Public Lecture on Balancing Wildlife Needs and Wetland Restoration in San Francisco Bay

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Public Lecture on Balancing Wildlife Needs and Wetland Restoration in San Francisco Bay

By Gloria Maender
September 2005

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The salt marsh harvest mouse (above) and the California clapper rail (below) are both endangered species that are found only in tidal marshes of San Francisco Bay.

"A Delicate Balance: Salt Ponds, Wetland Restoration, and Wildlife in San Francisco Bay" was the topic of the monthly U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Region Evening Public Lecture Series on August 25, 2005, in Menlo Park, CA. USGS scientists A. Keith Miles and John Takekawa introduced the audience to the largest tidal-wetland-restoration project in the Western United States, begun when approximately 15,000 acres of salt ponds were purchased in 2003 for restoration by a partnership of Federal, State, and nonprofit organizations.

Research wildlife biologists with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Miles and Takekawa discussed questions that their research seeks to help answer for the wetland restoration, such as: How important are the salt ponds for migrating, wintering, or breeding waterfowl and shorebirds? What may be the impact of concentrated salts, low dissolved oxygen, or toxicity of mercury on wildlife as pond levees are opened? What may be the impact of invasive species, such as smooth cord grass, while restoring wetlands?

The evening public lecture was attended by about 120 to 150 people. Earlier in the day, USGS employees on the Menlo Park campus got a preview of the presentation. A video-stream archive of the lecture is available for viewing online (using Windows Media Player) from the Western Region Evening Public Lecture Series 2005 Video Archive.

Additional information about the restoration project is available in USGS Fact Sheet 2004-3135 (4.2 MB PDF file) and at the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project Web site.

Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project
California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

Western Region Evening Public Lecture Series
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

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September 2005

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in this issue:
Cover Story:
USGS Provides Aid in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Coastal Impacts of Hurricane Katrina

Hydrologic Impacts of Hurricane Dennis

ATRIS Used to Survey Sea Floor in Dry Tortugas National Park

Using Genetic Modeling to Assess the Health and Status of Manatee Populations

USGS Activities Rock the Waquoit Bay Watershed Block Party

Balancing Wildlife Needs and Wetland Restoration in San Francisco Bay

Journalism Interns Help Get the USGS Word Out

2005 Meeting of the Digital Library for Earth System Education

Workshop on Integrating Modeling and Laboratory Gas Hydrate Studies

Steven Schwarzbach Appointed Director of USGS Western Ecological Research Center

Woods Hole Science Center Hosts Visitor from India

September Publications List