| Ongoing
Projects: Suisun Marsh Management Plan NMFS Habitat Conservation Division staff participate in the Suisun Marsh Charter Group, an interagency group formed to develop a management plan for Suisun Marsh. The Suisun Marsh is located in central California between the freshwater of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the saline waters of San Francisco Bay. The Suisun Marsh represents the largest brackish wetland in the Western United States and provides important habitat to a variety of native fish species, including outmigrating salmonids. Previous agricultural use of the Marsh inspired the construction of dikes, levees and channels, consequently reducing the tidal wetlands by 90 percent. The remaining seasonal wetlands are managed in private ownerships, primarily for waterfowl, and by numerous public agencies. The Suisun Management Plan will provide long-term guidance for tidal restoration, ongoing operations in managed wetlands and recovery actions for listed species. Interagency working committees, including a Principals Group, Writing Group, and numerous subcommittees are currently developing the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement and Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIS/EIR) that will include a Science Integration Strategy, conceptual models, enhanced public involvement and a science-based adaptive management program. The Charter Group principal agencies include: National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Suisun Resource Conservation District, California Department of Fish and Game, California Bay-Delta Authority and California Department of Water Resources. Additional agencies participating in the Charter include: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Geological Survey, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, San Francisco Bay-Delta Science Consortium and San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Contact: Korie Schaeffer and Rachael Wadsworth Email: korie.schaeffer @noaa.gov; rachael.wadsworth@noaa.gov Additional information can be found at: http://www.iep.ca.gov/suisun/ |
03/11/08 |
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