Huge Gain for S.F. Bay Wetlands

The largest wetland restoration project on San Francisco Bay took a giant step forward in September when the Coastal Conservancy agreed to buy, at a cost of $16 million, 1,613 acres of wetland and wildlife habitat in Marin County on San Pablo Bay. This land, known as the Bel Marin Keys V property, will be added to the 1,000 acres of diked baylands and runways that will be restored as marshlands at adjacent Hamilton Air Force Base.

The Conservancy’s action opens the way for construction to begin next year. It is the payoff for years of hard work by dozens of public agencies and citizens groups. It marks a major transition from paper to reality for the San Francisco Bay Area Wetlands Ecosystem Goals Project, a multi-agency planning effort.

“When restored to tidal wetlands, the Bel Marin Keys property will be a highly productive addition to San Pablo Bay wildlife habitat,” according to Conservancy chair Gary Hernandez. “The restoration is also likely to benefit the San Francisco Bay shipping industry by using materials dredged from bay ports.”

This property in southeast Novato was once part of a system of sloughs and tidal marshes that extended along San Pablo Bay between Corte Madera and Vallejo. Parts of these marshes were filled with sediment that flowed to the Bay from hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada foothills during the Gold Rush years. These were subsequently diked for agriculture and other uses. Cut off from the tides, many of the diked baylands subsided. Those at Bel Marin Keys have dropped to an average of five feet below sea level. Restoration could be speeded up by applying materials dredged from other parts of the bay, as was done in the Sonoma Baylands project.

Most of the property is now leased for oat-hay production. After its purchase by the state, it will continue to be leased for agriculture or other compatible uses while the restoration plan is being developed.

The timing of this acquisition is critical to the final design of the 1,000-acre wetlands restoration project planned for Hamilton Field. The Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are preparing a design for this restoration, and for a limited time modifications to the current plan could be developed to include the Bel Marin Keys property. Doing this would decrease the cost of the Hamilton Field project by over $4 million, because a joint restoration would minimize the need for perimeter flood-protection levees. The estimated construction cost of the combined restoration project is about $100 million.

The Bel Marin Keys purchase would also resolve a long-standing dispute over the use of the property. The current landowner, California Quartet Ltd., earlier applied to the county for permits to develop 796 residential units, an 18-hole golf course, a recreational boating lagoon, and other facilities. The firm later filed lawsuits against the county for zoning changes that affect the property’s development potential. The county and the landowner have since entered into an agreement delaying the litigation in order to give the public an opportunity to acquire the property for habitat restoration.

The Conservancy will pay for the purchase, in part, using a $9 million loan from the State Water Resources Control Board, as well as funds available through Proposition 12, the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000, passed by voters last March. Although the legislature appropriated $16 million in the current state budget for purchase and restoration of the property, $10 million of those funds require at least an equal match from non-state sources.

The Marin Community Foundation has already committed $500,000 in matching funds for the purchase and encourages donations to its Marin Baylands Fund for the purchase and restoration of the rest of this property. After the land is acquired, the Conservancy will seek additional funds from a variety of federal, state, and private sources to pay back its loan.

Last May the Conservancy entered into an option agreement to purchase the property. That agreement expires on November 27.

Eureka Waterfront Access

The Coastal Conservancy approved $500,000 to the City of Eureka in September for a waterfront access project. The Eureka Redevelopment Agency has already committed $3 million and the City has approved $1.5 million to fund a boardwalk, plaza, and other improvements between C and F Streets, adjacent to the Old Town historic district.

The boardwalk will open a section of the waterfront that until now has been inaccessible, allowing the public to enjoy views of the harbor and the bay. It will also be a link in the proposed Humboldt Bay Trail. Derelict waterfront structures will be demolished and the boardwalk and plazas will be constructed along a four-block stretch of the waterfront.

This is the first stage of a larger plan for Eureka’s waterfront. Later, the City intends to build a fisherman’s work area and dock to the west of C Street, a plaza area at C Street, and a floating dock. Final designs for these improvements are being developed. The City is working with the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association to identify funding sources.

