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Bair Island, CA - Save San Francisco Bay Association




Save The Bay (also known as Save San Francisco Bay Association) is partnering with the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the largest urban wildlife refuge in the most urbanized estuary in the U.S., to restore 2,600 acres of diked and leveed historic wetlands to tidal salt marsh on Bair Island in Redwood City, California.

Bair Island actually consists of three islands (Inner, Middle, and Outer Bair) of unique wetland habitat that is home to many species of nesting birds, including American avocets and black-necked stilts, marine organisms like the native oyster, and marine mammals such as harbor seals. As part of Save The Bay's community-based restoration program, student, community and corporate volunteers paddle out to Middle Bair (accessible only by canoe) to remove non-native plants, collect native seeds and clean up trash and debris. Their work helps to restore critical habitat for many threatened and endangered species like the California clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse. Much of the project site is off-limits to the public except for these restoration trips led by Save The Bay.

Explosive urban growth has threatened Bair Island many times over the last few decades, but local residents have rallied to save these precious wetlands every time. In 1982, Redwood City approved Mobil Oil's plan to develop most of the island, but residents defeated the measure by just 40 votes. In 1989, Tokyo-based developer Kumagai Gumi purchased Bair Island to build a housing and office complex. After a lengthy political battle, the land was purchased by the Peninsula Open Space Trust in 1997 and transferred to the Refuge. Bair Island now represents one of the largest opportunities to restore wetlands in San Francisco Bay, where more than 90 percent of tidal wetlands have been destroyed for development and fill projects.

By partnering with Save The Bay's community-based restoration program, the Refuge has increased public involvement and education around Bair Island. Budget constraints don't allow for large-scale non-native plant removal and native plant propagation, so this project provides a model for cost-effective, volunteer-led habitat restoration.

To engage and educate the public about Bair Island, Save The Bay's restoration trips focus on the ecology of Bair Island, creeks and wetlands, as well as the effects of urbanization and non-point source pollution, non-native plants and loss of biodiversity, and the importance of community-based restoration and stewardship.

Since the partnership began in 2004, Save The Bay has worked with nearly 540 volunteers to remove 15,000 pounds of non-native plants and collect 3,000 pounds of trash. Volunteers are now propagating 500 native plants for pilot planting this winter. The project also allows Save The Bay to evaluate techniques and timing for other restoration sites around San Francisco Bay.

This project is supported by the National Partnership between Restore America's Estuaries and the NOAA Community-Based Restoration Program. For more information on the project, visit www.saveSFbay.org.