. The Hamilton area was diked off around the turn of the
19th century, cutting off a primary landing spot for thousands of
migrating waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway. It had remained dry until
Friday when a backhoe dug out the remaining mud barrier.
Creating the new tidal marsh, which cost $107 million over 10 years,
involved importing 5.6 million cubic
yards of dredged mud to raise the land to its
natural height, three
quarters of which came from dredging at the Port of Oakland, and growing and planting tens of thousands of native plants. The project was designed create
different habitats, including tidal marshland, brackish and fresh water
wetlands. The restored area, which includes a 3-mile section of the Bay
Trail, will provide crucial habitat for endangered and threatened
species, including Steelhead trout, salmon, California clapper rail,
black rail, brown pelican, and salt marsh harvest mouse.
"This was designed with sea level rise, climate change and ecological resiliency in mind," said Congressman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. "This is also a model project for re-use of our resources."
Read the complete article here.
Showing posts with label restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restoration. Show all posts
Friday, April 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Perhaps the World's Largest Dam Removal Project
Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement
Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2009
PacifiCorp, a Portland, Oregon utility, has consented to the removal of four hydroelectric dams that for decades have been the subject of bitter feuding among farmers, fishermen, and tribal interests along the Klamath River.
The dams, which range in height from 33 feet to 173 feet and are spread across 65 miles of the Klamath, have impaired water quality and blocked a 300-mile migratory route for salmon for a century.
Removal won't begin until 2020, but is seen as vital to restoring California's dwindling salmon stocks.
Backers say the decommissioning -- which still must be approved by the federal government -- would be the nation's largest and most complex dam removal project. The tentative agreement was reached after a decade of negotiations among 28 parties.
Read the article here, and in the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2009
PacifiCorp, a Portland, Oregon utility, has consented to the removal of four hydroelectric dams that for decades have been the subject of bitter feuding among farmers, fishermen, and tribal interests along the Klamath River.
The dams, which range in height from 33 feet to 173 feet and are spread across 65 miles of the Klamath, have impaired water quality and blocked a 300-mile migratory route for salmon for a century.
Removal won't begin until 2020, but is seen as vital to restoring California's dwindling salmon stocks.
Backers say the decommissioning -- which still must be approved by the federal government -- would be the nation's largest and most complex dam removal project. The tentative agreement was reached after a decade of negotiations among 28 parties.
Read the article here, and in the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Salt Pond Development Plans
A push for thousands of homes on bayland site
Jane Kay, SF Chronicle, May 19, 2009
DMB Associates of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Cargill Salt are expected to submit their plan to build as many as 12,000 houses on Cargill's 1,433-acre bayland property in Redwood City today, touching off a battle over development of one of the largest remaining chunks of restorable wetlands on San Francisco Bay.
The companies plan to design construction below sea level given projections of rising bay waters-up to 16 inches by 2050 and 4.5 feet by 2100. The plan envisions about 700 acres of houses and industrial and commercial development. Roughly 250 acres would be dedicated to parks, including an extension of the Bay Trail and other public access, and 440 acres would be returned to tidal marsh.
The developers hope to get approval from the city, the Bay Conservation Development Commission, and a host of agencies to break ground in 2013. The project would take 25 years to build.
Read the complete article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/19/BAQC17MN5P.DTL
Jane Kay, SF Chronicle, May 19, 2009
DMB Associates of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Cargill Salt are expected to submit their plan to build as many as 12,000 houses on Cargill's 1,433-acre bayland property in Redwood City today, touching off a battle over development of one of the largest remaining chunks of restorable wetlands on San Francisco Bay.
The companies plan to design construction below sea level given projections of rising bay waters-up to 16 inches by 2050 and 4.5 feet by 2100. The plan envisions about 700 acres of houses and industrial and commercial development. Roughly 250 acres would be dedicated to parks, including an extension of the Bay Trail and other public access, and 440 acres would be returned to tidal marsh.
The developers hope to get approval from the city, the Bay Conservation Development Commission, and a host of agencies to break ground in 2013. The project would take 25 years to build.
Read the complete article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/19/BAQC17MN5P.DTL
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