The Conservancy’s newly approved contribution will come from Proposition 12, the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000, passed by California voters last March. Since the late 1970s, the Conservancy has contributed $1.3 million toward improvements for the Eureka waterfront.

Indian Island Plans

The Northern California Indian Development Council, Inc. (NCIDC), will prepare a plan to protect archaeological sites and improve habitat on Indian Island, just north of Eureka, with the help of $85,000 approved by the Conservancy in September.

The 275-acre island, which is mostly salt marsh, lies within the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The northernmost coastal rookery of the American egret is in the Monterey cypress trees on the island’s southern end. Great blue heron, Virginia rail, and black-shouldered kite are present, among other species. Plants include the endangered Humboldt Bay owl’s clover. Wiyot Indian shell mounds date back over 1,500 years.

Wiyot people lived in two villages on the island and gathered here from numerous other villages for the World Renewal Festival every year until the night of February 25, 1860, when some white men came ashore and massacred about 188 people, mostly women and children (see Coast & Ocean, Spring 2000). Earlier this year the Table Bluff Reservation purchased 1.5 acres from a private owner. The Wiyot hope to come together here again for their ceremony, for the first time in 140 years.

The plan to be prepared by NCIDC will protect ancestral Wiyot sites from erosion. It will also identify ways to improve nesting, feeding, and resting habitat for waterfowl, diving birds, wading birds, shorebirds, and raptors, and ways to increase salmon and steelhead habitat.

The City of Eureka owns about 90 percent of the island and is a principal participant in the project. (There are a few private homes.) Other participants include the National Park Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Conservation Corps, and North Coast Seafoods. Funding for the plan will also be provided by the California Endowment Fund ($25,000), Table Bluff Reservation Sacred Site Fund ($10,000), and private donations.

First Chip out of Matilija Dam

There is virtually unanimous agreement that the Matilija Dam, on a tributary of the Ventura River, should be torn down. This was abundantly evident at an event sponsored by Ventura County on October 12. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt was there, as were Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson; representatives of Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Elton Gallegly, and State Senator Jack O’Connell; and numerous community activists, members of river protection groups, and government agency representatives. All agreed that the Matilija Dam should be demolished to open up spawning areas for the endangered southern California steelhead and to allow sediment to pass downriver to Ventura County beaches.

The event celebrated the taking of the first nick out of the dam, which was built for water supply and flood control in 1947 but soon began to crumble and fill in with silt. Several blocks were removed from the top to determine the most cost-effective means of dismantling the structure, which is 160 feet high and 620 feet long. This was paid for in part by the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, which is administered by the Coastal Conservancy. Also contributing were the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ventura County, and several Ventura cities.

On October 26, the Coastal Conservancy agreed to fund a much larger planning study, for $1.75 million, to determine how best to deal with the six million cubic yards of sediment behind the dam and to establish the capacity of the downstream channel. The Conservancy will continue to work with the multiple federal, state, and local agencies that have taken the lead on the project so far, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, County of Ventura Flood Control Department, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Fish and Game.

OTHER COASTAL NEWS

Grants for Computer Mapping

Nonprofit conservation and environmental organizations that need computer mapping technology can apply now for Conservation Technology Support Program (CTSP) grants of computers, software, and training. About 50 grants are available, with computers and printers donated by Hewlett Packard Company, and Global Information Systems software from Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Clark Labs, and perhaps other companies. This opportunity is available to U.S.-based (501c 3) land trusts, watershed organizations, groups working to save plant and wildlife habitat and urban open space, groups for environmental justice, organizations promoting sustainable development, and others. Indian tribes are eligible. International groups with U.S. 501c 3 sponsors may also be eligible, and should refer to CTSP guidelines. Applications are due January 9, 2001; decisions will be made by mid-April 2001. Application guidelines and news updates on software additions to the grant packages are available at www.ctsp.org.