The Santa Clara Valley Water District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge partnered to restore tidal action to former salt evaporator Ponds A19, A20 and A21 (the Island Ponds) in March 2006. The Island Ponds, which cover 475 acres, are located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Estuary, near the mouth of Coyote Creek. Levees surrounding the ponds were breached on the Coyote Creek side, and passive restoration processes are expected to bring a mix of salt marsh and brackish marsh vegetation to the ponds over the next several years. Lessons learned through this project can be applied to planning of both the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project's long-term restoration plan and the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study.
Ecological restoration is the primary project purpose. Ecological restoration will provide the ecological benefits and services of functioning tidal marshes, including increasing the amount of habitats for the numerous plant, fish and wildlife species that utilize tidal marshes, including endangered species such as California clapper rail.
Compensatory mitigation is a secondary project purpose. A total of 75 acres of the 475 acres that will be restored through this project will be credited to satisfy the following compensatory mitigation requirements: 9 acres, for the Refuge's impacts associated with implementation of the Initial Stewardship Plan; 30 acres of tidal wetlands, for the District's Multi-Year Stream Maintenance Program impacts; and 35.54 acres of tidal marsh; for the District's Lower Guadalupe River Flood Control Project impacts.
Monitoring and adaptive management are a key part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, and much can be learned from the restoration of the Island Ponds. Particular areas of interest include: inundation regime; substrate development (sedimentation); channel network establishment; native vegetation development; levee breach and outboard marsh channel width; invastive plant species control; wildlilfe usage; and mosquito control.
Habitat Restoration, California Clapper Rails, Levees, Ecosystem Restoration, Tidal Marsh
Ecosystem Restoration,
Environmental and habitat protection and improvement,
Recreation and public access,
Wetlands enhancement and creation
